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Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My mom’s birthday is today and, of course, Mother’s Day is Sunday. Happy, happy to her and to all moms out there.

Here’s Mom with my niece Rosalee, whose birthday was yesterday…

As you can plainly see, the attractive gene skipped me.

* Anyway, I asked Mom if she had a song request, and she picked this one…

Well I’m older now and still runnin’
Against the wind

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Motorola Mobility gets huge state tax credit

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* There are some things missing from this AP story…

Gov. Pat Quinn says the state of Illinois will provide $100 million in tax credits to Motorola Mobility as part of a deal with the company to keep its headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville.

Under the deal announced Friday, the Motorola spinoff will keep a workforce of about 3,000 at the facility. Motorola Mobility designs mobile phones and other related products.

* That $100 million number is pretty astounding until you realize that it will be doled out over 10 years and requires a significant commitment from Motorola…

Motorola Mobility is committing to spend more than $500 million in research and development related to these jobs over the next three years.

* The cash is a tax credit applied to the company’s annual withholding tax liability or its annual corporate income tax liability. However, Gov. Quinn did not announce a corresponding budget cut to make up for the revenue loss. Then again, the revenue loss to the state would’ve been quite big if the company had left - not to mention the hit to the state’s reputation. And Motorola Mobility had been looking elsewhere…

The cell phone maker had been considering moving its head office to more high-profile tech centers, such as Silicon Valley, San Diego or Austin, Texas, since it was spun off from Motorola Inc. earlier this year.

More…

Morningstar analyst Joseph Beaulieu said, “Given that CEO Sanjay Jha has a second home in Southern California and given that the San Francisco area is home to some of the top technology companies in the United States, this is a big win for Illinois.”

Ed Longanecker, executive director of Naperville-based tech trade association TechAmerica, said Illinois’ efforts to keep Motorola Mobility and to create an Illinois Innovation Council are welcome efforts to accelerate technology and economic growth.

Discuss.

19 Comments

Question of the day

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Back-seat passengers under the age of 19 are already required to wear seat belts in Illinois. The House voted yesterday to expand that to everyone…

Back-seat passengers who now can decide whether to buckle up would have to start wearing seat belts under legislation that narrowly passed the House Thursday.

The bill, which squeaked through 61-55 and now heads to the Senate, would add Illinois to the list of 11 other states that require backseat seat-belt usage for all passengers.

“We’ve had people in our area killed and maimed who hadn’t had a seat belt on in the backseat,” said Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Barrington Hills), the bill’s chief House sponsor. “Totally unnecessary.”

State data was not immediately available after Thursday’s vote. But nationwide, 1,095 back-seat passengers not wearing seat belts died in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

* The Question: Do you support mandatory back-seat seat belt usage? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.

Online Surveys & Market Research

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*** UPDATED x2 *** Report: Madigan considers proposal to levy separate property tax for teacher pensions

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 1 *** The Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association have just issued a joint statement. Essentiall, this means that the teachers unions support the Chicago Teachers Union desired changes in the education reform bill, but without the CTU’s way over top rhetoric…

“After months of historic collaboration and bargaining in good faith, the Illinois House can, by making necessary adjustments, ensure that Illinois gets education reform legislation that reflects what was intended and agreed upon in the negotiations.

We are on the precipice of passing some the most serious reforms to education that Illinois has seen in decades, and drafting such legislation is a deliberate process. The coalition that came together remains united in our ultimate objective: to pass reforms that protect the voice of the teacher in the classroom while making our schools better for our kids.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** “Joint statement of Robin Steans, Executive Director of Advance Illinois, Jessica Handy, Policy Director of Stand for Children – Illinois and Jeff Mays, President, Illinois Business Roundtable in response to the Chicago Teachers Union’s removal of support from Illinois Senate Bill 7″…

SB 7 is the same legislation that the Chicago Teachers Union assisted in crafting and openly supported in the Illinois Senate. For more than three months, state senators, school management groups, the State Board of Education, education reform organizations and teachers’ unions- including the Chicago Teachers Union- sat at the same negotiating table and hammered out the specifics of SB 7.

This process was extraordinary for its inclusive and collaborative nature and something which proudly sets Illinois apart from other states.

The proposed language of the bill has been available and under discussion for months. All parties were given the chance to review the final language of SB 7 and, indeed, the Chicago Teachers Union did propose last minute changes, which were incorporated before it was passed unanimously by the Illinois Senate on April 14th.

The Chicago Teachers Union has now removed its support from SB 7 and in doing so, has undermined the good faith in which it was negotiated.

Since passage in the Senate, we have worked with the Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, school management groups, and legislators on clean-up language in several areas. We remain committed to continuing to work collaboratively with legislators and stakeholders on this landmark legislation.

And the spiral continues.

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Speaker Madigan wants to set up a new system for paying teacher pensions…

In another possible blow to the legislation, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is considering an amendment that would shift the cost of teacher pensions, a move that could torpedo the bill’s chances, according to two sources familiar with the confidential talks. The sources requested anonymity because they remain involved in the negotiations.

The amendment would require school districts to levy a separate property tax for teacher pensions, the sources said. The move would shift the burden from the state to local taxpayers. Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) introduced the concept in February.

There are actually two education reform bills (another, cleanup version was passed the day after the first one passed). I think only one of those two will be amended with Madigan’s pension changes. We’ll see.

* Speaker Madigan is also sponsoring a constitutional amendment which cleared a House committee this week…

It would require that a public body – at both the state and local level –muster a three-fifths supermajority vote before pensions for its employees can be enhanced.

“It’s very easy to vote for a bill that increases a pension benefit,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, the amendment’s sponsor. “Everyone would be better served if there were a higher bar regarding pension bills.”

Organizations representing local governments – such as the Illinois Municipal League – signed up in favor of the amendment.

Unions representing public employees lined up in opposition. Steve Preckwinkle of the Illinois Federation of Teachers said the amendment could hamstring pension changes needed to clear up problems instead of enhancing benefits.

Thoughts on these two proposals?

* Related…

* CTU: Remove ‘anti-union’ restrictions in school bill

* Illinois Democrats Enrage Public-Worker Unions With Drive to Tame Pensions

* Michael Carrigan: Illinois should honor current pensions - Cutting the retirement benefits earned by state workers is unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair.

* Sean Smoot: Society’s promise to public safety workers goes beyond memorials

* Illinois labor launches campaign to protect pensions

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Crazy hysteria over a simple weed

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rep. Lou Lang said yesterday that he thought he had 58 votes going into the debate on his medical marijuana bill. That’s still two votes shy of the 60 required, but Lang thought he might pick up a couple of extra votes during the debate. He was wrong. When all was said and done, he ended up with just 53 votes. However, four members, all Democrats, switched from Yes to No before the roll call was closed. Watch…

Democratic Reps. Acevedo, Reitz, Thapedi and Verschoore all flipped to No at the end when they saw the bill was going down. Thapedi switched back and forth a couple of times.

[Sigh.]

* That vote was seriously disheartening for those of us who believe we need some sane drug laws in this country. The bill established a three-year pilot project. No growing by patients would be allowed. The amount of pot that people could have was reduced to two and a half ounces. A specific list of maladies that could be treated with medical marijuana was in the bill, as well as a limit on the number of dispensaries and who could operate them. You can’t get much tighter than that, although they could lower the amount of pot that patients could purchase and it wouldn’t bother me much. Even some opponents agreed with that. But the rhetoric by some opponents was just ridiculous. “A flawed piece of West Coast marijuana legislation,” said Rep. Rich Morthland. Watch…

You’d think by listening to some of these people that marijuana is some outrageously dangerous drug. When you talk to legislators, quite a few privately admit that they tried weed in college or even high school, or even since then. Yet, they seem fine now. The simple fact is that pot itself doesn’t damage nearly as many lives as being arrested for smoking it. Our last three presidents all admitted to smoking it. The republic has somehow managed to survive. Yet, it’s highly doubtful that any of them would’ve been elected if they had been busted by the cops for giving it a try. What rank hypocrisy this is.

* Sheesh…

“This is not a medicine, this is an illegal substance,” said Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Westmont, said.

Tell that to Jim Champion…

As the bill failed, Jim Champion of Somonauk watched from his wheelchair in the House gallery. He said he was “deflated” by the vote because he has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 23 years and marijuana is the only thing he has used to control his symptoms without horrible side effects.

But because marijuana is illegal, Champion currently is on methadone, the latest in a long list of legal prescriptions. He said he could move to a state like Michigan or California, where medical marijuana is legal, but Illinois is his home and he wants to stay.

During debate, Lang pointed to Champion, a U.S. Army veteran who said he worked with Lang to craft a bill that would pass.

Champion said he often has people come up and thank him for his service, but he feels the thanks aren’t warranted because he has to break the law to use marijuana.

“I feel like a criminal. I don’t feel like an honored veteran,” Champion said. “I don’t, and my state’s doing it to me.”

More…

“At night when I sleep, my knees grind together, and I almost end up turning into a ball. I wake up in the morning and take my pills, and they do nothing,” Champion said. “I take three puffs off a cannabis cigarette, and I am able to separate my legs. I am able to basically get ready in the morning.”

* A solid editorial by the Southtown Star…

We don’t wish the pain and suffering of AIDS or cancer or multiple sclerosis on any human being.

But we wouldn’t mind one sleepless night of it for the legislators who voted “no” to legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois.

That tally came to 61 on Thursday. That’s how many members of the Illinois House of Representatives are willing to let others suffer needlessly so they can pose and posture that they’re tough on crime. […]

This is a simple matter. They are choosing to put politics above real people who need real help. […]

We are ashamed.

So am I.

* Roundup…

* Illinois House rejects 3-year pilot program for medical marijuana, despite new GOP support

* Medical Marijuana in Illinois is a No-Go, Again

* Marijuana legislation fails in Illinois House

* House rejects bill allowing use of medical marijuana in Illinois

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*** UPDATED x4 - Doubled down *** Tea Party blasts Republicans over DREAM Act support

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 1 *** The House just passed a bill with 66 votes that allows counties to opt out of the ICE program. Rep. Randy Ramey, Jr., who has been a major backer of proposals to get tough on illegal immigration, is, surprisingly enough, a co-sponsor of the bill and spoke in favor of it during debate. Two counties want to opt out after having opted in, and one of those is in his district. The bill also does this…

…provides that as a condition for its continued participation in the “Secure Communities” program, the State of Illinois shall modify its Memorandum of Agreement with ICE to provide that, in line with ICE’s Congressional authorization of identifying “aliens convicted of a crime, sentenced to imprisonment, and who may be deportable,” Public Law 110-161, 121 Stat. 1844, 2365 (2007), no Illinois arrest record information regarding any individual may be analyzed by ICE through the “Secure Communities” program unless such individual has been convicted of a criminal offense.

*** UPDATE 2 *** The Department of Homeland Security says no to Gov. Quinn…

DHS officials confirmed to The Huffington Post that they will still require the state to share fingerprints with immigration enforcement — even though Quinn said he wants to terminate a memorandum of understanding with the agency to share the data.

In making this decision, DHS is flouting the state’s decision to withdraw from the program in favor of more universal immigration enforcement and likely setting the stage for a lawsuit.

*** UPDATE 3 *** Sen. Althoff has now responded to criticism of her vote in favor of the bill…

Recently, the Illinois Senate approved legislation (Senate Bill 2185) aimed at allowing student immigrants who have a valid taxpayer ID to invest in their college education – this legislation has been the subject of much misinformation on the Internet and in the media.

The bill requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create an Illinois DREAM Fund that will provide scholarships funded entirely from private contributions – no Illinois tax dollars will be directed toward these scholarships. In addition, to be eligible for the program, a student must be a resident of the State of Illinois.

Contrary to some of the misinformation being spread by opponents of the measure, it is not an immigration bill – in no way, shape or form does it grant undocumented immigrants citizenship. Also, contrary to what’s been previously reported, the legislation does not permit driving certificates for undocumented immigrants.

*** UPDATE 4 *** This is what you call doubling down. From the Palatine Tea Party…

Shameful Illinois Republican State Senators

(Palatine, Illinois) - It is a sad day in Illinois when 11 Senate Republicans seek the cover of the leftist media over their ill-advised vote. The Illinois Tea Party outrage at the passage of the Illinois Dream Act through the Illinois Senate has now made the Huffington Post.

These 11 Senators spend tax dollars like drunken sailors on shore leave, and once caught try to spin their way out of a problem they created. The Tea Party and its allies in the Illinois know that Illinois is in a financial crisis of epic proportion.

Once again the Illinois dream act is another spending bill that could adversely affect Illinois citizens. It has and will be the job of Tea Parties throughout the state to hold our elected officials accountable. The actions of these 11 Senators will not soon be forgotten. Many of these 11 call themselves conservatives, yet there is nothing conservative about the Illinois Dream Act.

This is a failure to the citizens of Illinois and these shameful Senators need to be held accountable for their actions. Please keep calling these numbers and keep expressing your contempt at this ill-advised vote.

Republicans that voted YES are: Althoff, Bomke, Brady, Dillard, Duffy, Tom Johnson, Murphy, Radogno, Sandack, Schmidt, Syverson.

Notice how they don’t explain how and why this is allegedly “another spending bill that could adversely affect Illinois citizens.”

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* The Palatine Tea Party issued an outraged press release yesterday blasting the Senate Republicans who voted for the Illinois DREAM Act…

An Open Letter to Illinois Republican Senators

The Illinois Republican Senators who voted ‘YES’ to Dream Act SB 2185 are part of the problem in Illinois. Instead of focusing on issues like jobs, taxes and our economy they are more interested in getting votes. It is clear our current elected officials are much more concerned with their reelection than what matters for the citizens of Illinois.

We will Never forget your VOTE!

Republicans that voted YES are: Althoff, Bomke, Brady, Dillard, Duffy, Tom Johnson, Murphy, Radogno, Sandack, Schmidt, Syverson. If you are outraged with their votes, contact them directly

* The Daily Herald points out the big difference between the state bill and the federal bill…

Note, there is a difference between the state version of the DREAM Act and the federal version, which failed during Congress’ lame-duck session late last fall. The state version, unlike the federal version, does not provide a direct path to citizenship. And some of the Republicans state Senators who voted for it feel like they’re being unnecessarily hammered at.

* There are other differences as well. And Sen. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) is one of those who feel like they’re being whacked for no good reason. From a press release…

“It is important to clarify that this bill is not an immigration bill. It does not grant any sort of legal citizenship status,” Sandack clarified.

Senate Bill 2185 requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create an Illinois DREAM Fund that will provide scholarships funded entirely from private contributions. A potential recipient must meet residency and educational requirements in order to receive the assistance.

“This legislation specifies that the recipient of educational assistance through the Illinois DREAM Fund have at least one parent who immigrated to the country. This bill is in no way affiliated with the Federal DREAM Act.”

The legislation also provides for educational training for school counselors regarding higher education opportunities for undocumented immigrants, as well as specifying that college savings programs must be made available to those with a valid social security number or taxpayer identification number.

It really isn’t a gigantic bill. That was a huge overreaction by that tea party. The bill is here. It passed the Senate 45-11.

* Meanwhile, you’ve probably already read about this already. I didn’t put it on the blog yesterday because I got busy with other stuff…

Illinois this week became the first state in the country to officially pull out of a program known as Secure Communities, saying it will no longer provide information the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency about illegal immigrants who’ve been arrested.

Governor Pat Quinn’s office cited the deportation of illegal immigrants who were charged with only minor crimes or no crimes at all as a top concern. Quinn spokesperson Brie Callahan says ICE did not follow protocol in the deportations, often removing people from the U.S. before they’d been convicted of any crime.

* From a press release…

Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement notifying the agency that because of its indiscriminate use of the “Secure Communities” deportation program, the State is ending its participation in the program. The letter states “that the implementation of the Secure Communities program in Illinois is contrary to the stated purpose of the MOA… By ICE’s own measure, less than 20% of those who have been deported from Illinois under the program have ever been convicted of a serious crime.” The Governor’s letter concludes, “With this termination, no new counties in Illinois can be activated and those counties that were previously activated… must be deactivated and removed from the Secure Communities program.” […]

The Governor’s letter comes in the wake of mounting criticism of the “Secure Communities” program for what U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California describes as outright deception in its implementation and for the widely reported use of the program to deport people still presumed to be innocent despite the program’s mission of focusing on “convicted dangerous criminals.”

The Illinois legislature is scheduled to weigh in on the program with a pending vote on the Smart Enforcement Act, which would regulate and require reporting on the program.

* Tribune…

Nearly a third of all illegal immigrants deported out of Illinois under the program have never been convicted of any crime, the letter stated, citing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures. Quinn’s office suspended the state’s role in the program in November amid concerns about its effectiveness.

“During the suspension, we voiced our concerns to ICE and asked them to prove that Secure Communities can and will be implemented as agreed to,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “After review, we were not satisfied and determined that ICE’s ongoing implementation of Secure Communities is flawed.” […]

“Illinois is without competition the most pro-illegal immigration state in the country, even before this,” said Roy Beck, executive director of the Virginia-based NumbersUSA organization.

* But does Quinn’s action really mean all that much? Unsure, says the AP…

However, it wasn’t immediately clear if Quinn’s move would completely end Illinois’ connection to the federal program.

For one, fingerprints of suspects collected by local law enforcement have always been sent to the FBI for checks against criminal history and fingerprint databases, and nothing in Illinois’ notice can stop the FBI from sharing information.

Also, while Illinois’ 26 participating counties rely on state police for the program to work, they could come up with their own systems or work with ICE independently. The letter to ICE said that no new Illinois counties would enroll in the program.

* Background from the NY Times…

Statistics from the immigration agency showed that nearly one-third of immigrants deported from Illinois under the program had no criminal convictions. It is a civil violation for an immigrant to be in the United States illegally; it is not a crime. [Emphasis added.]

* Related…

* Hispanic Caucus calls on Obama to freeze controversial immigration enforcement program

* Illinois Terminates Secure Communities, Advances DREAM Act

* Illinois backs out of controversial program intended to deport dangerous immigrants

* Illinois Drops Secure Communities as Fierce Opposition Mounts in Massachussetts, Other States

* Illinois Senate Passes their own version of The Dream Act..On to the House Now

* Illinois Senate passes state DREAM Act

* Illinois Senate passes dream act

* Illinois Senate passes DREAM Act - Bill headed for a state House vote

* The fight for the DREAM Act: faltered but not fallen: So far, 10 other states have passed versions of the DREAM Act, extending in-state tuition to undocumented students, including California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

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Otis McDonald says Rep. Davis promised to vote for concealed carry

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Otis McDonald, the plaintiff in the NRA’s successful lawsuit against Chicago’s handgun laws, told Fox Chicago yesterday that Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) committed to him to support the concealed carry bill. Rep. Davis voted “No” yesterday, which the NRA claims is what actually killed the bill. Watch…

Illinois House Rejects Concealed Carry Bill: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

Rep. Davis denied saying any such thing. However, I talked to four people yesterday (the NRA’s lobbyist and three NRA members) who told me that Davis did, indeed, say she’d vote for the bill. Here she is talking to McDonald last year at the Statehouse. She called him a “great hero” and appeared supportive of his cause…

* The bill was placed on the order of “Postponed Consideration,” so there is no recorded roll call. But here’s the video of the big board…

* The complete House floor debate…

Thanks to BlueRoomStream.com for that one.

* Roundup…

* Split among suburban lawmakers dooms concealed-carry bill: Thursday’s Illinois House defeat of a proposal to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons hinged on regional differences, not partisan ones, with lawmakers from the Chicago suburbs holding the swing votes.

* Illinois concealed carry bill voted down

* Illinois House shoots down concealed-carry law

* ‘America is no longer the wild, wild West’: Concealed-carry falls short in Illinois House

* Conceal carry defeated in Illinois House

* Conceal-carry bill fails in House

* House rejects concealed carry

* Daley calls retirement bodyguard request ‘appropriate’

* Restaurant workers turn heroes, stop attack at drive-through

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

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