Caption contest!
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kyle Hillman tweets…
Just spotted, Sen. Dillard working the crowd at #Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Conference - he reads @CapitolFax
* From the photo…
I’ll convince commenter “Cincinnatus” - a noted Dillard supporter - to buy the winner an adult beverage.
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Question of the day
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eric Zorn…
Equality Illinois is also trying to sway and count votes in the General Assembly. Since Gov. Pat Quinn has already announced his support for gay marriage, all that’s needed are simple majorities in both legislative chambers, where Democrats hold the upper hand.
A tough vote? Perhaps. But 25 members of the House and 16 members of the Senate are lame ducks, free to vote their consciences or to listen to voices from the future congratulating them on their timely abandonment of ancient prejudices.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, a chief sponsor of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, told me Thursday that he’s not sure, given the magnitude of other issues facing lawmakers, that there’ll be time to revive the bill before the next General Assembly is sworn in Jan. 9. And if there is time, he said, he’s not yet sure he has the votes to pass it.
“We still have some education to do,” he said. “My strategy for this is the same as my strategy was for civil unions,” which passed in the lame-duck session two years ago. “I’m not going to rush things unless I’m sure I’m going to win.”
He will win. For sure.
* The Question: Should the Illinois General Assembly legalize same-sex marriage? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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STOP THE SATELLITE TV TAX!
Friday, Nov 16, 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.
Tell Your Lawmakers to Stop The Satellite TV Tax
Vote NO on HB 5440
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Unbelievable histrionics
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Either the Tribune editorial board is ignorant or it is lying. Heck, maybe both…
Quinn’s budget director, Jerry Stermer, told a legislative committee Thursday that Illinois entered this fiscal year with $8 billion in unpaid bills — and will exit this fiscal year with $8 billion in unpaid bills. That’s almost as troubling as Stermer’s implication that the state with the nation’s worst credit rating ought to pay those bills by borrowing more billions:
“The governor’s interested in working with the General Assembly on a structured refinancing of this huge amount of unpaid bills, payables, and we plan to come to the General Assembly with a proposal in the next number of weeks to consider a refinancing of some of that.”
Quinn’s office later stepped that back, saying the governor has no borrowing plan now, has always seen more borrowing as a possibility and is focused on pension reform. Too late: Several House members had nodded appreciatively when Stermer evoked the spirit of new borrowing — a spirit we hoped had died in 2011 when Quinn last floated the idea. Somewhere in his makeup, though, lies a diabolical gene that makes him see bonded debt as an acceptable way to pay for operating expenses, old bills included. As if it’s OK to take out a mortgage to cover groceries. […]
Never forget what Democratic leaders promised the night of 1/11/11, when they jammed that temporary, 2-percentage-point income tax increase through the General Assembly: The point, they assured, was to pay for pensions without borrowing, to pay down debt, to pay old bills.
A “diabolical gene.” Sheesh. These guys are the biggest drama queens in the entire state. Take a breath, already.
* But, let’s get to the lies/ignorance…
1) Borrowing to pay old bills is not akin to taking out a mortgage “to cover groceries.” Illinois is so far behind on its bills that it’ll take years to pay off vendors. Bonding will do three things: Pay off those much-needed vendors; Inject a ton of cash into the economy; Force legitimate state spending cuts of about a billion dollars a year to pay for the bonds.
2) The tax hike law includes language that sets aside a portion of the proceeds to help fund bonding for old bills. That’s what the legislative leaders were talking about. The Tribune should read its own archives, for crying out loud.
Bonding is not an ideal solution. No doubt about it. I don’t even expect the Tribune to support it. But they ought to at least be honest about their opposition.
We as a state are already borrowing from vendors. And those vendors - which are mainly small businesses and not-for-profits - shouldn’t be used as banks. Unless the Tribune can come up with $7-9 billion in real state budget cuts to free up the money to pay off all the vendors next fiscal year, it ought to shut the heck up.
* Other stuff…
* Fiscal cliff could cost Illinois more than $1 billion: But it’s possible the backlog could grow even larger if the fiscal cliff is reached, according to revenue officials, who say the state could lose $1 billion. That’s because federal tax increases that would automatically go into effect would send a ripple through the state’s economy, leaving less money for people to spend and resulting in less tax revenue for the state.
* Lawmakers consider state employee wage cap: Bayer said the average pay for a state worker in Illinois is $60,292, less than that in Iowa or Minnesota.
* Illinois takes another step toward health exchange: The exchange, which will be run by the federal government in 2014, is an electronic marketplace to buy insurance. Gelder describes one example of how he saw it work recently in Massachusetts. “An individual knowing her zip code, whether she was a smoker or not, and what sort of health insurance she was interested in could actually go through the options available to her and select the one she could afford and be enrolled with insurance in 20 minutes,” he said.
* Editorial: A last straw? Billboards to balance budget
* Charters not immune from closings, CPS says - Chicago Public Schools officials say they plan to get tough with privately run charter schools that are failing academically this year and could shut down those that aren’t making the grade.
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Today’s assignment: New Lincoln website
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This looks pretty cool…
In the latest sign of Americans’ obsession with Abraham Lincoln, AT&T has awarded a $97,500 grant to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to digitize part of its collection.
On Thursday, representatives from both organizations announced the project at AT&T’s flagship store on Michigan Avenue. A Lincoln impersonator greeted shoppers as they peered at a collection of original artifacts — the president’s quill pen, inaugural inkwell and a telegram to his wife — sealed in a glass case.
Visitors to the online database, “Under His Hat,” http://www.underhishat.org, can view three-dimensional photographs of some of the 16th president’s most iconic possessions. About 60 of the collection’s 52,000 historical materials are viewable online, including Lincoln’s stovepipe hat and the bloodstained gloves he carried the night he was assassinated. A homework assignment provides a glimpse of his childhood while campaign memorabilia retraces his life as a budding politician.
James Cornelius, the collection’s curator, said the digital portal was designed as an educational tool for teachers. The website includes suggested lesson plans under five different themes. Cornelius said it would eventually feature three more.
Go have a look and tell us what you think.
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Feds “going down every rat hole”
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Federal authorities investigating U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. continue to “peel back layers of the onion” in the case, according to a source close to the financial probe who described it as an ongoing investigation.
The source said Thursday that federal investigators are “going down every rat hole,” and that the FBI crew investigating “is not yet finished digging.”
The federal probe, which began before Jackson took medical leave from Congress on June 10, first looked at activity in the congressman’s campaign fund. But it has since gone into other areas, said the source, who would not elaborate.
Broad, sweeping subpoenas were issued in the Jackson investigation, including on financial institutions that controlled Jackson accounts both in and out of Washington, D.C., the source said.
Once they start, they never stop. It’s darned near impossible to beat a federal rap.
* Another interesting nugget from the Sun-Times…
Jackson’s most recent federal election disclosures show that his campaign committee paid $3,000 to Whitney Burns, a consultant sometimes described as a “political campaign bean counter” who specializes in federal election campaign compliance.
Reached Wednesday, Burns refused to talk about Jackson.
“The work I do is confidential. I just generally don’t discuss my work with reporters unless my client asks me to discuss (something),” Burns told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I have a policy going back 30 years not to discuss my clients.”
* Related…
* Sandi Jackson standing tough despite report of fed scrutiny, source says: Sneed is told that Sandi Jackson was surprised when informed by a TV reporter that her husband had left the clinic
* Editorial: A deadline for Jackson
* Ald. Sandi Jackson misses budget vote
* Mayo: Congressman Jackson leaves clinic, continues medical treatment for bipolar disorder
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Report: Downstate child abuse reports rise
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a DCFS press release…
A new report from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services shows a 5.4 percent increase in reports of abused and neglected children across downstate Illinois. According to the Child Abuse and Neglect Statistical Report, the state’s Child Abuse Hotline received 25,348 reports of suspected abuse or neglect involving downstate children from July through October of this year, compared to 24,053 children during the same period last year.
According to data compiled by Northwestern University from DCFS and the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 91 indicated cases of abuse or neglect statewide last year for every 10,000 Illinois children. 35 downstate counties showed abuse and neglect rates more than double the statewide average:
Northern Illinois: Winnebago
Quad Cities Region: Henderson, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Stark, Warren
Central Illinois: Adams, Clark, Edgar, Fulton, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Mason, Morgan, Shelby, Vermilion;
Southern Illinois: Clay, Crawford, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Marion, Pulaski, Richland, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White.
Cook County had an abuse and neglect rate of 69 indicated child victims per 10,000 children during the same time period, slightly below the state’s average.
The increasing number of abused and neglected children in downstate Illinois follows a decade long trend. Ten years ago (FY 2003), the department received reports of suspected abuse of 61,930 kids across downstate. Last year’s total (FY 2012) of 74,102 represents a 20 percent increase. During the same period, reports of suspected child abuse declined in Cook County by 9 percent.
* Here’s a startling map from DCFS. Click for a larger version…
Discuss.
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A Republican dilemma: Govern or harangue?
Friday, Nov 16, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Sun-Times column…
The challenges facing the Republican Party in this state are simply enormous.
For the first time in 20 years, more Illinoisans identified themselves to exit pollsters as independents than Republicans. Latinos made up 12 percent of the Election Day voting population this year, a 50 percent increase from 2010, and 81 percent of Latinos voted for President Barack Obama. Just 35 percent of Illinois women voted for Mitt Romney.
The new district maps played a significant role in the defeat of Republicans, but the party’s perceived hostility to women and minorities and the less fortunate is just killing them. They are so inept that they couldn’t elect a governor or gain majorities in either legislative chamber two years ago during the greatest Republican landslide since maybe 1946.
There’s a real temptation to just write off the GOP and be done with it. But politics can change. Illinois had a Republican governor for 26 years. The party didn’t used to scare suburban women by screaming about abortion and rape, nor did it completely alienate minorities and the poor by deeming them subhuman parasites.
Aside from class, gender and race, the GOP also faces a real dilemma of what to do about governing.
Do they boycott the Illinois legislative process, as the Tea Party-friendly Illinois Policy Institute is demanding? Or do they join in and try to make the best of a very bad situation?
The recent warning issued to Republican legislative leaders by John Tillman, who runs the IL Policy Institute, was clear: “If leaders continue the pattern of seeking a seat at the table rather than providing a clear party-in-exile alternative, the rank-and-file members, investors and grass-roots activists must demand changes.”
But the Senate Republicans did just that when they unveiled what they called a “Reality Check” budget plan. The proposal included unrealistically steep cuts in state spending on education and many other areas. The Senate Democrats took that plan and bashed the Republicans repeatedly during the recent campaign. It turns out, voters were far more upset about proposed budget cuts than actual tax hikes and the Democrats now have a historic 40-seat super-majority in that chamber. It’ll take just 10 votes to elect the next Senate minority leader.
Tillman has proposed a budget every year for the past several years, and I’ve commended him for it. He does have some good ideas. But not once has a state legislator ever introduced Tillman’s plan as an actual piece of legislation. Even the most hardcore conservative knows it’s political death.
So, I was heartened to see House Republican Leader Tom Cross hold a joint press conference with Gov. Pat Quinn the week after the election. The two talked about the importance of cooperation as the government moves forward.
Bending Democratic policy even a little by participating in the process is far more responsible and politically sensible than just sitting on the sidelines and screaming about suicidal position papers.
Republicans need to show that they can help govern Illinois before voters will hand them the keys to the governor’s mansion.
* Sen. Kyle McCarter and Tillman disagree…
Some say the party’s problem is messaging. Sen. Kyle McCarter, who is considering challenging Radogno for her leadership seat, said his caucus should have taken a stronger stand on controversial issues such as budget cuts and pension reform. “As Republicans, we can’t just say, ‘No.’ We’ve got to put some detailed plans on the table that really show how we as a state can get out of this fiscal mess.” Senate Republicans have come together to back a budget plan that they put down on paper, but McCarter said they should have introduced the plan as legislation. “I think it’s something that we should have done in this last session. We should have put that in bill form on the table,” he said. “Since I’ve been here, the leadership of the Republican Party has been much too risk-averse.” […]
“The Republican caucuses have been too focused on trying to make bad Democrat policies marginally better rather than having a clear brand-distinguishing alternative vision that they promote vigorously.” He was critical of Republican legislative leaders for their compromises with Democrats. “In terms of the Republican caucuses, with the Democrats having a supermajority, if leaders continue the pattern of seeking a seat at the table rather than providing a clear party-in-exile alternative, the rank and file members, investors and grassroots activists must demand changes. Regardless, the status quo is untenable,” Tillman wrote in his opinion piece.
As I wrote above, the Senate GOP did propose an alternative, and it proved toxic to voters.
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Today’s number: 61.66%
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Indicted and ousted state Representative-elect Derrick Smith received almost 62 percent of the vote in Secretary of State Jesse White’s 27th Ward. White had Smith appointed to the House, but has since turned completely against him and backed third party candidate Lance Tyson in the general election. White is the 27th Ward’s Democratic Committeeman, but he failed miserably.
Here are the ward-by-ward results for the Smith-Tyson race…
Smith, by the way, won every single precinct in Secretary White’s ward.
Thoughts?
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Question of the day
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I was at the Prairietown “World’s Fair” over the summer and ran into Republican congressional candidate Rodney Davis and Democratic state Senate candidate Andy Manar. I’ve known both men for years and asked them to pose together for a bipartisan photo, on the condition that it not be published until after the election…
Both went on to win their respective elections.
* The Question: Caption?
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In an era that continuously poses economic and financial challenges, credit unions remain true to one principle - people before profits - and represent a highly valued resource by consumers during these uncertain economic times.
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* From Monique Garcia’s Twitter feed…
Quinn budget head Jerry Stermer said governor will soon present another”refinancing” plan to pay down $8 billion bill backlog.
That’s not a surprise, considering that both chambers now have Democratic super-majorities. The Republicans in both chambers have been dead-set against a borrowing proposal and it requires a three-fifths vote to borrow money, so nothing has been done.
The Senate came one vote shy of passing a borrowing bill when it had 37 members, so it’s probably a good bet that the chamber will be able to pass it if it comes up again. The House may be a different story. Lots of conservative Dems oppose borrowing, so even with 71 votes they’ll probably need at least a small handful of Republicans.
By the way, a bill has already been introduced by Rep. Esther Golar to borrow $4 billion for old bills.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
We are focused on comprehensive pension reform to rescue the system, ensure public employees have access to benefits and prevent out of control pension costs from eating up core services like education and healthcare.
While the governor has always been interested in refinancing as an option to help pay down old bills, there is no new plan on this issue right now. The budget director today reiterated our interest in working with the General Assembly on this issue, which is not new.
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*** UPDATE *** Senate President John Cullerton’s response to the Civic Committee’s over the top rant from yesterday…
Democratic leaders were poised to pass Civic Committee approved pension fixes in May. In fact the Senate passed significant reforms to the State Employees’ Retirement System and their own pensions. And while the Civic Committee endorsed reforms that included asking local school districts and universities to pay their fair share of pension costs, Republican leaders still haven’t offered their support. The Civic Committee’s post election condemnation on political courage would be more appropriate if it were directed to those leaders.
Bipartisan pension reform is still my top priority. I invite the Civic Committee to work with me to encourage rather than discourage reform.
Cullerton’s chief legal counsel also sent a letter to Ty Fahner saying the Civic Committee’s statements yesterday “generated more heat than light.” Read it here.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From the Bond Buyer…
The health of Illinois’ pension system continued its downward spiral in the last fiscal year when unfunded liabilities rose by more than $11 billion and the funded ratio deteriorated to 40.4% from 43.4%, according to a review conducted by the Civic Federation of Chicago.
The state’s unfunded liabilities rose to $94.6 billion in fiscal 2012 which ended June 30, 2012 from $82.9 billion in fiscal 2011, according to the federation which tracks local government and state tax and spending policies. […]
The figures are based on a smoothing of assets over a five-year period. The state shifted to the method in fiscal 2009 to ease the impact of extreme market fluctuations on investment gains and losses in any given year. […]
Applying a market-based review, the state’s unfunded obligations rose to $96.8 billion in fiscal 2012 from $83.1 billion a year earlier while the funded ratio declined to 39% from 43.3%.
Quinn’s budget spokesman Abdon Pallasch said the latest pension figures “further illustrates the need for reforms called for by the governor.”
Please, don’t confuse the Civic Federation with the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, which went wildly over the top yesterday in its projections of imminent demise without revealing its actual data. Despite that refusal, its angry howls of doom were taken quite seriously by the AP…
Illinois’ public-employee pensions system is so far in debt that it is “unfixable,” an influential business group said Wednesday.
The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago told its members in a memo that even current retirees’ benefits must be cut and other drastic action taken to prevent pension-program bankruptcy, the memo said.
“The pension crisis has grown so severe that it is now unfixable,” former state attorney general Tyrone Fahner, the committee’s president, wrote. “We do not make that statement lightly. It is an honest statement that no one — not our legislators, nor our governor, nor labor leaders — is willing to say publicly.”
The memo said workers putting money into the retirement accounts will never see the payback they were promised.
“It’s not melodrama, it’s fraud,” Fahner said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They’re paying under false pretenses.”
I’m not saying they’re wrong. I’m just saying I’d like to see their homework first.
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STOP THE SATELLITE TV TAX!
Thursday, Nov 15, 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.
Tell Your Lawmakers to Stop The Satellite TV Tax
Vote NO on HB 5440
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The JJJ saga gets weirder by the day
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It just gets weirder…
Sources tell FOX 32 News that Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is willing to give up his 2nd Congressional District seat if he’s given disability when he steps down.
Jackson Jr. was re-elected to his tenth term but last month, sources say, he applied for a disability package–what could be his only income if he resigns. It is expected to take a couple of weeks for Congress to approve or deny the request.
* And weirder…
His house on 72nd Street in Chicago is part of the federal government’s investigation into allegations that Jackson Jr. misused campaign funds. Sources say Jackson allegedly spent $20,000 to renovate and buy furniture for the family’s home in Chicago, not their 5-bedroom Victorian home in Washington D.C.
The basement in the Chicago home has five televisions and a number of printers and copying machines, sources say. Most of the equipment was purchased in the mid-90’s when Jackson was first elected, but because of flooding a couple of years ago, most, if not all, was replaced.
Sources close to the family tell FOX 32’s Darlene Hill that the congressman may be reporting the use of the space in the basement as his campaign headquarters.
FOX 32 called the House Ethics Committee in D.C. and while they would not comment specifically on Jackson’s case, the federal campaign finance law states, “a campaign committee may not rent space in the candidate’s home.”
* Related…
* Mark Brown: Jesse Jackson Jr. needs a deadline to fish or cut bait
* Durbin: Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. needs to surface, speak to public
* Quinn: Congressman Jackson should address public about his condition, now that election over
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*** UPDATE *** The committee has recessed to the call of the chair without taking a vote. They’ll return Monday, November 26.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* We’re coming a little late to this, but the House Revenue Committee is holding a hearing this morning on HJR 45…
Declares that the State shall appropriate for no more than an X% increase for wage increases associated with any and all collectively bargained contracts throughout State government. States the policy of the State of Illinois that the size of, or a reduction in, the State employee workforce shall not be a topic of collective bargaining.
The measure is sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
* Archived video is here.
* And here’s a ScribbleLive thingy…
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sorry, kids. I’ve been a bit under the weather this morning. Have fun with this while I get myself together. Former Gov. Jim Edgar and my former intern Barton Lorimor posed for a pic at my election night party last week…
Be kind to Barton, please.
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