* Turn it way up, campers, because you’re in for a treat. Here’s Dwight Yoakum doing an old Joe Maphis/Flying Burrito Brothers tune just a few days ago…
* From a prominent Toi Hutchinson supporter, sent a day after Sen. Napoleon Harris dropped out of the 2nd Congressional District special primary race…
Napoleon’s wallet mattered in this race, not Napoleon himself. He has little profile to move voters Robin’s way. He is now a marginal figure in the race at most.
The person most negatively affected by Napoleon’s departure is Halvorson, who needed Napoleon to spend money to gobble up black voters. That won’t happen now.
Robin has been running around town for 6 weeks telling donors the key to her win strategy was Bloomberg attacking both Halvorson and Toi on guns. That hasn’t happened yet and may not happen at all. She also moved heaven and earth to get her former boss Toni to endorse her, a key tactical goal. Instead Preckwinlke, who is the only endorser who has real name ID, went against her CoS and picked Toi Hutchinson.
So both strategically and tactically, Robin and Debbie each had a bad week.
Toi, on the other hand, had a good week. The Toni endorsement and Toni burning up the phone lines is already giving her a big financial bounce. That is a huge tactical victory and it helps the strategic strength for Toi, who is the only candidate who gets both white and black votes in a significant way. If she wins, having a geographic base and winning white and black votes will be the two main reasons why she won.
Agreed that Hutchinson had a pretty darned good week. However, Harris’ exit means that Frank Zuccarelli’s Thornton Township organization is now freed up to back Kelly. Not sure if that’ll happen, but it’s the only place he’d go.
Robin Kelly reported total receipts of $200,000 and about $198,000 cash on hand.
Toi Hutchinson reported a total of $135,000 in receipts and $129,637 cash on hand.
Debbie Halvorson reported $50,000 in receipts and $44,000 cash on hand. The total includes a $25,000 loan to herself. Note: this may be updated, according to the campaign, following a “big fund-raiser” last night. Stay tuned.
Anthony Beale reported just shy of $50,000 — though the filing only shows $5,000 in contributions, including from Tom Dart and Ed Burke’s committees. There’s $44,000 in unitemized contributions. That means he’s saying almost all his donations came in amounts less than $200. A Beale spokeswoman is getting back on this. He had about $44,000 cash on hand.
Kinda meaningless because those reported totals are as of December 31st. They’ve all been raising cash since then.
Kelly is perfect on our Orange to Blue Candidate Questionnaire, which is to be assumed in this district. But who could’ve predicted that we’d get a very real chance to deal a blow to the NRA, in this turf, at this time?
We need to tear the NRA out of Congress, not strengthen its influence. Bloomberg’s anti-gun Super PAC is already softening up the frontrunner, former Rep. Debbie Halverson. We can and should do our part to join the effort.
You want real gun reform? Make the NRA radioactive.
A: A 30-.06 rifle, and 1187 Remington shotgun, and a 9 millimeter Glock. As aldermen, were legally allowed to carry [handguns]. I don’t carry, but under the city ordinance and the state law, we have the right to carry a concealed weapon.
Q: Do you think the entire state should pass that law?
A: Absolutely not.
Q: Why not? If it’s OK for aldermen, why not the general public.
A: An alderman is a sworn peace officer, and we have to go through 40 hours training in order to obtain the license. I’ve even taken 20 hours additional training.
* Under what circumstances could you vote for Pat Quinn for governor in either the primary or the general election? Make sure to explain, and no snark, please. Thanks.
* Back on December 8th, activist Mary Claire Kendall wrote a story about how she and others were hoping to preserve a Hyde Park apartment building where Ronald Reagan lived for less than a year as a young child…
A hot war is now underway over the University of Chicago Medical Center’s decision to raze Reagan’s Chicago childhood home, which it announced this fall, giving no definite date (best guess: by Jan. 1). The property on which Reagan’s Hyde Park home sits is slated to become an empty lot. At the same time, the university is lobbying vigorously to build President Obama’s Presidential Library.
Somewhere among the environs of the University of Chicago Medical Center, they’re about to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot”.
In political lingo, the university medical center is going to demolish the house where President Ronald Reagan grew up in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighbourhood. […]
Meanwhile back at that ranch known as the University of Chicago, university officials, which once included Michelle Obama, are tied up in a pet project of their own. They are actively lobbying for an Obama Presidential Library. Obama’s own Tony Rezko-enabled home also happens to be in the Hyde Park neighborhood. (A Google map search places the two homes less than half a mile apart.)
Over the holidays, when the demolition and wrecking equipment showed up on site, we sprang into action and, after lots of behind-the-scenes work from Tuesday, January 1 to Wednesday, January 9, we discerned a palpable shift in the winds.
On Friday, January 11, Eleanor Gorski, Assistant Commissioner for Historic Preservation at the Department of Housing and Economic Development in Chicago, who approves demolition permits, affirmed that she fully expects the review process will take the full 90 days—until March 29—and that granting the Reagan home landmark status, after all, is one of the possibilities they are considering. The day before, I called the department and was told by a staff person that there had been “a lot of back and forth” vis-à-vis the home at “higher levels” and someone would be contacting me. Only two days before the department spokesperson, Pete Strazzobosco, was downplaying the worth of the Reagan home. As he told the Hyde Park Herald, “It’s a pretty modest apartment building for its style and age. It doesn’t have very much style, at least not enough for the Landmarks Commission to consider a possible landmark for it.” (January 9 issue) But, the next day at 8 p.m., the University of Chicago’s student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon reported that, according to Strazzobosco, “the City of Chicago’s Historic Preservation Division will use this time to ‘reach out to the property owner and discuss alternatives to demolition.’”
On Wednesday, January 16, the Friends of President Reagan’s Chicago Home incorporated in the State of Illinois and this week we added two new board members—Don Totten, the most prominent early Illinois Republican support of President Reagan, and Dan Proft, a rising star in the Illinois Republican Party and political commentator for WLS in Chicago.
* But on the very same day that Ms. Kendall posted that item about the change in attitude, Illinois Republican gadfly William Kelly posted this “story”…
While the university is planning to kill Reagan’s home, University of Chicago is also aggressively lobbying to be the site of President Barack Obama’s presidential library.
Could the Reagan site become a parking lot for Obama’s library? Opponents of the demolition say yes.
The Chicago home where the late President Ronald Reagan grew up is slated to be demolished and potentially turned into a parking lot for President Obama’s Library, it was revealed today.
The University of Chicago Medical Center has announced plans to turn Ronald Reagan’s childhood home in Chicago into a parking lot for President Barack Obama’s library.
* Also on Wednesday, Mary Claire Kendall, the childhood home preservation activist, declared the story to be a farce…
The claim published in Newsmax today and the Washington Times on Friday, re-posted in Drudge, that the University of Chicago is planning to demolish the Reagan home at 832 E. 57th Street to make way for a parking lot for the Obama Presidential Library is utterly inaccurate, according to informed sources in Hyde Park.
“832 E. 57th St. is one of a number of vacant buildings the University owns that will be taken down to allow for expansion of the medical and biological research campus,” Jeremy Manier, news director at the University of Chicago, wrote in a email to Mother Jones. “The University’s permit request currently is under review by the city. Recent media reports that have speculated on other potential uses of the property are inaccurate.”
* But Kelly was not backing down yesterday. From his Facebook page…
White House press secretary Jay Carney is responding to my story on Reagan’s Chicago home being bulldozed by the University of Chicago - which has been lobbying to be the site of Obama’s presidential library. I don’t believe Carney for a minute!
OUR STORY ON THE DEMOLITON OF RONALD REAGAN’S CHICAGO HOME GOES BIG ON DRUDGE REPORT!
COULD RONALD REAGAN’S CHICAGO HOME BECOME A PARKING LOT FOR OBAMA’S LIBRARY?!
RAHM’S PLAN: DEMOLISH REAGAN’S HOME?
A big thank you to Drudge Report, Newsmax, WND, Daily Mail and other publications that picked up my latest column on the demolition of Ronald Reagan’s Chicago home.
As of this morning the column had 11,000 likes and hundreds of thousands of views!!
* This move by Senate President John Cullerton would most certainly take away a fig leaf used by some recalcitrant Republicans…
Cullerton said he is open to a GOP demand to include judges in his plan to solve Illinois’ $95 billion pension crisis — a bill he said he hopes to have the Senate vote on by late February.
In every pension-reform plan that’s surfaced thus far, the 984 members of the Judges Retirement System of Illinois have been left out because of a constitutional protection against having their salaries be “diminished” and worries judges would block a pension deal on legal grounds. […]
The determining factor in whether to include judges in a pension package, Cullerton said, is whether “I pick up votes or lose votes” by adding the provision.
A spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said that addition has been one of her boss’ demands in a pension deal.
“To somehow not include judges because you think they might rule more favorably [on a broad pension package], that’s just ludicrous,” said Patty Schuh, a spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont).
“Sen. Radogno has long believed [a pension package] ought to be comprehensive and include all five systems because this may be the only opportunity we get to do pension reform,” Schuh said.
Judges shall receive salaries provided by law which shall not be diminished to take effect during their terms of office.
The judiciary ruled during the Blagovjevich years that scheduled salary COLAs were covered by that constitutional provision, so including them in the pension bill is just asking for trouble.
But, if it’s severable and it attracts some votes, then by all means go for it. This is just an excuse by some people to avoid voting on a bill. So, take the excuse away if doing so attracts more net “Yes” votes.
Also, Radogno supported a pension bill last year which included neither the judges nor the teachers.
Valentine’s Day might wind up being more than just a day of romance for Illinois’ gay and lesbian couples.
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) wants Feb. 14 to be the day his legislative chamber votes to legalize gay marriages in Illinois.
“I’d like to pass it out of committee next week and pass it on Valentine’s Day,” Cullerton told the Chicago Sun-Times in a meeting Thursday with the newspaper’s Editorial Board.
Cullerton said he believes the legislation, Senate Bill 10, has the necessary 30 votes to pass and move to the House, clearing a major hurdle in making Illinois the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriages.
* I think the biggest mistake some Republicans can make is to assume that their 2010 primary vote will equal their 2014 primary base. Times change. Tastes change. New candidates emerge. While some candidates will be more known than others because of their previous run(s), that doesn’t mean they’ll end up in the same place as before.
Keep that in mind while reading this e-mail that Sen. Bill Brady sent to his supporters…
In 2010, when I led the ticket, Republicans elected a United States Senator, four new Congressmen and several new state legislators. I unfortunately fell short by less than one percent – a swing of just 16,000 votes out of the more than 3.5 million cast. There’s no question that Illinois is worse off than we were four years ago and that there’s still much work to be done to rebuild our economy and rein in our state spending.
I am now asked every day whether I will run for Governor again in 2014, and I want you to know that Nancy, my campaign and I are laying the groundwork to finish the job we started together three years ago.
Our state debt has now soared to a staggering $21,607 for every resident of Illinois. Under Governor Quinn, more than 290,000 jobs have been lost. Wall Street has lost confidence in Illinois and downgraded our credit rating 11 times alone since 2009 when Quinn took office – more than half the total downgrades in our state’s entire history.
Illinois is at a tipping point. We’ve suffered a decade of decline, debt and despair under two Democrat governors. Our challenges are great, and our state’s leadership has proved itself weak. People may debate my solutions, but they should never doubt my resolve to helping lead Illinois toward a brighter future.
We need to reduce our debt, fix the pension system, and reinstate sound fiscal principles in the state of Illinois. Illinois families and employers continue to face tough times with unemployment, the economy and out-of-control government spending. The decisions we make today in response to those challenges will affect us for the next generation.
We must continue to work to rebuild our economy, encourage our employers to invest in Illinois, reduce the size and cost of government and provide greater opportunities for our children. I am committed to making the necessary tough decisions to bring Illinois back to the greatness we once knew.
Polling shows that I have earned far more support and recognition than any of the other Republicans who have expressed interest in running in 2014. Just as importantly, polling shows that I am best positioned to take back the Governor’s Office, no matter who the Democrat nominee is. Unlike others, I have shown I can build an enthusiastic first-class organization, raise the millions of dollars necessary and withstand the white-hot scrutiny of the media and Democrats in a hotly contested gubernatorial contest.
I hope you’ll offer me your advice over the next several weeks as I continue to travel throughout the state speaking to Illinois citizens and make my final decision. I want to hear what you think, the issues you consider important and the suggestions you may have to resolve those many challenges we face. Another email in the near future will contain an on-line issues poll that will take only a few moments to answer.
And I hope you’ll take a minute right now to support my efforts with your most generous contribution. . Your contributions and support in 2010 almost put us over the top. This will be another hard-fought campaign, and your investment today is important to the decisions I make. You may click on the link above to contribute by credit card, or you may send your contribution to the address below.
Thanks for your past support, and together, you and I can finish the job and set Illinois on a better course for our families.
California’s first credit upgrade in six years shows how curbs on pension costs, a voter-backed tax boost and an improving economy have allowed it to exit Wall Street’s basement, leaving Illinois as the lowest-rated state.
The higher rating by Standard & Poor’s marks a turnaround for California, which has the world’s ninth-largest economy and was once seen as ungovernable as it faced unrelenting budget gaps and issued IOUs to pay bills. Yesterday’s change came less than a week after Illinois had its score lowered, prompting officials to postpone a $500 million bond issue.
Both states have raised taxes. Both are controlled by Democrats, and both have seen unemployment decline. California Governor Jerry Brown, returning to the office he first held three decades ago, cut long-term retiree obligations, saving as much as $55 billion over 30 years. Illinois has skipped pension fund payments and failed to bolster America’s weakest retirement system, with a deficit that grows $17 million a day. […]
Brown persuaded voters in November to pass the highest statewide sales tax in the U.S. and raised levies on income starting at $250,000, for a temporary $6 billion annual revenue boost for seven years. He won reductions in pensions for new state employees and is benefiting from a legal change allowing his budget to be approved with a simple majority vote, rather than two-thirds of the legislature.
* Jerry Brown came into office and did exactly the opposite of what Pat Quinn did. Brown slashed government to the marrow, causing real pain. He reformed pensions. Only then did California voters agree to tax hikes.
When Quinn took the reins in 2009, he decided against deep cuts and allowed the problems to fester for two years, until he and the General Assembly raised taxes in 2011. But he didn’t raise taxes high enough to avoid spending cuts, so it’s been one excruciating budget after another, and except for that prospective employee pension reform, nothing accomplished on that front, either.
* The thing is, people don’t really pay all that much attention to state government. They don’t really understand what the state actually does. By slashing spending, Gov. Brown created a whole lot of hardship, but the pain showed Californians how vital state government can be.
There were good reasons not to slash the Illinois budget in 2009-10 - one being the economy. But the income tax hike eventually took some real steam out of the economy as well.
It’s easy for me as a successful white male with a grown daughter to say that Quinn should’ve taken the Brown route. A whole lot of real people got hurt by those California cuts. Universities and P-12 education suffered greatly as well.
But Brown has taught his state an invaluable lesson about government, while the message received in Illinois - no matter how erroneous - is that tax hikes don’t work and that government is messed up beyond repair.
Oy.
* Other stuff…
* Editorial: What can labor offer on COLA increases?
