* As I’ve told you before, the DCCC has been posting opposition research and raw tracker videos online this cycle. The idea is to let other groups, PACs etc. who are running “independent expenditure” campaigns have access to stuff that could be useful in their TV ads.
A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) staffer is publishing creepy videos of the homes of Congressman Bobby Schilling, his family members, neighbors, and supporters (see videos below) …the Schillings are understandably concerned about their family and friends’ privacy and safety — especially after a YouTube stalker incident just a year ago.
Last October, Congressman Schilling was the victim of a cyber death threat. A YouTube that went viral offered $75,000 for the congressman’s assassination or for the rape or murder of a member of his family (see video HERE).
With those memories still fresh in the Schilling family’s minds, the congressman’s sister-in-law visited Schilling’s Democrat opponent’s office and asked them to take the videos down. Staffers at Cheri Bustos’ headquarters said they would look into it, but the videos are still viewable.
“Frankly I am sickened by someone creeping around my sister’s house and our neighborhood, videoing homes,” Christie Schilling, the congressman’s wife, told Illinois Review. “I don’t want to sound like an alarmist. I’m sorry, but I don’t like not feeling safe.”
The videos of the homes have since been taken offline. But they were for houses that also appeared in the DCCC’s opposition research book.
For instance, Schilling owned a house on Ponderosa Drive in Colona that, according to the OR book, had some tax liens on it. A house in Silvis was bought and sold quickly, indicating it was flipped. A house in Geneseo was bought and sold within five years.
* Why is this important at all? Well, according to the OR book, Schilling earned no income from his now-legendary pizza restaurant in 2009 and earned just $1,750 in 2010. So, the idea is, apparently, to encourage somebody else to tell voters that Schilling ain’t much of a pizza guy. Instead, he’s… I dunno… something else.
* Today’s Sun-Times headline “South Side left without power more often than North Side” probably wasn’t much of a shock (pardon the pun) to most folks. People would likley just assume that the black-dominated South Side would be more likely to get the shaft…
The utility’s listing of each individual power outage in its annual reliability report showed the North Side had 15 wards with the smallest level of power outages, according to a Sun-Times breakdown of the numbers.
But on the South Side, only two wards made it into the lowest category of the Sun-Times analysis: wards that had fewer than 64,000 customer-hours of outages in 2011. […]
Shuman’s business and Lewis’ home are in the 3rd Ward, which runs along either side of King Drive and includes parts of Bronzeville, Grand Boulevard, Fuller Park and Kenwood. ComEd reported nearly 158,000 customer-hours without power in the ward in 2011, the fourth worst total in the city.
By comparison, the 43rd Ward’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side had only 57,000 customer hours of outages.
Qiana Acklin, 33, lives in the 4500 block of South Drexel Boulevard in the nearby 4th Ward, which endured 145,000 customer-hours without electricity.
“I think maybe it has to do with race, that plays a factor,” she said when told of the disparity between her 4th Ward and most North Side wards.
The 3rd and 4th wards are majority black, but white wards on the South Side were also hit hard. The 19th Ward, which covers parts of Beverly and Mount Greenwood, is 66 percent white and had 162,000 customer-hours of outages. Whites are the largest group in the 23rd Ward, which includes parts of Garfield Ridge. That ward had 146,000 customer-hours of outages.
The 41st Ward in the far northwest corner of the city was atypical for the North Side in that it posted the highest outage customer-hours in the whole city: 283,000. This was mostly due to storms that hit the Edison Park and Norwood Park neighborhoods in July 2011.
“The South Side tends to have much more overhead [cable] exposure,” said Terry Donnelly, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the utility. “The North Side tends to have more underground conductors and the South Side tends to have more tree density.” […]
Suburbs, with even more above-ground power lines and more trees to knock them down, suffered more frequent and longer outages than the city.
Areas in wealthy North Shore suburbs were harder hit in 2011 than middle- and working-class south and southwestern suburbs.
Highland Park, for example — with a population of 29,000, smaller than any Chicago ward — had 305,000 customer-hours of outages.
Statistics can be manipulated to say lots of things, so I don’t think the article really answered the question.
* But, at the least, ComEd needs to vastly improve its infrastructure. And on that topic, the company’s plans to roll out a “Smart Grid” have been stymied by the Illinois Commerce Commission. As the Tribune notes, the ICC won’t have annual control over the company’s rates once it finalizes how certain returns on investments are calculated, and the Commission has been making it very tough on ComEd, although it gave in a bit after pressure from the General Assembly…
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Wednesday gave Commonwealth Edison a mixed decision on recovering the cost of ComEd’s smart-grid infrastructure project. The ICC allowed ComEd’s way of figuring its pension assets, but denied both interest rate costs and rate base that ComEd wanted to recover the costs of the project.
ComEd spokeswoman Judy Rader said ComEd still needs to review the order. But ComEd spokespeople in earlier statements have said the utility will appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court if it decides it cannot recover enough costs to proceed.
The ICC previously approved a rate that ComEd claimed was inadequate. In part, the ICC ruled that the electric utility can’t earn a rate of return on a pension asset that isn’t fully funded.
ComEd had proposed a decrease in its electricity rates totaling $40 million to $50 million, but because of the pension issue, the ICC decided May 29 to cut customers’ rates by four times that, for a total of $168.6 million.
The ICC did not rule in ComEd’s favor regarding two other items that also affect the returns ComEd will receive on its infrastructure build out.
Instead, it offered a compromise that involves archaic technicalities that have to do with interest rates the company will receive and how the ICC will determine how costs are determined.
Asked whether ComEd would urge state lawmakers to force the ICC to go along with the utility on the two remaining disputed issues, [ComEd spokeswoman Judy Rader] said, “It’s too early to say.”
It’s never “too early to say” on this topic. You can safely bet ComEd will be back in the GA with this issue very soon.
An email shows that the utility giant ComEd wrote a column for state Rep. Charles Jefferson to submit to a local newspaper under his own name.
The Rockford Register-Star ( http://bit.ly/ODiNyJ ) reported Wednesday that Jefferson sent in a 420-word column urging state regulators to reverse a rate cut that he says would impede ComEd’s efforts to modernize its power grid.
An email accidentally forwarded to the newspaper showed ComEd had written the column. The company asked Jefferson to submit it “at your earliest possible convenience” if he agreed with the content.
* Richard Ingram, the executive director of the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, had an interesting take on what the Chicago Democratic leaders’ pension “cost-shifting” plan could do…
Mr. Ingram said such a change might give TRS more power to compel pension fund payments than it has now. It can’t pursue legal action against the state, but it could against school districts if they fail to make required contributions. Part of the reason the pension fund is underfunded is due to the state missing payments in the past.
Hadn’t thought of that, but he’s probably right. The IMRF has a similar power over municipalities.
Republican state Senate candidate Bill Albracht said his opponent, state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, will follow party orders and support a plan that could lead to big property tax increases to cover teacher pension costs.
Sen. Jacobs, however, said the claim was “baseless.”
At a news conference in Moline, Mr. Albracht said his District 36 opponent would support a plan backed by Democratic leadership in Springfield to shift the cost of pensions to local school districts, which has met with widespread opposition from lawmakers outside Chicago.
“If he thinks I’m for that, he’s crazy,” Sen. Jacobs said.
Mr. Albracht was joined in Moline by Illinois Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno to warn against the cost-shift plan.
“They plan to do this in the lame duck session,” Sen. Radogno said.
Nearly one in ten Illinois voters don’t have a photo ID, according to the latest poll results from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
Roughly 9.4 percent of registered voters asked in the poll said they don’t have “a current, unexpired Illinois-issued ID” that includes a photo, the institute, housed at SIU Carbondale, found in its recent statewide poll.
The institute released the findings Wednesday in light of a Pennsylvania judge putting a stop Tuesday to that state’s new and controversial voter ID law. Many states require people show a photo ID at the poll.
It’s aimed at preventing fraud, but in this election cycle critics have complained the rules keep away poor and minority voters, which tend to be the people without a current photo ID.
Subgroup responses in the Simon Poll show that instances of voters without IDs are higher in groups that tend to vote Democratic.
Registered voters with a high school education or less were more likely than average to be without ID (14.6 percent), as were African Americans (16.2 percent), voters under 35 (13.4 percent) and those with household incomes below $50,000 (14.0 percent).
According to the crosstabs, 18.2 percent of Latinos say they have no state-issued photo identification card.
…Adding… Per a commenter’s request, the poll found that 7.2 percent of whites said they had no state ID card.
9.6 percent of Chicagoans, 9.1 percent of suburbanites and 9.6 percent of downstaters say they have no state-issued identification. 10.5 percent of Democrats, 11.3 percent of independents and 7.7 percent of Republicans say they don’t have a state ID. Just 3.6 percent of people making over $100,000 a year have no official ID card.
Illinois’ number is slightly less than the national statistic provided by the Brennan Center for Justice, which estimates that as “many as 10 percent of eligible voters” do not currently have or will be able to get proper identification in order to vote. Illinois is in line with estimates that show Pennsylvania with 9 percent estimates of eligible voters without a picture ID. The Simon Poll’s estimate of 9 percent is higher than a recent 7 percent estimate in New Hampshire and a 6.7 percent estimate in Minnesota.
…Adding… Here’s how the question was asked…
Do you have a current, unexpired Illinois-issued ID with your picture on it, like a driver’s license?
“Today’s actions are just the latest in series of disconcerting moves by this Justice Department, including its handling of the Fast and Furious Operation, allowing nepotism in hiring, its questionable dismissal of voting rights cases and the politicization of decisions that benefit special interest groups,” Wolf said in a statement. “This may be the most disreputable Justice Department in modern history.”
“This back-door move by the Obama Administration to open Thomson and reject the will of Congress and the American people is dangerously irresponsible, and will be met with the full and unfettered opposition of the Appropriations Committee,” Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said in a statement.
* Call me naive, but I thought this react by Speaker Boehner was just way out of line…
Speaker Boehner: Obama Administration’s Purchase of Thomson Prison a Backdoor Move to Import Terrorists Into America
“A majority of the American people and a bipartisan majority in Congress oppose bringing the terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, yet the White House continues to take steps to move forward with its dangerous plan. The unilateral decision to purchase the Thomson Prison – even though Congress has repeatedly opposed the Obama administration’s effort to use taxpayer funds to do so – underscores the administration’s desire to move forward and bring these detainees to U.S. soil. House Republicans have kept our Pledge to America to keep the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay out the United States, and we will continue to keep our pledge. President Obama owes the American people an explanation about how importing these dangerous terrorists and giving them the same rights as U.S. citizens will make us any safer. Republicans will continue to oppose this dangerous plan.”
Boehner has a member in a tight race in the Quad Cities area, Bobby Schilling, who wanted the state of Illinois to practically give away the Thomson prison to the federal government. So, now, according to Boehner’s logic, Schilling supports terrorists too?
“Opening up Thomson Prison to federal inmates will bring more than 1,000 jobs and millions of dollars in new investments to this area and will alleviate the overcrowding in other maximum-security prisons thoughout the country. As long as no suspected terrorists from Guantanamo are moved here, I fully endorse the sale of Thomson to house federal inmates.”
That’s the reasonable Republican line. Good idea, just don’t move terrorists there. Got it.
We’ve been hammering Wolf for months to get out of the way, to no avail. So our first question was, how did the administration get around him? Getting Wolf’s signature is “a tradition and a courtesy,” not a legal requirement, Durbin said. Second question, then: Why didn’t the president bigfoot Wolf a long time ago?
“We tried to be respectful,” said Durbin, who appealed to House Speaker John Boehner to intervene after exhausting the usual channels. “The president and the department still have to work with the guy.
“But we reached the point where we thought this was never going to happen.”
This is a win-win deal: The feds get a bargain price on a state-of-the art prison, and Illinois will add all those jobs without forfeiting its investment. The only loser here is Rep. Frank Wolf.
It isn’t a huge amount of money, but it really takes a lot of stones to give that guy any campaign cash.
Sheesh.
* Meanwhile, Greg Hinz reports that Secretary of State Jesse White has convinced House Speaker Michael Madigan to make calls on behalf of Smith’s opponent, Lance Tyson…
At issue is an endorsement rally scheduled for [yesterday] afternoon by Lance Tyson, who decided to run as a third-party candidate after Mr. Smith won renomination in March, despite facing federal corruption charges. Mr. Smith subsequently was expelled from the House, and local Democratic powers, headed by Secretary of State Jesse White, got behind Mr. Tyson. […]
Steve Brown, Mr. Madigan’s longtime spokesman, told me that the speaker, at the request of Mr. White, has called various parties “and asked them to be for Tyson and attend the event.” Mr. Brown wouldn’t say if the speaker will open his war chest in the contest, but suggested it would be clear where the speaker stands, given the preceding comments.
So exactly who will show up? I’ve confirmed that a long list of officials, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, Cook County Commissioners John Fritchey and John Daley, and Aldermen Joe Moreno (1st), Emma Mitts (37th) and Michelle Smith (43rd) support Mr. Tyson. And I hear that a couple of deep-pocketed unions are preparing to jump into the contest.
*** UPDATE *** Congressman Danny Davis just called to say that he wasn’t at that Tyson event, didn’t know about the event and is neutral in the race.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* It turns out that Smith’s reported benefactor Alliance for Living NFP is also a big contributor to the Speaker’s campaign funds…
Man: I heard something really interesting today. A family of four, like ours, pays more income tax than all of the credit unions in the state combined.
Woman: That’s amazing! I didn’t realize that credit unions don’t pay taxes.
Man: It’s true. Get this. The tax subsidy for credit unions is more than $1.5 billion a year. And that’s just federal income taxes. They don’t pay state taxes, either. That subsidy could go a long way to solving the state’s budget problems.
Woman: Well I’m glad we do business with our local bank. Do you know that bank employees just spent the day at Chrissie’s school talking to all the kids about financial literacy? And they’re even going to sponsor Tom’s soccer team.
Man: Our bank sure does a lot in this community.
Woman: They sure do. In my opinion, if credit unions really want to do business in our community, like banks do, they’re going to have to step up to the plate and pay taxes like the rest of us.
Man: Your family should not pay more in taxes than the credit union down the street. Let your elected officials know that you say “No” to credit union tax exemption.
Brought to you by the Illinois Bankers Association.
Credit unions are not-for-profit companies, so they don’t pay income taxes. But pretty much anybody can join a credit union these days, and the banks have been complaining about unfair competition.
We haven’t had a real knock-down, drag-out fight between the bankers and the credit unions in a while. Expect to hear more about this issue next spring.
* This story about how the Europeans bested the Americans in the Ryder Cup because Rory McIlroy got a ride to the golf course is making the rounds…
Next time the Illinois State Police are looking for donations, their first call should be to Rory McIlroy.
The world’s No. 1 golfer needed a police escort to make it to the first tee on time Sunday after mixing up his time zones. He made it with 10 minutes to spare, just enough time to scarf down an energy bar, take a few strokes on the putting green and hustle to the tee.
“I’ve never been so worried driving to the golf course before,” McIlroy said. “Luckily there was a state trooper who gave me the escort to here. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have got here in time.”
McIlroy was reading the Ryder Cup tee times on his phone and saw that he and Keegan Bradley were teeing off at 12:25 p.m. One problem: That was Eastern time. Medinah Country Club, outside Chicago, is in the Central time zone.
“All of the sudden we realized Rory was not here, and we started to look for him,” European captain Jose Maria Olazabal said. “Nobody knew.”
Finally, at 11, someone called McIlroy. With the police escort, McIlroy pulled up at the Medinah clubhouse 10 minutes before he and Bradley went off.
McIlroy probably misses his tee time and forfeits his match, if he doesn’t get a police escort to Medinah.
With the escort, McIlroy arrives just in time to slip into his golf shoes and sprint to the tee box. He went on to defeat Keegan Bradley in a crucial match.
There it is folks. Our tax money was used to help Europe retain the Ryder Cup.
Worst of all, the governor hasn’t taken any action against the state trooper with seriously misplaced priorities. Seriously, how difficult would it have been to mistakenly drop McIlroy off at Butler National?
Yeah governor, this one is on you.
* But it turns out that the Illinois State Police wasn’t to blame. It was a local cop…
It was Lombard Deputy Police Chief Patrick Rollins who got McIlroy to the altar of golf at the Medinah Country Club on time — saving him from the humiliation of forfeiting a hole, facing disqualification and potentially losing the Ryder Cup to the Americans.
What has been described as the one of the biggest last-day comebacks in Ryder Cup history — the Europeans’ win despite trailing the Americans 10-6 going into Sunday’s matches — almost didn’t happen because McIlroy was accidentally late due to a time zone glitch.
The scenario leading up to Europe’s victory began with a search for the world’s No. 1 golfer — and ended with sirens blaring and an abrupt halt depositing an anxious McIlroy on the front steps of the Medinah Country Club.
“I was just doing my duty,” said Rollins, whose fast thinking and deft driving Sunday is being credited with getting tardy golf ace McIlroy to the Medinah Club in time to snatch the cup from Team USA.
“The Ryder Cup was won on the golf course and not on the road,” chuckled Rollins.
“But I am getting a lot of ribbing for not driving to the wrong golf course or getting a flat tire,” Rollins told Sneed.
“But believe me, I would have done it for the American players if they had wound up being accidentally late like McIlroy.”
* When city folks see rain, their grass gets greener, maybe their trees spruce up a bit and they think the drought problem is over. Not in the least…
Illinois has more than 1,000 miles of inland waterways, which at different points link to the Mississippi River. In 2010, according to Waterways Council Inc., more than 108 million tons of commodities worth almost $20.4 billion — mostly grain and coal — moved on the state’s waterways. The commodities were shipped to 20 states, with Louisiana receiving the most — more than 37.5 million tons of commodities, mostly grain. Much of that is exported through the Gulf of Mexico.
“It’s very much under the radar screen for most people,” said Doug Whitley, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “I happen to sit on the Chicago River, and I look right down, and I see barge traffic every day. I see sand barges coming through, scrap-metal barges, stone. I don’t see grain here, but Downstate — it’s huge.”
For every one-inch loss of water, a barge must decrease its load by 17 tons of cargo, according to the American Waterways Operators, a trade association based in Arlington, Va.
This year, the river isn’t low by inches. It’s down by feet.
“We’ve been light loading barges,” said Dennis Wilmsmeyer, executive director of America’s Central Port and president of the Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals trade group. “Barges aren’t as full, they don’t sink as much into water, and that’s allowing us to continue to operate.”
* I’ve told you about my good friend Rob Werden, a farmer in northern Madison County. Rob harvested corn over the weekend and he posted this pic on his Twitter feed yesterday…
Ugh.
Rob told me that one of the fields he farms averaged 4.6 bushels of corn per acre. Unreal.
* The AP’s Chris Wills e-mailed his colleagues in the Statehouse press room today…
Colleagues:
I wanted to let you know that I’m leaving the Associated Press after 22 years and taking a new job as spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Being a reporter has been fun and challenging. It’s been an honor to work alongside many of you and reading (or hearing or watching) the great stories that everyone produces. But it’s time to try something new and face some new challenges.
…tax cuts for the wealthy and pay raises for Judy Biggert?
After thirty years in politics, Judy Biggert isn’t on our side.
She left the middle class behind, voting to bankroll tax cuts for the wealthy…
…by removing Medicare’s promise and increasing costs for us
With nine votes to raise her own pay, no wonder Biggert’s looking out for the wealthy.
Illinois can’t afford Judy Biggert.
* The Illinois GOP has a new video about Brad Schneider. From a press release…
Brad Schneider is the progressive Democrat running for Congress in Illinois’ 10th District. Schneider supports massive tax increases, borrowing money “all day long,” Occupy Wall Street, and the far-left lobby J Street. But at least he has a solid business background—or so we thought.
After touting his business credentials for 17 months, Mr. Schneider reported on his official personal financial disclosure forms that his business, Cadence Consulting Group LLC., has not earned income for at least three years. Breitbart.com, The Washington Free Beacon, Examiner.com and others have all reported on Schneider’s embellished business background.
“Brad Schneider needs to come clean about his business background,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “Voters aren’t sure what to believe from him now.”
* President Obama reportedly bypassed a congressman’s objection and agreed to buy the long-vacant Thomson prison from Illinois, according to US Sen. Dick Durbin…
“Finally, the Department of Justice this afternoon is going to present the $165 million check in the Northern District court of Illinois in Rockford to pay for the transfer,” said Durbin, who acknowledged it was a “rare” move to bypass a high-ranking House Appropriations Committee member. “At this point, the president had to intervene and do this directly. I hope people understand he’s doing it for his state.”
Veteran Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf had long blocked the federal Bureau of Prisons purchase of the prison from the state of Illinois, saying he did not trust the Obama administration’s vow not to transfer suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the facility despite a federal law that prohibits such moves. Wolf also said he did not trust Attorney General Eric Holder, whom the GOP-led House found in contempt for the failed Fast and Furious gun-walking program. […]
Durbin, the state’s senior senator and No. 2 Democrat in Washington, said funds for the purchase came from unspent money in the Department of Justice budget for the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
The Thomson prison issue also has been at the forefront of the highly competitive 17th Congressional District contest between freshman Republican Rep. Bobby Schilling and Democratic challenger Cheri Bustos. At one point, Schilling urged the state to renegotiate the sale price to $75 million in an effort to try to get the support of his fellow Republican, Wolf. But citing the state’s fiscal problems and its previous negotiations with Justice Department officials, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s office rejected Schilling’s effort to lower the price.
Durbin despises Schilling (Bustos is Durbin’s candidate all the way) and wanted this thing done before the election. Schilling can’t take any real credit now because he wanted the price lowered so much. That was never a good move on Schilling’s part because the state really needs that cash.
Wolf says he’s deeply troubled by the sale. He says it’s an “unprecedented directive” to “circumvent Congress.”
Pshaw.
It was a legal maneuver to circumvent a single, obstinate, delusional congresscritter.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sour grapes? Looks like it…
Congressmen Don Manzullo (IL-16), Bobby Schilling (IL-17), and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) today released the following statement on the Obama administration moving to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center from the state of Illinois:
“The bottom line is that this is a welcome development for our region, particularly those who have been struggling to find good jobs. Thomson Correctional Center has been sitting empty for 10 years, costing the residents of Illinois millions of dollars in upkeep and keeping many Illinoisans and Iowans out of work each year.
“We have been working together towards the same goal of reaching across the divide, finding a solution, and bringing these jobs to our area without moving detainees from Guantanamo to U.S. soil. If the Administration was willing to move on Thomson without closing Guantanamo all along, we question why they waited this long before taking action. But as the old saying goes, ‘There’s no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.’”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. Quinn and Sen. Durbin talk to reporters…
* Kabillionaire Bruce Rauner is rumored to be interested in a run for governor. But this quote on the front page of the Tribune might not endear him to some Republican leaders…
Rauner has indicated that his indictment of the Illinois political scene goes beyond just the Democrats who control Springfield.
“The politicians here are so weak, so incapable of leading, they’ve just decided to sort of let the circumstances, let the bond market force the change, let the tax revolt force the change because they won’t lead. We have got to replace the leaders,” Rauner said.
* This TV ad by the Now or Never PAC attacking Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth is causing some controversy…
* According to the Duckworth campaign, WLS TV has refused to run the ad. From a press release…
Chicago area television station WLS has refused to air a false television ad produced by the far right-wing SuperPAC Now or Never. The shadowy Super PAC funded with secretive donors from outside of Illinois placed over $1 million in television ads in the Chicago market in support of Congressman Joe Walsh. WLS reviewed the ad which makes false claims about Tammy Duckworth’s record and determined the content not to be accurate.
Duckworth Campaign Manager Kaitlin Fahey said, “It’s not only concerning that we know nothing about this secretive SuperPAC and where it gets its funding, it’s become clear that they will stop at nothing to help Joe Walsh stay in Congress, up to and including lying about Tammy Duckworth.”
The campaign says they didn’t ask WLS to pull the ad. The station, the Duckworth folks say, made the decision on its own. They have, however, used that decision to convince other stations to pull the ad down.
At least one other station is planning to run the ad. Larry Wert, NBC-Universal general manager, told the Sun-Times that it is airing the same commercial that is under dispute.
“We cleared the spot; it will air tonight,” Wert said.
WLS, however, has not yet publicly said whether it has indeed decided not to run the commercial. And a spokesman from Now or Never said that WLS hasn’t sent a confirmation that the station is considering pulling it. “They are required to give us notice,” said spokesman Tyler Harber.
A Duckworth spokeswoman, Kaitlin Fahey, initially said a “source” from WLS said it would be pulled.
* One of the claims in the ad…
As a Blago appointee, an audit found Duckworth was guilty of misusing or misreporting $4 million of taxpayer money.
Audits don’t find people “guilty,” juries do that, but this is a TV ad, so whatever. The Trib explains…
A state audit did find that receipt of a $4.4 million grant that improved the LaSalle Veterans’ Home was never submitted for inclusion in a state audit report. Department officials at the time said it was an inadvertent omission and that reporting the grant was the responsibility of another state agency.
Ad Took Duckworth Statement Out of Context–Her Statement of Support in this Case was Based on VA Jobs.
On April 1, 2007 Duckworth’s responses to a question and answer session with the Pantagraph were published. When asked about veterans’ homes, she stated “They are well run but they are understaffed. It is so important to me that the governor’s budget get passed because there is an additional 104 positions for staff that will go out to my four veterans’ homes.” [Pantagraph, 4/1/07]
Even so, she did back the budget at the time, which was funded by the Gross Receipts Tax proposal.
The commercial’s cookie-cutter format would look familiar to voters in various other congressional districts where the organization has bought similar spots.
Each ad starts with a Minnesota businesswoman suggesting that uncertainty over tax rates and health care costs has prevented businesses from hiring. In the 10th District version, a voice-over follows the businesswoman’s appearance as slow-motion footage of Schneider plays on-screen.
“Brad Schneider? He supports government-mandated health care, a scheme that will raise taxes and hurt job creators,” the ad says. “And he wants to hit our small businesses with higher taxes, preventing them from creating new jobs.”
The Schneider campaign called the ad “deceptive.”
On the tax issue, the ad is vague, as was the Schneider campaign’s response. Campaign spokeswoman Staci McCabe said Schneider supports “targeted tax breaks for small business to invest in new products, new processes and new people.”
* But there’s more to it than that. The Democrats sent over an analysis that I’ve posted online…
On its “Outsourcing Management” page, Permac Industries states:
Today’s complex manufacturing often necessitates the participation of more than one player in a project. That’s why Permac offers outsourcing management, a process where Permac teams up with other global suppliers – inside the U.S. as well as offshore – to get the job done. But from the customer’s vantage point, they’re only dealing with a single source: Permac. http://www.permacindustries.com/about/services/unique-services/outsourcing-management/
A commenter noted yesterday that one of the people in this ad, which is about job loss, worked for former Congressman Phil Hare. So, Schilling did actually cause this man to lose his job.
Script…
You lose your job, it a, it’s a real bellringer.
Congressman Bobby Schilling voted to keep tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas.
I just see the jobs being sucked away.
Bob, is your goal to eliminate the middle class in this country?
You are pulling the rug out from under us.
Bob, you don’t understand what you’re doing to families.
It doesn’t make any sense.
It’s just not right.
* Kelly Kraft, who was the governor’s budget spokesperson, then elevated to deputy budget director, then moved up to Gov. Pat Quinn’s press secretary this past July has applied to be the executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. The position has been vacant for a year.
The Quinn administration contended Monday that Kraft’s “extensive experience” with bonds and budget policy make her “well-equipped to manage (the agency) in a way that is fiscally prudent.” Further, spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said, Kraft’s marketing experience would be an advantage in promoting the ballpark, which in turn would “draw in more revenue for the state.”
Emanuel remains unconvinced.
“Mayor Emanuel has appointed three financial titans — Norm Bobbins, Jim Reynolds and Richard Price — to the ISFA board to ensure the Chicago taxpayers are being protected, and he believes the executive director position should be filled by someone with the proven experience of managing large organizations to find cost savings and efficiencies,” his office said in a statement when asked to react to the possibility of Kraft as the agency’s new executive director.
Bobbins is the retired former LaSalle Bank Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer. Reynolds is chairman and CEO at Loop Capital. Price, whom Emanuel appointed last week, is chairman and CEO of Mesirow Financial. [….]
By trying to install a top aide at the sports agency, Quinn may be attempting to keep closer tabs on the [Wrigley Field renovation] issue [contemplated by Emanuel].
Quinn has a habit of appointing his friends to positions instead of looking outside his circle. I’ve asked this question before, but when was the last time Quinn did a national search to fill a major position? Ever?
That’s not to say that Kraft wouldn’t do a good job. I don’t have any problems with her. I’m pretty sure she’d be fine. But would she do the best job?
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
Governor Quinn believes an honest, well-qualified, hard-working woman with strong marketing skills and proven experience implementing budgets and reducing the operational costs of state government is just what the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority needs.
Kelly Kraft has extensive experience with bonds and budget policy from her three+ years working in the Office of Management and Budget, as well as having served as Assistant Budget Director - she would be well-equipped to manage ISFA in a way that is fiscally prudent. Kelly also has strong marketing experience and has developed key relationships in the business and media communities, which would help promote the stadium for other opportunities to draw in more revenue for the state.
More Background about Kelly Kraft
As Director of Communications, Kraft plans and oversees the execution of the administration’s internal and external communications, manages staff, and helps to develop policies that impact the people of Illinois and move the state forward.
Kraft has served as Assistant Budget Director, helping to guide Illinois’ Budgeting for Results, pension reforms, Medicaid restructuring initiatives as well as helping to reduce the state’s discretionary spending to 2008 levels. She had broad experience in government affairs and strategic planning. She has also managed complex subjects like debt issuance, financial reporting, contract negotiations, and budget policy. Prior to her career in public service, Kraft was an award winning and Emmy nominated journalist. She worked as a news anchor, reporter, producer and editor in major television markets such as Las Vegas, Buffalo, San Diego and Chicago. Kraft has also hosted and narrated the award-winning PBS documentaries “Kids in Peril” for law enforcement agencies and students in criminal justice programs. Kraft earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where she studied Journalism and Political Science. She also studied at Thames Valley University in England. She grew up in Peru, Illinois in La Salle County.
For the past couple of election campaign cycles, this one included, incumbent state legislators have bragged in their campaign ads about cutting their pay.
They didn’t actually do that, but they did vote several times to take unpaid furlough days. So, it’s almost the same.
But lots of nonincumbents have upped the ante this fall — refusing to accept a state pension if elected.
Lifetime pensions for part-time legislators became a hot issue when the General Assembly first considered reducing pension benefits for state workers and teachers.
Those union members bitterly complained that legislators getting generous pensions for part-time jobs were passing judgment on full-time workers with modest incomes. And some outspoken conservatives have questioned why legislators should get pensions at all.
The issue heated up to the point where House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) endorsed legislation in the August special session that abolished pensions for newly elected legislators. It failed to pass, but that bill made the issue even more visible.
It also gave those who voted for it (mostly House Democrats) something else to crow about on the campaign trail — they voted to reduce their pensions and eliminate them entirely for new members. The issue now is playing out with a vengeance on the campaign trail.
I had noticed that several candidates had pledged not to take pensions if elected, so I asked the four caucus campaign managers to tell me how many candidates were pledging not to do so.
The House Republicans say 11 of their candidates have vowed to forgo a pension, but they say more are on the way. The 11 are Pat Fee (R-Naperville), Melinda Hult (R-Belleville), John Lawson (R-Schaumburg), Neil Anderson (R-Rock Island), John Cabello (R-Machesny Park), Glenn Nixon (R-Bourbonnais), Dan Kordik (R-Villa Park), Mark Shaw (R-Lake Forest), Julie Bigham Eggers (R-Columbia), Jonathan Greenberg (R-Northbrook) and David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills).
The Senate Republicans identified nine candidates who’ve said they will not take a pension. More, they say, are on the way. The nine are Mike McElroy (R-Decatur), Joe Neal (R-Wadsworth), Arie Friedman (R-Highland Park), Mike Babcock (R-Bethalto), Randy Frese (R-Paloma), Garrett Peck (R-Plainfield), Jim O’Donnell (R-Park Ridge), Mark Minor (R-Ewing) and Bill Albracht (R-Moline).
The Senate Democrats have two such candidates, Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) and Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake).
The House Democrats, as so often is the case, weren’t entirely forthcoming on this issue.
“We’ve had a number of candidates who’ve said they would eliminate and/or reduce pensions (in one form or another) for lawmakers,” wrote the House Democrats’ campaign manager in response to an email inquiry.
The House Democrats say members in that rather broad category include Deborah O’Keefe Conroy (D-Elmhurst), Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), Kathleen Willis (D-Addison), Sue Scherer (D-Decatur), Laura Fine (D-Glenview), Stephanie Kifowit (D-Aurora), Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) and Scott Drury (D-Highwood).
That makes 30 candidates who are either vowing to not take a legislative pension or to significantly reduce those pensions. Of course, every House member who voted for that pension change in the special session can also be counted as at least supporting the end of pension benefits for future lawmakers.
The House Democrats say it’s ironic that so many House Republican candidates are promising to forgo pensions when their caucus voted overwhelmingly against the special session bill.
“If the Republicans decide to get on board, we’d pass the bill eliminating pensions for future lawmakers and we’ll make the issue a moot point,” a House Democratic operative said last week.
The legislative pension issue obviously polls well or that many candidates wouldn’t be campaigning on it. But it’s important to remember that campaigns don’t always move policy. People run on issues all the time that are forgotten just as soon as the next election ends.
What makes this somewhat different, though, is the sheer number of candidates in both parties who are talking about this issue, combined with Madigan’s proposal to end pensions for new legislators. Pandora’s Box may have been opened for good.
