Turn on the Wayback Machine
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Erickson reaches back into the archives to rebut Dan Rutherford’s claims that his cleanliness has never been questioned in more than two decades in office…
In 2002, while he was serving in the Illinois House, Rutherford used his campaign funds to buy a district office in Pontiac and then routinely paid workers in the office out of his state-paid account and his campaign fund.
The practice raised red flags with one watchdog group that said the arrangement could make it hard for voters to determine if there was a conflict of interest in the operation.
Rutherford, who was in the midst of a successful run for a seat in the Illinois Senate at the time, said his employees were not mixing politics with their taxpayer-funded duties. […]
At the time, analysts said the fact that Rutherford had co-mingled his campaign- and taxpayer-paid staff showed the lack of a strong “firewall” designed to ward off potential ethical problems.
Rutherford told The Pantagraph at the time that he had cleared the building arrangement with state election regulators, but a check of how other state lawmakers handled their district offices found few others who organized their offices in the same way.
Out of thousands of campaign funds in Illinois, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform said only two other politicians were using a similar set-up.
Those other two were Rosemont Mayor Don Stephens and Cicero Town President Betty Loren Maltese.
Oops.
* However, it should be clearly noted here that using campaign funds to pay for state services is totally allowed under the law. State funds can’t pay for campaign activities, but people can use their campaign funds to subsidize public services. It actually saves state money if done properly and above board.
17 Comments  
|
* Steve Chapman complains about Bruce Rauner’s performance in yesterday’s Tribune editorial board meeting…
After promising big spending cuts through pension reform, he was asked how much his plan would save in the first year or two, and he couldn’t give even a rough number. If he had been in the Senate when Gov. Quinn proposed $1.3 billion in spending cuts, which required closing dozens of state prisons and mental health facilites, would he have voted for them? He refused to give a “yes” or a “no.”
Would he revoke the expansion of Medicaid the state undertook last year, as encouraged by the federal health care reform? “We have a Medicaid disaster,” Rauner replied, while declining to say he’d cancel this enlargement. Repeal same-sex marriage? He’d submit that to a voter referendum, and what he’d prefer is “not important.”
I’d like to think that if he became governor, Rauner would be fearless in tackling the state’s pressing problems. But on some of the toughest issues before us, he’s AWOL.
Except for that goofy minimum wage stumble, this is a guy who has mostly kept his eye on the fall election. Yes, he has to evade some things to avoid angering the GOP base, and he’s made his share of errors, but he is more focused on November than any of his Republican opponents, including…
Oy.
*** UPDATE *** Full quote…
“The number one issue I run into when I travel around to manufacturing plants particularly, when I ask them, ‘How’s it going?’ They say, ‘I can’t hire my people back.’ They say, ‘They’re enjoying — I’ll use — their unemployment insurance. And I can’t get them back to work.’ So we’ve gotta motivate people to get back into the workforce.”
In a phone interview after the debate, Brady would not say which manufacturers have said people enjoy their unemployment benefits and are not motivated to return to work.
Rutherford, in responding to the unemployment question at the debate, related the problem to Chicago’s gun violence. Dillard was cut off for time purposes without answering the question.
56 Comments
|
* David Ormsby has a long post on a new proposal to revamp school funding…
“The disparity between school districts that have resources and those that don’t is only getting worse, meaning too many children are being denied an equal opportunity for a quality public education,” Manar stated.
Manar’s plan would combine the state’s current funding sources, which each have their own rules, regulations and paperwork, into one funding formula that would account for school districts’ funding needs. The committee recommended ending Chicago’s individual block grant.
The majority of state school funding is provided through General State Aid, which is distributed based on school districts’ needs. But schools also receive separate funding through grants to programs, including special education and transportation, which are not distributed based on need.
* As does Jamey Dunn at the Illinois Issues blog…
. The goals as stated in the report are:
Make use of a single funding formula.
Provide additional funding to at-risk, special education and English-language learner students through the single formula.
Hold districts and students to higher standards.
Require districts to provide greater clarity on how funds are expended.
Guarantee that all districts receive a fair amount of minimum funding from the state.
Ensure that districts retain the same level of funding as under the current funding system for a period of time once a new funding system is adopted.
Include an accurate reflection of a district’s ability to fund education programs within the district.
Equalize taxing ability between dual districts and unit districts.
Review the financial burden placed on school districts through instructional and non-instructional mandates.
Provide additional transparency regarding the distribution of education funding.
The group plans to emphasize equity with a focus on more sunlight in education budgeting at both the state and local levels and an assessment of costly requirements placed on schools by law. “We had significant discussion about the cost of mandates to local school districts and how we can better address those costs on the legislative level,” said Manar, who is from Bunker Hill.
* From Kurt Erickson’s take…
The group found that the majority of state aid flowing to school districts is not based on whether a district can afford to pay for it out of local property tax dollars.
“The disparity between school districts that have resources and those that don’t is only getting worse, meaning too many children are being denied an equal opportunity for a quality public education,” Manar said.
But revamping the formula could mean some districts will get fewer state dollars, triggering turf battles among lawmakers and potentially dooming the proposal.
For example, state aid for Chicago schools is handled differently than funding for downstate schools. If the state’s largest city is in line to see a drop in state aid, members of the House and Senate could ignore Manar’s call for change.
* Sen. Daniel Biss gets the last word…
Illinois’ education funding system is so broken that the state is now sending school districts nearly random amounts of money. For the last three years, aid to schools has been prorated across the board, which is among the least thoughtful and most regressive ways of dealing with a budget shortfall.
That’s why I’m thankful to the members of the Senate Education Funding Advisory Committee for spending the last six months thinking through some of the most complex questions we face and listening to those who directly experience the effects of haphazard state aid. I’m very encouraged by the committee’s recommendations. Rolling most types of state K-12 funding into a single formula is the best way to give local school districts the resources they need.
Changing the formula that distributes money to school districts will never be painless or easy. But the committee’s recommendations are a firm step in the right direction, and I’m excited about supporting and assisting the committee this spring as we work toward a formula that does what it was intended to do.
Finally, any formula is pointless unless we fully fund it. Once we come up with a formula we believe in, we must devote enough state dollars to make it work. Adequate state funding for education must be a primary consideration as we address the state’s budget and tax structure.
Thoughts?
33 Comments
|
From the Department of the Completely Obvious
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Illinois is among the eight worst states in the country in long-term budget planning, according to a major new report from the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Illinois, a state with chronic budget problems, should adopt a set of proven fiscal planning tools that that could help it weather difficult economic times, build an attractive business climate, and make government more effective and efficient, the report finds.
The report examines whether and how well states use ten key fiscal planning tools that fall into three broad categories:
A map for the future: the budget and accompanying documents should include a detailed roadmap of the budget’s immediate and future impacts on the state’s fiscal health.
Professional and credible estimates: standards and sufficient oversight are needed to guarantee that these analyses of the budget’s impacts are professional, credible, and prepared without political influence.
Ways to stay on course: mechanisms should be in place to trigger any needed changes during the budget year, before too much damage is done.
Fiscal planning tools not used at all in Illinois include independent consensus revenue estimates for the coming fiscal year, current services baseline budgets, five-year revenue and spending projections, and a well-designed rainy day fund.
The study is here.
…Adding… The governor’s office points out that Gov. Quinn will be doing some long-term planning when he rolls out his five-year budget blueprint in March. Good point.
Also, the governor’s office clarified something last night via text and I didn’t see it until just a few minutes ago. The budget address has been delayed 8 times since Gov. Jim Edgar’s administration, not 13 as claimed yesterday.
13 Comments
|
Question of the day
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Perhaps the biggest news from this morning’s IMA candidates debate…
Republican governor candidates Bruce Rauner and Kirk Dillard opened the door today to consideration of broadening the state sales tax to include services as part of a comprehensive overhaul of Illinois’ tax structure.
“I think it should be in the mix. I’m not prepared to say that’s the answer,” said Rauner, who added that it should be “on the table” in “looking at our entire tax code.”
Dillard, a state senator from Downers Grove, also said he was open to consideration of a broadening of the sales tax. “Maybe,” he said, adding that it would be part of a review of state taxation similar to what Rauner was proposing.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington were against the idea.
* The Question: Should Illinois tax services? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey tool
41 Comments
|
* Sun-Times…
A new spot that’s hitting TV and radio this week attacks three out of the four gubernatorial primary candidates, sparing only Winnetka venture capitalist Bruce Rauner.
A source with knowledge of the buy said the group — Mid-America Fund — spent roughly $180,000 on broadcast, cable, and radio for this week.
I checked with the State Board of Elections this morning and was told that state law requires disclosure within 10 business days of the formation of the PAC.
As we’ve already discussed, the PAC’s ads began running last Friday. So, it could be next week before we see any state paperwork.
But since this is a 501c4 group, it’s doubtful we’ll ever know who is actually funding the ads.
26 Comments
|
Ives: “I’m extremely influential”
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Daily Herald interviewed the two candidates for the 42nd House Republican primary, Freshman Rep. Jeanne Ives and Adam Johnson…
“In her time down in Springfield she has not successfully sponsored a single bill that has become law,” Johnson said, while GOP representatives from five neighboring districts have introduced and passed multiple bills in the past year.
Ives confirmed that none of her bills has become law, but argued she filed important, “tough bills” and made comments at committee level that affected legislation that was passed.
“I didn’t go down there to pass Bring Your Parent to School Day. I filed only landmark legislation that will actually do things in Illinois,” she said, while other freshman representatives filed “fluff legislation” that passed.
Ives pointed to a pension bill she filed that would have prohibited members of select state boards or commissions that rarely meet to accumulate pension credits. She said it passed out of the House, but was grabbed by a Democratic senator who refused to pass it off on third reading.
Still, Johnson said Ives has been described as “perhaps the least influential member of the Illinois House,” a quote he took from a comment Rich Miller, a blogger for the website capitolfax.com, made on one of his posts last August.
Ives said Johnson was being “disingenuous, or essentially lying” about someone calling her the least influential because it was from an anonymous comment on a left wing blog website.
In December, Miller wrote a post titled “Careful what you say,” in which he said he did make the comment and notes Johnson’s use of the quote in a news release announcing his candidacy.
Regardless, Ives said she believes she is serving her constituents well.
“The truth is, I’m extremely influential down there, which is why they want to make me sit down and be quiet,” she said. “I went down there to represent the taxpayers of District 42 and I’m doing a great job doing it. The truth is the Democrats don’t want me to have success.”
A left wing blog site? Kinda shows where Ives is on the spectrum.
And “extremely influential”?
Oy.
59 Comments
|
Rauner’s charter schools
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This revelation probably isn’t as bad as it first looks…
Bruce Rauner’s family charity has contributed $800,000 to the scandal-tarred United Neighborhood Organization in recent years, including $750,000 to help expand the Hispanic community group’s network of 16 charter schools in Chicago, UNO records show.
When Gov. Pat Quinn temporarily cut off state funding to the charter operator last year, UNO put $285,000 of the Rauner Family Foundation’s money toward paying bills the state would have covered.
The state and local government gave UNO a whole lot more than Rauner. And that second sentence needs to be fleshed out a bit more…
Rauner says he wasn’t aware UNO used some of his money to make up for the suspended state funding. He also says he didn’t specify how the contributions were to be spent. When Quinn later resumed the grant, UNO replenished the account it had created with the donations from Rauner, UNO records show.
The donations from the Rauner Family Foundation included $250,000 in December 2011, $500,000 in December 2012 and $50,000 in 2010. According to the foundation’s tax returns, the $50,000 contribution was to “improve Hispanic neighborhoods/community.”
If it can be found that Rauner donated to UNO after the allegations became public or even after the governor temporarily shut off the spigot, then that’s something.
Otherwise, he gave UNO some money. UNO put the money into a special fund. UNO suddenly needed cash, so it tapped that fund.
* Another story…
Sarah Howard thought Bruce Rauner was an angel who would rescue her financially troubled, academically struggling charter school in East Garfield Park.
Instead, the would-be Republican candidate for Illinois governor took control of the Academy of Communications and Technology Charter School that Howard started, dumped her as executive director, suspended operations for two years, then turned it over to a national charter school operator.
“Bruce was coming to us, saying he was going to help us strengthen and improve our campus,” says Howard, who now works for the University of Chicago’s Network for College Success. “And instead what happened is he approached it like it was a turnaround that needed to be wiped out, sort of like a venture capital deal — come in, put in new leadership and change everything around. […]
“With the exception of high school test scores, we were outperforming our neighborhood school on every other metric and, in some cases, beating the CPS average,” Howard says. “I’m not saying we were knocking it out of the park, but we were serving the neighborhood well and were improving.”
* But…
Howard and a business partner started ACT in 1997 at a former Catholic elementary school at 4319 W. Washington, offering classes to seventh- through 12th-graders. But ACT’s test scores lagged behind those of many public schools. That led the Chicago Board of Education to deny ACT’s application to renew its charter for five years. The board gave ACT a two-year extension, then two more extensions, through June 2011.
Charter schools are supposed to be innovative and are supposed to go away if they don’t perform up to standards. I don’t think it’s the case that this was a great school by any means, so I’m not sure I can say that this was a bad move by Rauner. But it sure is an insight into how he’d likely govern if elected.
* Another…
On TV, Bruce Rauner has barraged voters with a commercial in which he boasts that he “helped start charter schools” to fight failing educational programs.
Other than giving millions of dollars, though, the Republican candidate for governor doesn’t have much to do with running the Noble Network of Charter Schools, which includes a school that bears his name, according to the head of Noble.
Rauner has “very little” involvement in running Noble’s 14 high schools, which include Rauner College Prep on the near West Side and one middle school, says Michael Milkie, the former Chicago Public Schools math teacher who founded Noble and is now its superintendent and chief executive officer.
Rauner, a venture capitalist and member of Noble’s 20-member board, says: “I’ve never had a role in day-to-day operations at Noble or, frankly, in almost anything I get involved with. My role is generally as a board member or kind of an adviser providing overall strategic advice or feedback. . . . I go to the campus that they named after our family once a year, maybe twice a year, to talk to students and the principal, things like that.”
Discuss.
26 Comments
|
Twisting in the wind
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I take no position yet on the current allegations against Treasurer Dan Rutherford. However, the fact that he’s unable to publicly fight back because the employee won’t officially resign until Feb. 10th bothers me. And the fact that the alleged victim here is remaining anonymous, while understandable on one level, is bothersome on a political level.
So, we get stories like this one…
The employee told the Sun-Times in an interview on Monday that his complaint entailed harassment claims and pressure to do political work. The employee said he found it “unconscionable” that Rutherford characterized his complaint as being tied to political chicanery, rather than taking it seriously. […]
“If the individual decides to speak about his status or reveal his identity, that’s up to the individual,” she said. “The treasurer’s office has done all it can to protect the privacy of the individual even after the individual’s lawyer requested $300,000.”
Pardonnet repeated Rutherford’s assertion, made last week, that an internal review “found no basis in fact for the allegations” against the treasurer.
To that, the employee said: “the extent of the investigation was Dan saying ‘it’s not true.’”
We don’t even know what the specific allegations are. All we’re getting is incredibly vague stuff like this, and while I don’t want to defend inappropriate or unethical behavior, Rutherford is at a major disadvantage here because it’s very difficult to respond to a personnel matter.
* Then again, even if we knew the exact allegations, it could be just a “he said, he said” situation and how does Rutherford disprove that? Word on the grapevine is that others may talk, but that’s just the grapevine. If anything is substantiated by someone else, however, Rutherford is gonna be in major trouble here. Maybe even fatal.
* On the other hand, I am growing more uncomfortable with this “independent” investigator hired by Rutherford. From an e-mail sent to employees yesterday…
Please be advised that employees of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office may be contacted by Mr. Ron Braver, an independent investigator. If any employee is contacted, any time away from the office necessary to meet with Mr. Braver will be excused.
Rutherford’s people say the investigator will be asking people who have said they’re witnesses or corroborators. But what protections do these folks have? If they refuse to answer to avoid self-incrimination, what will happen to them? Rutherford’s people seem surprised at this question. Of course, they say, nobody’s gonna get fired or punished over what they say or refuse to say.
Under what authority is this investigator operating? Rutherford’s people say the treasurer has the authority to order up such an investigation. But what are the limits of this guy’s powers? No real answer.
Rutherford may be serious about getting to the bottom of this. But this probe could also be used to smoke out his interior enemies.
Here again, Rutherford appears to be at a disadvantage. I’m not sure how to resolve this in the time available before the primary. On the one hand, I feel quite bad for the guy. On the other, we do have to take this stuff seriously and he will eventually have to answer questions. But how? And when?
* And the Tribune has a valid point today…
Which brings us to Dan Rutherford, who is mishandling a crisis he initiated Friday when he called a news conference to deny allegations that hadn’t been voiced elsewhere — and that he wouldn’t discuss. Rutherford accuses Rauner of fomenting this unspecified situation as an attack on him — “I believe in my heart Mr. Rauner is responsible.” Yet Rutherford offers no proof. Rutherford has a strong record and, as the only player in this foursome who has won statewide office, is a strong contender. But his quest to make the front-runner in this campaign the villain will boomerang if he can’t produce evidence: During the most challenging moment of his government career, Rutherford needs to assure voters that he’s not challenging the ethics of an opponent as part of a desperate political distraction play.
Discuss.
117 Comments
|
* Tribune…
Former Mayor Richard Daley, his family and members of his administration did not try to influence the investigation into the 2004 death of David Koschman, a special prosecutor concluded in a report released today.
The special prosecutor, Dan Webb, interviewed Daley, eight of his relatives and numerous others as part of a grand jury investigation into whether a Daley nephew, Richard “R.J.” Vanecko, received preferential treatment from Chicago police or Cook County prosecutors handling Koschman’s death. Read the report here.
Vanecko, 39, pleaded guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, followed by 60 days of home confinement and then 2 ½ years of probation. The guilty plea stemmed from his April 2004 confrontation with David Koschman in the Rush Street night light district, a verbal altercation that turned violent when the much larger Vanecko punched Koschman in the face, leaving him with injuries he died from 12 days later.
At issue in the report was how authorities handled the investigation into the incident, both at the time and when the case was reopened in 2011 after an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times raised questions about whether police had intentionally concealed evidence because of Vanecko’s clout.
* Sun-Times…
Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, one of his top aides and others in Daley’s Chicago Police Department knew “shortly after the incident” that the mayor’s nephew was involved in the drunken confrontation that led to David Koschman’s death — even though police reports say detectives didn’t learn of the nephew’s involvement until 18 days later.
“According to Matthew Crowl [former mayoral deputy chief of staff for public safety], he was informed by someone at CPD of Mayor Daley’s nephew’s involvement in the incident on Division Street and immediately informed Mayor Daley in person of what he had heard,” according to a 162-page special prosecutor’s report released Tuesday about how police and prosecutors handled the case of Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, Daley’s nephew.
“While Crowl was uncertain of the exact date, he believed he became aware of the Koschman matter shortly after the incident,” the report continues. “It was not clear whether Mayor Daley was already aware of the incident when Crowl made the disclosure to him.”
In his interview with investigators for special prosecutor Dan K. Webb, Daley himself “did not recall Crowl advising him of the incident,” the report says.
Daley “stated that he learned about the Koschman incident ‘sometime’ after it occurred, although he was unable to say exactly when. Mayor Daley also stated that he had made it clear to his staff and the public that because he was Vanceko’s uncle, he had recused himself from any involvement in the Koschman matter.”
14 Comments
|
Today’s numbers
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From COGFA’s newly released study of business tax incentives…
According to the latest information from the Comptroller’s Tax Expenditure Report, businesses in Illinois benefited from over $1.15 billion business related tax expenditures.
* The largest tax expenditures reported in the FY 2012 issue were:
1. Sales Tax Expenditures:
* Manufacturing and Assembling Machinery and Equipment Exemption ($183 M)
* Retailer’s Discount ($121 M)
* Rolling Stock Exemption ($74 M)
2. Corporate Income Tax Expenditures:
* Illinois Net Operating Loss Deduction ($219 M)
3. Other Tax Expenditures:
* Sales for Use Other than in Motor Vehicles Exemption ($116 M)
According to a Department of Revenue report, in 2012, Enterprise Zone, High Impact Business, and River Edge Redevelopment Zone tax incentives resulted in the State foregoing approximately $115 million in tax revenue.
In the aggregate, businesses receiving tax incentives reported creating 4,671 jobs and investing approximately $3.7 billion in 2012
13 Comments
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
