Dillard numbers
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We discussed this quote from Sen. Kirk Dillard yesterday…
To improve education, Dillard said he would prevent Chicago schools from taking about $1 billion they currently take away from downstate schools.
“A child who lives in poverty in downstate should be equal to one in Chicago,” he said.
Dillard was speaking to the Ford County Republicans when he made those comments. Ford County’s population at the last Census was 14,081.
During the 2012-2013 school year, Chicago Public Schools administrators identified 18,669 CPS students as homeless.
* Meanwhile, David Ormsby has a post about Dillard’s campaign reporting $169,300 in contributions last night…
The lion’s share came in three checks of $52,600 each. The contributors were: Illinois Operating Engineers Local 150, Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, and the Illinois Lunch Pail Republicans PAC.
The $169,300 brings Dillard’s total fundraising from large contributions to $207,300 for the third quarter. Without that large infusion of cash before the third quarter fundraising ends in less than three weeks, Dillard’s campaign would have looked dead-in-the-water by the time campaign finance reporting arrived on October 15.
But…
On September 6, the Lunch Pail reported a $52,600 contribution from the Washington, D.C.-based Engineers Political Education Committee PAC. And three-days later the Pail, which has raised or donated no other money recently, funneled the same amount to Dillard
It looks like the Engineers’ money got laundered.
The Lunchpail Repubicans PAC is all but an arm of Local 150, which has a lot of members involved in road and bridge construction. So maybe we now know why Dillard said recently that he preferred a second gas tax to gaming expansion.
- too obvious - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:24 am:
“Dillard said recently that he preferred a second gas tax to gaming expansion.”
Problem is he’s repeatedly voted for gambling expansion, even as he now tells gullible conservatives he’s against gambling expansion.
Kirk Dillard says a lot things. Trying to figure out what part might be even remotely true is the problem.
- JC - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:27 am:
18,669 is a pretty alarming number. However, Dillard is operating in that arena with tunnel vision. Yes, the way to make Education better is to put money toward Education–as in learning/materials/personnel that teach. Not the massive number of other buckets that come with it. Since schools have been charged with being parents and homes and medical service providers then they have to have the funding to operate that way.
- walkinfool - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:38 am:
Not a good sign.
Looks like Dillard’s going to have to widen his appeal. Big contributors all from the highway and bridge construction world? Where’s the “corporate” money? Where’s the support from other GOP advocacy groups?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:45 am:
I’d like to hear Dillard explain exactly what he’s talking about with this “billion dollars” that Chicago schools are allegedly robbing from Downstate.
A billion is a big number. Should be pretty easy to break down.
In regards to the Operating Engineers, are they still tight with the NRA.
And didn’t they learn a lesson from bankrolling Mitch Daniels? How’d that work out?
- too obvious - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:46 am:
How is Dillard paying for NoRauner dot com?
- Snucka - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:50 am:
He also has about $250,000 still in his Senate campaign fund. Since his seat is on the ballot next year, I assume a good chunk of that is available to be transferred to Dillard for Governor at some point.
- Nonplussed - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 9:56 am:
Dillard is going to be come Gov. by running against Chicago. A tried and true GOP formula for failure.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:00 am:
Sen. Dillard,
You are a candidate for governor of Illinois…again.
You have to guess that statements made, even in Ford County, even speaking to the Ford County Republicans, were going to be heard, right?
I just don’t understand …it’s like your campaign can not help itself to veer right and skew to a downstate bend …but at such a HIGH cost to Cook, the Collars, and Chicago.
And…
If you do win, walking back some of these statements will be difficult, and reinforcing these statements could be fatal in a General Election run.
Counties. Don’t Vote.
You, personally, worked for Edgar and Thompson. The times have not changed so much that thinking Chicago/Cook and the Collars are something to dismiss.
You need “balance” in your message.
You need temperence in your message.
Sen. Dillard, you need inclusion in your message.
At this rate, are you going to ask for Chicago to be its own state … until April of 2014, when you can tact back to sensible statements?
This is the road you are on, and its not hyperbole. You are about 2 bad responses away from saying “Chicago bad, Downstate good”…
Geez Louise, stop. Just stop. Think. At what point do any of us take your credentials (that we all know by heart by now) and mock them, because maybe …that Edgar Chief of Staff… and that Thompson protege would look at “Kirk Dillard 2014″ and just shake his head and say… “What?”
Think.
Just stop … and think.
- Chris - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:05 am:
“I’d like to hear Dillard explain exactly what he’s talking about with this “billion dollars” that Chicago schools are allegedly robbing from Downstate.”
And can he also talk about the “billion dollars” that downstate “robs” from Chicago by having the state pay for their teachers’ pensions?
It’d be great if we could push reset on the entire calculus of state funding related to school districts, but a grand bargain there would make the pension issue look easy.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:06 am:
Local 150 - wasn’t that Hogan’s and Dugan’s Local. I don’t want to go all Kass here, but it sounds like they want to bring back the Combine - figuratively and literally (or at least the road equipment).
- Whatever - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:07 am:
While the cash infusion is good news for Dillard, it will be interesting to see his expenditures. As his last campaign for Governor illustrated, Dillard has a habit of overspending on consultants and other expenses that drain his resources.
- An observation - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:08 am:
Didn’t Tom DeLay get indicted for similar campaign cash washing?
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:10 am:
This is shaping up to be a great battle of traditional infrastructure Republicans versus the reflexive anti-government wing best symbolized by the Tea Party. Senator Dillard is the representative of the infrastructure wing and Mr. Rauner is the anti-government wing. Where will middle-class Republican primary voters end up? I suspect Dillard’s message will resonate more as there is a more practical, pragmatic streak to IL GOP voters than in, say, southern states. The challenge is that the big money checks written by multi-millionaires are driven by the anti-government message since those donors are so disconnected from the middle class that they can afford to denigrate unions, wage increases and infrastructure.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:13 am:
DJ, if Rauner can sell himself as anti-government Tea Party, then you truly can fool some of the people all of the time.
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:16 am:
The irony is thick, wordslinger.
- Bill White - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:16 am:
@Dan Johnson
=== Where will middle-class Republican primary voters end up? ===
It depends on whether they fall for the Bruce Rauner / Ty Fahner ploy best described by this story:
Rauner & Fahner sit down at a table with a taxpayer and public employees union rep. A plate with 12 cookies is on the table.
Bruce & Ty swipe 11 cookies and say “Management fees”
They then say to the taxpayer, “You better watch out for those greedy union guys, they want your cookie!”
Will middle class GOP voters fall for this, or not? Only time will tell . . .
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:18 am:
The finance people who live off of municipal bonds really think they are different than roadbuilders.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:18 am:
@Word:
I also would like to see the breakdown but I don’t find the $1 billion hard to believe. CPS gets a huge chunk of the poverty grant portion of the GSA formula. They also automatically get set asides for the Mandated Categoricals.
- ZC - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:22 am:
Sure but Chicago PS will get a huge chunk of anything, because it’s a huge school system. There’s no other single school system in the state close to it. Just as Chicago will automatically be a huge chunk of the homicides, etc. This gets to Rich’s initial point above. Comparisons and criticisms are definitely fair game but you have to look at it per capita, looking at absolute magnitude of spending won’t tell you much more than that Chicago is a big city and a lot of people still live there.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:23 am:
- Dan Johnson -,
Remember though, Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner has not faced any criticism or negative narrative about him by any of the other 3 running, and with the financials as they are for Brady, Dillard, and Rutherford, creating the narrative of the hypocricy of PPC Bruce Rauner is not taking any hold, because it can’t even begin.
Brady. Dillard. Rutherford.
Use the prism of the hypocricy of Bruce Rauner to define yourselves to GOP Primary voters. Educate the voters on PPC, and at the same time, use the narrative to make YOUR cases.
It is September, the Primary is 5 months and “change” away. You all can not get have this narrative via “air support”, you need the “ground game” and defining PPC Bruce Rauner to begin soon, and continue… otherwise, - wordslinger - is On Point, that Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner can truly fool some of the people all the time.
Tick-tock, tick tock.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:26 am:
So, Dillard has decided that he must go to the rhetorical extreme to win the nomination, rather than to firm up his campaign strategy and implemenation that was identified as his failure in the last election. DeafDillard reminds me of someone.
- Bill White - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:26 am:
@DJ
I do respect the need for arbitrage in a modern global economy, however I know far too many commodities brokers who believe deeply that they actually are the “makers” while factory workers ans school teachers are leeches and “takers”
- anonymoose - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:30 am:
Link below to ISBE committes….kinda weird, Mr. Dillard reflects three contributions in the amount of $52,600.00…maybe I am not following the bouncing ball, but will Mr. Dillard be missing a contribution from Chicagoland Operators?
IUOE local 150 - $52,600.00
Illinois Lunch Pail - $52,600.00
Chicagoland Operators - $52,600.00 (but a letter from Marc Poulos representing Chicagoland Operators says the report of a receipt of $52,600 was a mistake and actually for Illinois Lunch Pail Republicans).
http://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/CDPdfViewer.aspx?FiledDocID=510044&DocType=Image
- Phenomynous - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:30 am:
you could get close to the $1 billion between the new poverty grant formula, mandated categoricals and the PTELL adjustment.
The poverty grant cost has ballooned from $418 million in 2004 to a projected $1.9 billion in 2014. Foundation level support for schools has remained roughly the same. The growth in the poverty grant is partly responsible for the fact the GSA is prorated. Downstate districts rely heavily on foundation level support for schools.
- Anon - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:31 am:
I can’t believe I am going to have to listen to this extremist garbage for another 5 1/2 months.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:32 am:
Gidwitz was quoted in Crains this week that his “dream” matchup is Rauner vs. Daley. “We would have a great contest and the state would be the winner.”
I guess Gidwitz is one of those anti-establishment, outsider, Tea Partiers, too, lol.
- Bill White - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:35 am:
@walkinfool asks
=== Where’s the “corporate” money? Where’s the support from other GOP advocacy groups? ===
@wordslinger answers:
=== Gidwitz was quoted in Crains this week that his “dream” matchup is Rauner vs. Daley ===
- DanL60 - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:37 am:
Rutherford did some impressive fundraising last quarter, and has kept his guns trained far away from his feet. Dillard and Rauner should take note of that simple attention to detail.
- Dan Johnson - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:44 am:
@Bill White
You are right. Finance people really think they are adding far more value to society than, say, a UAW member who makes cars with their clearly unaffordable pensions and health care costs dragging down our economy.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:15 am:
Let me get this straight - Dillard, already way behind in fundraising, looks like he’ll finish the quarter with about $250,000 +/- 100,000. And how exactly is he hoping to compete?
- Veritas - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:18 am:
Gidwitz & Roeser backing Rauner further confirms how out of touch they are with the electorate. When was the last time either of them won anything?? Keep dreaming Ron - that’s what you are good at.
- Veritas - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:23 am:
CC: How is Dillard going to compete?? You seem to neglect an important point: Illinois voters know who Kirk Dillard is - he didn’t have to do a “listening tour” of Illinois to find out where Effingham, Mt. Vernon & Galesburg are. Rauner needs to spend a fortune to try to convince the Republican primary voters that he is, in fact, a Republican. His new slogan will be, “Do as I say - not as I do.” He doesn’t need strategy to do that - he needs voodoo.
- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:41 am:
“So maybe we now know why Dillard said recently that he preferred a second gas tax to gaming expansion.”
Let’s straighten this gas tax thing out once and for all.
Dillard is calling for the REPEAL and ELIMINATION of the current gas tax. This tax would be REPLACED by a tax, at one-half the current rate. The resultant revenue stream would be DEVOTED to the repair and improvement of bridges and roads. Year after year, Dillard has sponsored a bill to eliminate the gas tax, which has been bottled up in committee by the Democrats.
“To improve education, Dillard said he would prevent Chicago schools from taking about $1 billion they currently take away from downstate schools.”
Dillard DID NOT SAY to cut anything from Chicago schools. He cited a study by Senate Leader Radogno that calls for transparency and greater accountability in the school funding formula. Dillard believes in fairness in the school funding formula.
- An observation - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:53 am:
Hey Cincy-
Dillard also believes Obama is worthy of his endorsement for President.
Just sayin’
- downstate hack - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:53 am:
Agree with Cincinnatus. Dillard positions are being whacked a bit in these discussions.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 11:56 am:
–Dillard is calling for the REPEAL and ELIMINATION of the current gas tax. This tax would be REPLACED by a tax, at one-half the current rate. The resultant revenue stream would be DEVOTED to the repair and improvement of bridges and roads–
Then WHY is it being REPORTED that he called for a SECOND gas tax? It’s much EASIER to say I want to REDUCE the current TAX. Who is WRITING his stuff and ADVISING him on his PUBLIC appearances?
- Veritas - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:01 pm:
At the end of the day, the deciding question should be, “Who can best build the bi-partisan coalitions needed to get ANYTHING done?” Quinn couldn’t even deliver his own party when he had supermajorities in BOTH chambers!! Rauner is Quinn’s twin, separated at birth. He thinks the way to get things done is to attack his own party!! Anyone familiar with state politics knows that Kirk Dillard is well liked and respected on both sides of the aisle. We don’t need to shake Springfield up - we need to wake Springfield up to the reality that we are all in this together.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:02 pm:
- Cincinnatus -,
With respect,
You guys there have some serious message issues going on. It seems as though anything said, is followed with an explanation of what was said in the forst place.
Bud, if Dillard is going “off script” and just saying something that y’all are going to have to clean up later, how is all that helping in setting a narrative you guys are always cleaning up after?
Clean up the message, and for goodness sake, instead of trying to be one thing or another, just use Rauner as who Dillard is NOT.
The rest of this is “busy work” and a “continuous clean up” job of what was said, what wasn’t said, and what should have been said… and to whom.
- D P Gumby - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:05 pm:
D-Lard is quickly destroying any attraction he may have had to the D’s that would have voted for him over Quinn had he defeated Brady.
- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:06 pm:
Not a single reporter has called the Dillard or the campaign to ask for a comment/clarification/follow-up. I would think that lazy reporting, bad headline writing, or people who “ignore” the facts for a partisan agenda are the reasons, Word.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:25 pm:
–Not a single reporter has called the Dillard or the campaign to ask for a comment/clarification/follow-up.–
I’d suggest you guys not leave “second gas tax” hanging out there if it’s not accurate. I’ve read it twice here now. I had no reason to assume it’s not accurate.
- railrat - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:49 pm:
IUOE and its spinoff PAC’s to Dillard “peanuts” to what they (other than the contractor/partner PAC) will pump into Quinn !! I hear since Dugans gone not so much NRA new guy way left !
- Samurai - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:52 pm:
–Dillard also believes Obama is worthy of his endorsement for President–.
Dillard did not endorse Obama. It was an ad during the Iowa primary noting that Obama was capable of working accross party lines as a state senator. Dillard was John McCain’s Illinois campaign chair.
Of more interest is Rauner’s whole sale purchase of Democratic influence in Chicago and beyond. On a minor level the Peyton Prep clout move stands out. And what of the millions earned through managing the Chicago Teacher’s Pension. And Dillard is going to continue to continue getting hammered over the ad?
- Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 12:53 pm:
- I would think that lazy reporting, bad headline writing, or people who “ignore” the facts -
Awww, darn it, the press isn’t doing your messaging for you?
Give me a break, this isn’t Dillard’s first trip around the block.
Those phone thingies work both ways, and I’m guessing the Senator can track down the right numbers.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 1:48 pm:
Samurai, get your facts straight. I’m no Rauner fan, but he didn’t make any dough working for CTPF.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 2:02 pm:
@Cincy:
If the Dillard people have a problem with this then maybe they should straighten it out instead of whining about it. Whining gets you real far.
- J. Nolan - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 2:03 pm:
veritas - I would say Rutherford is the only one at this point who is respected on both sides. Since Dillard has started to ride the crazy train, Dan seems to be the only one committed to not throwing bombs - which leads to a leader who has the ability to govern once elected.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 2:03 pm:
–Dillard was John McCain’s Illinois campaign chair.–
I thought that was Durkin.
- Ruby - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 2:24 pm:
It is really difficult to believe that Dillard understands the problems of educating children in Chicago if he can tell people in Ford County:
“A child who lives in poverty in downstate should be equal to one in Chicago,”
Consider the Ford County Demographics:
The racial makeup of the county was
98.18% White,
0.25% Black or African American,
0.10% Native American,
0.32% Asian,
0.40% from other races,
and 0.75% from two or more races.
1.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino according to Census 2000.
98.4% spoke English as their first language.
- walkinfool - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 3:25 pm:
=== walkinfool asks: … wordslinger answers ===
As it should be.
- Chris - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 3:29 pm:
“you could get close to the $1 billion between the new poverty grant formula, mandated categoricals and the PTELL adjustment”
In the aggregate, sure, but downstate gets plenty of $$ thru each of those, too. To be “taking $1B away from downstate”, Chicago has to be getting at *least* $1B MORE than downstate; if the state funding were re-allocated on a strict per student basis, downstate would NOT get $1B more, and Chicago $1B LESS, not even close, especially when the Teacher Pension contributions ($2.7B this year–44% of the total State grants) get leveled out on a per student basis, too.
Chicago gets about $1.6B in total state aid for educating/warehousing about 20% of IL public school students; counting the pension portion, that’s right on 20% of state funding for school district costs.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 3:38 pm:
@Ruby:
What exactly is your point? That the demographics make somebody’s poverty better or worse than somebody else’s? That kids in poverty downstate aren’t equal to those in Chicago? If that’s your point then that’s just silly.
- Ruby - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 4:33 pm:
- Demoralized @ 3:38 pm: What exactly is your point?
My point is that the stark reality of the demographics in Chicago schools regarding characteristics such as race, poverty, gangs, crime, and students who do not speak English are being ignored by Dillard in his statement to residents of Ford County.
- The Dragon's Breath - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 6:41 pm:
Another way to look at Ruby’s statistics on Ford County is simply that —-Dillard “plays to his audience” and that is all. He tells people “what they want to hear”. It just shows me that Dillard is a likeable guy who is one of our many Illinois GOP and Democrat “career politicians”. Kirk is a continuing saga of the Illinois “more of the same” political lineage that we Illinois voters have come to expect and accept. All of these guys (unfortunately)exist because we actually “deep down” in our souls don’t really care if they exist or not. Otherwise, we would get off of our sorry rear-ends on election day and go to vote to get rid of them. Five percent (or less) of the people in Illinois actually dictate what happens to the lives of the other 95% when you take into consideration union leadership, wealthy business leaders, and the existing political family dynasties that exist in both of the two political parties in Illinois. You always get what you pay for ( with money, personal effort,and pure apathy).
- Phenomynous - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 7:07 pm:
Chris, those are great points. However, GSA is intended to equalize state funding for poorer or less fortunate districts. Chicago happens to be the most property wealthy location in the state with higher median incomes then a majority of the state as well.
The property tax burden in Chicago is disproportionately shifted towards commercial and industrial property when compared to the rest of the state, creating a lower residential burden. Then the state subsidizes their low tax burden through the PTELL adjustment.
- Gb - Thursday, Sep 12, 13 @ 10:33 pm:
Pheno…
As much as folks want you and your campaign to continue with this Chicago line, ya need to get your head out of your rear.
Chicago gets:
$800 million in General State Aid
$260 million in poverty grant
$600 million in the form of block grants for its mandated categoricals(special Ed, bilingual, transportation, etc.)
PPRT is considered “local”, not State, money. (And don’t step foot in the collars if you want to try and disagree with me).
In what part of the universe would you cut Chicago Public School’s state money by 60%?
- Juvenal - Friday, Sep 13, 13 @ 8:08 am:
Wordslinger:
Gidwitz wants a Daley v Rauner election because they are virtually indistinguishable on the issues.
Which got me wondering: is there anything to prevent both of them naming each other as running mates?
I would really LOVE to see a Daley-Rauner v. Rauner-Daley match-up. The 1% v. The .01% duking it out over the .05% bloc.