* Citing data compiled by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism Industries and the U.S. Travel Association, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that tourism is way up in Illinois…
• Illinois hosted more than 93.3 million visitors in 2011, a 10.2 percent increase from 2010 and the highest level on record, surpassing the previous record of 91 million visitors in 2006.
• Leisure travel in Illinois was up 11.8 percent and business travel was up 4.4 percent.
• Illinois’ tourism industry generated nearly $31.8 billion in revenue in 2011, an increase of 8.4 percent, or nearly $2.5 billion.
• State and local tax revenues from tourism totaled more than $2.3 billion in 2011, an increase of more than $300 million.
• The total tourism tax revenue (federal, state and local) saves the average Illinois household more than $1,100 in taxes each year.
• Illinois’ tourism industry created an additional 4,490 jobs. Tourism industry jobs increased 1.6 percent to 291,990.
• The number of overseas visitors to Illinois rose 6 percent to 1,255,000, the highest level since 2008.
• Visitor volume outside the City of Chicago was up 9.4 percent, with leisure travel leading the way with an increase of 10.6 percent.
• City of Chicago domestic volume was up 11.2 percent, drawing 42.4 million visitors. Business travel was up 5.1 percent while leisure travel was up 13.5 percent.
• The City of Chicago hosted 1,199,000 overseas visitors in 2011, a 6 percent increase over 2010 arrivals.
* The Question: Have you, or do you plan to do any Illinois touring this summer? If so, where did you go and what did you do? If not, why not? Also, did you host any tourists?
A Super PAC with ties to the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth commercials have begun airing television ads today in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District criticizing Democrat Tammy Duckworth for supporting higher taxes and more government control.
Among New Prosperity Foundation’s largest donors is Missouri Republican businessman Sam Fox, who was also a major donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind the infamous ads questioning John Kerry’s military service in the 2004 presidential race.
The foundation is also running commercials against 10th District Congressional Candidate Brad Schneider of Deerfield and 11th District Democratic candidate Bill Foster, claiming they support higher taxes and more government control.
Duckworth, of Hoffman Estates, cited the PAC money and quoted in a news release Walsh’s recent comment at a town hall, when he noted “Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about. Our true heroes, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about” to indicate that he doesn’t care about veterans.
* From a Tammy Duckworth fundraising appeal…
It’s starting. A Super PAC called New Prosperity Foundation has launched the first round of attack ads against Tammy, paid for with unlimited, undisclosed funds that threaten our democracy. This is one of the largest Super PAC expenditures to date against a Democrat in Illinois.
This race is officially a top target for right-wing Super PAC spending. Help us fight back against these unlimited, undisclosed funds by contributing $10 today.
Here’s the worst part: one of New Prosperity Foundation’s largest donors, Sam Fox, was also a major donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind the infamous ads attacking John Kerry’s military service in 2004.
We already know Joe Walsh will stop at nothing to attack Tammy. Now we know he has the wealthy allies he needs to promote whatever malicious attack he wants. We can’t let him get away with it.
New Prosperity Foundation, a Chicago-based funding group headed by former gubernatorial hopeful Ron Gidwitz and Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President Greg Baise, yesterday began running cable TV ads in the north suburban 10th District, northwest suburban 8th District and west suburban 11th District.
The amount of money isn’t huge — around $40,000 collectively, the biggest chunk in the 8th — but the expenditure, coming fairly early, is also a clear sign of where much bigger cash is headed.
$40K split over three congressional districts is basically nothing. More people may read online stories about these ads than actually see the ads. And just because somebody gives the PAC money doesn’t mean the PAC is focusing on Duckworth’s military history. C’mon, man.
* And the ads themselves aren’t all that stellar. Here’s the one running against Duckworth…
Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Dold today picks up the endorsement of the National Education Association and their Illinois affiliate over his opponent, Democrat Brad Schneider.
That endorsement will go a long way to help Dold make the claim in a district known for widespread ticket-splitting that he’s a trustworthy moderate.
* Meanwhile, Bobby Schilling was elected to Congress in 2010 as an aggressive tea party conservative, but he’s moderated himself a lot since those days. So, a press release he sent out the other day got my attention, albeit belatedly. I found it in my in-box while I was looking for something else.
As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faces a withering attack over outsourcing and layoffs by his former firm, Bain Capital, employees at a Bain-owned company are appealing to Romney to stop their jobs being shipped overseas.
Romney has played no part in Sensata Technologies Inc.’s decision to move its auto-sensor business to China. But he owns millions of dollars worth of Bain funds that hold a controlling stake in the Massachusetts-based company.
The planned closure of its plant in Freeport, Illinois, could create further headaches for Romney, who is struggling to divert attacks by President Barack Obama and his campaign that portray him as a job killer who does not understand ordinary Americans.
Schilling sent out this press release earlier in the month…
U.S. Reps. Don Manzullo (R-Egan) and Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) today urged the CEO of Massachusetts-based Sensata Technologies to abandon plans to offshore production to Asia and instead keep the work and the jobs in Freeport, Illinois.
In a letter sent this morning to Sensata CEO Thomas Wroe, Jr., Manzullo and Schilling expressed their concerns with Sensata’s plans to shut down its Freeport plant and move the production and jobs to China. Instead, Sensata should follow the lead of other multi-national corporations who are “reshoring” American jobs — bringing back production from overseas – to boost lead times, innovation and quality. Citizens of Freeport contacted both Manzullo and Schilling for help in appealing to Sensata to keep operations in Freeport.
Carl Green just couldn’t get his head around the idea of people complaining about not getting paid enough.
“I don’t know what their problem is,” the Coal Valley man said. “Why would you even go out and look for a minimum wage job?”
Mr. Green was among about 40 supporters of U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, who held a counterprotest in Moline on Tuesday.
About 30 others attended a protest organized by Action Now, based in Chicago, to urge Rep. Schilling to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 per hour since 2009. They said they want that rate raised to $10 an hour to make it closer to a “living wage.”
Before the protest, Rep. Schilling’s office sent a message to supporters stating, “Some astroturf, Chicago-based, rent-a-protesters are getting paid to distort the Bobby Schilling record in a protest scheduled for today. We need you to help us with a counterprotest.”
Action Now spokeswoman Veronica Resa said all the protesters in Moline on Tuesday were from Rep. Schilling’s 17th District and none were paid to attend.
* Oh, no, our civil liberties will be fine while the government conducts its endless war on drugs…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn sparked frustration among civil rights advocates by signing a new police wiretap law Tuesday.
Illinois police currently need a court order to secretly record conversations of drug criminals, but under the new law that goes into effect Jan. 1, a state’s attorney could give that go ahead.
Quinn said the change will allow faster arrests. […]
But Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy with the American Civil Liberties Union, wished Quinn and the legislature would have left things alone. Yohnka said judges act as a neutral third party and they can already act fast enough.
Provides that it is an exception to an eavesdropping violation, with prior request to and verbal approval of the State’s Attorney of the county in which the conversation is anticipated to occur, recording or listening with the aid of an eavesdropping device to a conversation in which a law enforcement officer, or any person acting at the direction of a law enforcement officer, is a party to the conversation and has consented to the conversation being intercepted or recorded in the course of an investigation of a drug offense.
This legislation will strengthen the justice system by allowing more credible evidence into criminal proceedings. Judges and juries will be able to hear the actual conversations of those suspected of committing drug crimes, rather than relying on witness testimony that can be unreliable. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will also have more evidence to consider while negotiating plea agreements, which reduce the burden upon the criminal justice system. This new process allows Illinois law enforcement the same flexibility in crime situations as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement in surrounding states.
And, yet, the police still oppose a bill that would allow citizens to record their public comments without facing a felony and years behind bars.
A South Side lawmaker who helped found an AIDS awareness organization that attracted the interest of federal prosecutors has quietly resigned.
Democratic Rep. Connie Howard stepped down from the Illinois House effective July 9. She cited “personal reasons” in a July 6 letter she sent to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
Howard, 69, who had held office since 1995, announced last year that she would not seek re-election.
The resignation came less than two weeks before authorities arrested seven people after an FBI sting in which they paid kickbacks in the hope of securing thousands of dollars in federal grants, according to federal charges.
* From reading that headline, you’d probably assume the subpoenas were recent. Not even close. They were actually issued in August of 2009 - almost exactly three years ago. The subpoenas covered two grants Howard steered during Fiscal Year 2007 - which ended over five years ago.
And then there was the stuff about how the resignation came two weeks before seven people were busted in an FBI sting that targeted West Side corruption. Howard is a South Sider.
Too often in journalism, correlation equals causation, and the Tribune is getting a lot worse lately with this bad habit.
As I told subscribers earlier today, this does not mean there wasn’t a causation issue here. I wrote about the subpoenas in my full story on July 11th. But unless the Trib knows otherwise, directly connecting the retirement of a 69 year-old woman widely known to be in ill health to subpoenas issued three years ago about a matter that took place over five years ago is a bit much.
Not to mention that I’ve been reporting about Howard’s resignation since July 10th. No hat tip. Oh, well.
* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady, as usual, blamed Speaker Madigan…
Actions by another member of Speaker Mike Madigan’s House Democrat Caucus raises questions if even more Democrat lawmakers are tied to a state bribery scandal. Today “we” learned that Illinois State Representative Connie Howard has resigned from office, but Speaker Madigan was informed of the resignation 18 days ago. Howard’s official state webpage and page on Speaker Mike Madigan’s Illinois House Democrats website currently are both active even though she handed in her resignation 18 days ago.
“How much bigger is this state grant bribery scandal going to get?” asked Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “It is very alarming that another member of Madigan’s House Democrat Caucus is connected to this federal corruption case.”
Brady added, “Why did it take 18 days for Team Madigan to make the resignation public? We already knew Connie Howard planned to retire, just not this early, why sit on it for 18 days? Was Team Madigan too busy working on damage control from Rep. Derrick Smith and Sen. Hendon’s state grant scandals?”
Subscribers know about this already. Howard submitted her resignation to Madigan, but she was supposed to submit it to the Secretary of State. I told subscribers a week ago today that the Secretary of State had received the official resignation last Tuesday. And the House does, indeed, have Howard listed as “currently inactive” on its Web page.
And here’s the other thing: The state GOP has a Capitol Fax subscription. So, if Brady is reading his copy, he knew two full weeks ago that Howard had resigned and he knew last week that Howard had belatedly submitted her resignation to Jesse White.
* Illinois had 21 State Police call centers before the governor consolidated those offices down to just four last week. There were problems Monday at one of those call centers…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois State Police communications consolidation reportedly hit a snag Monday when phone lines were “up and down” all day in Du Quoin.
The chief steward for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees telecommunications workers at Du Quoin, Cathy Bencini, said calls were dropped throughout the day, but the state was working to fix the problem by the afternoon. […]
Bencini also said the phone system did not have working caller-ID and lacked a global positioning satellite system, issues she said the state was going to address.
Several legislators are criticizing Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration for considering moving some prison inmates out of Illinois. Democratic state Rep. Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg says consideration of the plan indicates the Corrections Department does not believe Illinois’ surviving prisons will be able to handle all the inmates moved from Tamms Correctional Center if it closes.
Quinn has said he wants to close Tamms and the all-female Dwight Correctional Center on Aug. 31 to save an estimated $48 million. Documents obtained by the Journal Gazette & Times Courier show at least nine inmates could be sent to prisons outside of Illinois in exchange for prisoners from that state.
The Lincoln and Logan Correctional Centers could face massive restructuring when the Dwight state prison for women closes late next month.
Preliminary reports from Gov. Pat Quinn’s office indicate that the Lincoln and Logan prisons, both at Lincoln, would essentially flip-flop inmate populations, with Logan also absorbing 980 women inmates from Dwight.
Logan now holds about 2,000 men, while Lincoln’s population is in the neighborhood of 1,000 women.
The plan is to transfer the 1,000 female inmates now housed in the Lincoln center, plus the women from Dwight, into the larger facility currently occupied by men at Logan.
Plans have not been disclosed for the extra 1,000 male inmates who theoretically wouldn’t fit into the Lincoln Correctional Center, although rumors are circulating that some prisoners could be released and monitored electronically.
* More budget stuff…
* Budget cuts won’t work if they aren’t researched
* Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sophia Hall is presiding over the lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the state’s ban on gay marriage. Hall, it appears, is an “out” lesbian and some folks are calling on her to recuse herself from the case…
Hall is a charter member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which lists on its website that it promotes and encourages “respect and unbiased treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as they relate to the judiciary, the legal profession and the administration of justice.” The Victory Fund, which supports openly gay elected officials, also lists Hall as an “out official.”
Professor Rena Lindevaldsen, associate dean at the Liberty University School of Law, said Hall represented a conflict of interest.
“Judge Hall is presiding over a case that seeks to fundamentally alter the meaning of marriage in Illinois,” Lindevaldsen said. “As a Charter Member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which is an organization dedicated to LGBT causes, she has an obvious conflict of interest. Pursuant to the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge must disqualify herself in any case where her ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned.’ (Rule 63-Cannon 3). If the tables were turned and she was a charter member of an organization that had as its mission to overturn Roe v. Wade and she was presiding over a case where the validity of Roe was in question, there would be incredible outcry to have her removed from the case. Given the significance of the case before her, Judge Hall should take steps to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest, and recuse herself.”
Edwin C. Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU of Illinois, disagreed in an e-mail to On Top Magazine: “If the suggestion is that Judge Hall cannot, based on mere assertion, decide this case fairly and based upon the law, we simply disagree. Judge Hall has an excellent reputation as a careful jurist.”
The Mission of the Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ) is to:
1. Promote and foster friendly relations and goodwill between and among its members and between its membership and other members of the bench and bar;
2. Advance the professional enrichment of the judiciary, promote the administration of justice and improve the legal profession;
3. Promote and encourage respect and unbiased treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as they relate to the judiciary, the legal profession and the administration of justice;
4. Defend and advance the integrity and independence of the judiciary;
5. Encourage, promote and provide continuing legal education to members of the bench, bar and public;
6. Foster and promote a positive public perception and a better understanding of the judiciary to LGBT individuals and to members of the public at large;
7. Promote equal and unbiased treatment of LGBT members of the judiciary on issues affecting judges, such as assignments, compensation, benefits, judicial elections, retentions and appointments; and,
8. Pursue any and all acts reasonably necessary in the furtherance of these goals.
We hope to be a resource for our fellow Judges and the legal community, and to be mentors for LGBT law students.
* Meanwhile, there’s a new call for a constitutional amendment in the wake of the lawsuit’s filing…
A Republican who represents a swath of southeastern Illinois is sponsoring legislation aimed at highlighting the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Even though Illinois approved a law banning same-sex marriage in 1986, state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said his resolution will help counteract recent lawsuits that are challenging the prohibition.
“It is time for the General Assembly to reaffirm their support for Illinois laws reserving the institution of marriage between one man and one woman,” said Reis, who issued a statement.
* From Rep. Reis’ press release…
“This extremely controversial issue should not be decided in the courts. It should be decided by the people,” Rep. Reis said. “The only real way to solve this is by a vote on a constitutional amendment.”
Earlier this year, Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated her office would not defend the state’s marriage definition by law, saying her office will “present the court with arguments that explain why the challenged statutory provisions do not satisfy the guarantee of equality under the Illinois Constitution.”
In June, Rep. Reis sent a letter to Attorney General Lisa Madigan stating his strong opposition to her recent decision to not defend the state’s definition of marriage and has received no response from her office. “This is yet another example of Madigan using a possible decision of an activist court system over the wisdom and wishes of the citizens of Illinois,” Rep. Reis said.
To date no response has been received from the Attorney General’s office.
In absence of the Attorney General’s legal defense, two downstate county clerks, represented by the Thomas More Society, were granted the right to intervene against the two lawsuits and defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
Rep. Reis continued, “All concerned residents of the state who want Illinois to uphold its laws and safeguard the institution of marriage are encouraged to call their State Representative and Senator and ask them to support an amendment to the Illinois Constitution clearly defining marriage. If we don’t, this issue might very well get decided in the courts.”
* Republican state Reps. Thomas Morrison, David Reis, Paul Evans and Dwight Kay are co-sponsoring the measure. From their joint resolution’s synopsis…
Shows support for the Illinois laws reserving the institution of marriage to one man and one woman. States the General Assembly’s opposition to any efforts to extend the institution of marriage to 2 individuals of the same sex, whether by statute or by court decision. Urges the members of the General Assembly to adopt HJRCA 50, an amendment to the Illinois Constitution stating that “Only a marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Illinois”.
To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this State. This State and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status similar to that of marriage.
That last sentence appears to invalidate the state’s new civil unions law as well.
Several Illinois congressmen are asking Gov. Pat Quinn to consider taking less money from the federal government for the purchase of the Thomson Correctional Center, located just north of Thomson, Ill.
Ten Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Bobby Schilling, made the request in a letter to Quinn last Friday.
Saying a federally owned Thomson would add more than 1,100 jobs to an economically hard-hit area northeast of the Quad-Cities, the congressmen encouraged Quinn to “seriously consider all the positive aspects of lowering the price to what has been paid so that it can be quickly brought into the federal correctional system and opened.”
Illinois built the prison for $140 million in 2001, and it has paid $128 million of the cost thus far, according to the governor’s office. An appraisal valued the facility at $220 million, however, and Quinn said Saturday there’s already an agreement on a price at $165 million.
It also involves Rep. Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, a powerful veteran Republican who chairs a House subcommittee that oversees prison spending. Wolf opposes the prison purchase because of fears that the Obama White House wants to move detainees there from Cuba despite a law against it and assurances by administration officials.
The latest assurance against moving potential terrorists to Thomson came June 14, when Attorney General Eric Holder testified before a Senate panel. But Holder, whose Department of Justice oversees the federal Bureau of Prisons, also has been labeled untrustworthy by House Republicans who last week voted to hold him in contempt over the failed Fast and Furious gun-walking program.
Asked if a lower price tag for Thomson would ensure Wolf’s support, Schilling spokeswoman Andrea Pivarunas said, “There are different people and many factors involved in getting this done.”
As for a suggested price, Pivarunas said the Bureau of Prisons told Schilling’s office it has about $75 million in leftover money in its budget.
But the prisons bureau also has found $165 million to purchase Thomson from funds that could be rechanneled from other programs, meeting the terms of the deal struck by the state and federal governments that Wolf has blocked.
* The key here is that the federal Bureau of Prisons could tap that $75 million without going to Congressman Wolf. Paying the agreed upon price means continuing to deal with the guy. And that means that nothing gets done before the election. The Dispatch-Argus is not at all happy with Schilling’s idea…
Rep. Wolf’s intransigence has Rep. Schilling and other GOP members of Illinois congressional delegation scrambling for another way. They think they’ve found it. We urge them to keep looking.
“The way to get around Frank Wolf is to not have to go to him for the money,” he told reporter Eric Timmons. In order to do that, however, the state must significantly reduce it’s asking price to $75 million. That’s how much Rep. Schilling has found in the Federal Bureau of Prisons fund to make the transfer happen.
While we appreciate the effort, we cannot in good conscience recommend that the state let the prison go for $90 million less than the bargain price of $165 million to which the feds already have agreed. And that price is well below the $220 million the maximum-security prison is said to be worth. Indeed, at $165 million, the prison remains a great deal for a nation in need of more space for federal offenders. The cost of converting it to federal use is a fraction of what is sure to be needed to site and build a new facility.
Rather than pushing the state’s taxpayers into a terrible deal, we urge Rep. Schilling and the rest of the delegation — led, we hope, by Illinois Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s office — to amp up the pressure on Rep. Wolf.
Tell him $90 million is too high a price for Illinois to pay to indulge a single congressman’s fear of terrorist bogeymen.
So, the state can go around the DC goofball and get a much lower price, which would also probably help the Republican Schilling’s reelection - and Democratic US Sen. Dick Durbin, who is backing Schilling’s opponent, would never agree to help him like that. Or Illinois could just try to wait out the DC goofball and maybe the feds never buy the prison if Obama isn’t reelected (or even if he is).
Don’t you just love Washington, DC?
Oy.
Then again, to put this into perspective, that $90 million price difference is about equal to just one year of CME’s new state tax break. And we know new jobs will definitely be created no matter what the sale price ends up being.
* You really gotta hand it to the Better Government Association. They know how to gin up publicity and raise money. From a press release…
Lt. Governor Simon will declare it “The Onion Day” in Illinois on Tuesday, July 31 in honor of the satirical newspaper making Chicago its international headquarters. The declaration will come during a fund raiser for the Better Government Association emceed by WGN TV’s Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten that features special performances by a banjo-toting Simon and The Onion Players.
The Onion claims to be the “biggest, most expansive, most powerful, most terrifying and most influential media company in the civilized world.” Leaving behind New York City, The Onion consolidated its media operations in Chicago this month, and recently broke ground on a new studio in River North for digital video production. The Onion will move 100 employees to the new offices and studio in October.
The Onion leaders attribute the relocation to the Illinois tax credit for web video, TV and film production, as well as the city’s comedy scene and proximity to Hot Doug’s Encased Meat Emporium and Hotdog Superstore. Simon will dedicate a new song to The Onion and the BGA for their work in exposing political corruption and promoting government transparency.
* The Question: Do you have any more ideas for BGA fundraisers?
* Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law yesterday that will mean only seriously handicapped people will be able to park free at meters. Another bill would crack down on drivers who use somebody else’s handicapped placards. The Sun-Times editorialized about the bill signings today…
After January 2014, only people who are physically unable to access meters will get free parking. Quinn also authorized tougher penalties for people caught using a deceased person’s disability parking placard in handicapped-only spots.
Last year, Sun-Times reporter Chris Fusco, whose work led to these reforms, found able-bodied drivers using fake, stolen and relatives’ placards to park for free in metered spots.
The rest of us have to pay for those cheaters. The city’s private meter company has billed $35.5 million for two years of free parking for people using disabled-parking placards or license plates. (The city is disputing the number.)
If more people were simply honorable, laws such as this one would be unnecessary.
A whole lot of laws would be unnecessary if more people were simply honorable.
Do you have any stories to tell us about this topic? Share away.
* This is a pretty good summation of the governor’s responses to questions about the aftermath of the recent Colorado shooting…
Governor Pat Quinn says he does not support concealed carry guns in Illinois. He doesn’t believe that allowing people to carry concealed weapons is a way to prevent violence.
Quinn says he also supports a ban on assault weapons in Illinois. The governor also believes that high-capacity magazines need to be regulated and prohibited.
He wants Illinois to be a leader and show the way on the gun control measures.
There’s nothing really all that new here, but I thought you might want to discuss it anyway.
As always when we talk about this issue, take a deep breath before you comment. If you don’t, it’s very likely that your comment will be deleted. So, what’s the point in going all nutso in comments when nobody will see it anyway? Thanks.
