Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
When the biggest utility in Illinois opposes competition and wants to protect billions in extra profits, they’ll gladly trample the truth if it gets in their way.
They support a so-called coalition that will stop at nothing and say anything, even if it’s not true.
STOP Claim: “Taylorville Energy Center electricity will cost SEVEN times market price.”
The Truth: In a cynical attempt to manipulate lawmakers, STOP wants to compare a price that includes 30 YEARS OF INFLATION with today’s historically low market prices. It’s like comparing the price of gas at the pump today with what we’ll pay on average between now and 2041.
STOP Claim: “Tenaska wants Illinois consumers to pay even if their plant produces no power.”
The Truth: The legislation was changed six months ago at the request of ComEd so this remote possibility could never happen. Which part do STOP and ComEd not understand?
STOP Claim: “We don’t need any new baseload. The speculation on the closure of baseload plants is just that, it’s speculation.”
The Truth: 239 coal plants (40 GIGAWATTS) have already announced they will close because of the new EPA rules. Industry analysts expect Illinois to lose up to HALF of its coal plants, which currently provide 45% of Illinois electricity.
AG Madigan, Senator Durbin, CUB and a diverse coalition from around the state know the truth which is why they’re supporting the Comprehensive Energy Efficiency and Investment Act, SB 678.
The Post-Dispatch also found that the votes of legislators generally tracked with where they got their money: Those who received primarily horse racing donations this year supported the expansion bill by a roughly 2-to-1 margin in the May floor votes of the Illinois House and Senate. Those who primarily received money from the existing casinos ended up voting against the bill by roughly the same margin.
“Either legislators are for sale, and they looked around at who gave to them for how to vote … or the givers looked to the friendly legislators” and rewarded them, said the watchdog group’s David Morrison.
Either way, he said, “Whenever there is an industry that relies on a state license to exist, there is a case to be made” for banning political contributions from those entities.
The state licenses a whole host of professions and industries. Realtors, doctors, beauticians, truckers, stock brokers and on and on and on.
* The Question: Should everyone with a “professional” state license be barred from contributing to campaigns? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* The Jacksonville area was a hotbed of tea party activity last year. But most of the thousand people who showed up at a meeting last night opposed the closure of the state’s Jacksonville Developmental Center…
Dozens of people had their voices heard and about 1,000 made there presence felt at a public hearing Monday night concerning the proposed closure of the Jacksonville Developmental Center.
At the meeting, representatives of the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability heard testimony from about 90 speakers both for and against the closure of JDC.
Now that the public hearing has been held, the next step is for COGFA members to meet and make a recommendation on whether or not to close the center.
But after months of demonstrations in neighboring Wisconsin, Illinois’ labor movement finds itself in a similar face-off, regularly comparing Quinn to Gov. Scott Walker, who signed a bill in March stripping Wisconsin public employees of certain collective bargaining rights as a way to balance that state’s budget. Quinn faces $3 billion in unpaid bills and a dangerously under-funded pension system.
“We don’t give an inch to Quinn’s legal argument that he should be able to void collective bargaining agreements now or anytime in the future, just because he finds it inconvenient or the General Assembly didn’t do its job,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for AFSCME Council 31.
Lindall said his organization will lobby lawmakers during the veto session for a supplemental appropriation of about $300 million to keep the facilities open that Quinn announced last month he would shutter. Three mental health centers—Singer in Rockford, Chester in southern Illinois and Tinley Park Mental Health Center—are slated for closure, along with a youth prison in Murphysboro, Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, and two centers for the developmentally disabled in Jacksonville and Jack Mabley in Dixon.
The money, union members say, could come from a pot of “savings” Quinn created this summer by using his veto pen to reduce spending in certain programs, including Medicaid. Some lawmakers, however, say that money must be spent on the state’s overdue bills.
The fastest recovery in state revenue since 2006 is helping bonds backed by dedicated taxes outperform general-obligation debt by the most in a year. That’s allowing Illinois, tied with California for the lowest credit rating, to borrow $300 million at the top grade. […]
“They aren’t going to look just at the ratings,” Hoogendoorn said. “They’ll look at ample amounts of revenue backing it. How likely is this bond to be paid off in a stressed scenario? The reality is there is very, very good coverage.”
The $300 million of sales-tax bonds are being sold under the Build Illinois program, created in 1985 to fund infrastructure, transportation, education, environmental- protection and business-development projects. […]
“This is a triple-A-rated piece of paper,” Sinsheimer said. “These bonds are not impacted by the pension issues.”
* Closing arguments are underway this morning in Bill Cellini’s federal trial. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else just kick back and watch the show…
* Aside from keeping Chairman Jaffe on board, this was somewhat of a surprise move…
Gov. Pat Quinn is replacing everyone on the Illinois Gaming Board except the chairman, an advocate for strong regulation of gambling.
Quinn said Monday that under Chairman Aaron Jaffe, the board “has increased openness and transparency” in the gambling industry.
In a statement, the Democratic governor did not say why he was getting rid of the rest of the board. His office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Jaffe faces a major confirmation battle, mainly because he all but called legislators corrupt for passing the gaming expansion bill. I’m not sure about the others…
Maribeth Vander Weele of Chicago is the owner and founder of the Vander Weele Group, which provides investigative, security and integrity program services to the public and private sectors. She is also a certified Illinois inspector general with a strong financial and oversight background that includes service on the audit committee for Chicago Public Schools.
Lee Gould of Chicago has more than 30 years of experience as an accountant, auditor and tax preparer. Gould specializes in forensic accounting investigations, locating unreported or hidden assets and identifying misappropriations. Gould holds a degree in accounting from UIUC and a J.D. from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
Michael Holewinski of Chicago is the president of Ace Industries and is a former Illinois state representative. He sits on the board of directors for the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association and previously chaired the Chicago Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Crime Prevention. He holds a J.D. from the John Marshall Law School.
Z (Zaldwaynaka) Scott of Chicago was Illinois’ first executive inspector general and previously worked as a criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. She is currently a partner at Kaye Scholer and a commissioner for the Chicago Housing Authority.
The report also alleged job descriptions were changed to hire politically connected candidates chosen for positions before the jobs were posted publicly.
“It’s been common practice to put your buddies into jobs. But supposedly this governor was going to change all that, but all he did was perfect it,” state Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville.
* Speaking of gaming expansion, the Senate’s sponsor of the gaming bill told reporters yesterday how he intends to proceed. He said he hasn’t had any direct contacts with the governor’s office about the bill. He said he’ll be carrying the governor’s bill, and predicted Quinn’s proposal would receive at least two more votes than Rod Blagojevich’s GRT bill because he and Senate President Cullerton would be voting for it. Watch…
* Back to appointments, the governor also dumped a critic of the Tollway expansion program yesterday…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn dumped Bill Morris, a former mayor of Waukegan, from the Illinois Tollway Board. Morris was, by far, the most critical of all the Tollway Board members when Gov. Quinn pushed for the unpopular raising of the tollway fees. The Board voted to raise the fees this past summer.
Besides showing Morris the exit door, the governor also saw it fit to tell George Pradel, who is the long-time mayor of Naperville, to get out, too.
The Board has nine members, and it will now include new member Mark Peterson who is the director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and the president of Bridgeview Bank. In addition to Peterson, Quinn named other new members who are Jim Sweeney who is the president and business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez, DuPage County Board member and lawyer Jeffrey Redick, and businessman Terrence D’Arcy who is the president of D’Arcy Buick and GMC which is located in southwest suburban Joliet.
Morris was moved to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission.
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Three Simple Facts About SB 1652
1. SB 1652 Gets Illinois Moving Again
• Creates 2,000 jobs building a modern grid.
• Establishes a training center for utility workers with skill-building in areas such as pole climbing and cable splicing.
• Generates economic growth by infusing money and energy into the burgeoning energy-tech cluster.
• Creates a $20 million, utility-funded, Science and Energy Innovation Trust to foster innovation and support high-growth, energy related Illinois companies.
2. SB 1652 Benefits Consumers
• Creates enormous operational efficiencies – which are passed on to consumers. Consumer savings are nearly three times greater than the costs from investing in a smart meter system alone.
• Through smart meters, consumers can better manage energy use and save money.
• The Peak Time Rebate Program allows customers to save money by reducing electric use during critical peak periods.
• Improves electric system reliability and restoration meaning fewer and shorter outages.
3. SB 1652 Protects Consumers
• Requires two review points with the General Assembly.
• Retains ICC authority to review and set rates. Reviews utility costs annually instead of every 2-4 years. Consumer advocates retain all the same rights.
• Creates strong utility performance standards with penalties if not met.
• Limits utility profits – ties them to performance standards.
* The CME Group/CBOE incentive package was unveiled yesterday. It’s a big one…
Chicago’s financial exchanges would see a 50 percent decrease in their Illinois corporate income tax bills under legislation introduced Monday afternoon by Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago. […]
Under the proposal, only 27.54 percent of income stemming from electronic trading and clearing fees would be subject to Illinois’ corporate income tax, compared with 100 percent now. A spokesman for Cullerton added that the legislation could change in the days ahead.
Michael Shore, a spokesman for CME Group Inc., parent of the Merc and the Board of Trade, declined to comment. But CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy told Bloomberg News earlier this year that his company paid $150 million to Illinois last year.
That’s $75 million just for CME, if you’re counting. CME claims its state tax bill rose by $50 million when the income tax was increased. So, it’ll be getting all that money back plus a whole lot more.
But, shortly after the bill was submitted, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie suggested that the bill may not be needed at all, and certainly needs full vetting.
“I’d like to see the details,” said Ms. Currie, like Mr. Cullerton a Chicago Democrat. “If there is an essential unfairness (in current state corporate income-tax law), I’d like to end it. But I don’t know if there is an essential unfairness.”
Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said Democrats held back the bill from a committee vote Monday after Republicans questioned the overall impact of the legislation.
“When there is an attempt to speed any legislation through, there is a possibility for error and unintended consequences,” Schuh said.
The legislation would tax only 27.5% of electronic trades, down from 100% under current law. A vast majority of the trades on both exchanges are done electronically.
* Meanwhile, talks on an incentive package for Sears continue, but the company wants even more…
A compromise that could keep Sears Holdings Inc. in Hoffman Estates and placate the complaints of Community Unit District 300 is in the works, but whether the plan finds success on both fronts remains to be seen.
State Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat, said Monday that he is working on a deal that would grant Sears its wish of an extension of its existing tax break, as well as penalize the company if it leaves and send more money to District 300, based in Carpentersville. […]
Sears could be looking for other incentives besides an extension of the tax incentives. [Misty Redman, Sears’ vice president for government affairs] said Monday that the company has contacted Gov. Pat Quinn’s office to ask about EDGE credits — an incentive that rewards new job creation that has been awarded by Quinn to Motorola Mobility in Libertyville and Warrenville-based Navistar, two other companies that had threatened to leave Illinois.
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Overriding SB 1652 would result in a $3.2 billion investment in Illinois’ economy that would improve reliability, create 2,450 jobs statewide and help make Illinois more competitive with other states.
Statewide Benefits
· Makes over $3.2 billion of electric infrastructure investments
· Creates 2,450 jobs during the peak period of the program
· Reduces and shortens electric outages
· Results in customer savings due to energy efficiencies with smart meters, time of use pricing, and improved voltage control
· Expands opportunities for renewable energy and efficiency measures
· Mandates strict performance standards; consumer protections
Labor, environmental and business groups have all joined to support grid modernization, including:
· Illinois AFL-CIO
· Sierra Club
· IBEW, Laborers and Pipefitters locals
· Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
· Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce
· Illinois Business Roundtable
· Natural Resources Defense Counsel
Customer savings will more than offset rate increases, which for a typical Ameren Illinois residential customer is an increase of, on average, about $3.40 per year.
