Johnson predicts GOP remap lawsuit will fail
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Congressman Tim Johnson just rented an apartment in Litchfield, which is in the middle of his new congressional district. He talked about the move and his pending run for reelection with the Champaign News Gazette…
“I’ve said before that the (redistricting) process was flawed, that it wasn’t transparent and, frankly, it’s kind of an embarrassment to the Legislature and to good government. But nonetheless I’m not going to go to somebody in Bond County and say, ‘I think this is a flawed process and I hate it but I want you to vote for me.’ The reality is this is the district. We’re going to file a lawsuit but it’s not going to succeed, so you’ve just got to go forward with the way it is.” [Emphasis added.]
That won’t make him too popular with the powers that be, I’m sure.
* Johnson, by the way, has picked up a new Republican primary opponent. Samuel Thomas Spradlin, a Springfield truck driver, has a website, but no plans to raise much money…
“His campaign war chest is approximately $200,000,” Spradlin said. “I’m sure he can make that $2 million overnight. And I’d be lucky to raise $2,000. That’s the truth.”
* Related…
* Let’s Talk About Redistricting
* Redistricting’s Bottom Line Might Surprise You: Democratic gains in just two states, Illinois and California, will almost completely offset the party’s losses elsewhere. On the GOP side, gains in North Carolina, Texas and Georgia almost offset Republican losses in Illinois and California.
* Some Lake County Board Members Cry Foul Over Redistricting
* Mike Boland considers congressional run
* Congressman Shimkus Fears Loss of Ethanol Credits
* Schock pushes bill to end ethanol support
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*** UPDATE *** From Natasha Korecki’s Twitter feed…
And … day seven ends with #Blagojevich jurors gone, no verdict.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* It’s Day 7 of jury deliberations in the Rod Blagojevich trial. Eric Zorn wonders what’s going on…
I was pretty sure that the jurors would come back, refreshed and clear-eyed from their long weekend and finalize their verdict [yesterday]. That they did not indicates to me that there’s a fairly stout stalemate on the panel on at least one of the issues before them — maybe all of them.
* And WBEZ is the latest media outlet to examine what impact an eleven-woman, one-man jury might have on the verdict…
* The Question: What do you think the jury is up to?
Snark is heavily encouraged.
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Maybe one day
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of my greatest disappointments in life is that the citizenry and our civic and political leaders repeatedly refuse to understand the extremely valuable lessons from Prohibition.
If you outlaw something that the people really want, they’re gonna get it anyway and it’ll be the outlaws who’ll supply them. For instance, here’s a story from today’s Tribune…
The Chicago mob once had as many as seven street crews, but is down to two or three, Rice said. It has found a steady source of revenue by controlling video poker machines, but authorities are catching on.
In December, Sarno and four co-defendants were found guilty of running a video poker racket, pulling off a string of armed robberies that spanned three years and four states, and protecting their gambling franchise by planting a bomb in front of a Berwyn business that encroached on their turf.
The recent legalization of video poker machines has been blasted by opponents as immoral and, weirdly enough, a boost to organized crime. The plain fact that just about every tavern in the state currently has the machines, and that the vast majority pay out illegally, and that many of those machines are controlled by the Outfit doesn’t seem to penetrate.
If you want to really hurt the mob, then cut it off from video poker. The best way to do that is by legalizing and regulating video poker. As far as the morality, I’m a big proponent of leaving individual morality up to the individual. Regulate it, sure, but banning it creates more problems than legalization. A legalized system won’t lead to bombs being planted by gangsters.
This is really not all that difficult to comprehend, and there is an even more direct historical connection than Prohibition. The state lottery destroyed the numbers rackets here.
* So, it was a pleasant surprise to watch Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s speech the other day marking the 40th anniversary of the nation’s “War on Drugs.” From her address…
“We all know that the ‘War on Drugs’ has failed to end drug use. Instead, it’s resulted in the incarceration of millions of people around the country and 100,000 here in Cook County on an annual basis. Drugs and the failed war on drugs have devastated lives, families and communities. For too long, we’ve treated drug use as a criminal justice issue rather than a public health issue, which is what it is. […]
“The cost is too great to continue this ‘War on Drugs’ with so little success.”
She didn’t explicitly call for legalization, but we cannot correct the problem until we first recognize that what we’ve done so far has been an abject failure. She most certainly sees that.
* Chicago’s new Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy also seems to have a grasp of the real problem here…
“It becomes the issue of mass incarceration,” he said during an interview for WBBM-AM 780’s “At Issue” program set to air at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday. “There is an issue here. And law enforcement has gotten this wrong. Narcotics use is a criminalized social issue. It causes crime. Drug dealers get into violent disputes over turf. It’s about the money.”
McCarthy added: “It’s been so twisted up that law enforcement looks at narcotics as the crime, when it’s not. It’s the cause of the crime. So, we’ve had this wrong for a long time in law enforcement.”
You want to stop violent drug-related crime? Well, it’s a pretty darned safe bet that Walgreen’s and CVS employees aren’t going to be shooting at each other if their employers are the ones selling pot.
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* IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig is set (again) to retire at the end of the month. Gov. Pat Quinn talked Hannig out of retiring earlier this year to at least the end of the spring legislative session. Quinn convinced Hannig to stick around for another month. So far, no replacement has been named, or even floated. But that hasn’t stopped former Senate Majority Leader and one-term US Rep. Debbie Halvorson from floating her name yet again…
With 10 days to go before he’s due to retire — again — it appears the governor still has not found a successor. A Quinn spokeswoman said the administration is reviewing candidates, but she did not elaborate.
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson has been the highest profile contender for the post.
She argues that her experience in Washington D.C. and as a member of the Illinois Senate gives her an advantage over other potential candidates. And, she says she’s gotten a lot of encouragement from members of the state Senate, who must approve of whomever Quinn picks.
“They know I know how to get money from D.C.,” Halvorson said Monday.
Don’t hold your breath. The governor rebuked her once and I was told yesterday that Quinn’s position hasn’t changed. Also, she may not have the support she thinks she has in the Senate. She was reportedly offered other jobs, but turned them down. I have no idea what she’s thinking.
*** UPDATE *** Despite what Halvorson just told Lee News, she told an acquaintance of mine something different today…
Just read the story you posted about Debbie and wanted to send you an update. I talked to her and she said she is not going after the position and focused on finishing her book and spending time with her family.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has battled with Halvorson for years over the 3rd airport and he strongly condemned her desire to run IDOT earlier this year. Jackson has since taken on a new project. He wants the Southland to unite in its bid for a casino site…
As Southland towns gear up for battle over a long-coveted casino license, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is warning such a plan could leave the Southland divided and conquered.
“There’s a history of the Southland not getting things because of too much infighting, and that might be an incentive for the governor, who’s already called this bill top-heavy, to reject the Southland proposal simply by not wanting to get involved in the fight,” said Rick Bryant, a spokesman for Jackson Jr. (D-2nd).
“If we can get communities working together, we can maximize the opportunities here.”
The congressman’s call to unite behind one location comes as Gov. Pat Quinn ponders a bill to massively expand gambling in the state by signing off on the creation of five new casinos, including one in Chicago, as well as adding slots machines to racetracks.
* So far, though, the reaction has been mixed at best…
But municipalities such as Country Club Hills and Ford Heights can make their own pitches to the Gaming Board. They have their own plans for sharing casino revenue with neighboring suburbs to gain political support. […]
Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch said he likes Jackson’s “concept,” but he balked at having to give up considerable control and money to a commission run by other communities.
“I don’t know any mayor in their right mind who would go along with that,” Welch said.
Ford Heights Mayor Charles Griffin said late last week he wasn’t aware of the proposal. He said Jackson should wait until Quinn signs the legislation before considering such a move.
* If her state job bid doesn’t work out, Halvorson might end up running against Jackson for Congress. I’d almost pay to see that.
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* Some good news…
The economic recovery may have stalled in parts of the South and West hit hard by the housing bubble, but Rust Belt states, buoyed by a manufacturing comeback, have seen a steady decline in their jobless rates over the last year.
Of the 10 states where unemployment rates dipped the most from May 2010 to May 2011, Rust Belt states — Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois — account for half, according to Labor Department figures.
Locally, metropolitan areas in the five Rust Belt states accounted for 30 of the top 34 declines in regional unemployment rates since last year, as well.
* More good news…
Chicago hoteliers are having their best year since 2008, as both occupancy and room rates are climbing thanks to increasing business and leisure travel.
The average daily room rate at Chicago-area hotels through May was $107.44, up 5.7% from $101.61 through the same period last year. The occupancy rate, meanwhile, stood at 56.8% compared with 54.3% through May last year, according to Smith Travel Research.
Seeing room rate and occupancies increase during the winter months is a strong indicator that the upcoming peak summer season won’t disappoint, says Brian Flanagan, president of Property Valuation Advisors Inc., a Chicago-based hotel appraisal and consulting firm.
* Even more…
Last year, Illinois generated $29.3 billion in revenue from the tourism industry, an increase of more than $2.2 billion from 2009, according to tourism data from Quinn’s office. Illinois visitor numbers increased by 5 percent, to 84.7 million, according to the data.
* Some mixed news…
Fewer leisure travelers came to Chicago last year, marking a low point for the city’s tourism in the past six years. But business travel perked back up.
A total of 38.1 million people came to Chicago in 2010, according to figures released Monday by Gov. Pat Quinn’s office. That was down 3.5% from 39.5 million visitors in 2009 and a 16.6% drop from 45.7 million in 2008. (Travel to Chicago peaked in the past decade in 2007, when 46.3 million people visited the city.)
Don Welsh, president and CEO of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, pins the drop on people reluctant to make day trips into the city.
“We’ve had a couple of spikes in gasoline prices, so in many cases, people will stay closer to home,” Mr. Welsh said.
But he says he is encouraged by the data showing the number of overnight visitors to Chicago rose 7.4% in 2010.
* But here’s yet another troubling report about a corporate tax incentive…
A $64.7-million state deal last September to keep Navistar International Corp. in Illinois lacks a guarantee that the truck and engine maker won’t cut jobs here. […]
In its application for state tax credits, Navistar said it employed 3,100 workers in four Chicago-area locations but planned to pare that number to 2,200, while hiring 400 more “over the next several years.”
Because of efficiencies and “normal attrition,” it added, “it is anticipated that the current work number will be reduced by 15-20%.”
Don Sharp, Navistar’s chief information officer and the company executive who negotiated the deal, said local employment should rebound to “that 3,100 number or above” by the end of next year, spurred by the closing of a truck plant in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and other consolidation.
Asked yesterday about a similar incentive for Motorola, which allowed it to reduce its state workforce by 800 people and still retain its $100 million tax package, Quinn said the proposal was a good one and added “They’re not going to be cutting back.”
Quinn also talked about reports that Sears is shopping around for a new headquarters. Listen…
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Quinn defends push to strip union cards
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday defended his push to strip union membership from thousands of state workers while forbidding others from ever joining a union…
Quinn is pushing Senate lawmakers to vote on the plan when they return to Springfield on Wednesday. House lawmakers signed off on the idea earlier this year, but support is low among Senate Democrats.
“I fervently support the right to bargaining, right to form a union,” Quinn said after speaking at the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference. “At the same time, there have to be some positions in government which are management positions and we’re trying to draw a fair line.”
Quinn’s office argues the move would save the state money and make government more efficient, saying the bill would apply to high-level management positions such as attorneys, legislative liaisons and deputy chiefs of staffs for state agencies. The idea is to prevent situations where there is no clear leadership at state facilities because all the workers are union members and managers can’t discipline employees under them.
* Raw audio…
“Our state has more people belonging to a union than any other state,” Quinn said. “But you also have to have some people in management. You can’t have everybody in the union.”
Quinn also pointed to legislative liaisons, most of whom have now joined AFSCME. “That’s part of management. That’s a policy-making position. You can’t have them saying, ‘Well, it’s five o’clock we have to go home now.’”
Quinn called criticism by union leaders “unfair.”
* As I told you yesterday, the bill faces a tough road even after it’s called in the Senate. The legislation has an immediate effective date, so it’ll require a three-fifths majority. The bill received just 62 votes in the House - two more than the bare majority. More than two-dozen House Republicans voted against the bill. Expect a higher percentage of Senate Republicans to vote for the bill and a lower percentage of Senate Democrats to do so.
* AFSCME, by the way, is ratcheting up its rhetoric. This is what the union told its members after it helped block the bill at the end of session…
Though AFSCME members in Illinois are not facing the same kind of sweeping assault on collective bargaining seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Florida and other states, Illinois Democrats - who should be solidly in labor’s corner - have joined with Republicans in a continuing effort to strip thousands of state employees of their bargaining rights by redefining “managerial and supervisory” under state labor law.
* And this was in the union’s latest action alert…
Hundreds of thousands of public employees to our north in Wisconsin have had their bargaining rights stripped from them by their Governor. Let’s not let Governor Quinn and his legislative allies get away with it here in Illinois.
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