* Yesterday, Gov. Pat Quinn claimed that Bloomberg News had “misconstrued” his budget director David Vaught’s remarks when it ran this story…
Lawmakers will likely increase the personal tax to 5 percent from 3 percent, generating $6 billion of new revenue, the budget director, David Vaught, said in an interview. The legislature failed to address the deficit this year because of the pending November election, he said.
“We’re going to pass a tax increase in January,” Vaught said. “We expect it is going to be substantial.”
When asked how he defined “substantial,” Vaught pointed to Gov. Quinn’s latest one-point tax hike plan, but then went on to describe how the Senate had already passed a 67 percent income tax increase and related how the governor himself had testified at a House committee in favor of that very same tax increase.
More importantly, listen closely to what John Sinsheimer, Quinn’s director of capital markets, has to say. He points out that the “deficit” is $6 billion…
“The overseas investors we talked to, when we told them we could balance the budget with a 2 percent increase in individual and corporate income taxes, that pretty much raises $6 billion, slightly less than that.”
So, the Quinn team was also telling foreign investors how they could wipe out the deficit with a 67 percent tax hike.
I’ll leave it to others to judge whether or not Bloomberg “misconstrued” the remarks, but it seems clear from these excerpts, at least, that the two men were pointing heavily at increasing the income tax from 3 to 5 percent come January.
* Every campaign season about this time, I have to begin issuing stern warnings to newcomers and oldtimers alike.
The passions are understandably increasing as election day draws near, and that means the comments are sometimes turning ugly.
If you’re new here, try to keep in mind that this isn’t a newspaper website or a “normal” blog. We thrive on vigorous, healthy debate on this site. We don’t have any tolerance for stupid drive-by comments, Ad Hominem attacks, racism, swearing, bumper sticker slogans, rumor mongering, sock puppetry or the rest of the madness that you’ll find just about everywhere else on the Interwebtubenets. I’ve permanently banned two newbies in the past 12 hours, and I’ll continue doing so. You’re not welcome here if you can’t behave. And if you go too far over the line, I’ll personally track you down at your job or at your home and mete out some real-life punishment. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. Don’t push me.
And to the oldtimers, most of you love this site as much as I do. Don’t blow it by going all nutso on us. Lifetime bans, like diamonds, are forever.
This place is like my tavern. Feel free to come in and enjoy yourself, befriend the other customers, even consider it your second home. I fully believe that this is your place, too. But get too far outta line and you’re gone.
* I received an e-mail early this morning that you should all read…
I love your site! I never participated in blogs before, but found myself at the Tribune trial blog after looking for info on the Blagojevich trial. I must say that this 60 year old woman was shocked at some of the ignorant and stupid comments.
Anyway, your site was mentioned and i have been so pleased. I have learned so much in just 3 days. How refreshing that people can disagree and express opinions without being insulting and calling names. Thank you so much.
Let’s keep it that way, please.
* The Question: What, in your opinion, is the worst Illinois website for ugly, out of control comments? Give examples if you can. But keep it clean.
* Rod and Robert Blagojevich’s jurors have asked for transcripts of the entire trial. Judge Zagel said “No,” but left the door open for transcripts from specific witnesses…
“Is it permissible to obtain a transcript of the testimony. It would be helpful,” the note read.
And the answer to that question is no.
However, U.S. District Judge James Zagel said, with agreement by the lawyers, he will respond by telling the jurors that the testimony of certain witnesses would be considered.
Zagel noted that if (and when) that requests comes, it will take time to prepare the transcripts.
“The government will have the benefit of presenting its case a whole second time,” said Sorosky, who pointed out that the jury took copious notes.
* Natasha Korecki at the Sun-Times believes the jury note could be “a sign that they’re in this for the long-haul,” which is echoed by Daniel Libit at the Chicago News Cooperative, who writes the request could indicate “that deliberations might be going on for longer than expected.” Jeff Coen at the Tribune writes the jurors “may be settling in for a long haul.” Susan Berger goes deeper…
The second jury question “Is it permissible to obtain transcript of testimony. It would be helpful” Lots of speculation about this here at Camp Blago. Does this mean they are entirely lost and don’t know where to begin?
Or could it be that just a couple of jurors need convincing? And that they naively asked for transcript not knowing they could ask for just one witness’ testimony?
1. As is customary in white-collar crimes, he’ll remain free pending sentencing. He’ll immediately hold a news conference in the courthouse lobby at which he and his attorneys will vow to appeal the “unjust result of an unfair trial.”
2. Legal experts will declare that so many rulings went against his defense team that higher courts might well grant him a new trial. But they won’t. If the George Ryan timetable is any guide, the U.S. Supreme Court will deny his final appeal in the fall of 2012.
3. It will be December, maybe even January until Blagojevich’s sentencing hearing. In addressing the judge he will try – and fail – to sound chastened and remorseful while still not really admitting to anything that might jeopardize his appeal: “I should have been more vigilant. Should have been more watchful. Should have been a lot of things, I guess,” is more or less what he will say, echoing George Ryan’s feeble non-apology at his 2006 sentencing. “My charge in public office was to maintain and instill public confidence in the integrity of the government. I tried to do that, but I obviously failed.”
4. He’ll be ordered to report to prison two to four months after he’s sentenced. Again, this delay is customary. […]
5. He will mellow and lower his sights in prison, fashioning himself as a scapegoat and martyr who admittedly, regrettably did wrong, but did so only in an effort to thrive in a terribly corrupt system. Upon his release he will make a modest living as an inspirational speaker and freelance advocate for political reform.
Zorn also has a list of five things to expect if Blagojevich is acquitted. There’s no prediction for what happens in the event of a hung jury. Maybe later.
*** UPDATE 1 - 1:41 pm *** Oh, for crying out loud. Now Wikipedia has picked up on this bogus “Brady hacked the ILGA website” story. NBC5 and Chicagoist did so as well. Silly people. They posted their stories even though Progress Illinois has now retracted their original piece. Good job by PI, not so good by the others.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Considering the massive weirdness of the Brady campaign hacking Wikipedia the other day, another seemingly related story looked kinda interesting when I saw it this week and then when Progress Illinois picked it up yesterday and ran the ominous headline: “Brady Scrubbing The ILGA Website?“…
Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign caught a considerable amount of flack yesterday for replacing factual policy positions on its candidate’s Wikipedia page with a series of canned talking points. Unfortunately, it seems the online encyclopedia isn’t the only website the Brady campaign is scrubbing. And this new allegation is far more serious.
Mark E. Wojcik, a law professor at the John Marshall Law School, penned a letter to the editor in the Windy City Times yesterday alleging that someone is trying to shield the public from Brady’s position on gay rights. The letter states that someone got the folks who run the Illinois General Assembly’s website to remove Brady’s name as chief co-sponsor of a proposed constitutional amendment (SJRCA 95) that would have prohibited the state from recognizing same-sex marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnership.
If coordinated, the effort was successful; Brady’s name is listed at the top of the amendment’s “Full Text” as having introduced the measure but does not show up on the “Bill Status” section at all. We called officials from both Illinois’ Legislative Information Services and the Senate Journal, which controls the website. Neither office knew how such a slip-up could happen and both said that the website should reflect his sponsorship. “Oh my, that should not be,” exclaimed one of the women we talked with.
Those are some pretty serious allegations. And, if true, they would warrant a full-scale probe.
In reality, though, this is a complete non-story because it is standard Senate practice on all resolutions, including constitutional amendments.
In the Senate, for whatever reason, they don’t put the original sponsor’s name in the bill actions section. Let’s look at a Senate resolution from 2007 which made Deb Shipley the Secretary of the Senate. Here is the section which lists sponsors…
Sen. Halvorson was the original chief sponsor. But her name appears nowhere in the actions section…
All it says is “Filed with Secretary.” It doesn’t say by whom. So, if Halvorson had withdrawn her sponsorship, her name would’ve disappeared from the sponsors’ section and you’d never know by looking at the actions section that she was part of the resolution’s history.
The House does list sponsors on constitutional amendments in the actions section of their pages. But that wasn’t always the case. If you go back to the 92nd General Assembly and look at this proposed HJRCA, you’ll see that Rep. Doug Hoeft is listed as the original sponsor, but his name doesn’t appear in the actions section.
Anyway, that’s a whole lot of info to say that this is a completely bogus story. But I figured that the GA is my bailiwick so I ought to look into it.
The event even attracted the attention of Gov. Pat Quinn, who appeared before the Pumpkins set to read a proclamation, naming Tuesday as Matthew Leone Day in the state of Illinois and calling Leone “a true American hero.” He also presented a check to the fund.
Rod Blagojevich used to love to go to events like that and hand out or promise state checks. So, was taxpayer money donated to the Pumpkins’ designated charity?
“No, not a state check,” responded Quinn press secretary Grant Klinzman. Turns out, Quinn wrote a check out of his own personal account.
* And speaking of Rod Blagojevich, Pat Quinn showed up late to a press conference this week and caught heck from some reporters…
“I really don’t have time for this today,” complains one reporter, repeatedly, to no one in particular. “We’ve got stuff to do, and this isn’t it,” grouses another.
Finally, at six minutes to 10 the governor lopes into the room.
“Twenty-four minutes, guy,” a radio reporter chides, quite loudly, a surprising display of disrespect. Then again, any harried public schoolteacher can coax a classroom of 6-year-olds into their bee costumes and giant sun outfits and shepherd them onstage to sing about good nutrition without being this late
There are other things a governor occasionally has to deal with, and Blagojevich was often hours late, so this ain’t much of a big deal. Still, since his media coverage hasn’t been all that great lately, the guv might want to start showing up on time.
Republican newcomer Bobby Schilling is making a real contest out of his bid to unseat Congressman Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, and could yet produce an upset.
The Cook Political Report, which analyzes federal elections, has changed its rating for the 17th Congressional District of Illinois from “Solid D” to “Likely D,” a sign that Schilling’s campaign has gained some momentum. Real Clear Politics, another election analysis provider, has changed the seat from “Safe Dem” to “Likely Dem.”
There’s still a long campaign ahead before the Nov. 2 election and Hare has much more money to spend on the race. Schilling will be hoping he can ride a wave of anti-government feeling to beat Hare, although the odds are still stacked against that happening.
Hare is not a great campaigner and he’s stumbled and bumbled the past year or so. The map favors Democrats in this district, but it’s not overwhelming. Still, for Hare to go down, the Republican wave would have to be extremely large.
Key Findings from Recent IL CD-13 Survey July 29, 2010
The following outlines the key findings from a survey commissioned by Judy Biggert for Congress. Interviews were conducted July 27-28, 2010. The margin of error for the entire sample (n=400) is +/- 4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
Judy Biggert is in a strong position heading into October, more than doubling Harper’s vote share.
Biggert leads Scott Harper 61% to 28%, with 10% undecided. 41% of voters are definitely voting for Biggert compared with only 10% definitely voting for Harper.
Judy’s job approval is stellar, with 57% of voters approving of the job she is doing and only 30% disapproving.
Harper has very little definition and a rather poor favorable to unfavorable ratio.
Harper’s favorable to unfavorable ratio is only 11% favorable: 8% unfavorable. Conversely, Biggert’s is 62% favorable: 26% unfavorable.
Even among those who are aware of Harper (46% of the electorate), he still trails Biggert 56%-33%.
As seen in the rest of the country, the political environment has improved significantly since Harper’s previous attempt in 2008.
In October 2008 the generic Congressional ballot in this district was tied (42%-42%). Today the generic Republican leads 47%-31%.
Both Kirk and Brady are leading in this district as well, with Kirk leading Giannoulias 49%-37% and Brady leading Quinn 49%-35%.
Judy Biggert is well positioned to be re-elected with Harper facing a difficult political environment as well as an extremely popular and well financed incumbent. It is hard to imagine the Democratic Party and their donors becoming engaged in this race with so many vulnerable incumbents to protect.
* We have the audio files of Gov. Pat Quinn’s fiery press conference yesterday where he slammed Sen. Bill Brady for proposing a $1 billion cut to education funding and fended off questions about his budget director’s comments regarding the likelihood of a large tax hike in January. Part 1…
At the beginning of Part 2, Quinn vows to veto any income tax hike that is over one percentage point…
Quinn said he only plans to push what he has publicly proposed previously — a hike to 4 percent, with the extra money to be spent on education. While he still has to convince legislators to support it, that could be easier to do after the Nov. 2 election.
Quinn said the Bloomberg reporter misinterpreted what Vaught said.
“He was asked a question about another plan and the reporter, from Texas, misconstrued his answer,” Quinn said.
Did Quinn admonish Vaught, to whom Quinn recently gave a $30,000 salary increase?
“I don’t think he should philosophize about taxes. I will tell him that,” Quinn said.
Quinn said Brady is spouting “fairy tales,” noting his opponent has yet to offer specifics on how to get the state out of the red ink. Quinn said without a tax increase, Brady would have to cut education funding. Quinn said would lead to property tax increases as local governments try to make up the difference.
“You’ve got to be careful with these apostles of no tax,” Quinn said. “When they talk, they have their fingers crossed because they know the local government will raise the property taxes on you for schools and other things. I don’t think that’s the right way to go.”
A Brady spokeswoman dismissed those allegation.
“Pat Quinn will say anything to get elected,” Brady spokeswoman Patty Schuh said. “He proposes tax increases all year long, but somehow tries to blame someone else.”
The property tax angle was an integral part of Quinn’s pitch yesterday.
The governor vowed to convince voters before the election that, if Brady carries through with planned cuts spending for state programs including education, property taxpayers will pay the price.
“If the state doesn’t properly fund school, then local property taxes skyrocket. They’re backbreaking already,” said Quinn.
The Republican was asked about the governor’s charge that local property taxes would increase under a Brady administration.
“Now I’ve made it very clear. We have to cut a dime on every dollar, and we have to focus on waste, fraud, corruption, abuse and mismanagement,” said Brady.
Asked directly if his plan would cut state aid to schools by 10%, Mr. Brady went out on his own political limb, saying it would. “Sure. It would apply to everything.”
Schools will jsut have to “rood out fraud and abuse” and take other efficiencies, he said. “We cannot afford to raise taxes on families and businesses.”
Brady responded that his proposed budget cuts “would not have to” force massive teacher layoffs. When pressed by FOX Chicago News for details of his budget cuts, Brady declined.
His chief spokeswoman said Brady is “working on” a plan with more details. Campaign sources, though, said that identifying specific budget cuts might not be smart politics.
They said it might open Brady up to new attacks from Democrats and special interests.
Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said Madigan believes any revenue increase “would have to have a bipartisan coalition to pass,” meaning some votes would have to come from House Republicans.
House GOP Leader Tom Cross issued a statement Thursday that provided no hint that such a coalition is about to form.
“It is shocking to me that Governor Quinn’s administration remains fixated on an income tax increase by 67 percent, and not focused on reforms and streamlining government,” Cross said. “Taxpayers are sick and tired of paying for the Democrats’ flippant behavior when it comes to their money.
Brady offered a classic supply-side defense of his proposal to cut gasoline taxes. Instead of costing the state treasury, Brady predicted it would eventually bring in more revenue:
“People are travelling to neighboring states to buy their gas, to buy their beverages, to buy their cigarettes, and their bread. Reducing that tax will foster economic activity that will outpace the loss in very short order.”
George Ryan tried that and it didn’t work. In fact, Ryan said that was the biggest mistake of his administration.
WHO: State Senator Iris Martinez, State Representative Karen Yarbrough, State Representative Sarah Feigenholtz, Melissa Widen, PersonalPAC Board of Directors Vice-Chairman
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE: WOMEN DEMAND RESPONSE AFTER COVER UP OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS IN ILLINOIS GOP
WHEN: Friday, July 30th at 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: Democratic Party of Cook County, 134 N LaSalle Blvd, 14th Floor, Chicago
SUBJECT: WOMEN DEMAND RESPONSE AFTER COVER UP OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS IN ILLINOIS GOP CHICAGO - Illinois women are demanding the truth from GOP standard-bearer Senator Bill Brady after his party covered up allegations of sexual misconduct by a top GOP leader. After two governors who betrayed the public trust, Illinois cannot afford a repeat of the problems of the past. Women and all voters should be concerned that a cover up of this magnitude was perpetuated by Illinois Republicans. The press conference will be held at the Democratic Party of Cook County offices, 134 N LaSalle Blvd, 14th Floor, Chicago, IL.
The background to this story can be found here. The mainstream Chicago media has completely ignored these allegations. We’ll see what happens after the press conference.
* 6:09 pm - Gov. Pat Quinn has called a special US Senate election before a federal judge could issue a final ruling on the matter. From the AP…
Illinoisans will vote twice to fill President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat in November.
Gov. Pat Quinn filed paperwork Thursday for a special election before lawyers went to court to try to finalize the details of what that ballot will look like.
Voters will pick a senator to serve a six-year term in the regular election and a senator to serve the final weeks of Obama’s term in a special election.
The appellate court suggested that Quinn could call the special election on his own. But how Quinn could simply call this election without a federal judge’s order is unknown to me at the moment. It looks like a political move to get out in front of the issue. …Adding… The trial judge will issue an order soon, so I’m told that since the governor would have to order a special election anyway, he figured he might as well get it out of the way. This is still probably a political decision to not wait, but he is following the order of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The trial judge held a hearing today to discuss the matter and the outline of the pending order became pretty clear…
Voters will see two U.S. Senate contests on the fall ballot: one to elect a senator to serve from Nov. 3 to Jan. 3 and one to elect a senator to serve for six years starting Jan.3.
Still to be decided by a federal judge is who qualifies as candidates for what will be a two-month Senate gig. But U.S. District Judge John Grady said he’s inclined to list the same candidates that won the state’s Feb. 2 primaries to also appear as the special election candidates. Any independent candidates who qualified for the six-year term would automatically appear on the ballot for the two-month Senate job.
You’ll know more when I do.
*** UPDATE 1 - 7:05 pm *** To see the governor’s formal writ, click here. In the writ, he declares that the special election will be held…
…in conformity with any applicable federal court orders and, to the extent feasible, with the Illinois Election Code and other Statutes in such case made and provided.
So, there’s the answer to my original question.
*** UPDATE 2 - 7:12 pm *** From the Chicago Elections Board…
In the U.S. Senate Special Election case today, Judge John H. Grady indicated the following items will be in the final order … but did not issue the final order:
– The exact same list of candidates running for the full six-year term for U.S. Senator in the Nov. 2 General Election also will be running directly below that on the ballot in a Special Election for the last six weeks of the current U.S. Senate term for the seat currently held by Roland Burris.
– The candidate lists for the six-year and six-week terms will be identical: those who won the established party primary elections on Feb. 2, plus any new-party or independent candidates whose petitions qualify them to be on the ballot. (The deadline for filing those petitions was June 21.)
– The political parties will NOT select the candidates for the Special Election.
– The accelerated schedule for proclaiming results in the Special Election is likely to be:
+ Nov. 19 for election officials to proclaim local results, and
+ Nov. 24 for the State Board of Elections to proclaim statewide results.
The Court indicated a desire to preserve the ability absentee voters’ ballots, particularly those from military and overseas voters, to be able to arrive and be counted up to 14 days after the election.
………………………………..
The order is a work in progress. Judge Grady indicated that once the parties sign off on the draft order, he would enter the order without conducting another hearing.
The net effect of this will be that voters will need to make a selection in each contest to have a say in both the six-year term and the six-week term. There can be “voter fall-off” in situations like this, where voters make a choice in the first contest but not the second. Also, the margins of victory are likely to be different between contests.
There will need to be efforts by both the campaigns and election authorities to educate voters on this special situation.
The six-year term and the unexpired term for U.S. Senator will be the first two offices on the ballots.
This will be similar to a federal court decision that created a Nov. 3, 1970 Special Election in the 6th Congressional District to fill the vacancy created by the death of U.S. Rep. Daniel Ronan – all on the same ballot that voters used to pick the Congressman for the next full two-year term.
In that case, the Court ruled that the candidates who won their primaries would be listed first for the vacancy and then for the full two-year term.
In the resulting voting, the voter fall-off rates and differences in vote totals were as follows: Democrat George W. Collins won both contests over Republican Alex J. Zabrosky, but the margins (68,949-to-54,746 and 68,182-to-53,240) meant a voter fall-off rate of 1.8% and an increase in the victory margin of 0.8% for Collins.
* There was a bit of a flurry this morning at the federal courthouse when it was announced that the jury had sent a note to the judge. Could there be a verdict this soon? No way, right? Well, it turns out, they wanted a transcript of the prosecution’s closing arguments…
The jury in Rod Blagojevich’s federal corruption trial has asked its first question during deliberations: Whether it could have a copy of the prosecution’s closing arguments.
Prosecutors laughed when the question was read. Judge James Zagel denied the request.
Zagel denied the request because closing arguments are not evidence. More…
In closing arguments, Prosecutor Chris Niewoehner extensively laid out the charges in the case with an explanation of each count and what evidence the prosecution believed proved their case.
Zagel noted that the indictment in the case, which does go back with the jury, was complicated and repetitive.
“If they are unable to work their way through this without the statements, I expect this issue to rise again,” Zagel said. “And I will deal with it.”
Zagel said he could see why the jury would want the transcript, since it might provide a “roadmap” for deliberations. Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Niewoehner’s closing had been especially detailed and given in Powerpoint style on an overhead screen.
The judge said he might be willing to revisit the request if it is made later in deliberations. But he said if he were to grant it, he would be inclined to give the panel transcripts of all the closing arguments.
It just goes to show that the prosecution did a great job in closing arguments. The defense? Not so much.
* By the way, if you want to read a copy of the jury instructions, click here. The indictment is here. I’ve put links to both, plus the jury form, in the “Blagojevich Trial” pull-down menu on the right side of the page.
* So, how long will the jury deliberate? The George Ryan jury deliberated 10 days. Tony Rezko’s jury hashed things out for 13 days. The Daily Herald has more…
Because of the sheer size and complexity of the case - including nearly eight weeks of evidence, more than an hour of instructions from Judge James Zagel issued Wednesday, and an 11-page worksheet that lays out requirements for guilt - the consensus around the federal courtroom is a verdict is likely to take at least a few days.
“I’m not anticipating one,” Zagel said of the likelihood of a quick verdict.
ADAM, SR: My gut tells me this jury will be out at least until Friday. […]
ADAM, SR: …there’re several jurors I think that are with us. There are several jurors - I’m sure - haven’t really made up their mind. And there may or may not be one or two who are against us.
Intrade, the futures prediction market, has Rod Blagojevich’s conviction trading at 70 – which translates into the market predicting that there is a 70% chance the former Illinois governor will be convicted.
While this might not be the most encouraging odds for Blagojevich, the market has been dropping from a peak at 90 in early June, and from 75 two days ago – suggesting that investors are becoming less confident that the jury will return a guilty verdict.
Neither racetrack owner John Johnston nor those road-building executives in search of tollway work went running to the feds to seek protection from Blagojevich’s efforts to pry campaign donations from them. At the time of the governor’s arrest, they obviously were still holding out hope they’d get what they wanted without coughing up the money. No sense rocking the boat.
Even Children’s Memorial Hospital CEO Patrick Magoon, the guy most clearly on the side of the angels in this affair, didn’t go out of his way to help catch the governor in the act.
Magoon consulted a criminal attorney to advise him how to handle what he perceived as an improper attempt by the Blagojevich crew to collect campaign contributions in exchange for increasing state aid to benefit the hospital.
Did the lawyer advise Magoon to go to the feds? No, he told him to quit taking phone calls from the governor’s team.
The strategy clearly was to sit tight and see if Blagojevich came through on his promise to authorize the funding.
I’m not trying to blame the victims. The point is that the no-snitch culture transcends the streets. It’s in our corporate boardrooms and under the Capitol dome.
Brown may have forgotten one alleged victim. Mother Tribune.
The legendary team of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson are returning to CBS 2 to anchor the 6 p.m. newscast, station boss Bruno Cohen announced on Thursday.
With Kurtis and Jacobson at his side, Cohen delivered the news at a staff meeting in the newsroom. Cohen also introduced Kate Sullivan, who will anchor the 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts with Rob Johnson starting on Sept. 13.
* The Democratic Governors Association is spending about $500,000 a week on TV ads these days for Gov. Pat Quinn, which is way more than the $200,000 a week being spent by Bill Brady’s campaign. But the Quinn ads may not be working yet, according to Rasmussen’s latest poll, which has Brady increasing his margin to seven points, up from three earlier this month. Numbers in brackets are results from the pollster on July 7, June 7, April 28, April 5 and March 8…
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of Illinois voters approve of the job [Quinn] is doing as governor, down seven points from earlier this month, while 61% disapprove.
The Republican holds a 13-point lead among men, but women are evenly divided between the candidates. Brady picks up support from 88% of Republicans, while Quinn is supported by only 61% of those in his party. Brady has a modest lead among voters not affiliated with either major political party.
They’re tied with women again? Not good for Quinn, especially since the DGA is so heavily targeting women in their TV ads.
Quinn is viewed Very Favorably by seven percent (7%) and Very Unfavorably by 32%.
Brady’s ratings are 15% Very Favorable, 15% Very Unfavorable.
At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with strong opinions more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.
* Other results, with July 6th results in brackets for Quinn…
* How would you rate the job Barack Obama has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?
* How would you rate the job Pat Quinn has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?
The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Illinois was conducted on July 26, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
* Rasmussen’s job approval chart for Quinn, which hasn’t been updated to include the latest poll…
* As I told subscribers this morning, Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget director went off script with Bloomberg yesterday, telling the news service that Illinois will raise its income tax in January to plug its budget hole…
Lawmakers will likely increase the personal tax to 5 percent from 3 percent, generating $6 billion of new revenue, the budget director, David Vaught, said in an interview. The legislature failed to address the deficit this year because of the pending November election, he said.
“We’re going to pass a tax increase in January,” Vaught said. “We expect it is going to be substantial.”
That’ll be a great campaign ad, I’m sure.
Congressman Mark Kirk’s campaign has already responded via press release…
Kirk Opposes Quinn-Giannoulias Plan to Raise State Income Tax
Northbrook, Ill. – One day after the governor’s budget director said state lawmakers will likely increase the state’s personal income tax by 66 percent in January, Congressman Mark Kirk today reaffirmed his opposition to Governor Pat Quinn and State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ plan to raise the state income tax.
“With unemployment in Illinois above the national average, we should not make Illinois even less competitive by raising the state income tax,” Congressman Kirk said. “Alexi Giannoulias’ plan to increase state and federal income taxes would put our economic recovery at risk. I oppose tax increases in Washington and I urge state lawmakers to oppose the Quinn-Giannoulias tax increase in Springfield.”
Yesterday, David Vaught, the Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, told Bloomberg, “We’re going to pass a tax increase in January. We expect it is going to be substantial.”
Gov. Pat Quinn based his recent order requiring 2,700 non-union state workers to take 24 unpaid days off — a move expected to save $18 million this fiscal year — on fears that Congress won’t extend a federal boost in Medicaid payments beyond December.
If the enhanced Medicaid payments are allowed to expire, however, the resulting loss of $750 million in federal funding would have a much broader effect on the state, according to advocates for hospitals, doctors and people with developmental disabilities.
Hospitals might have to lay off employees and pay vendors late, Medicaid patients would have a harder time finding doctors, and programs for the developmentally disabled would face further cutbacks, they said.
That’s a swell cover story, but it would be far more believable if Quinn wasn’t under fire at the time for handing out bigtime pay raises to his staff.
* And we’ve got yet another victim of the budget crisis…
Tourism has been on the upswing in Southern Illinois in recent years. But efforts to promote the region hit a snag on Tuesday. The Southern Illinois Tourism Development Office was forced to lay-off its executive director because of state funding shortages.
The office worked with cities and counties to promote tourism across 22 counties in Southern Illinois. Now, some of those counties are left with no means to market themselves.
There’s a lot to see in Southern Illinois and tourism officials say the average family of four will spend about $500 a day to hit the hot spots.
“It really turns into an economic driver for the Southern Illinois region- it really does.”
But shortfalls in state funding forced the Southern Illinois Tourism Development Office to lay off executive director, Russell Ward. He’s the office’s last employee.
* Related…
* Is Quinn’s veto of U-46 funding bill a political move?: Gov. Pat Quinn’s last-minute veto of school funding legislation Tuesday has Elgin Area School District U-46 officials seething.
* Bernard Schoenburg: Quinn forgetting some ‘paycheck-to-paycheck’ folks: While I may have missed it, I haven’t heard Quinn use the same phrase about some people whose livelihood he is directly affecting now — nonunion state workers.
