* The Daily Herald tried and failed to get Mark Kirk to talk about a possible upcoming vote on the “DREAM Act”…
In the days before a major immigration vote, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate is touting his support for the proposed law, while his Republican opponent has not yet made a decision.
While Democrat Alexi Giannoulias says he supports the DREAM Act, Congressman Mark Kirk is undecided.
The proposal - aimed at helping children who are in the United States illegally become citizens - is one of the flash points in the contentious debate over illegal immigration. While Democrats have generally pushed for ways to increase paths to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Republicans and other conservative groups have pushed for tighter controls on who comes into the country and a crackdown on those who come here illegally.
It’s a line that puts Kirk, a Highland Park Republican who bills himself as a moderate, in a bind.
That’s putting it mildly. A brief message from the Giannoulias campaign…
Kirk panders to Hispanics last week [with a Spanish language TV ad] touting Abuelita program and then “can’t decide” on the DREAM Act?
He’ll probably have to “decide” soon enough if he’s faced with a floor vote. Should be interesting.
* Nobody has even seen the “Karl Rove TV ad” yet, but the Giannoulias campaign is already trying to get its spin out there…
The Illinois Senate race is about to get nasty, and one candidate says Karl Rove is behind new attack ads that are scheduled to air this week.
Democratic Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulias tried to strike pre-emptively by saying Illinois voters should know that a third party has produced television ads to support his opponent, Congressman Mark Kirk. […]
American Crossroads is affiliated with Karl Rove, the former strategist and chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
“I’m not surprised that Karl Rove, the architect of the same policies that drove our economy to the brink of collapse, is now bringing special interest money to bail out Mark Kirk,” Giannoulias said.
I really can’t wait to see that new ad. My expectations are now sky-high. Hold tight.
…Adding… Check out AC’s recent TV ads on their YouTube site.
* The Green Party’s US Senate nominee LeAlan Jones scored 9 percent in recent Rasmussen and PPP polls and 6 percent in the Chicago Tribune’s poll, but that hasn’t translated into an invitation from NBC’s Meet the Press program to an upcoming debate between Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.
Jones says he has tried to reach NBC without success. So, he sent the network’s news president Steve Capus a letter and made it public…
Dear Mr Capus,
I am writing you in regards to your October 10th debate between Illinois U.S. Senate candidates Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias on your program “Meet The Press.” Despite repeated attempts by my campaign staff to contact someone from the program, we have been ignored. […]
Most importantly, NBC must fulfill its public obligation to include voices beyond the corporate mainstream. The public own the airwaves and we can take them back. I encourage you to include me in the October 10th debate in the name of real democracy and freedom.
Jones is black, and that means the Democrat Giannoulias probably wouldn’t want to appear with him on a national TV program. Giannoulias’ spokesperson said today that Meet the Press “sets the rules.” I’ve asked the Kirk campaign for comment and I’ll let you know what they say if they ever respond.
Senate candidate Mark Kirk wants to halt the financial bailout, which he originally supported.
The Republican is scheduled to deliver a speech on government spending Monday in Springfield. Aides say he’ll propose canceling any unspent money from the $700 billion fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
That story plays right into the Giannoulias theme that Kirk’s word can’t be trusted. He’d better deliver a very strong speech today. The Giannoulias campaign responds…
Kirk comes out for stopping TARP spending when it is set to expire in 3 weeks. Real brave, Mark.
* Kirk talks trade, immigration in Woodstock visit: Kirk recommended that people have the opportunity to upgrade their Social Security cards with photos and bar codes, similar to military IDs. People would have the option to upgrade their card for $10. The cards would be hard to counterfeit. “We would see a tremendous drop in the ability of the immigration fraud ID criminal organizations, many who operate in the Chicago area,” Kirk said.
* I was hoping to run this story in tomorrow’s subscriber edition, but he who hesitates loses. Kudos to Greg Hinz…
Just days after being endorsed by the state’s largest employee union, the Quinn Administration has reached a deal not to lay off any of the union’s members or close any facilities in which they work until at least mid-2012.
Under a tentative pact that the state says it expects to sign later this week, some 50,000 state workers who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees would have their jobs protected until June 30, 2012 — a third of the way into the term of the next governor. […]
In exchange for the job protections, AFSCME agreed to identify at least $50 million in spending cuts that could come in the form of unpaid furlough days, less overtime and — potentially — partial deferral of 8.25% in salary hikes union members are scheduled to receive in the year beginning Jan. 1. […]
“This seems like a very uneven bargain,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation. “While we haven’t seen the details, we are very concerned.”
It’s not an “uneven bargain” since Quinn got the union’s endorsement. Just sayin’.
Perhaps my tinfoil hat needs an adjustment, but it sure looks like one of those not-so-rare Illinois coinky-dinks that AFSCME endorsed Quinn and then two days later got a no-layoff agreement.
Countdown to a Bill Brady press release blasting Quinn for cutting a “backroom deal” begins in five, four, three…
However, keep in mind that the deal has a “goal” of finding a total of $100 million in cuts. On the other hand, the governor won’t ask the union to reopen its contract to discuss health insurance costs.
*** UPDATE *** It took a bit longer than I expected, but here’s the Bill Brady response…
“Unemployment is at double-digit levels and the state cannot pay its bills. The Quinn Administration should not agree to anything that limits Illinois’ flexibility to manage this catastrophe. Instead, Governor Pat Quinn should embrace every cost-cutting measure possible, work with union leaders to freeze salaries, and avoid eleventh hour election-year agreements that lock in more pay hikes and job security guarantees in an arrangement that reminds voters of the pay-to-play politics that I seek to end.”
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* And here’s another one that I was looking at Friday and was hoping to get to today…
The state decided last week that a contract to privately manage the Illinois Lottery should go to a consortium of companies that already contract with the state to provide lottery equipment and advertising.
Then the state posted online a number of documents related to the selection in order to show that it was being open about how the winning bid was selected and why. Unfortunately, large parts of the documents from the winning bidder were redacted at the request of the bidder.
Way to go about building confidence in this decision.
View the redactions in all their glory by clicking here and exploring a bit.
* Quinn’s promise to pay up doesn’t cover ‘every bill’: When Quinn says “every bill,” he’s talking about bills the state received in fiscal 2010, which ended June 30, aides explained. So the governor is promising that bills the state got in the first half of the year will be paid before the second half of the year ends. While the state is paying off those bills, new ones are piling up in their place. Quinn isn’t making any promises about those.
Hey, you can only vote once! What kind of nonsense is that?
My suggestion: Try using a different browser. (It works.)
…Adding More… Illinois has taken the lead. Keep it up!
…Adding Still More… We’ve gone from last place to first place, but Colorado is staying right on our tail. Don’t let up!
* Also, in case you haven’t noticed yet, comments are now open on Sunday’s post about Right Nation 2010. I meant to do that first thing this morning and forgot. So, have at it.
* If you get some time today, take a look at this fascinating collection of “home” movies made by Lady Bird Johnson. They have nothing to do with Illinois, but I found them to be an irresistible window into the past.
The union that represents thousands of state and local government employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was one of the bigger Democratic campaign contributors in the final six months of the 2008 campaign. But this year the union will be sitting out almost all of the Illinois House Democrats’ top races.
The union met in Springfield several days ago to formalize its endorsements. Union leaders announced backing for Gov. Pat Quinn, Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate, Judy Baar Topinka for comptroller and Robin Kelly for treasurer. But it was their legislative endorsements - and their lack of endorsements - that were the most interesting.
The House Democrats haven’t seemed to care about AFSCME’s support all year. House Speaker Michael Madigan led the battle to reduce future pension benefits for the union’s members. Madigan also refused to call a proposed tax hike for a vote, despite demands by AFSCME and other unions. Many of his members now are running on anti-tax platforms and some appear openly hostile to the union.
Madigan reiterated his opposition to a tax hike the Friday before AFSCME finalize its endorsement decisions, which probably didn’t help matters much.
As you might imagine, House Republicans are thrilled with this turn of events and think it bolsters their case that they have a better shot at winning the chamber’s majority than most will allow themselves to believe.
The union endorsed just three House Democrats in varying degrees of tough races, and one of them is not an incumbent. Daniel Biss, who ran unsuccessfully two years ago against retiring GOP Rep. Beth Coulson, of Glenview, got the nod. Biss has been upfront about the need for a tax hike. Also receiving endorsements were Rep. Jay Hoffman, of Collinsville, who was been on the outs with Madigan for years, and Rep. Dan Reitz, of Steelville.
And that’s it. Every other House Democrat in a tough race was snubbed by the union. An AFSCME spokesperson said last week that the Democrats in question were “unendorseable,” either for their voting records against tax hikes and for pension reform, or, in the case of open seat contestants, for their responses to union questionnaires and their interaction with local members.
The union’s cold shoulder was just the latest problem facing candidates such as Dennis Ahern (D-Moline). Ahern won a three-way primary in a heavily unionized district because of Madigan’s late intervention. Madigan got in partly because Ahern said he would oppose any tax hikes.
Republicans have a hard-charging candidate against Ahern, Rock Island County Board member Richard Morthland, but AFSCME did not endorse there. Both oppose tax hikes. That wasn’t the case in other blue-collar districts where unions are important, however.
The Democratic-controlled 98th House District has more state employees than just about any other district outside Springfield, and AFSCME went with Republican Wayne Rosenthal over Democrat Charles Landers. Rosenthal has run a nearly perfect campaign to date, and this seat has looked highly vulnerable to a GOP pickup for months.
In every other seriously contested House race, AFSCME went neutral. Over a dozen Democratic incumbents who might be on the endangered list got the snub.
And because the union has rebuffed the candidates, it’s highly unlikely that it will give much money to the man who pulls all the strings, Madigan. The union gave Madigan $180,000 in the past six months of 2008 and thousands more to his candidates, not to mention their grass-roots work.
The union was much more kind to the Senate Democrats, endorsing Democrats in all but one of Senate President John Cullerton’s most endangered districts. Cullerton’s Senate approved a major income tax hike last year, which then stalled in the House. He got his reward.
AFSCME’s endorsement of Quinn is a signal that unions are starting to climb back on board. After a furious response to the governor’s signature on the pension reform bill, the union apparently has reassessed and realized that a Gov. Bill Brady would probably be far worse.
The Service Employees International Union also is gearing up for a big move on behalf of Quinn, insiders say. The Illinois Education Association already has endorsed Quinn. This means that Quinn probably will have the money to compete down the line, unless the unions decide that he’s completely toast and decide to husband their resources for the Chicago mayor’s race.
AFSCME hasn’t sent out a press release about the Quinn/Topinka/Kelly endorsements, so that may be why nobody, including the SJ-R, has covered it yet.
In a news release, Landers said the endorsement by three unions, which have generally favored Democrats over Republicans, “makes it very clear that Wayne Rosenthal will support a massive tax hike.”
“It was made clear to me (by the unions) that if I didn’t endorse a tax increase, they would not support me,” Landers said in an interview last week. “It appears that (Rosenthal) is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He goes to Tea Party meetings and says he’s against a tax increase.”
Rosenthal says the claim is false. Only after major cuts are made would he be open to the idea of a tax hike. AFSCME weighed in as well…
Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, said “both candidates indicated that they do not personally support a tax increase.”
“Interestingly, both indicated they understand that more revenue is necessary to close the budget hole, despite their own personal opposition,” Lindall added. “Given the similarity in their positions on this issue, I’d say the difference here was that Rosenthal stood out to our members in the interview as someone who better understood and identified with their concerns, and as someone they could talk to and work with even if they didn’t always see eye to eye.”
* Related…
* Marin: Cross leads charge against Madigan: Whichever party wins this pitched battle, one theme seems to be emerging. Rod Blagojevich, the longtime whipping boy for all that is wrong with Illinois government, may ironically have been replaced by his old nemesis when it comes to voters finding a new political voodoo doll in which to stick their pins.
* State GOP hopes to win control of Illinois House: “The only way to remove Mike Madigan as speaker is to not elect Democrat lawmakers,” Cross said. Walker is fully aware of what’s being called “the Madigan factor” in close legislative races this year. He wants it known that he is no “yes man” for the controversial speaker. “If they want to attack Mike Madigan they should go to directly to attack Mike Madigan. I am not that target. I voted against Madigan 70 times on controversial bills in this session and even more than Tom Cross, the Republican leader, did,” said Walker.
* What we deserve to know from our political candidates: Dear Sen. Noland: In the immortal words of the great Paul Simon (the singer — not the late U.S. senator from Illinois), “Who do you think you’re fooling?” The Democrats have enjoyed complete control of Springfield for almost 10 years, and where has that gotten us? I suppose we can always brag about being a bigger national laughingstock than Louisiana or Alaska…. Dear former Sen. Rauschenberger: What are you smiling about? If I hear one more Republican say, “Vote for me, I’m not a Democrat,” I’m going to deck him, which means my editor will have to come up with bail money again and that makes him cranky. I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me about the havoc wreaked by Illinois Democrats.
* State legislative candidates clash on economic fixes
* Quinn touts high-speed rail project: Gov. Pat Quinn joined Illinois legislators Friday in Alton to usher in the era of bullet trains — so-called for their ability to travel at speeds of up to 110 mph. He called the project an economic boon in a region that has had a rougher time during this recession.
[The CNC reporter] misunderstood my role in the Chico campaign. Thankfully, the last thing I want, or need, at this point of my life is a job. I told him I would do whatever is necessary to insure that everybody involved in Gery’s campaign is overachieving and no money is wasted. Same as I would do if Paul were running.
In a subsequent e-mail, Vallas said Chico was “like family.” Ironically enough, Chico supported Rod Blagojevich against Paul Vallas in the 2002 primary.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel would leave his job in short order if he decided to seek the Chicago mayor’s job, a senior administration official said Friday.
“He’s still working this through,” the official said. “And If he makes the decision to do it, obviously he’ll leave relatively soon, because there are filing deadlines and there’s work to do.”
The official was not more specific about whether Emanuel’s departure would come before or after the Nov. 2 mid-term elections. The Chicago filing deadline is Nov. 22; the election is Feb. 22.
Trying to parse DC Speak is impossible. Take that story for what it is. Not much.
Democratic insiders say the polling looks good for White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel’s prospective Chicago mayoral bid, and sources say he has all but decided to jump into the race. […]
That same source said results of a poll conducted by Stan Greenberg were “very positive.”
However, another Democratic insider noted that the results weren’t overwhelming.
They “came back solid but not so strong as to scare away everybody,” he said.
* Laura Washington pleads with black politicians to slow down and try to unite…
The parade of politicians should take a breath. There is still time to plan, methodically and thoughtfully. Step back, do some vetting, tap into a broad cross-section of the community. A major piece that’s missing from this discussion are the legions of activists and professionals who toil and volunteer in community organizations, civic groups, the schools, social service agencies, who are doing a lot more than talking. They are on the front lines of neighborhoods crushed by devastating joblessness, crumbling schools and rampant violence. Those folks feel the needs and know the solutions far better than the mouths in City Hall and the state Capitol.
For more than a generation, Chicago’s African-American leadership has failed to coalesce in one voice around the key challenges facing their communities. Now is the time. Let comity ring from the stocky three-flats in North Lawndale. Let comity ring from the trim bungalows of Chatham. Let comity ring from Atgeld Gardens’ public housing low-rises.
* A large group of black ministers is trying to get out in front, but their straw poll allowed for three top choices…
Dozens of Chicago ministers met Friday to discuss the race for mayor. The group conducted a straw poll to determine their favorite candidates.
The poll was a small part of a discussion that is in its very early stages. Each minister was asked to list his or her favored candidates to come up with a list from which a consensus candidate might emerge. […]
State Senator Rev. James Meeks was listed as one of three candidates preferred on over 72 percent of the ballots.
West Side Congressman Danny Davis came in second as one of three choices with 60 percent.
While Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun tied for third with 32 percent each.
* And Kass takes a walk down a not-so-pleasant memory lane to the time period right after Harold Washington died and Gene Sawyer was picked to be the new mayor…
Sawyer, who had marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in his college days, was quickly portrayed by his rival, Ald. Tim Evans, 4th, as an Uncle Tom, a tool of the white guys. Evans, who’d spent his youth marching with his Chicago machine boss, was cast as the hero of the independents and progressives.
Evans’ slogan at the time was “No Deals.” And at a Washington memorial rally — actually a pro-Evans campaign rally attended by thousands at the University of Illinois at Chicago — in that emotionally charged vacuum after Washington’s death, black politics was broken.
Vernon Jarrett, a friend of Washington’s and a columnist at the Sun-Times, stood before the crowd and portrayed Sawyer in the most vicious terms, as a puppet of white racists, as one of the African militiamen who killed black children. […]
It got worse. A few days later, Sawyer was installed as mayor by white politicians. To counter the portrayal as an Uncle Tom, he brought into government supporters of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, and that sparked charges of black anti-Semitism.
The big worry, of course, is that African-Americans will bitterly divide again when this thing heats up.
* I’m not sure what sort of a candidate would propose a 23 percent national sales tax, but state Sen. Randy Hultgren did several months ago, although he’s since walked away from it. Democratic Congressman Bill Foster takes him to task with a new ad…
…Adding… Hultgren’s response…
“For too long, both parties in Washington have spent far too much, with far too little regard for the future,” said State Senator Randy Hultgren, Republican candidate for Congress. “We need to restore fiscal sanity to our spending, starting with honest and realistic budgeting and serious-minded plans to balance the budget and pay down the debt. For our sake and for our children’s future, we need to get our fiscal house in order.
“Unfortunately, my opponent Bill Foster has been part of the problem out in Washington. Since he was first elected, our budget deficit has tripled. Bill Foster has consistently supported Nancy Pelosi’s big-spending agenda, and our district and our country deserve a representative who will work to cut spending and restore fiscal discipline in Washington.”
“It’s no surprise that Dold is proud to have the support of an extremist like Grover Norquist, who called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Norquist is a self-described ‘winger’ who was George Bush’s go-to guy in the attempt to privatize Social Security and yet another member of the radical right lining up behind Bob Dold.”
* Remember last Fridaywhen I looked into claims by Republican congressional candidate Adam Kinzinger about a couple of signs with large pictures of politicians wearing Hitler mustaches? I concluded that the evidence wasn’t quite up to snuff.
But Kinzinger’s campaign has pushed hard to get this story into the mainstream and have done their best to connect the signs to Debbie Halvorson’s campaign. I received no less than eight e-mail messages from her campaign and stories sprouted up all weekend on conservative blogs, including Andrew Breitbart’s website. Here are a few more…
* Joliet Herald-News Ignores Story of Demonstrators With Nazi Signs
* Congresswoman Halvorson supporters carry Nazi signs
* Democrat Rep. Halvorson (Illinois) Sponsors Protest Rally Calling Opponent a Nazi
* Dem Congresswoman’s Supporters Participate in ‘Palin-As-Hitler’ Rally
* Well, Media Matters was able to reach the person who made the signs. His name is Bill Preston and he claims he has zero affiliation with the Halvorson campaign and the people who protested the Americans for Prosperity rally last week…
Preston concurs, telling Media Matters, “I was just there.” He says that he went on his own to protest AFP and the tea party, bringing along “about five signs” depicting right-wing leaders with Hitler moustaches. Preston says that “the point of my signs is, why is it OK to have Obama with a moustache” but not those leaders shown in the same way. Media Matters has noted that tea party protestors have followed conservative media figures in invoking Adolf Hitler and the Nazis to smear President Obama.
Preston says that when he arrived outside the AFP event and saw other protestors, “I didn’t know who they were.” He says that he tried to hand out his signs to them, but with the exception of one person who, Preston says, briefly held a sign depicting Palin with a moustache, none of the other protestors would hold them; others would take the signs when he offered them, then try to hide them from sight.
In the video, several other protestors are seen trying to hold their own signs between Preston’s sign and the camera. According to Preston, it was clear to him that his signs made the other protestors uncomfortable, with the most vocal telling him, “Why don’t you find yourself another corner?” He says that he “regret[s] that people might associate my signs with the other people” who were there.
Halvorson’s campaign has since condemned the signs, saying that “the congresswoman would never condone anyone comparing Kinzinger or any candidate to Hitler.”
Preston says that he has no affiliation with the campaign, and that while he once was called and asked to go door to door as a volunteer, he refused because he doesn’t support Halvorson because she “supports the NRA.”
Unless somebody can debunk Preston’s direct claims, this story is over. The Kinzinger campaign needs to take a breath already.
* More congressional news…
* Hare, Schilling verbal sparring highlights candidates forum
The mayor appoints members to more than 150 boards and commissions. They range from high-profile boards that oversee schools, parks, libraries, public housing, the CTA, the City Colleges and police discipline, to “Sister Cities” committees and relatively obscure panels that guide spending in local taxing districts known as “special service areas.”
Pensions for executives are routinely boosted with bonuses, car allowances, cash-outs of unused sick and vacation time, and other perks. Retirement checks can jump 10, 20 even 30 percent from the perks — a practice other states in the Midwest don’t allow.
The lax rules and oversight cost taxpayers in Illinois nearly $13 million for just the top-level retirees in the last two years and perhaps as much as $145 million for all municipal fund retirees in the last decade. Now, several local officials are on course to bump their retirement checks by up to 45 percent.
Such a project has drawn some skepticism, largely over its taxpayer-covered price tag and concerns that ridership might not meet expectations. In Wisconsin, GOP gubernatorial candidates recently promised to stop an $810 million project to build a 110-mph rail line between Madison and Milwaukee.
* Metra Board Approves Employee Related Ordinances
The Senate Fiscal Agency’s report says the credits raised less than $4 million in revenue for the 2008 to 2009 fiscal year. The director of the agency says that’s much less money than what Michigan is paying out in tax credits.
* Tribune: A supreme justice
Candidate Patrick Maher, president of the Orland Fire Protection District, is skewering his opponent, incumbent Elizabeth Doody Gorman (R-Orland Park), regarding the use of her fund.
Gorman spent about $6,000 of county taxpayer money toward her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame, which she earned in 2008. While the degree itself cost much more, Gorman used part of her county stipend to cover tuition costs.
