* 5:16 pm - Here’s the “cheat sheet” that the Senate Democrats are using to describe union pension reform proposal. Click here or on the pic for a larger image…
* With so many people bad-mouthing Illinois for being a lousy place to do business, it’s quite different to see how Illinois coddles the coal mining industry. Here’s a rant from Salon entitled “Big coal owns Illinois”…
With state coal production soaring against national trends, Illinois cemented its reputation as the worst rogue state for coal operations last Friday, when the rubber-stamping operations of the state’s EPA issued a pollutant discharge permit to a company already cited by the state for over 600 toxic discharge violations at its central Illinois non-union strip mine.
Translation: Imagine the Department of Motor Vehicles renewing the driver’s license of a toxic-laden truck driver with 600 DUI’s.
Welcome to Illinois–where the brand new Prairie State coal-fired plant is facing “potential fraud” investigations for rocket increases in electricity rates; where the second highest number of contaminated coal ash dump sites in the country abound; where a mind-boggling high hazard coal slurry dam continues to rise in sight of a farm town‘s nursing home and day care center; where Illinois taxpayers underwrite a huge slush fund for coal marketing, including a shameless “coal education curriculum” for students that blatantly covers up the facts on the state’s deadly coal industry; where even the liberal US Sen. Dick Durbin fights for the pork of “clean coal” as the main utility company backs out of the FutureGen boondoggle.
It’s so pathetic in Illinois that even bankrupt energy companies are granted two-year extensions on their deadly emissions clean up requirements.
It’s so pathetic in Illinois that there’s not even a coal severance tax, or collection of sales tax for out-of-state transactions–a huge detail when record coal exports now drive the market.
It’s so pathetic in Illinois that we don’t even celebrate Coal Miners Day–just the coal barons.
And last Friday’s notice by the Illinois EPA, sent in an email after working hours, on the granting of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for Springfield Coal’s strip mine operation near the township of Industry might be the most unabashed denial of facts and community input in recent memory.
Metro East voters today have started fielding the first of some 10,000 robocalls that will be flooding predominantly African-American areas in and around East St. Louis in the next few days, with a message from a prominent black Chicago pastor: Oppose gay marriage.
“In my view, same-sex marriage should not be the law of the state of Illinois,” says the Rev. James Meeks on the robocall, which is targeted specifically at state Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, D-East St. Louis. “. . . Call your representative, Eddie Lee Jackson, and share with him your view.”
Rep. Jackson voted against the bill in committee and said at the time that he would also vote against it on the floor. Unless there has been some major move in the opposite direction, why waste resources on these calls? Why risk alienating somebody with robocalls who is already on your side? Not bright.
* Now, this took some guts. GOP state Rep. Ron Sandack attended a rally organized by both anti and pro gay marriage types and told them exactly where he stood…
In February, Sandack, R-Downers Grove, became the first Illinois House Republican to come out in favor of marriage-equality legislation, and he restated that position Saturday for groups on both sides of the issue.
“To be completely forthright with you all, I am going to vote for the bill,” Sandack said to the group opposed to same-sex marriage.
The Illinois Family Institute, a Carol Stream-based anti-gay Christian group, arranged to hold their “Defend Marriage” rally to assert their opposition to legislation that would legally permit same-sex marriage. They also were there to ask Sandack to reconsider his support of Senate Bill 10, which would create the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.
“If same-sex ‘marriage’ becomes the law in Illinois, it will negatively affect every aspect of our society and have disastrous consequences for children,” IFI spokesperson Kathy Valente said in a press release for the rally.
As with those who predict ungodly calamities if concealed carry becomes law, I would very much like to see some actual hard data about how states with gay marriage statutes already on their books have been the scene of disastrous societal collapses.
Do you know why people who talk this nonsense don’t have any data? Because the data doesn’t exist. They rely way too much on fear and ignorance to hype their causes. It’s goofy.
I oppose it because marriage is a religious institution. Once they have a law allowing same-sex marriage, they will come after churches and ministers demanding they perform same-sex marriages.
“The Constitution allows for a separation of church and state, but they will come after (churches’) tax-exempt status and file lawsuits claiming (ministers) have violated their civil rights if we refuse to marry same-sex couples.”
Yeah, because that bill will pass right away. I’m telling you, it’ll zoom through both chambers with unanimous support. Yep. No legislator would ever get any pressure from his or her local ministers on a bill like that.
Sheesh.
* Related…
* Black church leader urges lawmakers to oppose medical marijuana: Evans said if the law passes, African-American homes will be broken and black women and men will be sucked into the drug environment even more. “The church’s job is to urge against that climate and to oppose the bill,” Evans said. “If lawmakers want the black community to stand with you, vote against HB 1.”
* Which one of the following stories interests you the most? Take the pollafter you’ve taken some time to at least scan each of the stories and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* The nice thing about leaking stuff like this to Sneed is we don’t hear about such pesky problems as the bungled Koschmann case and the disastrous 60 Minutes interview. Instead…
Sneed hears Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is talking with pollsters about exploring a run for Illinois attorney general in the 2014 primary election. . . . if Attorney General Lisa Madigan decides to run for governor.
◆ The bankshot: Sneed is told Madigan is already lining up bigbucks Dem fundraisers — a k a high-priced legal eagles — to back her bid for governor in the Dem primary. “She’s running,” said a top Sneed source.
◆ The sureshot: Word is Alvarez, who was a prosecutor in the trenches for nearly 20 years before becoming state’s attorney, is putting out feelers.
◆The upshot: Watch the state ticket to be heavy in the Dem femme category if Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon decides to run for state comptroller.
Background on that bizarre 60 Minutes interview can be found here and here. If she runs, African-American politicians are gonna be up in arms. Guaranteed.
Also, I’d love to see a poll pitting Sheila Simon against Judy Baar Topinka. Hey, wait. I have a pollster. Hmm.
And one other thing. I’ve been saying privately that I was about 70 percent convinced that Lisa Madigan would not run for reelection and/or will run for governor. I’m up to 80 percent these days.
* I received this bulk campaign e-mail from Sheila Simon last week…
Dear Rich,
People are talking — about the future of Illinois and who can lead us forward.
Working families are worried about their pensions. Parents need to know their children are safe. As Lt. Governor, I am an advocate for Illinois. I strive to be a voice for what’s right, even if it isn’t easy.
In case you missed it, I took that message straight to one of the top political reporters in our state on Monday. Watch my interview with Carol Marin on Chicago Tonight by clicking HERE
Can you help me build momentum by donating $50 or $100 today? Early support will help me stand out as the most effective advocate for reform.
Thank You,
Sheila
P.S. If you believe I’m the candidate to watch, forward this email to two of your friends and ask them to sign up for my email list. You all will be among the first to know my plans for the future!
* A full five days later, I got this e-mail from Simon’s campaign…
Dear Rich
Last week, we sent an email featuring Sheila’s interview with Chicago Tonight’s Carol Marin. We apologize for the broken link and want to thank those who caught the mistake!
You can watch the entire interview by clicking HERE.
Sheila Simon has been a constant advocate for working families in our state. With your help, Sheila will be able to serve our state in a larger role.
Waukegan mayor-elect Wayne Motley made it clear Thursday, May 2, that he feels his city is in the lead after he met privately with Gov. Pat Quinn in Springfield as the Senate bill was unfolding.
“I spoke to him for an hour and we discussed the bill in detail,” Motley said. “It never hurts to have the governor on your side.”
Motley added that he feels “without question that bill was written for the city of Waukegan,” even though the Illinois Gaming Board would be asked to choose from the roster of three county communities.
Um, the Gaming Board is supposed to make that siting decision, not the governor. Then again, Quinn and the Gaming Board’s chairman seem to be locked at the hip. The most recent example…
To meet the governor’s demands, Link added a prohibition on political contributions from gambling interests, created a new executive inspector general for gambling and gave Jaffe’s agency oversight over a Chicago casino commensurate with all other Illinois casinos. […]
Link said he made 28 revisions to this latest effort that were sought by the Gaming Board, including removing a provision that would give the state lottery power to set up casino-style wagering over the Internet. […]
“In the preamble, they say yes, the Gaming Board will have total control. But do we? I don’t think so. I think the Chicago casino authority…is the one that’s going to undertake building the casino. The worst fines that have come out of the Gaming Board come when they have contracts like this,” Jaffe said.
Link said the Gaming Board hasn’t issued construction contracts for any other casino and has the power to immediately shut down any construction work involving contractors it deems ethically suspect.
“They can’t hand out the construction contracts. He’s trying to go way way overboard,” Link said. […]
Jaffe also ridiculed several revenue set-asides spelled out in the legislation. The plan would put $13 million annually into a fund for “depressed communities,” $6.5 million annually to the “Latino Community Economic Development Fund,” $6.25 million annually to soil and water conservation districts and $75,000 annually to the Chicago Botanic Garden, among other things.
“I don’t think they’re necessary at all,” Jaffe said. “It’s a Christmas tree bill — something for everybody that’s orchestrated, I think, with the wrong thoughts, and I’m not happy with it.”
The set-asides are absolutely none of Chairman Jaffe’s concern, but this is an issue that concerns the governor, so the two are on the same page.
* Ben VanMetre, a senior budget and tax policy analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute, says Speaker Madigan’s pension reform plan doesn’t go nearly far enough…
Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension proposal (House Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1) perpetuates Illinois’ crisis. The plan locks in the unmanageable defined benefit plan, guarantees the crowd out of core government services and continues the irresponsible pension payment ramp.
Madigan’s plan keeps politicians in control of state employee pensions. By failing to get rid of defined benefit plans, it keeps taxpayers on the hook for bailouts of a broken retirement system.
Worst of all, it creates a new guarantee obligation that prioritizes pension funding above the education of school children, providing health care for the poor and the provision of public safety for neighborhoods across the state.
Ultimately, the plan fails to provide what Illinois so desperately needs: comprehensive pension reform that ends the state’s pension crisis.
“Hi. My name is Mike and I’m a spend-a-holic, with an addiction to power.” To which the other gathered spend-a-holics and / or power-addicts compassionately replied, “Hi, Mike.”
This was the scene that played out in the Illinois State House on Thursday afternoon, as House Speaker Mike Madigan deigned to step onto the House floor and argue for a bill that would reform pensions.
While it was not the bill that my colleague, Rep. Tom Morrison, and I put forth, which would bring the real reform needed in Illinois, it was a first step. And in Illinois, we needed that first step. […]
As I questioned him about how the pension crisis originated, he acknowledged, on the record, the role of his party and the fact that this bill is just the first step to further reforms.
Rep. Ives was far more deferential to Madigan than she makes it appear in her op-ed. Watch.
* Meanwhile, Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion) said publicly that he wasn’t sure how he’d vote on the bill, but he ended up forcefully behind it during debate. Have a look…
* Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will propose a local concealed carry ordinance in case the General Assembly doesn’t come to an agreement by the court-imposed June 9th deadline…
Dart’s ordinance would give him the power to approve and reject licenses to carry concealed guns in Cook County. Applicants would have to pay a $300 fee for a license. […]
Chicago Police spokesman Adam Collins said: “If a statewide law is not passed, the city is preparing to implement a comprehensive concealed-carry ordinance to ensure that guns stay out of the hands of criminals.” […]
Dart said he recently spoke to elderly people in the south suburbs. They complained that the police were unresponsive. Some said they were regularly burglarized while they attended church.
“It’s a matter of timing,” Dart said, noting that those people could have become homicide victims if they came home during a burglary.
Those are the types of people who might show a need for a concealed-carry permit, Dart said. But someone without a specific need for a gun would have difficulty receiving a license, he said.
Business owners who could hire armed security for protection also might have a hard time getting a license, Dart said.
…Adding… I wish the Chicago police would get a freaking clue. The concealed carry debate is not about criminals getting guns. Criminals cannot legally obtain a FOID card in this state, which is a prerequisite to a concealed carry permit - or even carrying publicly if the state’s unlawful use of a weapon law is finally struck down on June 9th.
* I asked the NRA’s Todd Vandermyde for a response…
One state, one law. They want a no carry zone that encompasses 40% of the population and we won’t budge on it statewide with preemption.
Either by fees or fiat they want their Jim Crow gun laws to deny a fundamental right. What part of the decision do they not understand? $300 for a permit plus what ever other things they pile on top of it– no way
But it lessens any reason to work with Dart on his other legislation.
He added…
So Matt Murphy and Chris Radogno are supposed to go beg Tom Dart for a carry permit? Yeah, I don’t think so.
Monday, May 6, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* This is old news for subscribers, but since nobody else picked up on it I decided to make it my statewide syndicated column…
In yet another blow to the Illinois Republican Party, state Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) has withdrawn his name from contention as state party chairman.
And, no, it didn’t have anything to do with Murphy being injured during the annual House vs. Senate softball game last week.
Murphy was approached a month or so ago about taking the top party job when the current chairman, Pat Brady, eventually resigns.
Brady, chairman since August 2009, has been under fire for the Illinois GOP’s lack of electoral success, criticism that intensified from the party’s right wing when he public supported the gay marriage bill. The party platform specifically opposes gay marriage, so Brady was accused of being in flagrant conflict with the party’s beliefs.
Brady has said that he merely supported gay marriage as a private citizen, but the social conservatives in the GOP didn’t buy that.
Murphy initially was open to the chairmanship and seemed to be leaning toward taking it. He wanted assurances, though, that Brady would be allowed to resign on his timetable.
Republicans appeared to be going along with Murphy’s program. Votes to oust Brady and to initiate a rules change to make it easier to get rid of a party chairman never took place at the state central committee meeting last month in Tinley Park.
So it began looking like the path was being cleared for Murphy. No such luck.
Murphy’s withdrawal is a big setback to the state GOP’s efforts to quell the controversy within its ranks and move forward.
He’s a media-friendly social conservative who talks like a moderate. He has friends in both the conservative and moderate camps.
Murphy wouldn’t comment other than to confirm that he had withdrawn his name from consideration. Others said he decided that the job just wasn’t worth the hassle.
He’s probably right. The GOP chairman’s job is a thankless one, likely doomed to fail in this state. It has only a tiny fraction of the power of the Democratic chairman, mainly because that chairman, Michael Madigan, is the longest serving House speaker in Illinois history.
Even so, the Republican Party’s right wing has had a fixation for years on who fills the post, blaming Brady for the party’s failures while coveting the job for themselves.
The party’s moderates have frantically fought a rear-guard action to prevent the right wing from obtaining the position and have, therefore, kept control of the finances. The state party serves as a cash pass-through for the national party, and the moderates don’t trust the conservatives with that dough.
And because Republicans haven’t had a governor in more than a decade, the position also is a somewhat high-profile job requiring media skills. Access to the media is a big reason behind the fight over this position.
The old guard doesn’t want to give the right wing a public platform, especially when it’s trying to drag the state party to the center.
They see that as necessary in the wake of last year’s devastating electoral defeats and what appears to be Americans’ rapidly changing views on issues such as gay rights and medical marijuana, not to mention a big surge in Hispanic voting.
During last week’s annual House vs. Senate softball game, Murphy walked to the plate with a determined look on his face. His team was trailing by several runs. The Senate has had a lousy record against the House in recent years, blowing their last game badly.
Murphy fouled off a pitch and gritted his teeth hard, shook his bat and growled. He hit the very next pitch, charged down the first base line and then collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust.
He had dislocated his kneecap, which ended up a few inches above his knee joint. Murphy didn’t appear to be in any pain, but he couldn’t move and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
I have a feeling that Murphy would’ve suffered the same ugly ending if he had taken the party chairmanship. It’s best to just stay away from it.
Thoughts?
* Murphy had surgery on his knee and is now recuperating. Ironically enough, he talked about the possibility of injury in an intervew before the annual softball game. Check the 5:43 mark…
* Related…
* Speaker: Same Sex Marriage Stalled, Fracking A Go
