This just in…
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 4:30 pm - The governor’s office informs me that Gov. Pat Quinn has dropped his appeal of the legislative pay lawsuit and has accepted his paychecks.
Quinn was appealing an unfavorable lower court ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court. Quinn had vetoed legislative salaries from the state budget, saying members shouldn’t be paid until pension reform passed.
As part of that effort, Quinn also vowed not to accept his pay checks until pension reform was addressed by the General Assembly. He got his checks today.
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Campaign odds and ends
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Heh…
UPDATE x1: Dillard’s attendance at Obama’s 2009 inauguration stirs controversy
UPDATE x1: This story has generated a surprising amount of reaction.
Rich Miller at CapitolFax thought the accusation about Dillard attending the 2009 Obama inauguration was the “pot calling the kettle black” given Rauner’s history of contributions to Democrats.
The Dillard campaign reacted as well. A spokesman for the campaign contacted IR and voiced his displeasure and disappointment that IR didn’t “tell [our] low-information readers that this was clearly NOT a donation.”
Finally, Dillard shows some backbone. More like this, please. And I don’t mean he should be whacking IR again, either. I just mean he ought to tell us where he is and where he wants the state to go, regardless of his audience.
* My vote for creepiest Tweet of the year which was then retweeted by an Illinois candidate…
Oy.
* From The Fix’s top 15 gubernatorial races of 2014…
5. Illinois (D): Can Quinn keep up the momentum he built this year in 2014? Things will get more difficult for him after the March primary, when the eventual Republican nominee can focus on him, not the competitive three-way GOP primary underway right now. Businessman Bruce Rauner is competing for the Republican nomination with state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady. (Previous ranking: 5)
Notice anybody missing from the GOP field? I know we’re just in fly-over country, but that Washington Post blog is supposed to be a must-see.
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Throw the book at him
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last March, Stephen Bona left this message on State Rep. Jeanne Ives’ voice mail…
“Your Tea Party brethren Sarah Palin put up a map that included the names, locations, and faces of Democratic candidates and put them in the cross hairs of a gun…perhaps we should do the same for you. We know where you live. There’s no longer a ban on assault weapons. Think about that before you speak next time, [expletive].”
Bona got himself all worked up after Ives made some seriously goofy anti gay marriage comments.
* Amazingly enough, the guy called Ives again…
Charges have been upgraded to a felony for a Chicago man accused of threatening a state representative over gay marriage remarks. Police say shortly after Stephen Bona, of Chicago, was charged with a misdemeanor for placing a threatening voice mail at Jeanne Ives’ district office, he placed another call to her, leading them to change the misdemeanor charges to threatening a public official, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Bona could face up to five years in jail.
* And now Bona’s attorney claims the calls were constitutionally protected free speech…
A man charged with threatening a state representative from Wheaton for her radio show comments disparaging gay marriage is attempting to have the charges dismissed, claiming his perceived threats are constitutionally protected free speech.
Bona’s attorney, Joanie Rae Wimmer argued during a Wednesday hearing before DuPage Judge Blanche Hill Fawell that the case should be dismissed because Bona did not specifically threaten Ives.
“The law is pretty clear that you only get outside the realm of constitutionally protected speech if you mean to convey an intent on your part to do harm to someone else,” Wimmer said. “I don’t believe that he did that. There are a number of cases where a speaker suggests to the listener that violence could befall them if they continue their course of action.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Scaliatine argued that the fact that Bona left the message “on a machine, directly to (Ives)” removes the protections of the First Amendment.
“This is clearly a threat,” he said.
I think it’s pretty darned clear there was an attempt to personally convey to Ives that she was in danger of harm.
I make my living on the 1st Amendment. But if someone left a comment on this blog saying what Bona said I would turn his IP address over to the cops and demand immediate action. Personal threats of violence against elected officials have zero place in a free society and nobody has the “right” to make those threats.
So “think about that before you speak next time,” Mr. Bona. It is my opinion that a judge should send you away for the maximum term allowable under law. How about that for free speech?
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Question of the day
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The 2013 Steve Brown Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Government Spokesperson goes to Patti Thompson…
I’d like to nominate Patti Thompson, the PIO for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. She has one of the most chaotic jobs a spokesperson can have dealing with the amazing flood of inquiries that come with disasters in the national media eye and the November tornados were no exception. Calls were coming on from around the globe (literally) and she was at it 20 hours a day for a week to make sure people were getting answers. On top of all that she has to maintain a good working knowledge of everything from school safety programs to the complexity of the nuclear safety programs. She keeps up a great socail media campaign and keeps the monthly preparedness themes relevant and useful. Great PIO!
* Runner-up is Rikeesha Phelon…
The Senate Dems have been out on a limb a number of times this year and she’s done a great job of articulating their position. She is tough and smart.
Congrats to both.
* Instead of a question today, let’s do a couple more categories…
* Best Illinois State Representative - Republican
* Best Illinois State Representative - Democrat
Rep. Jim Durkin was our GOP winner last year and now he’s the House Republican Leader. Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz was our Democratic winner last year and this year her dogged efforts helped make pension reform a reality. Pretty prescient votes on your part.
* Remember, this is about intensity far more than the number of votes, so make extra sure to explain your nominations in both categories. Thanks.
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“Like a business”
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From WQAD TV…
“I want to run this state like a business,” said Rauner.
* From the Quincy Herald Whig…
“We need to run the state like a business,” [Sen. Kirk Dillard] said.
* Treasurer Dan Rutherford…
“Illinois should manage like a business and strategically plan.”
* From the 2010 campaign…
We’re adding Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Brady to our long list of candidates for public office-from both major parties-that have pledged if elected to “run government like a business.”
Brady made his pledge while addressing the Kendall County Republican Party’s annual pig roast Aug. 28 near Yorkville.
Discuss.
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Today’s must-read
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Sun-Times has a very long and very good story today about the intersection between politics, corporate lobbying and not-for-profits…
In 2000, in the midst of a bruising but ultimately victorious Democratic primary battle against then-state Sen. Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) launched the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corp.
Funded with a $1 million grant from telecommunications giant SBC and the promise of another $175,000 from Congress, the not-for-profit agency’s aim was to help revive the violence-plagued South Side neighborhood, Rush said.
A key element of that, Rush and SBC said, would be the creation of the Bobby L. Rush Center for Community Technology. […]
The money from SBC — now called AT&T — would go toward the center, which was supposed to teach computer skills to neighborhood residents and serve as a small-business incubator in a community that badly needed one.
And the $175,000 in taxpayer money later approved by Rush’s colleagues in Congress was supposed to buy and renovate a building near 68th and Halsted to house the facility.
More than a decade later, though, there’s no technology center. And it’s unclear what happened to the money.
It’s unclear from the story whether this was pure incompetence or pilfering or both, but one thing you need to remember when reading the piece is this…
Rush has served since 1995 on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications and energy. For years, he has been on its telecommunications subcommittee, with a key role in telecom legislation.
Go read the whole thing.
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Illinois bond sale goes well
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg…
Less than two weeks after Illinois lawmakers broke through decades of gridlock and passed a bill to bolster the worst-funded U.S. state pension system, taxpayers are already seeing the benefits.
The state sold $350 million of taxable general-obligation bonds yesterday to pay for work on roads, bridges, schools and public transportation. Debt due in December 2038 priced to yield 5.65 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The 1.84 percentage points of extra yield above benchmark Treasuries was almost a third less than in a comparable sale in April, Bloomberg data show.
The 29 percent reduction from eight months ago saves more than $20 million over the life of the securities, according to Abdon Pallasch, assistant budget director for Illinois, which has the lowest credit grade among states. Standard & Poor’s signaled this week that the accord on retirement costs could trigger a ratings increase.
“The market recognizes that this is a clear improvement and that the credit risk of the state is diminished as a result of this pension action,” said Chris Mier, chief municipal strategist at Loop Capital Markets in Chicago.
That’s kind of a bit of fun with numbers. If the biz powers that be hadn’t opposed Senate President Cullerton’s “A-B” plan over a year ago, we’d be much further along with this process by now.
* Umm…
But the Democratic governor’s glee over the savings was tempered by Republican Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who estimated the state could have saved $70 million more if its credit rating was top-notch and not the worst in the nation.
“We are several tens of millions of dollars worse because we’re not triple-A,” said Rutherford, who is running for governor in the March GOP primary.
I tend to side with Rutherford on the bill’s constitutional questions. However, left up to Rutherford, that bill would not have been signed into law. I don’t know how he intends to get us to AAA ratings with New York by refusing to play New York’s game. And pension reform was definitely a NY game.
* From a Sen. Bill Brady press release…
(A)ccording to State Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) the interest rates Illinois got are proof that passing pension reform, while the tough choice, was the right choice.
“Voting for pension reform last week was by no means an easy vote, but today’s bond rates are proof that we made the right decision,” said Brady. “With this latest bond sale our penalty decreased by 29%. That’s huge improvement and good news for Illinois.”
* More from the Trib…
“This is a tangible, positive development — a positive dividend of (pension) reform for taxpayers,” said Matt Fabian, managing director of Connecticut-based Municipal Market Advisors. “It’s hard to see this as anything else.”
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute’s Scott Reeder threw the kitchen sink at the pension reform law in his most recent syndicated column…
After all, is freedom really worth dying for?
Yes, it is.
The men who charged the beaches of Normandy knew that all too well. So did those who gave their lives at Hue and Iwo Jima.
Imagine where we would be today if George Washington had chosen to compromise rather than fight. British tyranny would have prevailed and the greatest nation on earth would never have been born.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the temptation to compromise and addressed it in his great “I Have a Dream” speech:
“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”
Dr. King knew some things just were non-negotiable.
Nowhere in that speech will one find the soothing balm of compromise.
Those who are regular readers of this column know that I don’t often take a middle ground.
As they say in Texas, “The middle of the road is a fine place to be – if you’re a dead armadillo.”
Some things in life are non-negotiable.
In a recent column, I was blunt in explaining why the recent pension compromise was bad for our state and will do little to resolve the Land of Lincoln’s ongoing fiscal ailments.
I wish I was wrong.
But I cannot remain silent on a matter that imperils the future of this great state.
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Cross hit over basically nothing
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Meh…
A $4,800 contribution to the Cross for Treasurer campaign from Chicago gay rights activist Clark Pellett is raising questions about Cross’ critical vote last month to legalize gay marriage. Up until the day of the vote, Cross’ staff consistently assured conservatives that Cross would be a solid “no” vote.
Pellett, who is in a same-sex relationship with Chicago’s Robert Kohl, is credited with having a leadership role in passing Illinois’ gay marriage law. For years, Pellett was active in the Republican Party as Chicago GOP’s chairman. He has also donated to Cross’ political campaigns over the years.
Pellett’s check, reported to the Illinois State Board of Elections Thursday, brought Cross’ gay marriage vote back into the spotlight because his support for the measure was unexpected, and the bill narrowly passed with one vote more than needed.
“We were surprised when Cross voted yes,” Illinois Family Action’s David E. Smith told Illinois Review. “He lied to us. Absolutely, he lied.”
“Had the three Republicans that voted for gay marriage held firm to the party platform, we’d still be fighting the issue in Springfield,” Smith said.
Cross is pro-choice, voted for medical marijuana, supported the (renewed) Equal Rights Amendment and backed stem cell research. His vote shouldn’t have been a huge surprise.
And, yes, the fact that Cross’ vote will help him raise money in the gay community is most definitely a plus. It was simply good politics in a state like this. His Democratic opponent was a prominent supporter, so Cross took a big issue off the table that allows him to tap into money that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
But just one contribution so far? C’mon. If anything, that ought to be a disappointment for Cross’ campaign.
* Also, party platforms are only important to some of the people who write them. They aren’t statutes. And they shouldn’t be used to keep the party small and exclusive, especially in a state dominated by Democrats.
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Today’s numbers
Friday, Dec 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Maybe the screaming headlines will finally begin to subside a bit. From the Daily Beast…
Chicago logged 506 murders in 2012. That’s more than the nation’s two largest cities (New York and Los Angeles), and the number invited media attention that made people think that maybe Chicago, far from being a picturesque city for yuppies and tourists, was actually a good place to go only if you were looking to get shot.
With just three weeks until we close out the year, the homicide ticker is stuck on 401. That’s still almost a hundred more than New York, a city with over three times Chicago’s population, has had to date but it’s also the largest year-over-year drop in a decade, police department data show.
More…
Homicides are increasingly clustered in a handful of police districts today compared with 20 years ago.
The divide is so stark that if the city were divided into three sections—the safest, the average and the most dangerous—Hertz writes, “In the early ’90s, the most dangerous third of the city had about six times as many murders as the safest third.”
“By the late 2000s,” he adds, “the most dangerous part of the city had nearly fifteen times more homicides than the safest third.”
Discuss.
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* Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer’s are arguing their appeal of his conviction today. Main dot points from the AP…
- Blagojevich had engaged in legal, run-of-the-mill “political horse-trading” as he sought a Cabinet seat, an ambassadorship or some other high-paying job for himself in exchange for appointing someone to the U.S. Senate seat Barack Obama vacated to become president.
- Trial Judge James Zagel wrongly added years to Blagojevich’s sentence as a result of $1.5 million in campaign contributions that supporters of then-U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. allegedly offered if Blagojevich named Jackson to Obama’s seat. The appeal says there’s no proof such an offer was “accepted, negotiated or even entertained by Blagojevich.”
- Zagel allowed one juror - referred to only as Juror No. 174 - to remain on the panel during Blagojevich’s second, decisive trial, even after he said about Blagojevich during jury selection that, “I just figured him, possibly, to be guilty.”
- Zagel erred by not allowing Blagojevich to argue at his trial that, whether or not he broke the law, he acted in good faith and always thought his actions were legal.
* Sun-Times has rebuttal…
But in their filing, prosecutors balked at the notion that what Blagojevich did was commonplace, writing that, “A public official who sells his office engages in crime, not politics.”
They also addressed the allegedly biased juror. A partially formed opinion, they noted, isn’t in itself grounds for booting someone from a jury, provided that would-be jurors assure a judge they will decide a verdict based only on evidence at trial, as the juror in question did.
* Tribune…
The Chicago-based 7th Circuit is also known as one of the stingiest in the nation when it comes to reversing cases. According to statistics from 2011 and 2012, the court reversed only about 12 percent of criminal cases that it decided. Some legal experts who spoke to the Tribune about the ex-governor’s chances also questioned whether painting Zagel as biased could hurt more than help, since he’s well-regarded by appellate judges as smart and experienced.
Blagojevich might have better prospects of reducing his sentence. The 14-year prison term handed down by Zagel was the second-longest ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a political corruption case and more than double the time given to Blagojevich’s predecessor, George Ryan, who completed his 6 1/2-year prison sentence earlier this year.
* From a WUIS interview of House Speaker Michael Madigan…
VINICKY: “It’s the five year anniversary of Blagojevich’s arrest coming up … any reaction, any …
MADIGAN: “Yeah, we should … celebrate.”
*** UPDATE *** The trade for the US Senate seat, in my mind, has always been the weakest link. Two appellate justices appeared to express at least some agreement today…
During one exchange, Easterbrook asked if there was “any criminal conviction in U.S. history” other than Blagojevich’s in which a politician was convicted for trying to trade one job for another.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Bonamici had to admit there wasn’t one, as far as she knew.
Easterbrook then described how in the run up to the 1952 presidential election, California Gov. Earl Warren offered to “deliver California” for Dwight Eisenhower in return for a seat on the Supreme Court — a deal that Eisenhower honored when he was elected.
When Easterbrook asked if Eisenhower and Warren should therefore have been jailed, Bonamici said they should not have been, calling Blagojevich’s case “totally different.”
Easterbrook countered that it would be an “act of shysterism to say that was okay and that [what Blagojevich did] was not.”
And Rovner asked whether Blaojevich’s actions were not part of the “time-honored way in which politicians do business.”
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