Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is urging Gov. Pat Quinn to change his decision about closing the Tamms Correctional Center; adding if he doesn’t, the legislature will attempt to override the governor’s decision during the veto session in November […].
The money for the Tamms facility, the state’s only super-maximum security facility, is in this year’s state budget, along with the money for other facilities Quinn is trying to close at the end of the week.
“That’s nonsense, it’s in the budget,” Cullerton said during a morning interview with members of The Southern Illinoisan newsroom. […]
Cullerton says he doesn’t see how the prisons will close in time and suggests Quinn should simply keep them open. If not, Cullerton said the legislature will attempt override his decision in November.
The Senate President is in southern Illinois today for a media event with state Sen. Gary Forby. The SDems will probably have to spend big bucks to protect Forby this fall, so this event is obviously designed to help the perpetually targeted incumbent.
…Adding… This is, of course, almost entirely for show. Quinn can close whatever facility he wants, regardless of a veto override.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has officially abandoned his hope of shutting down prisons by Friday.
A letter from the Corrections Department instructs employees at targeted prisons to keep reporting to work. In it, Director S.A. “Tony” Godinez announces a “temporary delay for the layoffs and closures” that were scheduled for Aug. 31.
The letter was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
Quinn wanted to empty the Tamms supermax prison and the women’s prison at Dwight to save money.
* From IDOC…
The state remains committed to the closure plan, and is moving forward with an expedited arbitration with AFSCME to facilitate the closures. IDOC has agreed to continue the halt of inmate transfers associated with the closures. As we continue arbitration under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the department has notified employees impacted by the closures to continue work in their current position and location while the arbitration proceeds, until further notice.
We look forward to resolving this matter as quickly as possible as we work to close outdated, half-full and expensive facilities in order to save Illinois taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually.
Safety and security is of utmost importance and is always the department’s top priority. IDOC will implement the closures responsibly and in a way that prioritizes public safety and security while minimizing impact on staff and the inmate population.
* The Chicago police have a new study that shows almost a third of the guns seized by Chicago cops came from the suburbs, with another 13 percent coming from elsewhere in Illinois…
The research shows that some 29 percent of the guns recovered on Chicago’s streets between 2008 and the end of March were bought in the Cook County suburbs. Lake County, Ind., was the second largest source, accounting for six percent of the weapons, and other counties surrounding Chicago – including Lake County, Ill., and Will, DuPage and Kane counties – were also in the top 10 sources.
Two gun stores in suburban Lyons and Riverdale accounted for more than 10 percent of the guns recovered. […]
The study covers 17,230 guns the ATF successfully traced after they were recovered in Chicago. Many guns can’t be traced because of their age or other factors, said Seth Bour, the Crime Lab’s deputy director. […]
Ander said she was surprised by the percentage of guns that came from Illinois, rather than from neighboring states with comparatively relaxed gun laws. About 42 percent of the guns came from Illinois. Indiana ranked second, contributing 18 percent of the guns, and Wisconsin accounted for about 4 percent.
* And notice from this Sun-Times graphic that the vast majority - 88 percent - of all guns seized were handguns…
Military style assault rifles get a lot of publicity when people like Gov. Pat Quinn try to ban them. But they’re barely a blip in Chicago.
* The Illinois Republican Party is now selling “Fire Madigan” paraphernalia. From a press release…
After coverage of our FIRE MADIGAN signs at Republican Day at this year’s Illinois State Fair, we’ve had many people asking for FIRE MADIGAN materials so we’ve created this online FIRE MADIGAN store.
If you think after over 40 years in Springfield and Illinois being ranked as one of the worst states financially that it’s time to Fire Illinois House Speaker/Illinois Democratic Party Chairman/Father of the Illinois Attorney General Mike Madigan, you can have a little fun helping spread the word with any of these FIRE MADIGAN products, including t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, buttons, and signs. Check back often as more designs and products will be added in the weeks ahead!
The Illinois Republican Party is selling these items at cost through CafePress.com to keep the costs at low as possible so that as many people as possible can help spread the word that Illinois needs to FIRE MADIGAN. There is no financial profit or loss on this merchandise by the Illinois Republican Party.
If you were expecting a kumbaya moment when Rep. Joe Walsh met with Muslims in Lombard on Friday, you bought tickets to the wrong movie.
Walsh antagonized many in the religion by claiming that radical Muslims have infiltrated the Chicago suburbs, and are trying to kill Americans.
At the town hall meeting, attendees who ranged from doctors to housewives challenged Walsh’s assertation that radicals are in places like Elk Grove, Addison and Elgin.
Walsh said that he was making a broader point that radicals are infiltrating small towns, and although the meeting became heated at times, Walsh didn’t back down from his original statements.
Ahmed said the meeting turned confrontational after a few in the crowd demanded an immediate apology from Walsh, which Ahmed said wasn’t the purpose of the meeting.
“Somehow, it turned out to be confrontational,” Ahmed said. “I don’t think that helps anything.”
He said it appeared some people were attacking Walsh and there was a lot of shouting, but some people did actually want to engage in discussion.
Ahmed said Walsh’s initial comments were controversial and incited some people, but Walsh was trying to make a point in last night’s meeting and he wasn’t allowed the opportunity.
“Our view is that a good opportunity was frankly lost in advancing the dialogue,” Ahmed said.
* Even so, Walsh was his usual bombastic self. There’s very little one can do to have a “dialogue” with him. For instance…
Walsh went so far as to blame the federal government for the Fort Hood Massacre nearly three years ago. He said the government was trying to be politically correct and not offend Muslims, so much so that an American Muslim in the Army allegedly killed 13 people.
* A lot of people are quite worried about the state employee rush to the exits in anticipation of pension reform. I’m not really so sure. Maybe it’s time for some new blood, anyway…
Whether it’s overseeing trail maintenance, knowing when to pump water from a lake or helping mow the lawns, the on-site superintendents of Illinois’ state parks play an important role in managing the state’s natural heritage, from Starved Rock along the Illinois River to tiny natural sites in every corner of the state.
But since late last year, almost a quarter of the park superintendents have retired, taking with them in many cases 30 or more years of experience that will be hard to replace in an agency hit hard by years of budget cuts and unsure whether it can replace them.
Riverbend Humane Society August
At least 23 park superintendents and another half-dozen assistant superintendents have left the state Department of Natural Resources since late 2011. Beyond eight openings the DNR has already filled or is trying to fill now, department officials say they don’t know when they would have the money to find substitutes.
The exits appear to be driven in most cases by concerns about potential changes in the state’s underfunded pension system. DNR says the retirements and earlier cuts and staff shifts have left it with 75 superintendents at its 126 parks, recreation areas and other outdoor destinations.
* Meanwhile, the state’s 2011 “Teacher of the Year” talks about her participation in a recent parade…
Brave said she walked in another parade recently behind Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.
“People along the route booed and hissed him but cheered the teachers,” Brave said. “My thought was, ‘You wanted to destroy our pensions.’ He kept looking back at us to see what was going on.”
I’m pretty sure that was the State Fair kickoff parade. The crowd did cheer the teachers, and they most certainly booed Quinn.
When Gov. Pat Quinn came to Peoria last week to tout a piece of legislation expanding access to childhood immunizations, he sat at a table inside Kroger at 9219 N. Lindbergh Drive and signed his name on some official-looking papers.
In fact, it looked for all the world like he was signing the actual legislation, making it law during his stop here.
Not so much. In fact, he faked plenty of people out by conducting what we later discovered was a mock bill signing - what his press staff called a “ceremonial signing.”
We’re told that he does this routinely during flyarounds, when he hits multiple cities in a day to promote what his office determines is a major piece of legislation that they want to highlight.
“We do it with important bills,” spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said by phone Friday, noting that the legislation would make it easier for kids to get state-mandated shots to prevent illness prior to the start of the school year. It lets pharmacists administer the shots to kids middle school age where previously they could only give them to youngsters age 14 and up.
* The Question: Are “fake” bill signings acceptable politics or dishonest government? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Citing name recognition and popularity, respondents to a Daily Herald survey of GOP delegates to the Republican National Convention overwhelmingly prefer state Treasurer Dan Rutherford to be the party’s gubernatorial nominee in 2014.
The survey was sent to the state’s 54 directly elected GOP delegates and 54 alternates, as well as the 12 delegates and 12 alternates elected at the state party’s convention in June. A total of 51 delegates responded to this survey question, asking them to select from among five choices — state Sen. Kirk Dillard, of Hinsdale; state Sen. Dan Duffy, of Lake Barrington; state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine; Rutherford; and Congressman Aaron Schock of Peoria. Respondents also were given the option to name someone else.
Of the responses, Rutherford, of Chenoa, received 73.1 percent of votes. State Sen. Kirk Dillard, of Hinsdale, was a distant second, with 9.6 percent. Schock received 5.8 percent of votes, Murphy 2 percent and Duffy no votes.
More than just those guys are looking at a bid. Kabillionaire Bruce Rauner has been eyeing a gubernatorial race for quite some time. Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno is also being mentioned as a possible candidate.
Republican party officials say the Republican Governors Association plans to call a meeting in Illinois after the Nov. 6 election, encouraging a smaller primary this time around. If Rutherford, Schock and Brady all join the fray, many veterans foresee a repeat of the crowded 2010 field, noting that their similar bases — all are located within a 100-mile radius downstate — could benefit suburban candidates like Dillard and Murphy, should they too squeeze into the picture.
The rule in 13-year-old Abby Goldberg’s house is no phone calls from boys at night. But on Saturday, her father made an exception when Gov. Pat Quinn called the Grayslake girl turned activist shortly after 9 p.m. to share some good news.
After her yearlong crusade and an online campaign dubbed “Don’t Let Big Plastic Bully Me,” the northwest suburban girl is celebrating Quinn’s decision to veto legislation that would have prevented cities and towns in Illinois from banning plastic bags and imposing fees on their use.
“I was so excited,” the giddy eighth-grader said Sunday. “I thanked him so many times.”
Concerned about the fate of animals that can eat or become fatally tangled in discarded plastic bags, Abby posted a petition on Change.org in June decrying “the devastation that millions of plastic bags have caused the environment and ocean life.” A month later, with more than 150,000 signatures in hand, she traveled to Springfield and urged Quinn to oppose the industry-backed bill. On Saturday, Quinn called Abby to tell her he had no intention of signing the plastic bag bill.
* No way could Quinn resist such an entreaty. And now Champaign may move forward with a ban or a tax…
Mayor Don Gerard on Sunday applauded Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of a bill that would have prevented Champaign from dealing with plastic bags on its own terms. Gerard said local officials can now resume discussions about limiting the use of the bags at stores within its borders. […]
If the veto stands, Gerard said it could be time to continue the discussions in the Champaign City Building of banning or placing a per-bag fee on plastic bags at checkout lines.
“I suppose it is time for us now to continue those discussions,” Gerard said. “There was actually pretty substantial support to move forward with something, to do something.”
City officials earlier this year presented the program to city council members as a way to deal with plastic bag litter throughout the city. By forcing retailers to charge a fee — something like 5 cents per bag — or by banning the use of plastic bags altogether, they said residents would use fewer bags when they check out at stores.
The veto is a victory for Abby Goldberg, a 13-year-old from Grayslake, Ill., who had launched a petition drive against the bill. Goldberg wanted her community to ban plastic bags, and in July she personally delivered a petition with more than 150,000 signatures urging the veto.
On Aug. 26, Goldberg sent a message to her Twitter followers that the battle is not over.
“OK, thanks are done, time to role up our sleeves again!” she wrote to backers who were congratulating her on the victory. “Encourage [Illinois] legislators to not override veto!!!!!!” she wrote.
Manufacturers said they were disappointed in Quinn’s decision. Lawmakers could still vote to override Quinn’s veto.
Mark Denzler, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said in a statement that the law “represented an opportunity for Illinois to lead the nation in recycling plastic bags and plastic film that account for a major part of the waste stream.”
He said that without a statewide regulation manufacturers and retailers would face a “confusing and costly patchwork of regulations across the state.”
* The response from the Retail Merchants Association…
The most critical aspect of the bill-most often left out by opponents’-is the recycling requirement of both plastic bags and plastic film. Plastic film includes newspaper bags, dry-cleaning bags, shrink wrap, etc. Plastic bags constitute just 15% of plastic waste, whereas 85% comes from plastic film.
* Legislation would have diverted 426 tons/852,000 pounds of plastic from landfills at a minimum
* To put this in perspective, a Toyota Prius weighs 3,042 pounds. So, SB 3442 would have at a minimum diverted the equivalent of 280 Prius’ from landfills every year.
* Governor Quinn’s vetoallows home rule municipalities to take away choices from consumers who want to recycle plastic and now can tax their residents, or ban plastic bags entirely.
* SB 3442 was supported by a broad coalition of organizations such as the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA), American Progressive Bag Alliance, Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI), Illinois Food Retailers Association, Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association/IL Association of Convenience Stores, National Solid Wastes Management Association and Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO)
“The legislation that passed the legislature with strong bi-partisan support would have established the first statewide recycling program in the nation,” said David Vite, President/CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA). “Governor Quinn had the opportunity to lead the nation. Instead, his veto ensures Illinois continues to be a follower without a comprehensive plan.
Those of us who advocated for a first in the nation comprehensive plastic recycling program will be reviewing our options in the coming days.”
* From the governor’s press release…
Opponents to the bill and those urging a veto include the Illinois Municipal League, Northwest Municipal Conference, nearly 150 municipalities, Sierra Club, Illinois Environmental Council, Environment Illinois, Illinois Recycling Association, Chicago Recycling Coalition, Prairie River Network, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Natural Resources Defense Council, Faith in Place, Protestants for the Common Good, Illinois Policy Institute, Surfrider Chicago, Center for Oceanic Awareness, the 175,000 signers of Abby Goldberg’s online petition and others.
* Democratic Cheri Bustos has a new TV ad running in the 17th District. Rate it…
* Republican incumbent Congressman Bobby Schilling’s campaign responded to the ad via press release this morning…
Like the PR executive she is, Bustos has remade herself to such an extent she appears virtually unrecognizable in this professionally shot, stage produced ad.
“Welcome to the race, Cheri Bustos,” Jon Schweppe, communications director for the Schilling campaign, said. “For far too many voters, this ad will be the first time they hear of Alderwoman Bustos. Our campaign got started twenty months ago, and voters have noticed Bobby Schilling out meeting the people, while Cheri Bustos has been missing in action. The Bustos campaign will have their work cut out for them, down double-digits with only 70 days remaining.”
Schweppe also responded to a couple of Bustos’ claims in her new ad.
Bustos: “I’m running for Congress because Washington’s got its priorities all wrong, putting the special interests ahead of the middle class.”
“It’s odd that Bustos wants to bite the hand that feeds her, given the fact that special interests have almost exclusively funded her campaign,” Schweppe said. “Bustos has received more than $100,000 from the radical pro-partial birth abortion PAC EMILY’s List, and she’s spent more time in Chicago and Washington, DC dining with wealthy limousine liberals than she has in-district meeting with the people.”
Bustos: “…it’s time to put Main Street ahead of Wall Street.”
“Cheri Bustos didn’t put Main Street first, she put Bustos Parkway first,” Schweppe said. “She has a record, and it certainly didn’t serve working families in East Moline. Bustos voted repeatedly for a barrage of tax increases and fee hikes, while she spent $625,000 of taxpayer money on an earmarked pet project to build a luxurious parkway right outside her home.”
* As I told you last week, I’m not a big fan of the national conventions. But at least the weather has given reporters something to write about down in Tampa…
As hotel workers tied down reclining chairs and other beach furniture ahead of the storm’s anticipated high winds, heavy rains and surging tide, some delegates recalled the Republican convention in St. Paul four years ago, when Hurricane Gustav also threatened a New Orleans that was still reeling from the damage of Hurricane Katrina.
Then, the first day of the convention was cut short and delegates immersed themselves in charitable acts to help hurricane victims to offset the negative image of President George W. Bush, who critics alleged did not do enough to avert the Katrina tragedy. With some storm-tracking forecasts showing Isaac heading toward New Orleans, questions about another Republican convention and Bush’s Katrina legacy were abundant.
“We’ve had practice (in Minnesota) from getting a curve ball thrown to you that you didn’t expect,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington. “I mean, the perception is, we want Illinois to know we’re down here doing serious work when it comes to conventions. It’s not just a party.”
The situation has the potential to offer voters the contrast of a Republican celebration of Romney while Obama deals with hurricane relief. Rutherford said a potential storm striking Louisiana would “highlight the strength (Republican Gov.) Bobby Jindal has.”
* My brother Doug is at the convention as an alternate delegate. He’s Tweeting…
So humid here that I think I’ll go swimming in a lake to dry off.
* Rep. Ed Sullivan and lobbyist Jim Riemer are having a bit of fun with weather and convention video updates. Here’s the first update they sent on Sunday…
* Monday morning’s report was more sedate about the weather…
* And, what the heck, let’s do a ScribbleLive convention thingy as well. BlackBerry users click here, everyone else can just kick back and watch the coverage…
“We’ve got to activate the taxpayers of Illinois,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters after the Aug. 17 legislative special session failed to move any sort of pension reform forward.
Quinn pledged to lead a “grass-roots” effort to push legislators to pass a reform bill. But will the voters actually listen to him?
A recent poll conducted for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle found that 54 percent of the county’s likely voters disapprove of Quinn’s handling of the public employee pension issue. Just 29 percent approved.
Keep in mind, this is Cook County we’re talking about. It leans strongly Democratic. Quinn’s job approval numbers are radically upside down throughout the state, but 54 percent of Cook County voters still approve of how he’s doing his job.
So if he’s getting this sort of pension-issue disapproval in Cook, of all places, it’s most likely a whole lot worse elsewhere.
The numbers were a tiny bit better for Quinn among Chicago voters, with 32 percent agreeing with his handling of the pension issue and 52 percent disagreeing. Among the county’s suburban voters, however, only 24 percent approve while 57 percent disapprove. Among black voters, 35 percent approve, 54 percent do not. But among white voters, just 25 percent approve while 55 percent do not.
Also, this poll of 600 likely voters was taken Aug. 1 through 6, which was before the special session debacle. Quinn did not emerge from that pension session looking competent in the least.
It was his special session. He called it. He ran the show. And he got nothing for his troubles except defeat.
And Quinn’s statements about attempting to activate a grass-roots movement merely play into the notion, pushed by Republicans, that the House vote to eliminate future General Assembly pensions and reform current pensions was nothing more than a political act.
It’s clear that the governor, at least, will be attempting to inject himself into campaigns to try to convince voters that Republicans who voted against the bill were acting in self-interest.
You might be wondering why Preckwinkle’s campaign shared those negative poll numbers about her party’s governor. After all, Preckwinkle told Crain’s Chicago Business in July that she planned to run for re-election and wouldn’t challenge Quinn in a Democratic primary.
But her thinking appears to be evolving. While the county board president still hopes that Quinn will get his act together, her campaign says, she’s not ruling out a primary bid. The polling shows the way forward.
Preckwinkle’s poll shows that her job approval ratings are stronger than even President Obama’s. She has an incredibly strong net 52 percent job approval rating (67 percent approval versus just 15 percent disapproval) in Cook County.
That compares with Obama’s 45 percent net approval (72 percent to 27 percent) and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 43 percent net (69 percent to 26 percent). Quinn’s net approval? Only 9 percent.
Also, 84 percent said a very convincing reason to support Preckwinkle is that she is an “effective leader who says what she does and does what she says. When running for board president, she said she would repeal (an increase in the county sales tax). In her first six months of office, she did just that, saving taxpayers $440 million a year.”
The idea, reportedly, is to position Preckwinkle the same way against the state income tax. If she runs, she will vow to let it repeal itself in 2015, just as she vowed to repeal the county sales tax hike.
Her hesitancy in advocating a repeal of the state tax hike reportedly involves the thinking of people like House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago). If he strongly opposes repeal, then Preckwinkle may drop the whole primary challenge idea.
Quinn won the 2010 Democratic primary election over then-state Comptroller Dan Hynes with incredibly strong support in black precincts. Preckwinkle, who is black, would definitely erode that backing. Quinn has never polled well with women, and a Preckwinkle candidacy would make that situation even worse.
If Preckwinkle starts appearing a lot downstate and in the collar counties, we’ll probably have our answer regarding her political plans. Her latest appearance, in Champaign-Urbana, didn’t go well. She said there should be a “special place in hell” reserved for President Ronald Reagan for his war against drugs and push for prison terms for minor drug offenses.
She had to quickly back off and apologize. Preckwinkle is discovering that there is a whole lot of Illinois outside Cook County, and not everybody thinks like she does.
* Related…
* Voters grilling Ill. candidates about pension fix: “Why can’t we put four or five or six options on the table and let (retirees) choose?” asked Minor, the Senate candidate from southern Illinois.
* Their pension fiasco, your income tax: The legislator — a hard worker who pursues centrist solutions — grew more dispirited as last week’s conversation lengthened. Bad enough that the Aug. 16 special session to address Illinois’ pension debacle had yielded only partisan rhetoric. Even worse, this lawmaker fumed: “The two parties intentionally failed — so that each now has the opportunity to blame the other.”
* VIDEO: Ralph Martire - Public Affairs - 2012-08-26
* VIDEO: Roger Eddy — Concerns About Shifting the Cost of Pensions
