Fine lines
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m stealing Eric Zorn’s traditional headline because I’m also (again) posting one of his blog items. Zorn and I are both somewhere in the middle of the gun debate, and his piece is quite good. Some excerpts…
I also don’t understand how you can watch this video [of Logan Square store owner Luis Quizhpe], which became the subject of news stories worldwide, and argue that store owners such as Quizhpe are better off because of Chicago laws that prohibit store employees from carrying handguns. […]
I don’t understand why gun-rights advocates are so stubborn about mandatory background checks in most instances when firearms are sold or transferred. Yes, it can be a hassle. But it should be a hassle. We’re talking about passing around lethal weapons. It should always be harder to buy one than to buy a box of Sudafed. […]
I don’t understand why so many staunch gun-rights advocates are simultaneously paranoid about government power and vehement about the need to keep the U.S. military robustly funded. Swarthmore College political scientist Dominic Tierney labeled this paradox “the great gun gobbledygook ” in a recent essay at TheAtlantic.com and noted, “Conservatives say that a weaponized citizenry is a necessary shield against dictatorship. I’ll take the argument more seriously if conservatives stop arming this tyrant to the teeth.” […]
I don’t understand why gun-control advocates focus so much attention on “assault weapons” and limiting concealed-carry rights when by far the biggest problem we have with firearms comes from illegally obtained, unregistered handguns.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything in his piece, but I do agree with pretty much everything I’ve excerpted. And on his very last point, I couldn’t possibly agree more. Part of the problem, as I see it, is that liberal politicians just don’t know what to do about crime, so they fall back on time- and poll-tested “solutions” that won’t make a difference, but sound good to the masses.
His closing…
Finally, I don’t understand why an issue that’s so perfect for compromise — for people of good will to come together to craft ways to lower the rates of violence and protect the rights of law-abiding citizens — remains so intractable.
Discuss.
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About that “555-page bill”
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eriz Zorn’s unsolicited advice to Gov. Pat Quinn…
Gaming Board chairman Aaron Jaffe said in a contentious Senate Executive Committee hearing last week that among his many problems with the current 555-page bill is that it could and should be far shorter — 30 pages or less.
Is he correct? Prove it. Give us that bill. Get a friendly lawmaker to introduce it for you. Put this issue behind us.
As with any legislation, most of the bill simply restates existing statutory language. You have to get to page 60-something before you even find anything new.
And, as with most legislation, there’s repeated language. The ban on campaign contributions by the gaming industry is repeated, for instance.
So, I copied all the new language, except for the repeated stuff on the campaign contribution ban, and pasted it into a text file, counted the words and divided by 270 (which is, more or less, about how many words are on a bill page as far as I can tell) and came up with 98.6 pages. [ADDING: Those first 60-some pages create a new entity, so add that to the total, which comes to160-something]. That’s more than 30, but certainly not 555 pages, a “fact” which is used mainly as a rhetorical device to undermine the bill by people like Jaffe, Gov. Quinn and the Tribune editorial board..
Also, Quinn doesn’t have any friendly lawmakers. He’s the first governor in forever who has no floor leaders. Besides, Quinn definitely does not want to “own” this issue by introducing a bill. He clearly wants any gaming expansion to be blamed on the General Assembly, not him.
* Speaking of which, here is my weekly syndicated newspaper column…
I’ve always believed that just because somebody claims to be a reformer, it doesn’t mean the person has the right solutions.
Many years ago, an activist named Pat Quinn came up with an idea to change the Illinois Constitution. He used the petition process to get rid of a third of Illinois House members in one fell swoop. This, Quinn said, would save money and make legislators more responsive to their constituents.
In reality, all that did was allow a guy named Michael Madigan to more easily consolidate his power. And one way he consolidated that power was by spending lots more money. Quinn’s plan backfired.
But even though this sort of thing has happened over and over again here, the media tends to give reformers a pass, almost no matter what.
So I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I read the major media’s news reports of last week’s Senate Executive Committee hearing. It wasn’t at all like the meeting I attended.
Admittedly, I arrived a little late and had to leave for a meeting before it was over, but from what I saw, Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe’s years-long criticism of the General Assembly’s gaming expansion bills was exposed as hollow and not entirely fact-based. He badly stumbled through his testimony, couldn’t directly answer questions and despite long-standing public criticisms, a notebook filled with thoughts and a history as a state legislator himself, Jaffe seemed woefully unprepared for the hearing.
For years, Chairman Jaffe has criticized various gaming expansion proposals, which has made him a media darling. He comes up with great quotes, once calling a gaming bill a “pile of garbage.”
But he’s never once said how the General Assembly ought to actually write the bills. Instead, he has relied on media-friendly criticisms of the way the legislature has gone about things.
It’s not like Jaffe is completely blameless here. The people drafting the gaming legislation clearly despise the man and never really attempted to work with him, or even listen to him.
But last week’s Senate meeting was designed to finally provide Jaffe with a public forum to offer up some concrete solutions. He didn’t have any.
Over and over, Senators in both parties pleaded with Jaffe to offer up some specifics for how to make the gaming bill more acceptable to him, and over and over Jaffe simply could not do so.
Instead, Jaffe stuck to generalities and catch phrases.
Jaffe said he hadn’t read the full bill, saying it was too long and claiming that a better bill might be just 25 pages long, without explaining how less language wouldn’t create gaping loopholes and without admitting that many of the pages in the 555-page bill are simply filled with current statutory language restated without any changes whatsoever. Jaffe declared that there were no ethical improvements in the recently revised legislation, even though the new bill would ban campaign contributions from gaming interests.
Jaffe even urged legislators to outright eliminate some state agencies because they were impeding his agency’s staff hiring - even though existing personnel regulations were inspired by decades of state corruption. He bitterly complained about the projects in the bill inserted to attract more votes, even though those projects have no direct bearing on the Gaming Board’s mission. He complained that the Chicago casino language wouldn’t allow the Board to determine whether the region was already too saturated with gaming, but then said he had no philosophical problem with a Chicago casino. His testimony was, in sum, an embarrassing mess by a man clearly past his prime, but the media covered for him, focusing mostly on a one-minute spat between Jaffe and the bill’s sponsor.
The only real progress came late in the hearing when Jaffe’s administrator Mark Ostrowski seemed to pull an idea out of thin air to delete the Chicago management agency’s language and give full responsibility for all operations to the private casino management company that the agency was supposed to choose. The manager, Ostrowski said, would be far easier to regulate than a municipal entity, which could fight bureaucratic battles through the courts. If the Senators were paying attention, they may have found a solution to finally get Jaffe off their backs.
* Related…
* Gaming board, lawmakers aim to overcome insults
* Erickson: Sides lining up on state gambling bill
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Subscribers know much more about this, but buried deep in Bernie’s Sunday column was a choice little nugget…
But [state Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon] still didn’t have a good idea where Rauner stands on social issues, which he said will be important in a primary to the GOP base. McCarter characterizes himself, for example, as being “as pro-life as you can get.”
The word later from Chip Englander, manager of Rauner’s exploratory effort: “Like (former Gov.) Jim Edgar and (U.S. Sen.) Mark Kirk, he is pro-choice.”
Earlier this month, Rauner dodged questions about whether he supported gay marriage by suggesting that Illinois hold a referendum, even though Illinois has no binding referenda provisions. Rauner described himself as a “social liberal” to Roll Call several years ago.
Whether related or not, Rauner’s campaign announced today that it had hired an official campaign spokesperson.
* The Question: Can Bruce Rauner win a Republican gubernatorial primary while being a “social liberal?” Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey hosting
Keep in mind when answering that Mark Kirk won a statewide primary just a few years ago even though he’s a pro-choice social liberal, but he didn’t have much by way of opposition. And Rauner is raising lots and lots of cash.
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The great pizza scandal of 2011
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Belleville News-Democrat…
The former head of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s regional office in Collinsville violated ethics rules by soliciting pizzas for an office party from a contractor, according to a report by the state’s top investigator.
Inspector General Ricardo Meza’s investigation determined that Mary Lamie violated the gift ban in the state’s ethics rules and recommended that she be disciplined. Lamie now works in the private sector.
Lamie, who worked for IDOT until at least March 2011, declined comment Monday. While at IDOT, she served as the engineer for District 8, which covers Madison, St. Clair and nine other counties in the area, as well as District 9, which covers 16 counties in Southern Illinois.
According to the inspector general’s report, during an interview with investigators Lamie admitted that she instructed an underling to solicit pizzas from an IDOT consultant for an office party for District 9, based in Carbondale.
Obviously, she shouldn’t have been soliciting $50 in pizza from a contractor. No defense there. But this is what the IG is concentrating on?
* Actually, the IG also issued another report on former Congressman David Phelps…
Phelps, hired [at IDOT] in 2003 after he lost re-election, was excoriated in the report, which included his inability to explain to Meza’s investigators what his work day entailed other than meeting with “lots of people.” Despite his title, the IDOT secretary at the time, Quinn appointee Gary Hannig, said Phelps was not part of the management team.
“It appears that Mr. Phelps does little work,” the report said. “This coupled with the … investigative findings, seemingly indicates that the primary actions which Mr. Phelps undertakes in an official capacity are those that constitute misconduct and abuse of his position.”
The report said Phelps, who made $128,000, acknowledged he met with job candidates, particularly for a 2009 summer hiring program, including those who had supported him in congressional campaigns. According to the report, he told employees doing the hiring whom he favored for jobs because he wanted to help “good people.”
Phelps countered that contrary to being unable to discuss his job in detail, he described how tried to bring accountability to the position, represented IDOT on the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, represented IDOT at events aimed at traffic safety, and submitted work schedules that IDOT secretaries approved. He disputed the report’s description of his intervention with job candidates and noted allegations that he improperly intervened came from witnesses whose names are redacted and whose testimony he had no chance to rebut.
“I talked to a lot of people about jobs,” Phelps said. “I helped direct them to the right information they could have so they’d have a better chance, but it’s not because of who they were. As soon as they went out the door, there might be somebody else talking about the same job.”
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Quinn still insisting on an immediate appeal
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Here we go again…
Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan both suggested Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to turn down an appeal of New York’s tough gun law could boost Illinois lawmakers’ attempts to set strict limits on who gets to carry concealed weapons.
But the Democratic governor also used Monday’s Supreme Court move to escalate his call for Madigan to appeal to the high court a federal ruling that gives Illinois a deadline of early June to put in place a concealed weapons law.
“It would be helpful to … the people and the public safety of Illinois if that case (would) be reversed,” Quinn said.
* More…
The governor’s focus on guns while speaking with reporters afterwards ramped up pressure on the attorney general to appeal December’s federal appeals court ruling mandating concealed carry in Illinois to the U.S. Supreme Court. To date, Madigan hasn’t made her intentions known.
“I think the case was wrongly decided by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and I would like to see that reversed, and the only way to do that is with an appeal,” Quinn said. “I hope the attorney general reconsiders that.”
Earlier, Madigan said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Monday not to overturn New York’s highly restrictive concealed-carry law would “obviously influence our continuing review of the situation here in Illinois.” But she wouldn’t divulge whether she intends to appeal the federal appeals ruling mandating state lawmakers to craft a concealed-carry law in Illinois by early June.
* We’ve been over this before. The governor is clearly just trying to score some political points here. Madigan explains…
Madigan noted that even if she had filed an appeal to the Supreme Court the same day her request was denied [by the appellate court for en banc] in February, the case wouldn’t have been heard until later this year.
“(Whether I appeal or not) doesn’t have an impact … on the 180-day clock,” she said.
Because of this, she said she’s waiting to see a final bill before making a decision.
In other words, deciding to appeal now won’t speed up US Supreme Court review by a minute. And appealing before the General Assembly has a chance to work out a deal on concealed carry means her work could be mooted if a bill passes. Quinn knows this. But, hey, he’s mostly getting the media spin, so whatever. And I’ll bet it polls well.
* Raw audio of Gov. Quinn’s remarks to the media yesterday…
* Raw audio of Attorney General Madigan’s remarks to the media yesterday…
* Related…
* Lisa Madigan stays tight-lipped about a possible 2014 challenge to Quinn
* Quinn, Madigan talk housing, not politics
* Quinn and Madigan differ on guns, housing
* Madigan campaign funds are triple Quinn’s
* The money race for governor is already on
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Ives doubles down
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Back in January, the Chicago Tribune editorial page absolutely blasted state Rep. Tom Morrison for his pension reform vote…
Timid lawmakers reached hither and yon to find reasons for not supporting reform legislation: This proposal is too strong, that proposal is too weak, and so on — whatever it took to avoid decisive action.
Among the most maladroit: state Rep. Tom Morrison, a conservative Republican from Palatine, who ran for office on a platform of … pension reform. We endorsed Morrison wholeheartedly — and then he voted Monday in committee against the only serious, cost-cutting pension reform measure that had any momentum. He evidently thought it didn’t go far enough. In other words, pension reform champion Morrison had found his reason to oppose pension reform!
* Over the weekend, the Tribune considerably softened its rhetoric, but still urged Morrison and his sole co-sponsor, Rep. Jeanne Ives, to not make the perfect the enemy of the good…
In the House, divisions appeared in the Republican caucus. State Reps. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, and Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, introduced a pension bill that would shift government workers into 401(k)-style plans and freeze the state’s defined benefit program going forward.
It’s a laudable idea advanced by the Illinois Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank. The sponsors say it would cut almost in half the state’s $96.8 billion unfunded liability in the next fiscal year and save roughly $2 billion in spending.
But the two sponsors are waiting for … a third sponsor. They have garnered scant support, and they have created the risk that lawmakers will use this bill as an excuse to peel off of the consensus slowly building for the package proposed by Biss, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, and House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.
Remember your Voltaire: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
* Rep. Ives responded…
I greatly appreciate that the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, in their article, “On the Road to Nowhere,” recognized the merit of HB 3303, the pension reform plan put forth by Rep. Tom Morrison and me.
As one of the major daily newspapers in the state, your advocacy and influence is powerful. For that reason, I respectfully request that you, reconsidered your position on state pension reform from “Get Something (Anything) Done” to “Get the Right Thing Done – Create Real Reform in Illinois.”
If it is “the perfect” vs. “the good” then why advocate for the lesser, simply because it is more popular or has bigger names signed to it? Do not abandon your challenge to fix the pension system for the good of those in the system and tax-payers.
Advocate for the plan that remove us, as a citizenry, from the system that has played heavily into creating the economic tragedy in which we currently find ourselves.
As Military Historian, John Keegan states, “Soldiers, when committed to a task, can’t compromise. It’s unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it’s been done.”
Oy.
Rep. Ives is a freshman who obviously isn’t here to learn. She’s here to teach.
If she was here to learn, she’d already know the serious fiscal consequences of moving to a 401(k) system. No more employee pension contributions into a gigantic legacy system which still somehow has to be dealt with, and new state Social Security employer payments. [ADDING: As a commenter points out, Ives’ bill would not necessarily require SS payments.]
If she was here to learn, she’d already know the necessity of compromise in a legislative environment. Nobody ever gets everything they want, so eventually people have to work together to do what can be done to fix as many problems as possible.
Tea partiers like Rep. Ives like to talk a lot about strict adherence to the US Constitution. Well, there’s also an Illinois Constitution and Rep. Ives is sworn to uphold it. I don’t know of anybody who has ever come up with any sort of argument that switching everybody into a 401(k) program is in any way or form constitutional. [ADDING: OK, Sidley and Austin does, but this is still an outlier position.]
Also, you’re not a soldier, Rep. Ives. You’re a legislator. Big difference. To compare yourself to a soldier is not only silly, but also insulting to actual soldiers, many of whom put their very lives on the line every day in service to our country and our Constitution.
* Related…
* Chicago tax day Tea Party rally garners a smaller-than-expected crowd of a few hundred
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* Here we go again…
In the latest effort to pull businesses from other states, Rick Perry is taking aim at yet another Democratic state – Illinois.
In a modest advertising buy, Perry and the TexasOne, a group sponsored by corporations and chambers of commerce, are running an incendiary message.
The print ad in a Chicago business journal urges Illinois businesses to “get out while there’s still time,” likening their state to a “burning building on the verge of collapse.”
It ad says the state has unintentionally created an “environment designed for you to fail,” and then goes on to list Texas’ business-friendly attributes, including the lack of a state income tax, lower worker compensation taxes and a bigger workforce.
The Illinois Review has helpfully chimed in by posting a chart that purports to show the superiority of Texas to Illinois…
* I asked Gov. Pat Quinn’s office for a response to Gov. Perry. Here it is…
We’ve seen this rodeo before. And if previous, similar efforts by other Republican governors are any indication – these publicity stunts don’t work and they don’t change the fact that businesses are choosing Illinois all the time. In fact, [today], we will announce a global corporation is choosing Illinois for its North American headquarters, in part due to Governor Quinn’s Clean Water Initiative and work to make our state a global hub for water technology.
With our strong transportation network, diverse economy, vibrant manufacturing base and skilled workforce, Illinois is one of the best places to do business in the world. And when all state and local taxes are considered, Illinois has the fifth-lowest effective tax rate in the country, at 4.6%, according to a 2011 study by Ernst & Young LLP.
Under Gov. Quinn’s leadership, the state has become friendlier to employers. He’s done more than any other governor to restore fiscal stability after decades of mismanagement and give businesses the certainty they need to invest. His actions have included reducing the state’s discretionary spending to historic lows and cutting red tape for environmental permits. Gov. Quinn successfully overhauled the worker’s compensation system to save businesses billions of dollars and reduce insurance rates for Illinois companies by nine percent. And he has made international trade and foreign direct investment efforts a priority, taking several trade missions to help Illinois companies access more global markets and recruit international businesses to our state. Not to mention – Illinois is investing in its transportation system like no other state, with $44 billion in capital construction efforts well underway.
There is no doubt that when lawmakers pass pension reform and send a bill to the governor, Illinois’ economy and business climate will be further strengthened. That’s why we continue to focus on the hard but necessary reforms to restore fiscal stability to Illinois.
In addition - Spending taxpayer dollars on ads in hopes of poaching companies from Illinois isn’t an economic development strategy. (As the New York Times pointed out in its December 2012 article on Texas’ incentive practices, despite handing out more business incentives than any other state, Texas has the third-highest proportion of hourly jobs paying at or below minimum wage. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us/winners-and-losers-in-texas.html?_r=0 )
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s office has an addendum…
Aside from the fact that there is little to no evidence to show that these publicity stunts produce any results, here are the facts:
Illinois also has a more educated workforce and a more economically stable population.
· Percent of population that graduated high school: Illinois - 86.6%; Texas - 80.4%.
· Percent of population with bachelor’s degree or higher: Illinois -30.7%; Texas-26.1%
· Percent of population living below poverty level: Illinois-13.1%; Texas 17%
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Today’s quote
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Patton Oswalt on the Boston Marathon bombings…
I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. […]
This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago,
….Adding… Continual live updates are here.
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* From a press release…
At a news conference Tuesday, April 16, a group of doctors will announce the support of nearly 250 Illinois physicians for allowing patients with serious illnesses to obtain and use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. Specifically, the physicians have signed on to the following statement:
“Licensed medical practitioners should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if their medical professionals have told them that such use is likely to be beneficial.”
The Illinois House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on House Bill 1, which would make Illinois the 19th state to allow patients with certain conditions, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, to use medical marijuana with recommendations from their physicians. It would also establish a network of state-regulated cultivation centers and dispensaries to provide marijuana to qualified patients.
“It should be up to physicians, not police and prosecutors, to decide whether medical marijuana is the right treatment for their patients,” said Dan Riffle, Deputy Director of Government Affairs with the Marijuana Policy Project. “Those who benefit from medical marijuana should be able to obtain it legally and safely. Our laws should promote the doctor-patient relationship, not the dealer-patient relationship.”
You can read the entire list of doctors by clicking here.
See anybody you know?
* Roundup of positive newspaper editorials from yesterday and today…
* Tribune: Medical pot for Illinois patients
* Rockford Register Star: Time to say yes to medical marijuana in Illinois
* Dispatch-Argus: Medical marijuana; why yes?
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Beneath Chicago’s streets lie gas mains that were put in place, in some cases, when horses and buggies were driving overhead. Since 1981, Peoples Gas has been replacing these outdated mains. So far, the utility has replaced about half of its 4,000 miles of old cast-iron and ductile mains with updated pipe.
While natural gas supplies are abundant and wholesale costs are low, we need to focus on investing in our natural gas distribution system by modernizing this aging gas infrastructure. In 2010 Peoples Gas developed a plan to accelerate the pace at which they upgrade their natural gas distribution network. Doing the work at a faster clip would save Illinoisans money in the long run. Why? Aging low-pressure mains require a higher level of risk management: more safety inspections, more leak repairs and more service outages. New polyethylene and steel pipes will reduce these risks, offer more reliable service, create new efficiencies in system operations and maintenance, and support modern, energy-efficient appliances that cannot operate on the low-pressure mains.
But the current regulatory framework discourages investment, as rate cases and appeals can take years and their outcomes are uncertain. The Natural Gas Modernization, Public Safety and Jobs Bill (SB 1665/HB 2414) will bring Illinois’ regulatory framework into the 21st century and will enable Peoples Gas to upgrade its natural gas infrastructure.
Members of the Illinois legislature: Vote YES on SB 1665/HB 2414. Click here to learn more: www.peoplesgasdelivery.com/legislation
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* From the unanimous 2004 Illinois Supreme court opinion Jorgensen v. Blagojevich…
In reaching this result, we acknowledge that substantial budgetary challenges currently confront the Governor and the General Assembly. The adverse economic conditions facing so many of our fellow citizens have taken an inevitable toll on the state’s treasury. Revenues are not keeping pace. Despite ongoing efforts by the Governor and legislature, shortfalls persist. […]
One thing we cannot do, however, is ignore the Constitution of Illinois. […]
No principle of law permits us to suspend constitutional requirements for economic reasons, no matter how compelling those reasons may seem.
The Court would have to completely reverse that reasoning to come to the conclusion that Illinois’ finances are so bad right now that the Constitution’s plain language on pensions must be ignored.
Stranger things have happened, but the Court reasoned itself into an extremely tight corner with that opinion.
* And this is from Senate Democratic chief legal counsel Eric Madiar’s analysis of the Constitutional Convention floor debate…
Delegate Kinney stated that the word “enforceable” was “meant to provide that the rights established shall be subject to judicial proceedings and can be enforced through court action.”
The word “impaired,” she stated, was “meant to imply and to intend that if a pension fund would be on the verge of default or imminent bankruptcy, a group action could be taken to show that these rights should be preserved.”
Prescient, eh?
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Boston Marathon explosions
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’re following the news you know that two explosions occurred at the Boston Marathon finish line. Here’s a quick ScribbleLive feed to help us all keep up.
Try to avoid repeating rumors in comments, please, but help us keep up if you can. Blackberry users click here…
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Money, or lack thereof
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
1025 contributors donate to Rutherford Campaign First Quarter 2013
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford continued his strong momentum in the first quarter of 2013 by raising over $300,000 for a likely gubernatorial bid. The election finance report was filed with the State Board of Elections and shows he has no debt and cash on hand is at three quarters of a million dollars.
Most impressive is that during the three month span there were 1025 individual contributors donating to the cause. Contributions varied from $10 to $10,000. Over the span of Rutherford’s political career 25,000 contributors have donated to his effort.
That’s a nice pile of contributors, but not a truly gigantic amount of money. Rutherford has $740K in the bank.
* Then again, by contrast, state Sen. Bill Brady had about $280K at the start of the year in two separate funds. But his statewide fund reported raising no money at all this quarter, while his Senate fund brought in just $2,810.
Um, dude. If you’re gonna run for governor, you might wanna start cranking things up a bit.
* State Sen. Kirk Dillard hasn’t yet filed a quarterly report, but he reported starting the year with just $22K in the bank (two different funds) and has reported raising $105K in large contributions since then.
* Meanwhile, surprise here…
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) rounded out the first quarter of the year with $3.23 million in his campaign fund, placing him in a strong position for a reelection run. […]
Durbin, 68, raised more than $736,00 in the first quarter of 2013.
* Also from a press release…
Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth will report raising $351,285 for the first quarter of the 2014 election cycle. Duckworth once again displayed her grassroots support by receiving contributions from more than 1,500 individuals. The $351,285 raised is near the top of funds raised by House Freshman in the first quarter.
* And a GOP state Rep. responds to Bruce Rauner’s “right to work” ideas…
State Rep. WAYNE ROSENTHAL, R-Morrisonville, like McCarter, has not yet decided on a favorite candidate for governor in 2014. He said he does consider Rauner a serious candidate, and said the right-to-work issue was mentioned at the meeting.
“But I look at it as a non-issue in Illinois,” Rosenthal said. “It’s just not going to happen. So why think about it? … It’s kind of like the people that want (downstate) to secede from Chicago. That’s not going to happen either.”
Rosenthal did call Rauner “personable” and “a very impressive guy.” But the lawmaker also said, “I think he hasn’t been involved in the political process. There’s obstacles there that you need to be aware of. … You don’t worry about the things that you can’t do anything about,” like the right-to-work issue.
* Related…
* Teachers’ union to ramp up political work: CTU says it will register 100,000 more voters, recruit candidates for alderman and mayor.
* NRCC Chair among big names courting IL state Rep. Darlene Senger for Congressional challenge to Foster
* Robin Kelly hopes to change legacy of 2nd District seat
* Congressman Schock on Huckabee Show
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Question of the day
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
“We will win the World Series,” Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Monday at a news conference at Wrigley Field to outline the team’s plans for renovations to the 99-year-old ballpark.
He said the “financial impact” of the development plan “will help us do that.”
* The Question: In what year will the Chicago Cubs win the World Series? Explain.
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*** LIVE *** SESSION COVERAGE
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Gov. Pat Quinn are both speaking at the Illinois Housing Leaders Conference. BlueRoomStream has the live/archived video. Click here.
* On to the ScribbleLive-enabled coverage. Blackberry users click here…
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Looks kinda thorough to me
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Earlier this month we looked at Professor Laurie Reynolds’ thesis about how the Illinois Supreme Court might rule that the Nekrtiz/Cross pension reform was constitutional, even though it appeared to defy the state Constitution’s prohibition against diminishing or impairing benefits. The Tribune editorial page approvingly quoted from her analysis over the weekend and concluded…
The overriding truth here is that all legal speculation is just that. If merely reading statutes, case law and constitutions could settle disputes, we wouldn’t need judges to think more broadly about what’s just. In this dispute, the Illinois Supreme Court could decide that, yes, pensioners are losing some future benefits, but are receiving two gains of great value in return: much healthier pension funds, and a fiscally stable state better able to fund their still-generous benefits.
I don’t disagree that it’s possible the Illinois Supremes could rule this way. With a court, almost anything is possible.
* But there was also this…
As for the 1970 convention: “I have looked at the convention history surrounding the adoption of the pension clause, and it is remarkably scant,” [Professor Reynolds] says. “There was very little delegate discussion of this clause, and I’m not sure how helpful the constitutional history will be to the court’s analysis.”
* I dunno about that. If you click here you can see some pretty extensive Con-Con floor debate, much of it foreshadowing today’s debate.
* Also, according to the analysis prepared by the Senate Democrats’ Eric Madiar, there were at least two attempts to water down the pension language’s impact. Both were rebuffed. The first would’ve tacked some language onto the front of the pension clause itself. The proposed additional language is italicized…
Subject to the authority of the General Assembly to enact reasonable modifications in employee rates of contribution, minimum service requirements and other provisions pertaining to the fiscal soundness of the retirement systems, membership in any pension or retirement system of the state or any local government, or any agency or instrumentality of either, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired
The second attempt would’ve provided some “intent” language read into the record…
The statement provided, in pertinent part, that while the proposed Pension Clause “is taken from the Constitution of New York,” “it should not be interpreted as embodying a Convention intent that it withdraws from the legislature the authority to make reasonable adjustments or modifications in respect to employee and employer rates of contribution, qualifying service and benefit conditions, and other changes designed to assure the financial stability of pension and retirement funds.”
That move was also rejected, leading Madiar to conclude…
The contemporaneous nature of the Commission’s overtures and their rejection by Convention delegates show that the drafters (1) were cognizant of the Clause’s broad limitation on legislative power and (2) intended to immunize pension benefit rights (e.g., employee benefits payments, conditions or contribution rates) from any adverse, unilateral action by General Assembly.
* Voters, of course, had to approve the new Constitution. Madiar looked at the official explanation provided to Illinoisans…
The Convention stated in its official text and explanation of the proposed Constitution that under the Pension Clause “provisions of state and local governmental pension and retirement systems shall not have their benefits reduced.” And, “membership in such systems shall be a valid contractual relationship.”
The Convention’s official explanation also stated that the Clause was a new section “and self-explanatory.” The Convention’s official text and explanation was mailed to each registered voter in Illinois and published in newspapers throughout the State prior to the special referendum election held in December 1970 to approve the proposed Constitution
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* 10:25 am - The US Supreme Court has decided not to hear arguments of an appellate decision upholding New York’s restrictive concealed carry law. From the SCOTUS Blog…
The denial of review in Kachalsky, et al., v. Cacace, et al. (docket 12-845) was the latest in a series of denials of attempts to get the Justices to explore the reach of the Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, recognizing a Second Amendment right to have a gun for personal self-defense. That decision, though, was limited to a right to have a gun ready to shoot inside one’s own home.
In the Heller decision, the Court emphasized that the personal right it was recognizing for the first time was not an “absolute” right, and that gun ownership could be subjected to “reasonable” regulations. It provided some examples, such as having a gun in a sensitive public place, but that list was not intended to be complete. That has left it to Congress and to state legislatures to decide whether they want to impose new forms of gun control. […]
There is now such a clear split among federal appeals courts on whether constitutional gun rights extend beyond the home, and yet that was not sufficient to draw the Court back into the center of the controversy in the new case from New York. The new case sought to test the constitutionality of limiting a citizen’s right to a license to carry a concealed gun in public to those who can show they have a “proper cause” for their belief that they need a gun for self-defense away from home.
Essentially, the Court’s decision allows New York’s quite restrictive concealed carry laws to stand as-is. That could strengthen the hands of gun control advocates here, who have bitterly disputed the Chicago federal appellate court ruling that Illinois’ blanket prohibition on concealed carry was unconstitutional. At minimum, gun control groups say, any new state law ought to be pretty darned restrictive. Gun rights advocates had hoped that the Supremes would take the NY case and toss out that state’s law.
I’m assuming the pressure will also increase on Attorney General Lisa Madigan to appeal the appellate court’s ruling that gives Illinois until June 9th to revamp state law.
*** UPDATE *** Washington Times…
Alan Gura, counsel for the [New York] plaintiffs — five residents who had applied for a “full-carry license” — disagreed.
“The only thing worse than explicitly refusing to enforce an enumerated constitutional right would be to declare a right ‘fundamental’ while standing aside as lower courts render it worthless,” Mr. Gura wrote in a reply brief on March 26. “Few outcomes could promote as much cynicism about our legal system.”
The other way of looking at this is that the US Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided that concealed carry truly is a “fundamental right.”
So far, no response from ISRA.
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Today’s number: $86.3 million
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the SJ-R…
As taxpayers rush to send in their 1040s Monday, folks sending a check to the Illinois Department of Revenue may be wondering what happens to all that cash.
The answer for at least $86.3 million last year is that it gets “flushed away,” according to state Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
The line of unpaid vendors is much longer and the bill is much higher than that comparatively small amount — the total for outstanding bills stood at nearly $5.9 billion as of Friday afternoon — but those tens of millions of dollars last year went to cover interest owed on those late payments.
If the state can’t pay its bills on time — after 90 days — private vendors become eligible for interest on the overdue amount. That accrues month after month until the bill gets paid.
Many of those overdue bills are in the Medicaid program, which means the state isn’t getting timely federal reimbursement, which just compounds the problems.
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Keep your fingers crossed
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From NBC 5…
Gov. Pat Quinn admitted he’s a procrastinator when it comes to taxes.
The Governor said there’s nothing wrong with waiting until the last minute to file tax returns. In fact, Quinn said he’s filing them close to the deadline himself. […]
“You can file early on and if people want to do that I commend them, but those of us who often do our term papers at the last minute often times do our taxes at the last minute,” he said. “But as long as you get in on the deadline you’re OK and that’s what I plan to do.”
As you may remember, the governor did his own returns last year, filing them on April 16th, which was a Monday that year. As we eventually discovered, he goofed up his taxes a bit…
The federal tax he reported paying was actually $1,607.48 less than the tax he reported owing. But he looks like he reversed the numbers. Instead of subtracting what he owed from what he paid, which would have given him a negative result, he subtracted what he paid from what he owed, and then asked for a $1,607.48 refund when he actually appears to owe that amount.
So, filing at the last minute does have its downsides.
Have you filed yet?
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[This story was originally posted Saturday, but has now been updated and bumped up for conversational purposes.]
* Opponents of Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady were not able to muster the votes to oust him today. Indeed, no votes were even taken on an ouster, which was a serious defeat to his most outspoken opponents.
However, the central committee did set up a process to find a replacement. So, it appears as though the “surrender with honor” idea by top Republicans has worked. Brady can announce a resignation “of his own accord” and without a sword over his head. The opponents “win” because Brady will step down, but there will not be a hardline conservative appointed in his place. Expect either Sen. Matt Murphy or somebody like him.
* The Illinois Review summed up a few tweets from the meeting…
# Meeting went to Executive Session without period for public comment
# Crowd got rowdy and began to chant outside Executive Session
# Oberweis went out to crowd to calm them. Offered ice cream.
# Tinley Park police called because of noise complaint
# Reports of “hundreds” outside GOP State Rep. Ed Sullivan’s office - protesting his intention to vote for marriage redefinition
* Um, here’s a photo of what IR called “hundreds” of people outside Rep. Sullivan’s office…
Doesn’t look like “hundreds” to me. More like a few dozen or so.
* Also, click here for tweets from the hashtag #ilgop for your entertainment purposes.
*** UPDATE *** Coverage roundup…
* Tribune: Brady still chairman, but state GOP panel preps for his succession
NBC5: Brady Ouster Fails, Support for Gay Marriage Continues
* Daily Herald: Republicans keep Brady as party chair at Tinley Park meeting
* AP: Brady to remain Illinois Republican Chairman
* IL Review: Illinois Republican State Central Committee retains Brady as party chairman
* IL Review: Videos of ILGOP meeting begin to emerge
* IL Review: Another video from ILGOP meeting
* William Kelly: Kelly Calls on Pat Brady to Apologize for “Treating Republicans Like Animals”
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