* This was expected. Holding the special primary on the local primary day will mean less costs to governments. From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today set a special election to fill a vacancy in the 2nd Congressional District seat, which had been held by Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. from 1995 until his resignation last week. The governor’s writs of election (attached) set a special primary to be held on February 26, 2013 to coincide with existing local primary elections. To comply with current state law, the governor’s writs of election also set a general election date of March 19, 2013. However, Governor Quinn is working with the General Assembly to move the general election date to April 9, 2013, the same day as already-scheduled local general elections, which will require a change in statute.
Illinois law currently requires the special election be held within 115 days of the filing of the governor’s writs of election, preventing it from being on the same day as the existing local elections on April 9, 2013.
“This special election will be carried out in a manner that is fair to the electorate and as economical as possible for taxpayers,” Governor Quinn said. “By holding the special primary and general elections on the same days as existing contests, we can save significant taxpayer dollars and ensure the people of the 2nd District can make their voices heard.”
The governor will issue amended writs if the statute is changed to move the special general election to April 9, 2013.
The 2nd Congressional District is comprised of 263 precincts in suburban Cook County, 170 precincts in Chicago, 85 precincts in Kankakee County and 27 precincts in Will County. Approximately 420,000 registered voters reside in the district, of which more than half are in suburban Cook County.
Moving the special general would also be a very good idea.
One example of a state law that needs scrutiny, Chapa LaVia said, is the statute that makes school compulsory at age 7, when most youngsters enter second grade — instead of age 5, when children must start school in most states.
* I told subscribers about this days ago, but it has been mostly ignored by the media. I’m not sure why. Speaker Madigan has kept himself out of gaming expansion talks since 1994, but now he apparently no longer has a conflict of interest. That major development rated just two sentences buried in a recent SJ-R column…
Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said he thinks having House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, more actively involved in the talks will make a difference. Madigan has stayed out of gaming expansion in the past because of clients in his law firm.
Successful gaming expansion requires everybody pulling in the same direction. While this development doesn’t mean that Madigan will be on the same page as everyone else (subscribers know more), it does mean that the most able legislator under the Dome is now involved, and that in and of itself is very important. The AP also buried the item in a recent story…
Quinn told The Associated Press earlier this month he believes a compromise is in the offing. Of major assistance in that scenario, according to House sponsor Rep. Lou Lang, is newly offered assistance of House Speaker Michael Madigan.
For nearly 20 years, the Chicago Democrat has recused himself from negotiations about gambling to avoid a potential conflict of interest with his private law practice, which he said might serve clients interested in casino development. Lang said Madigan no longer has the conflict — something Madigan spokesman Steve Brown confirmed without elaborating — and has orchestrated discussions designed to lead to a deal.
“It’s a very big issue, and the speaker, with good reason, likes to involve himself in the big issues,” said Lang, D-Skokie, “so … perhaps he can be helpful in the process of getting the governor to the table.”
Senate President Pro Tem David Long wryly noted last week that the best tax dollars are another state’s tax dollars, pointing out that Indiana had feasted on gambling profits from residents of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky for two decades now. But that feast is almost at an end.
“Gaming revenue is under assault right now. If you look at what happens when you stand up and take other people’s money, it was a smart way to go about it, and we got Michigan’s, Ohio’s, Illinois’s, and Kentucky’s money, and we weren’t ashamed of taking it,” Long told an Indiana Chamber of Commerce forum last week.
Now Ohio has built four casinos near the Indiana state line and Illinois is poised to add one more near Chicago to draw business from northwest Indiana. That makes it less likely those tax dollars will cross the state line.
* And anti-gambling advocates are still throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the plan to expand gaming…
Anti-gambling advocates say slot machines at places like Arlington Park won’t generate more interest in horse racing.
The machines, they say, will just draw people who want to play slot machines, leaving the racing industry without the renewed enthusiasm it’s looking for.
“If they go ahead with the slots at the tracks, they’re going to put the horsemen out of business,” said Anita Bedell, director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems.
Um, the horsemen favor slots at tracks. It’ll increase purses as it’s done elsewhere.
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent appointment to the Sports Facilities Authority broke the gridlock and allowed Kelly Kraft to be named the new executive director. But the board appointee wasn’t too thrilled with his role…
Quentin Young, a longtime Quinn ally who was placed on the board, praised Quinn for his record, calling him “incorruptible.” But he did not sound as confident that the board spat could be so easily forgotten. “I don’t think it’s good for elected officials to fight the way they did,” he said.
Maybe he should’ve said “No” when Quinn called then.
* Beware stories that make Juan Ochoa into the man with the white hat…
When the Town of Cicero sends out news releases in Spanish, they frequently highlight the contributions of “el Senador Sandoval.”
What they don’t tell Cicero taxpayers is that they are footing the bill for state Sen. Martin Sandoval to translate those words into Spanish. […]
Juan Ochoa, who is challenging Cicero Town President Larry Dominick in the February election, disagrees. Ochoa says Sandoval’s arrangement with Cicero does indeed amount to double-dipping and creates a conflict of interest.
“It’s unethical that he is representing the Town of Cicero [in the Senate] and has a contract with the Town of Cicero,” says Ochoa, who recently moved to Cicero and formerly was chief executive of the government agency that oversees McCormick Place and Navy Pier. “I find it hard to believe there are no other companies that can perform that task, and not as expensively.”
The article goes on to talk about how Sandoval was ironically working with Republicans. Not mentioned is that Ochoa held a fundraiser for Bill Brady in 2010.
Peter Breen is an attorney for the Thomas More Society, who is representing two downstate county clerks who are defending the state’s gay marriage ban against a lawsuit filed by 25 gay couples. Breen believes same-sex marriage proponents are over-stating the significance of the Nov. 6 ballot measures, which he says were in left-leaning states - Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington - and where gay rights advocates outspent opponents on political advertising.
a chunk of chocolate made in the shape of a foot given to him in 2009 by Southern Illinois University Trustee Roger Herrin, whom Quinn appointed to the university’s board in 2011 and tried unsuccessfully to have installed as the board’s chairman last spring.
Foot in mouth? Highly appropriate.
* I couldn’t make it to Serafin’s party this year because of family obligations…
Isn’t that awkward? Sneed hears at a recent holiday bash tossed by PR whiz Thom Serafin, a number of people who want Gov. Pat Quinn’s job mingled with… the governor himself!
Translation: Gov hopefuls like State Sen. Kirk Dillard and State Treasurer Dan Rutherford hung out with Quinn at Serafin’s popular press/pol get together at Butch McGuire’s last week.
…Adding… From Mayor Emanuel’s office…
STATEMENT FROM MAYOR EMANUEL SUPPORTING A MORATORIUM ON CPS FACILITY CLOSURES TO BRING STABILITY TO CHICAGO’S SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
“We know that our city has a significant number of schools that are underutilized, stretching resources thin and not giving every student a quality education. In the past, there has been too much uncertainty around changes to our schools: year after year, Chicago Public Schools did not do an adequate job of engaging communities in these critical decisions, and year after year students, families and communities were left wondering of what was to come. That ends this year. With the Commission CPS CEO Byrd-Bennett has appointed, Chicagoans will be involved in the conversation about any changes to our district this year; and after this year, I have directed CPS to implement a moratorium on CPS facility closures, ending unnecessary disruption to students and parents and bringing stability to our schools.”
Critics have charged the extension only seeks to delay announcing this year’s school closings, making it harder for community groups to launch a united opposition.
Illinois may soon become the most populous U.S. state to grant a form of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, after the nation’s growing Hispanic population boosted the power of Democrats in national and state elections on November 6.
A bipartisan group of Illinois politicians announced on Tuesday they would propose such a law when the legislature convenes on November 27. […]
The measure would expand to undocumented immigrants Illinois’ existing temporary visitor driver’s license, used by legal immigrants. The licenses are “visually distinct” from ordinary licenses, with a purple background and the words “not valid for identification” on the front, explained Lawrence Benito, chief executive of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* The Question: Should Illinois provide drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Half of state legislatures now have veto-proof majorities, up from 13 only four years ago, according to figures compiled for the Associated Press by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
All but three states — Iowa, Kentucky and New Hampshire — have one-party control of their legislatures, the highest mark since 1928. […]
Democrats in California gained their first supermajorities since 1883 in both the Assembly and Senate. Republicans captured total control of the North Carolina Capitol for the first time in more than a century. The GOP set a 147-year high mark in the Tennessee statehouse and won two-thirds majorities in the Missouri Legislature for the first time since the Civil War.
Republicans also gained or expanded supermajorities in places such as Indiana, Oklahoma and Georgia. Democrats gained a supermajority in Illinois and built upon their dominance in places such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts. […]
In Indiana, the new Republican supermajority can now pass bills even if House Democrats repeat the walkouts they’ve held the past two years to protest the consideration of so-called right-to-work laws limiting union powers. In Oklahoma, Republicans are expected to use their huge majorities to move to slash state income taxes after efforts last year fell short.
* One reason for the big Republican gains was the redistricting after the 2010 GOP landslide. Republicans in other states knew what they were doing…
Although a small number of ballots remain to be counted, as of this writing, votes for a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives outweigh votes for Republican candidates. Based on ThinkProgress’ review of all ballots counted so far, 53,952,240 votes were cast for a Democratic candidate for the House and only 53,402,643 were cast for a Republican — meaning that Democratic votes exceed Republican votes by more than half a million.
“It’s designed to be edgy and bring attention to the pension squeeze,” Brooke Anderson, spokeswoman for the governor, said of the video. “It’s designed to provide information about how Illinois found itself in the pension squeeze and what’s at stake.”
State Rep. Darlene Senger, a member of the state House Personnel and Pensions Committee, said the grass-roots campaign will not accomplish anything in the next few days, and the governor did not do voters justice in his method of explaining the problem.
The pension issue is “complicated the way it is and not something I find to be cartoonish,” said Ms. Senger. “It’s a serious business … and to make fun of it or dumb it down … I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
One of the few things former governor and current convict Rod Blagojevich got right was warning that the pension situation was a catastrophe waiting to happen. He said he would “fight like hell” to ensure pension reform.
A few months after he made that declaration, lawmakers voted to skip that year’s pension payment. Blagojevich didn’t put up enough of a fight.
Um, Rod loved that idea. He took all the credit for it.
* But all the talk about Squeezy got me to thinking before the Thanksgiving break about some other goofy, dumbed-down, patronizing and ultimately failed ad campaigns. For instance, who could forget the Andy McKenna “hair” ads?…
* These campaigns all share a single attribute: They oversimplified issues to the point where people wouldn’t take them seriously. The governor’s office says that since people are talking about Squeezy, their mission is accomplished. And, indeed, it has prompted a few editorials about pension reform, but those don’t mean much in all the clutter.
The governor enters the veto session and the lame duck session desperately needing to appear like a serious leader. This just doesn’t help…
* After the election was over, the Cambridge Chronicle reported on the local Henry County results…
In the first election with a two-district map instead of a three-district map, 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans apparently have been elected to the Henry County Board.
The 10th seat in District 2 was captured by a Democrat pulling only five more votes than a Republican. Recounts and absentee ballots received in the 14 days following the election could change the outcome. […]
Those not elected were Republicans Kippy Nelson, 4,031 (only five fewer than Wiley);
* But when all the votes were counted, there was a change…
The official count of ballots from the Nov. 6 election apparently reversed the outcome of one of the results in County Board District 2.
Kippy Nelson, R-Cambridge, a five-vote loser to Thomas Wiley, D-Cambridge, after the unofficial count Election Day, is now a one-vote winner, according to the official count, which gave Ms. Nelson 4,043 votes to 4,042 for Mr. Wiley..
“I looked at him and he looked at me and we said, ‘one vote’,” said Ms. Nelson.
One vote not only changed the election, but the 10-10 county board went to 11-9 Republican.
For an absentee vote to be counted, it must be postmarked no later than election day, Nov. 6. But an absentee ballot from Japan, postmarked Nov. 1, wasn’t received until Monday.
The Democrat Wiley is expected to ask for a recount this week.
* The Tribune editorial page talked to AFSCME Council 31 President Henry Bayer after Gov. Pat Quinn terminated the union’s state contract last week…
Bayer disputes that he has stonewalled during negotiations. He says he has proposed a first-year pay freeze and modest increases after that. He says every contract for nearly the last two decades has included greater employee contributions toward health care. He implies this one probably will, too.
“We don’t have an agreement on the contract yet,” he says. “But to ask employees to go four years without a pay increase and then at the same time pay more for insurance, that’s a lot to ask of people.”
Quinn’s team initially proposed pay cuts but is now seeking a freeze for the life of the contract.
AFSCME members lost promised pay increases last summer because the state didn’t have money to pay them.
Last week, Quinn tried to hike the pressure by refusing to sign an extension of AFSCME’s expired contract. So AFSCME members now are working without a contract. That doesn’t fundamentally change the terms of their wages or work rules, but it infuriated Bayer, who called it “disrespectful to the process.”
This is likely to grow even more intense. And if Quinn ultimately gives away the store, the Legislature could step in. House Speaker Michael Madigan has sponsored a resolution that would cap wage increases for collectively bargained contracts. The Madigan resolution points out that state workers received raises averaging 4.25 percent for each of the last five years, while the consumer price index averaged about 2 percent in that time.
* The Tribune wants Quinn and the legislative leaders to fix the pension mess so AFSCME can see more of the big picture. But Quinn is getting some strong support from an unexpected new ally…
Former Herscher resident and one-time Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski applauded Quinn. He is the founder of For the Good of Illinois Foundation, a government spending watchdog group.
“Taxpayers, families and seniors are tired of the waste, fraud, abuse and bloated pensions that politicians have been feeding on,” he said. “Maybe, this is the first step in protecting the taxpayers of Illinois.
“Only time will tell if the governor is truly serious,” he added, noting another good step for righting the state’s fiscal ship would be “to freeze property taxes for three years, forcing out the waste at the local levels of government.”
[Local AFSCME Council 31 Representative Dino Leone] feels Governor Quinn’s actions are leaving union members with little choice, but to take more action.
“We don’t want to have a strike. In the 40 years we’ve done collective bargaining in the state of Illinois we’ve never had a strike before,” he said.
Leone said Governor Quinn is only creating more uncertainty for public employees who are working in offices that are already short staffed.
“When you have instability in the work place and you have stressed workers because they’re over worked, working many hours with no sleep he’s definitely added a whole new stress level,” Leone said.
Quinn’s move is not expected to immediately affect state services, and union officials are advising workers is to go about their jobs and stay professional.
A memo sent to department heads from the governor’s office outlined that the move means none of the raises that were included in the old contract will be paid. And any workplace grievances that arise will not be acted upon.
* Related…
* Governor Quinn terminates AFSCME contract: “During 11 months of bargaining, the state has extended the contract three times and made significant efforts to compromise,” Quinn budget spokesman Abdon Pallasch said in a statement. “But the government employees union, which has not offered a single proposal to deal with retirement health care, continues to seek millions of dollars in pay hikes the taxpayers can’t afford to give them. It has refused to recognize the extraordinary financial crisis squeezing the state.”
* Considering her history and all the African-American Democrats lining up to run for Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr’s seat, this isn’t much of a surprise…
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson says she’s officially running to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress.
Halvorson launched her campaign Monday, saying she’s received numerous calls from elected officials, community leaders and residents of the 2nd Congressional District urging her to run. In a statement Monday, Halvorson touts her experience in Congress and says that will allow her to get to work without having to go through freshman orientation, if she’s elected.
Halvorson lost to Jackson in the Democratic primary this year. She’d served in Congress before losing the 2010 election in what was the 11th Congressional District before district lines were redrawn.
* The Tribune reports that Cook County Democratic leaders are hoping to slate a candidate for the post. The list is long. I think I told subscribers about everybody on the Tribune list last week except for Todd Stroger…
More primary and general election Democratic votes were cast in the five suburban Cook County townships than in the seven wards in the city located within the congressional district’s boundaries. That could give an edge to a suburban contender, such as state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, an Olympia Fields Democrat in her third year in the General Assembly. […]
Another suburban contender is former NFL linebacker Napoleon Harris, of Flossmoor, who was just elected to the state Senate. Harris may have money — he lent his legislative campaign $227,000 — but his Nov. 6 victory was his first for a public office.
Former state lawmakers Robin Kelly of Matteson and David Miller of Lynwood also could be in the mix. Kelly lost a bid for state treasurer and now works in Cook County government while Miller, a dentist, was defeated in a bid for state comptroller. A Jackson ally, Miller said he was exploring a bid and would make a decision on whether to proceed “shortly.”
In the city, Ald. Will Burns, 4th, moved closer on Friday to saying he was in the race. […]
Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, has previously expressed interest in the contest. Though he has not said he plans to run, he already has the backing of Ald. Carrie Austin, the Democratic committeewoman of the 34th Ward.
Also expressing an interest is state Sen. Donne Trotter, a veteran South Side Democratic lawmaker who made a failed bid for Congress in 2000 against Rep. Bobby Rush. Obama suffered his only election defeat in that same primary race.
Among those interested in the special election who are in the voter-discard pile are former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds. Stroger may have name identification but little campaign cash, while Reynolds had been Jackson’s predecessor in Congress before being convicted in a sex scandal involving a 16-year-old campaign aide.
Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., who represented now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, also has expressed interest in the job.
Then there are the possible Jackson family candidates.
* Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to announce the special election date today. Money and, probably more importantly, name recognition will be the key here. With the Christmas holiday coming up, there won’t be much opportunity to advertise early, so those with the most well-known names will have a distinct advantage.
It looks like former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who resigned Wednesday, is trying to take any potential heat off of his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) — who is also his campaign manager.
I’m told that Sandi Jackson has hired her own legal representation as her husband’s lawyers try to work out a deal in the ongoing federal probe of his campaign finances.
It doesn’t take too much reading between the lines of Jackson’s resignation letter — unusually poignant — that he is telling the feds to blame him — and leave his wife out of it. In the letter, sent Wednesday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Jackson acknowledged the probe for the first time, said he is cooperating with “the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone.”
* Related…
* Jesse Jackson Jr. resignation could cost taxpayers a lot - $5.1 million is price tag for running primary, general elections to fill seat
* Editorial: Allow Jackson district to make real choice
* Kadner: Suburbs must claim Jesse Jackson Jr.’s district
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of an Illinois law that prohibited people from recording police officers on the job.
The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state’s anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people who tape law enforcement officers.
The law set out a maximum prison term of 15 years.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 2010 against Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to block prosecution of ACLU staff for recording police officers performing their duties in public places, one of the group’s long-standing monitoring missions.
Monday, Nov 26, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions were first exempted from federal income tax in 1917 because of their unique structure as not-for-profit financial cooperatives. Contrary to what some banks may suggest, credit unions pay property, payroll, and sales taxes. Yet while banks decry the credit union tax exemption, almost one out of three banks elect Subchapter S status under the Internal Revenue Code to avoid federal income taxation. In Illinois, that’s $38 million in diverted tax dollars. These for-profit Sub-S banks also pay dividends and fees — not to customers, but to directors/investors/stockholders who may or may not be depositors — to the tune of $1 billion. This is far in excess of the estimated federal income tax credit unions would pay. In contrast, credit unions return net revenue to their members. The banker argument against the credit union tax exemption is simply disingenuous. If banks really believed that credit unions operate with an unfair competitive advantage, they would restructure their institutions to credit union charters. None would, however, because doing so would expose them to becoming democratically controlled, locally-owned financial cooperatives governed by their very own volunteer members that put people before profits — all the virtues that define the credit union difference.
