* From an Illinois Federation of Teachers press release…
Since 1939, the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) has done a tremendous public service in stewarding and safeguarding the life savings of the state’s teachers. The state benefits from a system where teachers–who do not collect Social Security–can avoid poverty in retirement. But, once again, the current executive director of TRS, Dick Ingram, has announced his personal views about diminishing key benefits for existing workers and retirees.
In an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business last week, Ingram focused his remarks, as he did in April, 2012, on reducing cost of living adjustments (COLAs). It is inappropriate for Mr. Ingram, who is responsible for safeguarding the retirement benefits of 360,000 teachers, to promote his personal views by advocating for the destruction of TRS members’ retirement security. Such actions contradict his fiduciary duty and are in violation of a resolution passed by the TRS Board of Trustees. Mr. Ingram’s insubordinate and irresponsible actions can only result in one honorable outcome—his resignation.
Mr. Ingram fails to mention in his many interviews that teachers in the system have already paid for the cost of living benefits he wants to cut—their payments are built into the contribution calculations they are required to make in every paycheck. In addition, it seems not to matter to Mr. Ingram that the Illinois Constitution expressly forbids the benefit cuts he finds so attractive. Mr. Ingram says the Constitution is “unfortunate.” We say it is just and fair.
Mr. Ingram may think that he can mislead the members of the TRS Board of Trustees into believing that his remarks do not violate their fiduciary responsibility or their own resolutions regarding TRS advocacy. We have more faith in the board members than that.
Mr. Ingram would like the public and other unions to believe his comments are merely an intellectual exercise and are not meant to promote his own preferred solutions to the pension crisis. To this we say, “We will not be fooled.” The Teachers Retirement System must work for its members, not the politicians, corporate executives, or newspapers its leaders may be bullied by.
When the fox is guarding the hen house, it is the fox that must go. Mr. Ingram has lost the trust of those he is employed to protect. He should resign from his position as TRS executive director.
In an interview with Crain’s editors and reporters, Richard Ingram, executive director of the underfunded Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, said state politicians will have few other options if they want to make meaningful progress on closing the gap between promised pension benefits and the available funding.
“Look at every other state that’s done pension reform – what have they done? They’ve changed the COLA because that’s where the cost is,” Mr. Ingram said, noting that 25 percent of TRS payments are for cost-of-living increases on pension benefits.
Changes in cost-of-living adjustments could be targeted so they have the least impact on the oldest retirees and those with the lowest incomes, he said.
“If that is where we need to go in Illinois, then we can do it in a manner that is targeted and effective and protects those that need it the most and, at least to a large extent, get the job done,” Mr. Ingram said.
* The debate between congressional candidates Jason Plummer and Bill Enyart was apparently more of the same last night. Enyart demanded that Plummer released his tax returns, Plummer hammered Enyart over Nancy Pelosi.
Halfway through the debate, when asked to say what he found disappointing about his rivals, Plummer paused a moment while sizing up Enyart.
“Bill … I just expected a little bit more,” Plummer said. “I think the American people, the people of Southern Illinois, are thirsting for substantive conversations about the issues that are really impacting them … You’re never going to see a commercial for Jason Plummer yanked off the air because it’s not being honest … You’re never going to see us get in trouble for distorting anything.”
* Jason Rosenbaum of the St. Louis Beacon has the video. The claim starts at about one minute in…
* I was quite surprised to see reporters writing that without question because I hadn’t heard about any ads being taken off the air, so I checked with Plummer’s campaign. The response…
Jason misspoke last night at the debate as to which groups ads had been pulled
Oops.
The Plummer spokesperson continued…
but frankly it’s unfathomable that Bill Enyart would not call on his Washington attack dogs to take down such outrageously false claims on the air. If Bill Enyart is willing to stand by these lies on the airwaves as a candidate now, Southern Illinois families can count on Bill Enyart’s continued dishonesty if sent to Congress.
There was so much said last night that wasn’t true from Bill Enyart. If you want to cover Jason’s misstep I think it is fully necessary to look at the false claims by Enyart. Here are just a few of the most egregious claims from Enyart last night:
Distortion #1: Lies in Advertising
On more than one occasion, Enyart tried to tie Plummer to a company that is under federal investigation. Enyart said that Plummer has received donations from this company, claiming that it made its profits illegally. Not only are Enyart’s allegations about the company false, but the claim has already been named a “Pants on Fire” lie by the non-partisan fact-checking site “Politifact.”
Distortion #2: Bankrolled by Nancy Pelosi
Enyart hates to admit it, but he has received campaign contributions from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. While he flatly denied it, evidence from several sources shows that the liberal former Speaker has donated to Enyart. She hosted a fundraiser for him and other Democrat candidates on Sept. 20 in Washington, D.C., and held another fundraiser for him in Chicago in October 7. On October 14, Pelosi is sending the most liberal Member of Congress, Jan Schakowsky, with close ties to Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago political machine, and a felon husband - to Southern Illinois for a fundraiser.
* The Enyart campaign has its own fact check…
False Claim #1: Plummer’s Secret Financial Record Is Somehow Public: Jason Plummer again refused to release his tax returns and falsely claimed that his financial information is all “public information.” The truth is that Plummer only filled out what was required by him by federal campaign law and refuses to disclose his tax rate, whether or not he paid taxes at all, if he holds offshore assets, or how as a 30 year old who reportedly earns less than $50,000 is worth millions.
False Claim #2: Plummer’s Tax Plan Doesn’t Reward Millionaires, Outsourcers: Plummer had the audacity to claim tonight that he”never endorsed tax cuts for companies that ship jobs overseas” and that he “doesn’t support tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.” The truth is that Plummer supports a tax plan that gives more tax breaks to millionaires He signed a pledge that protects tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and he praised the Ryan plan that protects tax breaks for the super-rich and outsourcers.
False Claim # 3: Plummer Is Running A Positive Campaign and Enyart’s TV Ads Were Pulled. Jason Plummer hasn’t run a single ad that focuses on positive information about himself to let voters learn more about who he is. Instead, he and his secret corporate allies have run smears so egregious that the Associated Press called them “misleading.” To be clear, NO Democratic ad has EVER been pulled in this race.
False Claim #4: Plummer & the Ryan Budget: Plummer can’t face tough questions about the fact that he praised a plan that would end the Medicare guarantee and force seniors to pay thousands more for their health care. Enyart is the only candidate in the race with the endorsement of the Committee to Protect and Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
False Claim #5: Plummer & Washington Party Leadership: Jason Plummer tried to claim he was the best candidate who stand up to Washington Party Leaders. Too bad he spent the better part of the day fundraising alongside Republican Party Leader Eric Cantor who has encouraged all candidates to “embrace” the Republican plan to end the Medicare guarantee.
After some crosstalk, Enyart then said “most lieutenant junior grades will refer to somebody older than them as sir.” The line - used in previous debates - is a reference to Plummer’s service in U.S. Naval Reserve.
“I referred to Mr. Plummer as Mr. Plummer out of some modicum of respect,” said Enyart, who made the similar barb during previous debates.
The Schilling campaign accused Bustos of illegally coordinating with the House Majority PAC in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission. […]
The Schilling campaign’s complaint says that the House Majority PAC is violating election law by using video the Bustos campaign put on YouTube in August in a new ad that targets Schilling. The complaint said use of the footage is illegal direct and in-kind contributions, and it asked for an investigation. […]
Andy Stone, a spokesman for the House Majority PAC, said it is on the right side of the law.
“The footage used in the ad is publicly available and was found on the Internet,” he said. “The FEC has made clear that using clips of a candidate’s footage is perfectly legal and does not violate the rule against redistribution of campaign materials.”
In a news release, the Schilling camp said Bustos who was breaking the law, too, by “illegally coordinating with the House Majority PAC.” The complaint filed with the FEC does not make that charge, however. Jon Schweppe, a Schilling spokesman, said the Bustos campaign put the video on the Internet and the House Majority PAC used it.
“We define that as coordination,” he said.
That’s goofy.
A video is posted online, somebody else uses it and that’s somehow illegal coordination?
Veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert has dropped out of a radio debate with Democratic challenger Bill Foster that was set for Oct. 16, saying a co-sponsor didn’t appear neutral.
At issue for Biggert is information from AARP and the organization’s logo appearing in liberal-sponsored television advertising and mailers that attacked her. Biggert announced her withdrawal from the debate in a statement Wednesday night. […]
Biggert, in part, questioned whether AARP can be a “neutral arbiter.”
* But it looks to me like Biggert was using this as an excuse to get out of the debate…
One TV ad from last week, titled “Judy Biggert: Bankroll” and paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, attacked her for purportedly favoring tax cuts for the wealthy and “removing Medicare’s promise of secure health coverage.” AARP’s logo appeared in the spot, along with a note citing the organization for information.
But Heppner said AARP takes public positions on issues and can’t control how the information is used by others.
* The SJ-R endorsed a Republican House candidate today, and the reason appears to be Democratic candidate Sue Scherer’s position on House Speaker Michael Madigan…
Scherer, a Decatur teacher who’s taking the school year off to campaign, has taken at least $248,000 from campaign committees controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, whose staff drew this district to elect a Democrat. The contributions alone raise serious questions about her independence.
But the mailers Scherer has allowed to be sent out on her behalf raise more than questions. They point to a person who has allowed her campaign to be dictated by Madigan campaign strategists — “the program,” as they like to call it.
Like every candidate this time of year, she talks about working with Republicans. But the mailers and the money strongly indicate that she would be a backbench legislator, casting votes to ensure Madigan is speaker for years to come.
Who will she vote for for speaker after getting all that Madigan money? The people of her district, she said, dodging the question.
If she’s a member of the House, Scherer will be asked to vote whether to pass rules that prevent the minority party from having its bills heard. She’ll be asked to vote whether to allow Madigan to bury such legislation. Democratic legislators, particularly those whose campaigns received aid from the speaker, seem to forget they were going to reach across the aisle when those votes are called. […]
Scherer seems well intentioned and talks passionately about education, a subject she knows well. But we cannot endorse someone who seems to think voters are stupid.
Give the Republicans credit, they’ve managed to inject the “Fire Madigan” theme into the race this year in a pretty big way. It’s effecting coverage of legislative races…
In the campaign for the 84th state House seat, the name Michael Madigan keeps coming up.
The Republican running for the open seat in the newly drawn district, Pat Fee of Aurora, says Madigan must be replaced as speaker of the House before Illinois legislators from both parties will be able to work together on solutions to the state’s biggest problems. […]
“There will be no working together. He (Madigan) rules it the way he wants it ruled and this is where we are today,” Fee said. “What Michael Madigan wants to do is shift it (pension costs) over to the schools. Guess where that’s going? To the taxpayers. This can’t be. You’re a Michael Madigan-backed candidate, and are you going to vote for Michael Madigan to be speaker?”
In an endorsement interview and candidate questionnaire for the Daily Herald, Kifowit, 40, did not indicate if she would vote for Madigan as speaker. She said she is being supported by the Democratic Party, and campaign finance records submitted to the Illinois State Board of Elections show she has received donations from the Democratic Majority, the Democratic Party of Illinois and a $40,000 contribution from Friends of Michael J. Madigan.
* The Daily Herald’s editorial board appears to have bought almost all the way in to the GOP/Tribune’s anti-Madigan war. From its endorsement of David McSweeney over Dee Beaubien…
Beaubien has been criticized for accepting money from House Speaker Michael Madigan and thereby beholding herself to him and Democrats. She responds that she has received money from independent Republicans as well. But the larger issue for us is her unwillingness to reveal which caucus she would align herself with in Springfield. Voters cannot know what they would get when she keeps her cards so close the vest.
* And Rep. Sid Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove) has a new TV ad which reminds voters that a vote for his opponent is a vote for Mike Madigan…
Well, the baseball season of 2012 is in the books. It was a disappointing season, but I hope fans understand there are better days ahead. We bought this team because we are committed to delivering Cubs fans the World Series championship they deserve. We believe this season represents the first step to delivering on that promise.
Baseball Operations President Theo Epstein, General Manager Jed Hoyer and the entire Cubs organization are working day and night to put together a championship organization — from A-ball to the major league club. We are building the team toward a future of sustained success with a youth movement. We are investing in our player development system, both in terms of talent and facilities. We are building a nucleus of solid young players to perform around shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
* This preliminary injunction is basically just replaces the judge’s temporary restraining order. It’s not really all that new…
An Alexander County judge sided with the state’s largest employee union Wednesday, blocking Gov. Pat Quinn from closing prisons, halfway houses and youth detention facilities.
Associate Circuit Court Judge Charles Cavaness issued an injunction that keeps a hold on the closure of prisons in Dwight and Tamms, a youth facility in Murphysboro and adult transition centers in Decatur and Carbondale.
Quinn, who wants to close the facilities as part of a budget-cutting plan he outlined in February, could appeal the decision or await action on budget-related issues by the General Assembly when lawmakers convene in late November for the fall veto session.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 argued that moving violent inmates out of Tamms and into an already crowded prison system could endanger prison employees.
Quinn spokesman Abdon Pallasch said delaying the closures, most of which were scheduled for Aug. 31, is costing the state $7 million a month it doesn’t have. Pallasch said the administration plans to appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Cavaness agreed with AFSCME’s argument that Quinn’s changes, such as closing Tamms and transferring highly troublesome inmates to the maximum-security prison at Pontiac, are so drastic they require adjustments to contractual working conditions. Particularly in a prison system designed for 33,700 inmates but holding more than 49,000.
In the order, Cavaness again agreed that AFSMCE had shown the closures “have the potential to make the prisons that remain more dangerous for employees.” He had made that statement a month ago when he issued a temporary prohibition on closures. Quinn appealed that decision to a state appellate court but lost and that appeal remains before the Supreme Court.
That action resulted from an independent arbitrator’s ruling in late August that Quinn had violated the AFSCME contract by not negotiating the impact of the closures on working conditions.
Thursday, Oct 11, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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With less than four weeks until Election Day, Joe Walsh is in the lead over Tammy Duckworth in the race for Congress in Illinois’ 8th District by 1.5% according to a flash poll taken Tuesday, October 9th. The poll was commissioned by ChampionNews.net.
The poll showed Walsh with 47.4% of the vote to Duckworth’s 45.9%, with only 6.7% undecided. This while Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney in the 8th District by 4.6%: 49% to 44.4%. Walsh’s lead stems mainly from his huge advantage amongst independents, where he leads Duckworth by 10% (51% - 41%). Walsh has a 12% lead among male voters and trails by only 3% among female voters. […]
The automated poll was conducted by We Ask America on Tuesday, October 9th. 1,171 responses were collected, resulting in a margin of error of 2.9%. The full poll summary report can be viewed here.
Keep in mind when reading the internals that We Ask America gives unweighted numbers on its crosstabs. So, while you’ll see that slightly more Republicans than Democrats were interviewed, that’s not how the numbers end up when the final weighting is done.
Also, yes, Jack Roeser paid for this poll. But I’ve been using WAA for a few years now and I’m going to be using them a whole lot more in the coming year (stay tuned for an official announcement), and they do good work. They were the only outfit that caught Bill Brady’s late 2010 primary surge, for instance. And their legislative polling in the primary was quite good.
Just about every time I post a poll, commenters’ tinfoil hats come out in abundance. This is legit. Deal with it.
Any time our numbers go that much against the grain of conventional wisdom, you can bet on us re-visting the race soon. But we decided to publish the results because there’s something interesting going on in Virginia and other states. There is a significant percentage of voters who are shifting their self-described political party affiliation; we refer to them as lane changers. People who are strict party loyalists sometimes find it disconcerting that affiliations can shift like this. In truth, its probably more accurate to simply call these lane changers Independents, but we’ve seen a lot of it lately, and that may why so many are wringing their hands about pollsters’ mix of GOP/Dem/Ind in their polls.
In our opinion, those who try to shape their samples based on the 2008 presidential mix are missing the boat. While digging into the reasons our numbers are different–and out of curiosity–we weighted the raw numbers out of Virginia based on that 2008 presidential ratio. Lo and behold…it moves Kaine AHEAD by four points, about the same lead the the Real Clear Politics average is showing in this race. That doesn’t mean that other pollsters are using the wrong mix, but it makes us wonder.
* Meanwhile, allegations made by Walsh against Duckworth during this week’s debate has drawn some media attention…
As the head of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth is accused of firing an employee after the woman filed a complaint against her supervisor.
Duckworth allegedly told the woman: “If you do your job and keep your mouth shut and concentrate on job duties, you will keep your job,” according to a lawsuit pending in a Downstate court. The Illinois Attorney General’s office, which is defending Duckworth, has filed a request to again dismiss the lawsuit.
The original complaint was dismissed from federal court but was again filed in state court, now being handled out of the First Judicial District in Union County. The initial attorney who handled the case for the whistleblower said it was dismissed because of “jurisdictional issues.”
It was Duckworth’s opponent, Joe Walsh, a Tea Party Republican, who flagged the lawsuit in front of more than 1,000 people in a Tuesday night debate in Rolling Meadows. Walsh did it to many “boos” in the raucous audience, but made it known that Duckworth, a Democrat, had a December pending court date.
The disclosure caused a stern retort from Duckworth campaign manager Kaitlin Fahey, who called Walsh a “financially irresponsible deadbeat.”
A look at the lawsuit reveals it’s not classified as a wrongful termination suit. The complaint is about allegations that Duckworth and a colleague violated the state’s ethics act and inflicted intentional emotional distress. And the two workers still have their jobs.
Turns out, U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh probably would have won the bet.
Democrat Tammy Duckworth didn’t take the Republican congressman up on a wager he laid out at their Tuesday night debate — but if she had, it sounds like she would have lost.
The proposed bet involved Chicago Prime Steakhouse in Schaumburg.
Walsh insisted that the restaurant owner was concerned about how Obamacare affected his business.
Duckworth said she also had talked to the restaurant owner and had heard a different story. She accused Walsh of talking too much and not listening.
I’m pretty sure Walsh said the company would be bankrupted by Obamacare. Duckworth said the company would have to lay off a few employees to get it under the 50-worker cap to avoid having to provide health insurance. Here’s the restaurant’s full response…
So that we do not have to respond individually to the high volume of reporters who have contacted us in the last 24 hours, we thought we would just respond with the following statements.
First, we would like to thank both Tammy Duckworth and Joe Walsh for attending and mentioning our round table discussions held at our restaurant, Chicago Prime Steakhouse in Schaumburg, Il, last evening during their spirited debate. My father George Kalkounos and I appreciate your friendship, and both of you along with all of your supporters are always welcome to our restaurant.
Allow me to preface my comments by sharing that I do not have a political axe to grind. I am not speaking as a partisan, I am simply speaking a businessman, and concerned citizen who has a business to protect, a wonderful family to provide for and a hard-working staff to answer to.
The idea of health benefits for employees is a significant consideration that we take seriously. Based purely as a business owner, the AHCA would impose a significant added expense without contributing any added revenue. Plainly speaking the Affordable Health Care Act, as I understand it to be written, is NOT affordable to this small business.
The math is simple, these new rules are creating costs for businesses like our own who already struggle in this economy and we have to treat it as any other expense and attempt to curtail it as much as possible.
I can say that I am assuaged by the fact that both Ms. Duckworth and Mr. Walsh agree that our restaurant will suffer under the new changes implemented by the AHCA and they both want to do something about it. It is of great concern that government is imposing a penalty on businesses that may not be able to afford health care. It burdens entrepreneurs like us that take the risk of leveraging assets and sacrifice time away from their families to create, open and operate a successful business in today’s climate. The AHCA as written goes against supporting our business growth.
As it relates to AHCA, you ask me if my business is better off before it or after, the answer is obviously before. Both candidates agree with this and I am hopeful that this specific issue gets resolved immediately.
Thursday, Oct 11, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The cable industry is asking lawmakers to place a NEW 5% tax on satellite TV service. HB 5440 is not about fairness, equity or parity – it’s a tax increase on the 1.3 million Illinois families and businesses who subscribe to satellite TV. They cannot afford another NEW tax – not now and not in this economy!
HB 5440 Will Hurt Illinois Families and Small Businesses
• Satellite TV subscribers will see their monthly bills go up 5%.
• This tax will impact every bar, restaurant and hotel that subscribes to satellite TV service, which will translate into higher prices, decreased revenues, and fewer jobs.
• Rural Illinois has no choice: In many parts of Illinois, cable refuses to provide TV service to rural communities. Satellite TV is their only option.
HB 5440 Is Not About Parity or Fairness
• Cable’s claim that this discriminatory tax is justified because satellite TV doesn’t pay local franchise fees could not be further from the truth. Cable pays those fees to local towns and cities in exchange for the right to bury cables in the public rights of way—a right that Comcast and Charter value in the tens of billions of dollars in their SEC filings.
• Satellite companies don’t pay franchise fees for one simple reason: We use satellites—unlike cable, we don’t need to dig up streets and sidewalks to deliver our TV service.
• Making satellite subscribers pay franchise fees—or, in this case, an equivalent amount in taxes—would be like taxing the air It’s no different than making airline passengers pay a fee for laying railroad tracks.
* It’s October 11th. Election day is less than four weeks away. Yet the Tribune’s pollster is still surveying registered voters? That’s not great…
With national surveys showing the contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney tightening, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows the home-state president retains a comfortable advantage in Illinois even though the economy has drained some of the enthusiasm.
Obama scored 55 percent support to 36 percent for Romney, virtually identical to a similar poll in February before Romney had clinched the nomination.
This poll isn’t worth a whole lot unless you factor in the fact that registered voters tend to lean more Democratic than likely voters.
So, with that in mind, here’s a real problem for the Democrats…
…Obama’s slipping support among white suburban women. The voting group, which is considered politically moderate, favored Obama 63 percent to 30 percent eight months ago. Now Obama’s backing has fallen to 50 percent, with 43 percent backing Romney.
That’s not good news for Democrats. White suburban women are the key to statewide races.
* Not that Obama is gonna lose Illinois, but his performance will impact down-ballot candidates. For instance…
The poll asked a generic congressional support question. In Chicago and suburban Cook County, large majorities of voters said they would vote for an unspecified Democratic candidate for Congress. Even in the Republican-rich collar counties, 48 percent of voters said they’d side with a Democrat compared with 41 percent for a GOP contender.
That dynamic could help Democrats in three suburban contests: the northwest and west suburban 8th District, where Democrat Tammy Duckworth is challenging freshman Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, the north suburban 10th District where Democrat Brad Schneider is pitted against freshman GOP Rep. Robert Dold, and the far west and southwest suburban 11th District, where former Democratic Rep. Bill Foster is running against veteran Republican Rep. Judy Biggert. Chicago TV is full of millions of dollars in attack ads as interest groups try to sway voters.
But there also are three hard-fought congressional contests Downstate. Outside the Chicago region, 48 percent of voters said they’d side with a generic Republican, compared with 42 percent who preferred a Democrat. That lay of the land could help Republicans retain two seats and pick up a third now held by a retiring Democrat.
Again, adjust those Democratic numbers down and you can see the problem here.
* “Saving Illinois taxpayers” via jet helicopter? From the Illinois Review…
Aboard a jet helicopter this morning, on his way from Joliet’s Lewis University airport to Cahokia, For the Good of Illinois founder Adam Andrzejewski just sent Illinois Review a photo of the Illinois River with these words, “It’s a beautiful state and we are going to restore our historic greatness.”
Andrzejewski will join House Republican Leader Tom Cross, State Senator Kyle McCarter, State Representative Dwight Kay and GOP candidates at the first of four planned stops in Wednesday’s “Save Illinois Taxpayers” fly around in Cahokia at 10:00 am.
*** UPDATE *** There’s now a video. Leader Cross talks about the helicopter ride at around the 4 minute mark. Among other things, Andrzejewski claims that the Democrats want another $2 billion tax hike…
* Ignoring complaints about their last ad, which used local Democratic Party officials, the DCCC is running a new ad blasting Congressman Bobby Schilling featuring those same local Democrats…
* Script…
42 years I’ve been working?
Paying all those years into Medicare.
That’s part of my future.
Congressman Bobby Schilling voted to cut Medicare, costing seniors sixty four hundred dollars more per year for health care…
People can’t afford $6400 a year.
$6400 is not affordable.
…Just to fund tax cuts for millionaires.
I don’t know how we’d handle that.
There’s just no way.
Bob just doesn’t get it.
We worked all our lives.
And to take that away from us now would be a lie.
Congressman, you broke a promise to me.
* And AFSCME is also getting involved in the district with this TV ad…
* Script…
Bobby Schilling’s negative attacks on Cheri Bustos? Pure fiction. The facts? Another hundred and seventy Illinois jobs going to China. After Bobby Schilling voted to protect tax breaks that help companies ship jobs overseas. Yep. After all the jobs we’ve lost in Illinois, Schilling voted to help outsource even more. With Bobby Schilling in Congress, the truth hurts. The real story? Cheri Bustos is a working mom who’ll stand up for the middle class and fight for Illinois jobs.
So, here is the hard truth: in less than four years, payments to meet our pension obligations will comprise 22 percent of the City’s budget – one out of every five dollars. That’s $1.2 billion of taxpayer money, and growing, each year after that.
Think about it this way: $1.2 Billion dollars is close to what we spend on all salaries for our Police Department. $1.2 Billion dollars would pay for the resurfacing of 32,000 blocks in Chicago’s neighborhoods. $1.2 Billion dollars could build 10 new high schools and 12 new neighborhood libraries every year. $1.2 Billion dollars could pay for the combined cost of public health programs, garbage collection, tree trimming, rodent control, street light fixing, pot-hole filling, recycling, street cleaning, snow-removal, and programs at our parks and for our seniors every year.
Our taxpayers and residents should not be asked to choose between pension payments and public safety or pension payments and paved streets, or pension payments and public health.
If we choose to keep those services and make no changes to our pension system, you and I would have to ask taxpayers to pay 150 percent more in property taxes. That is unacceptable to me. I think it is safe to assume it is unacceptable to you. And I know it is absolutely unacceptable to the homeowners of Chicago.
No one should underestimate the difficult choices involved in delivering the reforms we need to stabilize our pensions and our pension payments. But they pale in comparison to the alternative – eliminating all of the essential services that Chicago’s residents expect and pay for.
We must come together to ensure security for both our city retirees and our city taxpayers. And what we really need is for our representatives in Springfield to step up, take their share of responsibility and not miss this critical opportunity once again.
The 30-second TV spot refers to Dold as a “Tea Party loyalist” and quotes a Sept. 16 column in the Houston Chronicle. Although the print version of the Chronicle used the phrase, the version available online doesn’t.
Dold, who paints himself as a moderate and has distanced himself from the conservative Tea Party, attacked the ad during a joint 10th District candidate interview last week at the Daily Herald’s headquarters in Arlington Heights.
“The Houston Chronicle actually corrected that, and I’m calling on my opponent to actually take down that ad because I’m not a Tea Party loyalist,” said Dold, of Kenilworth. […]
In an email Monday, Schneider campaign spokeswoman Staci McCabe stood by the commercial.
She provided a copy of the printed version of the Chronicle column to show the “Tea Party loyalist” phrase was used. She had no comment about the phrase’s later removal from the digital version of the column.
Joe Walsh is not the only Illinois Republican in trouble. Four tea party loyalists were targeted by Democrats who control the legislature. Robert Dold, a freshman from the Chicago area, was placed in a Democratic district represented by liberal Rep. Jan Schakowsky. He moved to the neighboring district where most of his current constituents live. His race with management consultant Brad Schneider is highly competitive. The fate of the Illinois Five could depend on the margin of President Barack Obama’s victory in his home state.
Fair or no?
…Adding… From the DCCC…
Congressman Robert Dold really wants to cover up his record supporting the Tea Party Majority in the House of Representatives. Too bad.
In Washington, Congressman Bob Dold went along with extreme cuts to the Great Lakes, slashes to education or Pell Grants, and even restricting a woman’s right to emergency contraception. Now, Congressman Dold seems to have a problem when anyone holds him accountable for putting the Tea Party ahead of Illinois.
“Where was Congressman Robert Dold’s outrage when the Tea Party Majority in Congress pushed cuts to the Great Lakes or restricting a woman’s right to emergency contraception? He was too busy voting alongside them,” said Haley Morris of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Congressman Dold caved to extreme Tea Party cuts that gutted everything from environmental protections to Pell Grants and now he wishes no one knew about it. Apparently the only way to get a reaction from Congressman Dold is to hold him accountable for putting the Tea Party first.”
Background
Congressman Dold Voted to Cut $250 Million from Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. In February 2011, Dold voted to pass the House continuing resolution (H.R.1) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, that cut funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by $250 million – from $475 million to $225 million. In March 2011, Crain’s Chicago Business wrote that Dold had previously promised to protect the Great Lakes but then voted for the Republican’s continuing resolution that included a $250 million reduction in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Dold responded saying, “We have to tighten our belt,” even though “some of the things we cut will be things I disagree with.” [HR 1, Vote #147, 2/19/11; WHTC, 3/02/11; Crain’s Chicago Business, 3/28/11]
Congressman Dold Voted to Cut Pell Grant Funding. Dold voted for two House Republicans budgets that cut critical education programs. “The Department of Education would be cut by more than $115 billion over a decade. Approximately 9.6 million students would see their Pell Grants fall by more than $1000 in 2014, and, over the next decade, over one million students would lose support altogether.” [H Con. Res. 34, Vote #277, 4/15/11; H Con Res 112, Vote #151; OMB, 3/21/12]
Congressman Dold Voted to Allow Hospitals to Refuse to Provide Emergency Care. On October 13, 2011, Dold voted for a “bill to ban effectively abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges. The bill also would allow hospitals to refuse to provide emergency abortion care, even when a woman’s life is in danger, and gives states the ability to undermine coverage of many health related services, such as contraception.” [HR 358, Vote #789, 10/13/11; NARAL’s Congressional Record on Choice, 2011]
Illinois freshman Rep. Bob Dold holds the distinction of representing the most Democratic congressional district currently in Republican hands. Add to that the fact that Illinois is President Obama’s home state and he’s going to win biiiiiiiiiiig there. One Tea Party freshman from Illinois, Joe Walsh, is already toast. But Dold, one of the most independent of the GOP freshmen, has run a solid campaign and remains in a competitive contest with Democratic businessman Brad Schneider. Romney’s performance could well determine Dold’s future.
* If you listened to last night’s debate between Tammy Duckworth and Joe Walsh, you might’ve noticed that the audience was quite rowdy. The Daily Herald has one explanation…
a boisterous crowd free to purchase liquor throughout the night — fueled the heated, vitriolic two-hour match between the two candidates
Oy.
I dunno who made that stupid decision, but booze at a debate? At a Joe Walsh debate? You’re just asking for trouble.
“I never said she wasn’t a hero,” Walsh said of Duckworth, who lost both her legs while piloting a helicopter in Iraq. That caused a major groan to wash over the auditorium.
“Yes you did!” someone shouted.
Walsh was responding to a question about whether he was “too extreme.”
Walsh won a chorus of groans later when he tried to defend another comment he made over the summer. He was explaining his remark about Duckworth picking out an outfit to wear at the convention when he said she should have been back in the district talking to people.
It was at that point that Walsh held up the photo he said showed Duckworth shopping for a dress.
He couldn’t even finish his remark. The crowd drowned him out in disapproval.
“What a dork!” said one man, who was wearing an anti-Walsh sticker.
Duckworth was quick with a retort: “I wear one color, it’s called camouflage.”
* I listened to the debate last night. In retrospect, I should’ve live-blogged it. If you scroll down in the ScribbleLive feed in the center column, you’ll see a lot of Tweets from the debate. The Sun-Times Storified it, so you can look at the play-by-play. I can’t find an audio file, so if you know where one is, please let us know in comments.
Duckworth talked quite a bit about bipartisanship, about Republican bills she could support and about how she backed Speaker Boehner’s budget compromise. But, mainly, the debate was all about the zingers…
Chicago Prime Steakhouse in Schaumburg — where Walsh and Duckworth had met, separately, with area business owners — became a talking point for both candidates over how to reform health care. Walsh challenged Duckworth to sit down with owners together to ask “what they’d like to do with Obamacare.” If the restaurant owners said they would keep the controversial legislation in place, he said, he’d personally donate $2,500 to her campaign.
Duckworth dismissed the bet as “classic Joe Walsh grandstanding.”
“He’s voted against this district time and again; he’s not there to serve this district, he’s there to serve the tea party and that simply is not good enough,” said Duckworth.
“She has established a long track record at the Illinois V.A. as a failed bureaucrat who wasted taxpayer dollars,” said Walsh.
* A lawsuit filed by a couple of Duckworth’s former employees was also an issue. From a Joe Walsh press release…
“However what really concerned me is that tonight Ms. Duckworth lied to every voter in the 8th dstrict. When I asked if she was being sued for terminating and humiliating employees that tried to expose political corruption, she said that was not true. Unfortunately for Ms. Duckworth and the taxpayer, who is footing her legal bill for the past three years, she is currently being sued and she should come clean about what happened during her time at the Illinois VA.”
It wasn’t exactly clear what Duckworth was responding to, but the lawsuit does exist. Click here to read it.
* Walsh distributed copies of the lawsuit during the debate, and Duckworth was asked about it by reporters after the debate ended…
“This is what Walsh does,” said Duckworth, who later described suits as “common to a head of any agency.” “He tries to distract from the issues at hand. If you want to make this about finance and being sued by former employees we can talk about the fact that you were sued by your former campaign manager for not paying his salary,” she charged.
* Related…
* Marin: Walsh gaining ground on Duckworth’s territorial advantage: But there is a growing sense that the race is tightening. Sean Trende, an election analyst for RealClearPolitics.com, said Tuesday that the website, which aggregates polling data, is considering downgrading its rating of the Duckworth-Walsh contest from “likely Democratic” to “leans Democratic.”
(T)he American Action Network has a new reserve of about $1,020,000 in broadcast television in Illinois’ 13th congressional district, in both the St. Louis and Champaign media markets.
This reserve is in addition to AAN’s initial $350,000 buy that included television and digital advertising against David Gill.
David Gill is running against Republican Rodney Davis in the district.
* Tom Kacich has more about the $16 million being spent by outside groups in Illinois and in the 13th District…
Almost $2.5 million already has been spent in the 13th District contest. And that doesn’t include spending by the candidates’ campaign committees, which will be officially disclosed next Monday. When all the numbers are added up later this year, total spending on the congressional race undoubtedly will set a local record.
Voters in Champaign-Urbana aren’t accustomed to this kind of free spending and aggressive television advertising in a congressional race. The last competitive congressional contest here was in 2000 when Republican Tim Johnson beat Democrat Mike Kelleher, 53 percent to 47 percent. In that race — and in the days before outside, independent groups got involved — a total of $2.9 million was spent. Since then, total spending in Champaign-Urbana’s old 15th District never exceeded $559,000 in an election cycle. […]
In the 13th District most of the spending has been done by groups opposed to Gill. Four groups — the National Republican Congressional Committee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Action Network and the New Prosperity Foundation — have spent more than $1.5 million on ads opposing the Democratic candidate.
The biggest spender among that group is the NRCC at $585,594. […]
Opponents of Davis, meanwhile, have spent a little more than $940,000 in the 13th District, most of that ($886,000) from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
While nonprofits like American Action Network do not disclose their donors, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity revealed that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, better known as PhRMA, gave $4.5 million to the group in 2010, which accounted for 15 percent of its income that year.
American Action Network spent $26 million on ads in 2010, making it the second-most active outside political spending group that year behind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Center for Responsive Politics also uncovered several other donors to the group including the American Natural Gas Alliance ($35,000), Crossroads GPS ($500,000) and the Republican Jewish Coalition ($4 million).
