* The last time I posted something about a bill to lay out requirements for recycling supermarket plastic bags, we got some comments like this one…
Just recycle the darn plastic bags people. It’s not hard. Take a big bag. Stick all the little plastic bags in it. When full. take to store for recycling. I do it all the time. I still get the convenience of plastic bags but know that I’m minimizing their footprint by recycling them.
How many of these plastic bags are there? No one really knows. Estimates on the web range from 4 billion new bags a month to 7 trillion a year. Many countries — about a fourth of the world’s population — either ban or heavily tax them out of existence. The bags are either illegal or rare in Belgium, Italy and Ireland.
Because the bags are light, they float and blow easily and travel long distances. It takes only about a dozen bags carelessly discarded, stuck in the trees, to pretty much ruin the appearance of a park. And because the bags have a shelf life of as much as 1,000 years, they will be with us a long time. The Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria have long since decayed. The sword of Charlemagne is a relic. The bag from a foodmart is eternal.
State Rep. Michael Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, has a bill in the hopper requiring plastic manufacturers to set up a network of recycling sites. Most, but not all, grocery stores already have them. Chicago already has a recycling program.
But most people could not be bothered. Tryon noted that only two percent of the bags are recycled now. By contrast, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 72 percent of all newsprint and 85 percent of all cardboard is recycled.
State Rep. Monique Davis’ Democratic friends in the Illinois House Tuesday spared her from a tax bill of at least $444,500.
By a 60-54 vote, with Davis voting present, the House entered into the legal dispute between the longtime South Side lawmaker and the Chicago Board of Education over her refusal to pay back rent and leaseholder taxes on her district office, which is in a school-owned building.
The measure would bar taxation on any property owned by a state or local government leased to another state or local government. It makes no mention of Davis, but the bill would essentially undercut a school system lawsuit against Davis.
That provision was tucked in a broader bill that would exempt a Wheeling office used for “disaster preparedness” and owned by the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System from property taxation.
Davis, who occupies a rent-free Chicago Board of Education building as her district office, was sued in 2009 by the school system in a bid to collect seven years of back rent of $75,000 and uncollected leasehold taxes and penalties totaling $444,500.
A local Democratic contender for a new Illinois House of Representatives seat is facing a domestic battery charge.
Natalie Manley, a Joliet accountant and candidate in the 98th District race, was arrested Tuesday by Joliet police at her home in the 3100 block of Ingalls Avenue.
Police said the arrest stemmed from a dispute Manley had with her 21-year-old daughter. The younger woman reportedly told police she had lost her cell phone and was unable to let her mother know she would be home late.
When the 21-year-old did return to the apartment she shares with Manley at around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police said she was attacked by her mother, who “punched, kicked, knocked her to the ground, struck her in the face [and] hit her with a set of keys.”
* And now onto something a little funny. First, the setup…
With the primaries more than a month in the past, two more Democrats will be on the November ballot.
The leaders of the county Democratic committees nominated Wanda Rohl for the 16th Congressional District and Thomas Boken Jr. for the 90th House District at their meeting Tuesday evening.
Rohl, a hospice worker from outside of Ottawa, will face U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Manteno, in the redrawn 14-county district, which includes Lee, Ogle, Bureau and the western half of DeKalb counties.
Kinzinger defeated fellow incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, in the March Republican primary.
A hospice worker sounds like a fairly decent candidate. Good for her. She has no chance, but participation in our democracy is a great thing.
OK… in case you missed it…. this is an adult conversation!
Today on my hour long commute to class I was flipping through radio stations when I heard ” Do women think about other men while they are having sex?”
OK…the radio guy said “sure they do” while his female co hosts where like “oh hell no…we have to concentrate to get to the big O”.. I laughed and thought oh wouldnt that be nice… I miss the big O, but in true reality as a 39 year old, college student who works, and has three kids… thinking about getting to the big O even if I could, is ususally not what is on my mind…
Things I think about during sex…
God I am tired!
Can the kids here us?
This bed makes way to much noise.
OMG the dog just jumped up on the bed…
Did I remember to lock the door.
I have to get up in 4 hours.
What time is it?
OK the cats are fighting in the basement.
I can’t concentrate… I need to turn the TV off.
…blah, blah, blah……
Oh YEAH….. I Love Him.
Sex is great, but really I am at the point I have to schedule an appointment to have sex otherwise I have other things are on my mind.
So now that you have thought about it the question is… What’s on your mind during sex?
Now, there’s nothing wrong with a healthy discussion about sex. But, sheesh, man, at least consider deleting this kind of stuff before you jump into a congressional race.
The Illinois Municipal League’s Legislative Director, Joe McCoy, says cities across Illinois are facing similar problems of growing unfunded liabilities. He says it’s a disturbing trend that’s grown in recent years, as stock values tumbled. McCoy says there’s not much municipalities can do about it. They don’t decide what retirement benefits should be offered to employees. The state does.
“The biggest structural problem we have with the system is that the state gets to dictate what the pension benefits are and they don’t have to put in a single dime toward funding the financial obligations that they’ve imposed on local taxpayers,” McCoy said. ”So they don’t have any real incentive to restrain themselves from enhancing benefits. Because they reap all the political benefits of increasing the pension levels, without having to pay the bill.”
* The Question: Should state government be prohibited from setting pension benefits for local government employees? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois residents want to cut the deficit and create jobs without tax increases or budget cuts. A recent independent analysis shows that a modest expansion of gaming in Illinois would create 20,500 jobs and $200 million in desperately needed new annual revenue.
That’s why Illinois labor leaders are united in support for the compromise legislation contained in Senate Bill 1849:
“With our unemployment numbers still hovering around 9 percent, the state can’t afford to take a pass on this vital piece of legislation. We’ve got men and women ready to go to work today, and SB 1849 would finally give them the opportunity to earn their living.” Tom Balanoff, President, SEIU Local 1
“More people at work means more tax revenues coming in to help balance our city, county and state budgets.” Dave Whitmore, Business Manager, Ironworkers Local 4
“More than 50,000 jobs are at stake! Not only would SB 1849 create 20,000 new jobs, it would save more than 30,000 agri-business jobs that effect nearly every single one of Illinois’s 102 counties!”Former Rep. Bill Black, Chairman, the Illinois Revenue and Jobs Allliance.
* Rep. Elaine Nekritz’s bill to repeal Illinois’ supremely goofy law making it a felony with a maximum 15 years in prison to record audio of an on-duty police officer could get a House floor vote today. Her bill came up short last time after opposition from the coppers. This federal appellate court ought to boost her bill’s chances…
In a blow to Illinois’ sweeping eavesdropping law, a federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked its enforcement in cases where someone is recording a police officer at work.
It was a victory for activists who had feared that using smartphones or video cameras to record police responding to demonstrations during this month’s NATO summit in Chicago could land protesters and bloggers behind bars for years. It’s also the most serious legal challenge to the measure — one of the strictest in the nation — and adds momentum to efforts by some state lawmakers to overhaul the legislation, whose constitutionality has been questioned. […]
“The Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts far more speech than necessary to protect legitimate privacy interests,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said in its opinion. “As applied to the facts alleged here, it likely violates the First Amendment’s free speech and free-press guarantees.”
The ruling stemmed from a 2010 lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to block Alvarez from prosecuting ACLU staff for recording police officers performing their duties in public places, one of the group’s long-standing monitoring missions.
Chicago has already decreed that it won’t arrest people for violating the law during the NATO summit. It’s an unfair, unworkable, unconstitutional statute and the strong opposition by law enforcement to this proposal has no basis in reality.
* It’s tough to pass any legislation that’s opposed by law enforcement agencies, including prosecutors. Videotaping interrogations was going to break the process, according to law enforcement, and state legislation very nearly didn’t pass. But have you heard of any real problems since that requirement became law nine years ago?
The constitutional amendment would have changed the role of victims in the legal process. But uncertainty over how that role would affect a prosecutor’s ability to go after criminals helped sink the bill just days before Sunday’s deadline to put it on the ballot.
Victims’ rights are often a bipartisan rallying cry at the Statehouse. When the amendment first passed the House in February, only two Democrats voted against it. Changes were made in the Senate, but 55 senators still voted for it.
The amendment, HJRCA29, seemed on track to clear the House again until Wednesday, when it met a buzz saw of opposition from both defense attorneys and prosecutors. The lobbying effort by the Illinois State Bar, Illinois state’s attorneys and Illinois public defenders associations forced lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee on Criminal Law to reconsider their position.
“This, in my mind, has thrown a very interesting dynamic into something that early on was very easy to get behind and strongly support,” said Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica. “This opposition has greatly convoluted that.”
(a) Crime victims, as defined by law, shall have the following rights as provided by law:
(1) The right to be treated with fairness and respect for their dignity and privacy throughout the criminal justice process.
(2) The right to notification of court proceedings.
(3) The right to communicate with the prosecution.
(4) The right to make a statement to the court at sentencing.
(5) The right to information about the conviction, sentence, imprisonment, and release of the accused.
(6) The right to timely disposition of the case following the arrest of the accused.
(7) The right to be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process.
(8) The right to be present at the trial and all other court proceedings on the same basis as the accused, unless the victim is to testify and the court determines that the victim’s testimony would be materially affected if the victim hears other testimony at the trial.
(9) The right to have present at all court proceedings, subject to the rules of evidence, an advocate or other support person of the victim’s choice.
(10) The right to restitution.
(b) The General Assembly may provide by law for the enforcement of this Section.
(c) The General Assembly may provide for an assessment against convicted defendants to pay for crime victims’ rights.
(d) Nothing in this Section or in any law enacted under this Section shall be construed as creating a basis for vacating a conviction or a ground for appellate relief in any criminal case.
Victims already have some pretty broad rights here. But there is no actual enforcement mechanism if those constitutionally guaranteed rights are denied. And because the Constitution bars appellate relief, this really can’t be resolved through simple legislation.
The deadline for putting constitutional amendments on the ballot has passed. So the opposition won big. It would be nice, though, if the next time this comes around that there was a real effort by prosecutors to help come up with a solution. “Trust us, we know what’s best for them,” isn’t it.
* The 1990’s welfare reform initiative required single moms to work, so child care service was provided to help those mothers, who typically don’t make much money, cope. But when a huge hole developed in the state’s budget for child care services, a shock wave was felt throughout the state. Gov. Pat Quinn now says, however, that he may have found some extra cash between some couch cushions…
“We’ve located about $73 million in the budget that will not be spent on the original purpose this year, so we’re going to reallocate that money for the child care subsidy to make sure that working moms and dads have the subsidy they need in order to go to work and make sure their kids are well taken care of,” Quinn said Tuesday.
Officials with Quinn’s budget office said the money will come from a fund originally set aside to pay Medicare premiums.
The proposal is under review by Democratic leaders. A spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said he is also open to alternatives, but warned that “the solution will demand a consensus.”
A spokeswoman for House Republican Leader Tom Cross said he wants to work to solve the child care funding shortfall and is examining the proposal.
* While welcome news, the governor’s continued rebuff to those wanting to generate new revenues through gaming expansion is just plain silly…
Quinn warned lawmakers against getting distracted by the gambling push, which happens almost every year near the end of the spring session, saying they need to keep their “eye on the prize.”
“We have very, very high priorities in restructuring Medicaid and reforming our pension system and getting a good budget. So, we don’t want to get distracted here,” Quinn said following an appearance at Soldier Field for the opening of the Special Olympics spring games. “I think we’ve got to keep our eye on the prize, and the prize is complete restructuring and reform of two programs that need fundamental overhaul.”
Quinn’s comments came in response to a rally by labor leaders in Chicago urging support for a gambling bill that would bring casinos to Chicago and four other locations across the state. Union groups say the proposal would create thousands of much-needed jobs in Illinois. The gambling expansion was passed by lawmakers last year but stalled after Quinn threatened to veto the bill because it also would allow slot machines at horse racing tracks.
Since then, pro-gambling lawmakers have been trying to work out a deal that would appease horse track owners. Prospects for a gambling expansion likely would improve after the November election, when lame-duck legislators might be more willing to vote for it.
The state needs that money now, governor. Are you really willing to kill off social service functions because you don’t want people to gamble at the track? Dude, no offense, but people are already gambling at the track.
When Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, stated his belief that such a move would contribute to unemployment by keeping older workers on the job longer (thus keeping young people out of jobs), and that 67 is too old for teachers to work, Emanuel was politely dismissive. A 62-year-old or younger “retiree” is not really a retiree, he said.
“The assumption you have is that people at 62 are retiring, and I don’t think that’s true. Or at 50. In fact, they’re going on with many years of work left in them, and they do work, which is a reflection of … a change that’s going on in society,” Emanuel said. “Actually they go on and continue many years of very healthy and productive work.” […]
“It’s good for the system, it’s good for the employees and it’s honest with everybody that’s expected to pay into it. That in fact they’re not retiring,” Emanuel said. “And at the Social Security level, people who retire at 62 get a lower benefit than people at 67. That’s some of the changes that are going on.”
Some 39 percent of workers now plan to retire after age 65, up from 30 percent before the recession in 2007 and just 15 percent in 1995. Age 65 remains a popular retirement age, with just over a quarter (27 percent) of workers planning to retire then, a proportion that has remained fairly consistent over the past decade. Older workers generally expect to retire at a more advanced age than younger employees. Those age 40 and older are planning to retire at an average age of 68, compared to age 65 among people under 40.
The proportion of people who think they will be able to retire early has declined significantly over the past five years. Some 13 percent of workers are now aiming to retire in their early 60s, down from 18 percent in 2007. And the proportion of people who think they will retire in their late 50s has declined from 11 percent in 2007 to 7 percent in 2012. Just 6 percent of workers say they will retire before age 55, which is the same proportion of people who thought that in 2007.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* Editorial: ‘The moment of truth’: The mayor talked of the “moment of truth.” Quinn talks of a “rendezvous with reality.” We’d settle for a vote.
* WSJ Editorial: How to Do Pension Reform: Illinois Democrats are spearheading pension reform, and get this—they’re not merely tinkering around the edges.
* D87 union: ‘We want seat at pension reform table’: President of the Bloomington Education Association Rich Baldwin said teachers can’t stomach everything in the package. He said he doesn’t know of any pension reform package the state’s unions have offered as a counter. “What we’re asking is we’d like to be at the table to discuss some of these things,” Baldwin said. “I’ll personally say some of what the governor is floating I could live with, but I can’t live with the entire package without the obligation that the state is going to commit to paying their part of the plan.”
* You may have already seen this video of Sen. Mark Kirk’s stroke rehab progress, but it’s a heckuva thing, so here it is…
* Coverage…
* Emotional Kirk thanks Illinois’ people for “patience” in first video: Kirk, 52, who has been in the care of the Rehabilitation Institute for the last several months, says he is anxious to get back to work but gives no timetable for doing so. He thanks the people of Illinois for “the patience they have given me to recover from a big stroke.”
* In video, Sen. Mark Kirk says he’s anxious to get back to work: In the video, the Highland Park Republican speaks confidently — and occasionally haltingly — into the camera and talks about being anxious to walk the 45 steps up to the Capitol to begin working again…. Video shows him walking determinedly, if not easily, with a walker and on a treadmill with the help of a harness and a physical therapist. Some shots show him using parallel bars to support himself with his right hand. Kirk says he hopes “to climb the 45 steps that my staff counted from the parking lot to the Senate front door to fight for the people of Illinois.”
* Sen. Kirk releases video showing his rehabilitation after stroke
* “My stroke” - Sen. Mark Kirk writes about his illness and rehabilitation
