* Gov. Pat Quinn inadvertently made news today when he said during a speech to Democratic Party leaders that “Obama is dead.” A bit later he corrected himself and said “Osama is dead,” admitting he “goofed that one up.”
Oy.
* I’ll be racing in the annual “celebrity” harness race today at the fairgrounds. The race will begins at about 3 o’clock, or after the Governor’s Day event, whichever is later. Steve Brown, John Patterson and Kelly Kraft will also be in the race.
* On to the live coverage. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just watch as it goes by. We’ll be posting videos to this feed today as well…
* Greg Hinz reports on Democratic attempts to tie Mitt Romney’s new running mate Paul Ryan to congressional Republicans…
The party’s House campaign committee Tuesday began aiming mass robocalls into several swing Illinois districts, seeking to tar local GOP candidates with the Ryan brush.
For instance, one call being placed in the north suburban 10th says, “Your Congressman, Robert Dold, voted for a budget that would end Medicare, and now the budget’s architect, Paul Ryan, is the Republican candidate for Vice President.
“A nonpartisan analysis showed that Ryan’s budget would raise health care costs for seniors by $6,400. The Tax Policy Center also said the Ryan budget would give people making over $1 million a year an average tax break of $265,000. And Congressman Dold supported all of it.
“That’s just wrong.”
Team Dold replies that the bill in question would “preserve and strengthen” Medicare and allow those over 55 to stay in the current system — though potentially with fewer benefits. Team Dold further notes that the plan originally was drafted by not only Mr. Ryan but Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon.
That’s true. But Mr. Wyden has since backed away from the plan. It’s also true that the Congressional Budget Office concluded that seniors would have to pay more under the proposed system.
* Another robocall script…
Hi. This is Julie calling from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to alert you to a new development about Medicare.
Republican candidate for Congress Jason Plummer supports a budget that would end Medicare and now the budget’s architect, Paul Ryan, is the Republican candidate for Vice President.
A nonpartisan analysis showed that Ryan’s budget would raise health care costs for seniors by $6,400. The Tax Policy Center also said the Ryan budget would give people making over $1 million a year an average tax break of $265,000.
That’s just wrong.
Call Jason Plummer at 855-527-6612 and tell him to stop protecting millionaires at the expense of Medicare and the middle class.
Plummer is debating Democrat Bill Enyart and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw tonight at 7 o’clock. Ryan will likely be a big part of this debate. The one-hour forum is sponsored by WSIU Public Broadcasting, the Southern Illinoisan, Belleville News-Democrat, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, and the Jackson County League of Women Voters. You can watch it live at thesouthern.com and bnd.com.
“Governor Mitt Romney’s choice of Congressman Paul Ryan, creator of the Republican budget that Congresswoman Biggert voted for that decimated Medicare, left Seniors with a bill of $6,000, and raised taxes on the middle class, all in order to protect tax cuts for corporations and billionaires, just shows how out of touch the Republican party is with ordinary people,” said Bill Foster.
“Congresswoman Biggert called the Ryan budget the best choice for Illinois, but in reality it was the best choice for the most wealthy people and for the corporations that fund her campaigns. The decisions made by Congresswoman Biggert are a clear indication of the direction she and her party have taken, where money and power is rewarded with tax breaks and favorable legislation. America’s economy is at it’s best when the middle class prospers. We need people in Washington who will stand up for middle class families.”
Judy Biggert, the Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District, released this statement:
“Paul Ryan is an exciting choice for Vice President. He’s a smart, dynamic leader who has never been afraid to roll up his sleeves and dig in to the tough issues. He cares deeply about bringing fiscal sanity to Washington and growth back to our economy. And Americans are ready for strong leaders with the passion and expertise to turn our economy around and get people back to work. Paul Ryan has that, and he brings Midwestern common sense and simple clarity to the debate that will serve him well, especially when it comes to turning back the misleading attacks that he’ll face on the trail. Voters like facts more than attacks, and he’s a guy who can deliver.”
* Related…
* Biggert, Foster clash on blame for state of the country: “You Democrats have never talked about anything that you’re going to do. It’s always what we did wrong and what’s wrong with what we’re going to do,” said Biggert, 74. She also said she preferred to “look to the future,” then contended the housing market collapse began during the Clinton White House through policies that allowed people to buy homes “when they should be renters.”
“I would encourage [Gov. Pat Quinn] if nothing happens Friday, to call us back. If he wants to call us back Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, we really don’t care. We’ll go back,” Cross said, adding that reform needs to happen now, not after the November election. “People are going to yell and scream and they’re going to complain. It’ll be chaotic down there (in Springfield). But my approach is you put us in a room, lock the (door) and when we’re done you let us out.”
Chaos is what the minority party usually wants. Chaos and furor and confusion all serve to embarrass the majority party. And dire warnings of catastrophe…
A catastrophic pension-fund collapse may be what Illinoisans need to understand the urgency of pension reform, House Republican leader Rep. Tom Cross said Tuesday.
* But the State Journal-Register has some reasonable advice…
So for now, the House and Senate should send a message to Wall Street and the credit rating agencies that the state is serious about pension reform by acting on Cullerton’s plan. It offers lawmakers and state employees a choice between keeping the 3 percent, compounded cost-of-living increase or a lesser cost-of-living increase, access to state-sponsored health care upon retirement and the counting of raises toward their pensions.
The proposal, which is projected to save $30 billion over the next 40 years, only has a chance of passage if House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, changes his position and supports the Cullerton plan.
Quinn and Cross are demanding a solution to the whole problem right now. That’s not realistic. Nearly $70 billion of the $83 billion unfunded pension liability is in the Teachers’ Retirement System and State Universities Retirement System. Do they really think the rating agencies and bond houses are going to forget about those systems and let the state off the hook?
This is a tough problem. It took decades for the state to dig itself into this hole. Lawmakers won’t be able to leap out of it on Friday, but they can start the climb.
When I was a kid, I showed cattle and hogs at the fair.
In fact, the purple champion ribbon I received more than 30 years ago for my Charolais heifer dangles in the bedroom where my 6-year-old daughter sleeps.
She finds it odd that cows have beauty contests.
As an adult, I’m more perplexed that government subsidizes the activity by giving public dollars for prize money to adults who participate in such activities.
Is giving cash awards for the best flower arrangements, prettiest peck of potatoes or finest calf really a core government function?
Well, maybe not. But it’s no longer a “government function” anyway. The State Fair gives out lots of cash prizes for various activities, like horse shows. That prize money comes from the State Fair’s own gate receipts.
* I asked a friend of mine at the fairgrounds yesterday what he thought of this notion that the Fair shouldn’t be awarding prizes. He was flustered at Reeder’s attack on the Fair and asked why the government shouldn’t reward hard work and ingenuity for a change.
I agree.
Not to mention that having these contests drives attendance. It’s not all about the big concerts, the carnival rides or the silly food on a stick. The Fair is, traditionally, about highlighting Illinois agriculture. And when Mrs. Smith brings her flower arrangements to the State Fair, then her whole family may go see her ribbon, and maybe her neighbors and her friends as well.
* Monday night, I went to the Fair to see a horse show. It’s one of my favorite things to do at the Fair. I went with a friend and we had dinner before the show at Ethnic Village and then rode the sky tram. Without paying premiums, you can forget about attracting horses to those shows. The shows will die. Maybe you don’t care. Some of us do. It’s about history and tradition and agriculture. And if those horse shows die, then the Fair will lose a bunch of revenue - all because of silly objections to relatively modest premiums.
* I was asked over the weekend whether I thought the State Fair ought to make money. It should, but it probably can’t unless it’s moved to the Chicago area, near all the people and big money. And if it’s moved to the city or to DuPage or whatever, I doubt it will be an agriculture fair. It’ll be all about the concerts and the rides and the money.
Don’t get me wrong. I like the concerts and the rides. And I surely don’t hate money.
But agriculture is a huge aspect of this state’s economy and too many people just dismiss it out of hand. The State Fair is one of the only places we can showcase this industry. The Fair has endured years of budget cuts and even occasional open hostility from people like Rod Blagojevich. The people who run the Fair have done a pretty good job at economizing over the years in the face of those cuts.
You don’t like the State Fair? Well, OK, maybe I don’t like some state program in your area, either. Hey, that’s life.
Gov. Pat Quinn will host a gathering of Democrats at the Illinois State Fair today, but the event may not be the picnic planners envisioned.
A coalition of labor unions plans to set up camp outside the annual Governor’s Day festivities to protest the Chicago Democrat’s plans to lay off thousands of state workers, overhaul employee pension programs not to pay raises to 30,000 rank-and-file workers.
The day could mark just the latest dustup in an ongoing battle between Quinn and the unions as lawmakers get set to return to the Capitol on Friday. They plan a one-day session focusing on the ouster of indicted state Rep. Derrick Smith of Chicago and a potential vote on changes to the state’s retirement systems designed to chip away at an $83 billion unfunded liability.
* This mobile billboard is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel this morning…
The Democratic Party of Illinois is holding its convention at the hotel. Quinn is expected to speak.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE 1 *** An e-mail from Occupy Springfield…
Occupy Springfield (IL) will be on the capitol grounds in regards to the current pension debate. The members of the local Occupy organization will be on hand to answer any questions to the media.
*** UPDATE 2 *** AFSCME members were a bit impolite today, apparently…
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who are expected to protest the Democratic governor’s appearance today at the State Fair, shouted slogans, such as, “Honor our contract!” and coughed “bulls—“ as Quinn spoke to reporters.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Statement of AFL-CIO president Michael Carrigan…
*We are here today because this is Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair and we want to express labor’s deep concern with Governor Quinn’s policies that are not fair to working families—and particularly unfair to public employees.
*We have with us today all of the major unions in the state that represent public employees. We are united in calling on the governor treat employees fairly and to recognize the importance of the vital services they provide.
*We are extremely disturbed that at a time when collective bargaining rights for public employees are under attack by a number of Republican governors, here in Illinois we have a Democratic governor who is undermining fundamental collective bargaining rights for public employees.
*For more than a year now, Governor Quinn has been refusing to honor the state’s collective bargaining agreements with the unions representing state workers and withholding negotiated pay raises agreed to in those contracts.
*The Governor has even filed suit in state court seeking to overturn the decision of an independent arbitrator who ruled that he was in violation of the contracts and must pay the wages owed. In issuing his ruling, the arbitrator stated that if Governor Quinn’s actions are allowed to stand, “the collective bargaining process will be…severely undermined.”
*We are also very disappointed that In an era when retirement security is in jeopardy for so many, Governor Quinn has been leading the charge to drastically diminish the pension benefits of all public employees in Illinois—including current retirees living on fixed incomes.
*Public employees’ modest pensions average just $32,000 a year, 80% of them do not receive any Social Security benefits, and all have contributed faithfully out of every paycheck toward their pensions, Yet the Governor is trying to make these employees bear the entire burden of fixing an underfunding problem created by the politicians’ persistent failure to make the employers’ full share of the contributions.
*And we’re also deeply disturbed that In an era when jobs are the primary concern of so many citizens, Governor Quinn is seeking to lay off thousands of state workers—jeopardizing vital services on which so many citizens depend and destroying decent-paying union jobs.
*We’re here today to call on Governor Quinn to reverse course and begin to work constructively together with us for a better Illinois.
* 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…
* 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.
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.”
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.
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.
* 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.
* 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.
