Pot, meet kettle
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Review…
State Senator Kirk Dillard is getting heat from the Champion News blog over contributions he and his senate campaign made to Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration committee. Dillard, as well as several other Republican federal and state lawmakers, joined the January 2009 DC celebration and attended the Illinois State Society’s exclusive inaugural ball. Those expenses show up on Dillard’s filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Champion News, which is owned by Jack Roeser (who serves on Bruce Rauner’s campaign committee), argues the recorded inauguration expenses contradict Dillard’s assertion that he never contributed to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
And check out the Rauner campaign’s react…
Rauner contributed to how many Democrats over the years? He made Rahm Emanuel how many millions? He helped devise a scheme to get how much campaign money to Speaker Madigan’s candidates through Stand for Children’s Illinois PAC?
And now he’s mocking Dillard for contributing a few hundred bucks to the presidential inauguration committee? Last I checked, Obama was every American’s President.
Sheesh.
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Sen. Kirk has surgery
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
The office of U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released the following statement:
“Saturday morning Senator Mark Kirk went to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital with stomach pains. Doctors determined that, due to the fact that he had gall stones, his gall bladder needed to be removed. This morning Senator Kirk underwent a successful surgery to have his gall bladder removed and is resting comfortably. His doctor expects a quick recovery.”
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Rauner unveils several new short ads
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner’s campaign has a new Christmas themed ad called Snow Globe…
* Rauner has released several more 15-second ads. From his campaign…
Bruce Rauner today launched a new interactive, multimedia ad campaign across television, mobile and digital platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. The effort builds on Bruce’s theme of hammering the special interests running state government and engages Illinoisans ready to shake up Springfield.
The campaign’s website, HammerAndShake.com, features seven :15 videos. In the first phase of the campaign, two of the videos are running in heavy rotation on television as well as receiving substantial digital promotion. Illinoisans are asked to vote on which video should be the next to go on TV.
The campaign is also being heavily promoted on social media.
* They’re all pretty clever. Hammer…
* Lunch…
* Light…
* Table…
* Boom…
* Shake…
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It’s not a reception, but bring a toy!
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois Chamber, Illinois Bankers Association and the Chicagoland Chamber are holding a fundraiser for a couple of state legislators next week. From their e-mail…
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
**or immediately after Rich Miller’s Annual Lunch Reception**
I’m already starting to get questions about my “reception.”
* Just to be clear, I’m not having a “reception.” I’m giving a speech to the City Club of Chicago, and it has nothing to do with that biz fundraiser, which will be in a different part of Maggiano’s.
The speech sold out a long time ago, but I think there may be a few seats available. Call Paul Green, or click here to get on the waiting list.
* The occasion is the City Club’s second annual “Christmas with Rich Miller.” This time around, we’re asking people to bring toys and/or gift cards to the event. The toys should be appropriate for children ages 3-5. If you bring a gift card, please make sure the store is child appropriate.
The toys and gift cards will be donated to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois’ early childhood program. The group serves families in poor areas of Chicago.
From LSSI…
LSSI’s mission is to create a stimulating learning environment that promotes social competency and school readiness for preschool age children who are academically and economically at risk. Their goal is to strive for excellence at every opportunity and at all times by empowering, strengthening and supporting families. The development of meaningful and resourceful community partnerships assist in providing quality services for children.
* So, please bring a toy with you next Wednesday. And if you can’t make it, you can click here to donate to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. Thanks!
And, yes, I’ll be reminding you of this again before the event, so you might as well donate today and get it over with.
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Rich Williamson
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an e-mail…
I am very sorry to let you know that our friend and [GOP] National Committeeman, Rich Williamson, passed away yesterday. As you all know, Rich loved his family, his country, and his party, and we will miss his wisdom and wit.
I am told the tentative details of the arrangements are: visitation on Friday from 3:00pm – 7:00pm at Scott Funeral Home in Wilmette, and the funeral will be held on Saturday at 2:00pm in Kenilworth. More details will be forthcoming.
…Adding… Press release…
Illinois GOP Mourns Rich Williamson (1949-2013)
CHICAGO – The Illinois Republican Party is mourning the passing of Rich Williamson, the Republican National Committeeman for the Illinois GOP since 2010. Williamson served as chairman of the party from 1999-2001, served three presidents in senior Foreign Service roles, and was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 1992.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Jack Dorgan urged all Illinoisans to keep Williamson’s wife and children in their thoughts and prayers.
“Rich was a true friend, and a great diplomat,” Dorgan said. “He loved his family, loved his country, and loved this party.”
The Illinois Republican Party will announce additional details regarding arrangements when they become available.
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Question of the day
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune takes a look at the impact of the temporary tax increase sunset 13 months from now…
At the end of next year, what was billed as a temporary income tax hike will by law drop to 3.75 percent unless lawmakers and the governor decide to continue it.
Oddly, the income tax would be cut in the middle of the state’s budget year. That gives planners a bit of a cushion, though the expiration of the tax hike still is estimated to take $2.2 billion out of state coffers for the final six months of the budget year that starts July 1. […]
The should-it-stay-or-should-it-go tax hike question is likely to be a big issue in the race for governor. The fate of the tax hike will have a major impact on whoever is sitting in the governor’s office come 2015. That’s supposed to be the first full year of a lowered income tax and legislative budget forecasters predict a $4.8 billion loss in revenue. It’s a tough number for even the biggest budget cutter to hit.
The politicians in Springfield have a few paths: Pass a half-year budget. Stick money in lump sums rather than line items so dollars are harder to track. Tell voters the candidate for governor who wins the November election should get to shape his budget. Delay payment of more bills and so forth.
Maybe even “all of the above.”
* The Question: If a Republican is elected governor next year, what do you think he’ll do about the tax hike sunset? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey tools
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Today’s numbers
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg has an interesting piece about last week’s pension reform bill vote which focuses on opposition by southern Illinois Republicans…
“I wasn’t going to ask them to walk the plank politically,” [House Republican Leader Jim Durkin] said. “I erased them from the equation. They have a lot of Republican union members down in those districts.”
Thirty-three of those 54 counties south of Interstate 72 lost population in the last census. In some legislative districts in the region, government jobs represent 20 percent of the employment, according to Rob Paral and Associates, a Chicago-based research group that analyzes census data.
“In some of those districts, the state is the major employer,” Durkin said. “That’s part of the problem.”
In the region, 50 of the counties went for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 election.
Illinois isn’t unique in this regard. In fact, counties with higher proportions of local and state government workers as a share of their total workforce skewed toward Romney last year, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Among the roughly nine in 10 counties where data was available, local and state workers represented 14.2 percent of workers on average. Romney won 81 percent of the counties above that level.
* And here’s a related and very interesting nugget from Greg Hinz…
I think Mr. Rauner’s would-be peers in Springfield learned something about his style last week—particularly when, after pretty much accusing the GOP leadership of selling out to unions with “an insider deal crafted behind closed doors,” he showed up at Mr. Durkin’s fundraiser as if nothing had happened. Just bidness, I guess.
* Related…
* Pension reform solution further complicates University faculty recruitment and retention
* Unions may leave Quinn, other pols off donation list after pension vote
* Unions Boxed Into Corner on Pension Reform Vote
* GOP, Dems now face pension vote fallout in 2014
* Tom Cross: Why I voted against pension reform bill
* Erickson: Different perspectives on pension reform votes
* Finke: Illinois pension reform ain’t over yet
* Brady pleased with media reaction to his pension reform vote
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Absolutely beyond the pale
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We all know that newspaper comment sections are often vile cesspools of hatred and bigotry. But check out this letter to the editor regarding gay marriage which was actually published by the Champaign News-Gazette…
If it were known that these lawmakers would be the ones who would have turned homosexual-marriage into law, they probably would’ve been drowned at birth.
PAUL MASON HAYES
Urbana
The News-Gazette’s contact info is here, just in case you wanna let them know how you feel about their decision to publish that monstrosity.
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* Since many corporations pay little to no state taxes, a growing number are asking for EDGE credits, which allows the companies to pocket state withholding taxes. But that requires legislation for each deal, and that means legislators are put on the spot. So, at least one state legislator thinks the executive branch ought to be given the authority…
Sen. Thomas Cullerton, a Democrat from Villa Park, said the process needs to be made “more palatable” for corporations by ending the practice of executives publicly testifying on why they need the money. One possibility might be to give the department the authority to decide which companies can keep employee taxes if the companies have little or no state tax liability.
Chris Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, said “corporate big shots” are not used to being peppered with questions when seeking tax breaks. “They are not happy about that,” Mooney said. “It’s sort of embarrassing for them.”
* The problem with Sen. Cullerton’s idea is the state’s economic development agency loves EDGE credits, while another agency says there’s no proof that they work overall…
“We have calculated that EDGE, over its history, has produced $8 in private investment for every $1 in credit,” [Dave Roeder, a spokesman with the Department of Commerce] said.
The state has pledged nearly $800 million in EDGE incentives since it was created in 1999.
A 2009 report by the Department of Revenue found that there is no reliable way to measure the impact of the tax incentives program on employment because it is unclear what the net effect of favoring certain firms and industries over others has been on the longer-term employment prospects of Illinois.
What do you think?
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More Golden Horseshoes
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The winner of the Beth Hamilton Golden Horseshoe Award for Best House Secretary/Admin. Assistant is Jody Aiello…
Jody Aiello assistant for Greg Harris and Michelle Mussman. Somehow Jody keeps everthing running and Rep. Harris where he needs to be.
Last session she had her hands full with the Marriage Bill along with calls from people opposing closures and budget related meetings, appropriation hearings and meetings. I don’t think she has ever had a bad day, at least she never shows it if she does.
She defines multi-tasking and does it with a smile on her face while under pressure from tons of lobbyist and advocates wanting a meeting with Rep. Harris. She is a true pro and a pleasure to work with.
I wouldn’t have wanted her job this year. Can you imagine the phone calls she got? Oy.
* Runner-up is Kristin Milligan…
Quite simply, she’s the best, Kristin’s always helpful to the throng of people hanging out in 314. She’s hard-working, loyal and goes above & beyond for her members.
* The winner of the Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Secretary/Admin. Assistant is Anita Colvin-Barth…
She works her tail off to keep up with one of the most notoriously difficult members, Kotowski, and she does it without so much as a peep. Plus, I’m pretty sure she has the record for fastest stair climb from 1-M to the floor.
* Runner-up is Abby Walsh…
Abby Walsh is one of the hardest working assistants, covering both Brady’s Bloomington and Springfield offices. She maintains a pleasant attitude even when things get crazy, and always greets everyone she encounters with a smile. To top it off, she’s very stylish!
* And this is also worth remembering…
I know Rich wants names, but this has been an unusual year and ALL of the legislative secretaries deserve some credit. Anyone within earshot of a legislative office knows the phones have been ringing off the hook most of the year. First gay marriage, then the concealed carry bill, then gay marriage again, then pensions, then gay marriage again, then pensions, etc. The legislative secretaries have been brutalized by many of the people calling because they are the first line of defense against the crazies. They put up with a tremendous amount of crap from many of the people who call (constituents don’t usually call to say “thank you”).
Agreed.
* The Golden Horseshoe Award for best bartender goes to Adam at No Name Bar…
Most importantly, he pours a good drink. But on top of that, he’s good company (knows when to engage, when to ignore), he knows a ton about a ton, and he always keeps the popcorn machine running.
* Our runner-up received just one nomination, but how could I ignore this?…
The best bartender is Louie at Gab’s. The guy is like 75 years old, still there 2 - 3 days a week. If you have a questions about local politics, he has the answer. If you have a question about the old ‘mob’ and he isn’t under some ‘non-disclosure’ agreement, then he will give you the answer. If you want to know what any old timer drinks, he has the answer. He doesn’t know state politics as well as some of the others here but that is why you can catch the Trib people there eating pizza and boozing.
* We didn’t get enough nominations for best waiter/waitress, so I’m gonna discontinue that category. There wasn’t a ton of interest last year, either.
* The Golden Horseshoe Award for best bar goes to Boone’s Saloon…
It’s a great place to hang out after dinner, because you’ll find plenty of Statehouse types. I had one of the more memorable experiences of my entire career there Tuesday night. A fascinating evening, which makes this vote pretty easy.
* Runner-up is the Globe…
The best bar is still the Globe, especially now that it’s back in its former space and freshly renovated. So many legislators and lobbyists stay at either the Hilton or Lincoln, the Globe is the nicest, most upscale and conveniently located bar downtown. No chance of a DUI when you leave, since you’re either taking the elevator or walking across the street to get home. There are always lots of important people there and the set up lends itself to some quiet conversations and discretion.
Congrats to all our winners.
* OK, now let’s turn to today’s categories…
* Best State Senate Staffer - Non Political
* Best State House Staffer - Non Political
As always, this is about intensity far more than the number of votes a nominee receives. So, please, make extra sure to explain your vote or it could be disregarded. Thanks!
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A takeover bid
Monday, Dec 9, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
By now, it should be self evident that Bruce Rauner has locked up pretty much all the big money in the Republican primary race for governor. Last week’s pension reform vote provides even more evidence.
Rauner has built an impenetrable fortress of high-dollar campaign contributors. Ron Gidwitz, long known in GOP circles for being the gateway to bigtime cash from the wealthy, has fully joined in, as has the richest man in Illinois Ken Griffin.
Gidwitz was with Sen. Kirk Dillard in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, but Gidwitz and Rauner have sucked up so many dollars - including over $250,000 from campaign fundraising committee member Griffin and lots more from Griffin’s friends - that Dillard hasn’t been able to raise any cash from rich people he’s known for years, even decades. Dillard’s financial predicament has become so desperate that he voted against last week’s pension reform bill in the obvious hope that he can now raise some dough from public employee unions.
Dillard’s vote is even more bizarre when you realize that he voted against a union-negotiated pension bill back in May and twice voted in favor of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension reform bill in May and June. He really had no choice last week. It was sink or swim time. Whether a gubernatorial candidate can win a 2014 Republican primary with union backing remains to be seen, but it appears highly unlikely from this vantage point. If Dillard does win any public worker union endorsements, Rauner can then whack him with a “pay to play” charge and beat him over the head for taking “big government union boss” dollars.
The same goes for Treasurer Dan Rutherford. The treasurer isn’t facing a gubernatorial campaign cash crisis like Dillard, but he hasn’t been able to raise the big bucks to compete with Rauner, who is reporting new six figure contributions almost every day. Rutherford said not long ago that a pension reform bill should be passed so that its constitutionality could be litigated in the courts. Last week, Rutherford sided with the unions and said that he opposed the bill because he believed it to be unconstitutional.
For three solid years, state Rep. Tom Cross constantly insisted to his caucus that pension reform absolutely had to be passed, even though the majority of his members sided with the unions. That split eventually became so bitterly intense that Cross could no longer effectively continue as House Republican Leader.
Yet, when push came to shove, Cross voted “No.”
Huh?
Well, he could’ve gone for the easy newspaper endorsements and the “regular” Statehouse money, but Cross knows that his best fundraising year as House GOP Leader came in 2010 - when Ken Griffin and his independently wealthy wife Ann contributed huge dollars to his cause and helped him raise even more money from their super-rich friends.
A “Yes” vote could’ve meant no Griffin cash for Cross (Griffin penned a recent Chicago Tribune op-ed slamming the pension bill with Rauner campaign talking points and his wife reportedly made several phone calls to House Republicans last week). So, Cross went with the money.
US Sen. Mark Kirk has been courting the Griffin’s and their bank accounts for several years. One of Kirk’s top political guys is now working for Rauner. So, in retrospect, Sen. Kirk’s aggressive statement opposing the pension bill last week should’ve been no surprise. But it sure as heck freaked out a lot of legislative Republicans, particularly in the House. Twenty-two House Republicans voted for Speaker Madigan’s pension bill in May, but just 15 voted for a similar bill last week that had been negotiated by their own newly elected Leader, Rep. Jim Durkin. Sen. Kirk’s opposition was crucial to that precipitous decline.
Speaker Madigan claimed last week that Rauner had made a “political mistake” when he tried and failed to “blow up” the process and kill the pension bill.
Governmentally, Rauner’s behavior was appalling. It showed that he would be a needlessly confrontational and even irresponsible governor. But this was no political loss. Instead, it officially heralded a new era in GOP politics.
Ken Griffin told the Tribune last year that the ultra wealthy “actually have an insufficient influence” on politics. And now, Griffin, Rauner and the rest of the ultra-wealthy are making a big play to take over the party and then the governor’s mansion. Everybody else had better pay attention.
Thoughts?
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* My Sun-Times column…
We’re about to find out just what sort of state we really live in.
Actually, we already pretty much know.
Going back as far as the 1940s, Illinois has neglected to fully fund its public employee pension plans.
The problem eventually got so bad the state’s Constitutional Convention delegates inserted an air-tight guarantee that pension benefits could never be “diminished or impaired.” The brand new Constitution was approved by voters in 1970. Illinoisans were officially informed that the pension clause was “self explanatory.”
The idea was to scare legislators and the governor into fully funding the pension systems and prevent them from expanding already unaffordable benefits.
The Constitutional Convention delegates wanted to specifically warn the state’s powers that be that they’d never be able to one day turn around and decide that not enough was paid into the funds and too much was promised out of the funds, so benefits had to be cut.
It didn’t work.
At all.
The pension funds were never given enough state money. Benefits were expanded almost every year, sometimes more than once.
And then just last week the General Assembly approved and the governor signed into law a bill that did exactly what the Constitutional Convention delegates specifically tried to prevent. They reduced unaffordable, unfunded pension benefits.
Things finally got to the point where taxpayers were on the hook for $380 billion in pension fund payments over the next 30 years. The pension systems’ unfunded liability had grown to $100 billion.
Our legislators and governors had some partners in this debacle. Unions pushed hard for some very big benefit hikes, including a compounded annual 3 percent increase for all retirees that has wound up costing a fortune. If the unions had pushed half as hard to actually fund those benefit sweeteners, things might be different today.
The new law slashes benefits, particularly that annual cost-of-living adjustment. A Sun-Times editorial described it this way: “The bill kicks ordinary working people — secretaries, clerks, teachers and the like — in the teeth.”
Unbelievably, there are those who think the new law doesn’t go nearly far enough. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner said the law merely slaps “a small bandage on an open wound.”
Rauner would go further. He’d freeze all pension benefits where they are today. No cost-of-living adjustments ever. So, if your retirement income is now $30,000, it’ll be $30,000 15 years from now, regardless of inflation.
Rauner would also put all current workers into 401(k) plans — the same plans that most private employees participate in, and the same plans that many are now worried are so inadequate that we appear heading for a national poverty disaster among the elderly.
Rauner tried to kill the bill last week. The man who reported making $53 million last year tried his cynical best to incite class warfare and turn the less fortunate against the bad public employees and retirees. His ploy didn’t work. The bill was already so harsh that few were willing to go any further.
The court cases will begin soon, and that’s when we will discover what sort of state this is.
We’re going to soon see whether a plain language constitutional provision is enough to stop exactly the outcome that the drafters were specifically trying to prevent two score and three years ago.
I can see how some of this new might survive. There is some wiggle room, particularly on cost of living adjustments. The constitutional drafters debated whether to specifically protect benefits against the ravages of inflation and decided against it. But it couldn’t be more clear what those drafters were trying to do, and the new law sure looks a lot like it.
Discuss.
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