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Democrats in the General Assembly this week lined up to push a measure that would allow state courts to award punitive damages in wrongful death lawsuits a departure from the status quo for more than a century in Illinois.

Illinois is one of 16 states that does not allow for the recovery of punitive damages in wrongful death cases, though the state does allow for plaintiffs in personal injury cases to seek punitive damages.

It's only when the plaintiff has died from his or her injuries that punitive damages are precluded, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said Thursday during a brief debate on House Bill 219. The awarding of punitive damages should not turn on whether the injuries were severe enough to kill the plaintiff.

HB 219 would take the standards for seeking punitive damages in personal injury cases and apply them to Illinois Wrongful Death Act. The bill is an initiative of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, which has historically been an ally to Democrats.

The states business community mounted a swift but ultimately ineffective opposition campaign against the bill after it popped up earlier this week, citing increased liability costs. The bill passed with only Democratic votes in both the Senate and House this week and will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker for his approval.

ITLA President Pat Salvi Jr., a managing partner at prominent Chicago-based personal injury law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, told a Senate panel this week that allowing punitive damages only when a victim survives is a defect in the law.

We believe it is time to fix what the Illinois Supreme Court noted is the often-repeated adage that it is cheaper to kill your victim than to leave him maimed, Salvi said, quoting from a 1983 opinion from the states high court that affirmed punitive damages are not allowed in wrongful death cases. That cannot be.

Punitive damages exceedingly rare

While compensatory damages are meant to compensate a victim or victims family for anything from lost wages and hospital bills to pain and suffering, punitive damages are meant to punish a defendant and deter the type of reckless action that led to injury or death.

Punitive damages are rarely asked for and even more rarely granted. According to ITLA, in the last decade, Illinois juries have awarded punitive damages of more than $10,000 in only 18 personal injury cases.

The most recent nationwide study on the matter from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2005 found that, among successful cases, punitive damages were awarded in just 3 percent of the most common types of personal injury cases.

Punitive damages for product or premises liability and car crashes were awarded in 1 percent or fewer cases according to the DOJs report. The study was based on a survey of courts in the nations 75 most populous counties, including Illinois Cook and DuPage counties.

At the time of the DOJ report 18 years ago, the median punitive damage award in all successful tort cases was $55,000; adjusted for inflation, that figure would be just under $85,000 now.

Still, business groups said increasing opportunities for punitive damages could deter companies from moving to or expanding in Illinois due to increased liability. The insurance lobby also registered its opposition to the bill, and Republicans repeated the groups concerns during House and Senate debates this week.

We could end up shutting down a business because of one or two bad actors, Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said during debate in the House. And Im not defending the bad actors at all. Im just saying theres other people to consider here.

Ugaste went on to imagine the ripple effects of shuttered businesses on workers and their families. But he also lamented that HB 219 didnt contain any caps on punitive damages.

The Supreme Court in Illinois has ruled that theyre unconstitutional, Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, told Ugaste, saying the legislatures hands were tied as to including hard caps in the bill.

But Hoffman did note that the states high court has ruled that any punitive damages exceeding 10 times the amount of compensatory damages would be considered a violation of due process, in essence putting a soft limit on punitive damages.

According to ITLA, caps are in place in only nine of the 34 states that already allow punitive damages in wrongful death cases.

Grisly mathematics

Even if placing caps on punitive damages was constitutionally feasible, Harmon maintained that writing caps into state law would set up a perverse incentive system for companies to do the grisly mathematics of a cost-benefit analysis. He cited the legal debacle over the Ford Pinto in the 1970s, when the company delayed recalling 1.5 million cars despite knowing about a dangerous design defect that caused gas tanks to explode even in low-speed crashes.

The companys apparent cost-benefit analysis found it would be less expensive for the company to settle cases with victims than to recall the cars and prevent the deadly explosions they were causing.

Imagine someone sitting in a corporate boardroom saying we can kill 127 drivers before it's more expensive to recall the car than it is to simply pay the capped punitive damages, Harmon said.

In September, a Cook County jury granted $325 million in punitive damages on top of $38 million in compensatory damages to Sue Kamuda, who developed breast cancer in 2007 after living near the Willowbrook Sterigenics medical supply sterilization plant for years. It was the states largest punitive damage award in recent history.

The jury found the Oak Brook-based company did not invest in emissions-curbing technology, which would have reduced the amount of carcinogenic gas emitted from its Willowbrook plant, despite knowing the cancer risk ethylene oxide posed to neighbors.

Kamuda is one of hundreds of nearby residents whove filed similar claims since 2018, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published research that found people who lived in the area around the facility faced some of the highest cancer risks in the U.S. The state of Illinois ordered the plant to close temporarily in early 2019, and Sterigenics later voluntarily shuttered the plant permanently.

Salvi represented Kamuda in the case, and in an interview with Capitol News Illinois this week, he said despite the eye-popping figure his client was awarded in punitive damages, her case was one of only five or six times in his 16-year legal career that hes filed for punitive damages.

And if punitive damages had been an option in wrongful death cases over that same time period, Salvi said hed likely only have sought punitive damages in less than five additional cases, nearly all in suits involving deaths due to drunk drivers.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

Original post:
Democrats move to allow punitive damage awards in wrongful death ... - WGLT

One of President Bidens judicial nominees is withdrew his nomination on Thursday because he was unable to earn the votes to advance out of the Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee.

Michael Delaney, who was nominated to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, withdrew his nomination in a letter to Biden obtained by Fox News Digital.

"I am honored that you nominated me for judicial service. I am also deeply indebted to Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan for their continued support of my pending nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Delaney wrote.

"I am most respectful of the Senate's constitutional role in considering my nomination. At this time, I believe it is appropriate for me to withdraw my name from consideration for this position to advance the important work of the federal judiciary."

PREP SCHOOL RAPE CASE FROM 2014 COMES BACK TO HAUNT BIDEN'S LATEST TROUBLED NOMINEE

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Delaney was originally scheduled to be considered for a vote at a committee business meeting Thursdaymorning but was removed from the agenda, signaling that he wouldn't have the votes to move forward.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., remarked in the meeting that "making sure that people are fit for the bench and fit for public office is something that we should do.

"And there is hypocrisy in some of these nominations and these votes. And I appreciate that he was removed from consideration today.

"We have members of this committee who ask everybody that comes before us, have you committed sexual harassment and sexual assault? And yet theyre willing to vote for a judge who used hardball tactics against a girl to cover up that a private, elite school was guilty of pushing and participating and removing anonymity from a student at that school," Blackburn stated.

WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AFTER MANCHIN SINKS BIDEN NOMINEE PICKED TO OVERSEE GAS STOVE CRACKDOWN

Blackburn was likely referring to her committee colleague, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who asks every nominee of their sexual assault history.

She was also referring to Delaney's role in a 2014 case defending St. Pauls School in Concord, New Hampshire, in a case against student Owen Lambrie. When he was 18, Lambrie was accused of raping a 15-year-old student, Chessy Prout.

Sen. Lindsey Graham. R-S.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The contention in the hearing stemmed from a motion that Delaney filed during the 2014 court proceedings that could have required Prout, who was a minor at the time, to have her anonymity lifted.

Its unclear which Democrat or Democrats on the committee opposed Delaney, or why. But Blackburn said, in her view, Delaney's actions in that case should have disqualified him.

"As we talk about people that are unfit for public service, Michael Delaney is one of those individuals," Blackburn said Thursday.

"And as we reviewed his record when he came before this committee, we brought forward and he did not deny, his use of hardball tactics against a 15-year-old girl," she said.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "President Biden put forward a deeply qualified nominee, with a long and distinguished career in public service. The White House will consult with New Hampshires Senators to identify a new nominee."

"The President looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to build on his historic record of nominating and confirming men and women who are dedicated to the rule of law and who continue to break barriers by representing the diversity of our country," he said.

Ranking committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned Thursday in the meeting that having a majority in the committee means the majority party can "tend to pick people that are being pushed by the most partisan folks on either side of the aisle."

Michael Delaney, a Biden administration nominee to serve on the First Circuit Court, is grilled by GOP senators in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Feb. 15, 2023. (Fox News/screenshot)

"And I will continue to support my colleagues' discretion, collaborating with the White House to pick people but it cant be without bounds. So, Mr. Chairman, this is sort of a wake-up call for all of us," he said.

Graham said that while he was initially inclined to support Delaney's nomination, the confirmation hearing changed his mind.

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"Through the process of the hearing and I want to compliment my colleagues for asking hard questions you proved, I think, that Mr. Delaney was not ready for primetime. I think the questions you asked he couldnt give a coherent answer to," Graham said.

"I think it would be good for the committee not just to ask have you ever done anything wrong. But when somebody can't give a coherent answer, to do something about it."

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Biden judge withdraws nomination after Democrats fail to find the votes: 'Wake-up call' - Fox News

A six-week abortion ban in South Carolina is inches away from becoming a reality. However, does South Carolina have resources ready if this happens?After submitting 1,000 amendments to the South Carolina fetal heartbeat bill.State representatives passed the bill 82 to 32.However, House Democrats called on their colleagues that if this bill is signed, the work is just beginning. Before they closed for the night, House Democrats voiced the need to improve other resources across the state. This includes improving DSS, health care, and education.State Rep. Chandra Dillard said resources across are not where they need to be."If we're serious about supporting women and supporting children, then all of that has to change," Dillard said.There are currently 4,610 DSS investigations open. Greenville has the most with 466.As for foster care, there were almost 7,000 young people served in the foster care system in 2022. There were also 556 finalized adoptions and more than 1500 kids reunited with their parents."We're going to add more numbers to that. That's what's going to happen with unwanted pregnancies. We're going to find those numbers increasing if we don't get to the root cause of a good healthy family," Dillard said.On the health care side, Medicaid pays for about 60% of all births across the state. Funding for state health and human services has gone down each year since 2017.The question is, are state leaders ready to address the cracks in the system?"Well, I certainly hope so because if you want to change behavior of people's choices, you need to help them support the choice or the only option that they have at this point," Dillard said, "I am hoping that you just won't get the child here. That the objective from the other side and abandon the child once it is here."Under this new version of the heartbeat bill, an amendment was added that would require the biological father to pay child support at soon as a child is conceived. This was done to hold men accountable for their actions.This version of the bill will go back to the Senate Tuesday to be voted on.

A six-week abortion ban in South Carolina is inches away from becoming a reality. However, does South Carolina have resources ready if this happens?

After submitting 1,000 amendments to the South Carolina fetal heartbeat bill.

State representatives passed the bill 82 to 32.

However, House Democrats called on their colleagues that if this bill is signed, the work is just beginning. Before they closed for the night, House Democrats voiced the need to improve other resources across the state. This includes improving DSS, health care, and education.

State Rep. Chandra Dillard said resources across are not where they need to be.

"If we're serious about supporting women and supporting children, then all of that has to change," Dillard said.

There are currently 4,610 DSS investigations open. Greenville has the most with 466.

As for foster care, there were almost 7,000 young people served in the foster care system in 2022. There were also 556 finalized adoptions and more than 1500 kids reunited with their parents.

"We're going to add more numbers to that. That's what's going to happen with unwanted pregnancies. We're going to find those numbers increasing if we don't get to the root cause of a good healthy family," Dillard said.

On the health care side, Medicaid pays for about 60% of all births across the state. Funding for state health and human services has gone down each year since 2017.

The question is, are state leaders ready to address the cracks in the system?

"Well, I certainly hope so because if you want to change behavior of people's choices, you need to help them support the choice or the only option that they have at this point," Dillard said, "I am hoping that you just won't get the child here. That the objective from the other side and abandon the child once it is here."

Under this new version of the heartbeat bill, an amendment was added that would require the biological father to pay child support at soon as a child is conceived. This was done to hold men accountable for their actions.

This version of the bill will go back to the Senate Tuesday to be voted on.

Excerpt from:
'Is SC ready for a fetal heartbeat bill?': SC House Democrats voice need to improve state resources - WYFF4 Greenville

In Tuesdays mammoth ruling that puts a halt for now to almost all of the new gun law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last year, there is a footnote that illustrates how New Jersey Democrats screwed the pooch on this one.

U.S. District Judge Rene Marie Bumb notes early in her ruling that attorneys representing the state failed to present sufficient historical evidence to support each aspect of the law, a requirement handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Bruen ruling on concealed carry laws.

Bumb then describes a moment from a November Assembly hearing where Republican Assemblyman Brian Bergen sparred with one of the bills authors, Democratic Assemblyman Joseph Danielsen, over the bills constitutionality.

Assemblyman Danielson, how confident are you that this bill will be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court? Bergen asked him.

Im not answering that question, Mr. Bergen. Stay on the bill, please, Danielsen responded.

Moments later, Bergen asked, Assemblyman, did you read the courts decision for Bruen in its entirety?

Me reading the courts decision is not part of this bill. Please stay on the bill, Mr. Bergen, Danielsen responded.

As Bumb writes, The legislative record reveals the Legislature paid little to no mind to Bruen.

This isnt the only evidence that the bills architects didnt do their homework. In January, when Bumb issued her first temporary restraining order in this case, she chided the state for not being prepared to make arguments in favor of the bills constitutionality, a complaint she aired again in Tuesdays ruling.

Defendants must do more than promise they will justify the constitutional basis for its legislation later. Surely, defendants had or should have had the historical materials and analyses the state relied upon when it began its legislative response to Bruen, she wrote.

I wouldnt call myself a gun rights advocate, but its hard for me to see how Democrats intended to respond to Bruen without actually adhering to what Bruen demands. Cross their fingers and hope the conservative majority of the Supreme Court resigns while President Biden can replace them?

I get the bind Democrats are in here. Bruen makes it almost impossible to craft any kind of expansive law restricting gun use that will satisfy the Supreme Court. And making gun laws stricter is popular with voters who lawmakers like Danielsen count on (86% of Democrats and 60% of independent voters nationwide want stricter gun laws, per Gallup), so zero response probably would have hurt the Democratic majority politically.

But the Bruen decision is what we have until some future Supreme Court decides otherwise, so to craft a gun law without taking it into account was foolish. And the sneering tone legislative leaders took with Assemblyman Bergen Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin told him, You dont get to decide whether we think its constitutional or not, to applause from Coughlins Dem colleagues was a mistake now that it seems like Bergen may be on the right side of the legal argument here.

I asked Bergen about this and heres what he told me: Many people dont realize how important floor discussion is to the way our government works. I am proud to have exposed the flaws in the Democrats overreaching bill and to have assisted the courts in their process of overturning the worst parts of this legislation. As long as Im in the Legislature, Ill always stand up for freedom.

Danielsen did not respond to a request for comment.

Look, Bumb is only one judge, and maybe shell rule differently as the case marches on. Who knows, maybe the states attorneys will start doing the work shes asked them to do and convince her our gun law is constitutional.

I talked to Eric Ruben, a law professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas who specializes in gun regulation. He urged caution here, saying it would be premature to read Bumbs analysis as anything but preliminary (New Jersey is appealing her order).

Theres widespread confusion in trial courts about how to doBruens novel historical test. As a result, we are seeing courts reach opposite conclusions in Second Amendment cases across issues from where you can carry guns (as in this case) to who can possess them to what guns can be banned. Courts are applying different glosses on history and different methodologies.

Fair, Bumbs word is not final, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals may indeed feel New Jerseys gun law is constitutional. But the judges there wont be the final word, either; the U.S. Supreme Court will be. And Im skeptical Justice Clarence Thomas, who authored Bruen, and his conservative colleagues will feel any differently than Judge Bumb.

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Ruling on New Jersey gun law shows Democrats didn't do their ... - New Jersey Monitor

When a homeless man was choked to death on the New York City subway earlier this month by another passenger, Mayor Eric Adams had an uncharacteristically guarded response. For more than a week, he did not denounce the killing, as many of his Democratic colleagues immediately had, or express much sympathy for the victim, Jordan Neely.

Instead, the mayor chose a more detached view, noting that there were serious mental issues in play here.

I was a former transit police officer, and I responded to many jobs where you had a passenger assisting someone, he said on CNN. And so we cannot just blatantly say what a passenger should or should not do in a situation like that.

The mayors response was the most recent example of him tacking away from the citys left, creating a wedge with some of his Democratic colleagues. Mr. Adams has been pushing more moderate, sometimes even conservative, views on issues like rent, religion and his signature theme, improving public safety a sharp turn from his Democratic predecessor, Bill de Blasio, and from progressive leaders who have recently won mayoral elections in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.

The latest example came on Wednesday, when Mr. Adams issued an executive order temporarily suspending some of the rules related to the citys longstanding right-to-shelter mandate, as officials struggle to find housing for asylum seekers arriving from the southern border. Themove was criticized by advocates for the homelessand Democratic officials like Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker.

The mayor has spoken ruefully about the separation of church and state, supported charter school expansion and called for reducing the flow of migrants in rhetoric that critics have called xenophobic. He has also proposed budget cuts that could hurt key services such as libraries, arguing that all city agencies must be fiscally prudent at a time when the citys cost of the spiraling migrant crisis is expected to be well over $1 billion a factor that was not in play for previous mayors.

And last week, the mayoral-controlled Rent Guidelines Board proposed another year of sizable increases for the citys roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments the highest back-to-back increases since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was in office.

Left-leaning Democrats question whether Mr. Adamss approach sometimes more akin to Mr. Bloomberg or even the former Republican mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani is appropriate for New York, one of the most liberal cities in the nation. But the mayor says that his brand of pragmatic politics is exactly what the city needs, and what his core constituency of working-class New Yorkers wants.

Its not comfortable for people when they cant put you in this box, Mr. Adams, the citys second Black mayor, said in an interview. I said from the time that I was running that people are not going to be able to fit me in a box.

He acknowledged that some of his views are considered conservative, but said that others were extremely liberal, pointing to his support for free buses and tax credits for poor New Yorkers. Mr. Adams, who grew up in the Church of Christ, said that many Democrats were religious and that his supporters agreed with his beliefs on faith and other issues.

The overwhelming number of New Yorkers know that this guy is trying his darnedest to fix the problems in this city and thats what were focused on, he said.

Mr. Adams emerged from a crowded field of Democratic contenders in the 2021 mayoral race as the most prominent and well-funded moderate candidate, focusing almost exclusively on a public safety message at a time when New Yorkers were anxious about crime. He won the primary by a slim margin only 7,197 votes under a new ranked-choice voting system where Mr. Adams was spared a primary runoff.

As mayor, Mr. Adams has mostly lived up to his campaign promises. He has been a charismatic cheerleader for the city as it recovers from the pandemic, keeping a relentless schedule of news conferences and community events. He has pushed for tighter bail restrictions, increased the citys police presence, delighted in killing rats and is not bashful about enjoying a night on the town.

Many Democrats in New York City are Black and Latino voters who may well support much of the mayors agenda, including his emphasis on faith. Mr. Adams has maintained strong support among Black voters at 52 percent, even as his overall approval rating fell to 37 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll in February. Black voters were also more supportive of the mayors handling of crime and homelessness than white voters.

But some voters have been disappointed by his new direction for the city. Mr. Adams has removed homeless encampments, pledged to remove mentally ill people from the streets involuntarily, defended the use of stop-and-frisk policing and resisted calls to close the Rikers Island jail complex by 2027. He was also endorsed by the citys major police union, only a year after the group backed President Donald J. Trumps re-election bid, and recently provided officers with generous raises as part of a new eight-year, $5.5 billion labor contract.

In the Crown Heights and East New York neighborhoods of Brooklyn, reaction to Mr. Adamss performance was mixed. Older voters tended to support the mayor, praising his effort, his energy and his devotion to public safety.

Hes fighting for the city, keeping the city cleaner, theres plenty of police all around, said Garfield Miller, 65, a carpenter who lives in East New York, and said he voted for Mr. Adams. Vibert David, 66, and his brother, Asworth David, 65, also voted for Mr. Adams, and said they would enthusiastically do so again.

You got to be visible, Vibert David said. As an old officer, hes doing good.

But others accused the mayor of trying to solve everything with more police, and said he was not doing enough to ease the citys problems with homelessness, mental illness and lack of affordable housing.

He parties at 3 a.m. when hes supposed to be helping the city, said Ineze Thompson, 25, a barista who lives in Washington Heights in Manhattan.

On Friday, Mr. Adams was confronted with more direct blowback: When he began speaking at the CUNY School of Law graduation ceremony, many graduates turned their backs to him.

When the mayor is cutting things like libraries and schools, it really begs the question: Who is the constituency who he feels accountable to, and what is the legacy he wants to leave behind? said Sochie Nnaemeka, the director of the Working Families Party in New York.

The Working Families Party and other progressive Democrats have made great strides in New York, winning seats and pushing a left-leaning agenda on the City Council and in the State Legislature. Earlier this year, progressive lawmakers were even were able to nix Gov. Kathy Hochuls nominee for the states top judge, Justice Hector D. LaSalle, because of fears that he was too conservative. But they have also been frustrated on some key issues because the two most influential elected officials in New York, Ms. Hochul and Mr. Adams, often do not align with their views.

Mr. Adams, who was a registered Republican in the 1990s, is friendly with Republicans and the real estate industry, appearing regularly on a conservative radio show. He chides woke members of his party and recently named Jimmy Oddo, a Republican, to head the Buildings Department, replacing another Republican who held the job.

The mayor has quarreled with left-leaning leaders, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, though they appeared to reach a dtente in March when Ms. Ocasio-Cortez visited Gracie Mansion for dinner. But after Mr. Neelys death, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez accused Mr. Adams of reaching a new low in his stoic response.

Killing the mentally ill is wrong, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. Why is that so hard to say?

Some Democrats believe that Mr. Adams will face a challenge from the left in 2025, and their hopes were buoyed by recent mayoral victories by Karen Bass in Los Angeles and Brandon Johnson in Chicago, who were both endorsed by the progressive Working Families Party. Running against a tough on crime candidate, Mr. Johnson won on a public safety message that went beyond policing, focusing on youth employment and mental health services.

Eric Adamss bluster and rhetorical style has caught a lot of peoples attention, but his policy positions are deeply out of step with what most big, blue-city voters want, said Anna Bahr, a Democratic political strategist who worked on the Bass and Johnson campaigns.

Some of Mr. Adamss rhetoric may have frayed his relationship with President Biden. After the mayor harshly criticized the presidents handling of the migrant crisis, his name was quietly removed this week from an initial list of national surrogates for Mr. Bidens re-election campaign.

The mayor has, at times, seemed to acquiesce to the criticism. On Wednesday, the mayor delivered a speech designed to soften his stance on Mr. Neelys death, called for more help for homeless New Yorkers, and said clearly for the first time that Jordan Neely did not deserve to die.

Two days later, Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran who applied the chokehold to Mr. Neely, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, and Mr. Adams welcomed the news, saying, now justice can move forward against Daniel Penny.

In the interview, Mr. Adams said that he identifies as progressive just not the brand embodied by the Democratic Socialists of America. In fact, he said that the far left had won major successes during his administration on issues like the environment, including citywide composting, and programs to assist young people involved in the justice system.

Mr. Adams has also been a vocal supporter of abortion rights and Democratic social issues. During his campaign, he crafted a plan to help poor people, through tax credits, low cost child care and a new website to access city benefits, and he is following through on those measures.

I am a combination of just about every mayor, from Koch to Dinkins Im skipping over Giuliani to Bloomberg to de Blasio, he said. Im a combination of all those guys because I learned from all of them.

Liset Cruz and Nate Schwebercontributed reporting.

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Eric Adams Says He's a Progressive. Democrats Beg to Differ. - The New York Times