Tobin picks a horse
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
Mr. Rauner this morning got an endorsement from another figure who doesn’t rank very high on the friends-of-labor list. That would be Jim Tobin, a prominent critic of public-sector pensions and pay levels who’s best-known for heading the group Taxpayers United of Illinois.
Another group he heads, Taxpayer Accountability, also endorsed Mr. Rauner today, along with Jim Oberweis for the U.S. Senate. Said Mr. Tobin in a statement: “Bruce Rauner is a successful businessman and strong leader with the fiscal experience to save Illinois from its history of failed and criminal leadership. Bruce has pledged to repeal the 67 percent state income tax increase surcharge and to perform a complete overhaul of the state’s tax policies to simplify and eliminate the corporate welfare that burdens individuals and small businesses.”
* Let’s look back a couple of years to when Tobin was vilifying Abraham Lincoln…
Lincoln’s real priority was not the slaves but the collection of revenue. He knew that a low-tax independent South would attract far more European trade to its relatively duty free ports like Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans, and that goods could easily be smuggled from there across the long border the U.S. would share with the Confederacy. Lincoln’s mercantilist plans would be foiled, and Lincoln was a true mercantilist. He believed in increasing a nation’s wealth by government regulation of all of the nation’s commercial interests. […]
Rather than wish Lincoln a Happy Birthday, perhaps we can celebrate the birth of William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773). Having died only a month into his first term as President, Harrison did not live long enough to do nearly as much damage as Lincoln.
And…
Did Lincoln save the Union? Not if the Union was a voluntary association of States that delegated limited, enumerated powers to the federal government as it was prior to the war.
Lincoln’s use of military force against the peaceful secession of southern states gutted the Ninth and Tenth Amendments and laid the foundation for the federal leviathan we have today.
There’s somebody you want in your camp.
…Adding… Tobin must’ve thought Fort Sumter was an “inside job” or something. The secession wasn’t at all “peaceful.”
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* Bruce Rauner’s statement that he most definitely wanted to lower the minimum wage by a dollar an hour is becoming quite a big story, despite his attempt to walk back the demand yesterday.
As noted below, all four Republican gubernatorial candidates have now weighed in on the minimum wage issue. And now it’s moved into the state treasurer’s race. From a press release…
Republican Gubernatorial candidate and billionaire Bruce Rauner announced yesterday that he supports lowering Illinois’ minimum wage rate from $8.25 to $7.25. Representative Tom Cross has a long history of rejecting minimum wage increases, most recently voting against increases in 2003 and 2006. If Tom Cross had his way, the minimum wage would still be $4.25 cents an hour as it was when he was first elected. The Cross\Rauner plan to stop an increase or even lower the minimum wage is mean-spirited and would drain millions from our economy and throw thousands more into poverty.
State Senator Mike Frerichs, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer, released the following statement responding to Rauner’s ridiculous idea;
“I’m shocked by billionaire Bruce Rauner’s attack on working families who are just trying to earn a living. Bruce Rauner says that he wants Illinois to be competitive with surrounding states. If he really means that, then he should join our President in his effort to raise the minimum wage for everyone in this country.
Perhaps Rauner took his cues from Tom Cross who in the last ten years voted against raising the minimum wage twice (2003 and 2006) and as recently as last year agreed that raising the minimum wage was a “job killer”. It’s not surprising that Rauner has partnered with Tom Cross by giving the maximum of $10,600 to Cross’ campaign.
Bruce Rauner and Tom Cross represent what the Illinois Republican Party is comprised of; clueless candidates who denigrate low-income workers and stack the deck against working families just trying to get ahead. I repudiate Rauner’s race to the bottom in wages and urge people to sign my petition at www.FrerichsforIllinois.com/supportminwage and tell Rauner and Cross to stand with working families and support President Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage.”
One minor correction. Rauner actually made his original statement on December 11th, according to John Gregory at the Illinois Radio Network, not yesterday. It was reported yesterday, but the quote had been sitting around a while.
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Red ink as far as the eye can see
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor’s budget office has posted its new three-year projection as required by law. Here’s the projection for revenue losses due to the expiration of the temporary income tax hike. These are fiscal years and the first line is for personal income tax receipts and the second line is for corporate receipts…
* Without changing any state laws or programs, GOMB is projecting a $1.9 billion deficit in FY 2015, $4.1 billion by 2016 and $4.6 billion by 2017. And the state’s bill backlog is projected to grow to $16.2 billion by the end of FY 2017.
The budget office’s spending projections (which you can see here) use existing law with existing programs, and calculate savings from the pension reform bill in FY 16 and 17. So, they’re projecting increases all around. But those increases won’t exist without those income tax revenues.
* From Voices for Illinois Children…
According to GOMB projections, revenue losses due to the scheduled decrease in income tax rates will lead to budget shortfalls of $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2015 (which begins in July 2014), $4.1 billion in FY 2016, and $4.6 billion in FY 2017. Closing gaps of this magnitude would require draconian cuts to programs and services that are essential for the well-being of children, families, and communities across Illinois.
The state’s investments in early childhood education, K-12 education, and higher education — which have eroded over the past five years — would be significantly undermined. Programs such as child care assistance, afterschool programs, child protection services, and a wide range of community-based services for families, people with disabilities, and seniors would be in serious jeopardy.
* From the Senate Republicans…
Because the major portion of the 2011 tax hike is set to expire automatically, the budget office was required to assume that the state will lose those dollars. The drop in that revenue coupled with the anticipated spending growth has the potential to create the largest deficits the state has ever seen.
The figures released by the Governor’s office clearly reveal that without a decrease in spending, the state will be forced to choose between higher taxes and massive deficits. Ever since the tax hike was imposed during a lame-duck legislative session in 2011, Senate Republicans have warned that significant spending reductions were needed to allow for the tax increase to expire as promised.
The projections from Quinn’s budget office reveal the Governor plans to continue to increase state spending regardless of whether or not the state has any money.
Not quite. The projections, as explained above, were put together using existing laws and programs.
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* Bruce Rauner may, depending on the day, want to lower the minimum wage by a dollar an hour, but Sen. Kirk Dillard says he wants the “marketplace” to decide what the minimum wage should be. To me, at least, that sounds like he wants no statutory minimum wage at all.
Audio courtesy of John Gregory at the Illinois Radio Network…
The quote, in case you can’t listen to audio files at work…
“I am a, what I guess is known as a Jeffersonian free market principle guy. And I believe that the marketplace ought to set everything, including the minimum wage.”
Dillard also said he was against raising the minimum wage because it would cost jobs. Then he added this…
“The people who push for it in Springfield generally are Chicago legislators, minority legislators. But it really hurts the minority community because they’ll have fewer jobs for those in the minority community that those who try to push these things through the legislature are really trying to help.”
* By the way, John at IRN also shared the full Bruce Rauner audio where the candidate said unequivocally that he wanted to roll back the minimum wage by a dollar an hour…
Rauner’s quote…
“I will advocate moving the Illinois minimum wage back to the national minimum wage. I think we’ve got to be competitive here in Illinois. It’s critical we’re competitive. We’re hurting our economy by having the minimum wage above the national. We’ve got to move back to the national.”
Seems clear to me.
*** UPDATE *** From a press release…
Senator Bill Brady, Republican candidate for Governor, today said proposals by two gubernatorial candidates to change Illinois’ minimum wage rates are counter-productive for Illinois job growth and working families.
“We have Governor Quinn proposing to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, and Bruce Rauner talking about lowering it by $1. They are both out-of-touch with the needs of Illinois families and Illinois business,” Brady said.
“If we raise the rate, we discourage job growth. If we cut it, we impact hard-working Illinois families who depend on a minimum wage as better jobs continue to leave Illinois,” Brady said.
“I believe the state and minimum wage rates need to be paired and support a moratorium on increases in the Illinois minimum wage until the federal rate has caught up with ours,” he said.
Illinois’ minimum wage rate of $8.25 an hour is the fourth highest in the country and $1 higher than the federal rate.
“I understand the need for a reasonable minimum wage, as Illinois and the nation have lost higher-paying manufacturing jobs to service industry employment,” Brady said. “My focus will be on restoring more of those higher-paying jobs to Illinois, giving more of our families larger paychecks.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From a press release…
Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford does not support lowering the state’s minimum wage, nor does he support increasing it at this time.
“Lowering the minimum wage in Illinois is a bad idea. Doing so would place an unfair burden on workers. I will never be a fan of taking money from peoples’ wallets, and that’s what lowering the minimum wage would do.”
“I believe every American should be able to make as much money as possible, legally and ethically. State government should not put an artificial cost of doing business increase on a business, church or local unit of government by increasing the minimum wage.”
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Today’s numbers ain’t good
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I don’t think this means people are having fewer babies. Pretty sure it means people are leaving…
The Land of Lincoln grew by only about 52,000 residents between the last census on April 1, 2010, and the latest estimate, on July 1, 2013, the bureau said.
In the last year of that period — from July 1, 2012, to July 1, 2013 — the growth rate was 0.1 percent, with the state gaining an estimated 13,943 residents to reach a population of 12,883,135.
In comparison, the country as a whole grew about 2 percent since the census, adding 7.4 million people for a total of 316.1 million.
Illinois’ very slow growth was outpaced by the Midwest region for the most recent year-over-year comparison. During the period, the regional population grew 0.3 percent.
Ugh.
Full data here.
* Since the last full Census, Illinois’ population grew 0.2 percent. Nearby states…
Indiana: 1.34%
Michigan: 0.12%
Ohio: 0.3%
Wisconsin: 0.98%
Discuss.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eric Zorn wants term limits for legislative leaders in order to get rid of Speaker Madigan…
Gov. Pat Quinn and Rauner support leadership term limits, though their first choice is legislative term limits, according to their spokesmen. The other three Republican gubernatorial candidates — Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard — support leadership term limits.
The public is also enthusiastic: A September 2012 poll of Illinois voters by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found that 78 percent support the idea.
And yet. Illinois lawmakers have introduced proposed constitutional amendments to limit the terms of legislative leaders 10 times since 2007 and never gotten so much as a committee vote — a pattern of failure seen in seven other states in the last 15 years.
No state has such limits in its constitution, analyst Brenda Erickson said.
There’s an effective limit on the terms of Senate presidents in 14 states where the lieutenant governor is term limited and also serves as the president of the state Senate. Four states limit leadership terms either by chamber rules or caucus rules, and one state, Maine, has statutory but not constitutional limits.
It’s hard not to think that the reason such a popular and obvious proposal has such trouble moving through legislatures is that the men and women whose job security is threatened by leadership limits are the same men and women who have the power to sidetrack legislation.
* The Question: Would you support a ten-year term limit for all four state legislative leaders? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
online polls
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Rauner now hedges on lowering minimum wage
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Southern Illinoisan…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s “Shake Up Springfield” bus tour made a stop Tuesday at the Italian Village restaurant in Carbondale.
Rauner called Illinois the worst run state in America, citing high unemployment, deficits and deteriorating schools. […]
Rauner would not rule out minimum wage increases or decreases, but he said any change to the minimum wage should be a comprehensive approach that makes labor regulations and the tax burden more attractive to small businesses and improves the education system.
Hedging, eh?
* Here’s what John Gregory at the Illinois Radio Network reported him saying at an earlier time…
Bruce Rauner believes Illinois should do the opposite, and lower it to $7.25. “I will advocate moving the Illinois minimum wage back to the national minimum wage. I think we’ve got to be competitive here in Illinois,” Rauner said.
Sounds like a strong position, forcefully held.
* But that IRN quote was picked up by the mainstream media after I posted it here, so Rauner may have decided to run away from his “courageous” position. Here’s Rauner’s full Carbondale quote from yesterday, provided by SI reporter Chris Hottensen…
“What we should really do is be comprehensive in our approach. We need to become pro-business again. If we do raise the minimum wage, we should do it in the context of making our labor regulations and our tax burden much more attractive to small business so we have a growing economy so everybody’s got jobs. The reality is if we only increase the minimum wage we could end up hurting the very folks we’re trying to help. Unemployment could go up, small business owners could shut their doors, business owners could leave the state. We have to be competitive and if we don’t have a booming economy with people getting hired we’ll defeat the very purpose for raising the minimum wage.
“If we move it to a level where we are at the same level as the national wage that will allow us to be competitive and create more job opportunities.
“But to lower it would hurt some lower income folks and we should only do that in the context of dramatically improving our schools and creating a business environment where everybody’s got jobs so we don’t have such a brutally high unemployment rate.”
Yep, that’s a hedge, and not a very artful one, either.
* The national polling on this issue has been pretty clear. Click here to see several polls that show strong support for hiking the minimum wage.
* A December Washington Post-ABC poll asked “The minimum wage in this country is now seven dollars and 25 cents an hour. What do you think it should be?”
All respondents…
Republicans…
Conservatives…
Conservative Republicans…
So, even a strong 60 percent majority of conservative Republicans would like to see an increase in the minimum wage. While a quarter or so would like it to remain the same or lowered, and a tiny handful says it needs to be eliminated.
No wonder he’s hedging.
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Dillard wants lots more debates with Rauner
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told you yesterday that Bruce Rauner had agreed to five debates. Kirk Dillard believes he ought to agree to far more. From a press release…
The Dillard-Tracy campaign today released the list of debates and forums in which they will be participating in the coming months. This list is in addition to the many other forums that Senator Dillard and State Representative Tracy have already participated in.
January 11 Women’s Republican Club Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Forum
January 14 Will County GOP Tea Party Debate
January 16 Daily Herald Forum
January 20 Chicago Tonight/WTTW - Mikva Challenge (Gubernatorial)
January 21 WGN/Chicago Tribune Debate
January 22 Union League Club Debate
January 23 Illinois Public Broadcasters/League of Women Voters Debate
February 3 Sun-Times Candidate Forum
February 4 Illinois Manufacturers’ Association Debate
February 10 WLS-AM/NW Suburban Townships Debate
February 16 Illinois Forum Debate
February 18 Citizens Club of Springfield Debate
February 20 Illinois Mechanical & Specialty Contractors Forum
February 25 Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce Debate
February 25 Chicago Tonight/WTTW - Mikva Challenge (Lt. Governor)
February 27 ABC7 Chicago/League of Women Voters Debate/Univision
March 4 NBC5/University of Chicago Debate
March 6 Chicago Tonight/WTTW Lt. Governor Debate
March 13 Chicago Tonight/WTTW Gubernatorial Debate
Debates and forums are an important way for voters to learn more about the candidates and their positions. The Rauner campaign recently announced that it will participate in 5 events, none of which are in January.
“It’s curious that Bruce Rauner has decided to skip all debates and forums in January,” Campaign Manager Glenn Hodas said. “Perhaps they interfere with his Montana fly-fishing vacation plans with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Regardless, we’ll be here in Illinois, talking about bringing more jobs to our state, and Bruce can return to the conversation after his trip.”
That January 23rd debate is particularly important to Downstate public TV stations. Rauner ought to agree to that one.
But, on the whole, I’m not sure if many people care what debates that candidates engage in. And since Rauner has positioned himself as the “inevitable frontrunner,” limiting his debate exposure is an expected move.
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Not ready for prime time
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
[Earceen Alexander] was a laborer on a city garbage truck nearly 10 years ago when she was pinned between a telephone pole and the truck. The vehicle’s driver, Denise Alcantar, was an inexperienced city employee who owed her job to the Hispanic Democratic Organization’s clout.
Alexander’s thigh was gashed, her pelvis broken and a lung damaged, forcing her to remain in a wheelchair, tethered to an oxygen tank, for much of the following five years until she died in 2008, at age 63.
Her daughter Angelique Boyd felt a measure of redemption for her mother’s death when Al Sanchez, once Mayor Richard M. Daley’s top Streets and San man, went to federal prison a few years ago for rigging the hiring process to favor HDO campaign foot soldiers.
Sanchez is now running for county board. His response to a Sun-Times inquiry…
“It was an accident,” Sanchez said Tuesday of the 2003 incident that maimed Alexander. “It happens with Streets and San. Everybody wants to make a bigger deal out of it.”
OK, it was an accident. These things do happen. But a candidate who is this callous really ought to rethink his decision to run for public office.
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The unions prepare a Rauner assault
Wednesday, Jan 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* While I was away, some reporters began to pick up bits and pieces of the anti Bruce Rauner movement building among organized labor. From Bernie’s column on December 26th…
Rich Miller, publisher of the Capitol Fax newsletter and associated website, reported this week in his syndicated column that sources tell him labor unions are “moving ever closer to jumping into this primary battle.” The intent, he said, is to “spend a … few million bucks” to try to defeat candidate Bruce Rauner of Winnetka in the primary, because if Rauner is the GOP nominee, it would cost “tens of millions to fend him off in the fall.”
Of even further interest in central Illinois, Miller reported to his subscribers last week that several sources say that while some unions plan to work with the Democratic Governors Association to build this challenge, other unions instead will be involved in forming a separate organization to pay for ads. And, Miller said, “several sources” told him that Steve Shearer will run that group.
Shearer is Congressman Aaron Schock’s former chief of staff.
More Bernie…
In light of reports in Capitol Fax, Roman passed along Schock’s statement that also was given to the website. In it, Schock said in part of Shearer: “At no time did we discuss his future plans or employment.”
“Regarding this effort,” Schock said of the reported anti-Rauner push, “I have never been a party to any campaign to influence the outcome of the Republican primary for governor. I have met with several of the candidates who are running for the Republican nomination for governor, and I may get involved in the primary at a later date.”
Shearer was not available for comment.
* The Sun-Times tried to take some credit…
Rauner’s three opponents are struggling to register on the radar. Earlier this month, Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery telegraphed the move to the Sun-Times, saying Republican primary involvement could be in the cards. Montgomery and other unions were incensed about pension-reform legislation that makes wholesale changes to the structure of public-employee benefits. It had the IFT as well as other unions looking at all available political options.
More…
Two of the other three Republican competitors — Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, and Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford — opposed pension reform legislation, keeping alive their chances to get union support. Dillard has already been the beneficiary of $250,000 in teacher union money, campaign finance records show. Dillard and state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, are demonstrating dismal fundraising so far. Rutherford has remained consistent in bringing in money, but none of the three can compete with the $100,000 checks Rauner is bringing in with ease. And Rutherford and the others aren’t generating enough cash to sustain a TV ad campaign to target Rauner’s vulnerabilities, including his ties to Democratic Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel.
Attack ads against Rauner from a third party could be a game-changer in this race.
* Back to Bernie…
Paperwork was filed with the State Board of Elections last week to form The Republican Fund for Progress and Jobs, which is an independent expenditure political action committee. The chairman and treasurer is STEVEN SHEARER of Peoria, former chief of staff and campaign manager to state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria.
This is apparently a group that will gather money from anti-Rauner forces, particularly labor unions — as was recently tipped in Capitol Fax.
As an independent expenditure group, the new PAC can raise unlimited amounts, but it cannot make direct contributions to candidates or coordinate expenditures with candidates.
The media focus so far has been on the Shearer PAC, but the DGA’s PAC appears to be the one that will carry the heaviest load. Subscribe for more info.
* Meanwhile, unions are also sending cash to Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign fund. Ormsby…
In the last quarter of the year, Governor Pat Quinn disclosed on Tuesday that he raised nearly $2 million.
In two campaign finance filings with the state election board, Quinn reported $1,970,232 in large contributions, the bulk of which came from trade unions.
The top union checks include:
$250,000 – Operating Engineers Local 150
$150,000 – IBEW
$100,000 – Plumbers, Pipefitters Union
$100,000 – Laborers Union
$100,000 – Painters Union
$50,000 – Illinois Pipe Trades
$50,000 – Illinois Associated Fire Fighters
$30,000 – Chicago Regional Carpenters
Discuss.
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I just gotta say…
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Two weeks away felt like two months, mainly because I had such a fantastic time and didn’t take my laptop with me. But i’m really glad to be back, and not just because I missed my puppy.
This Capitol Fax thing has always been more than just a job to me. It’s pretty much my whole life, which my remaining friends can probably attest to. No regrets, though. Just the opposite. I have the best job in the world, or at least in Illinois. And I’m happy to be back and in the thick of things again today. It’s why I drove home yesterday. I truly wanted to get back to work. I love this stuff. Who wouldn’t?
There are some stories that broke while I was away which I didn’t get to today because I’m still trying to catch up on other stuff as well. Worry not. We’ll get to as much as we can.
Anyway, I just wanted to say how happy I am to be here.
- Rich
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Vallas won’t join campaign until March
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Paul Vallas, Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate, plans to keep working as the school superintendent in Bridgeport, Conn., until March 1 — 17 days before the primary election. […]
Vallas has continued to work in Bridgeport because “he does not want to leave the Bridgeport school system in the lurch,” says Steven Ecker, an attorney for Vallas in Connecticut. “If he had done nothing and they wanted to fire him, he would have gotten a big payday.”
If the Bridgeport school board had fired Vallas before Dec. 31, the board would have owed him a lump sum of $234,000 — equivalent to one year of his salary — plus one year of health insurance for him and his family, according to his contract.
Instead, Vallas will collect about $72,000 from the school system if he remains on the job until March 1 — 16 weeks after he decided to run for lieutenant governor of Illinois.
It’s not like Quinn really needs him around, but this is a very unusual arrangement, to say the least.
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Rauner commits to five debates
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner announced today that he will participate in five candidate debates and forums with media partners prior to the March 18th primary. Evelyn Sanguinetti has also agreed to participate in the WTTW televised debate for lieutenant governor candidates.
“Debates are an important part of the election process, and I’m glad we will have several televised debates. I look forward to debating the critical issues of jobs, taxes and spending, education, term limits, and more with my fellow Republicans,” Bruce said. “In addition, as the primary nears, we will continue to increase our breakneck campaign pace that has already put more than 35,000 miles on the Ford and brought us to more than 200 community and campaign events. Illinoisans are ready to shake up Springfield and bring back our state – I feel it on the campaign trail every day.”
In addition to the debates below, Bruce has already completed more than half a dozen candidate forums and even more joint appearances.
Confirmed events include:
Governor
Sponsor: Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
Proposed Date: February 4
Sponsor: Citizens Club of Springfield
Proposed Date: February 18
Sponsor: League of Women Voters, ABC 7, Univision
Proposed Date: February 27
Sponsor: NBC 5, University of Chicago
Proposed Date: March 4
Sponsor: WTTW
Proposed Date: March 13
Lieutenant Governor
Sponsor: WTTW
Proposed Date: March 6
Looks like he might be trying to dictate terms.
No word yet from the other candidates.
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Another Chicago gun ordinance bites the dust
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reuters…
A Chicago ban on gun sales within the city, aimed at reducing gun violence, is unconstitutional because it goes too far in barring buyers and dealers from engaging in lawful sales, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang found that the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms must include the right to acquire them, within limits.
The judge stayed the ruling, however, in order to give the nation’s third-largest city a chance to respond. Chang said the city had until Monday to submit a motion to stay the ruling pending an appeal if it chooses to do so.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel “strongly disagrees” with the court’s decision, according to a statement from the city, adding that he has instructed the city’s lawyer to consider all options to better regulate the sale of firearms within the city’s borders.
“Every year Chicago police recover more illegal guns than officers in any city in the country, a factor of lax federal laws as well as lax laws in Illinois and surrounding states related to straw purchasing and the transfer of guns,” the statement said. “We need stronger gun safety laws, not increased access to firearms within the city.”
Judge Chang is a recent Obama appointee.
* The full opinion is here…
(C)ertain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government’s reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment. This right must also include the right to acquire a firearm, although that acquisition right is far from absolute: there are many long-standing restrictions on who may acquire firearms (for examples, felons and the mentally ill have long been banned) and there are many restrictions on the sales of arms (for example, licensing requirements for commercial sales).
But Chicago’s ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms, and at the same time the evidence does not support that the complete ban sufficiently furthers the purposes that the ordinance tries to serve.
* Sun-Times…
The judge was unmoved by the city’s efforts to prove that the gun sale ban disproportionately affected “parochial” gang members who might find it hard to cross rival gang boundaries to travel to the suburbs, where many guns used in crime are currently purchased.
Though nearly all illegally used guns were originally sold by licensed dealers, “guns used in crimes generally pass through several hands before being acquired by the ultimate perpetrator,” the judge wrote.
He suggested that “straw purchasers” who use their clean criminal backgrounds to buy guns for criminals can be tackled by “more focused approaches, such as law enforcement operations that target dealers who would sell to straw purchasers.”
Nothing in his ruling stops Chicago Police from enforcing gun laws, or “prevents the City from considering other regulations — short of the complete ban — on sales and transfers of firearms to minimize the access of criminals to firearms and to track the ownership of firearms,” Chang wrote.
* New York Times…
“The stark reality facing the city each year is thousands of shooting victims and hundreds of murders committed with a gun,” the judge, Edmond E. Chang, of Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, wrote. “But on the other side of this case is another feature of government: certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government’s reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment.” […]
Several residents and an association of Illinois firearms retailers filed a lawsuit, leading to Judge Chang’s decision. “Chicago’s ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms,” the judge wrote, “and at the same time the evidence does not support that the complete ban sufficiently furthers the purposes that the ordinance tries to serve.”
Gun rights advocates said they hoped the ruling would send a message to Chicago and other cities setting similar limits. “Just because people live in Chicago doesn’t mean they’ve given up their rights,” said Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association. Even with Chicago’s ban on sales, officials have long complained about the patchwork of laws that allowed guns to be obtained in neighboring states and suburbs.
* Tribune…
Mark Walsh, campaign director for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, said the financially powerful NRA has systematically fought to water down gun laws in Illinois and across the country.
“That’s the NRA’s game plan. They keep filing suits and filing suits to chip away laws and get to their ultimate goal of a complete armed citizenry,” he said.
Though the 7th Circuit Court has ruled favorably for the NRA in recent cases in Chicago and Illinois, Walsh said other federal appellate courts have not followed suit.
“All too often the narrative is that the NRA is this monolithic machine that is winning everywhere, but that really isn’t the case,” he said. “There has been the fear mongering by the NRA and gun manufacturers, but it does not necessarily translate.
* Meanwhile…
About 4,500 requests for concealed carry permits were submitted the first day Illinois’ online application system was open to the public, officials said Monday.
The applications submitted Sunday during the system’s first 24 hours of operation brought the total permit requests to more than 11,000, said Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police. The other 6,500 applications came in recent weeks, as the state allowed firearms instructors to apply for permits early in order to help test the online application system. Detailed information on what areas of the state saw the most applicants wasn’t yet available, Bond said.
“Right now we’re pleased with the ease of the process so far,” she said. Bond called the number of applicants a “pretty healthy number.”
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* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner’s attempt to shed his out-of-touch billionaire image by touring Southern and Central Illinois is nothing more than a gimmick, according to the Dillard-Tracy team.
“Wearing a Carhartt vest and a cheap watch won’t fool voters in central and downstate Illinois,” State Senator Kirk Dillard said. “Bruce Rauner made over $1 million a week last year, and is apparently so close to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel they vacation together. That’s not someone who understands struggling downstate families.”
“I don’t need a ‘listening tour’ to bring me up to speed,” Dillard said. “I’ve crisscrossed this state hundreds of times, talking to central Illinois farmers and southern Illinois coal miners. They want someone with the experience to get Illinois moving again, and you can’t do that from your 33rd floor penthouse.”
Dillard’s running mate, State Representative Jil Tracy, expressed similar concerns. “I’m a southern Illinois native, whose first job was in Monroe County working for Inland Steel. I understand southern and western Illinois because I’ve spent my entire life living and working with the families of this area. The people of Anna, Mt. Vernon, Oblong, West Frankfort, and Neoga know better than to fall for a Chicago politician.”
The “listening tour” seems designed to distract voters from some of the real issues dogging Rauner in this GOP primary:
• Voted Democrat: Why did Rauner vote Democrat in 2006?
• Democrat Donations: Why Did Rauner contribute hundreds of thousands to state & national Democrats?
• Influence: Why did Rauner hire a convicted Blagojevich influence peddler to get state business?
• Chicago Mayor: How close is Rauner to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel if they vacation together?
“Rauner needs to answer these questions, sooner rather than later,” Campaign Manager Glenn Hodas said. “No fancy bus tour is going to make them go away. People deserve to know if Bruce Rauner is hijacking the Republican Party.”
Dillard and Tracy both noted that they have been working around the state since early last fall and are continuing their travels in advance of the March 18 Republican Primary.
Dillard noted that during his recent Southern Illinois travels he took part in the DuQuoin State Fair parade, the Williamson County GOP dinner, met with Effingham City leaders on economic development, discussed pension reform issues with retired correctional officers in Chester and attended a BBQ fundraiser in Ste. Marie.
Representative Tracy marched in the Murphysboro Apple Festival and Deer Festival in Golconda parades, took part in the SIU Homecoming festivities, met with agricultural and business leaders in Mt. Vernon, and attended GOP fundraisers and party functions in O’Fallon, Olney and West Frankfort.
“It takes a southern Illinois native, or someone like Kirk who spent many summers with his grandparents in rural America, to be able to understand and improve our state’s economic climate and bring jobs back to the region,” Tracy concluded.
If Dillard had the money to get that message out he’d be in much better shape right now. But his campaign is running on financial fumes.
Also, spending summers with your grandparents in rural America makes you “able to understand and improve our state’s economic climate and bring jobs back to the region”? I don’t get it. And doesn’t Rauner constantly brag about spending summers with his grandparents on their farm? If that’s what qualifies you to jump-start the economy, then Rauner is qualified by Dillard’s own goofy measuring stick.
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* My connecting flight to St. Louis was cancelled Sunday night and I was told I probably couldn’t get on another plane until Wednesday. So, I rented a car and drove home from Atlanta yesterday, with side trips to pick up Oscar the Puppy and our luggage at the STL airport. I rolled into my driveway about 11:30 last night.
Interstate 64 down in Southern Illinois was relatively clean by the time I arrived, but there were tons of cars in the ditches. I saw a dozen or more off the road in one half-mile stretch alone. All those unfortunate souls had to literally be rescued because the temperatures were so low. This was a life and death matter for them.
My hat is off to everyone who has been working on the roads for the past few days, particularly the rescuers. From a press release…
Stories of heroism by rescuers continue to emerge as emergency responders work around the clock to assist those impacted by the extreme weather.
Personnel from the Illinois National Guard field maintenance shop in Mattoon coordinated with Illinois State Police troopers and Illinois Department of Transportation snow plow crews to assist motorists in approximately 375 vehicles backed up on I-70 and I-57 north of Effingham Sunday evening. The backup was the result of several vehicles and semi-trucks that were stuck in snow drifts, making it impossible for snow plows to clear the route for the cars to proceed. Illinois National Guard personnel used a wrecker to pull the stranded vehicles and trucks from the road, which allowed IDOT crews to clear the road and rescue hundreds of passengers.
“The men and women of the Illinois National Guard are again demonstrating their commitment to the safety and security of Illinois citizens,” Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei, the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, said. “We train extensively throughout the year to be ready and on the scene to help our neighbors at a moment’s notice. Within two hours of activation, our Soldiers navigated dangerous road conditions in sub-zero temperatures to rescue stranded motorists.”
Conservation Police Officer Trent Reeves rescued seven people and two pets that were trapped by snow drifts along Route 47 north of Mahomet. Emergency vehicles could not reach the people, so Officer Reeves traveled by snowmobile and on foot to rescue the stranded individuals and deliver them to nearby emergency vehicles. All of those rescued, including the pets, are fine. Officer Jim Mayes assisted with the rescue, and himself used his truck to rescue six individuals who were stranded on Interstate 74 in east central Illinois.
Your experiences with Polar Vortex Snowmageddon 2014?
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The problem with patronage
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune published a long story over the weekend about Speaker Madigan’s patronage army. My favorite part…
The Tribune found many cases in which Madigan operatives bounced from government job to government job, agency to agency. One example is David Foley, 50, a longtime top precinct captain who has donated more than $23,000 to Madigan political funds since 1999, when he got one of nearly a dozen different government jobs he has held in 25 years.
Foley lasted only weeks in some jobs, was fired from one and landed in another position that has been repeatedly filled by members of Madigan’s political brigade.
Records show he’s been an engineer technician at the Cook County Highway Department, county correctional officer, seasonal laborer for the county Forest Preserve District, Chicago cop, administrative assistant to the county recorder of deeds, customer service manager at the county treasurer’s office, cemetery hotline director for the state comptroller, executive officer under the county medical examiner, state highway traffic patrol manager and director of verification for the Chicago city clerk, and is now an executive assistant for the secretary of state.
When Foley took the city clerk job, one of the top positions in the office, in January 2012, he succeeded another Madigan precinct captain. That worker, Lawrence McPhillips, left to take another government job making $123,000 for the city.
When Foley left the post last year, he was succeeded by James Gleffe, 31. Gleffe, who records show came from a $65,000 job as a legal adviser to the secretary of state, has been a Madigan paid political soldier since 2010, records show. Gleffe makes more than $99,000 a year, according to the clerk’s office.
The biggest problem I have with patronage is people like that.
You got a hard worker who would do a really good job at a particular agency? OK, well, make your pitch. The courts have defined that as protected speech. But if he’s a mope, you shouldn’t be constantly sticking up for him. That’s truly bad for government.
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*** UPDATED x2 *** Fun with numbers
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner says those who earn $8.25 cents an hour make too much…
All four Republican candidates for governor are against raising the state’s minimum wage. Gov. Pat Quinn says he wants to raise it to at least $10 per hour by the end of the year.
Bruce Rauner believes Illinois should do the opposite, and lower it to $7.25. “I will advocate moving the Illinois minimum wage back to the national minimum wage. I think we’ve got to be competitive here in Illinois,” Rauner said.
To put this into a little perspective, somebody earning minimum wage in Illinois today (before any Rauner-enforced pay cut) would have to work 6,424,242 hours to match Rauner’s 2012 income of $53 million. That works out to 803,030 days, 160,606 40-hour weeks, or 3,088 years.
Rauner’s income last year averages out to $204K a day for a five-day work week, or $25,550 every hour for an eight-hour day. It would take a minimum wage employee 399 days to earn as much money as Rauner made in a single hour last year. And, again, that’s before any pay cut.
Now, I get where he’s going on the rhetoric about staying competitive with other states. But I’m not sure he’s the best guy to make this proposal.
* And I’m not the only one pointing out Rauner’s wealth, by the way…
GOP gubernatorial primary candidates on Thursday took issue with multimillionaire Bruce Rauner’s declaration that his fund-raising prowess — including $4 million last quarter — makes him the only one in the field who could go “toe-to-toe with Pat Quinn.”
Rauner made the statement as he announced that his campaign took in a whopping $4 million in the fourth quarter of last year — with $1 million coming from his own personal fortune after his self-funding lifted the typically mandated caps on state campaigns. […]
“Mr. Rauner’s finally come clean and admits that his major qualification to be the GOP nominee for governor is that he can buy the election,” said competitor state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.
*** UPDATE *** Courtesy of a commenter, this is from Bruce Rauner’s Twitter feed…
I suppose this is designed to show what a “regular guy” he is.
I checked the Marion Super 8 website and rooms start at $59.99 a night. Based on his 2012 income, it would take Rauner less than 9 seconds to make that amount (which is less time that it takes to read this update). A minimum wage worker would have to work about 8 hours to earn enough to stay there.
Just sayin…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Ormsby…
House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skoke) today fired back at GOP gubernatorial Bruce Rauner’s proposal to cut the Illinois minimum wage, saying that the hyper-wealthy Rauner is “delusional.”
“In my 26 years in the legislature, I’ve seen many candidates roll out anti-poverty plans, but Bruce Rauner is the only candidate to roll-out a pro-poverty plan,” said Lang. “He’s delusional if he thinks that General Assembly would bow to his class warfare on low-income workers. He needs to have his delusion shaken up.” […]
“Rauner is deeply out-of-touch with working people,” said Lang. “He needs to come to grips with the fact that the era of robber barons is over and impoverishing workers is no longer an economic growth strategy.”
Lang is right about the impossibility of something like this passing.
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Quinn rewrites history
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn told Chicago Tonight that he believes his veto of legislative salaries is what forced a final resolution to the pension reform debate. Watch…
Trouble is, the governor vetoed the salaries in July. A judge struck down his veto as unconstitutional in September and legislators were immediately paid all their past-due wages. The pension reform bill then passed in December - long after Quinn’s veto was taken out of the equation.
But he’ll probably continue crowing about his “great victory” throughout the upcoming campaign as long as reporters let him slide.
* Meanwhile, check out how Quinn’s spokesperson jumped into the fray right off the bat and refused to allow the WTTW reporter to ask a question about the state’s unpaid bills…
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Polar vortex snowmageddon 2014 snark
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Context provided in a press release issued yesterday…
- Due to the severe winter storm and dangerously low temperatures and wind chills that have followed, causing hazardous conditions across Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn today implemented the State’s Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plans (COOP/COG). The inter-agency plans will ensure continued delivery of critical state response services during the severe winter weather conditions while ensuring the safety of the state’s workforce. State government employees – except those serving in critical government functions – are instructed to stay home on Monday, Jan. 6.
“As we continue to monitor weather conditions and work nonstop to respond to this winter storm, we will ensure that critical state services continue,” said Governor Quinn. “To protect the safety of our employees and the people they serve, I am directing state employees whose duties are not critical to state services to stay home and off the roads on Monday.”
The COOP/COG ensures that employees responsible for continuity of operations observe the hours needed to guarantee continued delivery and availability of essential public health and safety state services, including: Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) Veterans’ Homes, Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) central health centers and centers for the developmentally disabled, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) youth centers, Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) correctional institutions, as well as the Illinois State Police (ISP), Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS).
The Governor also today made a disaster declaration due to the severe winter weather and activated the Illinois National Guard to provide aid.
* And the resulting snark, passed off as straight news by Illinois Watchdog, which was picked up by the Fox News channel for obvious reasons…
Snow plow drivers, state troopers, prison guards and Gov. Pat Quinn (and his spokespeople) are apparently just about all the state government Illinois needs.
In the grasp of a “polar vortex,” Illinois closed state government offices and told all non-essential government workers to stay home.
“We said to all of those in critical response, ‘You gotta be here,’” Quinn said at an apparently critical news conference in Chicago on Monday. “My job is to be here when people really need our help…I think it’s important that our government be here when people need us.”
But that begs the question, who is a non-essential government worker?
Thousands of people who answer phones in the massive state bureaucracy were told to stay home. Same with the folks who sell license plates and the people who run Illinois’ universities. Even the folks implementing Obamacare got a day off because they are not needed.
Sheesh.
* Also, here’s the full audio of Quinn’s presser…
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