Illinois Democrats push to accomplish a slew of last-minute goals as President Joe Biden’s era ends

WASHINGTON — One month before President Joe Biden cedes the White House to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, Biden’s administration and the Democratic majority in Illinois’ congressional delegation are scrambling to check off final items on their to-do lists.

The top priorities for those representing the Chicago area on Capitol Hill include pardons for nonviolent offenders, including former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., cracking down on Chinese trade policies and solidifying legal protections for immigrants who might otherwise get caught up in mass deportations promised by Trump.

But the congressional timeline is more compressed than usual as Congress is scheduled to wrap up business by Thursday and lawmakers must agree on a spending plan to keep the federal government open before the current fiscal plan runs out at the end of the work week.

One possible upside to the tight schedule, however, is that the process of reaching a compromise to avert a government shutdown can open up the window for deal-making. That’s especially true this year in the U.S. House as Republicans have a slim majority but several GOP lawmakers routinely vote against such spending deals, meaning the GOP needs some Democratic votes to keep the federal government’s lights on.

“In the lame duck (session), you’re shooting with live ammunition and very often you can make historic differences,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat who represents the far west suburbs.

As Congress rushes toward the doors, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi hopes the Democratic-controlled Senate will pass legislation he sponsored that would set up a new unit in the Justice Department to prosecute trade-related crimes.

The northwest suburban Democrat, who is a vocal critic of the Communist-controlled Chinese government, said his bill would let prosecutors crack down on China and other countries that try to illegally subsidize exports, avoid U.S. tariffs by shipping goods through other countries, or commit fraud.

Those unfair trade practices have harmed businesses in his district, Krishnamoorthi said. With Trump promising to raise tariffs on China immediately upon taking office, he said, the incentives for exporters to avoid those taxes will only grow.

“We have negotiated all the particulars, and the Biden administration is supportive, as well as Republicans and Democrats in Congress,” Krishnamoorthi said. The bill has two Republican co-sponsors and passed the House unanimously. “It’s time to move. There’s no time to waste on something like this because of the enormous cost of inaction.”

Other Illinois lawmakers want Congress to deal with the so-called debt ceiling, which limits how much of its existing debt the federal government can repay. Lawmakers temporarily suspended that limit in June 2023, but only until the beginning of 2025.

The Treasury Department can use several accounting maneuvers to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt — something the country has never done — for several months. But those moves can rattle investors who see Treasury bonds as one of the safest investments in the world.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois’ senior senator, co-sponsored a measure, along with 16 other Democrats, that would eliminate the debt ceiling entirely.

“Defaulting on the debt would send the economy into a tailspin, leading to catastrophic consequences for Americans. Using the threat of default as a political tool is fiscally irresponsible. We cannot afford to have our economy held hostage,” he said in a statement.

Other Illinois Democrats are wary of the brewing battle.

“The United States should not — must not — default on our debts,” said U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, who represents the north suburbs. “We need a government that’s responsible, responsive to the needs of the American people, but that also recognizes that we have a responsibility to pay our bills.”

Foster, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, also supports getting rid of the limit.

“It’s just stupid,” he said. “It’s just one of these self-inflicted wounds we give ourselves. Maybe one other country on Earth (Denmark) has an artificial debt limit.”

Pardon power

The balance of power in Washington shifts on Jan. 3, when new lawmakers are sworn in and Republicans will take control of the Senate. While the GOP will continue to hold a majority in the House, the Republican margin is even smaller than what they currently have. It could become as tight as 217-215 in the coming months with three vacancies in Republican districts due to Trump nominating House members for positions in his administration.

Biden does not leave office until noon on Jan. 20. With all of Illinois’ delegation returning to the House, the Democrats aligned with Biden have plenty of ideas on how the president can use his executive power in those final weeks.

Biden’s decision early this month to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, sparked hope the president might grant similar relief to others who want a fresh start. That includes millions of people convicted of nonviolent crimes, including former U.S. Rep. Jackson, who served in Congress for 17 years.

Jackson pleaded guilty in 2013 to diverting about $750,000 from his campaign fund to pay for personal expenses, including luxury goods, celebrity memorabilia and mounted elk heads. He spent nearly two years in prison. His ex-wife, Sandi Jackson, a former Chicago alderman, also served nearly a year in prison after pleading guilty to filing false income tax returns.

Before Hunter Biden’s pardon, Jackson himself earlier this year tried to spark some grassroots efforts to have himself pardoned. And after the president pardoned his son, Jackson’s father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, wrote the president seeking leniency for Jackson Jr. and his ex-wife.

The civil rights leader said his son had “taken full responsibility for his actions” and leaned in on the reasoning President Biden used to justify pardoning Hunter Biden, implying Jackson Jr. also came under extra scrutiny because of his famous name.

“Like Hunter, federal investigations begin in one place and always conclude somewhere else,” the elder Jackson wrote.

U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, the younger brother of Jackson Jr., said others should benefit from the same compassion Hunter Biden did.

“I’m happy and honored and excited for Hunter Biden. It was over-prosecution. But there are tens of thousands of people more that should be given that same level of mercy, and I hope (Biden) would find it in his heart (to issue pardons) with the time that’s left,” he said in a Capitol Hill interview.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who now sits in Jackson Jr.’s old congressional seat, said she supports the effort to secure a pardon for him. But she said she also hopes Biden considers more sweeping action, especially because “the U.S. disproportionately incarcerates people of color, low-income individuals, members of the LGBTQ communities and those with disabilities.”

Biden already has shown some openness to large-scale pardons.

Last week, he commuted the sentences of 1,500 people, setting a single-day record. Most of those who got relief had been released from prison during the early COVID-19 outbreaks and were serving in home confinement, including former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell, who had been sentenced to more than 19 years of prison for embezzling more than $53 million from the city. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican from Peoria, called Biden’s pardon of her “reckless.”

But Biden does not appear to be done.

“While today’s announcement marks important progress, there is more to come,” the White House said last week. “President Biden will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver criminal justice reform in a manner that advances equity and justice, promotes public safety, supports rehabilitation and reentry, and provides meaningful second chances.”

Biden has twice issued blanket pardons for people convicted of marijuana-related misdemeanors in federal courts. But because most marijuana possession cases are initiated in state courts, Biden’s measures have had little practical effect. In addition to pardons, Biden during the 2020 presidential race promised to expunge all previous federal cannabis convictions, which he has not yet done.

Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Biden in October urging the president to “act with urgency” on all clemency petitions sitting on the president’s desk, which now totals about 9,000. Durbin specifically told the president he should help the thousands of people who were sentenced under previous laws that carried harsh penalties for repeat offenses or for those convicted of using or distributing crack cocaine. Congress has scaled back penalties for such crimes but did not always make those changes retroactive.

Although Durbin sent his letter months ago, he said he understands why Biden is just now turning his attention to questions of clemency.

“This is similar to the situation I faced with my friend Barack Obama when he was president,” Durbin said in an interview. “They wait until the end of their presidency to make some of these decisions.”

“I understand there are thousands (of clemency requests) that have been presented to (Biden),” Durbin added. “I receive phone calls regularly from people who asked me to intercede. I don’t think I have any special power over President Biden, but I want to encourage him, at least categorically, if not specifically, to consider certain people who have been imprisoned and should be considered for clemency.”

Jackson Jr. himself also advocated for broader clemency, which would have benefitted him and his ex-wife, though he never formally requested an individual pardon from Obama when he was president.

His brother, the current congressman, said pardons can help people get back to normal life. Even when a person leaves prison, they must cope with the fallout of a felony conviction, the congressman said, adding that it can make it more difficult to obtain passports, loans, education and housing.

“It’s a scarlet letter on your forehead,” Jackson said. “It’s an ‘X’ and that’s not how you should be known.”

Religious and civil rights groups across the country, meanwhile, want Biden to commute the sentences of the 40 federal prisoners currently on death row. If Biden, a Roman Catholic who opposes the death penalty, follows through with the request, it would mirror a similar action taken by former Gov. George Ryan during his final days in office in 2003. Ryan, a Republican, earned international attention for his decision to commute the death sentences of 167 prisoners.

Immigration efforts

Trump has promised to begin deportations of immigrants immediately after taking office, so many Illinois lawmakers are worried about how the crackdowns would affect their communities.

Durbin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, offered Biden some suggestions for actions he could take to protect immigrants before he leaves office.

The Illinois senators called on the president to protect people living in the U.S. from certain countries — including Ukraine, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of Congo — from deportation. Executive agencies can extend “temporary protected status” for people from certain countries if it would be unsafe to deport them because of ongoing armed conflict or environmental disasters. The senators want Biden to extend those protections for as long as possible for as many countries as are eligible.

The senators also asked Biden to hurry up the processing of pending renewals for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects people brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. And they asked Biden to accept renewal applications earlier, so more people could get extensions sooner.

Obama created the DACA program in 2012 to protect “Dreamers,” but Trump tried to end the program when he was president previously. The Republican president-elect expressed openness to a deal on Dreamers during a recent interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” but Republican-led states are still suing to end the program altogether.

Given the legal uncertainty, Durbin said Biden should do as much as he can to help people in the program.

“We’d like the Biden administration to move on those early so that people get the maximum number of months of protection,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who represents many near north suburbs, proposed a more unconventional last-minute move from Biden: Reappointing Lina Khan as the Federal Trade Commission chair. Khan is well-known for bringing aggressive enforcement of antitrust policies to the agency.

During her tenure, the FTC has gone after tech companies, the pharmaceutical industry and many proposed megamergers among companies. Under Khan, the agency sued to block the merger of supermarket chains Kroger, which owns Mariano’s, and Albertsons, which owns Jewel. That merger fell apart last week after a federal judge sided with the FTC and blocked the deal.

Trump already announced he wants Andrew Ferguson, a Republican who sits on the commission, to take Khan’s place as chair. Ferguson is seen as more business-friendly than Khan, although he promised the agency “will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech.”

Schakowsky acknowledged another Khan appointment might be short-lived because Trump likely would fire her once he takes office.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of future for Lina there, but at least make the point,” Schakowsky said.

Several members of the Illinois delegation also called on the Biden administration to impose financial sanctions on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for their roles in violence in the West Bank. The Biden administration sanctioned Israel’s largest settlement development organization in November but so far has resisted calls to punish Israeli government officials.

Durbin, Foster, Jackson, Schakowsky, and U.S. Reps. Sean Casten, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez and Lauren Underwood of Illinois all signed a letter pushing for the sanctions.

They accused the two ministers of encouraging the construction of illegal outposts in the Palestinian territory, demolishing Palestinian homes, allowing Israeli settlers to attack Palestinians without repercussion, and calling for the annexation of the West Bank.

“With radical officials in the (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government continuing to enable settler violence and enact annexationist policies, it is clear that further sanctions are urgently needed,” the group of 88 congressional Democrats wrote in a letter to Biden.

“The key individuals and entities that are destabilizing the West Bank — thereby also threatening the security of Israel and the broader region, and U.S. national security as well — should be directly held accountable,” they wrote. “The message that such actions are unacceptable from leaders, including within the Israeli government, must be heard.”

If Biden did impose the sanctions, Trump could quickly undo them. But Casten, a west suburban lawmaker who has frequently faced criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, said that could be politically difficult for the incoming president.

“If Biden were to impose those sanctions against Ben Gvir and Smotrich, it opens the door for the broader international community to do the same, and would be very hard for Trump to undo,” Casten said.

Schneider, meanwhile, said he’s encouraged by the way Biden has handled the end of his tenure, pointing to a cease-fire agreement the president helped broker between Lebanon and Israel, along with the president’s efforts to expand access to anti-obesity drugs.

“I hope they do succeed — or run through the tape — to do everything they can up until the very last day of this administration,” he said.

Vock is a freelance reporter.