* Gov. Pat Quinn will unveil his Medicaid plan today at 3 o’clock in Springfield. The live stream will be here. You can follow Tweets from the presser on today’s live session coverage post.
Quinn is likely to propose steep cuts in provider reimbursement rates and a buck a pack cigarette tax hike. The Tribune looks at some other cuts...
One program on the list for possible elimination is Illinois Cares Rx, which provides discount drug coverage for 180,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities across Illinois.
Also under consideration is limiting eligibility for adults enrolled in the Family Care health insurance program, which charges small co-pays and monthly premiums for services ranging from doctor visits to dental care and prescription drugs. If guidelines are changed, more than 26,000 people would no longer qualify for coverage. […]
Other ideas include eliminating a number of so-called “optional” services the state provides that are not required by the federal government, including getting rid of group psychotherapy for some patients and no longer funding chiropractic visits for adults. Podiatric care would be restricted to patients diagnosed with diabetes, and new limits would be placed on how often a patient could receive things like new dentures and eyeglasses or have a wheelchair repaired.
Additional cost-saving proposals include beefing up efforts by the state to ensure people who no longer qualify for Medicaid aren’t receiving benefits, and more standardized measures of care that emphasize prevention. Other ideas include reviewing medicines a patient receives to make sure they are all needed and adding or increasing co-pays for certain services.
* Meanwhile, on the other big issue of the day, pension reform, the AP talked to a member of the commission tasked with coming up with a plan…
State Sen. Michael Noland, an Elgin Democrat, says committee members have discussed adjusting cost-of-living increases. Suggestions include temporarily suspending annual pension increases to help the state catch up on the $80 billion funding gap in its five pension systems or scaling COLA increases to an employee’s length of service.
Other ideas include raising the retirement age, demanding greater employee contributions and requiring the state to pay annual pension obligations before anything else.
Noland said they have not specifically addressed asking local school districts to pick up employer contributions for their teachers that the state now pays, an idea Quinn has discussed in the past.
“The work has largely been done. The practical considerations are well understood here,” Noland said. “Now it becomes more of a political discussion.”
* And while Speaker Madigan, Gov. Quinn, Senate President Cullerton and Mayor Emanuel have all talked about how unfair it is that the state picks up the employer portion of the pension contribution for Downstate and suburban schools, but not for Chicago’s, the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund would like more state cash…
Public pensions throughout Illinois are hurting, and that includes the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF).
It’s underfunded by millions of dollars. Senate Bill 3628 would have the state of Illinois pump $270 million into the fund next year. After that, the state’s contributions would be pegged at 10 percent of what the state gives to the Teachers Retirement Fund, which is for teachers outside of Chicago.
“State funding to the pension fund would be extremely important,” Kevin Huber, director of the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, said before the Pensions and Investments Committee of the Illinois State Senate. “We need help from the state.”
Huber told the committee that from 1988 to 2009, the state contributed $65 million annually to the CTPF. But in 2010, that contribution dropped to $10 million a year.
“When it drops like that, then it becomes problematic,” Huber said. “I believe the CPS (Chicago Public Schools) needs help from the pension fund matter from the state.”
Hmm. The paranoid section of my brain wonders whether this months-long debate was really designed to force a deal to spend more state money on Chicago teacher pensions.
* Roundup…
* Teachers pension fund paid a whopping $1.3 billion in fees . . . for what?
* IL House unanimously OKs Madigan’s pension amendment
* House unanimously OKs referendum on tougher votes for pension boosts
* Quinn Quiet on Plans to Cut
* House unanimously OKs referendum on tougher votes for pension boosts
* Madigan: Pension boosts should require more votes
* Our View: Group’s cuts in Illinois Medicaid fall short by about half
* Bills to eliminate legislative scholarships hit Senate snag: In response to complaints by Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, who chairs the executive committee, predicted that a bill would emerge from the subcommittee, which has three members.
* Heated scholarship program stalled in IL Senate
* Power plant backers say Illinois facility still viable: The looming closure of older, coal-fired power plants and a change in interest rates shows that a new power generator planned for central Illinois is still financially viable, backers of an experimental facility in Christian County said Wednesday. In a conference call with reporters, supporters of the $3.5 billion Taylorville Energy Center said the plant would fill some of the lost electrical generating capacity without causing a significant rate hike on consumers. Plus, the coal-to-gas plant being planned by Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska could bring thousands of jobs to an economically depressed region of Illinois, said Paul Gaynor, chief of the public interest division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
* Fracking’s impact on economy, environment should not be ignored
* Illinois can benefit from fracking in jobs, revenue
* Fracking comes to Illinois, for better or worse
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. John Bradley is proudly showing off his new spring jacket today…
Oh. My. Goodness.
I’ll make Bradley buy today’s winner a cup of coffee for subjecting all of us to his fashion weirdness.
* The winner of yesterday’s caption contest of a photo of Scott Walker goes to Karl…
“Last time I made this face, it scared Democrats so bad they ran to Rockford for like, two weeks.”
Contact me, Karl, and I’ll buy you a beer.
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Looks Like A Boondoggle
Thursday, Apr 19, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
It’s no surprise that out-of-state energy company Tenaska would be coy about the huge new costs they are asking legislators to foist upon their own constituents to pay for the proposed Taylorville Energy Center coal plant.
Yesterday, Tenaska issued a press release citing a new report confirming that their plan for the Taylorville Energy Center would cost families and businesses in Illinois hundreds of millions of dollars a year in increased electricity prices. Yet, in promoting this report, Tenaska called attention to interestrate gimmick “savings” that amount to a tiny fraction of the overall costs and could disappear as quickly as they appeared.
Another study, based on an analysis of Tenaska’s own data, found that this project would cost Illinois consumers $400 million a year in increased electricity costs, or $12 billion over the 30-year life of the project.
Tenaska is trying to convince Illinois consumers that they’re getting a real deal by “saving” pennies on the dollar for a $12 billion purchase. But Illinois consumers know a boondoggle when they see one.
Contact your legislator today and encourage them to vote “NO” on SB 678 or any legislation that would send your money Up In Smoke to pay for the Taylorville Energy Center.
And be sure to check out STOP Coalition’s new Facebook page for more on the broad coalition that has joined together to oppose this legislation.
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* From a press release…
Joe and Laura Walsh have resolved their child support dispute and have agreed to dismiss all pending matters.
They have issued the following statement: “We both regret this public misunderstanding and the effect it has had on our children. Like many families, we have had our share of issues and made our share of mistakes over the years. Having resolved these issues together and cleared up these mistakes in private, we now agree that Joe is not and was not a “deadbeat dad” and does not owe child support. We both have been loving and devoted parents to our children, ages 24, 21, and 17, and are happy to avoid a public legal fight hurtful to our entire family and look forward to caring for our children in private.”
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Walsh is more pugnacious in this campaign e-mail…
I am glad this is over. I don’t regret not fighting back publicly all these months. Fighting the charges privately and legally was the right thing to do for my kids and it was the fair thing to do to the mother of my kids.
I may have taken some slings and arrows over this issue this past year, but I have no regrets over not waging a public fight. Though there were plenty of days I wanted to scream my side of the story to the TV or newspapers, I always knew my name would be cleared. Both my former wife and I have been loving, involved parents for our three wonderful adult and almost adult children, we shared residential custody equally over the years, and we both did our best to send all of them to Catholic grade school and high school.
With these charges and this issue now behind me, I will focus on continuing to represent the good folks of Illinois’ 8th District and running hard to find solutions for the issues voters care about — finding a job, the price of gas at the pump, keeping their home, and doing something about this unconscionable debt we’re placing on the backs of our kids and our grandkids.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support during this tough period. It hasn’t been easy. I know I made myself a target by being so outspoken once I got to Washington. I won’t change who I am. It is gratifying to finally be able to say again to everyone that their Congressman is not a deadbeat dad.
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* 13th District Democratic congressional nominee David Gill has a new poll which shows him leading two possible Republican opponents. According to the poll, Gill leads Jerry Clarke 40-33 and Rodney Davis 41-31. You can read the pollster’s analysis by clicking here.
Gill is below 50 in both trial heats so there’s there’s a long way to go here. Gill also benefits from a name recognition boost because of his three previous runs against incumbent Republican Tim Johnson, who dropped out of the race after the primary. According to his pollster, Gill is getting “over 50% of the vote” in the territory he’s run in before.
President Obama won the 13th District by 11 points four years ago, but he’s only ahead of Mitt Romney by 4 points in Gill’s poll. Still, that’s pretty good news for Gill and the Democrats. The poll’s generic trial heat had the district as +3 Democratic, 38-35, which is another important point.
Gill is being widely dismissed as a candidate who can’t win. He’s probably hoping that this poll changes some minds.
400 likely voters were polled by Victoria Research & Consulting April 11-14.
Discuss.
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* DuPage County Republicans elected their first ever woman chair yesterday…
Darlene Ruscitti made DuPage County GOP history on Wednesday night by becoming its first female leader.
Nearly 300 Republican precinct committeemen broke out in applause after electing Ruscitti to the role of DuPage GOP chairman during their biennial county convention in Wheaton. Ruscitti was nominated by the only person expected to challenge her for the position — Naperville Township GOP chairman Rachel Ossyra.
“It’s an honor to be your new chairman,” Ruscitti told the crowd of party faithful. “I’m really humbled by this all, and I’m really proud to be a Republican.” […]
She replaced state Rep. Randy Ramey, who last month announced that he wasn’t going to try to keep the party chairman post because of a possible government appointment.
That’s a long way from the days of Pate Philip.
Ruscitti, the DuPage County Superintendent of Education, has quickly moved up the party ranks ever since she dropped out of a congressional primary to make way for incumbent Joe Walsh.
* Champaign County Republicans elected Lebanese immigrant Habeeb Habeeb…
Habeeb, a partner in Benefit Planning Consultants Inc. in Champaign, arrived in the United States in 1973 at the age of 17 to attend Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee.
“I wanted to be a doctor and go back. I didn’t intend to stay here,” he said. “And 16 months afterward a civil war started in Lebanon. I didn’t know where my parents were. I didn’t have a penny, and I was stuck here.
“I started working at Arby’s for a buck-65 an hour. I’m like the great American success story. I didn’t know any different. Failure was not an option. I had no choice. I cleaned bathrooms. I did dishes. And I was happy doing it because it was better than the alternative. They were fighting over there.”
He met his future wife, Joy, at Olivet, and continued to work for Arby’s. The couple moved to Champaign in 1985, he earned an MBA at Eastern Illinois University and they had two children, one of whom has graduated from the University of Illinois and the other is attending Illinois. Habeeb became a United States citizen around 1990, he said.
* And the Cook County Republicans elected Philippine-American Aaron Del Mar, who is the first ever minority to get that position. As usual with the Cook Republicans, there was also plenty of political intrigue…
Del Maar had the backing of Sig Vaznelis, the Cook County Republican chair who announced last month he wouldn’t seek another term due to the demands of his civil engineering business.
A political turf war between Republicans from the north end of Cook County and those from the south helped drive this race, as well as the earlier primary battle for Cook County Board of Review commissioner between Wheeling resident Dan Patlak and South suburban resident Sean Morrison, a race Patlak ultimately won.
While Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman of Orland Park fiercely plugged Morrison, New Trier Township Committeeman Bill Cadigan and other North suburban Cook County GOP committeemen supported Patlak. Cadigan was removed from his post by Vaznelis, who is aligned with Gorman, and therefore stripped of his voting powers in the election for chair.
New Trier township, because of its heavy number of Republicans, is one of the most influential townships. Cadigan said Wednesday he believed Vaznelis saw him as a threat as a potential chair.
Illinois Review has run this photo of Del Mar with Hillary Clinton more than once…
Del Mar’s response…
The picture above was taken prior to 2003. When I was not politically involved at all and was just taking a picture with a US Senator, I was 25 at the time.
*** UPDATE *** Kane County also elected its first Republican chairperson, which resulted in some hurt feelings…
Members of the Kane GOP elected Barb Wojnicki of Campton Township as their new chairman Wednesday night — and the first woman to lead the county party.
Wojnicki’s victory also marks a personal breakthrough for her: In her 14 years on the Kane County Board, she’d often been overlooked for leadership roles despite her knowledge and experience. Now she’s the leader of the party that’s been in charge of the county for the last century.
“I just think people were looking for new energy, new spirit,” Wojnicki said. “I know no one can do this job alone. But I think the people of the party were just ready for something new.”
[Chairman Mike Kenyon], of South Elgin, withdrew his candidacy just before the voting for chairman began. In doing so, he publicly called for party unity.
But after the speech and the applause, Kenyon called the outcome the result of a political coup. Wojnicki ran on a slate of candidates that swept the voting Wednesday night.
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McCarter alleges deal for Clarke
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* State Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) says he fears the fix is in for Jerry Clarke…
Johnson announced on April 5, about two weeks after he won the 13th Congressional District primary election, that he would not run for a seventh term in Congress. Clarke said that day that he was interested in replacing Johnson and that he had already begun calling the county chairmen who will make the appointment.
“It’s not right. This is not right,” said state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, who told a Republican luncheon gathering in Bloomington that he is interested in the congressional seat. “You know what’s really insulting about this? It didn’t just happen. There was talk of this happening a year ago, and it’s a real insult to the people. Like I said, their vote was taken away from them.
“I think we’re used to politics as usual. The politics as usual is that you manipulate the system to put certain people in positions of power. That’s not the way it ought to be. The people should decide who is going to be speaking for them. Remember, this power that (politicians) have, they don’t own it. It’s only borrowed from the people who elect them. We forget that. But when you have people in back rooms who decide they are going to put in place who they want so that they can control them and they can control what happens in this country, that’s wrong.”
McCarter said the county chairmen should slow down the process to appoint Johnson’s replacement.
“We need to see who would represent the people best, not what person was decided in a back room deal who was going to get the job,” said the one-term state senator, who lives in the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis. “This heir-to-the-throne idea in politics, I don’t care what party you’re in, it’s wrong. It’s an injustice and it doesn’t work because ultimately, when you get that person in there, they don’t serve us well.”
* Meanwhile, the Trib has some campaign finance numbers for the primary…
Duckworth, whose allies include President Barack Obama’s top campaign adviser, David Axelrod, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, spent nearly $1.4 million last year and in 2012 to capture the nomination. Reporting nearly $97,000 in debts, Duckworth began April with $259,975 in her campaign fund, records showed, but she also has national fundraising reach.
Another $1.2 million was spent in the new north suburban 10th District, where the Democratic primary came down to Brad Schneider, of Deerfield, defeating activist Ilya Sheyman, of Waukegan.
As the Democrats battled, first-term Republican Rep. Robert Dold, of Kenilworth, raised nearly $400,000 in March and has a campaign war chest of more than $1.6 million. Schneider, who put $150,000 of his own money into his bid, began the month with $226,000 in his campaign bank account.
And $1 million was spent in the new South Side and southwest suburban 2nd District, where Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., of Chicago, easily survived a primary battle against former one-term Rep. Debbie Halvorson, of Crete,. Almost $850,000 was spent in March, records showed. […]
The state’s lone Republican incumbent-versus-incumbent battle between Kinzinger, of Manteno, and Manzullo, of Leaf River, was the second-most expensive campaign battle based on spending this year at almost $1.9 million.
* And Joe Walsh hit the Tea Party circuit…
On Saturday, Walsh participated in Huntley’s third annual Tax Day rally, and told supporters there that, when it comes to the fall election, “If we don’t get this right, we may lose this thing we call America,” Patch reports.
“We don’t have an election to win. We don’t have a few elections to win. We have a country to save,” Walsh said Saturday before a crowd of some 60 Tea Party supporters.
The colorful congressman went on to tout the white RV — emblazoned with the words “It’s Time! You Ready?” and “Let’s Take Back America — You In?” — as the vehicle he will use to travel during his 8th Congressional District campaign against Democrat Tammy Duckworth. NBC Chicago notes that the vehicle, a 1984 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, was purchased for $7,500 in Madison, Wis. Walsh unveiled the RV in a YouTube video that went live Saturday.
On Sunday, Walsh turned up at the Tax Day rally in Rockford where “dozens” of Tea Party members gathered at Sinnissippi Park to see Walsh and U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, who is being challenged in the 17th District downstate by Democratic challenger Cheri Bustos, speak, WIFR reports.
Attendance appeared pretty light, eh?
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Scott Walker caption contest!
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A Gov. Scott Walker roundup…
* Our Opinion: Walker’s tactics not applicable to Illinois
* Our View: A stalking Walker
* Our View: Land of Lincoln has a lot going for it over Wisconsin
* IL Gov.: Don’t follow Walker’s ‘prescriptions‘
* Union members protest Walker appearance
* Scott Walker Visits Springfield, Compares Self to Lincoln
* Wisconsin Gov. Walker getting mixed reaction in visits here
* Walker talks unions, budgets in IL visit ahead of recall
*Hundreds of union workers protest Walker in IL
* Wisconsin governor uses Illinois as argument against recall
* ILGOP Chair: Wisconsin on right track
* Suburban business leaders impressed with Wisconsin governor
* Wisconsin Gov. Walker says Illinois should confront union issues
* And the caption contest photo…
I’ll purchase the winner a non-Wisconsin beer.
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Burying the lede
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Speaker Madigan again voiced support yesterday for shifting employer pension payments away from the state and onto universities and suburban and Downstate schools…
“If you look at the current (state pension) payment, 78 percent of the payment goes to two systems where the members never worked for the state of Illinois,” Madigan said, referring to the Teachers Retirement System and State University Retirement System. “There’s got to be a sharing of the cost.”
Downstate school districts fear that shifting pension costs to them will force serious cutbacks in other areas, including education programs.
* But I’m pretty sure this part is new…
[Rep. Elaine Nekritz], Madigan’s representative on a working group trying to control pension costs, said that if overall pension costs can be reduced, the expense to school districts may be 1 percent to 1.5 percent of their payrolls. She said many districts should be able to absorb that cost.
Man, they’re going to have to make a whole lot of cuts to get costs down to such a low percentage of payroll.
…Adding… Speaking of pensions, Speaker Madigan’s constitutional amendment to require a three-fifths vote before pension benefits could be increased apparently wouldn’t have stopped any pension sweetener in the past…
Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, says a review of pension votes over the years shows none of them were close.
“If this amendment had been in the (Illinois) Constitution, those benefits would have passed with those votes. Thankfully, it would not have prevented those benefits from taking effect.”
* Check out the last two sentences…
Local legislators and economic development officials agree enterprise zones are a valuable tool to attract and retain business.
The zones are in jeopardy of expiring unless the Illinois General Assembly acts.
State Sen. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, said something dire concerning enterprise zones just may come up. LaHood said he is supportive, but hears Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan is not.
“In the Senate, I think, it will pass by a large majority,” LaHood said. “There could be a problem in the House. I’ve heard Madigan wants to let them all expire and then turn it into a lottery.”
I hadn’t heard that one, but interesting.
* And this is an SJ-R Tweet posted during Chamber of Commerce CEO Doug Whitley’s introduction of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker yesterday…
Wow. Whitley just said Quinn has “socialist tendencies.”
But nobody actually covered the over the top quote except for Illinois Issues’ blog…
Even our governor, who as most all of you know, has had very liberal tendencies, very socialist tendencies for years. Even some might say radical tendencies.
Um, OK. Wow.
But Whitley did go on to say this…
A month ago [Quinn] stood up and gave a budget message that was not too much different than what you and I and the Illinois chamber would like to hear our chief executive officer talk about.”
…Adding… Chris Wetterich explains why the quote wasn’t used…
I asked Whitley about the “socialist tendencies” charge after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s speech, but it got whacked from the story I filed. He claimed he was trying to compliment Quinn, however backhandedly it may have been.
“What I was saying is that I think Governor Quinn has grown in this job,” Whitley said. “I think he’s saying things today that I did not anticipate or would not have anticipated him to say five or 10 years ago. He’s talking about jobs. He’s going to plant openings. He’s trying to change the fiscal and budgetary issues of the state, which I don’t think he was particularly conscious of in his prior roles. It’s not the same Pat Quinn that was in the peanut gallery for years.”
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* From WLS Radio…
Governor Pat Quinn plans to reveal recommendations for reforming Medicaid Wednesday, and it could contain some bitter medicine. A bi-partisan working group of lawmakers has been trying to find ways to cut $2.7 billion from the health care system for low-income individuals and families. Among the proposals under consideration are eliminating some benefits like chiropractor visits, and putting limits on things like glasses, dentures and even adult diapers.
Also being considered is dropping some people from coverage and cutting help for seniors in paying for prescriptions. Governor Quinn says something has to be done in this legislative session. He said, “Members of the legislature should be prepared to cancel their vacations in order to get this mission accomplished.”
As an alternative to some of those cuts, and to reducing reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals, Quinn’s office has floated the idea of a new one-dollar-a-pack tax on cigarettes. The cigarette tax, though, is meeting resistance.
The governor threatened to call a summer session to deal with Medicaid during his budget address, and I don’t think he’s being too unreasonable, either (even though I’m really hoping to attend all three White Sox vs. Cardinals games in June). They can kick the pension can down the road until January, when the GA can use its huge pile of lame ducks to pad the roll calls. But a Medicaid fix really should be done this spring. Reducing the program’s costs and finding new funding for a total of $2.7 billion is gonna be horrific, but it’ll be a whole lot easier than doing it half way through the fiscal year.
* But whatever the governor proposes, he won’t have the last word…
State Rep. Patti Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican that’s part of the team of lawmakers trying to come up with Medicaid fixes, says it’s important to remember that Quinn’s proposals for fixes to both the Illinois Medicaid and pensions systems shouldn’t be considered final.
After all, she says, look at the budget Quinn proposed earlier this year. He puts out an outline. Then lawmakers do their own thing, tweaking - or overhauling - from there.
“I don’t think anything will be set in stone until May 31,” Bellock told us today.
That’s lawmakers’ budget deadline, and some skeptics wonder if even that’s too ambitious a date for such major changes in state policy.
*** UPDATE *** The task force won’t give up, but won’t make the deadine…
A bipartisan group tasked with finding ways to cut $2.7 billion from Illinois’ Medicaid budget hasn’t accomplished its mission.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s deadline required the two Democrats and two Republicans to come up with a plan this week, but they’ve only agreed on about $1.4 billion in cuts.
The committee worked for months on ways to reform the health insurance program for nearly 3 million poor and disabled Illinoisans. But they disagreed on potential ideas including rate cuts to providers and a potential $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase.
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Quote of the day
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn, when asked about state financial help for the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field…
“Let’s be serious. We just talked about Medicaid and we have a budget we have to pass, we have to deal with pension stabilization, those issues are far, far higher on the priority list,” Quinn said Thursday.
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A few House members embrace indicted pol
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As you already know, indicted state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) was back on the job yesterday. Some colleagues gave him an initially warm welcome…
Smith — who was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on a bribery charge — spent part of Tuesday’s session in his seat, where a few colleagues approached with hands extended. Later, a smiling Smith worked the Democratic side of the aisle.
“I greeted him because he’s here to represent the people who elected him,” said Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago). “I just told him God bless him. He’s got some challenging days ahead of him.”
ABC7’s video is here.
* Rep. Will Davis is on the House Special Investigating Committee which is looking at whether there is enough evidence to begin disciplinary proceedings against Rep. Smith. So these comments are somewhat unusual…
Democratic Representative Will Davis, also from Cook County, says it’s a good thing Smith is back to work. He spoke with Smith on his first day back to session.
DAVIS “We didn’t talk about anything in particular, certainly asked him how he was doing considering everything that’s been going on with him, said he was doing fine. As far as him coming back, certainly I see no challenges with him coming back, he’s still a member of the General Assembly. He still has duties and responsibilities to the constituents.”
Yes, he’s their colleague, but it really sends a horrible message to the public at large when a guy caught on tape allegedly accepting a $7,000 bribe is embraced.
* You gotta wonder what’s going to happen when Smith presents a bill. He picked up sponsorship of SB3555, which is backed by Secretary State Jesse White, Smith’s political godfather and former employer. The bill passed the Senate 55-0, but that’s still gonna be one odd debate. The measure has been assigned to the House Executive Committee, but hasn’t yet been posted for a hearing.
* And subscribers knew about this demand by Rep. Jack Franks last week…
“I am going to make it very clear that Representative Smith is innocent until proven guilty,” said Rep. Jack Franks, (D) McHenry.
But Rep. Franks wants limits placed on Smith’s legislative duties.
“I’ve asked the speaker to suspend Rep. Smith from any committee work pending the outcome either of the federal indictment and trial, or whether he pleads or not pleads,” said Franks.
Your thoughts on suspending Smith from his committee assignments?
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