* Green Party gubernatorial nominee Rich Whitney outlined his budget and economic plan today at a Statehouse press conference.
Among other things, he wants a forensic audit of state government…
Convene an independent commission of citizens, drawn from both the private and public sector to examine the budget with a fresh set of eyes and identify programs, positions and practices that can be cut without any detriment to the public. Borrowing a good idea from a former rival candidate, Republican Adam Andrzejewski, I propose to give this commission the authority to conduct a “forensic audit” of the budget for this purpose and the authority to subpoena state employees and documents.
He later told reporters that he might appoint Andrzejewski to the commission, or even Dan Proft.
The audit, an expanded state government “suggestion box,” a review of pork and cuts to the capital program are supposed to save $2 billion.
After the cuts, he wants a SB750 type bill to raise taxes and reduce property taxes. He also would expand the sales take to include services, and impose a financial transactions tax on “speculative trading”…
At a time when the Illinois legislature repeatedly hits low-income workers disproportionately with ―sin taxes‖ on alcohol, tobacco and gambling, a Financial Transactions Tax would impose a tax on another form of gambling, one that is every bit as harmful as the other sin taxes, and far more voluminous
He also wantsa “fee and dividend” system on energy producers responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and nuke plants…
Fees would be imposed on the producers while consumers would receive quarterly dividends from the proceeds, based on their income level, that would provide protection from energy price hikes and allow a shift in spending in favor of clean energy and energy efficiency.
His rhetoric is pretty sharp…
It may surprise some people to hear a candidate talk about expanding public employment at a time when the media keep pounding into people’s minds the notion that government is “too big” and we can’t afford it.
However, we have to ask ourselves why we are continually being told this. We have to recognize that the corporate-dominated media have an agenda and that there is a reason why we have been hearing this propaganda steadily for over 30 years. We also have to realize that when the opinion leaders in the corporate media keep telling us that “we” can’t afford it, what they are really trying to tell us is that “they” – the wealthy owners of corporate America – don’t want to afford it. They don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes needed to maintain the most basic functions of government. And thus the illusion is created that in the richest, most productive nation in the world, we as a society somehow can’t “afford” quality public education, quality health care for all, quality employment opportunities for all and decent retirement security for all.
He also wants a state-owned bank…
Create a state bank, in which to deposit our tax revenues, supplemented by funds from private depositors, so that the State of Illinois can invest in productive ventures that benefit the people of Illinois, and keep the interest collected for the benefit of the people, rather than pay interest to enrich the same private financial institutions that have already preyed upon workers, homeowners and taxpayers.
* Whitney took questions from the press and here are some snippets…
All state polling - public or private should include him in the mix - any poll that doesn’t should be discounted. He got 11% in ‘06. He won’t win or even come close and who know if he can get 11% or more again, but similar anger that drove his numbers then will push them again.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
i saw rich whitney on chicago tonight and admittedly i was not happy with his stance on national security/defense based on something he said. he sounded like a pacifist. but then i recalled my own words about brady: he won’t be able to drive social policy in illinois. likewise whitney won’t drive national security/defense policy.
so i’m glad to have rich whitney as an option in this race, and if the low-voter turnout means what i think it meant which was that voters are fed up and very unhappy, whitney could have a very good year. he is more of a threat to quinn than brady. brady’s problem is his (perceived) extremism. quinn’s problem is well, um, quinn.
liberals will stay with quinn. but, whitney can and should court moderate dems, republicans and independents. he should also make a strong effort to appeal to black voters.
after blago and george ryan, i hope the media do not shut whitney out and decide that the only two choices for illinoisans are quinn and brady. i look foward to hearing and learning more from whitney.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
WCW - it looks like Whitney is planning to court “moderate dems, republicans and independents” by running to the left of Quinn. Who knows, might be crazy enough to work.
Good to see a different set of ideas, thanks Rich.
Rich Whitney has received 360,000 votes for Governor and Pat Quinn has received 460,000 votes for Governor in previous elections from almost the same possible voter pool. Whitney deserves equality in the media.
After Quinn threw them under the bus, the teachers unions should very seriously consider getting behind Whitney, especially if Quinn can’t get his income tax passed this year.
If Ralph Nader,er,I mean Rich Whitney, wants to run, it’s a free country. The best any 3rd party candidate did in a national election was Teddy Roosevelt. I think he got 20% of the vote. Other independents have done better, but 3rd parties in this country just don’t do well. I don’t know Whitney but can’t see him offering anything substantially different from the other 2 candidates. How many different ways can we describe Illinois’ mess? How many different solutions are out there? Reduce costs/spending and raise taxes. This is not rocket science. It is basic math, people. Don’t waste your vote on a 3rd party candidate. You are guaranteed to vote for the loser.
- Robert Zimmerman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:25 pm:
seriously, when are people going to realize that businesses don’t pay taxes…it is a cost that is passed on to the consumer!
Some other sharp rhetoric from Whiteny: “We can’t drink, smoke, or gamble our way out of our defecit.” I really like that his principled position against sin taxes isn’t so much that they’re social ills, but just a poor way to balance the budget.
He should be incldued in polls, but I also hope the media truly covers him. I don’t mean a feature story every now and again, but casually making mention of the three candidates in news stories, i.e. “Brady’s 10% accross-the-board cuts vary drastically from his opponents proposals.” Hundreds of stories get written that make everything sound like a two way race, and a feature covering the candidate one time doesn’t really make up for that.
Please note, I don’t mean for this to be a criticism of this post; this is something I’ve observed more generally. The CapFax has regularly included coverage of the Greens that doesn’t take place in other publications.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:31 pm:
six, lol.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:34 pm:
2006 election results showed that Whitney pulled pretty evenly from both Democratic and Republican camps.
Good God, a citizens commission? Really? A bunch of neophytes going over the budget will be very similar to a bunch of nonpoliticians writing campaign ethics laws.
And please, please don’t appoint Dan Proft or nothing will be accomplished except demagoguery of the highest order.
Dems ought to be very careful here. Even if Whitney only takes 7-8% it could be enough to tip the election to Brady. In years past this would not have been such a big deal, with the republican candidates being far more moderate. This time a republican victory would be so distasteful to most dems that they may never forgive themselves for voting for Whitney. This is not to bash Whitney, or try to sway votes away from him. If these 3 guys were running in a vacuum, I’d vote for Whitney, as I did 4 years ago. But this time the cost may be too great, take a flier on the long shot. I also agree that he should be in all polling so voters can truly weigh their options and know if his numbers could give the election to Brady.
A tax on speculative trading??? Does he know that Illinois is home to the biggest derivatives exchanges in the world? I am sure that the exchanges would never consider leaving in face of a tax. Good plan there Greenie.
Is 7% that outrageous? If he took 7, 4 LESS than his last attempt, do you not think that would make this election very close? While the numbers are mostly speculation, my main point was voting for Whitney and giving the election to JBT or a Ryan, is entirely different than voting for Whitney and giving the nod to an ultra-conservative like Brady.
===If he took 7, 4 LESS than his last attempt, do you not think that would make this election very close? ===
It depends. Last time, he took about equally from both major party candidates. Blagojevich beat JBT by 10 points. Did he make it closer? Don’t think so.
I am sure we can count on Brady alienating potential crossover votes this fall with his right wing extremist, anti woman, anti big government, I aint raising taxes, I’m gonna cut, cut, cut rhetoric…unless Quinn really muffs it, I think Pat will win this contest by a margin of 10-15%…
Whitney’s ideas will make Illinois more uncompetitive than it already is. But, he has every right to say what he wants to say. Why should there be only two choices in an election?
There is so much governmental failure in Illinois, we have potentially large blocs of voters capable of bolting their traditional party base and backing their own third party candidates.
The Democrats have utterly destroyed Illinois schools, especially in Chicago’s forever failing system. Reverend Meeks could use that base to bring African American Chicagoland voters together with a gubernatorial run. Daley isn’t going to stop Meeks - he has demonstrated a public neutrality over Quinn. Hynes’ Harold Washington ad wasn’t based on nothing, ya know.
With the largest base of Illinois voters, a third party candidacy from this voter base would determine a few things with it’s power.
Downstaters are disenfrachised and voted for Brady. They’ve got their candidate. The cultural differences won’t win a majority of Illinois voters, but these folks have already taken over the GOP. They can’t win with this alone, but no one north of I-80 is representing Center-Right Illinoisans.
Quinn could end up being William Howard Taft in 1912. He has the nomination, but he is weak. He polls poorly, and the only thing saving him is a lack of decent opposition. If he has to go out in public and soothe angry voters with his empty bag of tricks, he can end up without a base beyond a traditional Democratic base.
Whitney can also carve out a decent voter bloc this year. His Green stands may get a laugh Downstate, but appear sincere and decent in Chicagoland. Sincerity means something in 2010. If Whitney demonstrates bipartisanship and demonstrates respect towards voters from both political parties, he could be a player.
We saw our Primaries go down to the wire, and then both end up verging on recounts. If two ambitious political players are willing to make a name for themselves in 2010 and beyond, the political environment is ripe to do it.
Whitney is in. Quinn is in by default. Brady is in accidentially. An African American or Hispanic Chicagoland candidate can blow this whole thing wide open.
Brady isn’t a right-wing extremist. He voted for the law that allows illegal aliens to attend state universities and pay in-state tuition. If he was a right-wing extremist, he would have voted against that law. I heard him give a few speeches, and I never heard him say, “I’m anti-woman.”
Rich, I get your point, the numbers don’t add up to my original post. Again, I don’t want to quibble about the numbers. It was more to the point of the cost (a Brady win) compared to voting for Whitney. So, are you saying that Whitney will take half from each and be a non-factor in this election?
One of the major points missed here but was listed in the SJR article…a large chunk of the deficit would be filled by legalizing and taxing pot. Ugh. And another one of his revenue generation ideas is based on climate studies that have been recently exposed as a complete fraud put forth by corrupt scientists and political activists attempting to engineer a forced radical change to the American lifestyle and economy.
Just a note, Whitney’s voters are gonna come from the liberal voting pool, maybe some mods, but certainly not from conservatives.
A forensic audit is designed to meet the burden of proof in a court of law. It takes a lot of time and requires a lot of documentation. It would be very expensive, and it wouldn’t do much to improve efficiency unless it uncovered a bunch of illegal activity.
He probably just added the word “forensic” because it sounds good. What he is decribing is a performance audit which the State Auditor General does all the time. The problem isn’t that he doesn’t do a good job, but that the legislature and Governor aren’t required to implement any of the findings.
Kudos to Rich Whitney for putting together a thoughtful proposal. I don’t necessarily agree with everything you say, but it sure is refreshing to read versus the recycled talking points we’re continuously forced to bear from the major parties.
I voted for Whitney 4 years ago and for a while thought that it was an impossiblity this time around, but given the choice between Brady and Quinn, it is looking more possible every day.
Why shouldn’t Whitney be in the debate on the budget? Nothing’s getting done anyway.
As far as I can tell, the best plan out there is Brady’s; he pretends that most of the budget deficit doesn’t exist. That sure does make things a lot easier.
The eternal optimist in me is hoping that Mark Brown’s column today will resonate far and wide, especially with those who say government should be run like a business or a family.
The state is six months behind in its bills. A chronic deadbeat. Bankruptcy is not (or should be) an option. As a business or a family, what do you do to get right?
DuPage Dan: He won the primary dude…in
case you forgot…he’s not muffing governing, he has been hogtied by a do nothing legislature and HRH Madigan…don’t give me the drivel that he is responsible for the $13 billion in our state deficit in your response either…
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the feds assign an accountant to start overseeing Illinois because no one else is willing. While bankrupsy is not an option, this approach is. California is already appearing to be forced towards this situation. If they go, expect Illinois to follow.
Being an election year, and the President’s home state, going into federal receivership would be quite the newmaker.
Hmmm, who would benefit from that? Not a gubernatorial candidate who will run in 2012. What if Sarah Palin starts demanding it be considered - (nah, she isn’t taken seriously)…How about Huckabee? Or Ryan? Or Lamar Alexander? Former governors?
What if the Congressional GOP starts demanding hearings over when this federal overseeing is supposed to start. If things in California go south for the GOP politically, and they have nothing else to lose - why not?
Can you imagine how bad the Administration would look, filled with Chicagoans, trying to answer questions regarding the Illinois budget fiasco?
That would shift the national conversation back to issues regarding our suffering economy…hmmm.
We also might get several more billion out of the feds in order to avoid this scenario…
conservative Veteran: you must not be a frequent reader of this blog…he doesn’t have to say anything, he lets his record speak for itself…catch up and we’ll chat more in the weeks and months ahead…
Brady’s social stances area non-starter for this entire cycle. They aren’t the pressing issues of this election–it’s all about the economy, budget & anti-corruption reform.
Even if he is elected, Madigan & Cullerton will be controling the legislature. Lisa Madigan will be AG. Our supreme court justices are publicly elected and not appointed by the governor. Even if Brady wanted to spend political capital on the social issues (and there’s no indication that he does), he simply won’t be able to drive social changes in the state.
Under Brady, social issues will be status quo.
Any attempt to suggest otherwise is disingenuous and is designed to distract people from the actual crisis issues facing our state right now.
I feel that I am a moderate Republican; Brady is way too far right for me on the social issues, and naive about the financial mess. Quinn is incompetent.
Personally, as a male, abortion isn’t a primary issue for me, but if I were a female, I wouldn’t stand for some male politician telling me that I couldn’t have an abortion.
Gun control. Whitney is on my side-hard to believe, a person that the press is calling a liberal is in favor of concealed carry.
What I read about his budget ideas, sounds like a plan that ought to be given some consideration-he has some good ideas-at least he has one, unlike Brady, who can’t talk about anything but cutting taxes. Quinn is fighting with his own party.
Maybe a governor with some ideas somewhere in the middle might get some help from both sides of the aisle.
Just a note, CNN exit polls from 2006 showed that Whitney pulled practically equally from Dems (8%) and Repubs (7%). He also pulled an impressive 22% from independents.
In theory I don’t disagree with you plutocrat03. In practice, however, what ever happened to those Reform Commission suggestions?
The commenters here are pretty familiar with politics and government, yet we’ve seen some absurd suggestions from this group on how to balance the budget. What makes you think a citizens committee would do any better or come to a workable solution?
Whitney needs to understand what the current governor doesn’t: it is his job to make these recommendations. Forming a citizens committee is an abdication of constitutional responsibility.
It is the opposite of leadership.
- Phil Huckelberry - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 5:03 pm:
One point I wanted to address was this comment from VanillaMan:
“Whitney can also carve out a decent voter bloc this year. His Green stands may get a laugh Downstate, but appear sincere and decent in Chicagoland.”
Actually, Rich performed better “downstate” than he did in Cook County in 2006. He topped 20% of the vote in Jackson County (where he lives), and also in Winnebago, Boone, and Ogle Counties. He also exceeded 15% in Peoria, McLean, and Champaign Counties. He was under 10% in both Chicago and suburban Cook County.
I see stabs at “conventional wisdom” here saying that Whitney is bad news for Quinn. But Rich has demonstrated strong support in a lot of downstate markets, and as has been pointed out by a few people, in 2006 he was pulling votes from across the spectrum. Now that the Green Party is stronger in Chicago, and we’ve made some inroads into both Latino and African-American communities, Rich’s numbers will only go up there, and he should be able to more than hold his ground across downstate generally. Bill Brady was my State Senator for a few years, and the reality is, he’s not as popular as he’s made out to be. He’s not even the most popular guy named Brady in his own hometown. (State Rep. Dan Brady is.)
The immediate question is, will some of the major media - especially the Tribune - actually provide equitable coverage to Rich’s campaign? The newspapers still matter - the 20%+ Rich got in the Rockford area in 2006 can be attributed in part to an endorsement from the Rockford Register-Star. I’ll be very interested to see how the Tribune covers Rich’s budget plan.
Whitney did as much of a number on JBT last time as he did on the other side. He was really the only gun control skeptic in the race, so that was surely good for a few conservative votes and it was certainly good for more than a few Downstate votes.
We won’t have a conservative hissy fit this time, not with Brady on the ballot, and Whitney could well be in a better situation to pick up disaffected liberals.
I’m curious also at the implication of Dock Walls running. At this point I see it as nothing but good news for Brady.
We all know the problems in Illinois. Both Democrats and Republicans have done everything they can to stifle any reform. The people can send a clear message by voting for Whitney. Imagine the national news coverage if the voters in Illiois elected a third party candidate to governor. It would send a message all the way to the White House and Congress that we have had enough of their incompetence and will not take it any more. Anything other than a vote for a third party is sending a message that we appreciate the fine job our two parties have done for us. The way I see it, the only way to spoil your vote, is to vote for ANY Republican or Democrat. And to stay at home and not vote, since there is an alternative, sends the same message.
I voted for dock Walls for Mayor A I believe Daley is a crimuinal and B Dock Walls resume is pretty good. But he wont pull more than 2-3%. The only thing that could of hurt Quinn was Meeks running as an independent but no one takes him serious after Blago Bought him off and then double crossed him
I do believe that Whitney will receive a truly surprising number of “a pox on both your houses” votes this fall. The dueling campaign ads will shout that Brady is too right wing for IL and that Quinn is too incompetent to address our state’s problems. Voters will consider those arguments as having considerable merit and will then look toward the third candidate. I’m not sure what the attack ads will say about Whitney that will be sufficiently devastating to keep many frustrated voters from pulling the Green lever in order to send a message that they are wholly disgusted with politics as usual.
I am hearing a lot of talk among disgruntled democrats over Quinn’s not supporting Art Turner for lt gov and planning to fire Randle at DOC. The Green Party is looking very attractive as an alternative to brady and quinn.
Too bad I didn’t see your response earlier. PQ won the primary - the only thing he has done right so far. Hamstrung? More like invisible. There are many things he could do without the consent of the GA. He could have fumigated, for example. People wanted him to fumigate. We pled for fumigation. Name one fumigant. Go ahead, dudette.
How about the capitol construction program, Loop Lady. He promised he would sign the bill if it was presented to him. The GA worked hard to get it ready so that the construction season could have been exploited. Then PQ squashed it. Nice work, eh? How did HRH MJM mess that up? I got a million of ‘em - PQ is a failure.
- Bill-O' the Clown - Friday, Mar 12, 10 @ 3:06 am:
- Stones - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:03 pm:
I might be ignorant but I am not sure what a foresnic audit is? Sounds impressive but kind of like an autopsy.
- Stones - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:04 pm:
excuse me forensic - I still don’t know what it is
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:06 pm:
All state polling - public or private should include him in the mix - any poll that doesn’t should be discounted. He got 11% in ‘06. He won’t win or even come close and who know if he can get 11% or more again, but similar anger that drove his numbers then will push them again.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
i saw rich whitney on chicago tonight and admittedly i was not happy with his stance on national security/defense based on something he said. he sounded like a pacifist. but then i recalled my own words about brady: he won’t be able to drive social policy in illinois. likewise whitney won’t drive national security/defense policy.
so i’m glad to have rich whitney as an option in this race, and if the low-voter turnout means what i think it meant which was that voters are fed up and very unhappy, whitney could have a very good year. he is more of a threat to quinn than brady. brady’s problem is his (perceived) extremism. quinn’s problem is well, um, quinn.
liberals will stay with quinn. but, whitney can and should court moderate dems, republicans and independents. he should also make a strong effort to appeal to black voters.
after blago and george ryan, i hope the media do not shut whitney out and decide that the only two choices for illinoisans are quinn and brady. i look foward to hearing and learning more from whitney.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
WCW - it looks like Whitney is planning to court “moderate dems, republicans and independents” by running to the left of Quinn. Who knows, might be crazy enough to work.
- John Bambenek - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:15 pm:
A forensic audit is a discipline of accounting in which not only the spending is audited, but the “why” of spending and the “what” of results.
- TaxMeMore - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:21 pm:
Good to see a different set of ideas, thanks Rich.
Rich Whitney has received 360,000 votes for Governor and Pat Quinn has received 460,000 votes for Governor in previous elections from almost the same possible voter pool. Whitney deserves equality in the media.
After Quinn threw them under the bus, the teachers unions should very seriously consider getting behind Whitney, especially if Quinn can’t get his income tax passed this year.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:23 pm:
If Ralph Nader,er,I mean Rich Whitney, wants to run, it’s a free country. The best any 3rd party candidate did in a national election was Teddy Roosevelt. I think he got 20% of the vote. Other independents have done better, but 3rd parties in this country just don’t do well. I don’t know Whitney but can’t see him offering anything substantially different from the other 2 candidates. How many different ways can we describe Illinois’ mess? How many different solutions are out there? Reduce costs/spending and raise taxes. This is not rocket science. It is basic math, people. Don’t waste your vote on a 3rd party candidate. You are guaranteed to vote for the loser.
- Robert Zimmerman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:25 pm:
seriously, when are people going to realize that businesses don’t pay taxes…it is a cost that is passed on to the consumer!
- Sacks Romana - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:26 pm:
Some other sharp rhetoric from Whiteny: “We can’t drink, smoke, or gamble our way out of our defecit.” I really like that his principled position against sin taxes isn’t so much that they’re social ills, but just a poor way to balance the budget.
He should be incldued in polls, but I also hope the media truly covers him. I don’t mean a feature story every now and again, but casually making mention of the three candidates in news stories, i.e. “Brady’s 10% accross-the-board cuts vary drastically from his opponents proposals.” Hundreds of stories get written that make everything sound like a two way race, and a feature covering the candidate one time doesn’t really make up for that.
Please note, I don’t mean for this to be a criticism of this post; this is something I’ve observed more generally. The CapFax has regularly included coverage of the Greens that doesn’t take place in other publications.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:31 pm:
six, lol.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:34 pm:
2006 election results showed that Whitney pulled pretty evenly from both Democratic and Republican camps.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:40 pm:
Good God, a citizens commission? Really? A bunch of neophytes going over the budget will be very similar to a bunch of nonpoliticians writing campaign ethics laws.
And please, please don’t appoint Dan Proft or nothing will be accomplished except demagoguery of the highest order.
- The Glove - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:50 pm:
Dems ought to be very careful here. Even if Whitney only takes 7-8% it could be enough to tip the election to Brady. In years past this would not have been such a big deal, with the republican candidates being far more moderate. This time a republican victory would be so distasteful to most dems that they may never forgive themselves for voting for Whitney. This is not to bash Whitney, or try to sway votes away from him. If these 3 guys were running in a vacuum, I’d vote for Whitney, as I did 4 years ago. But this time the cost may be too great, take a flier on the long shot. I also agree that he should be in all polling so voters can truly weigh their options and know if his numbers could give the election to Brady.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:54 pm:
===Even if Whitney only takes 7-8% it could be enough to tip the election to Brady.===
And your evidence is based on 2006? Just sayin…
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:56 pm:
Also, while he will certainly do better in the fall, Whitney got just 5,086 votes in the uncontested statewide primary.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 2:59 pm:
Whitney got 360,000 votes in ‘06
- tominchicago - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:04 pm:
A tax on speculative trading??? Does he know that Illinois is home to the biggest derivatives exchanges in the world? I am sure that the exchanges would never consider leaving in face of a tax. Good plan there Greenie.
- The Glove - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:04 pm:
Is 7% that outrageous? If he took 7, 4 LESS than his last attempt, do you not think that would make this election very close? While the numbers are mostly speculation, my main point was voting for Whitney and giving the election to JBT or a Ryan, is entirely different than voting for Whitney and giving the nod to an ultra-conservative like Brady.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:06 pm:
===If he took 7, 4 LESS than his last attempt, do you not think that would make this election very close? ===
It depends. Last time, he took about equally from both major party candidates. Blagojevich beat JBT by 10 points. Did he make it closer? Don’t think so.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:08 pm:
I am sure we can count on Brady alienating potential crossover votes this fall with his right wing extremist, anti woman, anti big government, I aint raising taxes, I’m gonna cut, cut, cut rhetoric…unless Quinn really muffs it, I think Pat will win this contest by a margin of 10-15%…
- Stones - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:11 pm:
JB - Thank you for the info sir!
- Steve - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:17 pm:
Whitney’s ideas will make Illinois more uncompetitive than it already is. But, he has every right to say what he wants to say. Why should there be only two choices in an election?
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:19 pm:
There is so much governmental failure in Illinois, we have potentially large blocs of voters capable of bolting their traditional party base and backing their own third party candidates.
The Democrats have utterly destroyed Illinois schools, especially in Chicago’s forever failing system. Reverend Meeks could use that base to bring African American Chicagoland voters together with a gubernatorial run. Daley isn’t going to stop Meeks - he has demonstrated a public neutrality over Quinn. Hynes’ Harold Washington ad wasn’t based on nothing, ya know.
With the largest base of Illinois voters, a third party candidacy from this voter base would determine a few things with it’s power.
Downstaters are disenfrachised and voted for Brady. They’ve got their candidate. The cultural differences won’t win a majority of Illinois voters, but these folks have already taken over the GOP. They can’t win with this alone, but no one north of I-80 is representing Center-Right Illinoisans.
Quinn could end up being William Howard Taft in 1912. He has the nomination, but he is weak. He polls poorly, and the only thing saving him is a lack of decent opposition. If he has to go out in public and soothe angry voters with his empty bag of tricks, he can end up without a base beyond a traditional Democratic base.
Whitney can also carve out a decent voter bloc this year. His Green stands may get a laugh Downstate, but appear sincere and decent in Chicagoland. Sincerity means something in 2010. If Whitney demonstrates bipartisanship and demonstrates respect towards voters from both political parties, he could be a player.
We saw our Primaries go down to the wire, and then both end up verging on recounts. If two ambitious political players are willing to make a name for themselves in 2010 and beyond, the political environment is ripe to do it.
Whitney is in. Quinn is in by default. Brady is in accidentially. An African American or Hispanic Chicagoland candidate can blow this whole thing wide open.
- Brennan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:22 pm:
The excise tax on “speculative trading” is a job creator…for New York City and Milwaukee.
I like the forensic audit. Why isn’t Brady advocating for that?
- Conservative Veteran - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:23 pm:
Brady isn’t a right-wing extremist. He voted for the law that allows illegal aliens to attend state universities and pay in-state tuition. If he was a right-wing extremist, he would have voted against that law. I heard him give a few speeches, and I never heard him say, “I’m anti-woman.”
- The Glove - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:30 pm:
Rich, I get your point, the numbers don’t add up to my original post. Again, I don’t want to quibble about the numbers. It was more to the point of the cost (a Brady win) compared to voting for Whitney. So, are you saying that Whitney will take half from each and be a non-factor in this election?
- Segatari - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:35 pm:
One of the major points missed here but was listed in the SJR article…a large chunk of the deficit would be filled by legalizing and taxing pot. Ugh. And another one of his revenue generation ideas is based on climate studies that have been recently exposed as a complete fraud put forth by corrupt scientists and political activists attempting to engineer a forced radical change to the American lifestyle and economy.
Just a note, Whitney’s voters are gonna come from the liberal voting pool, maybe some mods, but certainly not from conservatives.
- Pelon - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:37 pm:
A forensic audit is designed to meet the burden of proof in a court of law. It takes a lot of time and requires a lot of documentation. It would be very expensive, and it wouldn’t do much to improve efficiency unless it uncovered a bunch of illegal activity.
He probably just added the word “forensic” because it sounds good. What he is decribing is a performance audit which the State Auditor General does all the time. The problem isn’t that he doesn’t do a good job, but that the legislature and Governor aren’t required to implement any of the findings.
- train111 - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:38 pm:
Kudos to Rich Whitney for putting together a thoughtful proposal. I don’t necessarily agree with everything you say, but it sure is refreshing to read versus the recycled talking points we’re continuously forced to bear from the major parties.
I voted for Whitney 4 years ago and for a while thought that it was an impossiblity this time around, but given the choice between Brady and Quinn, it is looking more possible every day.
train111
- dupage dan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:39 pm:
Loop Lady,
=unless Quinn really muffs it=
So, what he’s done so far doesn’t constitute muffing it? Really?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:39 pm:
Why shouldn’t Whitney be in the debate on the budget? Nothing’s getting done anyway.
As far as I can tell, the best plan out there is Brady’s; he pretends that most of the budget deficit doesn’t exist. That sure does make things a lot easier.
The eternal optimist in me is hoping that Mark Brown’s column today will resonate far and wide, especially with those who say government should be run like a business or a family.
The state is six months behind in its bills. A chronic deadbeat. Bankruptcy is not (or should be) an option. As a business or a family, what do you do to get right?
- Obamas' Puppy - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:47 pm:
Establishing a statewide bank with pension fund money? That is not permitted under federal law, he should know better.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:50 pm:
DuPage Dan: He won the primary dude…in
case you forgot…he’s not muffing governing, he has been hogtied by a do nothing legislature and HRH Madigan…don’t give me the drivel that he is responsible for the $13 billion in our state deficit in your response either…
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:56 pm:
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the feds assign an accountant to start overseeing Illinois because no one else is willing. While bankrupsy is not an option, this approach is. California is already appearing to be forced towards this situation. If they go, expect Illinois to follow.
Being an election year, and the President’s home state, going into federal receivership would be quite the newmaker.
Hmmm, who would benefit from that? Not a gubernatorial candidate who will run in 2012. What if Sarah Palin starts demanding it be considered - (nah, she isn’t taken seriously)…How about Huckabee? Or Ryan? Or Lamar Alexander? Former governors?
What if the Congressional GOP starts demanding hearings over when this federal overseeing is supposed to start. If things in California go south for the GOP politically, and they have nothing else to lose - why not?
Can you imagine how bad the Administration would look, filled with Chicagoans, trying to answer questions regarding the Illinois budget fiasco?
That would shift the national conversation back to issues regarding our suffering economy…hmmm.
We also might get several more billion out of the feds in order to avoid this scenario…
What’s Glenn Beck’s website?
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 3:57 pm:
conservative Veteran: you must not be a frequent reader of this blog…he doesn’t have to say anything, he lets his record speak for itself…catch up and we’ll chat more in the weeks and months ahead…
- Segatari - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:00 pm:
>Brady is in accidentially.
Accident? How is he in by accident? He WON fair and square. I voted for him.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:03 pm:
–Being an election year, and the President’s home state, going into federal receivership would be quite the newmaker.–
What in the world are you talking about? Does it have any basis in law, fact, practice, policy, experience… reality. Your whole post is absurd.
I’m sure among you, Sarah and Glenn, it makes a lot of sense.
- Brennan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:08 pm:
=So, are you saying that Whitney will take half from each and be a non-factor in this election?=
That’s what he was in 2006.
I think he should be in the conversation. The people need hits on the status quo from as many players as possible.
- (Formerly) Angry Republican - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:13 pm:
California receivership explained here: http://www.slate.com/id/2246915/
- ABCBoy - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:20 pm:
Brady’s social stances area non-starter for this entire cycle. They aren’t the pressing issues of this election–it’s all about the economy, budget & anti-corruption reform.
Even if he is elected, Madigan & Cullerton will be controling the legislature. Lisa Madigan will be AG. Our supreme court justices are publicly elected and not appointed by the governor. Even if Brady wanted to spend political capital on the social issues (and there’s no indication that he does), he simply won’t be able to drive social changes in the state.
Under Brady, social issues will be status quo.
Any attempt to suggest otherwise is disingenuous and is designed to distract people from the actual crisis issues facing our state right now.
- Downstate Commissioner - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:25 pm:
I feel that I am a moderate Republican; Brady is way too far right for me on the social issues, and naive about the financial mess. Quinn is incompetent.
Personally, as a male, abortion isn’t a primary issue for me, but if I were a female, I wouldn’t stand for some male politician telling me that I couldn’t have an abortion.
Gun control. Whitney is on my side-hard to believe, a person that the press is calling a liberal is in favor of concealed carry.
What I read about his budget ideas, sounds like a plan that ought to be given some consideration-he has some good ideas-at least he has one, unlike Brady, who can’t talk about anything but cutting taxes. Quinn is fighting with his own party.
Maybe a governor with some ideas somewhere in the middle might get some help from both sides of the aisle.
- plutocrat03 - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:41 pm:
47th….
I like the idea of non-politicians working up an ethics ordinance.
The tax eating political class has been feathering their own nests first for so long that they don’t know where the line is anymore.
- Walter P - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:46 pm:
Just a note, CNN exit polls from 2006 showed that Whitney pulled practically equally from Dems (8%) and Repubs (7%). He also pulled an impressive 22% from independents.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/IL/index.html
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 4:49 pm:
In theory I don’t disagree with you plutocrat03. In practice, however, what ever happened to those Reform Commission suggestions?
The commenters here are pretty familiar with politics and government, yet we’ve seen some absurd suggestions from this group on how to balance the budget. What makes you think a citizens committee would do any better or come to a workable solution?
Whitney needs to understand what the current governor doesn’t: it is his job to make these recommendations. Forming a citizens committee is an abdication of constitutional responsibility.
It is the opposite of leadership.
- Phil Huckelberry - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 5:03 pm:
One point I wanted to address was this comment from VanillaMan:
“Whitney can also carve out a decent voter bloc this year. His Green stands may get a laugh Downstate, but appear sincere and decent in Chicagoland.”
Actually, Rich performed better “downstate” than he did in Cook County in 2006. He topped 20% of the vote in Jackson County (where he lives), and also in Winnebago, Boone, and Ogle Counties. He also exceeded 15% in Peoria, McLean, and Champaign Counties. He was under 10% in both Chicago and suburban Cook County.
I see stabs at “conventional wisdom” here saying that Whitney is bad news for Quinn. But Rich has demonstrated strong support in a lot of downstate markets, and as has been pointed out by a few people, in 2006 he was pulling votes from across the spectrum. Now that the Green Party is stronger in Chicago, and we’ve made some inroads into both Latino and African-American communities, Rich’s numbers will only go up there, and he should be able to more than hold his ground across downstate generally. Bill Brady was my State Senator for a few years, and the reality is, he’s not as popular as he’s made out to be. He’s not even the most popular guy named Brady in his own hometown. (State Rep. Dan Brady is.)
The immediate question is, will some of the major media - especially the Tribune - actually provide equitable coverage to Rich’s campaign? The newspapers still matter - the 20%+ Rich got in the Rockford area in 2006 can be attributed in part to an endorsement from the Rockford Register-Star. I’ll be very interested to see how the Tribune covers Rich’s budget plan.
- Angry Chicagoan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 5:29 pm:
Whitney did as much of a number on JBT last time as he did on the other side. He was really the only gun control skeptic in the race, so that was surely good for a few conservative votes and it was certainly good for more than a few Downstate votes.
We won’t have a conservative hissy fit this time, not with Brady on the ballot, and Whitney could well be in a better situation to pick up disaffected liberals.
I’m curious also at the implication of Dock Walls running. At this point I see it as nothing but good news for Brady.
- FED UP - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 5:32 pm:
We all know the problems in Illinois. Both Democrats and Republicans have done everything they can to stifle any reform. The people can send a clear message by voting for Whitney. Imagine the national news coverage if the voters in Illiois elected a third party candidate to governor. It would send a message all the way to the White House and Congress that we have had enough of their incompetence and will not take it any more. Anything other than a vote for a third party is sending a message that we appreciate the fine job our two parties have done for us. The way I see it, the only way to spoil your vote, is to vote for ANY Republican or Democrat. And to stay at home and not vote, since there is an alternative, sends the same message.
- fed up - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 5:40 pm:
I voted for dock Walls for Mayor A I believe Daley is a crimuinal and B Dock Walls resume is pretty good. But he wont pull more than 2-3%. The only thing that could of hurt Quinn was Meeks running as an independent but no one takes him serious after Blago Bought him off and then double crossed him
- Responsa - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 6:44 pm:
I do believe that Whitney will receive a truly surprising number of “a pox on both your houses” votes this fall. The dueling campaign ads will shout that Brady is too right wing for IL and that Quinn is too incompetent to address our state’s problems. Voters will consider those arguments as having considerable merit and will then look toward the third candidate. I’m not sure what the attack ads will say about Whitney that will be sufficiently devastating to keep many frustrated voters from pulling the Green lever in order to send a message that they are wholly disgusted with politics as usual.
- ourMagician - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 9:04 pm:
Brady and financials…..just wait…..
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 9:32 pm:
I am hearing a lot of talk among disgruntled democrats over Quinn’s not supporting Art Turner for lt gov and planning to fire Randle at DOC. The Green Party is looking very attractive as an alternative to brady and quinn.
- DuPage Dan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 10:02 pm:
Loop Lady,
Too bad I didn’t see your response earlier. PQ won the primary - the only thing he has done right so far. Hamstrung? More like invisible. There are many things he could do without the consent of the GA. He could have fumigated, for example. People wanted him to fumigate. We pled for fumigation. Name one fumigant. Go ahead, dudette.
- DuPage Dan - Thursday, Mar 11, 10 @ 10:07 pm:
How about the capitol construction program, Loop Lady. He promised he would sign the bill if it was presented to him. The GA worked hard to get it ready so that the construction season could have been exploited. Then PQ squashed it. Nice work, eh? How did HRH MJM mess that up? I got a million of ‘em - PQ is a failure.
- Bill-O' the Clown - Friday, Mar 12, 10 @ 3:06 am:
Read the plan. Love it.
- Another Vote - Friday, Mar 12, 10 @ 11:05 am:
Very pleased to see some coverage of the only candidate capable of principled action. I’ll keep reading.