Progress Illinois

Just one week after President Obama signed into law a measure that adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under hate crime statutes, gay rights advocates were back on Capitol Hill yesterday pushing for additional civil protections. Among them was Illinois' own Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who testified in favor of the recently reintroduced Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 1584), which would finally bar most workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

To the credit of state lawmakers, Illinois' own Human Rights Act was amended back in 2006 to include both sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under anti-discrimination laws. The fact that we are one of only 12 states to put such protections on the books underscores the need for a federal response, Madigan told the Senate's Education, Labor and Pension Committee. "Through the enactment of a statewide statute prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Illinois has promoted tolerance, fundamental equality and the common humanity of all individuals in our state," Madigan said. "The benefits of such a message to the citizens of our state cannot be underestimated." Watch an excerpt from her testimony below:

Yesterday we noted that Illinois' own Melissa Bean appears poised to introduce an amendment that would assist the banking industry by taking the teeth out of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CPFA). As the lead negotiator for the New Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, Bean is attempting to preempt states' authority to set and enforce stricter protections against the risky financial products that have made the financial services sector billions. That measure could come up for a committee vote as soon as Thursday. And Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is already pushing back, telling Bean and her fellow members of Congress that its time to "put the interests of our consumers before those of the banks." From a release:

“To truly protect consumers and ensure that the current economic crisis cannot happen again, the proposed federal agency must be able to coordinate enforcement efforts with state and local agencies,” said Madigan.  “It is absolutely critical that states be allowed to continue to investigate abusive practices by major players in the financial services industry, regardless of whether these institutions have a state or national charter; and to enforce our state consumer protection laws against all lenders doing business within our borders.” [...]

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Public health experts and environmental advocates have warned for years about the grave consequences of allowing Illinois' coal-fired power plants to operate without adequate pollution controls. To their delight, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and federal authorities made clear yesterday that they won't wait on Congress to adopt climate change laws that would finally force some of the Prairie State's oldest and largest polluters to retrofit their aging plants. On behalf of Madigan and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department filed suit in federal court against longtime polluter Midwest Generation LLC.  The complaint alleges that the company is operating in violation of a provision of the Clean Air Act -- known as New Source Review -- that requires plants that have undergone major modifications to upgrade their pollution controls. The Tribune has the details:

The lawsuit cites the company's two plants in Chicago (in Pilsen and Little Village), two in Will County (in Joliet and Romeoville), one in Waukegan and one outside Peoria [...]

Under a deal with the Illinois EPA, company officials already have agreed to clean up or close the six coal plants by 2018. The federal lawsuit could force the company to upgrade or shutter its plants faster.

In a release, Madigan noted that she is “very concerned about the negative health effects that these aging plants have on the people who live in the communities where the Midwest Gen facilities are located.” That concern has long been echoed by health experts and environmental advocates, some of whom announced plans to sue Midwest Generation on similar grounds last month.

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At the Democratic County Chairmen's breakfast in Springfield this morning, we briefly caught up with three of the state's constitutional officers before they took off for the fairgrounds.  Gov. Quinn offered up some folksy charm, saying that the Democrats in Illinois need to be "aggressive and progressive," adding that they represent the "party of hope" fighting against the "party of nope."  Watch it:

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, talked about the types of policies he plans to support in Washington, D.C. if elected:

And Attorney General Lisa Madigan discussed her recent lawsuit against Wells Fargo for discriminatory lending practices (apologies for all the background noise on this one):

It's Democrats Day at the fair and the speeches have begun.  We hope to get you some video highlights later in the day and tomorrow.  In the meantime, Melissa Hahn is live-tweeting, for those who are interested.

While Attorney General Lisa Madigan may have decided against running for U.S. Senate, she is still doing her part to help the upper chamber's chief anti-usury advocate, Dick Durbin.

Yesterday, Madigan joined attorneys general from 23 other states in urging members of Congress to support Durbin's bill to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).  This proposed body would be tasked with shielding American consumers from unscrupulous lending practices. Under the current regulatory system -- where bank regulators set loose rules that allow large financial institutions to circumvent stricter state laws -- attorneys general have been limited in their ability to crack down on predatory practices such as exborbitant interest loans and credit card fees (a problem Madigan discussed in testimony before the House this past spring). The CFPA would theoretically change that by giving local authorities the power to enforce more stringent regulations. In a letter to the House and Senate banking committees (which have been sitting on the legislation since July), the attorneys general explain the significance:

“[T]his legislation recognizes the key role that state Attorneys General serve in spotting new frauds and abuses, responding to citizen concerns, and enforcing state laws. The preservation of our role is critical to fighting fraud in the financial marketplace and a crucial factor in our support of this legislation."

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Six weeks after a rewrite of Illinois' open records law landed on Gov. Pat Quinn's desk, good government advocates are getting restless as an inexplicable gubernatorial "review" drags on. "Why is Quinn not signing it?"  the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform's David Morrison asked during a phone interview earlier today. "We're not sure."

Regular readers know that getting revisions to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) through the legislature was no easy feat. In May, the effort to rewrite of some of the nation's worst FOIA laws -- spearheaded by Attorney General Lisa Madigan herself -- was nearly sabotaged due to some last minute political maneuvering in the General Assembly.

While the "compromise" bill (SB 189) that ultimately emerged from the statehouse was obviously watered down, it did include an important provision that gives the public access counselor more power over compliance.

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During her tenure as attorney general, Lisa Madigan has worked vigorously to protect Illinois residents abused by deceptive mortgage lending practices and "mortgage rescue" scams.  Now she is taking on one of the nation's largest lenders, Wells Fargo, for allegedly discriminating against black and Latino homeowners:

Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed the lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co. Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.

The suit alleges that Wells Fargo sold the minorities high-cost subprime mortgage loans while white borrowers with similar incomes received lower-cost loans.

For some background on this issue, look no further than the recent Chicago Reporter series on Wells Fargo that we've previously highlighted. According to their data, 49 percent of loans received by Chicago African-Americans in 2007 were low-cost subprime mortgages. They were not distributed just to low-income borrowers either -- 34 percent of black borrowers earning $120,000 or more in annual income received subprime mortgages that year. By comparison, only 22 percent of white borrowers earning less than $40,000 annually received similar loans.

This isn't just an Illinois issue, either. In Baltimore, city officials filed a federal lawsuit claiming Wells Fargo dragged hundreds of Baltimore residents into foreclosure and cost the city tens of millions of dollars in taxes and city services.

The AP reports that Madigan will ask the court to rescind the contracts and grant "full restitution" to the exploited consumers.

During a one-on-one interview with Carol Marin on WTTW last night, Attorney General Lisa Madigan gave a classy explanation for why she opted not to run for higher office after "positioning" herself for a gubernatorial run in late 2008.  Below are some relevant portions of the transcript (you can watch the full video here):

MADIGAN: It was very clear to me -- and I think most people in Illinois -- that, a year ago, somebody had to take on Rod Blagojevich.  We couldn't continue to have somebody serving as our governor who was serving themselves as opposed to the people of the state. Obviously, things have changed. [...]

There was a motivation when you can sit there and see that the state is being run in a manner that is immoral and illegal.  And not knowing what would happen when, I was in fact positioning myself to take on that challenge. [...]

If it was, right now, in my heart to run for governor, that's what I would have done.  And obviously it would have been more of a battle.  But Carol, you remember, when I first ran for attorney general in 2002 that was half the conversation, if not more. You know, "I couldn't possibly do my job as attorney general because my father was speaker of the House."  I think I've proven over the years that I'm independent of him and I'm more than capable of being attorney general of our state. [...]

I went to law school to help people. I got that degree so I could work on seeking justice for people.  And as attorney general, I have that opportunity everyday.

But when asked about her views on the state budget impasse, Madigan's response was far less logical:

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The Washington Post's Chris Cilizza has the scoop:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) will run for re-election to her current post in 2010, according to a Democratic source aware of the decision, ending months of speculation about whether she might make the leap to a Senate or gubernatorial bid.

Madigan is expected to make her decision public later today.

Wow.  Get ready for the floodgates to open on both the Senate and governor's races. 

UPDATE (10:05 a.m.): Lynn Sweet confirms it.  And Madigan's campaign operation just sent out a press release announcing a 2 p.m. press conference in downtown Chicago.

UPDATE II (11:00 a.m.): So with Madigan out of the Senate race, what does the Democratic primary field look like?  Here are the four big names in the mix:

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If there's one thing that can be gleaned from the ongoing budget stalemate, it's that revenue isn't the only resource Illinois government is short on these days. Leadership is tough to come by as well.

At midnight, the clock runs out on the current fiscal year. What next year's budget will look like remains an unknown. Meanwhile, state officials continue to perpetuate confusion and fear among many of the state's most vulnerable citizens -- the elderly, disabled, foster children -- who still have no idea if the crucial services that they rely on will vanish tomorrow.

"We will not forget," Action Now's Denise Dixon said of the lack of leadership during a protest outside Chicago's Thompson Center this afternoon. "Today is the day. Today is the deadline.  We need to see something come out of Springfield that works for us." Watch her speech:

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