* Schilling moves into an ignominious first place…
Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, now has spent $446,000 on mass mailings in the last two years, the highest amount of any member of the House of Representatives.
The number is revealed in the latest disclosure of congressional expenses and means that Rep. Schilling has distributed over 1.1 million flyers in the 17th District since he took office in 2011.
He has surpassed Nevada Republican Congressman Joe Heck to take the number one spot in the House in terms of money spent on mass mailings, according to the expense report for the House that covers the period up to June 30. Rep. Heck has spent $422,000 on mass mailings. […]
Terry Schilling, Rep. Schilling’s campaign manager, said the mailings have led to a doubling in the caseload handled by the Republican’s offices.
Trotting out his campaign manager to defend taxpayer financed mailers in the face of criticism that the mailers are actually campaign pieces was probably not a good idea.
Just sayin…
* From his opponent’s campaign…
“It’s clear that Bobby Schilling’s number one priority is keeping his job in Washington, not creating them here in Illinois. Congressman Schilling chose to spend nearly half a million dollars of taxpayer money to keep his job while voting to send American jobs overseas,” said Allison Jaslow, campaign manager for Cheri Bustos for Congress. “It’s clear where Schilling’s true priorities lie.”
* Meanwhile, Democrat David Gill has a new TV ad called “Dishes.” Rate it…
* And Republican state Senate candidate Barbara Bellar is getting massive YouTube love for some very funny remarks about Obamacare. When I posted this video for subscribers yesterday, it had over 770,000 views. It now has over a million views…
That has to be a record for an Illinois state legislative candidate’s video.
* Other stuff…
* Jackson, Kirk still absent as Congress ends recess
* Surprise bipartisanship: Walsh bill also pushed by Obama: On the chamber floor, Missouri Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson extended congratulations to Walsh, noting “I suspect that he is as surprised as I am that one of his first bills to reach the floor was proposed to Congress by the Obama administration.”
* Tammy Duckworth says she’s not a rubber stamp for Obama: “There’s a lot of work to do and I think that we need to let the Bush tax cuts for people who make more than a million dollars expire, it’s one of the places where I disagree with the President. He would set that number at $250,000. I think that everyone should have their shot at making their first million, but then after that let’s let the Bush tax cuts expire on your second million dollars.” Duckworth said she would work to ease the Obamacare tax burden on small businesses who employ between 50 and 100 workers.
* Massive Database to lay bare organizations’ politicking: The Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org today plans to unveil a database profiling the politicking of more than 20,000 corporations, unions, nonprofits, trade organizations and other special interests. The profiles — several years in the making — will include information about the organizations’ campaign contributions, lobbying and outside spending, as well as the campaign contributions of their employees. Expect it to go live mid-afternoon.
* VIDEO: Plummer: Repeal Progressive Income Tax (Franklin County Town Hall, July 14, 2012)
* VIDEO: Plummer: Flat Tax and “Fair” Tax Both Superior (Franklin County Town Hall, July 14, 2012)
* House Speaker Michael Madigan has already said that he didn’t believe his chamber would override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the gaming bill. Senate President John Cullerton is of a like mind…
Cullerton said he does not think Senate lawmakers could override Quinn’s veto of a major gambling expansion, and that they should focus instead on working with the governor to come up with a package both sides could support.
Quinn vetoed a measure last month that would have legalized five new casinos, including one in Chicago, and allowed slot machines at horse tracks. Quinn said more work needs to be done on oversight issues, arguing that more gambling dollars should be funneled into schools.
“We agree that lawmakers cannot override the governor,” [Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson] said. “As the governor has made clear, we are willing to work on a better bill.”
Cullerton also said he didn’t believe that pension reform would be voted on until after January 1st. No surprise there.
* “A pox on both their houses,” is basically what Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth said when asked about the Chicago teachers strike…
A Democratic congressional candidate with heavy union support says the Chicago teachers strike is the result of “a failure on both sides.”
Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates went on to say that the Chicago Teachers Union could learn from suburban teachers unions and school boards, many of which have successfully hammered out issues without disrupting classes.
“It didn’t have to happen,” Duckworth said. The weeklong Chicago strike “shows that there’s a failure on both sides.”
The former Obama administration member said she is “in an interesting situation” since she has both union backing and a close friendship with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is at odds with union leader Karen Lewis. […]
Duckworth said the Chicago negotiators could learn from suburban schools, citing “instances of managing to avert strikes by real, honest discussion.”
* But Republican incumbent Joe Walsh pounced anyway via press release…
Thursday, Tammy Duckworth spoke to the editorial board at The Daily Herald. The board pressed Duckworth for her thoughts on the Chicago Teachers Union strike. In response, Ms. Duckworth stated that due to her strong backing and close relationship she enjoys from both the teachers union and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the strike put her “in an interesting situation”, in which she did not want to upset either side.
Congressman Joe Walsh later stated, “Ms. Duckworth should be less concerned about which campaign supporter she offends. She should instead worry more about siding with the children and families of Chicago and seeking good policy that will reform these broken schools and put the system on sound financial footing.”
Actually, Joe, she offended both sides.
* Speaking of which, I asked spokesperson for the governor and four legislative leaders to react to the strike earlier this week. I already told you the governor’s response…
We want the parties to negotiate in good faith and reach a resolution quickly that puts the students first.
* From House Republican Leader Tom Cross’ spokesperson…
We hope a fiscally responsible settlement is achieved quickly so that the children can return to school.
From Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesperson…
He’s simply encouraging all parties to stay at the table until a solution can be reached Chicago’s kids can return to the classroom.
Responses from the other two leaders were almost identical.
Almost nobody wants to take sides in this war. Getting dragged into such a huge fight is never a good thing, politically speaking, except when you’re so far removed from the fight that sticking your nose into it will only likely help you back home. From an Illinois Policy Institute press release…
Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon), Senator Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) and Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Belvidere) stand with the Illinois Policy Institute and call for the creation of opportunity scholarships (also referred to as vouchers) and the removal of caps on the number of Illinois charter schools.
“There is no better time than now to provide opportunities to children in Chicago by ensuring that they have an excellent education. Vouchers and charter schools are the opportunities that we can provide today to better their education. In the midst of a Chicago Teachers Union strike, hundreds of thousands of children are being displaced amongst their peers, while those in charter and private schools are advancing daily in their educations,” said Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon).
Senator Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) noted, “The way to improve performance in our public schools is through market-based solutions which expand choices for parents, improving education opportunities for all children while having the added benefit of increasing parental involvement in their children’s education. All children should receive a quality education regardless of the income level of the school district. We can accomplish this by eliminating the cap on charter schools that meet accountability standards. Another important aspect of this solution is in providing parents tuition vouchers, which empowers them by allowing them to ‘vote with their feet’, while incentivizing teachers to constantly strive to improve.”
Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) stated, “Being a parent, legislator and former teacher, I see the need for a strong educational system for our children. Giving parents the ability to choose the best education for their children should be foremost. I support opportunity scholarships in Illinois along with removing the cap on charter schools, and I strongly urge my colleagues to do the same. While the CTU and other suburban teacher strikes are currently depriving an education from hundreds of thousands of children, over 30,000 charter school students are learning today and becoming the leaders of tomorrow.”
Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Belvidere) stated, “If Chicago teachers’ true concern was educating children then they would still be in the classrooms, not in the picket lines. CTU’s decision to fight for huge raises is indicative of them being out of touch with what average Americans are dealing with in these tough economic times. This current situation highlights why we need to empower parents to choose an education for their children, whether that be public, charter or private schools.”
* The Community Media Workshop’s rating of Chicago news sites is now out. Here’s how they established rankings for “news quality”…
* Website covers a range of topics or geographic areas within its area of focus.
* Website’s coverage is thorough.
* Website coverage attempts to reach and cover multiple points of view in storytelling, especially those whose viewpoints are not necessarily heard from.
* News writing is strong and engaging (not scored for aggregators).
* Aggregation practices are fair (with clear links to sources and not excessive reuse of content) (for aggregators only).
* The source of aggregated content is clear and understood (for aggregators only).
* Website is well designed and takes advantage of all the tools of online/multimedia to tell stories.
I took a look through all their categories, and discovered that this site’s rating was the second highest for all websites examined, including the Tribune, Sun-Times, Crain’s, etc. Only the Chicago Reporter scored higher, at 4.8
This is the “authoritative” news blog on Illinois politics by journalist Rich Miller. Reviewers praised the writing for its conversational quality and for inviting comments. Miller engages with readers on the website and on Twitter, and he also uses his personal Facebook page to promote CapitolFax and interact with readers.
* AFSCME’s Henry Bayer told me in an early morning e-mail that he’d been doing some research on a 2003 lawsuit filed against the state’s Department of Corrections and came across this golden nugget…
Much of the litigation focused on plaintiffs’ attempts to depose the Governor. On February 27, 2007, the state defendants sought a protective order to block plaintiffs from deposing Governor Blagojevich on grounds that it would just “disrupt a busy public official who should not be taken away from his work.”
What passed for intelligence from the otherwise unaccomplished student was merely “an uncanny knack for memorization,” which he put on display in political debates as early as college, “declaiming verbatim (Teddy) Roosevelt’s famous ‘Man in the Arena’ speech,” for instance. […]
He famously hid out in his home to avoid coming to the office, though he peppered his aides with such frequent, annoying, needy requests that former deputy governor Bradley Tusk recalls in the book barking at him ““I have to run the government. Stop calling me.”
FBI Director Robert Mueller wanted to hear some of the tech cuts himself. Walking past piles of papers heaped on the desk of Robert Grant, Chicago FBI special agent in charge, in his near West Side office, Mueller settled in. He asked his bodyguards to leave the room. With only Mueller, Grant and top FBI supervisor Pete Cullen left, the tapes rolled. Mueller, who has overseen numerous terrorism and corruption cases at the bureau, listened to the conversations for the first time.
He stopped and looked up. Who was dropping all those f-bombs? he asked.
“The judge would not let him play his tapes… there had tapes in both trials that would have established his innocence. The judge wouldn’t let us play them,” he said.
* Blago’s Advice To Fellow Inmate’s Son: “Don’t Get Into Politics”: “Your dad is a good guy. He is manning up to the mistakes he’s made. He is well liked here and has many friends. Happy birthday, good luck in school and whatever you do — stay out of politics,” signed Rod Blagojevich.
* The DCCC has a new negative ad blasting Republican Rodney Davis and connecting him to two Ryan’s, George and Paul. Rate it…
I accidentally lost access to my YouTube account and created a new one, and now I can’t seem to figure out how to reclaim the “real” one. So, for now, we’ll just have to use direct embedding. Make sure to tell me if this is working on your end. Thanks. [Finally figured it out. Whew.]
* The National Republican Congressional Committee issued this response to reporters…
So it looks like David Gill and his Washington Democrats are even more delusional than one would think. Today, a new TV ad hit the airwaves paid for by Nancy Pelosi’s campaign arm the DCCC. Yeah, so you are thinking is this the type of outside, Wall Street funded group that David Gill said he would never take money from. Bingo! But that’s another story of hypocrisy that we can get into later.
The biggest gaffe of this latest ad from Gill’s Washington attack dogs is the part of the commercial where they start talking Medicare. You would think since they begrudgingly have David Gill as their candidate, who said he supports a plan which makes Medicare no longer exist, they would steer clear of this topic. But in true Washington Democrat style they decide to look past the details.
If you decide to cover the latest false ad from David Gill’s Wall Street and Nancy Pelosi funded attack group, please consider the following quote.
NRCC Statement: “Illinois families need to know that David Gill supports a plan in which Medicare would no longer exist, Americans would be forced into government run healthcare and taxes would be raised to pay for it all. David Gill is looking out for his own radical interests over Illinois families.” – NRCC Spokeswoman Katie Prill
While Davis has told me in the past that he likes “a lot of things that have been proposed in Washington, the Ryan budget included,” he’s also made it clear he wasn’t talking about all specifics of that plan.
In a meeting I had with Davis last week, I asked about the Medicare part of the proposal, which seems to be a political flashpoint. After the GOP-dominated House passed the plan in March, a New York Times article reported that in Ryan’s budget, Medicare would be turned into a subsidized set of private insurance plans, with the option of buying into the existing fee-for-service program.
“The annual growth of those subsidies would be capped just above economic growth, well below the current health-care inflation rate,” the story says.
“I have never said that I support the Ryan budget in its entirety at all,” Davis said, adding that it has “some laudable goals that I hope … when I’m elected to be able to address.”
“Medicare right now is going to go broke, so what we have to do is find some ways to ensure that our overall health-care delivery system is more cost-effective for all Americans.”
When asked if he liked the Medicare part of the Ryan plan, Davis said, “I’m not committing to any part of any plan that’s out there. I’m not going to box myself into a corner and get lumped into what my opponent’s trying to do, which is to demonize me by associating me with somebody who they think is going to be a political issue.”
He added, “I can’t wait to work with Paul Ryan and I can’t wait to work with NANCY PELOSI and all the others who are going to have a say in how we actually preserve and protect Medicare as we know it, because right now, those that have been there haven’t done a good job of that.”
* Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan is being used by Democrats all over the country. The DCCC recently called Ryan a “down-ballot disaster” for the GOP…
“The reason for the momentum is very simple,” said Israel at a Thursday morning briefing with reporters in Washington. “Paul Ryan has become a down-ballot disaster for Republicans across the country.”
He argued that the Ryan pick, as well as Missouri GOP Senate nominee Todd Akin’s controversial comments about “legitimate” rape and the GOP congressmen swimming in the Sea of Galilee, had put a breeze at the Democrats’ backs. He cited several generic ballot polls that were close at the start of August in which the Democrats have now opened up leads.
Israel said the Ryan pick “gave us the debate we wanted. We’ve been spending most of the cycle talking about Medicare versus millionaires, and Mitt Romney gave us a bullhorn.”
“Our candidates across the country grabbed hold of that nationalized debate and have vocalized that debate in their own districts,” he added.
* The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has a new poll. The most interesting result is Gov. Pat Quinn’s approval ratings, which, according to this poll at least, are trending up…
Now I would like for you to tell me how Governor Pat Quinn is doing his job. Do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job Governor Quinn is doing?
There are 42.2 percent who approve of Quinn’s performance, while 49.1 percent disapprove. A year ago, only 35.5 percent approved and 56.4 percent disapproved, according to a poll taken in October, 2011 by the Institute. Quinn’s approval rating is highest in the Chicago suburbs and lowest downstate.
“The big surprise in this poll is that Gov. Quinn’s popularity is actually getting better,” said David Yepsen, director of the Institute. “The state’s problems are headline news just about every day and people aren’t in a good mood about the state but they do feel better about the way Quinn is handling his job.”
“Still, his poll numbers remain underwater because more people disapprove of the job he’s doing than approve of it,” Yepsen said.
In the city of Chicago, 47.5 percent approve of the job he’s doing while 37.9 percent disapprove. In the suburbs, 50.3 percent approve and 43.7 percent disapprove while downstate, only 25.5 percent approve and 65.1 percent disapprove.
A lot more people disapproved of Quinn’s job performance than approved of it right up until the end of the 2010 election. He won anyway. I think it’s a template for Obama in the swing states. What does that mean? Paint your opponent as an untrustworthy, extreme right-winger.
And those aren’t great city numbers for Quinn, by the way. I think the suburbs are a bit high and Downstate is probably on the mark.
Also in 2011, 74.5 percent said the state was headed in the wrong direction and only 14.9 percent said it was headed in the right direction. Today, 69.9 percent say it’s going in the wrong direction and 19.6 percent say it’s going in the right direction.
So, a little bit of progress, but not nearly enough.
• President Obama is supported for re-election by 47.1 percent of registered voters. Romney captures 33.8 percent. There are 16 percent undecided and 3.1 percent for someone else.
While that 13-point lead is a comfortable margin for the president and makes it likely Illinois is a safe state for him, that margin is less than the 24.9 percentage-point margin by which he won when he beat John McCain, 61.8 percent to 36.9 percent, in the state four years ago. It is also noteworthy that Obama’s support in Illinois has dropped below 50 percent.
• Key to President Obama’s lead may be his positive job approval ratings (55.6 percent approve either strongly or somewhat) and favorability ratings (53.7 percent view him either very or somewhat favorably). By contrast, not quite four in ten (38.7 percent) of respondents view Gov. Romney very or somewhat favorably.
The Chicago teachers strike enters its fifth day as “number crunching” apparently delayed a deal that both sides had hoped would be reached on Thursday.
Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union began the day saying they were close to a deal that could return teachers and students to the classroom on Monday, but officials left marathon negotiations early today saying they were still ironing out details.
CPS Board President David Vitale, who emerged from talks around 12:45 a.m., said the two sides had “another good day” of work and there had been progress. The two were moving past work on evaluations and focusing on other key issue, the recall of laid-off teachers, he said.
“We’ve got some number crunching to do overnight and we’re going to be back here tomorrow and see if we can’t finish this up,” Vitale said.
Also incredibly sticky is the issue of a new teacher evaluation system, which eventually puts more weight on student growth than the 30 percent required by a new state law.
“The system they are using to evaluate people is based on an extremely complicated, esoteric formula to measure student growth — so complicated I think everybody on the CPS team will admit they don’t understand it,” CTU attorney Robert Bloch said. “Experts developed it but not educators.”
Of special concern is that 70 percent of CPS teachers do not teach a tested subject, yet up to 20 percent of their evaluation would be based on schoolwide test results, Bloch said.
Another at least 10 percent would be based on student growth on district-written “performance’’ tasks being used for the first time this school year.
In addition, the complicated algorithms used to determine student growth — called “value-added” — are being debated nationwide.
“The problem is, how do you hold teachers accountable for improvement when so many things that are used to evaluate them are outside their control or very complicated?’’ Bloch said.
“The science behind the student growth aspects of testing is untested and uncertain, and you’re going to risk a teacher’s career based on some guy in a back room writing algorithms or students who are not tested in the subject you’re teaching?
A good friend e-mailed me after I published a poll in my “Capitol Fax” newsletter Thursday which revealed that 55.5 percent of Chicagoans approved of the Chicago teachers strike.
My friend, a widely known pundit, wanted to tell me that he didn’t believe the poll, which was conducted by We Ask America.
After some back and forth about what the pollster could’ve or should’ve asked, I finally told him that as an older, white person with no kids in the public school system, he’s not supposed to support the strike.
The poll, taken after three full days of no school, found that a 52 percent majority of whites disapprove of the strike. Whites were the only ethnic group that expressed a majority disapproval of the strike.
African Americans approved 63-32 and Latino support was even higher at 65-32.
A majority of parents with kids in private schools opposed the strike, 52 percent to 43 percent, while parents with public school kids approved of the strike 66-31.
And senior citizens narrowly disapproved of the strike 47 percent to 46.8 percent, while all other age groups backed it. The older the person was, the less he or she supported the strike.
Indeed, a whopping 65 percent of older white males with no kids in public schools opposed the strike.
If you’ve been watching the teachers strike unfold on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, you’ve seen that a whole lot of striking teachers are bitter about their treatment by the media.
“People Who Can’t Teach, Write About Teachers,” is my favorite Tweet.
Like my pundit friend, most of the media types fall into the category of older white folks without kids in Chicago’s public schools.
Whites who didn’t flee the city after the schools were desegrated fled the schools. Less than 9 percent of Chicago public school kids are white. And few of those kids are not in charter or other specialized schools. The “real” schools, as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis called them a few days ago, have long since been abandoned by white folks.
With overwhelming poverty in black and Latino neighborhoods, parents simply can’t afford to send their kids to private schools. A whopping 87 percent of all public school students come from low-income families, says the school system.
According to the latest U.S. Census numbers for 2011, almost 843,000 Illinoisans lived in “extreme poverty,” which is defined as half the federal poverty line — about $18,000 for a family of three.
Whoa.
Can you imagine a family of three living on less than $9,000 a year? $173 a week?
The schools are all they have, and the teachers are some of the few decent role models their kids will ever see. Of course they’re siding with the strikers.
Rahm Emanuel used his close ties to President Barack Obama to win the 2011 mayor’s race with an overwhelming number of black votes. But his win was bankrolled by billionaires who are out to break, or at least hobble, the Chicago Teachers Union.
They are the very same people who pushed hard for a reform law in Springfield last year that was mainly aimed at stopping a CTU strike. Obviously, the new law didn’t work.
As an older white male who sends his kids to private school, Mayor Emanuel belongs to pretty much the same subset as my pundit friend.
Yet, Emanuel owes his job to support from black voters.
Somehow, the mayor has to improve the schools while alienating neither his political base nor his fund-raising base.
If he can do all that, my hat’s off to the man.
* On to the live coverage. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just watch..
* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady touted Congressman Aaron Schock for governor the other day…
Brady gave strong hints to Congressman Aaron Schock running for governor in 2014. “
I think Aaron impressed a lot of people down there both in the media world and delegates, the activists. Very serious guy, very good, gave one of I thought one of the best if not the best speech to the delegation. Tell you what, he would be a tough guy for Pat Quinn to beat. He’s young, he’s smart, he’s energetic, raised a lot of money, ” Brady said.
He said he can’t comment on if he’s had a discussion with Schock about running because that is up to Schock to discuss publicly. Brady believes Schock would help mobilize the young voters.
An Illinois congressman eying a potential 2014 run for governor drew criticism Wednesday from a left-leaning, campaign-finance watchdog for allegedly improperly soliciting a donation and using campaign funds for personal use.
U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock was one of two Illinois lawmakers targeted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in its “Most Corrupt Members of Congress” report, which also took aim at Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL). Thirteen Republicans and seven Democrats made the group’s list.
In zinging Schock with a “dishonorable mention” in its list, CREW accused him of improperly soliciting a donation to a super PAC and using his political funds for a stay at a five-star hotel in Greece and for home exercise DVDs.
“Rep. Schock’s naïve disregard for campaign finance regulations reflects discreditably on the office he holds,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a prepared statement. “The only reason he’s been able to avoid accountability is the sheer ineptitude of the Federal Election Commission.”
A call and email to Schock’s spokesman Wednesday was not returned.
CREW cited a report by Roll Call that alleged Schock asked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) to contribute $25,000 to an anti-incumbent super PAC called the Campaign for Primary Accountability to help U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) oust 10-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) in last March’s primary.
Federal election law permits $5,000 contributions on such requests.
The group also slammed Schock for billing his campaign for $154,466 in questionable expenditures in 2008 and 2010, including a stay at a five-star luxury hotel in Greece and a series of P90X workout DVDs.
“Rep. Schock needs to work less on his abs and more on following the law,” Sloan said.
Ouch.
* And here’s what the Club For Growth’s Andy Roth has to say about Schock…
He’s a very liberal Republican. The reason he decided to go with Kinzinger is because they are two peas out of the same pod. Schock on our scorecard only got a 44%, which is a flunking grade for anybody. Unfortunately, Schock is a young guy in his early 30s as is Kinzinger but they are trying to portray themselves as the next generation of Republicans in Illinois. Awful way to reenergize the GOP.
With regard to the FEC complaint against him, Schock admitted to his crime in the press. He said he would support Kinzinger against Manzullo and he wanted Cantor’s help so he went to Cantor and said Cantor please give $25,000 to the Campaign for Primary Accountability and by doing that he broke the law. As a lawmaker, you cannot solicit for more than $5,000.
Clearly, they [Cantor and Schock] are targeting conservatives because they have impeded leadership’s ability to pass large spending bills with liberal Democrats. We saw that with the debt deal last year and earlier this year with the highway bill. We will see it again this year with the farm bill.
* The Question: Should Aaron Schock run for governor? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
I would also ask that Congressman Schock and all other interested parties to please refrain from e-mailing their supporters and asking them to vote in this poll. Thanks.
Mary Callisen had just wrapped up her Wednesday lunch shift at the Bringer Inn in Morton Grove when the waitress walked to a back room, perched on a stool and slipped $20 into a blinking video gambling machine.
“This is going to eat my money real fast,” Callisen joked midway through a hand of electronic poker. “But it’s fun.”
The neighborhood tavern became the first in Illinois to offer legalized video gambling when state regulators brought its five machines online late last week as part of a test to make sure a centralized computer system is working correctly before a statewide rollout that’s been more than three years in the making.
Video gambling is expected to go live at bars, restaurants, truck stops and fraternal organizations in a matter of weeks, according to an Illinois Gaming Board spokesman.
“We are in the preliminary phase now,” said spokesman Gene O’Shea, who added that more testing sites will come online in the coming days. As of Wednesday, machines were making legal payouts at two locations — Bringer Inn and Opsahl’s Tavern in Rockford.
A quirk in Illinois traffic laws has complicated Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to pepper the city with speed cameras and slowed down bidding on a multimillion-dollar system scheduled to begin issuing $100 tickets by early next year.
The problem: a 38-year-old opinion by the Illinois attorney general that says children must be “visibly present” before school zone speed limits can be enforced.
What that means is those robotic safety-zone cameras must not only capture high-definition images of speeding cars and their license plates, they also must seek out and photograph a child as much as a football field’s distance away — preferably in the same shot.
The legal technicality was not addressed when Emanuel persuaded state lawmakers and Chicago aldermen to quickly give City Hall authority to tag speeders near schools and parks in new safety zones that could cover half the city. The mayor argued that a crisis of pedestrian accidents required a quick response, though a Tribune analysis raised doubts about his claims.
Now the bidding process has revealed the complication, which presents both technological and legal issues.
The private firm that runs the Illinois Lottery should not have to pay roughly $25 million in potential penalties for failing to meet profit targets in its state contract, according to an independent mediator.
Two years ago Northstar Lottery Group LLC won an intense bidding war to run the multibillion-dollar lottery by promising substantially higher profits than its competitor did. It was the first contract of its kind in the nation, now being emulated by Indiana and other states to boost performance.
Though the lottery’s profits improved last year, the Chicago-based firm fell at least $50 million short of projections, triggering a penalty equal to half the difference. Under its private management agreement (PMA) with the state, the firm gets a bonus if it exceeds the profit target, on top of other payments and incentives.
But after months of deliberations, an independent mediator has tentatively decided that “certain actions by the state” entitled Northstar to adjust its profit targets down by $55.6 million in the year ended June 30, substantially reducing or perhaps eliminating any penalties it may owe. The mediator also said Northstar could reduce this year’s profit target by $20.2 million.
This was a preliminary ruling and the state is pressing hard to get the mediator to change his mind. If not, court action is likely.
*** UPDATE *** From Durbin spokesman Max Gleischman…
“If I had to chase down every blind rumor about Senator Durbin’s future plans, I’d be able to beat Paul Ryan in a marathon.”
He adds…
Senator Durbin said last week at the DNC that he’s planning to run for reelection - Durbin: “I’m planning to run for re-election but I’ll make my final decision next year. I love this business and I love this state and I’ll match my schedule with any elected official in our state. I cover it from one end to the other every time I get home. I draw energy from it.”
A top Dem source tells Sneed that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who has held his post for almost two decades, may be eyeing a Cabinet post as U.S. transportation or labor secretary if President Barack Obama is re-elected.
* I’ve asked the Durbin folks for a comment. But the last time Sneed wrote that Durbin might not run again, back in June, Durbin’s office sent me this…
Rich – Senator Durbin has answered this question a number of times in the last few months and his answer hasn’t changed:
Press Conference – 1.3.12: “My political future? I am exactly halfway through my term. So I have three years before I would be standing for reelection. I have not made any decision on this. If you ask me today, I’d say I’m announcing for reelection. But, at some point I will sit down with my highest counsel of advisors in my life, which would be my wife, and we will make a decision. But I enjoy the job and hope to continue doing it for a long, long time.”
Chicago Tonight – 10.10.11:
Q: Got to talk a little politics here. So, Senator Durbin, I’ve been hearing that in 2014, you’re not going to run again.
Durbin: Well, that’s just plain wrong.
Q: Is it?
Durbin: Where have you been hearing that Carol?
Q: You know, I’ll go back to those people and tell them that.
We’re two-and-half years away from the 2014 election and have five months left in the current campaign. One election at a time.
What I’m guessing Rahm is betting on the thing that will resolve this, the power of the Chicago parents association. Which I’m guessing is supremely unhappy day three of their schoolchildren, I think they’re getting baby sat four hours a day and then let out into the, you know, to … where.
This is why I hate cable TV “news” shows. Even prestigious people from top notch publications way too often make themselves look like idiots when they blather on topics they know nothing about.
* As subscribers already know, I commissioned a poll by We Ask America of 1,344 voting Chicago households yesterday. I’m not going to get into too many details, because it’s subscriber-only.
But the poll asked parents who have children attending Chicago public school whether they approved or disapproved of the strike. 66 percent of those parents approved of the CTU strike. Just 31 percent disapproved.
The majority of folks who opposed the strike were either white or had kids in private school.
Parents and the community almost always rally around school teachers at the beginning of a strike, almost no matter where it is. People have strong connections to their teachers, and they tend to back the teachers at the start of job actions. That wears off as strikes wear on, but it should be no surprise that parents (and the Chicago public at large, for that matter) currently support the strike.
* The CTU has sent out a press release about the poll…
According to Capitol Fax, an influential political report that covers state politics, “Chicago teachers have a strong majority of Chicagoans behind them, according to a new poll. Also, an overwhelming majority of Chicago parents with public school students support the strike, the poll found. And strong pluralities blame Mayor Rahm Emanuel.”
Conducted by We Ask America, the poll of 1,344 voting Chicago households asked, “In general, do you approve or disapprove of the Chicago Teachers Union’s decision to go on strike?” 55.5 percent said they approved and 40 percent disapproved. Another 4 percent had no opinion. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent,” according to Rich Miller, the report’s publisher.
Miller also noted:
(CTU) support jumped to 66 percent among parents of public school children. Less than a third of those parents, 31 percent, disapproved of the strike, according to the poll. Among people with no school-age children, 51 percent approved of the job action, while 44 percent disapproved.
A very strong 63 percent of African-Americans polled approved of the strike, while 65 percent of Latinos expressed approval. Women and men almost equally approved of the strike - 55 percent of women and 56 percent of men.
Asked who they thought was “most to blame” for the strike, just over 34 percent pointed their finger at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, while 29 percent blamed the Chicago Teachers Union and 19 percent blamed the school board. In other words, a solid majority blames management, one way or the other.
But almost a majority, 48 percent, of Latinos blamed Mayor Emanuel, as did 33 percent of African-Americans, 42 percent of parents of public school children and 40 percent of parents of school-age children. All age brackets except those aged 55-64 blamed Emanuel the most, with 50 percent of 18-24 year olds pointing their finger at hizzoner, as well as 41 percent of 35-44 year olds.
* AFSCME sent out this press release Tuesday night…
AFSCME MEMBERS TO PICKET GOV. QUINN SPEECH IN SPRINGFIELD
Governor scheduled to address Digital Government Summit at Crowne Plaza Hotel
Frontline state employees represented by AFSCME Council 31 will demonstrate at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 12) outside the Crowne Plaza Springfield (3000 South Dirksen Pkwy.) where Governor Pat Quinn is scheduled to address the Illinois Digital Government Summit.
Union members will form a “Pat Quinn Truth Squad” to picket and leaflet against the governor’s false claims about public employee pensions, his push for nearly 4,000 layoffs and his efforts to weaken workers’ right to collective bargaining.
* But the governor was a no-show, and AFSCME claimed it had scared him off…
The state’s largest employee union said Wednesday that Gov. Pat Quinn canceled a speech after learning rank-and-file workers would be protesting outside the event.
A spokeswoman for the governor, however, said the claim by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was “not true” because the governor had taken the appearance off his schedule two weeks ago.
Wednesday’s disagreement was just the latest wrinkle in the escalating standoff between the union and the Chicago Democrat. The two have locked horns over the governor’s plan to cancel raises, close facilities and lay off thousands of workers.
In August, AFSCME protesters dominated Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair, drowning out a welcoming speech by the governor and surrounding him as he ate a pork chop sandwich.
“We were told two weeks ago that he had a conflict and surely wouldn’t be able to speak,” said Jack Mortimer of Government Technology Magazine, which organized the summit. “But our program guide had already gone to print.”
The program guide listed Quinn as delivering opening remarks first thing Wednesday morning as the conference got under way.
However, that’s not where AFSCME learned that Quinn was scheduled to speak. Jeff Bigelow, regional director for AFSCME Council 31, said the union learned of Quinn’s appearance from the web site devoted to the summit. As of Wednesday morning, the site still listed Quinn as giving opening remarks beginning at 8:45 a.m.
“He’s been advertised as showing up there for weeks and weeks,” Bigelow said. “It’s clear to me, from talking to the person who was running the show there, that they knew he was scheduled to give opening remarks and the fact that they called and said they were not doing it at seven (Tuesday night) shows there was a scheduling.”
Or hopeful thinking on his part, Mortimer said.
“We kept him on the web site in hopes that maybe a miracle would happen and his schedule would change, but it didn’t,” Mortimer said. “I didn’t find that for sure until (Tuesday night). I said is there any hope and they said ‘Nope. It’s still the same situation.’”
* Here’s the leaflet that about 50 AFSCME protesters distributed outside the event. Click the pic for a larger pdf image…
*** UPDATE 1 *** There’s a huge union rally planned for Saturday, so maybe that played into it a bit?…
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said Thursday that it would be “highly unlikely” that students will return to school Friday but was more hopeful for Monday.
“I’m praying, praying, praying. I’m on my knees for that,” Lewis said about students’ return to school Monday.
Casting doubt on a return to school for students by Friday, Lewis questioned if there was enough time to go through all the details that both sides still need to address Thursday and then get it to the union’s House of Delegates for the necessary vote to end the strike.
As negotiations began this morning between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools, the two sides said they were still confident of reaching an agreement today but were divided on how soon classes can resume.
On a scale of 1-10, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said “I’m a 9″ on a deal being reached today. But she said classes may not resume until Monday because the union’s House of Delegates would have to approve ending the strike.
“We’re hoping we can tighten up some of the things we talked about yesterday. . .and get this thing done,” Lewis told reporters.
Two sides in the battle to end a Chicago teachers strike emerged from Wednesday night talks hopeful that students might be back in school Friday.
CTU President Karen Lewis said her message to parents was “for sure, plan for something for your children for [Thursday]. Let’s hope for Friday.’’
School Board President David Vitale agreed. He called the talks “very productive” and said “we’ll hope for Friday.”
After a long day of talks that ended around 11:30 p.m., Lewis said the system’s offer on teacher evaluations, a key stumbling block, had improved to the point that “I’m smiling. I’m very happy.’’
Although she was not ready to check it off her list, “it’s a lot better,’’ Lewis said.
The progress was reported after Chicago Public Schools officials presented a revised contract proposal to the union on Tuesday and it was reviewed and discussed during talks Wednesday.
Under the proposal, teacher raises would be structured differently, as requested by the union; evaluations of tenured teachers during the first year could not result in dismissal; later evaluations could be appealed; and health insurance rates would hold steady if the union agreed to take part in a wellness program.
The new proposal also removes the district’s ability to rescind raises because of an economic crisis. The board stripped teachers of a 4 percent raise last year, sparking union distrust of the mayor.
The issues of recall and how to evaluate teachers have been cited as crucial in recent days, while there has been little if any debate over a proposed salary boost that would average 16 percent over four years.
Interesting.
* On to the live coverage. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just watch..
