Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2009

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 5:21 pm - Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent has resigned, according to a very high level source.

The resignation was expected. The governor wanted him gone. Expect a replacement in a matter of a few days.

* Also, the governor made the rounds of editorial boards today. The Tribune has posted the raw video.

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Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This sure seemed like a long week, but we all had a lot of fun. I did anyway. I’m done now, though. I hear it’s nice outside. I’m gonna go check it out.

* This takes a minute or so to get going, but it’s well worth the wait. From Uncle Tupelo’s last show…

There was a time
You could put it out of your mind
Leave it all behind
There was a time
That time is gone

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Afternoon video - Quinn debates on Fox *** UPDATE: Quinn Now Wants June Primary ***

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gov. Quinn was on Fox Chicago’s “Good Day Chicago” program this morning and wound up debating Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman.

Tillman made one claim that is just way out of whack. He claimed that reducing state worker salaries to private sector levels would save $3 billion. Huh? That’s about equal to the payroll for all state employees.

Anyway, give it a watch…

*** UPDATE *** Gov. Quinn is meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times edit board and the CS-T is live tweeting…

# Feb. 2 date is “designed to protect incumbents.”

# Quinn seeks later primary - 3rd Tuesday of June - to cut down on money-raising malfeasance. Primary is currently Feb. 2.

More…

Quinn: Business community may be willing to accept tax increase in trade for public pension reform/tax.

Yeah. That’ll happen.

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Silly newspaper tricks

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Wall Street Journal comes this goofy rant comparing Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed tax hike to the Art Institute’s plan to charge higher ticket prices…

To put this in perspective, let’s say the family of four cited by Alderman Burke has a taxable income of $60,000, slightly less than the regional median after accounting for exemptions. Illinois has a flat tax, so the Quinn hike of 1.5% would be applied to every dollar of taxable income. The family’s annual tax bill would rise by $900–enough to pay for more than a dozen trips to the Art Institute even at the higher ticket prices that have Burke so outraged.

Um, no. A family of four with an adjusted gross income of $60,000 would pay $60 more per year - which is not even one family outing to the Art Institute at the proposed higher rate of $18 per person (or four trips to the Illinois State Fair at its newly proposed rate).

And in the unlikely event that he’s talking about state exemptions in that piece, the mythical family of four would get $24,000 in exemptions, meaning the family’s federally adjusted gross income (remember, that’s adjusted, not simple gross) would be $84,000 ($60,000 plus the non-taxed $24,000 in state exemptions), so their tax hike would be $420.

More useful background at Illinoize.

* Is it too much to ask that newspapers do a quick calculation of a taxpayer’s likely tax bill before printing stories like these?…

Stay-at-home mom Bonnie Tondini of Mazon is concerned. With what her husband currently earns, the family is barely staying ahead, she said.

“We’re living month-to-month right now, and if the governor raises taxes any more, I don’t know if we will. I’m willing to go get a job and everything, but I’ve go kids, and day care is so expensive,” she said Wednesday.

“I’ve got to be honest - I don’t know what we’ll do if he does.”

I feel for this person, but how many more dollars will she really have to pay under Quinn’s plan? We have absolutely no clue by reading that story.

* March 20th…

Confronted with anticipated legal bills of upwards of $400,000, Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) is setting up a defense fund

* February 6th…

“I have legal bills, to the tune of $400,000″ [Burris said]

* Jeff Jarvis annihilates the argument that newspapers could charge for online content…

The Wall Street Journal example is also a bit of a red herring. We should view the pay model with suspicion precisely because that is the only example ever raised. I repeat: Its subscription fees are paid on expense accounts. And I would love to see a full accounting of the revenue from joint subscriptions — print and online — that are attributed to each medium. I’d also like to see the cost of subscriber acquisition marketing, churn management and customer relations. Again, let’s look at the complete financial projections. […]

You say that “smart people” will pay for “unique and valuable information.” How much of that can a paper produce in a day? For that matter, how much of that do papers produce now? As I travel across the country, I have been picking up wafer-thin local papers — on paper — that are filled with Associated Press and syndicated copy, rewrites of commodity news I already know, fluffy features and “news” that began life as press releases.

Now is the time to be bluntly honest: What is the real value of newspapers as they are made today? What are they worth?

Newspaper publishers have decided that eliminating journalists and dumbing down their product by running more photos, much shorter stories and lots of canned copy is the best way to run their industry. And now some of them think they can charge money for that?

* Related…

* News-Gazette to become morning-only newspaper

* Chicago Sun-Times raising newsstand price to 75 cents

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Question of the day

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup…

Private security guards patrolling three Far South Side commercial strips would be empowered to write tickets — for everything from parking and moving violations to loitering, littering and graffiti — under a groundbreaking plan that faces strong resistance from rank-and-file Chicago Police officers.

The controversial idea comes at a time when City Hall is slowing police hiring and violent crime is up. […]

Chicago Fraternal Order of Police officials called it a dangerous idea they will “fight all the way.'’

“They’re not helping us,'’ FOP third vice president Greg Bella said. “When you put somebody out there who does not know the job, it makes double work for us.'’

More here.

* The Question: Is this a good idea which should be emulated by other cities and counties? Or not? Explain.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - State Police; Topinka; Prayer; Olympics; Tollway; Ethics (use all caps in password)

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Why is Quinn throwing Senate fundraiser? (use all caps in password)

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Empty populism and missing the point

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The double standard continues.

There’s no doubt that the Cook County sales tax remains horribly unpopular. The tax hike pushed the county into the “highest in the nation” category, and the anger was multiplied many times over by Cook County President Todd Stroger’s gross public ineptness and the often overly harsh media coverage of his administration.

The Sun-Times has blasted Stroger for his tax hike, endorsed Mike Quigley for Congress mainly because of his fight against Stroger’s tax increase, but praised Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday for his honesty when proposing an income tax increase.

Huh?

The Tribune has overreacted against the governor’s tax increase, but it overreacted to Stroger’s tax hike, so at least it’s consistent.

Anyway, legislators are obviously spooked at the reaction to the county tax hike, and would undoubtedly like to deflect voter anger away from them and onto a convenient scapegoat like Todd Stroger. So we get unfunded populist mandates like this bill, which passed the House Executive Committee yesterday…

Cook County’s widely reviled sales tax increase would be rolled back and future hikes restricted under a plan that narrowly passed an Illinois House committee Thursday.

As proposed, lawmakers would undo the 1 percentage point increase the Cook County Board approved last year and force the board to go to voters if members want to reinstate it.

Suburban Cook County lawmakers of both parties have been calling for the rollback as the tax increase pushed by County Board President Todd Stroger has riled suburban officials, businesses and taxpayers who see shoppers flocking to neighboring retailers where taxes are lower.

The House Executive Committee, which is controlled by Democrats, approved the rollback 6-5, sending it on to the full House. Its future there, however, is politically dubious.

Talk about an unfunded mandate. Plus, if members vote for this bill, shouldn’t they also ask for a citizens’ referenda before raising any state taxes?

As noted in the story, the bill is probably not going to make it to the governor’s desk, but it gives legislators a chance to rant and rave about someone else and raise false hopes amongst the angry populace.

* In other news…

Not even the promise of $3 billion in federal stimulus aid could avert hundreds of teacher layoffs announced this month in schools across the Chicago area.

School districts from Grayslake to Romeoville and West Aurora have authorized pink slips for educators, social workers, librarians and support staff—cuts the recovery package was specifically intended to avoid.

Many of the area’s top educators say they are still unsure how much of the federal windfall they will get after it filters through a state government beset by its own financial troubles.

Illinois could face an $11.5 billion shortfall. And while Gov. Pat Quinn this week proposed an income tax hike and fee hikes on everything from license plates to cigarettes, many school veterans worry a shell game could ensue where the stimulus money supplants other state funding, defeating what they believe was the intent of the investment. [emphasis added]

The governor’s defenders say he’s using the stimulus money exactly as intended - to ward off cuts to education spending. That assumes, of course, that he would’ve cut education spending. Not terribly likely. What the governor’s defenders don’t say is the stimulus money is also supposed to be used to help local school boards avoid cuts. That clearly won’t happen.

I’m also not sure why the Trib article claims that there is some vague worry about a “shell game,” when the governor’s proposal clearly uses 90 percent of the $2 billion federal education stimulus money to balance the state’s operating budget.

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Quinn steps into dangerous territory

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I’ve said before, Pat Quinn’s populist politics are not all that different from Rod Blagojevich’s, except that Quinn is far more honest and sincere. Check this out…

Quinn, in an interview with WGN-AM 720… suggested state lawmakers and other statewide elected officials consider taking a pay cut while the state is in economic distress.

“I really think that government officials in the executive branch where I am and the legislative branch should look closely at doing that,” Quinn said of a pay cut. “It’d have to be a law reducing pay, but I think that’s worth looking at, at least temporarily.”

But aides to Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said such moves would only be symbolic and wouldn’t address the real need to curb a projected $11.5 billion deficit.

Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said that although “everything is negotiable,” the Senate president would say “pay cuts from legislators get us no closer to our goals. It may pay off in PR credits, but it’s not a real solution.”

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said: “All of these nickel-dime ideas don’t serve any purpose” toward eliminating the debt, whether they are suggested by “a political person, a news organization or some self-appointed community civics expert.”

If this was Rod Blagojevich, we’d say he was publicly flogging legislators to shield himself from criticism about his revenue plan. So far, Quinn has been pretty good about avoiding potshots at the GA, but this is not a good sign. It plays right into the anger of folks like this person who sent me an e-mail yesterday afternoon…

…I do not see our elected representatives suffering, or hurting. In fact they have some great benefits, and I have heard nothing of them having to sacrifice anything as of yet.

Expect to hear more of that now.

…Adding… I put this into comments and then realized I should’ve included it here. From the Illinois Constitution…

A member shall receive a salary and allowances as provided by law, but changes in the salary of a member shall not take effect during the term for which he has been elected.

So, legislative salaries cannot be decreased until their next terms, which for most begins January of 2011. Hopefully, the economy will be out of this mess by then. They could take voluntary cuts, of course, but their salaries cannot be legally altered during this term.

* Meanwhile, Phil Kadner brings up an interesting point…

What if you finally got an honest politician and discovered you really disliked the way he ran the government? Would you rather have the honest politician or a dishonest one, even a crook, who did what you wanted him to do?

He concludes…

I think Quinn is honest. But I’m not sure that automatically makes him a good governor.

I think a tax hike is needed. I don’t like the way Quinn is spending some of that money.

But what do I really want? What do you really want?

Do you really want an honest governor who tries to do the right thing? What if he honestly believes the right thing to do is raise taxes?

Just maybe, the governor we want is the person that we’ve always elected in the past.

People love being told that they can get something for nothing and that somebody else will pay the piper. Rod Blagojevich, like quite a few recent presidents, was great at that game. The “Working families should not be taxed more,” mantra is perhaps the most overused pander in the book. Working families drive on the roads, take the trains, send their kids to public schools, etc. Somehow, they now feel entitled to do all that without paying anything extra.

Here’s most of the rest of that e-mail I received yesterday…

You have a lot of contact with the almighty state government in Springfield. So I pose this question to you. Do they realize that we are sick of having to bail out the state all the time?

The state it seems cannot hold up their end of the bargain on so many things. Then when they are up against the wall when it comes to bills, pension funds, infrastructure, they ask us to shoulder the burden of their mistakes.

Why do we have to suffer for their inability to take care of their own bills, their flagrant spending and general inability to do anything useful with the power given them it seems?

I reminded this person that the state government is him. This state elected Rod Blagojevich twice and George Ryan once. Legislators have been reelected time and time again. “Their” bills are his bills.

Thoughts?

* Related…

* Quinn pledges to find way to fund state historic sites

* State parks fees won’t take effect immediately

* This Is a Joke, Right?

* Illinois Governor Proposes Broad Array of Tax Increases

* About that “50% Increase”

* Quinn targeting cigarettes, but not alcohol, to fix budget

* Income-tax déjà vu—make hike temporary, like in ’80s

* Lawmakers React to Quinn’s Plan

* Who’s buying budget plan?

* Unions, business groups dislike Quinn’s budget

* State employee unions say Quinn needs to rethink budget

* Businesses fear Quinn’s tax bump

* Quinn visits Peoria, says state must focus on paying its bills on time

* Governor Visits Peoria, Pushes Tax Increase

* Gov. Quinn visits veterans home

* Quinn touts expansion of LaSalle Veterans Home staff during visit

* Quinn’s budget would raise admission for State Fair

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Morning Shorts

Friday, Mar 20, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* Jurors Deliberate in Sanchez Trial

* Chicago pension probe: City inspector targets ties to Mayor Richard Daley

City Hall’s inspector general has begun investigating how at least three city pension funds came to make investments with a firm co-owned by a nephew of Mayor Richard Daley, the Tribune has learned.

The office of Inspector General David Hoffman has subpoenaed records from the pension funds dealing with their investments of tens of millions of dollars in DV Urban Realty Partners, a real estate investment firm formed by a top Daley ally, Allison Davis, and Daley nephew Robert Vanecko. […]

The inspector general’s office also subpoenaed information that the pension funds’ trustees reviewed before investing with DV Urban Realty, suggesting investigators are trying to learn how the decisions were made and whether they were influenced by Vanecko’s relationship with the mayor, the source said.

* State court: Pardon doesn’t mean clean slate

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that gubernatorial pardons based on convicts’ innocence do not automatically clear their criminal record — a decision some attorneys said would cause their clients undue anguish.

The ruling involves pardons that declared two men, Stanley Howard and Dana Holland, innocent of violent crimes and could have been the first step to officially wiping away their convictions. But when the men took steps to expunge their records, judges said no.

“When we have a declaration of innocence, we should be trying to make it easy for that person to clear their record, not harder,” said Daniel, of Northwestern University School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions.

* ‘Marijuana club’ operator pleads not guilty

* Chicago may have priciest art museum

* Legal opinion: No tax obligation for Daley’s jet trips

* O’Hare gets $12 million in stimulus cash

* Durbin: 3 smaller Ill. airports to get nearly $10 million in stimulus money

* Aldermen criticize repaving around potential Olympic site

Mayor Daley’s plan to outline spending for Chicago’s $1 billion cut of the federal stimulus pie without consulting aldermen came under fire today — and so did the surprise decision to re-pave the streets surrounding Washington Park, site of a temporary Olympic stadium.

* Olympic dispute: Ald. Sandi Jackson says focus on pothole-plagued roads first, not Olympic sites

* Aldermen upset about no input on stimulus spending

* Trying to look good for IOC makes sense

* Chicago parking meters: Changes leave drivers angry, confused

* Weatherization money from stimulus to help Southland homeowners

* Sherman, Chatham projects in running for stimulus funds

* St. Louis-Chicago High Speed Rail and Future Gen Could Receive Funding from Federal Stimulus Act
High-Speed Rail & Future Gen

* Sales of Cat’s heavy equipment fall 27%

* Auto bailout may help Illinois-based suppliers

* Exelon CEO Rowe got ‘08 pay package of $12.2M

* White House launches Web site to help homeowners with mortgage payments, refinancing

* Sun-Times newsstand price to rise a quarter

* Cook County to require thumbprints from home sellers

The law is intended to deter housing fraud, which often involves forging a property owner’s signature on a deed and selling the property illegally. Sellers also must provide valid photo identification. The thumbprints will not be public records.

* Lisa Madigan heads to Washington

The specific topic: State enforcement of consumer protection laws and the home foreclosure crisis.