“In May I spoke with the Randolph County Police Association and indicated I would give the legislature and the governor until June 9 (the date mandated by the Federal Appellate Court) to give citizens the opportunity to carry concealed weapons,” Walker said.
“June 9 has come and gone with no resolution. Accordingly, I feel it is time to act.”
Walker said the following guidelines will be given to all local police agencies regarding people who wish to carry concealed weapons:
* The person must have a valid Firearm Owners Identification Cars (FOID);
* The person must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm under any Court Order or Statute;
* The firearm must be concealed on the person, or in a vehicle;
* The person must not be engaged in any criminal conduct;
* If stopped by a police officer, the person must immediately notify the officer if he or she is carrying a weapon;
* The person may not carry a weapon in the courthouse, any school or any church.
Provided these requirements are met, the State’s Attorney’s Office will not file charges related to the carrying of concealed weapons, Walker said.
Walker’s announcement came with one warning: “One should still be cautioned the Illinois State Police has indicated, after other jurisdictions have announced similar plans, they will still arrest people for conceal carry violations. If they choose to arrest someone, the State’s Attorney’s office will not prosecute if the above criteria are met.
Mr. Giangreco shoots back that while Ms. Madigan may lead in some polls, she could have “a very difficult time” defeating the GOP nominee if her father stays on as speaker. “Mike Madigan’s not going anywhere,” he said, and voters justifiably will be leery at having “the same family” possess two of the top state power positions.
He’s probably right that the Speaker ain’t going anywhere. “Feet first” is what I’ve always been told.
As for Daley’s announcement that he formed a committee to explore his own gubernatorial run, [Lisa Madigan’s] aide called it “an interesting move given that polls have shown Mr. Daley does not fare well either in a two- or three-way race.”
* Speaking of Daley, I posted this Bruce Rauner statement earlier today…
I respect Bill Daley and welcome him to the governor’s race. Unfortunately, one more candidate from the entrenched Illinois political power structure doesn’t hold much promise for fixing our serious problems. The same old political dynasties have literally had decades to address our economic decline, our pension disaster, and our failing schools.
Re caps on contributions, also note that when the caps come off for the general election for Governor (and they will come off, either for self-funding or independent expenditures over $250,000) they are off for the entire general election cycle which last until January 1. So anyone who wants to establish a warm, personal relationship with the Governor-elect (particularly those who backed the wrong horse) will be able to make unlimited contributions to his or her campaign fund between election day in November and January 1. Always worked well when Blago was Gov. so it must be a tradition worth keeping.
Mr. Daley appears to have assembled the kind of team behind him that would help him stay in the race until the end, one with lots of ties to Mr. Obama.
Included, according to information I just received, are campaign chairman Sam S. Scott III, an African-American businessman who once headed Corn Products International and is active on immigration matters at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; finance consultant Roz Skozen, former Midwest finance director for Obama for America; media meister Larry Grisolano of AKPD Message and Media; and pollster John Anzalone of Anzalone Liszt Research, which worked for Mr. Obama and on the president’s health care program, and claims to have taken more congressional seats from Republicans in recent years than any other firm.
* Meanwhile, according to the media, if Speaker Madigan passes pension reform, he did it to help his daughter. If he doesn’t pass it, it’s to help his daughter. Predictable…
However, [Attorney General Lisa Madigan] did dismiss suggestions that her father was not fully engaged in finding a way to overhaul the state’s public employee pension system as a way to make Quinn look bad and boost her possible candidacy. She called such speculation “absurd,” noting the House has passed a pension reform bill.
“It’s June of 2013,” Madigan said. “The next governor won’t be sworn in until January 2015. If we haven’t cleaned up and reformed the pension system by then, we have much greater problems. It is to nobody’s benefit whatsoever for the pension crisis to continue in the state of Illinois.”
The attorney general has not backed a specific plan to reform the retirement systems, but said her office is prepared to defend whatever measure lawmakers send to Quinn once the inevitable court challenge arises.
The Speaker dismissed claims that he is trying kill pension reform this year to benefit his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and her still-possible campaign for Governor.
“If I didn’t want pension reform, then I would not have worked to pass the House pension bill as I did,” said Madigan.
C’mon.
If he kills it, he looks bad and harms the Madigan brand because of goofy questions like these. Also, he’d basically kill any chance that the tax hike could be allowed to expire, which hurts his daughter in both the election and if she actually wins. If he passes it, the attorney general has to defend the law in court throughout the entire campaign, which puts her at constant odds with the unions. Either way, this issue does not “help” Lisa Madigan.
Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.
* Related…
* Rahm says Bill Daley is ‘a friend,’ but it’s too early to jump on board the Daley bandwagon: “It’s way premature between now and the primary for me to even be talking about what I’m gonna do, what I’m not gonna do. They have to decide what they’re gonna do. They have to explain themselves to the public–how they’re gonna fix some of the challenges….I’m not gonna take my eye off the ball….The voters [will] listen to what the candidates have to say and they’ll be making their decision.”
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today announced the wager they have made on the outcome of the series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins for professional hockey’s top prize. Under the terms of the wager, the governor of the losing team’s state will volunteer at the food bank of the winning governor’s choice. If the Blackhawks win, Governor Patrick will volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. If the Bruins win, Governor Quinn will volunteer at the Greater Boston Food Bank.
“Governor Patrick is skating on thin ice by betting against the mighty Chicago Blackhawks,” Governor Quinn said. “But the Greater Chicago Food Depository can always use extra help, so after he works a shift there, I’m happy to take Governor Patrick to the United Center to see the Stanley Cup return home.”
“I look forward to seeing the Bruins circle the ice with the Stanley Cup above their heads,” said Governor Patrick. “And I’m delighted to join with Governor Quinn to use the excitement of the playoffs to draw attention to the important issue of food insecurity.”
Even though Illinois Governor Quinn recently honored his friend and Illinois native, Governor Patrick, by naming a Chicago street in his honor, the two men are on opposite sides of the street when it comes to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Chicago Blackhawks have won four Stanley Cup championships, the most recent in 2010. The Boston Bruins have won the Cup six times, most recently in 2011.
* Instead of a question today, let’s just make this a Chicago Blackhawks open thread.
Can a business ingest cannabis for medicinal purposes without any side effects?
Illinois soon will become the 19th state to legalize medical marijuana if Gov. Pat Quinn signs recently passed legislation as expected. While designed to insulate employers from issues that medical marijuana creates for the workplace, the 221-page bill raises questions about hiring and firing, special protections for firms with federal drug-testing requirements and the use of a federally controlled and still-illegal substance in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.
“It doesn’t allow the Illinois business community to continue what it’s doing today,” says Peter Bensinger, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and a harsh critic of the trend by states to decriminalize marijuana. “You’re going to have litigation, and you’re going to have accidents” at workplaces.
Recognizing that many companies don’t use drug testing, the bill also allows employers to discipline registered marijuana patients if they show up to work “impaired” by marijuana.
But impairment has to be based on “specific and articulable” symptoms related to things such as speech, dexterity, coordination or behavior, and there must be a “reasonable opportunity” for the employee to contest that determination.
“For employers, this is going to be a problem,” says Mr. Bensinger, whose Chicago-based consulting firm, Bensinger DuPont & Associates, manages drug-testing and employee assistance programs. “How can you prove impairment? Historically, by drug tests.”
At minimum, Mr. Bensinger and other experts say that provision and others would require additional management training and employee communications to make it clear that having a permit for medical marijuana is not a defense against testing positive or a finding of impairment, if the bill becomes law.
* The special session could have immediate consequences. Illinois is set to go back to the markets to borrow more capital construction money, so a failure would highlight Illinois’ problems even more…
Inaction on pensions for state workers, teachers, legislators and others during the regular session led two credit rating agencies last week to cut Illinois’ bond ratings, a move that could cost the lowest-rated state more money to sell about $1.25 billion of general obligation bonds.
John Sinsheimer, the state’s capital markets director, said that state officials will be meeting with potential investors on both coasts and in Chicago ahead of the June 26 bond sale and in the wake of the rating downgrades to A3 by Moody’s Investors Service and A-minus by Fitch Ratings — both with negative outlooks. The state is also considering bond insurance for the deal, he added.
* And speaking of failure, if you do nothing else today, make sure to listen to a press conference by Speaker Madigan and Senate President Cullerton. They were throwing not so subtle verbal elbows at each other from the same podium. Again, it’s a must-listen…
* Legislative leaders bicker over dueling pension reform plans: “This is like a lot of things in the legislature,” Madigan said. “You can make it complicated if you wish, or you can keep it simple. Let me say it again: The best pension bill passed so far, and the one that does the most cost savings, is the House bill, and that’s in the Senate. The governor ought to work to get that passed.”
* Quinn asks lawmakers to combine 2 pension plans: By having two plans, they argued, the courts were essentially being invited to strike down the tougher proposal. “I was one of those people saying that pretty loudly,” state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, the Democratic point-person on pension reform in the House, told the Associated Press Monday. “That’s why I always thought (that) putting it in one bill is really problematic. No way if we can give them the plan that saves a lot less money in the same bill that they’ll pass the other.”
* Gov. Pat Quinn holds Democrats-only pension crisis meeting: The Speaker dismissed claims that he is trying kill pension reform this year to benefit his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and her still-possible campaign for Governor. “If I didn’t want pension reform, then I would not have worked to pass the House pension bill as I did,” said Madigan.
“After 10 years with no capital construction program, Gov. Quinn fought for and signed into law the largest capital construction program in state history which is putting hundreds of thousands of people back to work building roads, schools and bridges. Gov. Quinn delivered landmark education reform that is a model for the nation; strong, new ethics laws to clean up corruption and recently, legislation to extend health insurance to thousands of people who don’t have it.
“Gov. Quinn continues to lead the fight for comprehensive pension reform, marriage equality and gun-safety and he will not stop fighting until these are law.
“With the primary in March, the governor is focused on working hard for the people of Illinois – there will be plenty of time for politics in the future.”
Nobody gets to dictate timing. That’s just the way things go in the real world. So, this dodge about “there will be plenty of time for politics in the future” ain’t gonna hold up for long.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner began airing two television ads today highlighting the campaign’s focus on controlling spending, job creation and reforming state government. The ads are running on broadcast and cable statewide.
“After months traveling the state, it’s clear that Illinoisans are ready to take on the status quo in Springfield, clean up state government, get spending in line, and make it easier to create jobs and grow a business here,” Rauner said. “Those are my top priorities, and I’m committed to reaching as many voters as possible with that message.”
Prior to announcing his campaign for governor, Bruce made more than 65 stops on a statewide Listening Tour getting to know the thoughts and concerns of thousands of Illinoisans. Bruce is currently on his Bring Back Illinois campaign tour. He participated in an employee town hall and press conference in Peoria last week and an open press employee town hall in Chicago yesterday. Bruce is in Wheeling today.
* Here are Rauner’s two new ads. First, “Upside Down”…
* Rauner also issued a statement today about Bill Daley’s candidacy…
“I respect Bill Daley and welcome him to the governor’s race. Unfortunately, one more candidate from the entrenched Illinois political power structure doesn’t hold much promise for fixing our serious problems. The same old political dynasties have literally had decades to address our economic decline, our pension disaster, and our failing schools. They haven’t done the job. Illinoisans aren’t going to fall for that again. We need a clean break from the political machines that have been in charge for too long. It’s time to clean house, shake up Springfield, and bring back Illinois.”
* I told you last month that the ICIRR was getting major push-back from the Catholic church over its support of the gay marriage bill. The pressure has since increased. Mark Brown…
In an eye-opening display of hardball, the Catholic Church is threatening to cut off funding to local groups that work with the poor for being part of an immigrant rights coalition that endorsed legalizing same-sex marriages in Illinois.
The groups in question receive grants from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the anti-poverty arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
They also all happen to be partners in the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the state’s most influential advocacy group on behalf of immigrants.
The Illinois Coalition normally works cooperatively with the Catholic Church, which also is a leader on immigration issues. In fact, Catholic Charities is one of the coalition’s 130 partner organizations across the state.
But that relationship has been on the rocks since May 23, when the coalition issued a statement in support of “marriage equality” for same-sex partners.
That announcement ran directly counter to the Catholic Church’s strong opposition to same-sex marriage.
On the one hand, I can see the church’s point. You takes the money, you plays by the rules. The ICIRR knew it could be jeopardizing its pretty darned successful voter registration and citizenship work when it announced support for gay marriage. Them’s the breaks, I suppose. By the same token, you don’t partner with WalMart if you get big bucks from the AFL-CIO.
On the other hand, it’s supremely disappointing to see a large organization mess with small not-for-profits just because they belong to a coalition that happens to back gay marriage.
But, hey, it’s a free country.
* Meanwhile, Jim Lauser posted some good advice on his Facebook page…
The LGBTQ activist community views this as a fight, and they’ve approached this from a fighting stance. They’ve organized demonstrations with the word “bigot” stapled underneath every rainbow flag. They’ve hollered at their opponents through megaphones, and made sure the press had video of it. My very favorite action though, was vowing to “remember” Speaker Madigan’s inaction when it’s time for his daughter’s gubernatorial race. My God! The thought of the LGBTQ community taking Lisa Madigan hostage is SO outrageous that it reminds me of the scene from “Blazing Saddles.” You know, where the sheriff puts a gun to his own head. It worked for the sheriff, I guess.
And now, judging from the chatter in my feed, it appears that the LGBTQ activist community is preparing to double-down on their angry rhetoric. Instead of urging our community to “respectfully tell their legislators personal stories” or “appeal personally and emotionally” to them… they appear genuinely convinced that they just haven’t been yelling loudly enough, or said the word “bigot” often enough, or they haven’t twisted enough arms.
I can only urge them to reconsider their imagery. For those who view us as threatening… we’re only confirming their fears.
Sage words.
* Related…
* Interview With Rep. Greg Harris, Sponsor of Illinois’ Marriage Equality Act: “You had immense blowback from the right wing of the Republican Party, you had people starting to come to a conclusion they wanted to potentially be a vote, then you had an announcement maybe two, three weeks ago that the House Republican Leader [Tom Cross] that he might run for Attorney General, which started a scramble in that caucus that people who thought, “Oh, I can be the next House Leader,” saying, “Well how do I cobble together my majority? I need to tack way to the right to appease the Tea Partyists and the right wing people in order to get this new job.” So all kinds of things happened behind the scenes.”
* Editorial: Harris not the enemy in gay marriage fight
If a public official or candidate filed a Notification of Self-funding during an election cycle that includes a general primary election or consolidated primary election and that public official or candidate is nominated, all candidates for that office, including the nominee who filed the notification of self-funding, shall be permitted to accept contributions in excess of any contribution limit imposed by subsection (b) for the subsequent election cycle.
In other words, if Bruce Rauner or another rich guy busts the contribution cap and wins the nomination, then all caps for that particular office are off in the general.
State lawmakers last week approved legislation giving Illinoisans the ability to register to vote online.
But, in the hubbub of the annual end-of-session rush to adjourn for the summer, members of the House and Senate left town without allocating any money to pay for the proposal.
“It’s something that we’re going to have to figure out,” said Rupert Borgs-miller, director of the Illinois State Board of Elections. “We’ll have to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
Under legislation now awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature, the state would establish a system for applicants to register to vote through the state board of elections website by using a driver’s license and the last four digits of a Social Security number.
Says “People of Illinois can’t wait” for Springfield to fix itself.
Former White House Chief of Staff to President Obama Bill Daley filed a D-1 form today with the Illinois State Board of Elections to run for Governor, declaring in a campaign video that Illinois can’t wait for politicians in Springfield to clean up the mess they created.
Citing last month’s disastrous legislative session as a motivating factor, Daley took aim at Governor Pat Quinn for failing to bring all sides together to get things done. “Our state needed a productive legislative session, but what happened? Pension reform failed again. Marriage equality dies at the last minute. Protecting our kids from illegal guns—another joke,” said Daley, who announced on his campaign website, www.BillDaleyIllinois.com.
“We can no longer stand idly by while our pension debt bankrupts our schools and robs our children of a better future. From the stinging injustice of inequality to the painful toll of unemployment, the people of Illinois are paying a perilous price for political failure. We need solutions. We need action. We need leadership that gets things done. And the people of Illinois can’t wait,“ added Daley.
The “we can’t wait” refrain has its roots in Daley’s efforts to help President Obama break a similar logjam in Washington.
“When I was Chief of Staff to President Obama, the Republican Congress tried to grind the federal government to a halt. So we launched the ‘we can’t wait’ campaign. On issue after issue, President Obama took executive action when Congress failed to act. We need that same urgency in Illinois. We can’t wait for the legislature to get well on its own. We need a Governor that takes the field, takes command and gets things done. And for those that aspire to lead this state, now is the time to proclaim we can’t wait.”
Daley closed the video by issuing a call to voters help break the logjam in the state legislature. “If you agree with me that we can’t wait to fix the pension mess, join this campaign. If you agree with me that we can’t wait for marriage equality, join this campaign. If you agree that we can’t wait to take on the scourge of illegal guns, join this campaign. This will be a campaign of action and urgency because that’s the leadership the people of Illinois deserve. Join me and let’s get things done, “ said Daley.
A longtime banker and businessman, Daley headed the Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, served as president of SBC and later held top positions at JPMorgan Chase.
Daley said he plans to put together specific plans on top issues. But he’s already got some thoughts on what are expected to be two of the top issues of the 2014 campaign: taxes and pension reform.
On taxes, Daley said in an interview that at this point he would “absolutely not” support an extension of the 67 percent hike in the personal income tax rate jammed through a Democrat-led legislature and signed by Quinn in January 2011.
“Everybody got hit, the person who was hardly making anything or those of us who have been blessed,” Daley said. “And at some point, we’ve got to say, ‘Is this fair?’” […]
“I’m in, period,” said Daley, who noted he’s spent months considering a run for governor. “I’m totally committed, 100 percent in it.”
“He’s in, period,” Daley strategist Peter Giangreco told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “He’s totally committed. He’s 100 percent in.”
Despite the “exploratory label” attached to the campaign for now, Daley has hired staff, has a website and a roll-out strategy in place.
For Tuesday and Wednesday, the Daley team will mainly let the video announcement speak for itself for seep into the Illinois political bloodstream; on Thursday Daley will be speaking to the media.
“The news from Springfield always seems to be bad,” Daley said in a video announcing his run in a campaign video that featured the slogan, “We can’t wait.”
