Simon vs. Cole update
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
As you’ll recall, I’ve been keeping half an eye on the Carbondale mayor’s race between incumbent Brad Cole and challenger Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late US Senator. Simon stomped Cole in the primary and now the two are facing off in the general.
The Republicans, including House GOP Leader Tom Cross, view this as an important race for a couple of reasons. Cole is seen as a valuable member of the GOP bench, and they’d like to have him appointed to or run for the House if Sen. Dave Luechtefeld retires and Rep. Mike Bost attempts to move to the Senate.
GOP staff has been sent in to help Cole, and the other day Cross, Luechtefeld and Rep. Bill Mitchell held a press conference with Cole to give him a bit of a boost…
Cross joined fellow GOPs, State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole and 87th district Rep. Bill Mitchell in Carbondale Saturday to call on Blagojevich to start showing some leadership, stop expanding programs the state can’t pay for and end the tirade against businesses they fear will drive more jobs out of Illinois.
Cole, who is seeking re-election for Carbondale mayor against Democratic opponent Sheila Simon in April, said Blagojevich has been the best business governor for Indiana, not Illinois, in his tenure in office.
Cole said the governor doesn’t seem to understand his proposed Gross Receipts Tax will come down on hundreds of small businesses across Illinois, including several dozen locally.
“If you look at any fast-food franchise in the area, they are going to be doing more than a million dollars in sales a year. Most of them are owned by local people, a mom and pop,” Cole said.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page has become an issue in the race…
A website that appeals to college kids is encouraging SIU students to vote for Brad Cole in the Carbondale mayor’s race.
His opponent Sheila Simon says the site is misleading.
The site, on facebook.com, claims Simon plans to raise the age for a person to enter a bar in Carbondale from 19 to 21, if she’s elected.
Simon says she’s never talked about changing the age policy in bars, and just wants voters to be accurately informed.
There are more than 500 members on the site, including Brad Cole.
Actually, he’s more than just a member, he’s an administrator. And raising the entry age to bars would be a huge issue in Carbondale.
Dave at Carbondaley Dispatch backs up Cole’s claims that he joined as an admin in order to “police” the page, and since the story broke they’ve taken down a lot of not so nice photos and comments about Ms. Simon. You need to be a member to see the site but Dave has posted a screenshot.
It’s really amazing what candidates can get nailed for these days.
Also, Simon’s campaign has had to deal with an unfriendly blogger the past several weeks. His most recent post (today) is about a lunch he had with Simon about six months ago, not long after she had announced for mayor…
After Sheila and Tom Redmond sat down and we had ordered, I asked Sheila the obvious question, “Why do you want to be mayor?” She responded, “I think the strongest person should take the heavy box off the top shelf.” I said, “what?” She repeated herself, exactly. I said, “what does that mean?” She went on, “you know, I think I’m a strong performer and have a lot to offer.” I said, “that is the reason you want to be mayor?” “Yes.” “OK.” I was surprised that she didn’t have a reason for being mayor that didn’t suck, but decided to move along.
He also wrote this today…
We have a funny exchange about the Northeast part of town. I told her a story about how I started to drive though the Northeast several times a day, over the course of several weeks the previous summer. When I was driving through, my greatest impression was of the young black men walking back to their houses with brown paper bags full of booze. It seemed like a shame to me then and a shame to me now. Sheila told me, “I have never seen that.” I told her, “you have to go look, when was the last time you were over there?”
And then in comments after someone accused him of being “racist,” he wrote…
There is a large difference between a college student doing the strip and people who don’t have a job, drinking all day. I think it is OK to discriminate based on people being lazy or stupid, that is called capitalism.
That one might sting.
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Question of the day
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
First, the setup…
Drug testing appears headed for the high school ranks in Illinois. In fact, the first steps on that slippery slope came last August, when IHSA administrators began formulating plans for a testing program.
In recent months, the push for drug testing has gained support from state senator Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora), who introduced the Fair Athletic Competition Act which could provide $250,000 to start a drug testing program if it becomes law.
The idea of drug testing is well-intentioned. So are the motives of those endorsing it. But subjecting a few athletes here and there to random raids — at an exorbitant cost — is barely even a partial solution in the mission to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs.
Testing would take place on athletes only after the state tournament begins, and perhaps not until the state finals. So had drug testing been in place this year, members from the eight boys teams in Peoria would be the only ones subject to random tests.
With 712 boys basketball teams statewide, what is being accomplished by drug testing a few participants from a pool of roughly 100 players?
Even if drug testing were to become a year-round practice done on a random basis for all athletes — the only way such a detection program can be truly effective — the return on such a huge investment could be negligible.
One positive test for steroid use out of 100 samples is a frivolous game of “gotcha.â€
Now, the question: Do you support random drug testing of high school athletes? Why or why not?
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Warning: Icky topic ahead… *** Updated x2 ***
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
OK, I will say right up front that this is an extremely icky topic. Nobody wants to think about stuff like this. But if it’s a proven fact that sexually transmitted diseases are being spread in prisons, it kinda boggles my mind that the state won’t allow condoms to be distributed…
Prisons have a rate of HIV infection nearly five times greater than the rate nationwide, yet they are among the few places in America where condoms are almost impossible to get.
Those unsettling facts have spurred a growing campaign by lawmakers and public health advocates who are concerned that prisons may be a prime breeding ground for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The most recent effort to put condoms in Illinois prisons suffered a setback Thursday when a state House committee voted 6-5 against a bill that would authorize distribution of condoms to state inmates.
But officials with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, which argued for the measure, said they hope to find a compromise with the Illinois Department of Corrections, one of the bill’s main opponents.
Sexual contact is banned in prisons. I completely agree with it, for many reasons. But does this “no condom” policy make sense to you?
*** UPDATE *** VanillaMan makes an excellent point in comments…
Condoms can be used as weapons to strangle. They are durable and can be used also used as tourniquets for IV drug use.
*** UPDATE 2 *** “dan l” has another very good point…
The magic properties of “condoms as a weapon†also goes the same for shoe strings and pant legs. What’s the point?
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Surrender?
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told subscribers this morning, Ameren Illinois CEO Scott Cisel waved the white flag yesterday in an op-ed he penned for a few downstate newspapers.
The 1997 de-regulation law and resulting competitive model has not worked as intended - especially for Illinois’ downstate residential and small to medium sized non-residential customers. […]
[Cisel said he was willing to do several things, including] Modifying or replacing the current auction power procurement process. […]
Returning to a fully regulated model for residential and small to medium sized non-residential customers, that is known and proven, may provide greater price stability and long-term certainty of electric supply, while still giving large users the option of alternative suppliers. It also creates an opportunity for utilities to invest in new generation, creating jobs and growing our downstate economy.
Um, wow.
Still, as others pointed out, Cisel offered no immediate rate relief, and the General Assembly will likely force some before it’s over.
“If it doesn’t include a refund of the rates that were wrongly charged, it falls short of a solution,” said state Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, who favors the three-year freeze on rates set by Ameren and Commonwealth Edison that the Illinois House approved two weeks ago.
Beiser, however, called the idea of returning to re-regulation “a very good concept to explore.” […]
David Kolata, the executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board, also slammed Cisel’s proposal for not offering refunds. As for re-regulation, Kolata called it “something that could work, but it has to be done in the right way.”
Interesting times.
* And if all Ameren’s bad publicity wasn’t enough, there’s this…
Ameren Corp. didn’t meet its own profit goals last year and sustained two power outages that left more than 1.5 million customers without electricity for days at a time.
But top executives still pulled down $762,000 in cash performance bonuses.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that Ameren’s board of directors shuffled the numbers so that top executives could get the bonuses, even though they were not initially entitled to them under the company’s compensation plan.
* Meanwhile, the Peoria Journal-Star goes way over the top in a juvenile attack on Pat Quinn…
THUMBS DOWN! To Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, for mistaking populism for leadership. Quinn’s latest targets have been electric utilities and the Illinois Commerce Commission, which of course are Satan (never mind that the latter’s members are appointed by his boss, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which must make him Satan’s apprentice).
Let’s see, has Quinn called on Blagojevich to act on the issue? Check.
Has the attorney general found evidence to claim that power companies colluded to force through higher rates? Check.
Has a large segment of Ameren’s customer base suffered miserably as a result of the rate hikes? Check.
Has Quinn ever called Ameren or ComEd “Satan”? Nope.
Conclusion: The PJ-Star had better never criticize bloggers for being “uncivil” if they’re gonna publish ridiculous editorials like that.
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Tax bashing
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
My syndicated column this week is about Barb Currie’s surprisingly harsh speech to the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois.
llinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie usually hangs back and lets others make news. Since getting the No. 2 job in the House Democratic caucus in 1997, she hasn’t been known for being way out front on major issues. And as far as I can remember, she’s never once publicly criticized Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
But that all changed last week when Currie gave an important speech to the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois blasting the governor, a fellow Democrat. She insisted that she was only speaking for herself, not House Speaker Michael Madigan, but all of Madigan’s top people were well aware of the contents of her address before she delivered it.
Currie’s speech is a must-read for those of us who are fascinated by the slow-motion train wreck that is the 2007 legislative session.
She had a couple of nice things to say, but let’s get to the negativity…
Currie made it crystal clear that the Legislature will not “be rushed into making a mistake from which it could take the state decades to recover.” And she warned the governor to not revert back to his old scapegoating habits from his often-controversial first term.
“If our efforts to spend the time it takes to get it right this time lead him to accuse us of indifference to the suffering of our fellow citizens or to portray us as mere pawns of special interest organizations, he will have done his cause no good,” Currie said, adding, “Proceeding at a deliberate, careful pace is not obstructionism. Taking our time to make sure we understand the details, grasp the implications and make decisions based on facts, not spin, is not obstructionism.” […]
“If he prefers to leverage public policy via press releases, vigils, protest marches, television advertisements and airplane fly-arounds, I don’t think lawmakers will buy,” Currie warned. “Demagoguery will not be well received by most members of the General Assembly.”
I’ve been thinking about this speech off and on for several days, and I’ve concluded that this was the most important part…
Currie seemed to indicate that the gross receipts tax proposed by the governor was too high. She pointed out that corporations would have to pay about $500 million more than they currently do to bring them back up to the same level they were paying in 1980, while directly contrasting that with the governor’s so-called “fairness” plan that raises $6.5 billion a year.
It’s not “fairness” if the big companies are forced to pay many times more than they would be if they were paying all of their corporate income taxes. This is more about a new revenue source than it is about “fairness.”
Meanwhile, Crain’s ran this piece about the governor’s often overlooked 3 percent payroll tax on businesses…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to tax businesses’ payrolls to fund half his $2.1-billion health care reform would run afoul of federal law, legal experts say.
Under the plan, employers that spend less than 4% of their payrolls on worker medical benefits would be taxed, a spokeswoman for the governor says.
Lawyers say that approach could violate the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The federal law dictates how companies structure benefit plans so companies that do business in multiple states don’t have to grapple with a patchwork of local laws. ERISA trumps any state law. […]
Illinois officials say a payroll tax wouldn’t violate federal law because the state wouldn’t be dictating how employers should structure health benefits. The state simply wants companies to pay their share — even reimbursing a worker for out-of-pocket medical costs would count toward the 4% figure, says Bob Greenlee, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. […]
But the Maryland appellate court concluded that giving employers the choice between meeting a minimum spending level or paying the state “effectively requires employers . . . to restructure their employee health insurance plans” and is “precisely the regulatory Balkanization that Congress sought to avoid” with ERISA.
Ralph Martire has been pushing for a tax swap forever. Just about all of his columns, speeches, etc. are about the subject. The governor’s gross receipts tax is competing for prominence now, and Martire is dumping all over it…
This is regressive, making low- and middle-income folks pay significantly more in taxes than they do today.
The way to raise revenue while achieving real tax fairness is to focus on income and sales taxes. This works better for two reasons. First, income and sales taxes are imposed only at the final stage of economic activity. Hence, these taxes are far less distortive of economic behavior. It’s also easier to identify who will actually pay what after the tax changes are implemented, which is crucial for creating tax fairness. Once income and sales taxes are assessed, property and other tax relief can be designed to ensure middle- and low-income families really won’t pay more. With the gross receipts tax, that’s not possible.
Comptroller Dan Hynes has several questions about the GRT, which he published as a Sunday Tribune op-ed…
Does the governor’s proposed $6 billion gross receipts tax accomplish the stated goal of tax fairness, or will it result in higher prices for consumers, job losses and businesses leaving Illinois? […]
But if health-care costs escalate, or GRT revenues underperform, will education be left underfunded? […]
Shouldn’t we fix our current Medicaid program before expanding it by $4 billion? […]
Which of his proposals will he cut in order to fund this property tax relief while also balancing the budget?
As I told Capitol Fax readers, Mayor Daley has adjusted his rhetoric somewhat on the governor’s GRT.
“I’m hoping the General Assembly looks at it very carefully and there’s some excellent, excellent points in it,” he said.
Still, he stumbled through the statement, made just prior to Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“I’m supporting the governor’s plan, not 100, his plan, his concept with regard to funding education,” Daley said.
Clear?
And, finally, downstaters and Chicago legislators aren’t gonna be happy about this one…
Schools in Chicago’s collar counties would be the biggest beneficiaries of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to boost total per-child spending by more than $800 million next school year, records show.
Districts in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties would get a combined $183 million more in per-pupil state aid if lawmakers approve the governor’s plan–a 28 percent increase over this year.
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Morning Shorts
Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* New Chambers: Stalled plan for hospital aid costs taxpayers $12M
* Real ID program reason to worry
* Levin talks up GRT
* Manufacturer’s group upset with governor over tax plan
* Senator Brady gives his own State of the State message in Lincoln
* Editorial: Governor has failed to prioritize in budget
* Jack Lavin says more than half of state corporations ‘don’t pay a dime of taxes’
* Tribune Editorial: Student loan sale just an attempt at fast cash
* Tribune Editorial: Governor’s questionable friends
* Statehouse Insider: Random bits on Governor’s GRT plan
Blagojevich says big, bad corporations pay little or no state corporate income tax because the tax code is riddled with “loopholes.'’ “Loophole'’ is one of those loaded words that conjures visions of some cabal figuring out ways for faceless companies to stick it to the little guy.
* Editorial: Filling the pension gap
* Jury still out on Blagojevich’s pension plans
* Governor adds more money for schools in new budget
* Lawmaker questions sale of student loans
* Editorial: Let Governor spend his own money to promote plan
* Editorial: Illinois doesn’t need to launch class war
* Governor orders surveys about proposed healthcare plan
State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said it was odd that the administration was only now collecting information about the health insurance needs of small business owners.
“Don’t you do that before you announce the plan?” said Bradley. “It’s an interesting approach to governance.”
* Black caucus wants new subsidy formula
A report looking at $1.2 billion in subsidies provided by the state from 1990 to 2004 found Chicago received only about 15 percent of the subsidies, though it’s home to 38 percent of the region’s population.
* Immigrants in Carpentersville feel sting of ‘English-only’ proposal
* Report: Illinois community college travel spending rules vary
* AG Madigan helps public get access to records
Madigan is one of only a handful of state attorneys general with a division devoted to opening up government agencies and helping people get the information they are entitled to by law.
* General public makes most requests for help in getting information
* Highlights of attorney general’s report on public records access
* Prisons a tough call for proposed smoking ban
* Smokers are fired up over the possibility of putting out their cigarettes under the proposed Smoke Free Illinois Act.
* IDOT dragging its feet on inspecting new Peotone area runway?
By building a runway less than a mile from the state’s proposed airport, Bult threatens to drive up land costs and make IDOT’s planning efforts more difficult, according to local residents.
* CTA better get use to it: Blue line repairs would take $100 million dollars and 3 years
“It makes me feel like the state Legislature has abandoned us,” said 55-year-old Michael Pagano, noting the lack of a long-term funding source for mass transit. “I guess I’ll have to bear with it until the state gets its act together.”
* Sun-Times Editorial: Slobs should help clean up CTA
* Editorial: Better oversight must go with transit funds
* Tribune Editorial: Judges and their donors
The real problem is not judicial campaigns that are privately financed but judicial campaigns, period. A better remedy is to turn these offices over to a merit selection process designed to minimize the role of politics in the courts.
* Lawmakers worry about declining quality of college education
* Tribune Editorial: Lip service to students
* Law would allow roadside memorials for drunk driving victims
* Dave Syverson’s bill ‘is something the city wanted‘
* Why lawmakers are looking at Facebook; other internet proposals
* Tough love approach to teen driving
* Med Mal issue far from dead
* Editorial: Too many Illinois don’t understand underage drinking
* Editorial: Quit idle political talk of closing prisons
Of course it was pure coincidence in 2004 that two of the prisons the governor proposed closing were in areas represented by Republican lawmakers - Pontiac, represented by state Sen. Dan Rutherford, and Vandalia, represented by Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson.
* Lawmakers preemptively target ‘remote control hunting’
* Schoenburg: Springfield aldermanic races, endorsements
* Quad Cities get word from D.C.: Money is tight
* Peraica spokeman rips Gorman
* Gorman actions demand response
* Stroger donor may get no bid deal
* Cuts may be coming at Oak Forest hospital
* Waste hauler with alleged mob ties doing state work
* Unincorporated residents suddenly ticketed for vehicle stickers
* Voter registration deadline nears
* Davis & Parker: Notable omission in Peoria PAC’s picks for council
* Election challenge is costly to taxpayers
* Pretty people and their politics: celebrity donations
* Unusual spending habits
* Glen Ellyn incident underscores tension wrought by suburban homelessness
* Krol: Must be something in the Dupage Co. water
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Obamarama - Friday caption contest
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
After the bad press he’s received lately, I’m sure he probably wants one. Try to be funny.
*** UPDATE *** Completely off topic, but while we’re being funny, Adam Nagourney reports that John McCain stumbled a bit today when pressed for several minutes by a reporter in Iowa…
Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?â€
Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.â€
Then Nagourney writes…
This went on for a few more moments until a reporter from the Chicago Tribune broke in and asked Mr. McCain about the weight of a pig that he saw at the Iowa State Fair last year.
Wonder who that was? Perhaps these guys can fill us in.
*** UPDATE *** Looks like we have our answer…
[McCain has] also made what he calls “the obligatory visit” to the Iowa State Fair to view a 1,187-pound pig named Waldo and eat pork on a stick, all rites of passage for those who wish to become president.
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Question of the day
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
In olden days, state legislatures elected US Senators and routinely passed resolutions like this directing their Senators on various issues. Those days are long gone, of course, but the resolutions pop up from time to time…
In a slap at President Bush, the Democratic-led Illinois Senate went on record Thursday opposing any additional troops being sent to Iraq.
“We have to send a message to Washington that it is time for us to get out,” said Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), sponsor of the resolution. “We declared victory already. We’ve already made it clear the weapons of mass destruction no longer exist, if they ever did, so why are we still there? It doesn’t make any sense.”
His resolution, which passed without any objection from Republicans, was watered down from an earlier version. A call for an immediate withdrawal of troops was stripped from the resolution that passed Thursday.
Hendon said he was “shocked” no Senate Republican stood to oppose his proposal.
Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) ridiculed Hendon’s nonbinding resolution and said legislators had no business dictating war policy. “I’m sure the Pentagon will be calling Rickey to get his thoughts on how to handle the Iraq war.”
The full resolution can be found here.
Question: Regardless of your position on the war, do you think resolutions like this should be encouraged or discouraged. Why?
I know I’m taking a risk here, but please, let’s not get into a debate on the war. There are plenty of places for that, so take it somewhere else. I know there’s anger, but let’s do our best to avoid it. Also, if I’m not around and someone tries to gin it up with some goofy comment, please just ignore them. I’ll delete them later and put them into permanent comment moderation. Thanks.
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What are they up to?
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
These guys are starting to pique my interest…
Americans for Prosperity made their second stop of a statewide “Mystery Pork Tour,” Thursday at JTM Concepts Inc., Rock Island.
AFP Illinois director Joe Calomino said the goal of the tour is to spotlight some of the most outrageous examples of projects throughout the state funded by pork-barrel spending.
“The state of Illinois has a pork-barrel spending problem — a trend toward government waste, fraud and abuse that the people of Illinois cannot afford,” Mr. Calomino said. “Our lawmakers must get spending under control.”
Their website can be found here. The group has chapters all over the place, and Illinois director Calomino has been around for a while. From his bio…
Joe Calomino began his career as a political strategist in the Illinois Secretary of State’s office where he served for eight years. During this time, Joe served as a regional campaign coordinator for the successful 1994 re-election campaign of Secretary of State George Ryan as well as Ryan’s successful 1998 gubernatorial election. […]
In the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary, Calomino managed the campaign of first-time candidate Ron Gidwitz.
Calomino held a press conference a few weeks back about the heated driveway at the governor’s mansion…
He was joined at a news conference Thursday by representatives of the national office; state Rep. Michael Tryon, R-Crystal Lake; Greg Baise, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers Association; former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz; and others.
It’s occurred to me that one very good way to undermine support for a tax hike is to undercut government credibility with persistent allegations of gross mismanagement. Both Baise and Gidwitz have been lobbying hard against the governor’s gross receipts tax.
And then there’s this press release from the group…
This morning, Ron Gidwitz, 2006 Republican Primary Candidate for Governor and Chairman of the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity, launches local chapters of Americans for Prosperity Foundation in the Quad Cities region.
Gidwitz, who is supporting the grassroots organizations mission of educating and empowering citizens to hold their elected officials accountable for how they spend our tax dollars, highlighted the states fiscal problems and called on citizens to “take back their governmentâ€.
Gidwitz unveiled a direct mail piece that will be mailed to approximately 100,000 households in several legislative districts throughout the state.
At a later stop in Moline Illinois, Gidwitz called on citizens to “contact 71st District Democratic Representative Mike Boland and ask him why he has regularly voted for higher taxes, raiding the pension funds earmarked for veterans and raiding funds for environmental purposes and roadwaysâ€.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman was asked by the Southwest News Herald about the governor’s tax plans…
“We’re waiting for the details,†said Steven Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-22nd).
“The spending things are there but ever there was a time when (details on revenue are needed), this is it,†he said.
You may have seen a complaint by business that the gross receipts tax leads to “pyramiding.” Bruce Braker, the president of the Tooling & Manufacturing Association, explains…
Here is an example of pyramiding in the manufacturing process, assuming the Legislature enacts the 0.5 percent tax suggested by Blagojevich:
“Basic industry” sells $200 worth of raw materials to a “parts fabricator”: $1 tax.
“Parts fabricator” adds value and sells $400 product to “manufacturer”: $2 tax.
“Manufacturer” adds value and sells $800 product to an “integrator”: $4 tax.
“Integrator” adds value and sells $1000 product to a “wholesaler”: $5 tax.
“Wholesaler” adds value and sells $1,200 product to a “retailer”: $6 tax.
“Retailer” adds value and sells $1,600 product to “consumer”: $8 tax.
In this example, $26 in taxes was paid on a single product that was sold to the final consumer for $1,600. Thus, the effective tax rate was 1.7 percent, or more than 300 percent higher than the rate suggested by the governor.
And, finally, the Tribune points out some inconsistencies in the governor’s GRT proposal…
But an official at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that top Blagojevich aide John Filan told her that small businesses would have to pay the gross receipts tax after the corporate income tax is phased out in four years. Filan said the tax would be lower than the one imposed on big companies, or at a fixed dollar amount, said Connie Beard, an attorney and a top chamber official.
The letters didn’t mention anything about that.
“It offends me because they’re [implying] that all of these [small-business owners] aren’t going to be paying the gross receipts tax,” Beard said.
Blagojevich spokeswoman Becky Carroll said that Filan believes Beard must have misunderstood him and that he was simply listing various tax options for small businesses after the corporate income tax ends.
The administration intends to keep the corporate tax in place for small businesses for now, then get comments from the small-business community on which tax system it would prefer, Carroll said.
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Blagojevich bashing
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Yes, it’s the Blagojevich administration, but does every single campaign contribution have to be treated like some sort of federal crime?
The head of the state agency that provides student loans to college students says his ties to Gov. Rod Blagojevich had nothing to do with him getting his $180,000 job.
Andrew Davis, 50, said Thursday that it is “silly” to suggest that his contributions to the governor in 2000 and 2002 led to him being named as executive director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
“If that were the case I’m probably owed 25 other jobs because I’ve supported lots and lots and lots of people and never received a quid pro quo beyond an autographed photo,” said Davis.
Davis was appointed to a seat on the commission by Blagojevich in 2005 and signed a three-year contract as executive director in January. State records show Davis and his companies have contributed at least $31,000 to the governor’s campaign fund.
[Emphasis added]
And then there’s this from the Decatur Herald & Review…
THUMBS DOWN! To the Illinois Executive Ethics Committee, which allowed the former Illinois Department of Transportation secretary to take a job with a company that had received $50 million in contracts during his time with the state. Tim Martin asked for a waiver of the ethics law, which prohibits state employees from starting private-sector jobs at firms with which they did business for one year after leaving a state job. But the ethics commission decided to waive that requirement. What’s the use of having a law if a commission is going to ignore it?
Um, guys, the law specifically allows for the waivers. The commission didn’t “ignore” the law. The commission applied it.
And while we’re at it, the same editorial page had this gem…
THUMBS DOWN! To Gov. Rod Blagojevich for stepping over the line by claiming God is on his side in his battle to reform the state’s tax system. Blagojevich told the Illinois Education Association last weekend that he wants to use some of the proceeds from the gross receipts tax to increase funding for education. He also told teachers he was expecting a battle in the legislature. “It will be Armageddon, but we are on the side of the Lord, and we will prevail.” Huh? Politicians are prone to exaggeration, but Armageddon, with the Lord picking sides? That’s over the top.
Blagojevich was actually quoting Teddy Roosevelt. Here’s what he told me in an interview last week…
You know, Teddy Roosevelt left the Republican convention because the machine renominated William Howard Taft, and Teddy Roosevelt didn’t get the nomination, so he bolted and he went to the Old Historic Chicago Coliseum in 1912 and rallied the troops behind his own Bull Moose Party, a progressive party.
And the last line of his speech was ‘It is Armageddon and we are on the side of the Lord.’ And I was dying to say it out there, cause that’s how I’m feeling.
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Biggest rip-off in Illinois history?
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Like I wrote in this morning’s Capitol Fax, if AG Madigan is right, then this revelation is beyond huge…
Attorney General Lisa Madigan alleged Thursday that corporate manipulation caused the huge jump in electric rates that Illinois consumers are facing, and she asked federal regulators to suspend the rates and investigate.
Electric rates have soared since January, when a 10-year freeze on prices expired. The new prices were set through a “reverse auction” that was meant to keep rates as low as possible.
But Madigan says the auction yielded prices far higher than the actual cost of producing electricity. That’s because some 15 power companies manipulated the process, she claimed in a complaint to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Exelon Corp., the parent of power company ComEd, immediately denied the allegations.
More…
In a 31-page complaint filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Madigan lays out what she says is evidence that last year’s power auction involving Ameren and ComEd may have been fixed to ensure that specific wholesale suppliers got the most lucrative parts of that business _ at the expense of rate-payers who ended up with bills some 40 percent higher than they should be under a competitive market. […]
“The wholesale suppliers are charging prices that are at least double the marginal cost of generating electricity,’’ the complaint alleges. It goes on to allege that “there is evidence that some of the wholesale (power) suppliers manipulated prices in the auction,’’ possibly with secret side-agreements among the suppliers.
The complaint states that “quid pro quo arrangements’’ are a “likely’’ explanation for unexpectedly high power rates that resulted from the reverse auction, which was ostensibly designed to ensure that Ameren and ComEd got the cheapest possible power supply contracts from competing wholesale electricity providers.
It is “possible’’ that “departing bidders’’ were rewarded with side-agreements that their power would later be purchased “at favorable prices,’’ the complaint states. It cites a similar “market manipulation scheme’’ that was uncovered in the Enron corporate scandal.
[Emphasis added]
More…
State Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, praised Madigan’s action and suggested it could lead to the Illinois Senate passing a bill to return Ameren’s rates to last year’s frozen levels as soon as next week.
“If the auction was tampered with, obviously, it should be thrown out,” he said. “If there is fraud in the procurement process, it’s across the board. All of it is void. It’s the fruit of a poisoned auction, and as such, these contracts are voidable, which means we have a new ballgame in the procurement of electric power based upon lower rates.”
CUB’s response…
It’s abundantly clear that the auction and the rate hikes it produced must be scrapped.
True dat.
Meanwhile, Sen. James Clayborne picked a really bad day to complain that CUB and AARP, of all people, are not negotiating in good faith…
Some Illinois consumer advocates are being so inflexible in their demand that newly raised electric rates be legally forced back down that they’re endangering attempts at a compromise with the utility companies, the state Senate’s top utility negotiator hinted Thursday.
“I’m not going to say (they’re) obstructionist. I just feel like they haven’t come to the table in good faith,” said state Sen. James Clayborne, D-Belleville.
He said advocates, including the Citizens’ Utility Board and AARP, “aren’t cooperating like they’re supposed to” in closed-door negotiations that Clayborne is conducting, looking for a compromise to ease the impact of electric rates that skyrocketed this year after Ameren and ComEd deregulated in Illinois. […]
“If being uncooperative means not agreeing with the utilities … and representing the best interest of our members, then yes, we’re uncooperative,” said Donna Ginther, director of state affairs for AARP-Illinois.
The charge is ridiculous, particularly in light of Madigan’s investigation.
* Madigan’s press release
* FERC complaint
* Supporting exhibits
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Morning Shorts
Friday, Mar 16, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Audit: Double fares might not even help RTA
His audit urged lawmakers to revamp the way mass transit is funded. The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the three transit agencies, relies on sales taxes in Cook and the collar counties — a formula that has remained unchanged since 1983.
* Auditor says state should give funds, require reforms for RTA
* Audit: RTA in serious financial trouble
* Audit finds public transportation in financial disaster
* Sun-Times Editorial: Mass transit funding needs new route map
* Chicago area mass transit needs overhaul:
The modern criminal code was just 72 pages when it was written in 1961. Now it would take the Rosetta stone to decipher the code’s more than 1,200 pages. Court appearances sometimes have to be continued to give judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys more time to sort through the often conflicting, redundant and outdated morass of laws.
* Tribune Editorial: Cracking the criminal code
* Republicans slam governor’s prison guard plan
* Federal judge appoints lawyers for fired grand jurors
* State law would force parents to lock up guns
“If they can get behind the wheel of a car and they manage to make poor judgments there I don’t know how you are going to sit there and tell us that we absolutely have to lock up every firearm in our house.â€
* Future unclear for teen driver ID signs
* State police again deny FOIA request
* State cuts leave offices empty
* Ex TV News anchor, Joel Daley, changes sides to work as federal courthouse spokesman
* Emmanuel tells D.C. freshman to avoid Stephan Colbert
* Lobbying revenues fail to outpace inflation
“It’s hard to know whether lobbying’s flat growth in 2006 was due to Jack Abramoff giving the industry a bad name or an election year in which Congress didn’t consider much legislation for lobbyists to cash in on,” said Sheila Krumholz, the center’s executive director.
* State wants to know sex offenders’ email address
* Fawell sentence reduced
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer granted a four-month reduction to Scott Fawell’s 6¨-year sentence for racketeering committed while he served as chief of staff to George Ryan in the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
* City workers nabbed in joint city and federal payoff probe
* Presidential candidate Brownback to speak in Peoria
* Guilty plea in Hired Truck case
* Political donors to also be landlords in Cook Co.
* Early voting only 10 days away
* Subprime woes to claim Schaumburg jobs
* New Lennox mayoral candidates vow clean campaigns
* Friday Beer Blogging: Guiness Edition
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