Steel-maker Evraz North America Inc. announced at noon that it’s moving its corporate headquarters from Portland to Chicago.
CEO Mike Rehwinkel said the move is a matter of logistics. It’s easier to meet with the company’s North American customers from a centrally-located base like Chicago.
The move means shifting the 50 employees at its headquarters to Chicago.
* The company may have 50 workers in Portland, but it pledged to create 70 new jobs in Chicago. From a press release…
DCEO will administer the state’s approximately $3 million business investment package, which consists of Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits based on job creation and Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds to enhance the skills of the company’s workforce. In return, the company pledges to create at least 70 jobs. The state’s package leverages a private investment by the company of $9.7 million over a ten-year period.
* So, what about that job-killing tax hike? Not a factor…
The announcement comes shortly after Illinois hiked its corporate and individual income tax rates, a dramatic step that triggered a hue and cry that businesses will exit or avoid moving here. The founder of Champaign-based Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, for instance, this week told the Champaign News-Gazette that he’s considering moving the corporate headquarters out of state.
But Mike Rehwinkel, Evraz NA president and CEO, said the tax increases, while hardly a welcome turn of events, did not influence the company’s relocation decision.
The key factor, he said, was getting easier, less expensive air travel out of O’Hare and Midway airports to customers with offices dotted around North America, from Dallas and Houston to Calgary and Montreal.
“As much as people say they don’t like those airports, we love them,” he said. “We can reach all our customers, all our mills and into Europe when we need to.”
Transportation and infrastructure. Those are the watchwords.
Mitsubishi Motors says its plant in Normal will remain open and begin producing a new model soon.
Dan Irvin, a spokesman for the Japanese auto manufacturer, said Thursday that the company will wait several weeks to release the details about the new model, when it will go into production and what that will mean for staffing at the plant.
The plant employs 1,100 people and is one of the largest employers in the Bloomington-Normal area.
The Chicago for Rahm Emanuel campaign today announced that $10.6 million has been raised during the mayoral campaign through January 19th. An additional $1.1 million in previously raised funds was transferred from the congressional campaign account, for a total of $11.7 million.
Demonstrating his expected money advantage over his competitors, mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel is shelling out big bucks to run a campaign ad during Sunday’s Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers NFC Championship game.
The cost of Emanuel’s ad is $5,000 a second, or $150,000 for the 30-second commercial, according to an industry source familiar with political TV advertising who was not authorized to speak publicly about ad buys. No other mayoral candidate has purchased time during the game so far.
Carol Moseley Braun‘s mayoral bid has not raised as much as she had hoped and will rely on door-to-door canvassing rather than an extended broadcast TV ad blitz, campaign spokeswoman Renee Ferguson said Thursday.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Braun and the other major mayoral hopefuls had not yet filed the campaign-finance disclosure reports that they are required to turn in to state officials by the end of the day. But Ferguson said Braun’s campaign raised about $850,000 — about $600,000 in the reporting period that ended Dec. 31 and another $250,000 in the first three weeks of January. […]
Ferguson said the Braun campaign filmed a TV spot Wednesday but would need to raise more money to air the ad on broadcast TV, which is costly.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* We’re waiting for an appellate ruling today on whether Rahm Emanuel meets the residency requirements to run for Chicago mayor. I put together this post to serve as an addendum, but I’m tired of waiting, so check back here for updates.
* Here is the audio of this week’s arguments before the appellate court…
An attorney for two voters objecting to Emanuel’s candidacy argued again that the Democrat doesn’t meet the one-year residency requirement because he rented out his Chicago home and moved his family to Washington to work for President Barack Obama for nearly two years.
“If the house had not been abandoned by the whole family … we wouldn’t be here today,” attorney Burt Odelson told the panel of judges, all three Democrats.
Odelson so far has had little luck trying to keep Emanuel off the Feb. 22 ballot. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a Cook County judge have both ruled in favor of Emanuel, a former congressman, saying he didn’t abandon his Chicago residency when he went to work at the White House.
Judge Kevin Hoffman played devil’s advocate with lawyers on both sides.
Hoffman asked Emanuel’s challengers whether he should be allowed on the ballot because state election protects the residency status of anyone who temporarily leaves “on the business of the United States.”
Burt Odelson, the lawyer for the objectioners, said no, that exemption should only apply to members of the military.
“You can’t run with the hounds and hide with the fox,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman asked Emanuel’s lawyers to define the difference between “to live” and “to reside”, arguing that the two are synonymous.
“All this debate is completely academic,” said Kevin Forde, one of Emanuel’s lawyers. “There is absolutely no question that (Emanuel) was on temporary absence on business of the United States.”
They questioned the argument of Burt Odelson, lead attorney against Emanuel, that leasing out the house meant Emanuel abandoned his residency.
“What’s the strongest case you have supporting that?” Hoffman asked.
Odelson mentioned some cases from the 1930s and ’40s. Odelson argued that President Obama would have no problem running for mayor because he did not rent out his house and so could occasionally spend a night there.
What if Emanuel could not afford to maintain two homes, Justice Bertina Lampkin asked. Wouldn’t Odelson’s interpretation of the law put an undue burden on the non-wealthy?
Well, with $60,000 a year in rent from the house and his $172,000-a-year chief of staff position, as well as his savings, that was not an issue for Emanuel, Odelson responded without answering her question.
* Chicago/Cook roundup…
* Mayor Daley’s nephew tries to get in on video poker business
* Daley says he’d like to write, teach after leaving City Hall
* Chico wins police union endorsement for mayor: Chico insisted it was premature to say anything specific about costs and cuts, and that he would negotiate with an open mind. Union officials said they believe Emanuel has made up his mind about cutting their benefits and that he would not be a friendly negotiator.
* Illinois Policy Institute Exclusive: Dan Proft Interviews Alderman Brendan Reilly, Part 1
* Illinois Policy Institute Exclusive: Dan Proft Interviews Alderman Brendan Reilly, Part 2
* Ald.Dixon sues cops over 2009 drunk-driving arrest
* Preckwinkle, Dart stalled on Cook County budget cuts
[I deleted the old post in which I made a grievous error. Not enough coffee, I suppose, because I reported on it correctly last week, but not this week. Sheesh. I need another break. So, with apologies, let’s try this again.]
Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) says the bill he plans to introduce to repeal the Democrats’ tax hike isn’t a hopeless Hail Mary cause to save the state from becoming the highest taxing government in the industrial world as many may believe. KMOX radio reports:
He says with 54 republicans in the Illinois House and 24 G.O.P. members in the state senate along with some Democrats who support the repeal there is actually a majority opposition to the tax hike in both chambers of the general assembly.
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Sen. Murphy is right and this could be a constant refrain among Republicans for the next two years, just like it has been in DC with “Obamacare.” Plus, the Republicans will now have something to hold over those Democrats who voted “No” on the income tax hike. If they “truly” are opposed to the tax hike, then, the logic will go, they should join with the GOP to repeal it.
It’ll all be a parliamentary nightmare, I’m sure. But since many Republicans deep down (actually, not so deep because I talk to many of them on a regular basis) don’t want to go back to the bad old days of gigantic budget deficits, it’ll probably be just that: Parliamentary maneuvers. Unless, that is, they actually come up with another plan. Don’t bet on it. That’s not been the game for the past couple of years.
Again, sorry for that first post. I don’t know what got into me.
* Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Journal-Courier publishes the most bizarre online letters to the editor you’ve ever seen. For instance…
“OK, you’re saying the state is raising taxes for the welfare programs and we should be mad at those receiving it for they are the reason our taxes went up. Well, then, you would be a racist, because the majority of the money handed out and the assistance goes to Hispanics who are illegal in this country in the first place, but our state has given them millions of dollars each year. Check it out. Those who are legal citizens and of this state do not receive assistance before an illegal does, check that out also. The state created the debt and now wants to further loot and rape you, the legal citizen.”
And…
“Stop paying state income taxes, get real. Stop state spending, get real. As long as these people keep having kids without insurance and no visible means of support except for state aid, taxes will have to be increased regularly to pay the bills. As long as liberals expect criminals to be spoon-fed while in jails and prisons state, taxes will have to be increased regularly to pay the bills. The problem is not state spending but our ‘do as you please society.’”
And…
“Get rid of this stupid tax hike that stupid Quinn and his other crooks are imposing on us poor people of Illinois. What is wrong with this dumb idiot?”
I don’t think you’ll ever seen an editorial in that paper asking for an elevated national public discourse.
Some analysts say the true shortfall could be much higher than $15 billion - closer to $27 billion - to account for enrollment growth in public schools and on Medicaid rolls, cost increases and other variables. That figure amounts to almost a third of discretionary state spending in the current budget.
So, this is only half of what may have to be done.
Texas lawmakers got their first glimpse of what the next state budget might look like late Tuesday, including a staggering $5 billion cut to public schools, as Gov. Rick Perry and his supporters were dancing at an inaugural celebration. […]
The budget draft, which is expected to be filed as legislation in the House later this week, would cut funding entirely to four community colleges and would generally eliminate financial aid for incoming freshmen and new students. The Texas Grants scholarship program would drop by more than 70,000 students over the next two years.
The proposal also would reduce reimbursement rates by 10 percent for physicians, hospitals and nursing homes that participate in Medicaid - a decrease that could eventually dry up participation in the program for poor and disabled Texans. […]
A $4 billion reduction to the Foundation School Program - the pot of money distributed to schools based on daily attendance - means the program would be short almost $10 billion below the amount required to fund the school finance formulas under state law. That would make school finance reform legislation almost inevitable. […]
While almost every other state agency would see a reduction in employees, the average number of full-time employees in Perry’s office over the next two fiscal years would go to 132, up from an average of 120 in the 2010-2011 budget.
The proposed budget does not cover $9.8 billion owed to the school districts under the current school finance formulas. […]
Democratic House members said the budget proposal pretends that the 170,000 new students expected in Texas classrooms just won’t materialize. Nor was money included to pay for new textbooks or supplemental science materials that are needed to prepare high schools for the upcoming end-of-course exams. […]
Spending on Texas Grants, the state’s main financial aid program, would be cut 41 percent, according to an analysis by the office of Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio . The number of students receiving Texas Grants — 156,225 in the current biennium — would decline by half to 78,080 in 2012-13. […]
Medicaid reimbursement rates for doctors, nursing homes and other health care providers — already set so low that more than half of Texas doctors are refusing new Medicaid patients — face a 10 percent cut .
In Aldine ISD, voters rejected an attempt to raise the tax rate in August. Superintendent Wanda Bamberg said a decision to try again would be up to the school board.
The district, bracing for $30 million to $60 million in cuts, is preparing to increase class sizes, reduce busing services, continue a hiring freeze and reduce staffing even more if needed, Bamberg said.
“If the funding scenarios we’re hearing now become reality,” she said, “reductions of that size could certainly cripple this school district.”
The state’s contribution to the state employee retirement fund would be reduced from 6.95 percent to 6 percent, less than what is needed to maintain the fund, according the Legislative Budget Board. The base budget proposes a similar cut in contributions to the Teacher Retirement Fund.
* Except for the governor’s staff budget, almost everything is taking a hit…
Parks and Wildlife Commission would fall from $717 million to $479 million.
Oh, and at a time when there’s a full-court press on to demonize public-sector unions as the source of all our woes, Texas is nearly demon-free: less than 20 percent of public-sector workers there are covered by union contracts, compared with almost 75 percent in New York.
* Also, these cuts are just a first draft. Expect changes…
But the chief budget writer in the House stressed that the recommendations are only a starting point and will likely undergo extensive changes as lawmakers craft a final spending bill during the 140-day legislative session, which started last week.
“I don’t want the folks back home to think this is a done deal,” said Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, as he briefed House members about the 980-page document. “It is not.”
* Related…
* Child-protection budget cuts fought: In announcing its legislative priorities, the group decried the proposed cuts, which would slash $467 million from the Child Protective Services portion of the Department of Family and Protective Services, about 18 percent. The proposed cuts also call for a staff reduction of 14 percent, mostly from the ranks of caseworkers and supervisors, said Madeline McClure, executive director of TexProtects, also known as the Texas Association for the Protection of Children.
* Texas budget fix may mean fewer teachers, bigger classes
* Texas House budget zeroes out state funding for crisis pregnancy resource centers
* With Medicaid cuts, everyone could pay more for health care
* Houston-area prison to shut under budget proposal
* Proposed state budget cuts would hit North Texas hard
* Amazon sues Texas, demands tax documents - Online retailer wants information on audit that led to $269 million bill
* Gov. Pat Quinn was chased down by reporters in Urbana today and eventually agreed to do a media availability. Our new friend Michael Kiser from WDWS Radio provided us with some raw audio. Listen…
* Quinn was asked about the decision by Jimmy John’s founder to leave Illinois because of the income tax hike. He said he hoped that wouldn’t happen and then went on and on about why the tax hike was necessary and temporary. He also talked about the new companies coming to Illinois and said, “We’re the capital of the Midwest, let’s not sell ourselves short… I’m not ever gonna bum rap our state. We have the best of the best and we always will.”
…Adding… Treasurer Dan Rutherford was on WLS AM just now talking about Jimmy John’s [The company’s founder contributed $100,000 to Rutherford’s campaign in the last election cycle]. Rutherford said he talked to the founder just before the show, and predicted that the “dramatic” tax hike would effect other companies. Rutherford said the owner was also upset about the state’s minimum wage increase.
The acting Director of the Illinois State Police is out of a job.
Jonathon Monken was appointed to the post by Governor Pat Quinn in March 2009 but never received Senate confirmation.
According to Eric Madiar, attorney for Senate President John Cullerton, the governor’s office did not turn in paperwork that would have allowed Monken’s directorship to roll over into the new general assembly.
Thirty-seven others are in the same position, including Gladyse Taylor, who is over the Department of Corrections.
“I think this is much ado about nothing, frankly… [The Senate seems] to think they have to be reappointed, temporarily reappointed.” He said he would likely make those temporary appointments. Quinn said he wished that the Senate had acted on those appointees earlier. He defended Acting Director Monken as a “good man,” a “real leader,” and an “all-American hero.” But he wouldn’t say whether Monken would be reappointed.
* It’s not on the tape, but Gov. Quinn also said he wants input from the public before he decides what to do about the death penalty repeal bill sitting on his desk…
Gov. Pat Quinn says he’d like to hear from the citizens of Illinois before he decides whether to sign legislation that would abolish the death penalty in the state.
Quinn said he’s already weighing input from prosecutors, clergy and others on the bill passed this month by the General Assembly. The governor wouldn’t say when he’ll make a decision. He says he’s going through a period of what he called “reflection and review.”
