* I’m done. Haven’t checked the weather forecast yet, but I’m in the mood for some outdoor activities. The blog will be reopened Sunday afternoon because the Senate is scheduled to convene at 4 o’clock. I’m not 100 percent sure that I’ll open comments Sunday, but we will be posting here.
* Make sure to check out the new “news feed” near the bottom right side of the page. It’s a Twitter feed of all state legislators who “tweet,” as well as several other tweeters I like.
* I chose this video after reading a story in the Sun-Times about how a certain Chicago alderman wants to crack down on street musicians [cough*brendanreilly*cough]. I can’t stand bucket drummers, but these guys used to play not far from my building when I lived downtown. They were almost always at the corner of Michigan and Randolph on warm Friday afternoons, and it was a very cool way to end the week…
* 12:03 pm - Reform Commission member Brad McMillan said today that he believes a special legislative session will be called this September to deal with the redistricting issue. Reformers (myself included) believe the General Assembly absolutely has to abandon its gerrymandering process and try something new, like computerized redistricting a la Iowa.
The quote…
“In conversations with Sen. Radogno and Sen. Cullerton and the Governor, they are looking to call a special legislative session the third week of September where we’ll focus exclusively on redistricting and getting it right.”
The video…
More as it comes in.
*** 12:11 pm *** The Senate Democrats’ spokesperson just called. Here’s her quote…
“We have not committed to a special session at this point.
“Our intent is to hold special hearings over the summer in the new Senate Redistricting Committee. Among the things to be discussed will be the Iowa model and other proposals. But that’s our intent at this point.”
*** 12:35 pm *** It sounds like McMillan talked out of turn. I just got off the phone with reform commission chairman Patrick Collins, who tried to make one thing clear…
“We’re not demanding a special session.”
Collins said that the governor “talked about a process that could include a special session,” but that neither Cullerton nor Radogno used that specific phrase.
Collins said that there just isn’t enough time before the end of May to take up the redistricting question, but that both Cullerton and Radogno committed to action over the summer, including a vote (possibly a committee vote).
More from Collins (rough quotes)…
We have had discussions with the govenor where he told us that he was supportive of a post May 31st session that focused on redistricting. Cullerton has told us that he is amenable to summer hearings that would focus exclusively on redistricting. Sen. Radogno the same day last week, in referencing a Cullerton conversation, said she was supportive of hearings on redistricting.
I’m currently awaiting a call-back from the governor’s press office.
*** 1:06 pm *** The guv’s office chose to send an e-mail which doesn’t really answer my question, but here you go for now…
Statement from the Governor’s Office:
Governor Quinn is committed to ethics reform in state government and fully looking into each of the Reform Commission’s proposals. Given we are in the remaining weeks of session, he is leaving the door open to working on the Commission’s recommendation on redistricting this fall.
*** 1:22 pm *** Senate President Cullerton’s office is confirming to reporters my subcriber-only story this morning about Cullerton’s desire to adjourn the Senate for the summer by May 29th. From Melissa Hahn’s Twitter page…
From Sen. Pres. Cullerton’s flak: ethics bills out Tues; budget, capital plan, ethics to start moving next wk; Senate adj. May [29th].
* 3:48 pm - From Senate GOP Leader Radogno’s office…
The Reform Commission and others believe there may not be time to address the redistricting reform issue during the next two weeks.
Given the complexities — and the public commitments that the entire report of the Illinois Reform Commission will be addressed — there is probably going to have to be summer hearings and a special session to deal with the specific issue of redistricting reform.
Leader Radogno has discussed the possibility of both with Senate President Cullerton and Governor Quinn. Both have been amendable to the idea – which will be discussed further as the legislative process moves forward.
There must be public hearings and a public vote on the proposal put forth by the Commission – sooner rather than later — to take the map-making responsibilities out of the hands of politicians.
Anything less than that cannot be acceptable to the Reform Commission or the public.
* You would think there would’ve been questions about Gov. Pat Quinn’s choice to lead the Department of Corrections, Michael Randle, who raised some eyebrows back in Ohio with a special deal for an old college buddy. The AP’s bio doesn’t even mention the episode.
Ohio’s state prison industry makes and sells furniture (much like ours does here) to state agencies. But all of a sudden the corrections system decided to start selling furniture to a private company at a reduced rate - via a no-bid contract. That company then made money on sales to other facilities…
[The Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections] decided that KBK Enterprises should get furniture for the reduced price. 10 Investigates turned up an agreement that allows KBK to buy furniture for only the cost of materials along with the cost of inmate labor and supervision.
At Port Columbus International Airport, we found an example of how the relationship benefits KBK. It bought a chair from the DRC for $365. State agencies would have paid $505. KBK then sold the discounted chair for $468. That’s a $103 profit.
“How can they quote these high prices to state agencies and then lower price to private enterprise?” asked Henry Eckhart, who is with Common Cause, a government watchdog group. […]
KBK is the only company with the arrangement with the DRC and it does not even have to bid for it. The man who owns KBK and Michael Randle, the assistant director of the DRC, have a long history that goes back to a fraternity house, Aker reported.
The contract was canceled just days after the above story appeared…
The state prison system is ending a no-bid arrangement that allowed a private company with close ties to the agency’s second-in-command to sell inmate-produced furniture for less than the agency charged its government customers. KBK Enterprises, a Columbus-based company that describes itself as a multistate real-estate developer, has been notified that its 2-year-old agreement with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction won’t be renewed when it expires next month.
“The parties have been trying to work through many issues, and for various reasons the development of the appropriate business relationship has not been accomplished,” wrote Rod B. Johnson, chief of Ohio Penal Industries, a division of the corrections department.
Agency officials said the decision to end the agreement — described in the termination letter as an “informal purchasing arrangement” as opposed to a contract — had nothing to do with any concerns about the long-standing relationship between Michael P. Randle, assistant director of the corrections department, and Keith B. Key, KBK’s founder and president.
Apparently, the state was supposed to get a share of the profits, but never got them…
“This revenue-sharing was to be paid monthly for each order during the previous month,” Johnson wrote in the termination letter, sent after WBNS requested public records detailing the agreement. “To date, KBK has not provided to OPI its share of that revenue.”
A bizarre, botched no-bid contract to an old friend of a higher-up that has to be canceled after reporters start digging. All that sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it?
* And, even more familiar to Illinois ears, there’s apparently an investigation underway back in Ohio…
Randle leaves Ohio amid an Inspector General’s investigation into his role with a contractor who bought furniture from the Department of Corrections. […]
Randle declined to respond to e-mailed questions from 10 Investigates about the timing of his move to Illinois.
In March, Randle denied any wrongdoing or inappropriate relationship concerning the furniture deal.
* Strangely enough, Randle was chosen after a national search, unlike all of Gov. Quinn’s other agency director appontments so far…
“We looked all over the country,” Quinn said, calling Randle the “best of the best.”
* The governor talks about House Speaker Michael Madigan’s “fumigation” bill…
* Quinn says he’s “not excited” about a proposal to legalize video poker to help pay for the capital plan, but is open minded. He also talks about other tax and fee hikes for the public works proposal…
* The governor rejects the idea for a temporary income tax increase…
* Quinn on the budget plan…
* And I’ve already posted this video, but here’s Quinn on reform…
* “Reform” is often defined by reformers as passing a bill. But it’s more than that. Much more. From last night’s blogger conference call with the Senate Democrats…
Q: ArchPundit question about the stability of State Board of Elections data links and making state agencies make their information more useable online.
A: Harmon said he’s glad to hear its not just him having technical difficulties. Said it could be a problem of not enough money to update technology and is something lawmakers need to make sure agencies have the resources to do properly.
Sometimes, reform just means making sure that the technology works like it should. The Board of Elections’ website is in dire need of a complete revamp.
The Illinois Tollway’s board of directors Thursday agreed to pay the company that runs its much-criticized toll-collection program an additional $12.3 million, boosting the five-year contract to $81.8 million.
Board members, who last month balked at the payment, insisted that more oversight be given to the work performed by Texas-based Electronic Transaction Consultants Corp. Tollway staff said ETC was entitled to the extra money, an increase from the company’s $69.5 million contract, because the company performed more work than planned when the contract was awarded in 2005.
Mayor Daley promised that one-fifth of the homes built as part of the massive makeover of the historic Maxwell Street market would be set aside as affordable housing. Damaris Matis, a real estate agent, got to buy one of those 187 affordable homes.
The Maxwell Street units were supposed to go to families, but many were bought by single professionals, some of whom never lived there and some of whom rented them out. Matis, then 25 and single, already owned two condos and was making $43,782 a year when city housing officials deemed her eligible to buy an affordable one-bedroom condominium in the city-subsidized development, called University Village.
She even got a $20,000 taxpayer-funded subsidy when she closed on the $190,500 condo on July 2, 2007, records show. Thirty-eight days later, Matis sold it — at a profit of $29,500.
* And you have to always keep in mind that just because some newspaper editorial boards huff and puff in support of this or that “reform” proposal, the ideas won’t always work in the real world…
Combining the investment operations of the five state-funded pension systems won’t save enough money to make it worthwhile, a key state senator said Thursday. […]
Giannoulias estimated the state could save $50 million to $80 million a year in administrative and management fees - money that could be reinvested into assets that benefit the pension funds’ bottom lines. […]
Under its “more likely” scenario, the study said the pension funds would save about $21 million a year in fees. The most optimistic scenario pegged the savings at $35 million. A worst-case scenario put the savings at only $500,000.
“I think we should shelve the idea,” said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), a co-chairman of COGFA who asked for an independent study of the idea.
* And then there are the goofy editorials like this one…
We’re not buying the arguments going around Springfield as to why federal limits wouldn’t work for Illinois. We hear the scoffs, that campaign contribution limits have done little to clean up Washington.
So, of course, that’s an excellent reason to do nothing here.
Nowhere did that editorial explain why limits have been such an amazing success in DC. It also ignored the fact that limits appear to be moving forward. This is from last night’s blogger conference call by the Senate Democrats…
“We will have campaign caps.” [said Sen. Don Harmon]
He said the federal $2,400 limits are too low. Those low limits have some unintended consequences.
Higher caps have been endorsed by a wide array of folks, including Senate GOP Leader Radogno, the Tribune and the SJ-R. But, as always, if you question anything produced by the sacred reform commission, you must be a crook. The trouble with that logic is people have different ideas of how reform should proceed, so then everybody gets tagged with the crook label unless they are in 100 percent lockstep with the reform commission. That’s just downright unAmerican.
Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday he would consider backing a contribution limit higher than $2,400. And Quinn’s reform panel chairman, Patrick Collins, said the commission is flexible on where the limit ends up.
* And watch Gov. Quinn squirm after being hit with questions about term limits for legislative leaders, another demand of his reform commission…
Under the terms of debate devised by some editorial boards and reformers, Pat Quinn must not be much of a reformer, either.
* The Rod Blagojevich case: Debate over use of federal wiretaps in trial goes on behind closed doors - Prosecutors file response under seal to co-defendant William Cellini’s request to suppress taps
1 in 4 dealerships nationwide, including nearly 20 in the Chicago area, will be forced out of business
On Thursday, bankrupt Chrysler LLC notified about a quarter of its 3,181 dealerships, 42 of them in Illinois, that it would terminate their franchises on June 9 as part of a reorganization mandated by President Barack Obama’s auto industry task force.
* I received this e-mail from the Senate Democrats last night…
You are invited to join an exclusive, blogger-only discussion regarding progress on upcoming legislation to reform Illinois government with members of the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. Senators Don Harmon, Jeff Schoenberg, Susan Garrett, Bill Haine and Kwame Raoul will provide you with an update and address submitted questions. Please respond to [redacted] to receive your password for the conference call and feel free to submit no more than three questions related to Ethics Reform measures.
The call will take place [today], Thursday, May 14 at 7:30pm.
Thank you in advance for your interest and participation.
Sincerely,
Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus
I’ll probably participate just to hear what happens. I’m not quite sure how many bloggers got the invite, but if you have a blog and didn’t hear from them, you can e-mail me and I’ll pass along your info.On second thought, since I have a lot to do this afternoon, just put your contact info in comments and I’ll ask the SDems to check it. Thanks.
* And then a few minutes ago, we received word that House GOP Leader Tom Cross is opening up his Friday caucus meeting to Democrats, the general public, the media and everyone else.
Friday’s special guest is Patrick Collins, the chairman of the governor’s reform commission. Cross has pushed for a Committee of the Whole to debate the commission’s report, but that request has been repeatedly denied. So, they’re gonna do their own thing.
The meeting will take place tomorrow morning at 9:30 at the Howlett Building auditorium. Click here to read the letter from Cross to Collins.
* And Gov. Quinn is going out of state for Illinois’ new Department of Corrections Director…
A 19-year veteran of the Ohio prison system is expected to be named the new head of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Michael P. Randle, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, would replace Roger Walker at the helm of one of Illinois’ largest state agencies.
Gov. Pat Quinn will unveil his pick for the $150,000 per year post at a 1:30 p.m. news conference Thursday.
Randle served in a number of positions - including warden at two Ohio prisons - before moving into the system’s administrative division.
Thoughts?
…Adding… I’ve told subscribers about this new web page, but forgot to tell everyone else. Tweet Illinois allows you to follow state legislative Twitter posts. It’s a great little page created by the Illinois Policy Institute.
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
With Illinois facing a record $12.4 billion budget shortfall, the last thing government should be doing is cutting programs that actually save taxpayers money. If the General Assembly slashes funding for home care, that’s exactly what they’ll be doing.
Seniors who now live in their own homes with the help of home care workers will be forced into expensive nursing homes and hospitals instead.
That’s bad for seniors and for taxpayers. It’s bad for every family with a loved one who depends on home care to live a healthy, independent life.
Tell Springfield that the right answer isn’t slashing home care and leaving vulnerable seniors on their own. The right answer is a plan for new revenue that’s fair to all of us.
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Are Illinois retired teacher pension benefits too rich? Do they cost too much? Does the governor’s plan improve the state’s fiscal health? These are fair questions and ones the Illinois Federation of Teachers would like to answer.
Illinois retired teachers currently average $41,532 in annual pension benefits received. Most do not get a Social Security benefit. The state’s “normal cost” for the current plan is around 6.5%, and since there is no Social Security payroll tax to pay, that is it. By contrast, private employers pay at least 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare.
No, benefit levels are not the problem, nor is their cost to Illinois taxpayers. The 800 lb. gorilla in the pension room is the pension debt, and reducing benefits for new hires does not change that. Even COGFA says the governor’s plan is not the answer, giving it harsh treatment in its April pension briefing memo.
Governor Quinn’s pension proposals will penalize new teachers for decades, even after the economy bounces back. A decent, stable pension system is one of the reasons young teachers can stay in the profession when teacher salaries don’t compete with other professions. Our current plan is affordable and provides decent benefits.
* Ending the diversion of money from the Road Fund to the general fund.
* An increase in vehicle registration and licensing fees.
* A tax increase on wine and spirits. (Beer would be excluded from the increase.)
* A tax increase on candy.
* Applying sales tax to some sweetened tea and coffee beverages, as well as health and beauty products.
* Internet sales of lottery tickets and having a private firm manage the lottery with a focus on appealing to new players.
That “tax increase on candy” is actually just applying the sales tax to candy. It’s currently exempted along with other food. Ending diversions from the Road Fund would mean either cutting programs or coming up with money elsewhere in the budget. Not mentioned above is legalizing video poker, which is starting to move through the House.
Nothing is currently set in stone, however. This is just a menu at the moment, but the four legislative leaders have at least set the menu.
* The Question: Which of these capital plan revenue generators is acceptable to you? Explain.
* The Illinois Senate had a very thoughtful, reasoned debate yesterday on a bill to ban texting while driving. Now, you’d normally think this topic would be a no-brainer. I mean, there’s no way people should be allowed to text their buddies while speeding down the Kennedy Expressway.
But the Senate, unlike the House, which approved the bill 89-27, delved into the matter much more deeply….
[Sen. Martin Sandoval], a Chicago Democrat, opted to pull the bill before lawmakers could vote on it so he could clarify whether drivers would get in trouble for using the GPS functions on their cell phones, texting while idling in traffic jams or texting while sitting on the side of the road.
As most people know, you’re more likely to be crawling on the Kennedy than zooming. So, should people be banned from texting while they’re hoplessly stuck in traffic and late coming home for dinner? That’s a problem…
Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, agreed that the intent of the bill was to minimize distracted driving. But he wasn’t convinced that a driver stuck in gridlock on the interstate could be classified as a putting other vehicles in danger if he or she decided to send a text message.
Also, the way our state laws are set up, you are considered operating a motor vehicle even if the car is off and the key is on the floor. I think they probably did this to bust drunks who are sleeping in their cars. But banning texting while parked is pretty goofy.
Sen. James Meeks, a Chicago Democrat, questioned how a police officer would differentiate between texting and making a phone call because the same buttons are used to accomplish different tasks. He said Sandoval’s measure would give too much latitude to law enforcement. “Now we’re giving the police the right to examine individual motorists’ cell phones to try to ascertain whether they were sending a text or making a phone call,” he said, later adding, “This is very dangerous.”
Same goes for GPS on cell phones.
Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat, cited a statewide poll that showed more than 75 percent of those polled thought texting while driving should be banned. But, he added, it’s another story if you’re the one getting pulled over and ticketed.
Creates the Sunshine Commission Act. Provides for the appointment by the legislative leaders of a Sunshine Commission, consisting of 4 legislators and 4 public members, to conduct a thorough review of the relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of each “State executive branch program”. Requires the Commission to report its recommendations to the General Assembly within 6 months after the Act’s effective date. Requires the General Assembly, by joint resolution, to approve or reject the report within 60 session days after the report is filed. Repeals the Act 2 years after its effective date.
For one thing, it is an abandonment of responsibility. The Legislature and governor should be making these choices individually.
For another thing, we doubt such a program “hit list” would get approval - rendering the commission’s work an exercise in futility.
They do say this, however…
But having qualified experts review these programs and suggest changes is a good idea.
The editorial claims the panel would look for ways to “consolidate or eliminate duplicative and ineffective programs.” It goes beyond that, however. Examining the “relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of each ‘State executive branch program,’” is more than just consolidation or elminating duplication. We may be getting into ideological territory with this legislation. And here are the “qualified experts” that the sponsor wants to examine these programs…
Each public member shall have professional, private sector experience in the field of banking, finance, or accounting, with at least one public member experienced in each of those fields.
I can see the point of having an audit to determine whether the agencies are following the relevant statutes and whether the programs are functional, but I wonder whether those “experts” are the best people to examine the programs themselves. The banking and finance industries haven’t been all that great lately, to say the least.
With some serious tweaking, this might not be a bad idea, however.
The Illinois Chapter of Americans for Prosperity based in Chicago and Judicial Watch Inc. based in Washington, D.C., filed suit in Sangamon County. They allege that both offices repeatedly denied requests under the Freedom of Information Act to release information about how a lump sum of $1.7 billion was spent in fiscal year 2008. [Emphasis added.]
Senate President John Cullerton is making peace with a government watchdog group that sued his predecessor to get access to a secret list of legislative earmarks.
Cullerton (D-Chicago) has provided Judicial Watch a list of legislative projects kept by ex-Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) and vowed that any similar grants approved in the upcoming 2009-2010 state budget will be identified individually for public scrutiny.
Under Jones, Senate Democrats had $18.7 million for legislators’ pet projects in the 2007-2008 budget year but fought to keep those projects and their sponsors secret, arguing the records were exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) put his members’ projects online at the time.
“There will be no more buckets of money handed out from the caucus for members to kind of distribute as they will,” Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said. [Emphasis added]
Kudos to Cullerton for settling this suit and barring this practice from here on out. But, unless I’m missing something, it appears the problem may not have been nearly as bad as the plaintiffs suggested. The actual amount was about ten one percent of what was originally alleged.
Also, take a look at the project list. [Fixed link] Most of it is pretty run of the mill stuff.
* Meanwhile, the judges are already calling Springfield about this reform…
The legislation makes the basis for General Assembly and judicial pensions the average of the highest four years of salary out of their final 10 years of state employment. Currently lawmakers’ pensions are based on their final salary.
The change cleared the House without opposition. In the Senate, only Quad-Cities Democrat Mike Jacobs voted against it. It now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn who has supported similar reforms.
You usually only hear from judges at the Statehouse when legislators are debating pay hikes. Now, they have another topic. Pensions.
* Here’s a Statehouse truism: Lobbyists always grumble, whether they’re good government types or just hired guns. They always grumble about their bills…
There is private grumbling among good-government groups that lawmakers are reluctant to act on the most sweeping ethics proposals. But most are maintaining a public display of optimism, even as they work behind the scenes to get whatever deal they still can with the two Chicago Democrats who will ultimately decide what bills move — House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. […]
Already, a number of proposals offered by Quinn’s reform commission have been discarded. Recommendations to limit the amount of time that legislators can serve top leadership roles and to make it easier to allow bills to get a vote have been set aside for now by lawmakers.
The commission’s call to move back the state primary balloting closer to the general election, aimed at lessening the costly role of fundraising, has fallen. Quinn’s push for public recall of elected politicians has been shunted aside by lawmakers, and the commission’s call to overhaul the partisan process of drawing legislative districts won’t get a vote this spring.
No surprise on any of it. The remap reform is the most important thing they could do to shake up the General Assembly, but they love them their maps. They’ll probably never do it on their own. A big reason I wanted a constitutional convention last year was so the idea at least had a chance.
* Related…
* Cook’s veto override bill is dying in House: House sponsor Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg) said he has no idea why the bill went nowhere in the House. He’s “still trying to breathe life into it,” he said, and maintains hope that Madigan will release it.
* Committee hearing delayed on Speaker Madigan’s bill to fire state employees: Bob Reed, a spokesman for Gov. Pat Quinn, said administration staff “are in discussion with Speaker Madigan and Senate President (John) Cullerton’s office to ensure the bill is properly focused and also financially and administratively responsible.” He declined further comment.
* The heart of pay-to-play: The Illinois Reform Commission recommends a long list of changes to make the process more open, fair and honest. At the top of the list is a smart idea: Install a statewide “czar” dedicated to insulating purchasing officials from political arm-twisting, and ensuring greater consistency, accountability and transparency in the way the state spends its money.
* It’s a bit frustrating watching some politicians play with the idea of running for various offices like they’re picking out a new toy…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan appears to be leaning strongly toward running for governor– not US Senate.
She’s not ruling out a senate race, but tells ABC 7 News the possibility of moving to Washington, D.C. doesn’t appeal to her.
“My focus has long been on looking at a race for governor as you know I’ve made no decision yet,” said Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General.
I understand the problem with schlepping back and forth to DC, especially with young kids. But that’s not exactly a high-minded reason to avoid a race. Pick a lane, please.
I’m taking a very, very careful look at this, and actually may make that run. I’ve set for myself an arbitrary deadline of June 8th where I’m gunna make a decision. And you know, I feel confident, actually, that if I ran I could win. Here we are though, at this incredibly opportune moment to really make big change. Big change moment today in our country. So I have to decide if I want to spend the next 18 months basically raising money. You know what I mean?… Rather than, I’m on the Energy and Commerce Committee, health care, energy. I’m on the Intelligence Committee, I’m in the Leadership of the House. So, I have to weigh all that. Clearly being in the Senate would give me an even larger opportunity to move an agenda.
Watch the video…
She also talks about US Sen. Roland Burris…
I don’t see how he can, at this point, win a primary. The numbers speak very loudly to that. And he’s just been embroiled in this toxic situation, and it hasn’t really gotten any better for him. And so I would say, that’s not, you know, I don’t see him as being competitive in a Democratic Primary.
And muses on the GOP’s chances in the contest…
Cenk Uygur: Is there a Republican in the state that can make a real run against a Democrat in Illinois?
Representative Schakowsky: For U.S Senate? I… no. And here’s why I say that: we are Barack Obama’s home state, and having a Republican who would run against the Obama agenda is a loser in Illinois. It just, you know, for our mostly blue state, I don’t see how that could happen. You know, there are things, I suppose that, you know, 2010 became a bad year because a lot of the hopes and dreams weren’t realized. But even then, I think there’s going to be a distaste for someone who’s part of the “just say no” group as a candidate for U.S Senate.
Discuss.
…Adding… The IL GOP’s new Web ad, “100 Days of the Same,” contains an interesting clip of Chris Kennedy that could be used in the upcoming campaign if he runs for US Senate…
FLORES: It spans anywhere from $300 to $500, but it also allows for revocation of the business license. It’s going to be enforced and if we have to have committee hearings on this to maintain and follow the enforcement we will.
But Mayor Richard Daley says the city is in no postion to enforce the ban. Daley says the bill just sends a message to companies. BPA is used by some manufacturers to harden plastic. Some studies have linked the chemical to medical problems, including cancer. But the American Chemistry Council says BPA does not harm children or infants.
The CTA is addressing a $155 million shortfall for this year mainly by moving $128.6 million designated for capital projects into “capital eligible” alternatives, that includes preventative maintenance and bus and rail car rehabs
This means the capital money will not be spent on other projects, such as fixing up old stations or 100-year-old bus garages.
The CTA also plans to fill this year’s gap through $3.8 million in savings in labor costs, and reducing by $10 million its reserve for injury and damage. No further fare increases or service cuts are planned for this year. A fare increase was imposed Jan. 1.
The CTA had hoped to receive an additional $56 million from the RTA to cover its 2008 shortfall — however, the RTA has since informed the CTA that the money is a loan and will have to be repaid.
CTA Board Chairman Carole Brown said she was disappointed by the RTA’s flip-flop on the $56.1 million, as well as by RTA inaccuracies in predicting the level of public subsidies. Only last month, the RTA told the CTA that the $56.1 million was being provided as a grant, not as a loan, officials said.
In the future, the CTA will independently monitor the public funding stream more closely, rather than rely on RTA projections, “so we are not surprised” again by the RTA, Brown said.
But RTA officials said they had to obtain bank loans to address the CTA deficit.
“It appears as if we have been successful,” Dart said at a news conference in Chicago Wednesday, adding that he is “cautiously optimistic” the new policies will reduce prostitution ads on the site.
The reversal by Craigslist was also praised by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office had sued the Internet site earlier, winning some concessions.
“We think it may make a dent” in Chicago area prostitution, Madigan said of the changes.
But both Dart and Madigan said there likely would still be thinly veiled prostitution ads on Craigslist under the new ‘adult services’ category even with pre-emptive monitoring. But they said that is better than the current anything-goes ‘erotic services’ pages.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) introduced a resolution in Springfield calling on Obama to nominate a member to the Surface Transportation Board who will consider “significant community impacts related to public safety, noise, vibration, traffic congestion, and other environmental concerns…”
Under pressure from the City Council, Mayor Daley has agreed to revise his mandatory furlough plan to include a sliding scale: the higher the salary, the more unpaid days off.
The Daley-sponsored ordinance introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting would require pedicab operators to purchase a $400 license that would only be issued to those with insurance to cover $50,000 worth of property damage, $100,000 to cover injuries to one passenger and $300,000 to cover multiple injuries.
As of Wednesday, 666 Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices have been installed in the vehicles of first-time DUI offenders in Illinois.
The devices are not new, but the law requiring first-time DUI offenders to have them installed in their vehicles if they wish to drive during their mandatory driving suspension period is. It went into effect Jan. 1.
* Tens of thousands of southern Illinoisans are still without power after last week’s devastating storm and they’re bracing for more horrid weather today. Yet the Chicago media has barely covered the story. If one of those southerners gets Swine Flu, it’ll probably be front-page news.
* I love my Mac puter, but I do despise the fact that I can’t listen to WUIS news stories on it. Maybe I should direct my ire at WUIS for excluding folks like me. [To be clear, I can listen to the live broadcast just fine, but I can’t get the individual news stories to work no matter what I do.]
* I currently live in Downstate, but I’ve been appalled for years at the disproportionate amount of road money the region gets. A new IDOT [LRB] study ought to shake things up, but I’m not so sure it will…
Between 1999 and 2007, road fund expenditures in the six-county Chicago area ranged from about 32 percent of the statewide total to 44 percent, the study found.
Spending outside the Chicago region reached a high of 68 percent in 2001 to a low of 56 percent in 2003, the study said.
The study noted, for comparison purposes, that more than 63 percent of Illinois residents live in the Chicago area, which accounts for more than half the vehicles and miles traveled in the state. […]
Meanwhile, about half of the more than 6 billion gallons of motor fuels sold in Illinois in fiscal 2008 were were used in the six-county Chicago region, the study estimated.
* This bill aimed at reducing the number of votes it takes to override Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s vetoes is an almost perfect illustration of the Statehouse’s broken sausage-making process…
A plan pending in the Illinois House would reduce the number of commissioners needed for an override from an almost impossible four-fifths to just three-fifths. […]
State Rep. Paul Froehlich, a Schaumburg Democrat, is the House sponsor. The idea was first filed in the Senate by state Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat. The Senate approved it in April.
The proposal would not affect Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s veto of the county board’s rollback of a controversial sales tax. As written, the law wouldn’t take effect until 2011.
Kotowski said Tuesday he wants to change the plan to have an immediate effective date. Doing so would give commissioners a chance to bring forth another repeal and, if Stroger again vetoes it, have an easier time casting that veto aside.
Take a look at the bill’s history for some chuckles. As originally introduced, the bill would’ve had an immediate effective date. Sen. Kotowski amended the bill to take out that immediate date on March 11th. Now, he wants to put it back in. Oops.
Rep. Froehlich picked up the bill after it passed the Senate. The measure was sent to the Mike Madigan-controlled Executive Committee, where it never received a vote (Surprise!). The passage deadline has expired, so it’s now sitting in the purgatory of Madigan’s House Rules Committee. The above story was generated after Sen. Kotowski and Rep. Froehlich held a Statehouse press conference, but there’s no word yet on whether Speaker Madigan will let the bill out of Rules.
So, the press conference was apparently a gratuitous pop. And the bill’s fate to date is exactly why people believe the leaders have way too much power over the process.
* Stroger, by the way, can’t really be described as a politically cooked goose. The meat has been fried off his body and now we’re getting to the marrow…
As he takes political heat for blocking a push to lower county sales taxes, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is in hot water for a more personal tax issue: He owes Uncle Sam nearly $12,000 for unpaid income taxes, recently filed records show.
Lots of people have had tax liens placed on them, but lots of people aren’t running for reelection after raising taxes on one of the largest counties in the nation.
A bill that would expand gambling to help pay for new schools passed in a House committee [yesterday].
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Frank Mautino, a Spring Valley Democrat, would allow establishments where liquor is served, fraternal organizations, veterans’ clubs and truck stops to have video gaming machines such as video poker. Many places already have the machines, but they can’t legally pay out winnings. If approved, the state would require establishments that offered video poker to be licensed and would legalize betting on the games. The machines also would be taxed, with revenue going toward school construction projects and local governments.
You can read the bill by clicking here. Also, the above story has lots more details, including….
25 percent - The percentage of net profits from the video gaming machines that would be taxed.
20 percent - The amount that would go toward building schools.
5 percent - The amount that would go to local governments.
$2 - The maximum wager per hand.
$500 - The maximum payout per hand.
21 - The minimum age to play.
* The Question: Do you support this concept to help pay for the capital bill? Explain fully, as always. Thanks.
* Carol Marin writes about a conversation between Sheila Simon, a member of the governor’s independent reform commission, and Steve Brown…
One of the interesting conversations Simon had last week was with Steve Brown, the longtime spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan. Brown’s criticism, something he says he has expressed many times, is that the reform seekers, by and large, haven’t ever contributed to a political campaign. “Kind of curious,” Brown said by phone Tuesday, “that people hold themselves out when they have never made a donation.”
“That was an interesting assessment to me,” Simon said. “I’m regarded as not being a political contributor and yet I think we are regular and active participants and not naive in anyway.”
Brown argues that with regard to the last two indicted Illinois governors, Ryan and Blagojevich, “neither of the two gubernatorial scandals would have been affected by limits.” But beyond that, he says, “If you talk to people who worked in limit systems, all they talked about was how much time they had to spend raising money.”
Though Simon disagrees with the first point, on the second she does not. “I watched dad go through elections with federal limits. I’m not saying it was fun. But you don’t run for election because it’s fun, you run because there’s something you want to accomplish in government.”
Actually, a search of the Illinois State Board of Elections site shows that Ms. Simon has made just two contributions which have been disclosed by campaigns, both for $25 to Lisa Madigan.
Sheila’s father, the late US Sen. Paul Simon, constantly complained about the money he had to raise for reelection. But Sen. Simon did support campaign contribution caps when he pushed an ethics reform bill in the 1990s. Then-state Sen. Barack Obama also favored caps at the time.
I posted a comment about Ms. Simon on the blog yesterday which referred to her unsuccessful bid for Carbondale mayor. Simon limited contributions during that campaign to just $50…
[Simon’s losing, contribution-capped campaign] would make her an expert, however. She’s also an expert in running as a reformer and being bashed by the local media as a Democratic Machine tool, even though her contributions were capped at $50 and her opponent was taking tons of help from the state GOP.
The editorial boards screaming loudest these days for reform are the same ones who dumped on just about every reformer candidate we’ve ever had. Just ask Glenn Poshard about the Chicago Tribune, for example.
This is about more than just legislation. It’s about changing attitudes. And the Trib and the Southern Illinoisan have had horrible attitudes.
The Tribune endlessly banged on Poshard for bending his own, self-imposed campaign contribution caps, while endorsing George Ryan - despite clear evidence that commercial drivers licenses were being sold in exchange for campaign contributions.
Until we get a better editorial corps in this state, I’ll be wary of limiting candidate spending [contributions] too much. I still support caps, but newspaper editorial boards are a prime reason to be suspicious.
As proposed last week by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), the bill targets nearly 3,000 state workers and members of boards and commissions who got their positions while Blagojevich and George Ryan served as governors. If Madigan’s bill becomes law, those workers can stay for another 60 days before they lose their jobs. During that time, Quinn could decide to keep the people in their positions.
Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman, said there’s “been some conversation between our staff and the governor’s staff” about changing the bill. He said Tuesday there’s been no agreement on the changes and refused to discuss it further.
Bob Reed, spokesman for Gov. Pat Quinn, said the office is still reviewing House Bill 4450 and “may propose some changes,” but said it is too early to discuss them.
It’s very likely that the bill will eventually be changed.
* And the Aurora Beacon-News has an interesting back and forth over the stalled Plainfield hospital proposal, which involves reform commission member Edward Hospital CEO Pam Davis…
“It is unfortunate that Edward Hospital CEO Pamela Meyer Davis and the hospital continue to try every means possible to gain approval,” wrote Brickman, Finn and Mace [area hospital CEOs]. “Their latest antic in Springfield is to fire state staff and change the rules for approving new hospitals.”
The village of Plainfield wasted no time in responding. Acting Village Administrator Don Bennett fired off a letter to the editor that questioned the executives’ motivation.
“I think that they’re trying to, through the health facilities planning board, force geographical areas to come to their facilities, even though they may not either have the resources to handle it or the ability for your doctor to go to that facility,” Bennett said Tuesday.
Chicago’s Civic Federation, for instance, issued a report Monday saying Quinn should quadruple the $1.1 billion in cuts he proposes for this year and next to more than $4 billion. But the federation listed only $41 million worth of potential cuts - less than 1 percent of the total.
That’s just beyond irresponsible. Here are the “cuts” the Civic Federation suggested…
* Eliminating the State subsidy for Coal Development and Marketing could yield $23.8 million annually;
* Eliminating compensation for appointed members of state boards and commissions could save up to approximately $6.6 million per year;
* Eliminating General Fund subsidies of the salaries of local assessors, supervisors of assessment and coroners could save up to $4.5 million per year;
* Eliminating State college tuition waivers granted by members of the General Assembly would generate up to $3.8 million in revenues;
* Eliminating agricultural research grants to public universities could save up to $2.2 million annually; and/or
* Ending the State subsidy for the DuQuoin State Fair, the State’s second state fair, could save $407,000 per year.
If somebody posted those cuts on this blog and suggested it was a budget solution, that person would be sharply ridiculed here.
If the Civic Fed is so adamant about cutting the budget, why are their suggestions so puny? Probably because there’s very little lawmakers can actually trim without drastically scaling back the state’s education, health care, and social services programs. Once you dig into those areas, there is a human cost. So they avoid specifics. And then the local media outlets fail to point this out. (The Sun-Times even went so far as to describe the Federation as “shred[ding]” Quinn’s budget.)
Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, told us yesterday that the Federation should explain exactly where the governor needs to slice costs. “There is no way there is $4 billion of fluff in this budget,” he tells us. “It’s irresponsible to just say, ‘Find $4 billion, good luck.’ If you call for cuts of this magnitude, you must have the integrity to tell voters where it’s coming from.”
Indeed, $4.25 billion represents about 15 percent of our $27 billion in General Funds spending (the other half of the state budget is covered by federal dollars).
Don’t listen to anybody who thinks such drastic cuts can be made if they don’t offer up at least a road map for getting there. Also, by reading the report, you’d never know that the Civic Federation understands the difference between the two halves of the state’s budget
* Henry Bayer, the president of AFSCME Illinois, took a very sharp whack at the Civic Federation in a recent online column. While way over the top, he does make a good point: Lots of Civic Federation corporate members have tanked their own companies, so why listen to them?
* Corrections chief not surprised by Quinn’s plan for replacement: “I pretty much knew they were going to do this,” Walker said. “You work at the pleasure of the governor.”
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s people, including her top campaign aide Mary Morrissey, threw lots of cold water on reports this week that the AG might run for US Senate when I talked to them. Madigan, herself, didn’t return a call, but she did tell Sneed that she was taking another look at the race…
“The governor’s race is still my main consideration,” Madigan told Sneed. But Madigan’s taking another look at the Senate race after recruitment phone calls from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. […]
Sneed also hears Madigan sent word to the Merchandise Mart’s Chris Kennedy that she is being seriously courted by the DSCC as its preferred candidate for the Senate seat once held by President Obama. Kennedy is himself considering a run for the seat.
Top political strategist and fund-raiser David Rosen tells Sneed he spoke to both Madigan and Kennedy.
• • Quoth Rosen: “I told the attorney general I was scheduled to meet with Kennedy, and she told me to tell him she had changed her mind and was thinking of running for the Senate. Lisa was not sending this message to clear the field. She just felt badly she had told Chris a week ago she was not going to run for the Senate.”
Madigan tells Sneed that Rosen called her. In the conversation, she asked Rosen to tell Kennedy about the DSCC’s courtship of her, but she stressed to Sneed that she also talks to Kennedy regularly herself and was not trying to send any message about her intentions.
“I don’t need to send a messenger to Chris,” she said. “I’m still up in the air about the Senate.”
DSCC polling shows Madigan doing the best of any candidate in the US Senate race. The Republicans say Alexi Giannoulias shows signs of serious weakness with negative polling “push” questions.
Sneed also pointed out that LMadigan has said in the past that she didn’t want to move her young children to DC.
* Lynn Sweet recalls a conversation she had last month with AG Madigan…
Thinking about the Senate? I asked.
“Never given it any serious consideration, Lynn,” Madigan said.
But you are considering running for governor?
“Correct,” Madigan said.
Since then, Madigan has had a retreat in her Chicago campaign office with her advisers, including media consultant Saul Shorr and pollster Celinda Lake. And since then, she has said the Senate is an option.
Q. If the Democratic Primary election for United States Senate were held today and the candidate were Jan Schakowsky, Chris Kennedy, Roland Burris and Alexi Giannoulias, for whom would you vote?
- 20.0 Jan Schakowsky
- 16.4 Alexi Giannoulias
- 15.9 Roland Burris
- 12.7 Chris Kennedy
- 35.0 Undecided
Q. If the general election for United States Senate were held today, which one of the following best describes how you are likely to vote between Mark Kirk, the Republican candidate and Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic candidate?
- 34.2 Mark Kirk
- 33.2 Alexi Giannoulias
- 32.6 Undecided
Q. If the general election for United States Senate were held today, which one of the following best describes how you are likely to vote between Mark Kirk, the Republican candidate and Chris Kennedy, the Democratic candidate?
- 33.2 Mark Kirk
- 32.6 Chris Kennedy
- 34.2 Undecided
Kirk and Giannoulias start out even. Madigan starts out way ahead. But if Madigan gets into the US Senate race, Kirk may just run for governor.
* IL AG: Craigslist dropping ‘erotic services’ ads - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says that Craigslist is getting rid of its “erotic services” ads and will create a new adult category that Web site employees will review.
The Commerce Department said today that retail sales fell 0.4 percent last month, much worse than the flat reading economists expected. The April weakness followed a 1.3 percent drop in March that was worse than first estimated.
The clock is still ticking for the city of Peoria to come up with plan to stop its combined stormwater/sewer system from pumping raw sewage into the Illinois River nearly every time there’s a moderate rainstorm.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Illinois counterpart have demanded the costly fix to the antiquated system Downtown for decades. The unfunded mandate carries an expected price tag in excess of $105 million.
Gas prices around Chicago and across the nation have risen sharply in the last few weeks, and experts say a combination of investor speculation and fair-weather driving trends are likely to keep them from retreating anytime soon.
* Trains block tracks in suburbs: CN underreported delays at rail crossing, Chicago suburbs say
About 25,000 Ameren customers remain without electricity after strong storms raked southern Illinois last week.
The utility said Tuesday evening that it had 2,100 crew members working to restore power. So far the electricity was turned back on for 44,000 customers. Ameren estimated the majority of those still without power should be restored by early Wednesday.
However, Ameren said some outages would persist until Thursday and Friday.
The Chicago City Council is expected to vote Wednesday to ban the plastic chemical additive bisphenol A from food and drink containers that are used by children. Aldermen Edward Burke (14th) and Manny Flores (1st) initially proposed banning BPA from almost all children’s products. But they scaled back in response to concerns from the chemical industry and some aldermen about the feasibility of enforcing a wide-ranging ban.
