Certainly, the newspaper has lost its status since 2000, when Tribune Co. bought the Los Angeles Times. Still, its sale to an out-of-town owner could end Tribune’s run as the most influential media outlet in Chicago. There are a couple of reasons to avoid that.
As a stand-alone entity, the paper would surely lose resources and staff, jeopardizing the sort of important journalism it still does.
First, it’s clearly better for Chicago to be home to one of the largest private companies in the U.S. Big corporations with engaged CEOs and headquarters here are part of the stew that makes us a great city. Think of St. Louis, where Belgium’s InBev bought locally owned Anheuser-Busch Cos. Next time the town needs a new stadium, it’s doubtful the brewer’s execs would pick up the phone.
Second, Chicago Tribune unmoored from a corporate parent is diminished. As a stand-alone entity, the paper would surely lose resources and staff, jeopardizing the sort of important journalism it still does, such as recent series on flame retardants, pension scams and debt problems in the suburbs. Who will pick up the torch? Certainly not thinly staffed “hyper-local” news sites or ambulance-chasing TV stations.
What’s more, Tribune is the only media outlet in Chicago willing to maintain the civic responsibility of vetting every candidate for public office, now that the Chicago Sun-Times has renounced that duty.
* The Question: Do you care if the Tribune is sold to an out-of-towner? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* 11:44 am - House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown just announced there will be no floor vote on pensions after today’s committee hearing.
Probably more credible, though, is persistent buzz that Mr. Walsh will focus on regaining his congressional seat — not against Ms. Duckworth, whose district now is reliably Democratic, but by running in a primary against Republican Randy Hultgren in the adjoining 14th District.
Whatever happens, I don’t expect him to go away.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Mell told me essentially the same thing yesterday after session ended…
State Rep. Deborah Mell, the daughter of Chicago Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), soft-pedaled the possibility of assuming her father’s seat on the City Council but stopped well short of ruling out that possibility Sunday.
In her first extended public statements on the issue, the two-term state representative insisted that “nothing is going on”surrounding a potential move to the City Council and said she would weigh her options when — and if — her father decides to step down.
“When the time comes, we’ll deal with it then. But I love my community. I would love to represent it either way,” Mell told the Chicago Sun-Times after the Illinois House adjourned for the day Sunday. […]
Emanuel acknowledged that he had talked to the alderman about his plan to retire, but they haven’t yet discussed his apparent political plan for his daughter. […]
“I think the mayor said it really correctly where my dad’s been retiring for quite awhile now,” she said. “I don’t know what he would do, you know, if he wasn’t an alderman. I mean, I think he loves it. So I don’t know. And about me, I don’t know.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s departing top political hand has landed himself a new gig — with a GOP-leaning firm that’s looking to widen its reach and become one of the city’s top public affairs shops.
Tom Bowen is joining Mac Strategies Group Inc. as a senior adviser. He served as deputy campaign manager for Mr. Emanuel and ran the mayor’s Chicago Committee leadership PAC. He’s also worked for former U.S. Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias and Barack Obama — the latter both as a state senator and as a candidate for president.
In an interview, Mr. Bowen said his new job will be to help interest groups and companies tell their story in an effective manner.
“In the business world, you’re not electing someone but looking to get a bill passed in Chicago or Springfield or Washington,” he said. “You need to get your message out.”
I introduced Bowen to Ryan McLaughlin at a party. This is not your usual pairing, but I think they’ll be a good fit, and both of them are top notch dudes.
* I talked to an African-American House member about this development last night. He was very concerned and indicated that it might change his vote to “No.” From a press release…
CHICAGOLAND BLACK CLERGY TO SEND CLEAR MESSAGE TO ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE
DON’T PASS GAY MARRIAGE BILL
Monday, January 7th, 2013 @ 11:00 A.M.
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, 5729 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago IL
Chicago, IL—Reverend Kenneth Giles-Senior Pastor of the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church- will lead a mass group of Chicagoland African American Clergymen in sending a clear message to the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the four Legislative Leaders and the entire Illinois Legislaturein demanding that the General Assembly NOT pass the upcoming Gay Marriage Bill.
The Clergymen will express their disappointment in various Illinois Legislators who frequent many black churches for votes but often have deaf ears to serious issues such as the pending Gay Marriage bill in which the mainstream black church strongly opposes. The group will also share their plan to lobby the General Assembly, particularly the Illinois House of Representatives, who are considering having the bill called for a vote on this week.
There won’t be a vote on gay marriage in the House this week, but a message will surely be sent.
* Meanwhile, newspaper editorial boards are lining up in support. The most recent…
However, if you vote “Yes” to the proposed same-sex marriage bill, you will harm your constituents in two primary ways:
1) You will declare your constituents who believe that marriage is a union of one man and one woman to be bigots and discriminators. You will further ensure that this declaration is reinforced through official government policy. For instance, as in other states, you may see public schools in your district instruct children, beginning in kindergarten, that (a) same-sex couples and same-sex sexual activity are the same as opposite-sex married couples and opposite-sex marital sexual activity or that (b) kids do not need both a mom and a dad - two moms or two dads are just as good. Parents in your district who disagree have no right under law to opt their young children out of this kind of instruction.
2) You will strip away the meager religious liberty protections of the 2010 civil union law, as these protections are not included in the 2013 same-sex marriage bill. These religious liberty protections currently provide explicit shelter to Catholic Charities and other faith-based adoption agencies in providing private adoptions. These protections also shelter Evangelical, Catholic, and other faith-based organizations, including hospitals and schools, from being charged with Illinois Human Rights Act violations when they follow their beliefs on marriage in employment, facilities rental, and other decisions. Penalties for violating the Human Rights Act include fines, injunctions, and other penalties intended to force acceptance of same-sex unions.
What benefit would a “Yes” vote provide to same-sex couples? The mere changing of a title of a license - such that the license for most same-sex unions would now read “marriage license” instead of “civil union license.” And, if the example of other states holds true here, the words ‚”Husband” and “Wife” would be stricken from marriage licenses in favor of “Party A” and “Party B.” Again, a “yes” vote on same sex marriage would not grant a single additional substantive legal right to any homosexual couple in Illinois.
* I wasn’t able to attend yesterday’s House Judiciary I Committee meeting where it was announced that an assault weapons ban wouldn’t be called for a vote.
I did notice, however, that there was loud applause and shouting at the end of a video posted by Illinois Watchdog.
* It turns out that a group called Decatur Midwest Patriot Militia attended yesterday’s hearing. WAND TV’s Casey Lund interviewed Nathan Moyer, who is a member of the group…
* Transcript of Moyer’s remarks…
That sarcastic round of applause is saying that we know that we got some people running scared.
And if I have to stand alone, I don’t think I’ll be the only one. We’re not going to put up with any more gun laws from this country and from the state of Illinois.
I feel like the line has been drawn in the sand. There have been various things, conspiracies that have been happening in this country.
I’m not an alarmist, I’m not a nutball.
What I am is a patriotic American. I have a grandpa laying in Camp Butler Cemetery. I kneeled on his grave and said that I will defend freedom.
* So far, ten Democratic candidates have filed to run in the 2nd Congressional district special primary to replace former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. I’ve deleted addresses from the State Board of Elections’ website. Today is the last day to file, so this list isn’t yet complete…
BLYTH, JOHN
RAYBURN, CHARLES
HAYNES, GREGORY
JONATHAN, VICTOR formerly known as VICTOR ONAFUYE until name changed on Oct 18, 2010
REYNOLDS, MEL “MR”
HARRIS, NAPOLEON
BEALE, ANTHONY A.
KELLY, ROBIN
HUTCHINSON, TOI W.
EAGLETON, CLIFFORD J.
Notice that Debbie Halvorson hasn’t yet filed.
* Add another one. From a press release…
Who: Joyce Washington For Congress
What: Announcement of candidacy for 2nd Congressional District seat.
When: Sunday, January 6th, 2013 9 am.
Where: Grand Tradition Room
Chicago Hilton
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Washington ran for US Senate in 2004.
* Robin Kelly appears to be doing well with fundraising. From a press release…
Robin Kelly, candidate for Illinois’ second Congressional district, released her fundraising numbers for the month of December this morning. After entering the race on December 2, Kelly had 29 days to raise funds before the end of the filing period, which closed December 31.
Kelly amassed a warchest of $200,209 from 514 individual supporters in that short period, reinforcing her status as a frontrunner.
* So, we have three African-American women and eight African-American men and one white woman with high name recognition from her time in Congress and her bid against Jackson last year. If Halvorson can raise a few bucks and doesn’t run an awful campaign, you have to consider her the current frontrunner. Halvorson received 29 percent of the vote against Jackson last March. She probably doesn’t even need that much to win in such a crowded primary.
But, hey, it’s politics, baby, so anything can happen. Stay tuned.
Last week, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson announced raising more than $130,000
“While December is traditionally the most difficult fundraising month of the year, I’m so humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve received in the last four weeks,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
Thursday was not exactly a banner day for the Illinois Senate Democratic leadership. In high-profile moves, its attempts to pass a bill legalizing gay marriage stalled as did bills on gun control.
Even a much-needed spending bill was unable to move out of committee. Pension reform went nowhere. The biggest winners were cigarette makers, of all people.
The gay marriage bill turned out to be a dud. Opponents pointed out some serious issues with its drafting, which, for instance, appeared to mandate that facilities owned by churches or religious groups allow same-sex marriage ceremonies. Proponents denied that, but they seemed to be on some shaky ground.
The measure was moved forward at the behest of some wealthy financial backers who appeared to dictate the timing, which is never a good thing in Springfield. The bill’s supporters said three senators who were supposed to vote for the bill were not at the statehouse and that kept them from passing it.
But even if that were true, the drafting questions likely would have doomed the measure in the House. And the millionaire-funded media blitz didn’t work. Media blitzes, no matter how impressive, aren’t effective in the Legislature if the bill is flawed and the votes aren’t there.
On the positive side for the proponents, Senate Republicans remained quite civil during a committee hearing on the gay marriage bill. And Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said during the hearing that she believed a bipartisan compromise could be reached on the legislation.
Despite last week’s stumbling, it looks like legalizing gay marriage eventually could pass. But its initial failure was an avoidable embarrassment for its supporters.
Meanwhile, an intense lobbying effort by gun-rights groups and a serious overreach by proponents derailed two gun control bills. The pro-gun groups claimed the bills would result in a ban on a vast array of commonly used weapons and would unconstitutionally restrict gun owners’ rights.
The legislation clearly was doomed as written, and even some gun control lobbyists were less than enthused about the task they were handed.
A prominent gun control senator said privately that some aspects of the legislation were so broadly written that they would have to be removed if there were any hope of passage in the future. He said he was not involved in the bill drafting and didn’t know who was.
As a result, Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), a staunch gun opponent, said last week that he would “absolutely” work with gun-rights groups on a compromise, which includes a federal appeals court mandate to pass a concealed-carry law. But Cullerton could be negotiating from weakness, now that his attempts to ram through sweeping gun control provisions have failed.
A bill containing state spending authorization for construction, new caseworkers for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, workers compensation claims and education grants went nowhere after a revolt by some legislators, mainly members of the Black Caucus.
Caucus members withheld their votes because a bill by Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) to set up a revolving loan program for minority road contractors has gone nowhere in the House.
Last year, when the state hiked its cigarette tax by almost $1 a pack, the tobacco industry cut a deal to pass a bill that limited appeal bonds. Now, state law mandates that bonds be posted equal to 11/2 times a judgment in certain civil cases before a ruling can be appealed.
That resulted in a required $12 billion appeal bond years ago when Philip Morris lost a case involving Marlboro Lights. That bond was lowered after negotiations, but the company has been fighting ever since to get into law a lower bond requirement.
The House passed a bill last year, but Cullerton, a visceral anti-tobacco legislator, bottled it up in the Senate. But it passed last week after the trial lawyers were given a neat little plum that guarantees them higher contingency fees in big medical malpractice cases.
Add gun-control legislation to the growing legislative scrap heap for what thus far has been a lame lame-duck session.
Citing a lack of support, the House sponsor of bans on military-style weapons — dubbed “assault weapons” by critics — and the high-powered ammunition that feeds them decided Sunday not to call either measure for a vote in his chamber. […]
State Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg), one of the House’s leading gun-rights advocates, said he was surprised the gun bills weren’t called even though he thinks a majority of House members were spooked by the expansive nature of the legislation, which he said could affect as up to 85 percent of all guns.
“It’s just too broad and covers way too many guns,” Phelps said. “The way I’ve heard from other people, they’re not sitting down negotiating this bill. They’re just throwing something out there to see if this sticks.”
* Sen. Jeff Schoenberg is very unhappy with being singled out for blame on the gay marriage bill’s defeat…
Retiring State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg says he’s surprised Democrats pushed a gay marriage proposal if they needed his vote because they knew he’d be out of the country.
And the Evanston Democrat told The Associated Press Sunday he had already resigned effective Monday so his replacement could get to work.
Schoenberg and his family spent nearly two weeks in Jerusalem for his son’s bar mitzvah. He says Senate President John Cullerton’s office was aware that he would be back this weekend in case his vote was needed.
Schoenberg is right. Blaming him is ridiculous since the bill came up so many votes short of passage. They knew he’d be gone. They could’ve just delayed the vote until the next General Assembly. Instead, they pushed forward and looked bad in the process.
‘Did we waste time by doing this exercise? Absolutely not,’ he said. Committee hearings ‘flushed out the opposition’ on where Democrats could improve the bills.
‘It’s not an admission we did something wrong,’ Cullerton said. ‘When they raise issues, we say, ‘OK, we’ll make this clear, maybe that would help you?’ And they say, ‘Sure.’ ‘
An Illinois House committee has voted down legislation requiring that some corporations make their income-tax bills public.
The revenue and finance committee rejected the proposal Sunday, keeping it in committee. Several Republicans called it anti-business and anti-employment.
* I gave subscribers details about this pension reform impasse yesterday…
The pension proposal’s fate is uncertain should it pass the House. The Senate went home Thursday but Cullerton left open the possibility of coming back. Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said senators would return to Springfield Tuesday “to review and hear” a significant pension reform bill if one is passed by the House.
“I can’t make any predictions beyond that,” she said.
When the governor and legislative leaders met Saturday, Cullerton said at various points he would lobby against the House plan, Cross said. But Cross also said Cullerton indicated that he would allow for a Senate vote if the pension measure passed the House.
Still, if Cullerton balks at the House pension plan, Springfield could devolve into an all-too-familiar political game: The House passes one version of legislation, the Senate passes another, lawmakers pat themselves on the back and then blame the other chamber for failing to achieve needed reform.
Madigan also said he has not decided whether a vote will occur on the Cullerton-backed plan in the Senate, as Cullerton has insisted.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I know that John has given a lot of time and effort and study to the pension question, and so he’s got some strong views on it, which he’s entitled to,” Madigan said. “I don’t think we should get hung up on details. I think we ought to be focused on getting something done.”
Pressed on what’s left to be done, Madigan said, “Well, to sit down and reconcile differences and do a little give and take and move a bill.”
A Cullerton spokeswoman late Sunday held to her boss’ earlier position that the House first take up the pension legislation that passed the Senate last May before anything else.
“He’s still insisting they take up HB1447. We need an opportunity to have an up-or-down vote,” Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said.
“It’s already passed one chamber, and it has a constitutional framework we feel will hold up in court. We believe those considerations are very important on any bill that’s passed,” she said.
