The fisherman speaks
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox Chicago talked to Travis Loyd, who resigned last week after reporters started asking the state why he was at fishing tournaments while on medical leave from the Department of Natural Resources…
Loyd, who resigned as deputy DNR director last Thursday, recalls very clearly the conversation with his doctor last spring where she told him he needed to find a way to reduce his stress.
“She said I want to know where a happy place is for you. and I said, well there’s no happier place for me, and anybody who would know me, would know this, I love to fish, its been a lifelong passion,” Loyd said.
So his physician, Doctor Tricia Warner, recommended that Loyd take some time off, and keep fishing. Loyd said the doctor had just informed him that a chronic hereditary illness had flared up, and could be life threatening.
“There was possible organ loss that could take place. very scary consultation, scared me to death, to be quite frankly,” Loyd said.
His doctor notified the DNR, and agency officials approved his medical leave. […]
“I’ve had great loss, I’ve lost sponsors, I’ve lost my job, and its all simply put, I followed the rules,” Loyd said. […]
Loyd said his doctors orders, approved by the DNR, should outweigh the prohibition against holding a job while on medical leave..
“While it might be weird that a doctor would prescribe me to go to a stress free zone, and as it be, its’ fishing for me, they cant say I didn’t list my dual employment. They can’t say I didn’t file for family medical leave act, and they can’t say they didn’t approve it. It was all there,” Loyd said.
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Let’s be careful out there…
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the ISP…
– Illinois State Police officials are reminding motorists of the potentially dangerous road conditions as hazardous weather conditions continue. Roadways throughout Illinois will be icy, and motorists are urged to reduce speeds and drive with caution.
Illinois State Police officials are especially warning motorists traveling on I-55 near the Bloomington and Lexington areas of hazardous road conditions due to ice and snow covered roadways.
Motorists should monitor the road conditions before driving and remember to keep emergency items inside the vehicle. Speed is a contributing factor for accidents when conditions are wet and slick and drivers should reduce speeds and allow for extra travel time.
Illinois State Police also want to remind motorists to yield to emergency and snow removal equipment. It is the law (Scott’s Law) to proceed with due caution, change lanes if possible, and reduce your speed.
Stranded motorists are encouraged to remain inside their vehicles and wait for first responders if stranded. Motorists involved in accidents that require no emergency care may file an accident report within 10 days at the nearest police station.
A complete list of road closures can be found on the Illinois Department of Transportation website www.gettingaroundillinois.com or 1-800-452-4368. [Emphasis in original.]
* The Bloomington area is, indeed bad. There tons of wrecks today…
OSF St. Joseph Medical Center is currently treating seven patients from the car wreck that occurred on I-55 involving approximately 40 vehicles.
The last patient has been transported from the scene of the car wreck and OSF St. Joseph Medical Center is not expecting any additional patients from the I-55 wreck.
All seven patients are non-critical and are currently being treated for their injuries sustained from the wreck. None have been discharged at this time.
* And there is also sad news…
Michael Holmes, a 49-year old Illinois Department of Transportation employee from Wyoming, was killed Friday morning when he was struck by a car. The accident happened shortly after 9:30 a.m. two miles west of Toulon on Route 17.
According to a preliminary accident report and witness accounts at the scene, Holmes was driving a snowplow truck. He stopped on the highway and got out.
An SUV driven by Sherry Landergren of Kewanee approached the truck and attempted to pass it.
The collision occurred when a car driven by Donald Rhoades of Toulon approached. Both drivers lost control and started to slide on the snow-covered road.
The Rhoades vehicle spun around and struck the snowplow and Holmes before sliding into the northside ditch and coming to rest in a field.
Landergren’s vehicle skidded into the same field.
* From Gov. Quinn…
Governor Pat Quinn today issued the following statement regarding the Friday morning Stark County accident that killed Illinois Department of Transportation employee, 49-year-old Michael Holmes of Wyoming, Ill.:
“Michael Holmes is a hero. He gave his life while making our roads safer for his fellow citizens. Michael selflessly faced challenging conditions every winter since 2007 so the rest of us could arrive safely at our destinations.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fellow employees during this difficult time.
“I am ordering the state’s flags to be flown at half-staff so all Illinois citizens can be reminded of Michael’s dedication and sacrifice.”
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Corporate America funding DGA Illinois?
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Check out some contributions that the Democratic Governors Association - Illinois has reported today…
Walmart $21,100
Bechtel Corporation $10,000
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation $21,100
American Gas Association $20,000
American Gas Association $20,000
National Association of Home Builders $21,100
And not a union on today’s list.
From what I hear, the DGA is going all out on this anti-Rauner blitz. But Walmart and Bechtel? Weird.
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Rauner reacts to IEA backing for Dillard
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Republicans Beware: Dillard Accepts IEA Endorsement
- - IEA Opposes Litany of Pro-Student Reforms, Supports Income Tax Hike - -
- - Questions Persist About His Vote on Pension Bill in Exchange for Endorsement - -
After originally telling a group of Republicans that he’s never took IEA money, Senator Kirk Dillard today accepted the endorsement of the Illinois Education Association. News outlets reported that Dan Rutherford had also sought the union’s endorsement.
“It’s no surprise that a twenty-year Springfield insider like Kirk Dillard would seek and receive the endorsement of a government union that typically backs Democrats and opposes pro-student reforms while supporting a massive tax hike,” said Mike Schrimpf, spokesman for Bruce Rauner’s campaign. “This endorsement is a clear reminder to Republican primary voters that Kirk Dillard is part of the problem and will not fundamentally shake up Springfield.”
In 2010, Kirk Dillard took $250,000 in contributions from the IEA. Over the course of his career, Dillard has taken nearly $500,000 from various government unions.
Dillard has also faced questions about whether his vote against the pension bill was in exchange for IEA support. Unlike Bruce Rauner, who opposed the legislation on principle, Dillard has not provided a clear reason for his “no” vote.
In November, the Sun-Times reported:
“Word was also spreading that Dillard may not back a pension compromise deal that’s scheduled to be voted on Dec. 3. Dillard strongly denied that, saying he’s voted twice in favor of pension reform.
‘I always supported pension reform. I want to see what the final bill is — but I can’t imagine I wouldn’t be (in support). Pension reform is not an easy vote — it’s not a matter of being easy, it’s a matter of being fiscally prudent for the taxpayers and retirees.’
Illinois Education Association Positions:
Supports: A Progressive Income Tax
(Source: http://www.ieanea.org/media/2013/01/Why-Illinois-needs-a-graduated-income-tax.pdf)
Opposes: School Vouchers for Students in the Worst Performing and Most Overcrowded Chicago Public Schools
(Source: http://www.ieanea.org/media/2011/03/SB-1932-School-Vouchers.pdf)
Supports: Tenure After Just Three Years for New Teachers
(Source: http://www.ieanea.org/media/2012/08/2013-2014-Legislative-Platform.pdf)
Opposes: Merit Pay Programs for Teachers
(Source: http://www.ieanea.org/media/2012/08/2013-2014-Legislative-Platform.pdf)
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Unclear on the concept
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) supports raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour and talked a bit about the impact on small business…
Smiddy said he agrees that more of the tax burden should be shifted from small businesses to large corporations. He believes that loopholes would be closed by shifting away from what he calls an antiquated tax system based on property.
“Illinois is one of only 7 states that still have a flat-tax system,” Smiddy said. “We need to move to a graduated-tax system.”
* OK, this is a bit off on at least a couple of levels.
1) Big corporations don’t pay a whole lot of corporate income taxes. But unless they’re in a TIF district, some of the only taxes that big corporations pay are property taxes. Shift property taxes to the income tax and corporations won’t be paying much of anything. Unless something else is done, the burden will be shifted to individuals and small businesses.
2) Except for the 2.5 percent Personal Property Replacement Tax, most small businesses don’t pay the corporate income tax at all, but they do pay personal income taxes. Increasing tax rates on higher earners will most definitely impact small business owners.
You want to help out small business in exchange for raising the minimum wage? Well, one option would be to lower or eliminate the PPRT, or do something more about workers’ comp and unemployment insurance costs.
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Keep your word, Dan
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not good at all…
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford has decided to not release the results of an internal investigation related to allegations made by a former employee.
Rutherford, a Republican candidate for governor, was accused by Ed Michalowski of sexual harassment and claims that Rutherford asked him to perform campaign duties on state time.
The report from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office about its internal investigation was scheduled to be released Friday, but Rutherford’s spokesman said Thursday that no further information from the investigation will be released “except through the courts.”
* More…
Rutherford had said he would tell his side once the investigation was complete, but Andjelkovich said he wanted to keep the information for court.
“Under the circumstances, he can’t continue to be talking out in the public forum,” Andjelkovich said. “That doesn’t mean that there’s something out there that’s being hidden or not disclosed.”
* Sorry, but I find this difficult to believe…
Andjelkovich said people shouldn’t draw conclusions from the secrecy.
“There is nothing to hide,” he said.
More information could come out as Michalowski’s lawsuit progresses. But before the March 18 primary election?
“Unfortunately, these things don’t go fast,” Andjelkovich said.
* Svenson makes some good points here…
Christine Svenson, the attorney for Rutherford’s accuser Edmund Michalowski, told Wolf and Proft that she knows why Rutherford does not want the report made public:
“He was in favor of the report before he was against it. Clearly he doesn’t want to produce this report and I know why. I know what the witnesses told the investigator. They corroborated my client’s testimony, and they had new evidence that no one had heard before that is not favorable to Mr. Rutherford.”
She says the report includes testimony from three Rutherford employees who say Rutherford also subjected them to uncomfortable sexual comments, and asked them to do campaign work on taxpayer time.
* And…
Meanwhile, one Illinois treasurer employee who gave a statement to the independent investigator is complaining that the office would not release copies of his own statement.
“Even the Warren Commission made copies of witness statements available to witnesses when investigating the assassination of President Kennedy,” the employee wrote to the treasurer’s in-house counsel, according to a letter obtained by the Sun-Times.
“This hardly rises to the level of a grand jury investigation or the Warren Commission. This is also a very stressful time for many of our colleagues in the office. I have no desire to add to that stress by being forced to litigate or make a public request simply for access to a copy of my own statement for my records.”
Ugh.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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*** LIVE VIDEO *** IEA to endorse Dillard
Friday, Feb 14, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I gave subscribers a heads-up about this yesterday morning. Tribune…
The Illinois Education Association, one of the state’s major public teachers’ unions, is scheduled to endorse state Sen. Kirk Dillard for the Republican nomination for governor, sources familiar with the endorsement said Thursday.
The endorsement, to be announced during a news conference in downtown Chicago on Friday, could re-invigorate the veteran Hinsdale lawmaker’s campaign. Dillard has languished in fundraising against the high-dollar, TV ad-focused bid for the nomination waged by Bruce Rauner, a foe of the teachers’ unions and what he calls “government union bosses.”
The IEA, which represents teachers outside Chicago, endorsed Dillard for governor four years ago, but he came up short by 193 votes to state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington. The union gave Dillard’s campaign $250,000¿ along with a cadre of political foot soldiers.
Dillard voted against the state’s new law changing Illinois’ public employee pensions, a measure that aims to close a $100 billion unfunded liability within the next 30 years. The endorsement is a setback for state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who also opposed the new law and contended unions should have had a voice in drafting a reform bill.
* An e-mail from Dillard’s campaign early this morning…
Republican candidate for Governor Kirk Dillard will hold a press conference Friday to announce a major endorsement in the 2014 campaign for the GOP nomination for Governor.
When: Friday, February 14, 10 a.m.
Where: Union League Club of Chicago, Room 700
65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604
* You can watch live video of this event by clicking here.
Discuss.
…Adding… Some of y’all are getting a little too excited about this endorsement in comments. In my opinion, unless the teachers are in for major seven figures, all this does is play into Rauner’s “big government union bosses” argument.
Rauner can pretty easily counter any impact this might have with a directed TV ad shot at Dillard. The teachers will be calling and mailing their members, and they have a lot of members, but I’m just not sure yet that this’ll bump Dillard up enough to put him in play. We’ll see.
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