* If you want to find me tomorrow night, catch me here.
* Turn your volume up all the way and make the video full screen because nothing, and I do mean nothing, can ever top Tina Turner from back in the day…
Gov. Pat Quinn and the four legislative leaders have settled on a framework to present to rank-and-file lawmakers on a tax-cut deal that could persuade two major Chicago-area employers from moving out of state.
The package is being circulated among the four legislative caucuses and could come up for a vote when lawmakers return to Springfield next week for the final half of their fall veto session. […]
The package, first reported in the Capitol Fax newsletter published by Sun-Times columnist Rich Miller, would be funded mostly through decoupling from the federal bonus depreciation law.
Under the terms of the tax-cut plan being considered, $100 million of that windfall would go toward Chicago-based CME Group over a two-year period. […]
Another chunk of the windfall would fund a $15 million state EDGE tax credit for Sears, which would enable the company to pocket half of what its existing employees pay in state income taxes and all of the income taxes paid by new workers. […]
Other businesses would benefit by reinstating a tax break on net operating losses that ended when Quinn and lawmakers raised state income taxes in January. That break would amount to close to $380 million.
Quinn also has sought to include a gradual increase in the earned income tax credit, which benefits the state’s working poor, and an inflation-indexed jump in the personal income tax exemption.
This may or may not be the final plan. Time will tell. What we have now is the general framework and the leaders appear to be in agreement. It’s up to the members now.
Chicago’s public school district and its teachers union announced a truce Friday in their fight over Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s campaign to lengthen the school day.
Under the agreement, Chicago Public Schools won’t ask additional district-run schools to lengthen their day this year beyond the 13 elementary schools that already voted to do so. In exchange, the union will drop its request for an injunction that aimed to block additional votes at other schools.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said “we’re not reverting anything back” with regard to those schools.
Emanuel persuaded the schools to lengthen their day by offering financial incentives, although the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board recently voted to block negotiations with more schools.
“The first tax hike was to pay the pensions. The second is to pay the bills.”
Last January, the Democrats hiked your income taxes from 3-5%, a 67% increase. No Republicans voted for it. Democrats owned it.
They called the income tax hike… temporary.
Here’s what my Chicago Democrat friends are telling me now: after the November 2012 elections, in the lame duck session, they’re going to increase the income tax from 5-7%, a 40% increase.
Every dime of the January tax hike when to pay the pensions. This left Illinois with $8 billion of unpaid bills. Did they cut spending? No. Last spring, the legislature spent a $1 billion more.
They’re spending more now because they’re actually making the pension payments. But, whatever. And I find it hard to believe he has “Chicago Democrat friends” if he refers to them as “Chicago Democrat friends.”
On Saturday, November 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn- Champaign, we host our For The Good of Illinois VIP Banquet: Gather at 6pm and Dinner at 6:30pm. Tickets are $35
I’ve asked Andrzejewski who told him of this top secret Democratic plot that’s so secret even the Democrats don’t know about it. I’ll let you know what he says.
* And if all that wasn’t enough, he’s also promising newsworthiness…
During my keynote address, I’ll break statewide news.
* The Question: What do you think this “breaking statewide news” item will be?
Snark is heavily encouraged, of course.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s his response to my question…
Hi Rich,
In June, I was in the same room with a good friend of mine who travels in the highest democratic circles. He is an extremely well connected Bridgeport man. I was witness to the conversation. It is factual. I don’t believe that I can reveal more without compromising my friend and the conversation. This is Illinois.
Since that conversation, I’ve challenged elected democrats around the state. They may shrug their shoulders but none of them have disputed it. I’ve dropped it on Decatur radio, Champaign radio and in editorial board interviews. No one disputes the suggestion.
Why don’t you try to get a “no tax” pledge out of democratic leadership and legislators? If they took that pledge, they would have to cut spending. On the contrary, they are INCREASING spending.
If there isn’t pension reform, real workers comp reform and deep spending cuts, the only other option is to hike taxes another 2 percent.
Democrats want to get this out of the way so Lisa Madigan can run on a tax cut for Governor.
Republican Rep. Joe Walsh was the only Illinois congressman to be named a “True Blue” member of Congress for “unwavering support of the family” by the Family Research Council Action committee Thursday.
Walsh’s ex-wife says Walsh owes more than $100,000 in back child support for their three children. Walsh counters that he and his wife had a “verbal agreement” that he didn’t have to pay child support during years when he wasn’t earning as much.
“We thank Cong. Walsh who has voted consistently to defend faith, family and freedom,” said FRCA President Tony Perkins. “Cong. Walsh and other ‘True Blue Members’ have voted to repeal Obamacare, de-fund Planned Parenthood, end government funding for abortion within the health care law, uphold the Defense of Marriage Act, and continue support for school choice. I applaud their commitment to uphold the institutions of marriage and family.”
It most certainly is an embarrassing moment for the FRC and the additional commentary by Perkins appears hypocritical. Left-leaning sites like Think Progress and HuffPo have piled on.
* Not to defend Walsh, but the group’s rating was solely based on Walsh’s voting record alone, not the congressman’s personal behavior. He was the only Illinois congressman to receive a 100 percent rating based on his votes. The full list is here. The other Illinois conservatives, including Walsh’s primary opponent Randy Hultgren, received a 90 percent rating.
And if you check the Family Research Council’s political action committee website, you’ll see that they’re currently backing Hultgren. That’s probably why Walsh sent out his press release touting his 100 percent rating. He’s obfuscating the issue here. But, again, all he really did was prompt the Sun-Times and others to write more stories about his personal problems.
…Adding… Walsh says that the Family Research Council candidate support statement linked above is outdated. The PAC isn’t backing a candidate as of yet, he insisted.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today announced radio spots aimed at 25 House Republicans they hope to unseat next fall to reclaim the majority.
The ads mostly focus on ethics questions, and will air in the districts of these Members:
GOP Reps. Rick Crawford (Ark.), Dan Lungren (Calif.), Jeff Denham (Calif.), Elton Gallegly (Calif.), Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Scott Tipton (Colo.), Daniel Webster (Fla.), Vern Buchanan (Fla.), David Rivera (Fla.), Steve King (Iowa), Timothy Johnson (Ill.), Bobby Schilling (Ill.), Larry Bucshon (Ind.), Roscoe Bartlett (Md.), Dan Benishek (Mich.), Charles Bass (N.H.), Joe Heck (Nev.), Ann Marie Buerkle (N.Y.), Lou Barletta (Pa.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Kristi Noem (S.D.), Francisco “Quico” Canseco (Texas), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Reid Ribble (Wis.) and David McKinley (W.Va.).
The DCCC refused to disclose the size of the ad buy but in a press release called it “aggressive and grass roots,” a signal it is not likely a large amount. The spots begin Monday. The DCCC said it would pair the campaign with phone banks, robocalls and Web ads in the districts.
The spot against Buchanan tells voters a watchdog group called him “one of the most corrupt Members of Congress.” Some of the ads are specific to Members’ troubles and some use general critiques the DCCC often lobs at the GOP.
For the past seven weeks, a handful of congressmen and women have braved brisk temperatures to practice football drills at 7 a.m. on the Mall near the Capitol. It was all to prepare for the 2011 Congressional Football Game, which took place on Wednesday at the Watkins Recreation Center and pitted members of Congress against the Capitol Police for a good cause — to raise money for Our Military Kids and the Capitol Police Memorial Fund. (The police won, 27-14.)
He had weeks of preparation under his belt, so we put one of the star players — Rep. Robert Dold — to the test for POLITICO’s latest “Game Changer” feature.
Prosecutors want a judge to sentence a central figure in the administration of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to between 11 and 15 years in prison.
The filing comes before Tony Rezko’s Nov. 22 sentencing.
Prosecutors cited letters sent to the judge by Rezko supporters, but they say the court won’t “receive a letter from all the people who were cheated or defrauded by Rezko.”
The recommendation is in drastic contrast from the time served that Rezko’s lawyers are asking U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to impose at his Nov. 22 sentencing. Prosecutors say they believe Rezko should face 11 to 15 years in prison for a kickback case before St. Eve and a separate loan fraud case that was before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
The government’s recommendation is significantly more steep than the roughly five and a half years that serial conman and drug abuser Stuart Levine faces. Levine is accused of conspiring with Rezko during Rod Blagojevich’s administrations to win kickbacks from state deals. […]
[Prosecutors] say Levine cooperated wore a wire and cooperated “pro-actively.” Levine has testified in two major trials. But Rezko’s lawyers argue, that prosecutors could have called Rezko to testify — he was prepared to do so — but they never did.
“In contrast, the best that can be said of Rezko’s cooperation is that, after obstructing the government’s investigation and his court proceedings and going to trial, he helped the government develop several witnesses who testified against Rod Blagojevich,” prosecutors wrote. “The timing, quality, and utility of Rezko’s cooperation pales in comparison to Levine’s. As a result, while Rezko and Levine are roughly equivalent when it comes to their past crimes, Rezko deserves a significantly higher sentence than Levine because Levine’s cooperation was so superior to Rezko’s.”
A convicted political fixer and onetime fundraiser for impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants a federal judge to set him free at his sentencing hearing later this month, arguing that he has already served more time awaiting sentencing — and under harsh conditions — than others convicted in related schemes have.
Tony Rezko — once described by prosecutors as “the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings” in Blagojevich’s administration — has spent much of his more than 3 1/2 years in jail in solitary, rarely getting fresh air and subject to a diet that has resulted in him losing 80 pounds, according to a defense filing unsealed Thursday.
“With his dramatic weight loss, Mr. Rezko has shrunk from a robust, somewhat overweight man to a frail and gaunt shell of his former self,” the filing says.
In arguing for a sentence of time served, the document insists the 56-year-old Rezko accepts responsibility for his wrongdoing. But it also suggests that Rezko didn’t engage in criminality on his own initiative but at the urging of Blagojevich and his other confidants.
Tony Rezko didn’t trust Stuart Levine until Bill Cellini vouched for him, according to documents filed by Rezko’s lawyers in federal court on Thursday.
Levine, then a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System board and an associate of Cellini, approached Rezko, a fundraiser and adviser to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, about getting “finder’s fees” from firms that got state business and then directing the fees to people in the Blagojevich administration, according to the sentencing memo. p,,,]
“Mr. Rezko did not trust Stuart Levine when Levine first approached him, and it was only after Bill Cellini vouched for Levine that Rezko proceeded …” the filing said. “Rezko knew Cellini was the ultimate insider during the 26 years of Republican administrations that preceded Blagojevich, and Rezko knew that Cellini had made tens if not hundreds of millions from state business during that time period.
“Cellini had in place for years the apparatus that Blagojevich wanted Kelly and Rezko to build, and Levine was practically begging to maintain and even increase his thoroughly corrupt influence,” the memo says.
However, Rezko was actually acquitted of the Tom Rosenberg shakedown scam pushed by Levine.
* This “compromise” borrowing plan is picking up some Republican steam since it was first floated by Treasurer Dan Rutherford last month. Springfield’s three state legislators have signed on…
Quinn’ latest proposal, which he raised with legislative leaders last week, is to borrow $4.5 billion and repay it over seven years.
All three local lawmakers said they’re open to some type of borrowing plan, but with conditions.
“We would be willing to look at that if it is not long term, if it is a means to an end,” Bomke said.
By short term, the lawmakers said the money would have to be repaid in a year. Beyond that, Quinn needs to specify in detail how the borrowed money will be used, they said.
* Newspaper editorial boards have been up in arms about the General Assembly’s failure to act last week on a plan to deal with the state’s past-due bills. For instance, here’s the Bloomington Pantagraph…
But after a series of articles by The Associated Press and member newspapers, including The Pantagraph, showing the real harm being caused to small businesses, social service agencies, school districts and others by deadbeat Illinois’ delayed bill payments, lawmakers did absolutely nothing. The matter wasn’t even on the agenda for the governor or state lawmakers.
House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton told an Associated Press reporter they are waiting for signs of cooperation from Republicans.
Meanwhile, those owed billions of dollars by the state are waiting for signs of … well … signs of anything from Springfield.
Actually, some can’t wait any longer. They have laid off employees, cut programs, slashed expenses — you know, taken the serious actions that the state itself should be taking.
The Pantagraph did not endorse a specific plan, or even a direction. The paper just demanded some sort of action. Borrowing for a year may look like action, but it doesn’t really anything other than rearrange the deck chairs.
Nobody, but nobody, has proposed a plan to pay off these debts in a single year. If the state borrowed $4.5 billion for twelve months it would be almost right back where it started at the end of that time period because paying off the bond would require delaying payments to vendors and others or making drastic budget cuts that nobody has shown a real willingness beyond a press release to support.
These past-due bills have to be paid off over time, either through gradual budget cuts and perhaps new revenues, or via borrowing from the market. A single year of borrowing will not work.
Ms Topinka reckons that if budgets are frozen, Illinois could pay off its backlog within four years. She opposes the Democrats’ plan to issue more bonds to pay for pension and other obligations, since unlike the unpaid bills, they would incur interest – even though she admits transferring the debt from service providers to bondholders would be fairer.
“I’m not going to tell you this is a good way of doing business,” she says. “It’s awful. We’re trying to find a better way to build this mousetrap. But we have to play catch-up, so we can’t add to the problem.”
* Finally, an Illinois angle on Herman Cain. From the Washington Times comes this contradictory report…
Herman Cain’s campaign is revealing suspicions about who is behind the story regarding the former unidentified employees who accused Mr. Cain of sexual harassment in the late 1990’s.
According to a source who is friends with the Cain campaign, not only is the Rick Perry campaign involved but also the Mayor of Chicago and former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is likely involved with the sexual harassment accuser attacks. A friend of the Cain campaign believes a National Restaurant Association (NRA) employee out of the Chicago office leaked the story to the Perry campaign via information and influence from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office.
So, Rick Perry and Rahmbo have teamed up to tube Cain? Really? Wouldn’t Emanuel want somebody with Cain’s baggage to win the Republican nomination? Apparently not if you’re the Cain campaign or the Washington Times.
Chris Mather, a spokeswoman for Mr. Emanuel, writes in to offer the following comment on the Washington Times speculation: “This is absurd. It’s completely false and totally absurd.”
Mather even offered to repeat it in several languages, but I believe her. A Cain blow-up doesn’t further Rahm’s agenda. Some Republican opposition research dropped this dime.
The odd thing is that the most stunning thing coming out of the mouth of Cain this week had nothing to do with women. It had to do with China.
“So yes, they’re a military threat,” he said during a recent PBS interview. “They’ve indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.”
Let that one sink in for a moment. Cain is running for president, the establishment lights him up like some cuddly Santa so he can be the conservative standard-bearer, and he thinks China might finally be going nuclear?
China has been a nuclear power for five decades or so now. And Cain doesn’t know?
* I’ve been chuckling to myself about Cain in recent weeks as the Republican candidate soared in every poll. It seemed to me that many Republican voters were making the very same mistake that elements of Illinois’ Republican establishment made here in 2004 when they brought Alan Keyes in to run against Barack Obama for US Senate.
Herman Cain is the person many Illinois Republicans hoped Alan Keyes was in 2004 after Republican Jack Ryan felt compelled to leave the U.S. Senate race in the midst of marital issue revelations. It made sense to most involved at the time to remove the race issue against Obama and focus on philosophical differences, something many hoped a Keyes-Obama runoff would do.
The only thing was Alan Keyes is not Herman Cain.
That 2004 candidate Keyes was intense, angry, self-righteous and arrogant. He was more focused on making a point than winning an election. And we all paid a price when he lost. It ended up that that U.S. Senate race was historical and nation-changing, and the mention of that 2004 U.S. Senate race now sets gloom onto the faces of any Republican that was politically active at the time. Justified or not, our bad experience in Illinois with Alan Keyes is likely to cause many to shy away from embracing Herman Cain.
And while we’re not endorsing or promoting any GOP primary candidate at this time, we urge Illinois Republicans to rest assured Herman Cain is not Alan Keyes, and Illinoisans need not fear Herman Cain. Cain is experienced in business, used to working with differing ideas, self-assured, gracious and resilient.
He is not Alan Keyes.
I think that piece could be rewritten today to say Cain is more like Keyes than not. He’s spent a lot of time promoting his new book instead of putting together a real campaign, and it shows in his disjointed and often bizarre responses to this latest blowup. Keyes was more about promoting his personal brand than actually running for office. And Cain hasn’t been “intense, angry, self-righteous and arrogant” since this scandal broke?
Some folks just never learn.
*** UPDATE *** From comments…
The allegations against Cain are not a threat to his electoral chances, they are a threat to his future as a cable TV talk show host and his future book deals.
Cain isn’t running to be nominated, he’s following the Sarah Palin model of running to win celebrity status, which he can then use to make some real money.
I agree, but that model was pretty much invented by Alan Keyes. And Keyes really blew it by running for US Senate here and exposing his many weaknesses. People barely pay attention to him now. He’s washed up. I think Cain was probably trying to fill that void, and now he’s hurt himself, unless he somehow manages to win the nomination (and, considering GOP primary voters, he’s still not out of it).
* This video was suggested yesterday by a longtime subscriber as a Friday afternoon play-out song. I liked it so much that I thought it might be better to start today with it. Oh, save me from tomorrow…
