To call Tom Irwin a fixture on the Springfield music scene would be something of an understatement. Beginning in the mid-1970s as a bass player and eventual frontman for various local rock bands, straight through to his present status as an accomplished songwriter and bandleader, Irwin has been a popular draw in local clubs since before he could legally drink in them. He has performed virtually every Sunday night in Springfield since the 1980s at a series of different venues, with his current weekly residency at Brewhaus stretching back to 1993. Now, after years of personal and career highs and lows, including occasional layoffs and wholesale musical reinventions, Irwin, the longtime music columnist for Illinois Times, has just released the most ambitious and accessible music of his career.
Sunday came and went with a rocking show at the Brewhaus until well past midnight. The crowd was good, with the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday becoming a buffer for regular working folks to beat the aforementioned schedule switch. A highlight of the night was seeing fellow IT columnist Rich Miller dancing to Bongo, Bongo, Bongo with all the gusto he could muster, which can be a bunch.
I’ve been dancing to that song for twenty years, especially for the last minute or so when it kicks into high gear…
* But we’re not going to close out our week with Tom’s song because Etta James has died.
Ms. James embraced songs so lovingly that you’d swear she must’ve written them herself. And if songs like this don’t make you want to snuggle up and/or slow dance with your best girl or guy, then something is seriously wrong with your heart, or your ears. Oh, what a gorgeous voice…
You’ll never know
How slow the moments go
‘Til I’m near to you
* Kristen McQueary reports that a gaming bill breakthrough might be on the horizon…
Representatives of the state’s casinos, the horse racing industry and the offices of Governor Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel met Wednesday in Springfield to seek common ground on a gambling bill. Their negotiations, which began last month, may result in a deal that does not include slot machines at racetracks, the final hurdle to getting a bill signed into law.
Talks are continuing, and racetrack executives say they still want slots, but they are discussing options that would instead give the racing industry a more stable and accessible revenue stream enforceable by the courts, participants in the negotiations said. […]
On Wednesday, about 35 lobbyists and lawyers met in a private conference room in the Capitol with another meeting scheduled for next month. One idea being discussed is a contractual “impact fee” from the casinos to the racing industry that avoids the Legislature altogether.
Tim Carey, president of Hawthorne Racecourse, a thoroughbred track in Cicero, said he would prefer to come to an agreement directly with the casinos because it would be more enforceable. “Let’s do it by contract,” he said. “What do we need the Legislature for?”
* The Question: Do you support slots at tracks? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks much.
* Earlier this week, we talked about how a candidate who felt he’d been libeled on the campaign trail was blocked by a Cook County judge from suing because of the Illinois’ Citizen Participation Act, which is designed to prevent “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs.
The Illinois Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the law today, ruling that legitimate defamation lawsuits are not covered by the statute. The case is Sandholm v. Kuekcker…
We believe that, had the legislature intended to radically alter the common law by imposing a qualified privilege on defamation within the process of petitioning the government, it would have explicitly stated its intent to do so.
It is entirely possible that defendants could spread malicious lies about an individual while in the course of genuinely petitioning the government for a favorable result. For instance, in the case at bar, plaintiff alleges that defendants defamed him by making statements that plaintiff abused children, did not get along with colleagues, and performed poorly at his job. Assuming these statements constitute actionable defamation, it does not follow that defendants were not genuinely attempting to achieve a favorable governmental result by pressuring the school board into firing the plaintiff. If a plaintiff’s complaint genuinely seeks redress for damages from defamation or other intentional torts and, thus, does not constitute a SLAPP, it is irrelevant whether the defendants’ actions were “genuinely aimed at procuring favorable government action, result, or outcome.” Thus, plaintiff’s suit would not be subject to dismissal under the Act. […]
It is apparent that the true goal of plaintiff’s claims is not to interfere with and burden defendants’ free speech and petition rights, but to seek damages for the personal harm to his reputation from defendants’ alleged defamatory and tortious acts. Defendants have not met their burden of showing that plaintiff’s suit was based solely on their petitioning activities.
* The Court also upheld the law’s constitutionality….
All of plaintiff’s arguments alleging that the Act is unconstitutional are based on the assumption that the Act establishes a privilege for defendants who engage in defamatory acts in the process of petitioning the government. Because we hold that the legislature did not intend to establish such a privilege, we do not find the statute unconstitutional under any of the grounds raised by plaintiff.
Acts in furtherance of the constitutional rights to petition, speech, association, and participation in government are immune from liability, regardless of intent or purpose, except when not genuinely aimed at procuring favorable government action, result, or outcome.
And—no surprise—in part because the tax increases have caused companies to leave Illinois, the state budget office confesses that as of this month the state still has $6.8 billion in unpaid bills and unaddressed obligations.
That bill backlog, which may be even higher than $6.8 billion, has absolutely zero to do with the small number of companies which have left Illinois. The tax increase legislation set aside funds to make annual bond payments that would’ve eliminated the mountain of past-due bills right away. But that bond plan failed, and doesn’t look like it will ever be resurrected. The state cut spending this fiscal year, but not enough to significantly pare down the pile of old bills. Without some new revenues and/or lots more budget cuts, Illinois will be dragging those old bills behind it for years to come.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Daniel J. Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, approvingly links to the WSJ editorial and uses it to make these points…
Whenever any politician argues in favor of a higher tax burden, just keep these two points in mind.
1. Higher taxes encourage more government spending.
2. Higher taxes don’t raise as much money as politicians claim.
The combination of these two factors explains why higher taxes make things worse rather than better.
Ummm….
1. Operational spending is down since the Illinois tax hike.
2. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has repeatedly said this year that revenues from the tax increase are coming in as the “politicians” expected.
If Illinois hadn’t increased its taxes, it would’ve had to cut $7 billion more from spending to balance its budget, and it would still have all those unpaid bills.
Always beware ideologues. They’re usually deliberately ignorant of actual facts.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Thanks to a commenter for the link…
Illinois lost 269 businesses employing 8,894 workers in Illinois [in 2011, after the tax hike passed] but attracted 244 companies employing 6,883 workers in the state, the data show. The report called the job loss “negligible” in a state with an employment base of nearly 6 million jobs.
The job losses also were offset by more than 13,000 startups in the Chicago area that produced nearly 23,000 new jobs, led by companies at opposite ends of the spectrum: professional, scientific and technical services firms and administrative and support services.
Illinois had a net loss of 2,256 jobs to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, while it gained 1,806 jobs from California, Oregon and Washington.
Illinois lost 16 companies and 158 jobs to Michigan but gained 15 companies employing 83 workers. Illinois gained 20 companies and 506 jobs from Wisconsin, while losing 22 companies and 129 jobs to its northern neighbor. […]
Illinois had a net loss of 128 jobs to Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The data show that Illinois lost 27 companies and 719 jobs to Indiana but gained 22 companies and 337 employees from its neighbor.
Yeah, things completely suck here. Turn out the lights, we’re doomed. Sheesh.
* The unemployment rate also went down last month, but there was mixed news…
The state lost 4,100 jobs in December from November, but the unemployment rate fell to 9.8 percent from 10 percent, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Friday.
Year-over-year, the state added 52,600 jobs, but the jobless rate rose from 9.2 percent.
* It’s amazing to me that this building is still standing…
Bulldozers soon may finish what Jake and Elwood started more than 30 years ago: the destruction of the Dixie Square Mall.
The mall has been vacant since John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd raced through it with police cars in hot pursuit, scattering extras and laying waste to much of the 600,000 square feet of retail space in an iconic chase scene from the 1980 film”The Blues Brothers.”
In the decades since, vandals and the elements nearly finished the job, while officials in south suburban Harvey have tried — at least a dozen times — to find someone to redevelop a site that has become both the city’s bleakest eyesore and most famous landmark.
The zombified property slouches in the middle of nearly 60 acres of craggy asphalt near the intersection of 153rd Street and Dixie Highway, with trees two stories high poking through holes in the roof.
This month, funded by federal money promised more than a year ago during a campaign stop by Gov. Pat Quinn, a demolition contractor has permits in hand and Dixie Square Mall is at long last coming down, city spokeswoman Sandra Alvarado said.
* And speaking of tearing down buildings, what the heck?…
Last week, scrap metal thieves in southwest suburban Shorewood weren’t content with mere scraps.
They first apparently called the owner of a business next to 18400 Frontage Road along I-55 and told him the structure was being dismantled that day because the property had been sold, the Will County Sheriff’s office says.
They then pulled up two semi-trucks to the building — and tore it down. They removed the steel from the structure and then carted it away in the trucks, officials said. At some point, a friend called the property manager to tell her what had happened. Police were called last Thursday, a day after the trucks left.
Sheriff’s deputies then tracked down the building owner who said, no, the building hadn’t been sold — and he hadn’t given anyone permission to tear it down.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s office unveiled a plan Thursday to lay off more than 550 state workers by closing a center for developmentally disabled residents in Jacksonville and a mental health facility in Chicago’s south suburbs.
Officials said the process of moving 185 residents at the Jacksonville facility to mostly private facilities would begin immediately with a goal of closing the doors in October after more than 150 years of service. Operations in Tinley Park could cease as soon as early July.
Although the closures and layoffs are estimated to save the state $19.8 million annually, Quinn aides said moving developmentally disabled residents into community-based settings will improve their quality of life.
“This is not about closing facilities,” said Quinn spokeswoman Brie Callahan said Thursday. “This is a policy decision that has fiscal benefits.”
Under Quinn’s plan, the center would close in October, with about 20 residents being moved out each month to meet that deadline. The state will consult with residents and their parents or guardians to find appropriate living arrangements, which could allow some residents to receive care at home.
That’s because money will now “follow the person,” meaning each resident will get a budget based on their individual needs. It’s estimated that the cost to provide community care for a person with developmental disabilities will average $45,000 to $84,000 a year, compared with $150,000 to $210,000 a year it now costs to house them at a state-run facility.
Quinn ruffled feathers this past fall by announcing the closure of seven state-run facilities, including Tinley Park and Jacksonville. At that time, Quinn said the Legislature didn’t appropriate enough money to keep the facilities going. Quinn and the Legislature eventually agreed on a short-term deal late last year to keep the facilities running for the rest of the fiscal year.
State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said Quinn’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but whether it will pan out in the long term has yet to be determined.
“One of the concerns when he rolled out his plan … this year was that it wasn’t really a well thought-out plan, and it was rushed,” Murphy said. “This appears to address those concerns.”
This is the first step of Quinn’s effort to move patients with mental health issues and developmentally disabilities from state facilities to community care. The governor said more announcements would be coming later in the year.
The age and physical condition of the JDC site and buildings were among criteria that led to its selection for transition to closure:
• JDC uses an inefficient coal power plant to generate heat and electricity
o The state of Illinois spends $1.2 million each year in coal for JDC
o Heating costs are $7,000 per resident, per year
o Boiler #2 lacks a precipitator for filtration, which is of concern to the federal EPA
• Roads and parking lots require extensive repair
• Roof leaks and mold in three Veterans buildings have put them on a list for demolition (expensive due to underground utilities); buildings are currently used for storage
• The Dietary Building, which stores food for the facility, has no source of back-up power
• Two buildings (Dix and Gillespie) are under construction
• Some buildings contain asbestos flooring
Capital improvements of $3.3 million would be required for necessary renovations and upgrades to the power plant, roofs, and electrical systems.
The site occupies 134 acres, but 54 acres are used by others (mostly for the city park). Some alternative uses for the facility include continued use by current tenants: Chamber of Commerce, a private daycare center, and a women’s crisis center, as well as the expansion of tenants through occupancy by other businesses.
Tinley Park Mental Health Center (MHC) is a 75-bed psychiatric hospital comprised of two patient care units. Both units are for acute (short-term) care patients. Due to staffing shortages, a cap of fifty patients has been set for the MHC.
Tinley Park MHC was constructed in 1958. It occupies 213 acres and is adjacent to the 62 acres of property vacated by Howe Development Center.
Of the 8 buildings at Tinley Park MHC, only 5 are operational. Only one building is used for patient care.
The facility was decertified by the federal government in 2009, with recertification unlikely. The Tinley Park facility also shares a campus with the previously closed Howe Developmental Center, preventing the sale of prime land for development in Chicago’s south suburbs.
In the budget passed in May 2011, only 50 percent of the necessary funds were appropriated by the General Assembly to run Tinley Park MHC in the current fiscal year. Funding through the end of the year was restored through reallocation in November. However, this is the second time that Tinley has been earmarked for closure by the General Assembly.
State Rep. Al Riley (D-Olympia Fields) serves on the bipartisan Commission of Government Forecasts and Accountability that agreed with public sentiment and voted last year to keep all the centers open. He noted that hospitals and health care providers repeatedly testified at hearings that they had no room for more patients. Families and law enforcement officials pleaded to keep Tinley Park open.
“Did the governor’s office forget that? I really think they jumped the gun on this one,” Riley said. “This does not make any sense. We have to bring this to a halt.”
“I would ask that we go back through the COGFA process again,” [Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville] said. “We still have no details of this plan. They can’t say where these people are going and how much it is going to cost. I would think the governor would want to include the General Assembly in the process.”
Rita Burke, president of the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled, said she doesn’t believe the state will be able to find appropriate community-based programs for all of JDC’s residents by the administration’s timetable.
“We would like to impress on the public that these are not cattle to be moved out 20 a month. These are human beings.”
Burke said she wants to have a face-to-face meeting with Quinn about the planned closure.
“If I were the governor, I would not look at balancing the budget of the state on the backs of the most severely disabled,” she said.
* On to the dueling press releases. First up, Don Moss…
United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois (UCPI) joins numerous other groups representing people with disabilities in support of Governor Quinn’s announcement today of the closure of the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Tinley Park Mental Health Center.
“This is long overdue,” said Don Moss, director of UCPI and spokesperson for 65 community agencies throughout the state. “All such institutions should go the way of orphanages and no longer be part of the social service system in Illinois. All but three other states are ahead of our state in ridding itself of these relics of the past.”
The Governor released plans today to phase out the Tinley Park facility by this summer and the Jacksonville institution by the end of September. Non profit community agencies will be serving most of the residents of the closed state services and will be provided adequate funding to do so under the plan. Residents will be give the choice of where they want to live and what services they wish to receive.
“If this is accomplished, it will be a 50 year dream coming true,” said Moss who has been advocating for the elimination of the institutional system since the 1960’s.
* Citizen Action/Illinois…
The closure of Tinley Park is yet another attack on the healthcare safety net in an area of Illinois that has no trauma center, limited public transportation, and a growing population of individuals who live either, below, or at the poverty level. To cease services to the mentally ill in the Southland area can only contribute to increased violence and other community perils that come with a lack of public health infrastructure which will most certainly be compounded if Tinley Park is shuttered. Citizen Action/Illinois call on Governor Quinn to not close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center.
* AFSCME…
“It’s wrong to cut mental health and disability services for men and women in dire need. That’s why families and advocates opposed closing Jacksonville and Tinley Park last fall and why lawmakers rejected the closures. By recycling the same harmful cuts, Pat Quinn puts politics and budget considerations ahead of people who need disability services and mental health care. Our union supports the voices and the choices of these individuals, their families and the caregivers who serve them, and we will work again to keep Tinley Park and Jacksonville open and providing needed services.”
“I have decided to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act and will continue to oppose anti-piracy legislation until a compromise can be struck that protects the free and open nature of the internet. I voted in the Judiciary Committee to strip some of most troublesome provisions from the current bill, such as governmental authority to block websites, but my constituents and I still have many concerns with the existing bill. All sides must have a voice in crafting a compromise measure that protects the rights of the entire internet community, including artists and consumers.”
“Online piracy is a legitimate threat to American jobs as well American consumers who knowingly or unknowing participate in it. However, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its companion bill, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), while well intentioned, are not the solution to the issue of piracy,” Rep. Johnson said. “The precedent that would be set by these bills creates undue regulation, the potential for abuse of our legal system, and treads on the slippery slope of censorship.
“It is the right of every American to be compensated and receive payment for their efforts, whether they are artists, manufacturers, or any other type of business. While the protection of intellectual property in any form is a necessary function of government, these bills do not solve the problem of privacy, do not fully address the issue, and are not supported by the American public or the majority of stake holders in this issue. Simply put, these measures add unnecessary regulators to the federal bureaucracy and in the long-run, don’t solve the problem.”
That’s probably the most cogent statement I’ve yet seen out of Johnson’s office.
* And a great cartoon from Scott Stantis…
*** UPDATE *** Victory? Key legislators in both chambers have put the bills on ice…
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid postponed a showdown vote in his chamber on the Protect Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA for short, that had been scheduled for January 24.
Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, followed suit, saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, until there is wider agreement on the legislation.
“It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products,” Smith said in a statement.
Congress should learn its lesson here, but probably won’t. They should never allow one set of corporate lobbyists to write legislation that regulates a competing industry.
