Afternoon news update: July 23, 2015

The strategy of weekly “committees of the whole” in the Illinois House is working, says the Speaker. “I think we're making progress, because the people of Illinois are getting an opportunity to fully understand what is at issue: the public in general is becoming very much aware of the governor's advocacy of these non-budget issues which go against the core beliefs of Democrats and Republicans,” House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) told reporters, as providers and clients told stories in the House chamber of the impact of the LIHEAP utility assistance program being suspended. "Some of the cuts that are being made will make a difference in if my wife and I can pick up our medications,” said Jacob Copple of Standard City. “I don't like the idea of needing assistance, but without it, we cannot even function as a small family unit.” Copple says the economy of his area, in south central Illinois, is not great to begin with. The irony, said a social service leader, is that people who are supposed to be helping the needy are being laid off, only adding to the ranks of Illinois' needy.
The governor and comptroller are letting everyone know that all state employees are being paid. About 500 Illinois State Police troopers missed their payday Wednesday. Steve Clemente, president of Troopers Lodge 41, which counts about 1400 troopers, agents, and sergeants in the ISP as members, says the story from the comptroller's office, through the State Police, is that, for the affected troopers, someone entered a code in the computer for the current fiscal year, a code not backed by an appropriation, given the current budget stalemate. A spokesman for the comptroller's office also attributed the problem to employees on direct deposit having changed banks recently. But the spokesman, Rich Carter, said there are no reports of departments other than the State Police being affected. “Nobody wants to run into a police officer that's in a bad mood,” said Clemente, “but we're all professionals, and we have been assured that our (paper) paychecks are on their way to make all our members whole.” Still, the climate in Illinois makes the mistake particularly unwelcome to state workers represented by a union under a new governor who has said he wants to curtail collective bargaining. “He said we deserved a better pension, or that our pension should be whole,” said Clemente, “and then he turns around and comes up with this new pension plan that absolutely says nothing about protecting what police officers have earned.”
A federal judge has tossed out a civil lawsuit against three former Northern Illinois University police officers. A man accused of rape says investigators violated his civil rights by mishandling evidence. Andrew Rifkin's criminal case is still pending.
Governor Bruce Rauner has signed legislation that aims to stop the state from accidentally sending welfare benefits to dead people. The Illinois Department of Human Services now must review death records monthly to determine if any deceased people are receiving aid. A recent audit found $3.7 million was paid last year to 1,111 people recorded as deceased.
A newly signed bill on hate crimes has gay rights advocates optimistic that their cause will continue to advance under Gov. Bruce Rauner. The bill explicitly adds crimes against transgendered individuals to the law, along with adding hate crimes protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community centers. Mike Ziri, public policy director at Equality Illinois, hopes this means Rauner will support two other bills: one on banning so-called gay conversion therapy and another on burial rights for transgendered people. "We're hoping that the governor signing the bill...is a harbinger of his actions on those two other bills," Ziri said. The new hate crimes protections go into effect next year.
Harley-Davidson is recalling more than 185,000 motorcycles in the U.S. because the saddlebags can come loose and fall off, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall covers certain 2014 and 2015 models. Harley says it found the problem through warranty claims and traced it to mounting hardware. Dealers will replace the hardware free of charge starting July 27. No crashes or injuries have been reported relating to the hardware.

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