LANSING, MI — Two Michigan lawmakers plead guilty to crimes, police raided the home of staff connected to a former lawmaker under investigation and indoor mask recommendations ended this week.
The final county-wide school-masking order was lifted this week. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the end of a blockade protest that shut down trade across the Canadian border. The Legislature advanced key bills to reduce taxes.
Keep reading to learn what happened this week in Michigan politics:
Speaker of the House Rep. Lee Chatfield pictured at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, April 25, 2019.Neil Blake | MLive.com
Michigan State Police searched the home of two top staff members for former House Speaker Lee Chatfield as part of an ongoing investigation in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office.
A criminal complaint was filed against Chatfield by his sister-in-law, who alleged he sexually assaulted her over the course of more than a decade, starting when she was 15. Rebekah Chatfield, now 27, alleges Chatfield took advantage of her at a Northern Michigan church and school operated by the Chatfield family, leading to years of unwanted sexual contact.
Attorney Jamie White has also alleged Chatfield engaged in unspecified financial improprieties during his time as speaker.
Chatfield has denied the allegations through his attorney, claiming they were adults participating in a consensual affair. No charges have been filed as of Feb. 18.
State police searched the home of Rob and Anne Minard, who served as Chatfield’s chief of staff and director of external affairs. No charges were filed against either of them.
Chatfield’s wife came to his defense in a lengthy statement refuting the assault allegations.
State Rep. Jewell Jones (left) sits next to his attorney Byron Nolen during a Dec. 10 hearing at a Livingston County courtroom.
State Rep. Jewell Jones, D-Inkster, ended a 10-month legal battle Wednesday, pleading guilty to drunken driving and other crimes after previously rejecting a plea agreement.
Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of resisting and obstructing police, one count of operating while intoxicated, one count of possession of a weapon while intoxicating, one count of reckless driving and attempted escape while awaiting trial for a misdemeanor. The deal allows felony charges to disappear from Jones’ record if the 26-year-old completes a youthful sentencing program.
The escape charge came after Jones was jailed for violating bond conditions. Jones admitted to smuggling a handcuff key taped to the bottom of his foot into the jail.
Jones’ attorney Byron Nolen called a similar plea deal “disingenuous” when it was originally offered but told MLive he’s worked to convince Jones that going to trial is a bad idea. Jones declined to say what changed his mind when contacted by MLive.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 17. The Insker Democrat has no plans to leave office.
Sen. John Bizon, R-Battle Creek
State Sen. John Bizon, R-Battle Creek, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery after a nurse practitioner accused him of inappropriately touching her in August 2021.
A police report states Bizon grabbed the nurse by the waist, pulled her into his body and squeezed her hip. The nurse practitioner told police she was so shocked by the incident, she did not tell him to stop when he grabbed her.
Another health care worker at the Marshall facility who took the senator’s vitals during the same visit told police Bizon grabbed her the arm and said “My blood pressure is up because she was in the room,” according to the police report.
You’re no longer advised to wear a face mask indoors.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services withdrew a November 2021 public health advisory recommending all people wear a face mask indoors in public settings, regardless of vaccination status. The recommendation was issued during a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, acting chief medical executive, said metrics have improved “across the board” since then. Now the health department is leaving it up to people to assess their own risk and to wear masks “when it makes sense.”
Masks are still recommended for isolation and quarantine periods, and in congregate settings like long-term care facilities, health care settings, correctional facilities and shelters. Mask requirements can still be put in place by local health departments, schools, businesses and event organizers.
The final county-wide school-masking order was lifted this week. Wayne County, Michigan’s most-populated county, ended an emergency health order issued in August 2021. The decision came swiftly after MDHHS expired the indoor masking advisory.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox speaks during the “Keep America Great Rally” at 215 Central Ave., Holland, Mich., on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Vice President Mike Pence was headlining the event to stump for President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Cory Morse | MLive.com
Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox was called to testify before a U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot about her knowledge of the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn the state’s election results.
A subpoena was issued Tuesday for Cox, who left her position with the state GOP in early 2021, calling her to attend a deposition about efforts to overturn Michigan’s election results. Investigators are looking into a plan to replace Democratic electors who cast Michigan’s Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden with a false slate of “alternate” Republican electors.
The committee expressed interest in a Dec. 2, 2020, video conference call between Cox, Trump’s former campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Michigan Republican activists. Giuliani encouraged the audience to push lawmakers to overturn the results and claimed that casting Michigan’s Electoral College votes for Biden is “a criminal act.”
Cox is the third Michigan Republican subpoenaed by the committee. Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden and Marya Rodriguez were called to testify about their signing of false elector certificates. Cox was replaced as party chair after losing a bid for re-election in 2021.
Cox, in a scathing written statement, said she’s been cooperative with investigators and has nothing to hide but felt blindsided by the subpoena.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican majority in the Legislature are hoping to use the state’s historic surplus to put more money in the pocket of Michiganders.
The state currently has billions of extra dollars at its disposal due to federal pandemic and infrastructure aid, as well as a surplus in state revenue. Although the bonus bucks won’t last forever, state officials say the money can help fund major one-time investments and free up space for targeted tax credits or cuts.
What ultimately shakes out remains to be seen. There’s some shared interest in lowering taxes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but legislative Republicans will likely push for broader changes that could cut into the money available for Whitmer’s ambitious $74.1 billion budget plan.
Click the link to learn more about 5 possible options on the table.
FILE – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a news conference in Lansing, Mich., Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, are places with Republicans in control of state legislatures with Democratic-held governorships are on the ballot in the fall. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)AP
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told Michigan business leaders she will protect the state’s economic interests and challenge protests that illegally disrupt the flow of goods.
The governor appeared virtually for a Detroit Regional Chamber forum focused on her 2022-23 budget proposal when she was asked to comment on the impact of a seven-day blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Michigan and Canada. The international trade route was reopened to traffic Monday after a court ordered the removal of protesters opposed to Canadian vaccine mandates.
“We have to make sure that people understand if you’re going to do something illegal and create damage in the economy we won’t let it stand, no matter what the cause or what the substance of the debate is,” Whitmer said. “If you’re going to unlawfully block international trade, it will not stand.”
The Ambassador Bridge carries roughly 30% of the annual trade between Michigan and Canada and is a key artery for the manufacturing industry. Representatives of nearly every major automotive company asked a Canadian judge to clear protesters from Windsor.
The Michigan Supreme Court batted down a request from Detroit officials to reconsider the dismissal of their challenge to Michigan’s new political district maps.
On Friday, attorneys for the Detroit Caucus asked the court to grant a second hearing for an opportunity to provide additional evidence after the court dismissed their claim that the new maps’ lack of majority-minority districts impeded Black voters’ ability to elect their preferred candidates in a 4-3 opinion.
The speedy dismissal of the challenge amounted to the court acting “in violation of its own procedural rules on a case that will impact the fundamental rights of Black voters,” that motion claimed, adding that the majority “has been misled into believing that Plaintiffs are unwilling or unable to substantiate their well-pled claims.”
In a brief one-page ruling issued Wednesday, the court denied the request to revisit the case “because we are not persuaded that reconsideration of our previous order is warranted.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel joins students and lawmakers calling for the advancement of gun safety measures in Michigan.
End Gun Violence Michigan is considering the possibility of passing gun reforms through a citizen-led ballot initiative after bills failed to move forward in the Republican-majority Legislature.
The group is targeting 2024 for the ballot proposal, which will likely mirror Democrat-supported bills introduced after the fatal shooting at Oxford High School. Reina St. Juliana, the older sister of a student killed shooting, spoke during the press conference.
“Why does a 15-year-old have access to a weapon that can cause so much harm?” St. Juliana said. “As many know, it’s one of many tragic needless incidents. So why are we not trying harder to stop it?”
The group includes the Michigan chapter of the national March for Our Lives organization, the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity, and Oakland Forward and Interfaith Action of Southwest Michigan.
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