McCann now says he won’t run
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Senator Sam McCann issued the following statement today:
“I am humbled and honored. However, despite rumors to the contrary, I am not an independent party candidate for governor.
As we focus on the 2014 elections, I look forward to continue working with my party leadership and Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno to make the party bigger and better with the ultimate goal of making our state better and stronger. I will continue to be a voice for my constituents and a voice for all those who want and deserve to be heard as we seek new leadership in Illinois.
Illinois needs and deserves better representation at the top. We must close the chapter on the state government regime that has led Illinois to record high unemployment, record high taxes and record high debt.”
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Where does he really live?
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oy…
State Sen. Napoleon Harris owns a house befitting a former NFL linebacker and successful businessman: a $400,000 residence in an upscale subdivision in south suburban Flossmoor.
But Harris says he lives and votes from 10 miles away in blighted Harvey, residing in a town house on the pothole-pitted stretch of road that runs behind a strip mall that houses his district office and one of his Beggar’s Pizza franchises. […]
Recent visits to the town house showed the shades drawn shut or blocked by newspapers and campaign signs taped to the glass. The city Water Department said water service had been activated in April but would not say whose name was on the account or how long the building had been without water previously. A building permit for “patching holes,” which expired in May, was posted in the front window. […]
When it comes to his upcoming election, barring a lawsuit, Harris’ residency may not even matter. He is running unopposed for his second term. Any challenge to the residency of a candidate must take place during the run-up to the primary election, and Harris’ address has not been challenged in either of his runs for the 15th District seat, said Ken Menzel, deputy general counsel for the state Board of Elections.
On a recent afternoon, a woman answered the door of Harris’ Flossmoor house, but declined to give her name. The woman, who strongly resembled photos posted online of the senator’s wife, Nicole, said the senator was not home.
Oops.
* Look, residency is a tricky thing here. It’s all about intent, as we learned during the Rahm Emanuel ordeal. But according to the Tribune, Harris’ drivers license still lists his outside the district address. And he’s still getting a homestead exemption on that same out of district house.
And there’s also the issue of his statement of candidacy. Candidates must swear an oath that their residency information is true and that they are a “qualified voter” in the district. Get caught blatantly violating that oath and you can go to prison.
Remember this story?…
A state lawmaker who didn’t live in the district she represents was found guilty of using fake addresses on re-election paperwork and voter registration cards, and must resign.
Rep. Patricia Bailey was found guilty Tuesday of election fraud and perjury after a one-day trial.
“You never had a heat, electric, a telephone, a cable bill,” Cook County Judge Diane Gordon-Cannon told the Chicago Democrat. “You never lived for 30 minutes inside your district.”
Bailey, 52, first elected in 2002, faces up to five years in prison when sentenced Dec. 21. She wouldn’t comment as she left the courtroom.
Bailey’s downfall came when it was revealed that there wasn’t even a liveable residence at the address she used on her statement of candidacy.
Many moons ago, former state Rep. Ellis Levin faced accusations that he didn’t live in his district. The apartment where he supposedly lived was pretty much empty. He eventually survived the residency challenge (if memory serves, he lost the first round, because I ran the headline “Levin gets the hook”), but he lost his primary to Sara Feigenholtz.
So, again, it’s about intent and state law is pretty darned lenient. Bailey couldn’t actually intend to live in a place that didn’t actually exist. You gotta go pretty far to violate that particular law here. It doesn’t look like Harris has gone that far.
But, still, Sen. Harris really should, um, “address” this issue. And soon.
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Another promise
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After over a year of promises, Bruce Rauner told Chuck Sweeney that he’ll have a budget and tax plan in two months’ time…
Asked for specific details, Rauner said he would roll out his plan in the next 60 days.
“The first 18 to 24 months will feature a lot of restructuring, less spending and lower taxes. It will be very different from Gov. Quinn’s plan” of more spending, Rauner said.
* Then again, he said he was a couple to a few weeks away from releasing his tax plan way back on April 2nd…
Rauner also said, during a brief stop at the Scott Bidner farm northwest of Champaign, that he soon will unveil “a comprehensive tax review and tax overhaul” plan.
He said his campaign is “in the mid-stage of that and we hope that in the coming few weeks we come with a comprehensive plan recommending how we should overhaul the tax code.
“We’re a couple, a few weeks away from that. Early on in our campaign we want to set an agenda that’s for economic growth, tax overhaul, spending overhaul, bureaucracy reduction and investment in education and all will be part of our plan that we will be rolling out in the coming weeks.”
* The Quinn campaign has compiled a list of some of Rauner’s promises to unveil his plans since March 21st of last year…
“I am going to be releasing detailed plans in the coming months, but in the meantime I’ll share with you a few priorities.” (Bruce Rauner via Facebook post dated 3/21/13) https://www.facebook.com/BruceRauner/posts/222811084528639?stream_ref=5)
“Rauner says now is not the time to talk about specifics and what he would do to bring fiscal discipline to the state.” (WTAX Radio. 6/19/13.) http://wtax.com/local/rauner-says-his-experience-is-needed-to-control-state-expenses/)
“Asked by a reporter if he was saying government unions should be eliminated in Illinois, Rauner said, “We need to modify their power.” Asked how, he said, “I won’t go into it today. We’ve got a detailed plan.” (State Journal-Register, 6/20/13 http://www.sj-r.com/article/20130620/News/306209895#ixzz2xtcISz9q)
“He didn’t say, when asked, if such vouchers would be allowed to pay for education at parochial schools. We’ll get to that plan later,” he said.”(State Journal-Register, 6/20/13 http://www.sj-r.com/article/20130620/News/306209895#ixzz2xtcISz9q)
“Later, though, while talking to reporters, Rauner declined to offer specifics, saying “we don’t have details on it yet,” but that an announcement was forthcoming.” (Champaign News-Gazette, 7/16/13 http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-07-16/rauner-wants-term-limits.html)
“Our focus is on the campaign,” Rauner said Friday. “I’d like to have some specifics as part of the general election, but we’ll see where we are in the process. The critical thing is that we win the race, and that’s going to take a lot of attention.” (Quad City Times, 10/11/13 http://qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/rauner-won-t-promise-tax-details-before-election/article_6bedcf7d-7f51-5621-afee-321047dda516.html)
“We are working on a plan now and that will be developed in the coming months.” (Reboot Illinois. 1/17/14. http://www.rebootillinois.com/2014/01/18/uncategorized/mattdietrich/rauner-illinois-needs-political-outsider-get-working/4232/)
“Bernard Schoenburg: Still waiting for some ‘detailed plans’ from Rauner” (http://www.sj-r.com/article/20140227/OPINION/140229413/2011/OPINION?template=printart)
“He said his campaign is ‘in the mid-stage of that and we hope that in the coming few weeks we come with a comprehensive plan recommending how we should overhaul the tax code.” (Champaign News-Gazette, 4/2/14) http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-04-02/rauner-reduce-number-governments-illinois.html
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Smith verdict riffs
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s Derrick Smith guilty verdicts were followed by press conferences from both sides. Rep. Smith…
Dude, I’m pretty sure that God saw you counting out $7k in “cheddar” and wasn’t amused.
Man, that’s so insulting.
Even political morons know they shouldn’t take cash. Only criminals take cash in this business. Period. And everybody understands this, for crying out loud. If you take cash, you deserve whatever you get.
* Smith again…
Well, good. I’m glad you did what you thought was right. Trust me, you will soon be “rewarded” for your behavior.
* A possible appeal?…
I don’t know about you, counselor, but I do know where your client is going…
* The prosecution…
Um, actually, y’all had a guy on your payroll who told you he could probably convince Smith to take a bribe. No evidence emerged that you knew beforehand that Smith had been taking bribes. So, perhaps the above quote should be changed to: “Public officials need to understand, if we have a paid informant who thinks he can convince a politician to take some cheddar, we’re going to pull out all the stops for three months to convince him to do it, by gosh.”
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McCann pushing petitions
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Subscribers have known about this possible development since early Friday morning…
Although no official statement has come from State Senator Sam McCann, rumors persist that the Carlinville Republican is seriously considering a third-party run for governor of Illinois.
While still possible to get on the ballot, McCann would need to gather at least 25,000 petition signatures by June 23rd - the last day independents or new party candidates can turn in petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE).
* I also told subscribers about this today…
Petitions to get State Senator Sam McCann (R-Carlinville) on the November 2014 ballot as an Independent candidate are circulating, as shown below.
Senator McCann refused to comment on the petition to Illinois Review, other than to convey through staff that “He will be making an official statement in the near future.” […]
The petitions are to be circulated and returned to J.Gooch and Associates of Springfield, IL by June 20th, only 11 days from today.
* React has been varied so far…
Some are outraged that the buzz about McCann is even out there. Americans for Prosperity Illinois’ executive director David From is unhappy about McCann’s reported openness to a 5 percent tax hike during the last days of the session.
* And…
Some Republicans are expressing concern that the entry of another candidate into the race could dilute Rauner’s neck-in-neck run against Quinn.
“Speaking as someone who is a Pat Quinn supporter, I’d love it if McCann got in the race,” Blue Downstate political blog author Aaron Camp told readers. “McCann would probably get anywhere from 7-15 percent of the vote in the general election, which would, more than likely, give Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn a second full term in the governor’s mansion.
Meh.
It really all depends if the pro-life, anti-gay marriage, pro-public employee union McCann can raise serious money. Do the folks behind him have money? That’s not certain because the actual identities of his supporters are still murky.
Third party candidate Scott Lee Cohen spent a bunch of cash and ended up helping elect Pat Quinn in 2010 (polls showed he took more votes away from Bill Brady than Quinn). But the almost totally unfunded Green Party, Libertarian, etc. candidates have never really had much of any impact here in the past.
So, money is key and McCann, unlike Cohen, is not personally wealthy.
Plus, we don’t even know if he can gather enough signatures to get on the ballot.
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* From the US Attorney…
A verdict in the trial of State Rep. Derrick Smith is expected to be announced at 12:15 p.m. today in Courtroom 1425 (Judge Coleman) in the Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn St.
I’ll post a ScribbleLive feed soon.
* As promised…
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Something I’d really like to see
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After mugging for the cameras in the Metro East with the cupcake girl, the governor is heading to a much different venue further inland…
MARION – Governor Pat Quinn will sign legislation to support charitable events across the state.
WHEN: 3:15 p.m.
WHERE: Black Diamond Harley-Davidson
2400 Williamson County Pkwy
Marion, 62959
Unfortunately, my brother Devin the photographer (and musician, songwriter, etc.) will not be able to attend, but maybe we can still somehow get a photo for a caption contest. Just think of the possibilities. I sure hope they pre-screen the crowd for Confederate flag arm patches, though.
Heh.
* The Trib explains the bill…
Charitable “poker run” motorcycle rallies will be able to keep more of their proceeds under a bill Gov. Pat Quinn is set to sign today at a Downstate Harley-Davidson dealership.
In poker runs, riders typically pay an entry fee, then ride to a series of checkpoints throughout the day where they receive playing cards. The rider with the best poker hand at the end of the day receives a cash prize. The rest of the proceeds go to the person or organization the event is designed to help.
Senate bill 3312 places them under the jurisdiction of county governments and allows a fee of up to $25 to be charged. Poker runs have been run under the auspices of the Gaming Act, which is overseen by the state and carries fees of $400 to $600 per event.
Those Gaming Act fees were way out of line, as were their regulations.
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“Rauner to city: Drop dead”
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not really. My headline is merely a bit of snark based on a May 29th Tribune editorial about the Chicago pension reform bill entitled “Quinn to city: Drop dead”…
Quinn, the self-described I-was-put-on-Earth-to-get-this-done pension reformer, should have signed the bill seven weeks ago. Instead, he’s been playing the role of fictional superhero, claiming to be protecting Chicago property taxpayers by sitting on the bill.
“I’m committed to property tax reform and property tax relief,” Quinn said recently of the bill on his desk. “We’re going to look at the bill and we’ll review it.”
But if Quinn vetoes the bill, and it appears he might, that action would come at the expense of Chicago taxpayers, not at their benefit. […]
The clock is running. Sign the bill. Quit fretting about the impact on your re-election chances. Let Chicago help itself.
Stop telling this City to Drop Dead.
If Quinn had listened to the Tribune and signed the city’s pension bill in April, would Mayor Rahm Emanuel have switched gears and passed a 911 service tax hike to cover the pension reform’s first-year costs? Heck no.
Politics 101: Never take political advice from editorial boards.
* Speaking of which, this is from a Sun-Times editorial last week urging Quinn to sign the bill…
Quinn’s Republican opponent in the race for governor, Bruce Rauner, opposes the pension bill and likely will blame Quinn if Chicago property taxes rise. Quinn easily can swat away such a disingenuous claim.
Um, no, it won’t be easy. At all. This was a big risk by Quinn.
* But let’s get back to the Tribune. Here is part of Rauner’s statement from yesterday…
Despite pledging to lower property taxes for homeowners, Gov. Quinn broke yet another promise by signing the Chicago pension bill into law, thereby forcing City Hall to raise property taxes on hardworking Chicagoans. Even if the city diverted $50 million in new 911 emergency phone tax revenue to pay for the pension bill, City Hall would still face a massive shortfall over the five-year phase-in, paving the way for a massive property tax hike.
Without that pension reform bill, the property tax hikes would’ve been much, much larger and Rauner knows it.
* Today’s Tribune editorial only briefly mentioned Rauner…
Sure enough, it took only minutes for his Republican opponent, Bruce Rauner to issue a statement accusing Quinn of “forcing City Hall to raise property taxes on hardworking Chicagoans.”
Quinn did nothing of the sort. As he pointed out in his signing statement, the original bill would have mandated a property increase. Quinn and others objected loudly, and that provision was scrapped.
What? No hyperbolic insanity about how Rauner wants to ruin Chicago? Funny how that page can be so reserved when it comes to their guy and so way, WAY over the top when it comes to Quinn.
* Mayor Emanuel wasn’t so reserved yesterday…
“Bruce Rauner needs to learn that there is a difference between running for office and actually serving. The economic future of the state’s largest city and the retirement of 60,000 workers is not a political football to be tossed around. Governor Quinn today stood up for Chicago. Bruce Rauner has merely confirmed his unwillingness to do so.”
* Anyway, despite the dismissiveness by the Trib, property taxes are gonna rise eventually. There’s just no way around it. Mark Brown…
There should be no doubt: This legislation is going to lead to a tax increase in Chicago, probably including property taxes, just maybe not this year if aldermen get their say in postponing it.
Emanuel’s plan would pay an additional $250 million a year in city revenue into these two pension funds by the fifth year—which adds up to an extra $750 million total over that period. That’s not chump change, and it has to come from somewhere. […]
In his own statement, Emanuel promised to “work with City Council in the coming months to find alternative options to replace property taxes as the source of the City’s first pension payment.”
Please note he said “first” pension payment. After that, all bets are off, including whether Emanuel will still be mayor when it comes time to identify the source of the second pension payment.
Discuss.
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Cupcake grandstanding
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign the so-called “cupcake bill” introduced after a young girl’s home baking operation was shut down by regulations.
Quinn’s office says he’ll sign the bill Tuesday in 12-year-old Chloe Stirling’s home in Troy as he salutes her “for making a difference.” […]
Madison County health officials shut down the $200-a-month operation in January after concluding her kitchen wasn’t a commercial one requiring such things as a permit and inspection. She also hadn’t taken a mandatory health safety course.
* Tribune…
“When all of this started, we didn’t know what to do,” Chloe Stirling said in a release from Quinn’s office. “In the end, we made it work so lots of home cooks can do what they love just like me.”
Quinn thanked Chloe for standing up for small entrepreneurs. “Democracy is for everyone and I salute Chloe Stirling for getting involved and making a difference for a cause she believes in,” he said. […]
Senate Republicans released a statement applauding Quinn for signing the bill, but contending his administration fought against it until a public outcry forced them to relent.
* From one of those statements…
Governor Pat Quinn is planning to sign legislation inspired by Chloe Stirling, better known as “Cupcake Girl”, at a ceremony at the girl’s house on Tuesday. State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) voted for the measure that passed the Senate.
“The bill that passed is good legislation and I applaud the Governor for planning to sign it,” said Barickman. “But the reality is that Quinn’s own agency fought this common-sense measure from the beginning. He shouldn’t be trying to taking credit for a process that his administration was on the wrong side of.” […]
The House passed legislation to exempt businesses earning less than $1000 per month from the onerous rules, but allowed health departments to investigate in the event of complaints or an outbreak. But when the measure reached the Senate, Quinn’s Department of Public Health pushed one of his allies to alter the bill.
“Quinn’s rules would have required every youngster like Chloe to have expensive and unnecessary training, permits, licensing and labelling,” said Barickman “This would have completely undone the common-sense reforms passed in the House. This was the opposite of good government at work.”
Luckily for Chloe and other young entrepreneurs everywhere, a public outcry led by Senate Republicans was able to kill the new version of the legislation in the Senate. The Governor’s ally was eventually pressured to call the original unchanged measure, which easily passed.
“What we ended up with is a good compromise that stops an unneeded government overreach,” said Barickman. “But Quinn shouldn’t be posing as a hero here when his agency’s actions put this whole process in jeopardy. I understand he wants to appear to be on the side of the public, but he really shouldn’t be using this legislation, or this wonderful young girl, in such a transparently political way.”
He’s right that IDPH darned near killed the bill, but Quinn is the one who stepped in and ordered the amendment withdrawn. Plus, he met with the cupcake girl on May 13th, long before the Senate vote.
Just about everybody in Springfield grandstanded on this bill. And nobody has yet spoken about the fact that municipalities can still ban these sales, including Madison County, where Chloe lives.
* But here’s some much needed perspective…
“I’m not endorsing giving business a free pass, but regulators should be focused on consumer issues that affect a broad swath of the public,” says Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen, a consumer organization.
Exactly right.
* There was so much grandstanding over a little girl and her cupcakes that I bet you didn’t even notice this story from May…
Morgan’s Meat Market in Mattoon, Ill., is recalling approximately 216 pounds of uninspected ground beef products.
Under state and federal regulations, meat products produced without the benefit of inspection are considered unfit for human consumption and are required to be recalled,
* Or this one from May…
Despite all these warnings in pharmaceutical ads, a lawsuit in federal court in East St. Louis alleges that the German manufacturer of a blood thinner called Pradaxa did not warn people enough. The suit claims the drug has killed 500 people and hurt 4,000 more.
The company tentatively settled the case this week, for $650 million. The deal still requires that 95 percent of the plaintiffs, whose suits were consolidated, join U.S. District Judge David Herndon in endorsing it.
In any event, this doesn’t mean the end of Pradaxa. The drug, available in the U.S. since 2010, remains approved for sale.
* Or even this one from February…
Some 8.7 million pounds of meat from a Northern California company have been recalled because they came from “diseased and unsound” animals that weren’t properly inspected, a federal agency announced Saturday. […]
The government agency noted there are no reported illnesses tied to these products, which went to distribution centers and retail establishments in California, Florida, Illinois and Texas. It was not immediately clear which companies got them, or whether they ended up being sold in some form at any markets or restaurants.
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Poll: Senger keeping it close
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Somebody leaked the results of a recent We Ask America poll to Greg Hinz. The survey covered the west suburban 11th Congressional District race between incumbent Democrat Bill Foster and Republican state Rep. Darlene Senger…
the new survey of 842 voters found Mr. Foster leading Ms. Senger 45.9 percent to 40.65 percent. A lead is a lead, but Ms. Senger, a state representative from Naperville, still isn’t very well-known in much of the district.
That’s not good news for Foster at all.
* Now, before we move on to the other result, keep in mind that Bruce Rauner has been running a bunch of positive TV ads in the Chicago media market for two months. Those ads will inflate his numbers considerably, and I’d like to see the crosstabs to see how he’s doing with Democrats. As we’ve discussed before, once the state’s partisanship tendencies kick in, numbers like these tend to vanish pretty quickly…
Mr. Rauner is up 18 points in what is supposed to be a marginal Democratic district, 51.59 percent to 33.59 percent for the incumbent. The margin is somewhat narrower among women but widens to a whopping 26 points among men.
* Meanwhile, from an NRCC press release…
- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced today that 11 Republican candidates have reached ‘Young Gun’ status, the top tier of the Committee’s three-level recruitment program. These candidates have reached the third and final level by establishing a clear path to victory through their ability to build a formidable campaign structure and achieve important goals and benchmarks.
“Candidates that reach ‘Young Gun’ status have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” said NRCC Chairman Greg Walden. “Our job as a committee is to help elect Republicans to office that will serve as a check and balance on the Obama administration. These 11 candidates will fight to stop the harmful consequences of ObamaCare, grow the economy, and get Washington’s spending under control. As the November Elections approach, I am confident that these candidates will continue to work hard for their communities and bring common-sense principles to Congress.” […]
The NRCC’s Second Round of ‘Young Gun’ Candidates [include]:
IL-11 Darlene Senger
IL-17 Bobby Schilling
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Rauner supports same day registration bill
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is smart statewide politics by Bruce Rauner, but it’ll surely make some Republican heads explode…
Governor candidate Bruce Rauner is deviating from the Republican Party line on a bill that passed in the Illinois Legislature.
The bill would allow same-day voter registration and more days for in-person early voting - which Republicans in the General Assembly say is a ploy to bring more Democratic voters to the polls.
Rauner said he’s not familiar with the finer points of the bill, but he’s OK with the idea. “I’m a believer that our democratic process is critical to our prosperity as a state and as a nation. I think having voters engaged and involved and everybody voting, all registered voters voting, is a great thing, and the more folks that vote, the better, and to the degree we help that process, I’m supportive of that,” he said.
Rauner said the fall-off in votes between a presidential election and a mid-term is unfortunate. In Illinois, 5.2 million people voted for president in 2012, whereas 3.7 million cast ballots for governor in 2010.
* Republican Rep. Jeanne Ives recently penned an op-ed blasting the idea…
The bill requires Illinois public universities to set up same day voter registration and voting through the close of the polls in “high traffic” areas of certain public universities. It is tempting to give in to the cynicism and suggest that the best high traffic area may just be on the sidewalk outside the bar. While students are in the que to enter, they can register and vote. If underage students just want to vote – no ID required, but of course, they will need one to enter the bar.
Um, I don’t know of many taverns that are physically located on university campuses. Also, I figure there’s a lot more kids at football games anyway.
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