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Question of the day

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A deleted photo from Republican congressional candidate Jason Plummer’s Facebook page…

* And, just to be fair, a candid shot of Plummer’s Democratic opponent, retired National Guard General Bill Enyart…

* The Question: Caption(s)?

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2012 DuQuoin State Fair is a country music nirvana

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I’ve already said, the grandstand lineup for this year’s Illinois State Fair isn’t bad at all. But you gotta check out some of the lineup for the DuQuoin State Fair…

DWIGHT YOAKAM ($35, $30)

Saturday, August 25 - 7:30 pm

The Du Quoin State Fair kicks off it’s concert series with Dwight Yoakam. With his stripped-down approach to traditional honky tonk and Bakersfield country, Dwight Yoakam helped return country music to its roots in the late ’80s. Like his idols Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, Yoakam never played by Nashville’s rules; consequently, he never dominated the charts like his contemporary Randy Travis. Then again, Travis never played around with the sound and style of country music like Yoakam. His Hits include: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Fast As You”, “Honky Tonk Man”, “Guitars, Cadillacs”, “Little Sister”, “I sang Dixie” […]

THE ELI YOUNG BAND and THOMPSON SQUARE ($35, $30)

Wednesday, August 29 - 7:30 pm

It’s a crazy-good story. The Eli Young Band-four musicians who met during their college days in Texas-is now 11 years into a career built on touring without a single lineup change. That dedication is paying off big-time as the band enjoys a crazy new level of success. EYB received their first platinum record for “Crazy Girl” and have sold over 1.5 million downloads of the track. “Crazy Girl” is a perfect introduction to Life At Best, a 14-track album that takes the band’s wide-ranging multi-genre influences and distills them into a focused, engaging vision: edgy country with hints of heartland rock bands such as Tom Petty and classic Eagles.

Thompson Square isn’t a real place, exactly. It’s the musical territory staked out by the husband-and-wife duo of Keifer and Shawna Thompson, an exciting and unpredictable area where country meets rock, rough meets smooth and one vagabond heart finds a harmonious common ground with another. And now the rest of us get to discover that magical place, starting with the chart-topping duo’s self-titled debut album.Their #1 Platinum+ radio smash, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not,” is a fitting introduction to the Thompsons’ natural chemistry and spirit of buoyant romance. “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” spent five consecutive weeks at #1 on the Country Digital Soundscan chart and 12 consecutive weeks as the #1 Country Ringtone. […]

MERLE HAGGARD ($45, $35)

Friday, August 31 - 7:30 PM

The word “legend” usually makes an appearance at some point when discussing Merle Haggard. It’s an acknowledgment of his artistry and his standing as “the poet of the common man.” It’s a tribute to his incredible commercial success and to the lasting mark he has made, not just on country music, but on American music as a whole. Haggard found his songs at the top of the charts on a regular basis. Immediately embraced by country fans, he also earned the respect of his peers. In addition to the 40 #1 hits, Haggard charted scores of Top Ten songs. He won just about every music award imaginable, both as a performer and as a songwriter, and in 1994 was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His body of work easily places him beside Hank Williams as one of the most influential artists in country music. That’s quite an accomplishment for the boy who was once officially branded “incorrigible.”

* Whoa. The Hag is coming to DuQuoin? Yes!!! Man, I love that guy…

* And, oh, baby, I’ve been a Dwight Yoakam fan forever…

* The Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl” is just about everybody’s favorite country hit. But I also love this tune, which has a definite John Hiatt influence…

* And who doesn’t like Thompson Square’s sweetly sentimental “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?”…

My cowboy hat is tipped to whomever booked the acts for DuQuoin this year. Excellent job. I predict many miles will be put on my car that week.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Illinois State Fair Political Event List (Updated)

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

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A new campaign tool?

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Illinois Department of Employment Security has a new web page where you can look at unemployment data by congressional and state legislative districts. I’ve just started playing with it, but it’s pretty darned cool and I’m sure it’ll be used by some campaigns this year.

Go check it out and tell us what you find, and how you think the data will be used.

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Quinn, Cullerton reject union proposal as Fortner introduces new bill

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton have rejected a proposal pension floated by labor unions yesterday…

The union group’s plan was a nonstarter for Gov. Pat Quinn, who is pushing for a more comprehensive pension overhaul. A Quinn spokeswoman dismissed the suggestions as “nothing new,” adding that the proposal “would not solve the state’s pension challenges, nor is it feasible.”

Union officials say the proposal is a “fair alternative” to the plan that House lawmakers could vote on Friday when they return to the Capitol. […]

With an election looming Nov. 6, others dismissed the union’s move as an attempt to derail any vote for pension reform.

“Passing a bill that takes on the pensions of legislators and state employees wasn’t easy,” said a top aide to Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, who sponsored the measure. “The latest efforts by (unions) should prove that it’s far from politically convenient.”

The proposal’s outline is here.

* And…

Quinn, meanwhile, tried to increase the pressure on lawmakers to shift some pension costs away from the state. He released an analysis in Chicago showing that state funding for higher education will continue to drop if pension funding continues to squeeze out the money available for other state programs.

Universities and community colleges will lose more money if the state continues to cut support for higher education than they would pay if they had to assume pension costs for their workers, the analysis says.

It parallels an analysis Quinn released a week ago purporting to show that local school districts would be better off if they pay their teacher pension costs than they would be if lawmakers continue to reduce state aid to schools.

The idea of shifting state pension costs to schools has not drawn much support so far in the legislature.

* In other news, state Rep. Mike Fortner has some very interesting and apparently quite doable pension reform ideas. Here’s one of the revenue streams…

HB 6204 introduces a new revenue stream allocated to paying down the state’s unfunded pension liability. Money currently allocated to paying back existing bonds once the bonds have matured will be invested into the pension system to fully fund the system by 2045. Under former Governor Rod Blagojevich and current Governor Pat Quinn, the state sold bonds instead of making the required payments for pension liability from the general fund. We are still paying back these bonds, with interest. Under HB 6204, when the bonds mature, the money currently allocated to repaying the bonds will be redirected into the state’s pension fund. Fortner claims these new revenue streams, combined with the cost-savings effect of HB 5754, will fully fund the pension obligation by 2045 years without a tax increase.

Fortner would also require an eight percent employee contribution, which is the same as the State University Retirement System uses.

He would also cap pension benefits at a certain level, which for most workers would be the “annual salary of the participant during the 365 days immediately before the effective date of this Section.” Beyond that cap, a “defined contribution” program would kick in. Employees would pay six percent of their salary above the cap into that fund.

* From Fortner’s Power Point…

HB 6204 requires a total of $5.1 billion in FY 2014.

* $200 million less than current expected payment

* Greater saving in future years from reduced growth

HB 6204 pays 100% of unfunded liability by 2045.

The bill also allows workers to transfer all their pension contributions, plus interest, into a defined contributions plan. And it shifts the three percent employer contribution costs above the cap to Downstate and suburban school districts.

Thoughts?

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Yet another suburban mosque attack

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We now have two attacks on suburban mosques since Congressman Joe Walsh made his hysterical comments about radical Muslins last week. Again, I’m not saying at all that the incidents are related to Walsh’s big mouth, but it does show you why prudent political leaders know they need to keep a civil tongue in their head…

Two suburban Islamic institutions apparently were the targets of weekend incidents that caused property damage and raised concerns among Islamic leaders that the attacks were intended to harm worshippers.

On Monday, David Conrad, 51, of Morton Grove, was ordered in court to undergo an anger management evaluation and to stay away from members of the local Muslim Education Center, at which he is alleged to have fired a high-velocity air rifle Friday evening. No one was hurt during the shooting in the north suburb, but about 500 people were in the building observing evening prayers for the holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, police in west suburban Lombard were trying to determine the origin of a soda bottle filled with household chemicals that apparently was thrown at an Islamic school Sunday night, also during Ramadan prayers. The crude, homemade explosive scared worshippers because of its loud noise but did not injure anyone, Lombard police said.

Islamic community leaders called for federal authorities to step in, saying they do not consider either case isolated. They believe Muslims were targeted in the past because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Walsh has never been known as “prudent.”

* Meanwhile, a reader has put together a video of Walsh’s greatest hits…

* And Walsh premiered a new “soft side” TV ad during the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Rate it…

* From an accompanying fundraising appeal…

While Tammy is spending all of her resources going negative with baseless lies and shameless attacks, I will be focusing on a positive campaign of real solutions that will help get this country back on the right track. But I need your help getting that message out there.

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Your morning video

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Treasurer Dan Rutherford rides the Giant Slide at the Illinois State Fair…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Aug 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller

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