Question of the day
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WUIS covered the election of Jack Dorgan as the new Illinois Republican Party Chairman…
Dorgan has his work cut out for him. As party chair, he will be asked to raise money, recruit candidates and deliver a message to both the Republican base and key groups like women and minorities who now strongly back Democrats. No wonder even some in the G-O-P call the state party chair the “worst job in Illinois.” But Dorgan takes exception ton those who say the party is broken.
DORGAN “Well the party’s not broke. We’ve had some growing pains right now. We’re ready. We’re united and we;re going to move forward and show people there is a two party system.”
* Dorgan was selected on the first ballot…
Rich Williamson of Kenilworth, Republican National Committeeman from Illinois and co-chairman of the selection effort, said Dorgan was elected on the first ballot. Asked if the vote was unanimous, he just repeated that the weighted vote of central committee members went Dorgan’s way on the first try.
Another candidate for the chairmanship, former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-McHenry, made it clear to the committee in his speech that he did not expect to be picked. But he also warned against picking someone who would be seen by grassroots Republicans and tea party members as an insider. He said after the speech that he thought Dorgan was in that unacceptable category.
“He’s a lobbyist,” Walsh said. “He’s somebody who can play both sides of the aisle. That is not what the Republican Party needs. That would just devastate grassroots supporters in the state.”
* Dorgan’s background…
Dorgan has long been involved in Republican politics, beginning as an aide to the late Rep. Roger McAuliffe, who long held the designation as the only Republican legislator from Chicago. Dorgan also served as deputy chief of staff to former House Speaker Lee Daniels and as an aide to Gov. Jim Thompson and director of the Liquor Control Commission under Gov. Jim Edgar.
But Dorgan also has close ties to Illinois’ ruling Democrats. He founded a lobbying practice with James McPike, a former majority leader for House Speaker Michael Madigan, who doubles as Illinois Democratic Party chairman.
The firm’s clients include Ameren, AT&T, Fairmount Park race track, the Illinois Hospital Association and the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, a group formerly headed by Bill Cellini, who is now serving prison time after being convicted of federal corruption charges.
* The Question: Despite the obvious structural handicaps inherent with the IL GOP, do you think Dorgan will do a good job as state party chairman? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey hosting
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* The mansion “issue” is such a red herring…
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford kept his plans for pension reform and the state’s income tax rate close to the vest Sunday, but he did make one vow Springfield residents should like.
Rutherford, a Republican from Chenoa, said during a stop in Springfield to announce his gubernatorial candidacy that he would live at the Executive Mansion if elected the next governor of Illinois.
Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan all lived outside the mansion at one time or the other. It makes no difference. You can be a good governor and not live at that mansion.
* More…
As for the state’s pension crisis, he said there were elements of the dueling reform plans passed in the House and Senate this spring that he liked, but he declined to say if he supported one over the other.
Rutherford also did not rule out extending the state’s income tax increase, which is scheduled to expire at the end of 2014.
“Let’s put (the income tax rate hike) on the table and negotiate the whole thing out,” Rutherford said. “What they did two years ago was a bad deal. I’ve learned you don’t agree to one thing until the rest of it comes along. They raised taxes and didn’t fix the problem.”
Rutherford opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions, he said.
He ought to say where he is on pensions. And that’s an interesting comment on the income tax, although I’m not really sure what it means…
“Put it on the table. When I take that oath of office in January 2015, that income tax increase is going to have to be on the table for discussion and debate,” Rutherford says. “And I will tell you what, I will not sign any income tax increase that doesn’t fix the problem of Illinois.”
And the failure to approve the gay marriage bill hurts Republicans far more than it hurts Democrats. The GOPs wanted it resolved so they could move forward and ignore the issue. It ain’t, so they can’t.
* He does, however, have a very positive theme of inclusion…
The son of pizza shop owners, Rutherford said he worked his way through college and graduated without debt. After he was elected to the Illinois House in 1993, Rutherford kept a private sector job with ServiceMaster, which operates brands like Terminix and TruGreen.
“I learned to work with people,” he said. “I worked with people of different religions, different skin colors, different customs and different cultures.”
The dual themes — hard work and an embrace of diversity — were apparent throughout the campaign event.
In introducing Rutherford, Steve Kim, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2010, said “no one” would work harder as governor.
Kim joked that a friend once asked if Rutherford was Korean because “he’s on Korean radio all the time.” As Kim spoke, Rutherford, who is single and has no children, stood behind the lectern, flanked by relatives and a multicultural array of friends.
“You go to Chinatown and you’re going to think he’s a movie star,” Kim said. “His picture is in every bank, it’s in every beauty salon, it’s in every restaurant.”
* And he has a message that some commenters here can probably relate to…
Rutherford said Sunday he has a track record of reaching out to people and communities “with different colors and ethnicities … and also with other beliefs.” He said the Republican Party and other GOP candidates need to do the same.
“My party’s not been that good at it,” he said. “You don’t have to be with someone 100 percent of the time to be a good Republican. I understand that there are people that have a different position on the social issues than some, and they are still good Republicans.”
* This can help as well…
Rutherford, a Pontiac native, said his experience in the private and public sectors make him qualified and so far, he is the only Republican who’s already won a statewide office who will run. He was elected treasurer in 2010 and served as a state representative and state senator for years. Before entering politics he was an executive with Service Master Co, based in suburban Downers Grove.
“I do have government experience, but I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’m the only Republican that has won statewide that is looking to run for governor. I’m the guy to win.”
* His campaign splash page…
Caption?
*** UPDATE *** Video of today’s Springfield announcement via BlueRoomStream.com…
* Related…
* Rutherford announces gubernatorial bid at Pontiac event
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A desperate subscriber, perhaps?
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* News of the Weird from the Springfield paper…
A fax machine was among the items stolen from a home in the 1700 block of South Douglas Avenue between Monday and Thursday.
Dude, you can get an e-mailed subscription now. You don’t need a fax machine. So there’s no need to bust into anybody’s house.
Just sayin…
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It’s always somebody else’s fault
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This Tribune editorial about the failure of pension reform completely ignores the obvious…
For reasons we don’t pretend to know, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton on Friday struck yet another of their serial blows at Illinois taxpayers and the insolvent state government we’re all obliged to finance.
If you live here, this minuet of failure will cost you. Because with their inability to agree on pension reform, Madigan and Cullerton are dooming all the people of Illinois to more of the same: employers who look elsewhere, a jobless rate among America’s highest, runaway public debts that taxpayers do have to pay.
Hey, Tribsters, you could’ve had a very strong pension reform bill weeks ago. But you editorialized against it.
The Tribune and its big business pals like Ty Fahner figured they could roll Senate President John Cullerton, so they killed his bill that included all the pension reforms they ever could’ve wanted. Their problem? The bill also included Cullerton’s reforms, which wouldn’t kick in unless and until the Madigan language was struck down by the courts.
But, no. That wasn’t good enough. It had to be their way or the highway. All or nothing. Cullerton absolutely had to cave. So, a very reasonable compromise died. And now the Trib wants to blame everybody else.
* The Sun-Times also editorialized against Cullerton’s combo compromise and now wails its disappointment…
What a bunch of losers.
And we, the people of Illinois, will pay the price.
Our flailing statesmen in Springfield struck out again Friday, but not before whipping a wicked foul ball into the stands.
The Illinois General Assembly failed to pass a desperately needed bill to rein in public employee pension costs. So what if the state goes bust?
Um, Sun-Times, “statesmen” look for compromises to end gridlock. Cullerton did exactly that and you rebuked him.
* And I just love this…
Gov. Pat Quinn, who has beaten the drum for pension reform since taking office in 2009, lashed out at the state Legislature’s two Democratic leaders for engaging in a “game” that failed this spring to solve the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis.
“The people of Illinois want the General Assembly to put comprehensive pension reform on my desk,” Quinn said in a prepared statement after the Illinois House adjourned for the summer. “They do not want legislative leaders to play a $17 million-a-day game with the future of our state, our children and our economy.”
Quinn mocked efforts by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) for entertaining a legislative bid by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to secure a two-year break from making pension payments to the Chicago teachers retirement fund.
“There is something wrong in Illinois when the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate could join together to propose a pension holiday for Chicago, yet they could not send a comprehensive pension reform bill to my desk,” the governor said.
Yes, there’s something very wrong in Illinois. We have a governor who can’t govern.
* Related…
* Illinois Awaits Further Credit Cut After Latest Pension Flop
* Harmon says special session to fix pension mess not likely: “We’ve been taken hostage before. It doesn’t ever work out terribly well,” said Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), a member of Senate President John Cullerton’s (D-Chicago) leadership team.
* Madigan: ‘This is a session where we have not enjoyed a great deal of success’
* Pension quagmire deepens — for lawmakers and taxpayers: What I do know is this: It now till take supermajority 60 percent vote of the General Assembly to pass any pension plan that will take effect before July 1, 2014 — the same General Assembly that last week couldn’t pass any pension bill through either House by a simple majority. And the elections clock is ticking.
* Pension reform now harder this year
* Lawmakers leave without pension reform
* It’s really about what didn’t happen
* TRANSCRIPT…Radogno on Quinn and pension mess: ‘He’s isolated himself, and I think that’s unfortunate’
* TRANSCRIPT…Cullerton on how to fix the pension mess: ‘I don’t know, I’ve tried everything’
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Dumbest. Idea. Ever.
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The petulance of a weekend Windy City Times editorial about the failure of the gay marriage bill rivals that of the worst Tribune efforts on pensions. Let’s take a look at their goofier points…
[Rep. Greg Harris] made promises he could not keep. In politics, that can be a reason to step down. Harris, who has dedicated his career to LGBT and AIDS issues, deserves the chance to prove his strategy right. If he wins, we all win, and that is all that matters. But if he does not succeed in passing this in the veto session this fall, he should not run for re-election in 2014. To be clear, this is not a call for Harris to resign, but he will have lost the trust of the people he made commitments to, and it is very difficult to lead once that trust is gone.
In addition, Harris should step down now as chief sponsor of this legislation. He has proven he is tone deaf to the wishes of both the grassroots and leadership of this community. They almost all called for a vote “no matter what.” Instead, Harris chose to give cover to his political colleagues, rather than follow through on his own on-the-record promise to call for a vote by May 31.
Why did a vote matter now? Because for months, no hard count has been possible on who really was for or against this bill. This limbo caused confusion and depleted valuable resources lobbying dozens more representatives than necessary.
Harris said he has promises from certain reps they will vote for the bill this fall, but we have seen how political promises pan out.
What’s not clear is if it would have failed if the legislators had been forced to be on record. Several legislators said they believe some of their colleagues would have changed to “yes”—and indeed in other cities and states this has been the case. With four openly gay and lesbian representatives in the Illinois House as their colleagues, they have a much greater understanding of this battle.
Harris has said from Day One that he wouldn’t call the bill until he had the votes. Period. End of story.
Not to mention that calling a bill without enough votes to pass usually does a lot more harm than good. Just because a handful of political amateurs demand a vote so they can have a little closure doesn’t mean it should be done. This line of attack is completely absurd, particularly since the roll call was so far from passage by Friday that no last-minute switches would’ve helped. Instead, if history is any guide, the vote would’ve gone backwards. And that would’ve hurt far more.
Also, Rep. Harris is by far the most committed and able sponsor that marriage proponents will ever hope to get. Demanding that he give up sponsorship is unbelievably short-sighted. And demanding that he not run for reelection if he doesn’t pass the bill is just plain stupid and self-defeating.
The biggest difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is the Democrats don’t allow their radical activist base to dictate strategy or tactics. This editorial, and the sentiment behind it, will undoubtedly be ignored.
* And blaming Harris ignores a whole lot of other problems. For instance…
Mounting pressure from the Chicago archdiocese and the African American Clergy Coalition is believed be partially responsible for the sudden lack of votes needed to pass the bill. Bishop Larry Trotter put out a statement which reads in part”
“Pastor James Meeks, Bishop Lance Davis and I are so proud of the God fearing Black Caucus members who withstood the pressure of the LGBT forces and allowed God’s word concerning marriage to remain between one man and one woman in Illinois,”
* We’ll see if this happens…
Before adjourning Friday night, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan did sign an extension, which now has August 31 as the deadline to pass the bill. If Governor Pat Quinn were to call a special summer session, the bill could be voted on then, otherwise it may have to wait until the fall.
* Related…
* Gay marriage bill fails to go to vote in Illinois House: Harris said efforts weren’t helped by Quinn’s repeated demands to call the bill in recent weeks. Quinn insisted there were enough votes to pass the bill, a situation Harris noted could peel votes off if lawmakers felt their “yes” wasn’t needed to get the measure over the top.
* Same-sex marriage sponsor vows to press ahead after blowback for not seeking House vote
* Legislature adjourns without marriage vote
* Illinois’ same-sex marriage failure: Glitch or bellwether?
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Not gonna miss you at all
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the greatest things about last week’s passage of a concealed carry bill is that I won’t have to deal with all the um, shall we say, ultra intense commenters who only post here on that topic. I think I’ve banned more people for life on this topic than all other subjects combined.
…Adding… Some of our newbie visitors are more than a little unclear on the concept. I am a FOID card holder and a gun owner. I plan to apply for a concealed carry permit. I did not personally or publicly oppose the concealed carry bill. I deleted and/or banned so many people on this topic because so many folks were rabid know-nothings.
Of course, that assumes the governor will sign the bill into law. He most certainly doesn’t want ownership of this bill and he’s never been a pro-gunner. His reelection strategy can be summed up in two words: Cook County. Large, veto-proof majorities don’t always sway him, either. He vetoed the most recent ComEd bill despite its super-majority passage, for instance.
* And keep in mind that the governor made a ban on large gun magazines a top priority for the final week of session. It failed in the Senate. The governor wasn’t happy…
Governor Pat Quinn released the following statement on the Illinois Senate’s failure to pass House Bill 1346, a bill that would prohibit the sale of high capacity ammunition magazines in Illinois.
“I met with the families of Newtown, Conn., as did many lawmakers, and we have seen the devastation that high capacity ammunition magazines have done to families across our nation.
“Today lawmakers had the opportunity to minimize the chance of this unthinkable violence happening in Illinois.
“I am very disappointed that members did not pass common sense legislation that would have no impact on hunting.
“I will continue to fight for limits on high capacity ammunition magazines in our state.”
Might we see one of those “Rewrite to Do Right” moves that helped make Rod Blagojevich so unpopular with the General Assembly? Time will tell.
* The Illinois State Rifle Association’s president is still laying low about the concealed carry particulars…
The bottom line up front is that anyone who feels that the war has now been won is sorely mistaken. The government of Illinois is not any less anti-gun today than it was at this time last year. Passage of this concealed carry bill has not transformed Illinois into Texas by any stretch of the imagination. While the concealed carry bill has left gun owners feeling lukewarm, the gun control movement is boiling mad. You can expect the gun controllers and their friends in the legislature’s anti-gun caucus to come back at us with a vengeance. You better believe that the gun-grabbers will make sure that the road to concealed carry implementation a rocky one. You better believe that the gun controllers will redouble their efforts to make private firearm ownership too expensive and too impractical for the average citizen.
As I write this letter to you, the ISRA’s team of attorneys and legislative analysts are pouring over the concealed carry bill to evaluate both the obvious and the more subtle ramifications contained in the bill’s language. I will not speak to the details of the bill until that analysis is complete. However, it is important that you understand that the bill affects all gun owners - whether they decide to apply for concealed carry or not. There is no illusion that this legislative solution to the court order was arrived at in an atmosphere of trust. Therefore, at this juncture, we are not entirely sure whether the concealed carry bill is an honest effort to enhance your security, or a gun control Trojan Horse that endangers your right to keep and bear arms. When we have a better understanding of the bill and its implications, I will issue further communication with you.
Cheering the bill on would only aggravate the governor even further, so at least they have the sense to withhold their jubilation.
* Roundup…
* Holdout on concealed carry, Ill. gov gets gun bill
* Illinois lawmakers approve concealed carry gun bill
* Illinois lawmakers approve concealed guns bill
* What Do Liberals Have Wrong About Guns? - They don’t understand gun owners, says Dan Baum, author of Gun Guys
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A desperate attempt to lighten things up
Monday, Jun 3, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Before we get to the thud of a session ending, how about we start the week of hostile recriminations on a positive note?
Oscar the Puppy graduated from training school over the weekend. My mom asked if he matriculated with honors. “Of course,” I told her. “He’s a Miller”…
Discuss.
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