Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* One of the major credit rating firms has declared Illinois is no longer in a recession, and has started to recover…
“The housing market is picking up in Chicago,” Cochrane says. “The large service- and finance-based economy in Chicago also seems to be picking a little bit, and hiring is improving.”
Much of the improvement in Illinois’ economy is pegged to Chicagoland, but he says Downstate manufacturers could also soon see an improvement in exports overseas.
* Only the Decatur metropolitan area remains in a recession. Earlier this year, Decatur became the Illinois metro with the highest unemployment rate. It has an unemployment rate of over 13 percent, and one of the area’s larger employers has been looking to move for quite a while. Moody’s analysis says Decatur has affordable housing, but that there has been a slowdown in home sales and the availability of high paying jobs.
Nationally, the “Great Recession” ended in June 2009. Alabama and Wisconsin were the other states taken off of the watch list. Other states, like Delaware, remain…
Delaware remains at risk because of slow growth in the drivers of its economy, including banking, credit cards, pharmaceutical, chemical and business services, he said. Delaware, however, has taken issue with Moody’s assessment. “We believe Delaware’s future is more promising than Moody’s report would indicate,” says state Finance Secretary Tom Cook. He says employment will pick up this year as Bank of America has promised 500 new jobs over the next three years and Capital One has promised to hire 500 employees there by year’s end.
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Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* CMS director Malcolm Weems testified last week before the Procurement Policy Board in response to a Lee Enterprises story that included figures showing emergency no-bid purchases are way up.
From his remarks…
Of the 346 referenced emergencies for FY13, 164 were either extensions of existing contracts or below the small purchase threshold. if these two definitional changes were not made relative to the numbers prior to SB51, the actual count of emergencies would be 182 and would equate to FY11 numbers. The attention on this has not been an apple-to-apple comparison, and a constructive conversation on this topic needs to be effective.
From the Senate Bill Weems references…
a) Conditions for use. In accordance with standards set by rule, a purchasing agency may make emergency procurements without competitive sealed bidding or prior notice when there exists a threat to public health or public safety, or when immediate expenditure is necessary for repairs to State property in order to protect against further loss of or damage to State property, to prevent or minimize serious disruption in critical State services that affect health, safety, or collection of substantial State revenues, or to ensure the integrity of State records; provided, however, that the term of the emergency purchase shall be limited to the time reasonably needed for a competitive procurement, not to exceed 90 days. A contract may be extended beyond 90 days if the chief procurement officer determines additional time is necessary and that the contract scope and duration are limited to the emergency. Prior to execution of the extension, the chief procurement officer must hold a public hearing and provide written justification for all emergency contracts. Members of the public may present testimony. Emergency procurements shall be made with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances. A written description of the basis for the emergency and reasons for the selection of the particular contractor shall be included in the contract file.
(b) Notice. Notice of all emergency procurements shall be provided to the Procurement Policy Board and published in the online electronic Bulletin no later than 3 business days after the contract is awarded. Notice of intent to extend an emergency contract shall be provided to the Procurement Policy Board and published in the online electronic Bulletin at least 14 days before the public hearing. Notice shall include at least a description of the need for the emergency purchase, the contractor, and if applicable, the date, time, and location of the public hearing. A copy of this notice and all documents provided at the hearing shall be included in the subsequent Procurement Bulletin.
As you can see, these changes in the statute do not expand on what qualifies as an emergency purchase. Rather, the changes involve how those contracts can be extended. The Governor’s Office says that is why the number appears to be so much higher.
Thoughts?
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Brad Halbrook done at end of term
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* Rep. Brad Halbrook, Republican of Charleston, said yesterday he would not seek re-election to his seat. Halbrook was appointed in April 2012 after Roger Eddy left to take the helm of the Illinois Association of School Boards.
From our friends at BlueRoomStream…
More…
The announcement comes just days after Coles County Sheriff Darrell Cox said he plans to challenge Halbrook in the March GOP primary.
Halbrook, however, said Cox’s plans had nothing to do with his decision.
* Related…
* BREEN LAUNCHES INCUMBENT CHALLENGE IN 48TH HOUSE DISTRICT
* WOZNIAK CRITICIZES $50 MILLION CAPITOL RENOVATION AS “WHOLLY INAPPROPRIATE”
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Question of the Day
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* The setup…
Riverboat casinos in Illinois want to remain open for business around the clock.
The Illinois Casino Gaming Association is asking state regulators for the OK to operate 24 hours a day. Currently, no casinos are open more than 22 hours.
The Illinois Gaming Board has scheduled a public hearing for Sept. 19 in Chicago to consider the request.
QUESTION: Do you support the Gaming Association’s request? Explain your answer in comments.
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Morning shorts
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
Me again. I know. You were expecting Rich. I was, too. He’s coming in later today than I thought. Apparently production of the soon-to-be released low-budget thriller “Godzilla v. Mothra v. Oscar” took longer than anticipated. We will go ahead and get things started…
* Mitchell: Former homeless man to be freed from prison in 2002 rape case: On Tuesday, Anita Alvarez will announce that the Chatman case is one of two cases that the State’s Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit will be dismissing Tuesday morning. The dismissal will pave the way for the 58-year-old man to be released from Dixon Correctional Center as early as Tuesday. Alvarez’s office would not provide specific details about why the Chatman case was being dismissed, but a spokesman confirmed that Alvarez will hold a news conference at 26th and California on Tuesday morning to announce the dismissals.
* Theresa Chatman never stopped believing in her brother
* Stroger aide goes on trial over alleged contractor kickbacks: Federal prosecutors alleged that Mullins used his position as a trusted member of Stroger’s staff to help himself, pocketing nearly $35,000 in kickbacks over a two-year period in return for steering county contracts to acquaintances. The so-called “24-9″ contracts — each worth less than $25,000 so they didn’t need County Board approval — were to promote awareness of the 2010 U.S. census, help residents affected by floods in 2008 and increase energy efficiency. But little or no work was done after the contracts were awarded, prosecutors alleged.
* Stroger pal depicted as sweet 7-year-old as trial opens in kickback scheme
* Prosecutors say Crundwell’s sentence warranted
* IDOT helicopter crashes, nobody hurt: Miller said the helicopter was not operational and en route to Nevada for maintenance at the request of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
* IGPA Economist David Merriman appointed to Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors
* Foreign firms employ more than 350,000 in Illinois
* Topinka says Illinois’ financial situation driving business to surrounding states: “Why would any business executive seriously consider coming to Illinois, knowing that they would wind up inheriting these problems and having to help pay for them,” Topinka said. “It’s hard enough for a business to start up, and (Illinois government problems are) a lot of extra baggage for an aspiring company to take on,” she said.
* City Council Committee Approves Rewrite Of Gun Laws: The ordinance headed for a full City Council vote Wednesday brings City gun laws in line with the state’s law allowing carrying of concealed weapons.
* Ban on guns in Chicago restaurants that serve booze advances
* Chicago aldermen recommend repealing city gun registry: Although Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, the architect of many of the city’s gun control measures, and several of his colleagues accepted the changes like a dose of bad medicine, Todd Vandermyde, an Illinois lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, called them “a start.”
* Alderman complains, CTA vows to work on access to new Wal-Mart
* How to Use Ventra: A Guide for Getting a Card and Transferring Fares
* Preckwinkle won’t have Metra pick this week–but black expected to get nod
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel: Why I said ‘no’ to the Midway deal: There are five things we learned over the past six months that should guide any future public-private partnerships: first, a group of outside experts should be impaneled at the start of the process to monitor each step; second, there must be a minimum 30-day review by the City Council before the project is voted upon; third, there should be a clear set of standards so the public can judge a potential partnership when it is presented; fourth, the funds should be invested in infrastructure rather than used as a plug for short-term budget holes; fifth, a true public-private partnership requires that taxpayers maintain control of the asset and share in management decisions and financial profit.
* Tribune: Diverted from Midway
* Tollway: Get ready for widening I-90 from Elgin to the Kennedy
* CPS to count enrollment this year on 10th day, not 20th
* Brown: Senate needs to get the lead out and confirm Fardon
* (Quad City) Airport awarded $1.3 million for improvements
* Rockford aldermen debate time and transparency
* Newcomb owner says he has no insurance; (Quincy) likely to lose $1 million for unpaid loan, demolition
* Lack of rain fall could affect central Illinois corn crop
* Website accusations spur phone calls to Woodford County Jail
* FOIA hot topic at District 150 board meeting
* (McLean) County auditor, officials dispute paying bills: McLean County State’s Attorney Jason Chambers and county Emergency Management Agency Director Curt Hawk each asked the committee last week to approve bills that Auditor Michelle Anderson deemed insufficient for payment. The committee sided with Hawk and Chambers, sending the disputed bills to the full County Board for approval. In July, Hawk asked for reimbursement of $740 in travel and hotels for a conference in southern Illinois. He said the auditor objected to a hotel stay in Metropolis the night before the conference.
* Police, fire chiefs in Collinsville get new contracts
* ISU President Flanagan: No major policy changes in first 6 months
* Cheng touts reasons to have hope at SIU
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“Like” doesn’t mean “Like like”
Monday, Sep 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* Carol Marin has an interesting column this week about Kirk Dillard’s campaign listing its Facebook’s friends and page likes as endorsements…
Now I’m debating whether to kill off Facebook too, a site I have used to post columns and TV stories I’ve done.
Hardly a decision to be taken lightly, I clearly was in need of a social media intervention.
And who better to call than the brilliant Dan Sinker, creator of @MayorEmanuel, the unauthorized, hilarious Twitter feed and running account of the Rahm-quest for mayor. Sinker ultimately turned it into a James Joycian-type book on the campaign. He now heads up Knight-Mozilla Open News project, a cutting-edge effort to combine open web innovation with journalism.
Sinker sees the journalist’s Facebook conundrum. “How can you do your job if you don’t ‘friend’ politicians to see what they’re saying? . . . [But] there are all sorts of ways to exploit these words — ‘friend,’ ‘like’ — that would imply that actual relationships exist where they don’t.”
Sinker reminds us that Facebook’s vocabulary was dreamed up by a college freshman who transformed Internet interactions into a kabillion dollar enterprise. “The idea that Facebook mimics reality,” he says, “is false.”
Only once in my reporting “career” did a campaign try to turn my interest into an endorsement, but Dillard and his people are smarter than that. You don’t get to this level without respecting that people interact with your profile just to see what you are posting. Heck, I “Like” and “Follow” tons of profiles I completely disagree with just to keep their posts in my news feeds. I’m glad she called them out on this one.
* Now THIS is a LIKE like…
Former Illinois governors Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar have thrown their support behind gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard saying, “Dillard is the only Republican candidate who can win in November.”
Thompson and Edgar sent a joint letter to all GOP county chairmen, township chairmen and ward committeemen throughout the state.
* And so are all of the editorials written over the weekend by downstate editorial boards and columnists in favor of Bruce Rauner’s term limits, legislative cuts, and veto override proposals. Rather than take excerpts from them all, here is a list with embedded links…
(Decatur) Herald & Review
(Champaign) News-Gazette
(Bloomington) Pantagraph
(Galesburg) Register-Mail
(Rockford) Register-Star
Scott Reeder
* When Doug Whitley announced his retirement last week, some commenters speculated it could mean he would be named a lieutenant governor candidate. According to Bernie, the answer is no…
Whitley flirted with a run for governor as a Republican in the 2010 cycle, but says he’s not planning to seek elective office.
* And buried in Sneed’s Sunday column…
It’s no shocker. . . but watch for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to formally announce his candidacy for a historic fifth term at a news conference in Chicago next Thursday after an introduction by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
* Related…
* Will Bill Daley’s name, business ties be a help or a hindrance?
* Term limits as popular as ever
* Finke: Rauner reveals plan for assembly
* Local legislators not thrilled with idea of term limits
* Republican Candidates for governor meet in Gibson City
* Republican hopefuls vie for support in Gibson City
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Remembering Don Wade
Monday, Sep 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
* Comments are closed on this post. Roma gets the last word on this one…
Last Friday morning, my hero, my best friend, my soulmate left this mortal coil behind and entered the realm of spirit while wrapped in my loving arms. God blessed us with almost an entire year since Don’s surgery to embrace life, love, family, and adventure, all while knowing that his time on this beautiful earth was drawing to a close. What a gift! What a joy to be entrusted with my magnificent man’s care for that precious time.
I love him more than life itself.
Thank you for all your messages of love and appreciation. You kept Don’s spirit alive in your hearts and we bless you for every thought. Your thoughts are prayers.
Just know that we had a lifetime of blessings together and one of the very best was sharing our thoughts,our family, our joys and sorrows with YOU, our radio family. You meant the world to us.
May God bless you and keep you safe.
With love and sorrow,
Roma, Hunter, Heather, and family
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Morning shorts
Monday, Sep 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)
Hi, I’m former Capitol Fax intern Barton Lorimor. You may remember me from such posts as “Rich isn’t here right now,” and “You’re stuck with me until he gets back.”
Two points to anyone who read that in Phil Hartman’s voice.
* State sales tax collection jumps 11 percent: Illinois sales tax collections soared by more than 11 percent in August, likely fueled by a surge in automobile sales…”It’s a little surprising,” said Jim Muschinske, revenue manager for the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “Certainly we’re above where we thought we would be. The caution is, however, that there’s still a lot of time for that to change.
* Tally in Illinois grant-fraud probe so far: 13 charged, $16M embezzled
* ComEd Rolling Out ‘Smart’ Meters, Ameren To Follow
* Exec: Fracking could change industry
* Illinois law to target cigarette flicking from cars
* Bill to speed income tax payments to local governments stalled
* Quinn: Chicago gets state loan to replace water pipes
* Sun-Times: Grounding Midway deal a smart move: Were Emanuel’s motivations pure? Did political considerations come into play? The possibilities are plentiful, including a potential rejection of any deal by a highly dubious City Council and the fact that Emanuel’s chief financial officer, who has been quarterbacking this process, is under scrutiny for recommending the city comptroller for his position.
* Behind the scenes as Midway privatization deal falls apart: “Usually, if someone is gonna withdraw, you pick up signs. They stop coming to meetings. Lawyers stop paying attention to documents. In IFM’s case, they were very engaged until the end. Then, quite suddenly, we had a process with only one bidder.”…But Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), the mayor’s City Council floor leader, insisted that the Midway deal would have passed and that Scott’s political troubles had nothing to do with Emanuel’s decision.
Nor did Ferrovial-Macquarie’s decision to hire lobbyist William Filan, who works together on some projects with former Ald. Mark Fary (12th), husband of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino. While the lobbying relationship might have created an appearance of a conflict, Andolino’s job — one of the lone holdovers from the Daley administration — is considered safe.
* Firm got city deals after hiring lobbyist linked to indicted Rahm aide’s deputy: Raussen and Colwell have ties going back more than a decade, Ohio campaign finance records show. Colwell was among the former Ohio legislator’s earliest political backers, contributing $1,500 to Raussen’s campaigns between 2000 and 2008. Raussen also got $4,153 in contributions from the Cincinnati Bell telephone company between 2000 and 2004, when Colwell was the company’s vice president of government relations.
As Raussen weighed whether Colwell’s client should be given more city insurance business over other companies vying for the work, it’s unclear whether he disclosed to Ahmad or other city officials that Colwell had given him campaign money, Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said. City ethics rules do not require him to do so, according to Hamilton.
* City sues convicted, formerly clout-heavy contractor over fraudulent contracts
* Rahm Emanuel picks ex-Ald. Martin Oberman for Metra board
* Ventra cards go on sale Monday at CTA stations, retail outlets, online
* Money, jobs on the line as CPS takes official student head count
* Aldermen Back $2M Settlement For Discriminatory Firefighter Exam
* Livingston County state’s attorney on sheriff resignation: ‘End of troubled time’
* Quinn Releases State Money For Local Road Projects
* Du Quoin Police Chief Retires
* Mayor wants new Caseyville police chief this month
* Cairo Residents Question New Tap Water Source: Officials at Illinois American Water apologize for the inconvenience of the water treatment plant repairs, but assure customers the water is safe. “It may be different than water from the Ohio River, but it is safe to drink,” says spokesperson Terry Mackin. “We made this decision because we wanted to ensure that Cairo had uninterrupted water services. We wanted to make sure the customers in Cairo turned on their tap and that water came out.”
* Policy group says 4 metro-east counties violate open government laws
* Does state law need to be changed to push governments to be more transparent?
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