ISP makes big drug bust
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not to make light of this at all or encourage such behavior whatsoever, but somebody once told me that you should never break more than one law at a time to reduce your chance of being caught. Prolly good advice. From a press release…
Illinois State Police (ISP) officials today announced the seizure of more than 62 pounds of cocaine and heroin. The large load of narcotics was uncovered during a traffic stop stemming from a speeding violation.
On Sunday, February 2, 2014, at approximately 12:42 a.m., an ISP District 17 trooper observed a black 2014 Ford Explorer that was speeding eastbound on I-80 near milepost 72. The vehicle was stopped and during the traffic stop, the trooper detected an odor of burnt cannabis while speaking to the driver of the vehicle, Patrick S. Romolt, 41, of Arizona. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded a small amount of cannabis and two duffle bags containing over 62 pounds of a suspected substance that later tested positive for both cocaine and heroin.
“Criminal organizations will go to any extent to transport narcotics across interstate lines and it’s up to law enforcement to try to stay one step ahead of them at all times,” said ISP District 17 Captain Robert Atherton. “This seizure underscores our unwavering commitment to the dismantling of these illegal criminal enterprises that can lead to violence and fatalities,” Atherton added.
Following the discovery of the illegal drugs, agents from the ISP Zone 3 Criminal Patrol (CRIMPAT) Unit, Will County Cooperative Police Assistance Team (CPAT), Joliet Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad (MANS), Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) responded and assisted in the investigation.
Romolt was charged federally with Possession of more than 5 kilos of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute. A second occupant of the vehicle was released without being charged.
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Getting a little better
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg…
Illinois paid a 26 percent smaller yield penalty to issue $1 billion of general-obligation bonds, a sign investors are rewarding lawmakers for passing a bill to mend the worst-funded state pension system.
The sale included debt maturing in February 2024 that was priced to yield 3.81 percent, down from an initial 3.87 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The interest rate is 1.13 percentage points above benchmark 10-year municipal bonds.
* From the governor’s budget office…
The state received $5.5 billion in orders for the $1 billion offer from 109 individual investors, including six life insurance companies which are highly selective investors. The average interest cost (TIC) was 4.46%, compared to an average interest cost (TIC) of 5.05% the state achieved for a $1.3 billion bond offer in June, prior to the passage of the pension reform legislation.
The average interest cost on Thursday’s sale ran about 50 basis points – or half a percent — better than the spread from the 10-year MMD June sale.
The sale was so over-subscribed that the final amount of bonds sold was actually $1,025,000,000.
“We are gratified by the support investors have shown in the state and in the steps we have taken to stabilize Illinois’ finances, most notably the passage of the comprehensive pension reform plan,” said Illinois Director of Capital Markets John Sinsheimer.
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Dillard placing new ads on social media
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Kirk Dillard’s campaign has no money for TV ads, so they’re buying social media ads. From a press release…
Republican candidate for Illinois Governor Kirk Dillard today launched a new digital strategy with a series of online ads that will target key voting groups ahead of the March Illinois Primary. The first ads being placed on social media sites and search engines will focus on opponent Bruce Rauner.
“We’re heavily invested in a digital strategy that will drill down to the precise voting demographic that we need to reach,” Dillard-Tracy Campaign Manager Glenn Hodas said. “In the case of these first few ads, people will see a much different picture of Bruce Rauner than the heavily sanitized version he’s presenting of himself.”
The ads will be placed on Facebook and Twitter as well as YouTube, Google and other display ad networks. Using demographic data points of likley primary voters that the campaign has compiled, these ads will be targeted at the individual level.
“This is an extremely effective way to reach voters who are actually looking for information about the campaign,” Hodas said. “We believe these ads along with our targeted email strategy will help get our message across in this very competitive Primary.”
Among the messages conveyed in the new ads is one that says Rauner is spending millions of dollars on TV ads to get Republican voters to forget: “…Forget the small fortune he gave Mike Madigan to defeat Republicans…forget he bent the rules to get his kid into an exclusive school…forget his ties to a convicted influence peddler…forget he helped Rahm Emanuel…and he’s betting you’ll forget when he ducks tough questions.”
The video concludes with, “Republican voters, don’t forget the real Bruce Rauner.”
“We know we can’t match Rauner on television,” Hodas said. “But, we know that with this efficient digital strategy, we don’t have to. We expect these ads and the videos to reach tens of thousands of likely Primary voters across Illinois.
* Let’s have a look at these ads, two of which have a liberal bent, if you ask me.
* Daddy Warbucks…
* Don’t Forget…
* Bad Credit…
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
*** UPDATE *** Sun-Times…
The employee behind allegations leveled against Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford said his attorney is preparing to file a lawsuit early next week.
The attorney, Christine Svenson, previously said she intended to file something on Friday. […]
Meanwhile, the Sun-Times has learned that the employee, who is an attorney, has just accepted a position with Cook County Recorder of Deeds as a labor counsel.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Dan Rutherford speaks about the allegations against him and his inability to respond…
“It makes it very difficult because I cannot mention the name of the accuser or the allegations,” Rutherford said. “I’m following the appropriate legal proceedings, and I am precluded from discussing anything about the accuser or the allegations. It makes for a very complicated moment for me right before the election.”
* Sen. Kirk Dillard and Sen. Bill Brady also talked about the allegations…
Two of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s Republican primary opponents for governor both used the word “bizarre” to describe a drama first brought to light by Rutherford himself that features an anonymous person making unspecified accusations against him. […]
Another of the candidates, state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale, said Wednesday that while anonymity can be important while an accuser’s allegations are investigated, it makes this case “more bizarre.” The treasurer’s office employee’s attorney has talked on the radio about some of the allegations while the accuser has gone unnamed.
“Normally we respect anonymity, but in this case the accuser is talking to media and apparently wants to be anonymous with a small ‘a,’” Dillard said. […]
“Obviously, the whole thing is bizarre,” said candidate for governor and state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, adding that both Rutherford and the accuser have a right to a fair shake.
“The sooner this gets out, the fairer it is to everyone,” Brady said.
* NBC 5 ran a story about the accuser’s explosive resignation letter last night and included this piece of info…
The employee’s name has not been revealed, however NBC 5 Investigates has discovered the employee’s wife filed for divorce in recent years and together they filed for bankruptcy.
* I’ve already said that I’m not at all comfortable with the way this story is playing out. Rutherford started the weirdness with his aggressive allegations at a press conference last Friday claiming that his accuser was essentially running an illegal, politically-motivated shakedown scheme.
Rutherford is claiming to be a political victim here, but we may very well have a real victim (or victims) on our hands and I do not feel at ease with outing anybody at this specific moment in time.
Some commenters have pointed to how the media was used by partisans to drag Anita Hill out of the shadows after she privately accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. For one, this ain’t DC. I absolutely hate that town. And, anyway, that’s hardly a reasonable precedent, to say the least.
Some commenters clearly want the accuser’s name out there so they can pick him apart. I’m not willing to immediately succumb to that bloodlust.
* But is keeping the accuser’s name out of the media fair to Rutherford? Nope. But, hey, sometimes life just ain’t fair.
I’m not the least bit willing to put my decision to a vote, but I am curious about your opinion, so…
* The Question: Should the Illinois media publish the name of Dan Rutherford’s accuser now? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
polls & surveys
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* This seems like a pretty good walk-back…
State Sen. Bill Brady, a Republican candidate for governor, said Wednesday his comments about some people not wanting to return to manufacturing jobs because they were enjoying their unemployment insurance were insensitive.
“I think it was insensitive that I didn’t take into consideration there are a number of people out there looking for jobs who don’t want to be on unemployment,” Brady, of Bloomington, told the editorial board of The State Journal-Register. […]
At a forum Tuesday in Naperville, Brady said that the “No. 1 issue I run into when I travel around to manufacturing plants particularly” is that employers say, “‘I can’t hire my people back.’ They say, ‘They’re enjoying … their unemployment insurance,’” Chicago-based public radio station WBEZ-FM reported. “So we’ve got to motivate people to get back into the workforce.” […]
Brady said Wednesday that he was “talking to a group of manufacturers, some of which in the group had said this to me along different travels in the state.”
“We need to take care of people who are dealing with the difficulty of job displacement and help them get onto a path, but we have to make sure they continue to be motivated to find gainful employment,” he said.
The average unemployment benefit is $300 a week.
*** UPDATE *** Eric Zorn asked Illinois Manufacturer’s Association COO Mark Denzler about this…
Senator Brady was correct that the Illinois’ Average Weekly Wage is 9th highest in the nation. According to the US Department of Labor (first quarter, 2012), Illinois’ AWW was $322.44. In comparison, other states are Wisconsin at $277.80 (31st), Missouri at $239.21 (43rd), and Indiana at $302.60 (21st). Hawaii is the top at $424.61.
Additionally, he was correct in noting that Illinois’ duration of benefits at 18.8 weeks is the 9th highest in the country. Other states are Indiana at 14.4 weeks (44th), Wisconsin at 16 weeks (27th), and Missouri at 16.5 weeks (24th). Delaware is the top at 21.7 weeks.
We do hear from manufacturers that they have a hard time finding employees and some have noted problems with UI. With extended UI benefits, some workers choose to delay the start of a job search which limits the pool of applicants. For example, if a worker is eligible for 26 weeks of unemployment, they may wait until week 16 or 18 to begin a job search rather than looking immediately.
I personally know of an individual (acquaintance) in Decatur who has turned down three separate manufacturing jobs in the last three months. He lost his job and has been called for manufacturing jobs that pay $13-15 per hour. I was with him on one occasion when he got the call from the temp agency. He indicated that after taxes, paying the cost of fuel (job was 20 miles away), and working the 2nd shift, he would rather stay on unemployment because it was essentially a wash.
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Very little fire behind the smoke
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune has a long and involved story about a Bill Brady family investment…
State Sen. Bill Brady voted in November for tax subsidies that helped revive his family’s struggling real estate investment in a central Illinois town, raising issues of potential conflict of interest as Brady seeks the Republican nomination for governor.
A developer building an assisted-living complex in Gibson City said the subsidies are crucial to making the project work. And he paid Brady’s family a premium for the land he needed, just a few months before the senator’s vote.
Illinois law allows lawmakers to vote on matters that could benefit their private interests, requiring only that they consider whether to abstain. Brady says he saw no conflict of interest in his Nov. 7 vote because his mother, a real estate agent, owned the land at the time.
“I had an interest, but I don’t have an interest now,” Brady told the Tribune recently when asked about his vote. But the assisted-living developer told the newspaper he dealt only with Bill Brady when he bought the land.
Nancy K. Brady had acquired the property after the business run by her sons could not develop the land and turned it over to the bank that lent them the money.
* The trouble with this story is that the reporters relied on the appearance of impropriety, but didn’t talk to any of the bill’s actual sponsors to see how this played out at the Statehouse.
The proposal was originally sponsored in the House last August by Rep. Josh Harms (R-Watseka), who represents Gibson City, where the TIF district is located.
Rep. Harms told me he never once heard about the Brady family involvement in that TIF and never spoke to Sen. Brady about the legislation. The town’s mayor asked him to sponsor the bill, which extended the TIF district’s life. The mayor wants to build the first assistive living center in Ford County, so it’s kind of a big deal locally.
* In November, the House rolled several TIF district extension proposals into one bill, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Harms. Sen. Napoleon Harris was the chief Senate sponsor. Sen. Harris said today that he never talked to Brady about the bill.
The hyphenated co-sponsor of the Senate bill is Sen. Jason Barickman, who, like Rep. Harms, represents Gibson City. Barickman was the Brady family attorney for several years, so he was naturally aware of the family’s interest in that land.
But, Barickman said that Gibson City’s mayor asked him to pass the TIF extension bill. Barickman said that at no time did Brady ever say he needed this bill to benefit his family, or words to that effect. He said either Sen. Harris or a Senate staffer told him “that his bill was going to move and I had an opportunity to attach Gibson City to it.”
Sen. Brady voted for the bill, but it passed the Senate unanimously.
I agree he should’ve voted “Present,” but there’s no state law requiring that.
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Fun with numbers
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lee Newspapers…
Adam Pollet, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said statistics show Illinois did not lose jobs in 2012, which has become a key argument among GOP lawmakers and Republican candidates for governor heading into the 2014 elections.
“We are a net importer of jobs,” Pollet told members of the House Revenue Committee. “We gained 1,400 jobs from business relocation in 2012. Since May 2013, we have led the Midwest in the number of jobs created. We are not losing jobs in Illinois.”
“This narrative that businesses are leaving the state is just not factually true,” Pollett said. […]
According to a report cited by Pollet, 283 businesses moved out of Illinois in 2012, while 275 businesses moved into the state. But, the new businesses had more jobs than the ones that moved elsewhere.
Look, I hate this goofy “death spiral” rhetoric more than just about anyone.
But, c’mon, man. Businesses are leaving the state. Pollet’s own numbers clearly show that. We may be a “net importer,” but we’re most certainly losing a lot of businesses.
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Quote of the day
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Billionaire investor Sam Zell talks to Crain’s…
Zell also said venture capital pioneer Tom Perkins was right in claims made last month that wealthy Americans are being unfairly targeted by critics. Perkins, who drew controversy for comparing treatment of the very rich to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, has apologized for that analogy, though he stood by his message about income inequality.
While Zell said “persecution” isn’t the right way to describe treatment of the top 1 percent of earners, he sees envy of the rich and class warfare as growing problems in America, blaming government regulations for a widening income gap.
“The 1 percent are getting pummeled because it’s politically convenient to do so,” Zell said. People “should not talk about envy of the 1 percent, they should talk about emulating the 1 percent. The 1 percent work harder, the 1 percent are much bigger factors in all forms of our society.”
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Money reports
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Warning: $200k of Mudslinging On the Way from DGA
CHICAGO – Last month, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) funneled more than $103,500 into an attack PAC to be used against the Republicans running to replace Gov. Pat Quinn. Late yesterday, the DGA doubled down with an additional $96,500, bringing the total to $200,000 - so far.
According to Illinois Republican Party Chairman Jack Dorgan, the DGA should focus more on dismal job that Pat Quinn is doing, rather than trying to mislead voters by sneaking around in the Republican primary.
“It’s no secret that the DGA is panicked about Pat Quinn’s re-election. They should be. He’s one of the most unpopular governors in the country, and his leadership has been a disaster for Illinois,” Dorgan said. “But the voters deserve better than $200,000 in DGA mudslinging during the Republican primary to replace him.”
The PAC he’s talking about is here.
And $200K ain’t much, if you ask me. They’re gonna need a lot more than that to do any damage to Bruce Rauner.
* Meanwhile, the Daily Herald looks at the money race in the Republican US Senate primary…
Campaign finance reports filed Friday reflect Oberweis’ $500,000 donation to his own campaign, as well as $105,000 in contributions from others in the last three months of the year.
Truax raised about $107,000 in the same amount of time.
Truax did report raising $107K in the fourth quarter. However, you have to be extra careful when looking at federal candidate disclosure reports.
$18,200 in Truax contributions during the fourth quarter were specifically set aside for the general election. In the third quarter, the money Truax raised included $21,800 for the general election.
Truax reported having a little over $44K on hand at the end of the fourth quarter. But he can’t use $40,000 of that until after the primary ($18,200 plus $21,800).
So, the bottom line is that Truax had only about $4K on hand for the final push.
Yeesh.
* Also, it’s worth pointing out here that Jim Oberweis loaned himself a half million dollars. That means he may have to eventually approach PACs and others to help pay off his debt to himself.
This is common practice in campaigns.
Bruce Rauner, on the other hand, is breaking tradition and flat-out contributing money to his campaign. None of his bigtime contributions to himself are listed as loans. I asked the Rauner campaign about this the other day and this is the e-mailed reply…
He’s not planning on raising money to pay himself back. He’s asking other people to contribute to his campaign, so he believes he should do the same thing.
If you got it, you got it, I suppose.
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The benefits of not selling cigarettes
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Joe Cahill has an interesting insight into the decision by CVS to stop selling cigarettes at its pharmacies. He calls it a “smart strategic play.” Here’s why…
CVS Caremark, which is based in Woonsocket, R.I., and Walgreen are working to position themselves as go-to partners for health care providers. But there’s a problem. Partnerships with drugstores require hospitals to get over their reservations about joining forces with purveyors of a chief cause of sickness and death. Cigarettes have been a drugstore staple for generations.
That just changed. Hospitals looking for a partner now can choose between a leading national chain that sells cigarettes and one that doesn’t. All other things being equal, I think hospitals will take the chain that doesn’t sell cigarettes.
CVS Caremark’s chief medical officer emphasized the strategic rationale in an interview yesterday with the Wall Street Journal. Troyen Brennan said cigarette sales often come up in discussions with potential hospital partners, adding, “They’re a little bit suspicious of us because we sell cigarettes.” Dropping smokes, he said, “gives us a competitive advantage because it shows our commitment to health care.” […]
President Barack Obama, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society all praised CVS yesterday, underscoring Walgreen’s growing isolation from the broader health care community on the issue. […]
Walgreen is in a tough spot. While it doesn’t break out sales numbers, cigarettes almost certainly mean more to the bottom line at Walgreen than they do at CVS Caremark, which also operates a large pharmacy benefit management business in addition to 7,600 drugstores.
Thoughts?
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Rutherford: No deadline for internal probe
Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lee Newspapers…
As the clock ticks down on the March 18 Republican primary election, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford says there is no timeline for an independent investigator to finish a probe into misconduct allegations made by a former employee.
In an interview Wednesday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate told the Times’ Springfield Bureau that he hopes the investigation moves quickly so he — and voters — can fully concentrate on the final weeks of the four-way GOP primary race.
“We have instructed him to be expeditious but thorough,” Rutherford said.
I’m hearing maybe the middle of next week.
* And this is a hard dose of reality…
Rutherford said the situation has not hurt his fundraising. He said he received more than $4,700 in unsolicited contributions at non-fundraising events in recent days.
“It’s made me even stronger,” Rutherford said. “I’ve gotten hundreds of emails saying … ‘keep up the fight, give ‘em hell, Dan.’”
By contrast, Rauner has reported receiving $350,000 in large donations since Friday.
$4,700 vs. $350,000. It’s been that way for months.
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