Republican Bruce Rauner will not say whether he believes it’s fair that as a wealthy businessman, he was able to avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes in 2010 and 2011.
The candidate for Illinois governor was asked Friday about a Chicago Tribune report last week. It showed business income-loss tax rules allowed Rauner to pay no Social Security or Medicare taxes in those years despite income of $55 million.
Rauner told reporters in Springfield that “we’ve paid full taxes as appropriate.” Asked whether the exemption is fair to all wage-earners, he said: “We can talk about how we should reform our tax code.” He says that discussion is forthcoming.
All discussions are “forthcoming” with him. It’s his own version of Speaker Madigan’s “It’s under review.” Then again, Madigan usually makes a decision after reviewing stuff.
Whatever the case, changing the state’s tax code would have zero to do with whether he had to pay those two federal taxes. Good question, better dodge.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner said Friday he’s not ready to make changes to his pension reform plan in the wake of last week’s decision by the Illinois Supreme Court on retiree health insurance premiums.
Speaking after addressing an American Legion convention in Springfield, Rauner said the state’s high court has yet to weigh in on the broader issue of pension reforms approved by the General Assembly last year.
“We should see what the court decides ultimately when they do and we can address things then,” Rauner said. “I believe the right long-term answer is to protect the pensions and not change historical pensions, but for future work to have a different structure that is more of a defined contribution plan.” […]
Asked if he might alter his plan to that only newly hired workers would be put into a 401(k), Rauner said, “We’ll be outlining our detailed plans in the future.”
On July 3, the Illinois Supreme Court found that state constitutional protections for pensions apply to retiree health care subsidies that were cut by the State of Illinois (A3 negative). The decision reversed a lower court’s March 2013 decision and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings. The court’s decision is credit negative for Illinois and local governments such as the City of Chicago (Baa1 negative).
The majority of the justices expressed views that run counter to the rationale used in recent pension reform legislation for certain city and state plans. We therefore perceive increased risk that the Illinois Supreme Court will rule the pension reform legislation unconstitutional, which would jeopardize $32.7 billion of pension liability reduction.
The ruling shows that most of the justices have an expansive view of how the pension clause (Article 13, Section 51) should apply to pensioners. The majority opinion states that, “Where there is any question as to legislative intent and the clarity of the language of a pension statute, it must be liberally construed in favor of the rights of the pensioner.” This and other sections of the ruling signal how the court could side with pensioners when it eventually addresses the constitutionality of recent state pension reforms, which have already been challenged, as well as Chicago’s pension reforms, which we expect will be challenged.
The court still may be persuaded by arguments outside the scope of the current ruling, such as the idea that extreme pension funding pressure prevents the state or a local government from providing for public health and safety, a responsibility higher than adhering to pension promises. The ultimate outcome on the state’s pension reforms will remain uncertain until the court rules on their legality directly. In December 2013, the state passed sweeping legislation to address the severe underfunding of its pension systems. The legislation reduced cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for employees and retirees in four of the five state pension systems. The legislation also increased state contribution requirements and reduced employee contribution rates. The state’s actuaries estimated that these and other changes reduced accrued liabilities as reported by the three largest pension systems by approximately $21 billion as of June 30, reducing Moody’s adjusted net pension liabilities (ANPLs) for the three largest systems — the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) and State Universities Retirement System (SURS) — by a combined $32.7 billion, or 17%.
In May, a lower court judge barred the state from implementing its reforms until lawsuits challenging the changes were resolved. The matter will almost certainly be appealed to the state Supreme Court, no matter the outcome in the lower court.
New “All-Gender” signs will be replacing the “Family” signs outside of single stall restrooms at ISU.
Michael Shane McCreery, director and ethics officer in the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics and Access, said the idea for the new signs came from Sandy Colbs, the director of the Student Counseling Services.
Colbs posted a picture of the new restroom sign on Facebook and McCreery thought it was a great idea.
McCreery said he did some research and found that other universities were making the same transition.
For example, Illinois Wesleyan University made similar changes about a year ago. […]
Only single stall restrooms will be impacted: one in the Bone Student Center, one in Student Counseling Services and a couple throughout the dormitories.
McCreery said he does not anticipate more than 10 restrooms being affected.
* It all seems rather innocuous. I mean, transgendered folks could use them before, families can still use them, heck, you or I could use them. But Fox News freaked out…
* They were so creeped out by this that they eventually followed up. Fox guy Steve Doocy did a live shot outside the studios with people he claimed were “Fox friends”…
The updated signage will include a symbol of a half-man and half-woman, which has Doocy and company pretty confused and unsettled. The hand-picked crew of “Fox fans”? Not so much.
When Doocy asked a boy if he “would have any idea” what the symbol meant, the youngster suggested it might indicate a “family restroom.”
An older man next to the boy agreed.
“I could see that,” he said.
At that point, confident that he had planted the seeds for some righteous indignation, Doocy explained the moral deterioration at Illinois State University.
“See, they were designated as ‘family restrooms’ in the past and now, apparently, they’re going to be known as ‘all-gender’ restrooms,” Doocy explained.
“Does that make sense?” he asked a woman.
It did make sense.
“Restrooms for both genders,” she said cheerily.
Doocy was persistent.
“That’s right. Bathrooms for both genders, or transgenders,” he said, turning to a man in a Pittsburgh Pirates T-shirt. Surely, he shares Doocy’s mixture of confusion and anxiety!
“Transgender, that’s right,” the man replied dully.
Even for those as angelic as newborns, few messages are as intimidating as, The U.S. Department of Justice would like information from you. Imagine the widespread angst, then, as federal prosecutors intensify their look at, and around, Gov. Pat Quinn’s defunct Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. That’s the botched anti-violence program on which Quinn, just before the 2010 general election, committed $54.5 million in public money.
Last Friday the Tribune reported that a federal grand jury has subpoenaed emails of key players in NRI, as it was known, including its former head and two former ranking members of Quinn’s administration. And on Wednesday we learned that the Department of Justice has requested a 90-day delay before Illinois lawmakers question seven former Quinn aides who have been subpoenaed to testify next week.
But Republican lawmakers said Thursday that they expect next week’s two-day hearing of the bipartisan and bicameral Legislative Audit Commission to proceed — and they expect the seven witnesses to obey the subpoenas.
What’s odd about the Justice request for state lawmakers to stand down is that it didn’t come from prosecutors, as has been customary in other investigations. Instead it came by phone to Illinois House and Senate lawyers from Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs in Washington, D.C. That’s a liaison and lobbying office, not an office that typically has interjected itself into criminal cases here. What’s more, Justice is merely requesting a 90-day delay in legislative questioning, not pursuing legal action to demand that.
On Thursday a Justice official in Washington did get around to sending a letter to leaders of the Legislative Audit Commission. The letter requests that the lawmakers “refrain from conducting interviews or receiving testimony from any individuals” in connection with the anti-violence program: “… As we explained during the call, there is an ongoing related federal criminal investigation, and we believe such interviews and testimony during this (90-day) time period would pose substantial risks to our investigation.”
Various federal prosecutors, past and present, cautioned us Thursday not to draw conclusions about where the feds are focused: maybe on recipients of money, maybe on how the program functioned, maybe on something else. For a variety of reasons, including the absence of any crime, federal investigations sometimes lead to … nothing at all.
It looks like they were leading up to something - that maybe the Justice Department request was somehow tainted - then got talked down by “federal prosecutors, past and present.” I only mention that because of this tweet from an editorial board member yesterday…
This story of #DOJ intervening into audit commission hearing/Quinn NRI program gets weirder by the minute.
The paper didn’t take a stand on whether the hearings should actually proceed.
Anyway, I had four posts on this issue yesterday and I didn’t really see anything in today’s coverage to warrant another one today, so let’s do this instead…
* The Question: Should the Legislative Audit Commission defer to the US Department of Justice and postpone any questioning of those under subpoena for 90 days?
Bonus Question: Should the Commission postpone all such testimony until after the election?
Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* From the Quinn campaign’s “Your Weekly Rauner Roundup”…
Posh Parking
But, at least Billionaire Bruce doesn’t have to go hunting for parking at one of his downtown luxury residences.
Today the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that he forked out $100,000 for an “extra” parking spot at one of his umpteen cribs. That’s a bit more expensive than Mitt Romney’s $55,000 car elevator.
What’s more, the ridiculous parking space was purchased as an extra to the penthouse he purchased to claim Chicago residency and use clout to get special treatment at an exclusive public school.
$100,000 for parking? All in a half-day’s work for Billionaire Bruce.
Look, I fully understand why they’re trying to paint Rauner as a rich guy who can’t understand everyday people. And, who knows, maybe this parking spot will actually resonate. Lots of people didn’t pay that much for their house, let alone a parking spot.
But with this little gem, we’ve gone way beyond the legitimate issues with Rauner’s taxes and business practices and ventured into a pure “OMG!!! He’s soooooo rich!!!!” rant.
A museum consultant who has been reviewing Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum operations since last September has concluded that a lack of planning is hampering the institution.
Karen Witter, former associate director of the Illinois State Museum and now an independent museum consultant, made those and other findings detailed in a 44-page report sent to museum and Illinois Historic Preservation Agency officials late last month. […]
She said that loss of staff, vacancies in key positions and the overall state budget situation have created additional pressure on the remaining staff, a deficiency cited by library advisory board chairman J. Steven Beckett in his call for divorcing the library and museum from IHPA. […]
She said the library and museum’s lack of a strategic plan causes multiple problems for the organization.
“There is no unifying set of priorities across the various entities involved with the ALPLM,” she wrote. “There is no strategic direction to address staff shortages and financial resources. There is no clear set of priorities to guide staff activities and allocation of time in accordance with the highest strategic priorities.”
* But that’s barely scratching the surface. Illinois Times…
Witter questioned the expertise of staff and found that vacancies in key positions, particularly the lack of a director of education and a director of exhibits, are hindering the institution. ALPLM also lacks a state historian to oversee the research and collections department. IHPA director Amy Martin has said that the hiring process is underway and that filling those positions is a priority.
“There are many talented staff members with diverse and relevant experience, but fewer people with the museum experience and expertise which are essential for an institution of the scope and caliber of the ALPLM,” Witter wrote. “There is not a culture of supporting ongoing professional development to provide staff members training in museum best practices and other relevant issues.”
The foundation, which sells memberships that come with free admission to the institution, must pay a fee to IHPA each time a member visits the museum. Witter found tension due to a perception that foundation memberships are costing the ALPLM revenue it might otherwise realize from paid admissions.
“The membership program is perceived to be ‘the Foundation’s’ program that benefits the Foundation rather than ‘our’ program, which benefits the overall ALPLM institution,” Witter wrote. “There are missed opportunities for engaging members. It appears the Foundation plans member events, and the ALPLM plans public programs/events independently of each other. … The requirement for the Foundation to pay a fee to the state each time a member visits the museum is highly unusual. It appears to create a disincentive for the Foundation to encourage members to become repeat visitors, which is contrary to practices in other museums where members are encouraged to visit frequently.”
The payment arrangement fuels a “yours vs. mine” situation, Witter wrote, and would probably be “perceived negatively” by outside reviewers tasked with evaluating ALPLM for accreditation.
Un-freaking-real.
* Back in 2010 evaluators from the American Association of Museums found many of the same problems as Witter. But…
“There is little evidence that ALPLM has followed up on the valuable recommendations and resources referenced in the report,” Witter wrote in a summary of shortfalls.
These warring factions appear to be frozen in place, and it ain’t a good place, either.
“The three boards (IHPA, foundation board and library advisory board) operate relatively independently from each other and aren’t aligned around a common vision and shared strategic priorities,” Witter wrote. “(T)here is not a shared understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each entity.”
Oy.
* I took a friend to the museum a few months ago. We’re in the midst of the Civil War’s sesquicentennial, but you’d never know it if you were at the museum. The missed opportunities with that alone make me wanna tear my hair out. The NY Times has an excellent day by day blog about the Civil War. With the amount of material at the library, the museum could’ve highlighted the war month by month with artifacts, documents, photographs, etc. already in its collection. But, no. They took a pass.
It’s mind-boggling to me why those people can’t get their acts together over there. Stop fighting over the state’s crown jewel before you ruin it, folks.
Americas PAC has just released a new radio ad running across Illinois highlighting the wage gap between men and women working on Dick Durbin’s Senate staff.
Americas PAC Chairman Tom Donelson said, “Dick Durbin likes to talk about the Republican war on women, but how can he talk of a war on women when he doesn’t even pay his female staffers the same as the men?”
Analysis of Senate Staff payroll by the Washington Free Beacon found that in 2012 Durbin “paid men $13,063 more, a difference of 23 percent.” [Link http://freebeacon.com/politics/senate-dems-betray-lilly/]
“The average female on his staff was paid about 77 cents for every dollar earned by his male staffers,” Donelson said.
In 2014, after two years of supposedly championing equal pay for women, a follow-up report by the Free Beacon found that “The average female salary is $11,505 lower than the average male salary in Durbin’s office.” [Link http://freebeacon.com/politics/men-average-11505-higher-salary-than-women-in-dick-durbins-senate-office/]
President Obama’s White House has a wage gap problem as well. [Link http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/male-female-pay-gap-remains-entrenched-at-white-house/2014/07/01/dbc6c088-0155-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html]
“The hypocrisy is stunning,” said Donelson. “I am eager to hear Durbin’s explanation of why his female staffers are paid less than male staffers.”
Since 1963 the Equal Pay Act has made it illegal to pay men and women with the same experience differently for equal work. The new legislation pushed by Democrats, known as the Paycheck Fairness Act, does not change the premise of that long-standing law, but just makes it easier for trial lawyers earn money from class action lawsuits. [Link https://www.uschamber.com/letter/key-vote-letter-s-3220-paycheck-fairness-act]
“Dick Durbin’s crony capitalism and hypocrisy are on full display,” Donelson said. “He wants to pass legislation that his own office could be sued for violating, except the legislation conveniently exempts the government.”
The key provisions of the proposed act would not apply to the Federal Government.
“This isn’t about equal pay. This is about paying off trial lawyers,” Donelson said. “Simply put, Dick Durbin and the Democrats are hypocritically pretending to be champions of equal pay so they can line the pockets of trial lawyers who donate to their campaigns.”
Americas PAC, through its issue advocacy and Federal Independent Expenditure Only committees, has placed 47,000 radio ads so far this this election cycle
A group that championed the same-sex marriage issue in Illinois is calling on gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner to return a new round of contributions he received from the DeVos family, known nationally for being major funders to groups opposing gay and lesbian rights. […]
This week, nine different members of the DeVos family donated to Rauner’s run for governor in Illinois for a total of $13,000. Among Rauner’s donors is Douglas Devos, president of Amway. Gay rights groups across the country have been at odds with Amway, including calling for boycotts, following Devos’ big money donation — $500,000 — to the National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes same-sex marriage and has worked in Illinois and other states to defeat its legalization. Dick Devos also contributed $6,000 in two donations. […]
“What we see Rauner trying to do, unlike Bill Brady and unlike some of the other former candidates from the Republican party who were proud of their conservative beliefs — Rauner is trying to have it both ways,” said [Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois]. “When he is in Chicago, he is trying to impersonate a moderate. But when he’s speaking to what he believes to be private, closed circles to his party, he says something else.” […]
“If he wants to run as a moderate candidate, then he should distance himself from their money and their contributions,” said Cherkasov.
Bruce Rauner’s campaign began airing a new television advertisement today outlining some of Pat Quinn’s most egregious broken promises as governor.
“Again and again, Pat Quinn broke his word and failed the people of Illinois,” Bruce Rauner said. “After promising to make job creation a top priority, Illinois finds itself tied for the worst unemployment rate in the Midwest. After promising not to cut education spending, he gutted it by more than $500 million. After promising to protect working families from higher taxes, he passed a massive 67 percent tax hike on every Illinoisan – and now he’s trying to make that tax hike permanent.”
“Illinois voters can’t trust Pat Quinn. It’s time for a new direction,” Bruce concluded.
* Rauner’s post-primary TV spots have all been positive until now. Rate it…
* Script…
VOICE: When you hear Pat Quinn’s false attacks remember his broken promises.
PAT QUINN: Our job recovery bill will create more than four-hundred thousand jobs.
VOICE: Under Quinn Illinois leads the Midwest in job losses.
PAT QUIN: Another area we are not cutting is education.
VOICE: Quinn cut 500 million causing teacher layoffs and crowded classrooms.
PAT QUINN: Under our plan a family of four will not pay higher taxes.
VOICE: Quinn raised taxes by 67 percent on every Illinoisan. Pat Quinn a broken record of broken promises.
…Adding… The governor’s campaign claims this is a “very thin” buy of 300 points in Chicago.
*** UPDATE *** Quinn campaign response in full…
Billionaire Bruce Rauner leveraged some of the money he grabbed jumping through tax loopholes for the super-rich to go negative in July and begin the job of distorting Gov. Pat Quinn’s record. Here are the facts that reject Rauner’s false claims and a statement from the Quinn Campaign:
Bruce’s Claim: Gov. Quinn cut $500 million from education.
Fact: That’s false. Quinn has increased education investments, including payments into the Teachers’ Retirement System, and has made the tough calls to protect education from radical cuts that Rauner’s position on revenue would mandate. Education makes up half of the state’s discretionary budget.
Fact: Illinois is tied for the 9th-lowest state income tax rate among the 43 states that have an income tax. Rauner conveniently ignores the fact that by increasing revenue, we’ve been able to protect education from drastic cuts that he wants to enact, while also paying down the bills by nearly $6 billion.
Bruce’s Claim: Illinois leads the Midwest in job loss.
Fact: This is false on multiple levels. According to the Philadelphia Reserve, Illinois is ranked #1 in the Midwest for projected growth over the next six months.
There are more people working in Illinois today than at any time since February 2009—the first month of the Governor’s administration. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Illinois’ unemployment is at its lowest point since November 2008 and is lower than when Gov. Quinn took office. Today Illinois’ unemployment rate is at 7.5%, a 5 ½ year low. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Illinois has added 242,700 private-sector jobs since the recovery began in 2010. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Below is the statement of Quinn for Illinois spokesman Izabela Miltko:
“In the absence of any substantive plans to confront challenges facing Illinois, billionaire Bruce Rauner got an early start distorting Governor Quinn’s record of fighting for working families and getting the job done.
“It’s worth noting that Rauner is paying for these false attacks, and many more to come, with cash he grabbed by jumping through elite tax loopholes that cause the middle class to pay more.
“The next time you see one of Bruce Rauner’s negative TV ads attacking Governor Quinn, remember how he payed for it - at your expense.”
* Assistant US Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote a letter today to the co-chairmen of the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission. Read it here. From the letter…
This confirms our request, during a telephone conversation with you and your staff on July 9, 2014, that the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission refrain from conducting interviews or receiving testimony from any individuals in connection with the State of Illinois program known as the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative for a period of 90 days.
As we explained during the call, there is an ongoing related federal criminal investigation and we believe such interviews and testimony during this time period would pose substantial risks to our investigation. We are not at this time asking the Commission to refrain from disclosure of records gathered in the course of its work.
We appreciate your consideration of this request and your support for our law enforcement efforts.
As you already know, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin and Commission member Rep. Ron Sandack have said they want to proceed regardless of the Department of Justice’s request.
*** UPDATE *** From Leader Durkin’s spokesperson via text…
We believe the Legislative Audit Commission will take this under advisement when they convene on the 16th.
* But that’s not how he felt during a May 6th Legislative Audit Commission meeting. Members who claimed that Commission-issued subpoenas could impede other investigations were spouting “nonsense,” Sandack declared…
“I think we ought to get to the bottom of it without interfering with anyone. To the extent that anyone would suggest we’re going to get in the way of the federal government or state government procedures, investigations or criminal investigations, that’s nonsense.
“Anyone who has ever dealt with the federal government that is looking into something they simply say ‘We’ve got it,’ and then you step down. Whether that’s from State’s Attorney Alvarez’s office, the Central District of Illinois investigations. Whether it’s the US Attorney, the Department of Justice or whomever you just get out of their way.
“You stop. You suspend and let them do their thing.
“I suspect if that comes a day we’ll do just that.”
And now, despite a Justice Department request that the Commission stand down for 90 days, Sandack wants this to go full speed ahead.
You don’t suppose there’s any political motivation behind this righteous flip-flop?
Nah, couldn’t be.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Reacting to the recent request by the U.S. Justice Department to delay the Illinois General Assembly’s inquiries into Governor Quinn’s scandal plagued anti-violence program, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R, Western Springs) and Rep. Ron Sandack (R, Downers Grove) Thursday indicated their intent to press on with the Legislative Audit Commission hearing next week.
“While we respect the request from the Justice Department and are sensitive to the criminal investigation, we believe the Legislative Audit Commission needs to continue their review of the NRI audit,” said Durkin.
“In my past experience with parallel inquires, rather than being asked to cease the legislative proceedings by investigators, we worked with them on an almost daily basis enabling us to fulfill our statutory obligation as legislators without impeding their efforts,” Durkin added.
The request for a 90-day delay in legislative proceedings came from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs on Wednesday, making this request different from those dealing with recent legislative actions into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Rep. Derrick Smith.
“Our legislative fact finding mission and the federal probe have two different goals,” said Sandack. “Our primary concern for figuring out the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’s’ is to prevent a situation like this from happening again and to protect the taxpayers of Illinois.”
Sandack added, “We’re not here to investigate or prosecute, as members of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Legislative Audit Commission we have a job to do. We are here to get the facts and build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again and the legislative Audit Commission should proceed with our mission.”
The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Legislative Audit Commission is scheduled to meet next Wednesday and Thursday at the Michael J. Bilandic Building in Chicago to question and hear testimony from seven individuals subpoenaed earlier by a sub-committee of the Audit Commission. At that time, it is expected the commission will take procedural votes to decide whether or not to proceed.
“I am advising the House Republican members of the Audit Commission that they should consider the Justice Department’s request, but still have an obligation to review the audit and should proceed with the hearing next week,” Durkin concluded.
Durkin, a former Cook County prosecutor, served as the ranking Republican on the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee for the Impeachment of Governor Blagojevich and served as the House Manager for the removal of a sitting member prior to becoming House Minority Leader. Sandack, a floor leader for the House Republicans, is a practicing attorney in Downers Grove and Republican Spokesman for the Illinois House Judiciary Committee.
Sorry, but comparing this little dog and pony show to the impeachment of a sitting governor is downright silly.
And if all the Commission is doing is attempting to “build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again,” then it can wait.
* Lots of legislators say they will donate their extra pay from ending legislator furloughs to charity. Tier One target state Sen. Mike Jacobs isn’t positive about what he’ll do…
Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who was paid almost $74,569 last year, said he “probably” would donate money from his first higher paycheck. “Let’s see if we ever get it first.”
Sen. Jacobs said he was skeptical that lawmakers who promised to donate the extra money to charity actually would do so. “A lot of people say they’re going to give it to charity, but how do you know they ever do?”
He said he would earn the extra pay by working the 12 previously unpaid furlough days. He also pointed out that lawmakers had not received a cost of living pay increase for years.
“I didn’t come to government to get rich, but I got bills to pay,” Sen. Jacobs said.
Legendary singer Pat Boone, famous for hit songs in the 1950s and 1960s, praised Republican Larry Kaifesh of Carpentersville for Congress Tuesday on behalf of a national organization for seniors.
“I’m still singing at concerts, but today I’m singing the praises of Larry Kaifesh,” Boone said in a statement from the group, the 60 Plus Association. “Seniors can depend on Larry Kaifesh.”
Kaifesh is running for Congress against Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates in the 8th Congressional District.
The organization gave Kaifesh an award that it said is given to politicians with voting records that benefit seniors. Kaifesh, a U.S. Marine veteran, is making his first run for office.
* Did you know that Pat Boone covered “Crazy Train?” I kid you not…
* The last time I was in Chicago, I went out of my way to try to use Uber. But I quickly discovered that it was far easier to hail a taxi. Then again, I was in the Mag Mile, so cabs were literally everywhere.
A friend who lives on the South Side uses Uber because cabs are often more than a bit hard to come by. I get that. Outside the Loop, it can be tough to find a taxi. And the further south you go, the tougher it is.
A few weeks ago, a friend insisted that all of us wait on an Uber car even though there was a cab 15 feet away from us in the West Loop. He lost that argument. He prefers riding in a nicer car. I get that, too, but city cabs aren’t usually that horrific and it was getting cold and the rest of us didn’t wanna wait around any longer.
* As we discussed yesterday, Uber wants Gov. Pat Quinn to veto a regulatory bill sitting on his desk and projects 500 new corporate HQ jobs if this happens.
The company sent a blast e-mail out to its Chicagoland list today…
We need your help now.
Your right to transportation choice as an Illinois consumer is one signature away from disappearing.
There is still time for action to be taken. Governor Quinn has the opportunity to uphold his reputation as a champion for the Illinois consumer.
Tell Governor Quinn to veto HB 4075 now!
SIGN THE PETITION
The City of Chicago has passed sensible regulations that preserve ridesharing, keep prices low and quality high for consumers, and create thousands of new driver jobs.
HB 4075 does NOTHING to improve safety standards for riders or drivers. Uber partners already carry significantly higher insurance coverage and adhere to stricter safety standards than other transportation options in the city of Chicago.
The provisions in HB 4075 that threaten Illinois consumers are:
* Caps on flexible supply: restricting drivers ability to get on the road means fewer cars when you need them. That means more stranded people, more DUIs, and less service to underserved communities that need rides the most.
* Full-time red tape for part-time drivers: ridesharing creates thousands of jobs for people in need of cash to pay their bills. This bill destroys jobs by requiring even part-time drivers who occasionally work more to get a professional chauffeurs license.
* Higher costs: applying old insurance models to rideshare drivers that already have nearly 3X the level of insurance as taxis is a maneuver by taxi companies intended to drive costs up for consumers, and protect the taxi monopoly that costs us all dearly.
If ridesharing is allowed to flourish, tens of thousands of jobs will be created over the coming years as more people ditch their cars in favor of the sharing economy. Tell Governor Quinn not to destroy the jobs of military veterans, teachers, retirees, students, the unemployed and underemployed, and thousands of other part-time drivers.
It’s no coincidence that the state’s insurance industry supports the bill on Gov. Quinn’s desk. Insurers are very powerful here - a lot more powerful than the taxi industry. And not just here, either…
The Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America, an influential trade group, issued a statement during hearings in Buffalo, New York, which would ban operations by Uber and Lyft, alleging “serious insurance gaps” in operations by TNC services. Kristina Baldwin, a spokesperson for the organization, said that ride-sharing services’ insurance policies are “a source of confusion for drivers and passengers, who either erroneously believe that the personal automobile policy will provide coverage, or realize that it does not and are simply hoping for the best. This confusion is likely to result in costly coverage disputes and delayed compensation to accident victims.”
It would a regular feature, once a month or every other month. Very Illinois-centric. Maybe I’d pick some and maybe the readers would pick others. Perhaps a brief post from the author could be included.
I’m really not exactly sure how to work this. So…
* Question 1: Should we do a book club here? Take the poll…
More than 5,000 same-sex couples have taken advantage of the new Illinois freedom to marry law to have their love recognized by the state and to enjoy the same rights and benefits of other married couples and their families, according to a new statewide survey conducted by Equality Illinois. […]
Equality Illinois surveyed all 102 Illinois counties and found that at least 3,274 marriage licenses have been issued and 1,694 civil unions converted to marriages in every corner of the state.
In addition, the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which went into effect on June 1, 2014, automatically recognizes the same-sex marriages performed in other states, the District of Columbia and other nations, as marriages in Illinois. […]
Counting an exact number of same-sex couples who have obtained marriage licenses or converted a civil union into a marriage is a challenge because each of the 102 Illinois county clerks keeps records in a different way. Also, some counties, including Cook County, were able to start issuing licenses months before the law went into full effect due to federal court orders, and those numbers are included in the new totals.
The Equality Illinois survey also found that some county clerks combined the new marriage licenses and conversions from civil unions into one number. Other counties–including Will, Ogle, McLean, Kendall, and DeKalb–said they treat all marriages the same so do not keep a record of the same-sex marriages. If they had, the number of newly recorded same-sex marriages would easily be over 5,000.
Still, the Equality Illinois survey found that marriage licenses and civil union conversions were issued everywhere from the 10 licenses and conversions in Alexander County in the southernmost tip of Illinois to the 2,370 new licenses and 800 conversions in Cook County.
In the Chicago metropolitan area, there were also 50 licenses and 119 conversions in DuPage County, 42 licenses and 71 conversions in Lake County, 66 conversions in Will County (which did not separately count licenses issued to same-sex couples), 18 licenses and 25 conversions in McHenry County, and 36 licenses and 71 conversions in Kane County.
In some of the other counties around the state reporting a sizable number of marriages, there were 100 licenses and 45 conversions in Rock Island County, 116 licenses and 79 conversions in Sangamon County, 99 licenses and conversions in Madison County (which didn’t separate the two categories), 108 licenses and 62 conversions in Champaign County, 62 licenses and 4 conversions in Massac County, and 45 licenses and 33 conversions in St. Clair County.
Of the state’s 102 counties, five did not respond to the Equality Illinois inquiries. Nine counties reported no licenses issued to same-sex couples or civil union conversions
(A)ccording to a joint study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young and the Council on State Taxation, in fiscal year 2012 state and local business taxes in California came to 4.5 percent of private-sector gross state product. This compares with a 4.8 percent average for all fifty states—and a rate of 5.2 percent in Texas. With the exception of New York, every major state in the country, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, has a lower total effective business tax rate than Texas. [Some emphasis added.]
* After proclaiming his innocence, former state Rep. Keith Farnham is now trying to work out a plea deal…
Former State Rep. Keith Farnham is considering a plea deal in his federal child pornography case, his attorney says.
The Elgin Democrat has maintained his innocence since he was charged in April, but is now negotiating with prosecutors, his lawyer Terry Ekl told U.S. District Judge Edmund Chang Thursday morning.
The 66-year-old is accused of emailing videos of children who appeared to be as young as six months old being molested, according to a criminal complaint filed earlier this year. […]
A federal complaint alleges he used a phony name in online chatrooms to trade child porn while at his office and at his home. In one disturbing webchat in November, he boasted that he’d sexually abused a 6-year-old girl, the complaint alleges.
The judge gave Farnham until Sept. 2nd to work out a deal or the case goes to trial.
Prosecutors ought to make him disclose the name of that little girl, and then make sure the child gets some help.
The nation’s statehouses lost more than one-third of the journalists devoted to covering legislative matters full time, according to a study released on Thursday morning by the Journalism Project at the Pew Research Center.
The study, which surveyed all 50 statehouses, found a loss of 164 full-time statehouse reporters since 2003. The total number of full-time statehouse reporters dipped to roughly 300.
The study defined these journalists as reporters who worked physically in the statehouses. At the same time, nontraditional news organizations added journalists at state houses, including for-profit and nonprofit digital news organizations, ideologically driven publications and expensive trade newsletters catering to lobbyists.
* Economics is obviously at play here, but the weird thing about the Illinois data is that the period of decline in Illinois Statehouse reporters spanned one of the most gut-wrenching political eras Springfield had ever seen. From the Pew study…
In order to provide a direct comparison with today, Pew researchers examined staffing at the papers included in both 2003 and 2009 AJR studies as well as in the current 2014 data. Those 220 papers had 467 full-time statehouse reporters in 2003, which dropped to 343 in 2009 and then to 303 in 2014. That amounts to a 27% decline from 2003 to 2009, a 12% loss from 2009 to 2014, and an overall decline of 35%.
These cutbacks are not uniform across the board, however. Newspapers’ statehouse staffing among this cohort of papers dwindled in 23 states between 2009 and 2014. The sharpest cuts occurred in Illinois, which lost seven full-time newspaper slots—from 12 to five—during that period.
When I first arrived at the Statehouse, even the Alton Telegraph had a full-time reporter. The Champaign News-Gazette, the Rockford Register-Star both dumped their Statehouse bureaus in recent years, as have others. One explanation…
“Way back in the day, 35 years ago, a lot of the small papers had reporters in the statehouse,” said Susan Moeller, news editor of the Cape Cod Times in Massachusetts. Her paper had a two-person statehouse bureau, which was cut to one and then zero during the recession, she said.
“You can lay off your statehouse reporter or you can lay off somebody covering your town that is nearer and dearer to people’s hearts,” Moeller said. “You will lay off the statehouse reporter because you can get that from another source.” Last year, Moeller said, editors hired a reporter to cover the statehouse part time—but he is based on Cape Cod and also responsible for covering the town of Hyannis.
* Pew reports that 43 percent of all full-time statehouse reporters work for newspapers, another 12 percent work for wire services, and 12 percent work for TV stations. 9 percent work for radio and three percent file stories across multiple platforms. Another 7 percent are folks like me…
A total of 73 reporters cover state government for specialty publications aimed at government insiders, and 49 of them are full time—accounting for 7% of the total full-time statehouse reporting corps. Five reporters cover the statehouse only during legislative sessions, and 15 do so part time. Two of the journalists are students and two are in the category of “other.”
These outlets often charge hefty subscription fees, placing the content outside the reach of a general audience. They target lawmakers, lobbyists, activists and even journalists who are willing to pay for highly specialized information about the inner workings of government. Indeed, some of these outlets are owned by lobbyists or interest groups.
Prices for these outlets vary widely. The Alaska Budget Report charges $2,397 a year, the Austin Monitor $1,099 a year and the Tennessee Journal, $247 a year, to name a few.
$2,397 a year?
* Ideological outlets, like the Franklin Center’s Illinois Watchdog, have stepped in to fill part of the void…
Among the nontraditional statehouse outlets are those that have a stated ideological point of view. Most of them define themselves as conservative or as in favor of a “free market,” a basic tenet of economic conservatism. Only one outlet, NC Policy Watch, calls itself progressive.
The ideological outlets assign 53 reporters to the statehouse. Those outlets assign 17 reporters to state government full time, just 2% of all full-time reporters. They dispatch 15 reporters to the statehouse only during legislative sessions and 19 are part time. In addition, they have two student reporters. Most of these publications are digital only and many also are nonprofits. But because they describe themselves in ideological terms, we created a category to distinguish them.
About half of the ideological sites (14 out of 33) are owned by the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, a nonprofit that was founded in 2009 “to address the falloff in statehouse reporting as well as the steep decline in investigative reporting in the country,” said spokesman Michael Moroney. The center, based just outside Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Va., supports a free market, he said.
* A couple of charts. Statehouse reporters in the ten biggest states…
Over two-thirds of newspapers don’t have a statehouse reporter…
* This is a really long study, so I’ve cherry-picked all the Illinois stuff for you…
In Illinois, the State Journal-Register, based in Springfield, covers the statehouse for all Illinois newspapers owned by its parent company, GateHouse Media. […]
In addition, eight full-time journalists work for professional publications, such as local business journals or others that target a specific industry. Two full-time statehouse reporters work for outlets owned by universities—one each at the University of Illinois and the University of Missouri. […]
“We receive several wire service reports, but no longer have a reporter in Springfield,” said Philip Angelo, senior editor of the Small Newspaper Group, which has a handful of papers in Illinois. “We’ve had several rounds of layoffs.” […]
Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio are roughly comparable, with 12.8 million, 12.7 million and 11.5 million residents, respectively. But Ohio, the least populous of the three, has considerably more full-time statehouse reporters—32—than Illinois (22) or Pennsylvania (24). […]
In Illinois, the House and Senate provide live audio and video streams of floor sessions and committee hearings, said Steve Brown, press secretary to Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, a Democrat. “In some ways, you may be able to get more information because there are more things available to average citizens through state government itself,” said Brown, who has worked in the capitol for more than 30 years, initially as a newspaper reporter. But, he added, “It’s not the same as when your news was dropped at your door.”
* At its peak, US Steel employed 20,000 people at its South Works plant. Those were very hard, dangerous, “he-man” jobs, but steelworkers gave an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
* And now? Well, we have a grocery store opening with state help…
The former U.S. Steel South Works site in Chicago will be the home of a new Mariano’s grocery store, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Ald. John Pope (10th) and supermarket company Roundy’s Inc. announced Wednesday.
The new South Side Mariano’s will be located at the intersection of 87th Street and South Lake Shore Drive and is expected to open in 2016. The “Mariano’s Lakeside” store will be 70,000 square feet and employ up to 400 full- and part-time workers. […]
The new Mariano’s will be built in part with some of the $5 million in state bond proceeds committed by Gov. Pat Quinn to help the grocery chain construct five stores. Four of those Mariano’s stores will be located in Chicago food desert neighborhoods. The fifth Mariano’s suburban site has not yet been decided.
Don’t get me wrong. The long-term redevelopment plan for the South Works site is quite impressive. Practically a whole new city could be built there. And food deserts are, indeed, a very real problem.
I’m just not feeling like jumping up and down with joy, though.
More than a year after a much-lauded compromise paved the way for high-volume oil and gas extraction in Illinois, the agency in charge of overseeing the practice has hired just four of 53 new employees it says it needs as it continues working to complete rules that drillers must follow.
Yes, we’re once again talking about the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. But this is not solely a problem with DNR. The Quinn administration takes forever to approve hiring. It’s a ridiculously elongated process and often-times the people agencies want to hire have found other jobs before the Quinnsters finally sign off.
“I think this is a complete effort to slow down the process; I think it’s politics pure and simple,” said Mark Denzler, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, adding that the DNR had said it would hire half of the needed staff before the end of 2013 and half this year.
Even if the rules were completed, the agency does not yet have enough experts to issue permits, inspect wells and perform other tasks associated with the anticipated influx of drilling activity. Last summer, state and industry officials said it could take a year to get the program running.
Miller said it took time to write job descriptions, develop interview questions and obtain approval to begin hiring. So far the agency has hired two well inspectors, an investigator and an office worker, and 23 other jobs are posted. The agency should have 15 people hired by the end of July, and will focus on first hiring those who will work in permitting, Miller said, adding that after July, hiring “will start picking up steam.”
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka is warning of “a $2 billion collapse” next year when the state’s temporary income tax increase begins to roll back. […]
Topinka likens the decrease to a “heart attack” to state finances. She says she’d rather see it phased out over two years to give lawmakers time to cut spending.
The state’s fiscal year ended June 30 with the state having 46,000 unpaid bills at the Comptroller’s Office and an estimated bill backlog of nearly $5 billion, Topinka said, “which doesn’t sound all that bad when you consider it often hovers around $8 [billion] or $9 billion. My goodness, only in Illinois would a $5 billion bill backlog qualify as good news.”
Still, Topinka cautioned, tax revenues are allowing the state to pay bills, and then reality will set in again.
“The backlog is at a low point right now, but we expect it to rise again throughout the summer and into the fall,” she said. “We’re in this position more than three years after the largest tax increase in Illinois history. That tax increase is set to sunset at the end of this year and there is no plan to address the lost revenue.”
Topinka warned that if no action is taken, Illinois will have a $2 billion revenue collapse this fiscal year and face a $6.8 billion budget hole next year.
At least four Illinois races this cycle are competitive, and Republicans are optimistic they can pick up at least one to two seats, especially with a robust GOP turnout operation backed by the wealthy Rauner.
One-term former GOP Reps. Bob Dold and Bobby Schilling are both in close rematches against Democratic Reps. Brad Schneider and Cheri Bustos, respectively. Republicans also hope to knock off freshman Rep. Bill Enyart (D) after unsuccessfully targeting the open downstate district in 2012, contending GOP state Rep. Mike Bost’s campaign is on the upswing.
The GOP-aligned American Action Network released an automated poll last week that showed Dold up 42 percent to 39 percent in the rematch [with Schneider]. But in the governor’s race, in a district Obama won by 17 points, Rauner was leading Quinn 49 percent to 37 percent. Republicans expect similar, or even worse numbers, in from their governor in other districts in the state. […]
“We can tie Quinn to every single congressional race,” said one national GOP strategist
That poll and the expectation of tying candidates to Quinn doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m not so sure that works well in Illinois, though. Republicans tried hard to tie Democrats to Rod Blagojevich without much success.
President Barack Obama has a 44 percent job approval rating in the 10th district with 46 percent saying they disapprove and 10 percent not sure. […]
Schneider is vulnerable because in his second year as a House member, a large number of poll respondents—44 percent—have no opinion of how he is handling his job, with 28 percent approving and 28 percent disapproving. […]
* The candidate calls himself a moderate but then campaigns with Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
More likely 32 percent
Less likely 45 percent
Not sure 23 percent
* The candidate claims to be independent but votes with party leadership 90 percent of the time.
More likely 15 percent
Less likely 43 percent
Not sure 41 percent.
That district could easily wind up bouncing back and forth between the two parties for the rest of the remap cycle.
Democrats’ one saving grace could be Sen. Dick Durbin (D). The Senate majority whip is up for reelection but faces only nominal GOP opposition for a fourth term. As a downstate native who hails from Springfield, he’s always had a good image around the state and is a valuable elder statesman and party fundraiser.
I just don’t think as of yet that Durbin’s coattails will be long enough.
* This was sent out late yesterday by GOP state Sen. Jason Barickman, Legislative Audit Commission Co-Chairman…
Today, the Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern in Washington D.C. – requested that no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program be conducted for 90 days.
We do not want to impede their efforts or compromise the integrity of their criminal investigation.
Therefore, I believe it is appropriate for the Legislative Audit Commission to consider the request and its scope.
Why just 90 days? Federal investigations usually drag on for a very long time. And why the Legislative Affairs Office?
Then again, this is Springfield’s US Attorney’s Office, not the one in Chicago we’re used to hearing from, so they may just do things differently.
“We cannot simply, at our own whim, drop this. We’ve taken legislative action to get to this point, we’ve got a hearing scheduled, we’ve subpoenaed seven witnesses, they’ve lawyered up, they’ve told us they’re going to attend,” Barickman said.
Barickman says he and other members of the commission will vote on the delay request next week.
“We’ll consider why they want us to stand down and what they’ve presented,” Barickman told Bruce and Dan. “And we’ll try to balance that with our own duties, you know we have legislative duties to the people of this state and to our constituents. I think we need to balance those two things in a public hearing, talk about it, and make a decision”.
* Another Republican member of the Legislative Audit Commission, Sen. Bill Brady, said he didn’t think the Commission’s investigation would step on any federal toes…
“I frankly don’t see where our role conflicts with theirs,” Brady said.
Whatever the case, when the feds ask you to step aside, you step aside.
After all, in 90 days, we’ll be in mid-October - right before election day.
…Adding… From a press release…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers’ Grove) will be holding a press conference Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the James R. Thompson Center Blue Room at 2: 30 p.m.
The topic of the press conference is to discuss the latest development with the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI) and the Legislative Audit Commission.
*** UPDATE *** It looks like Sen. Barickman is attempting to make the Democrats pull the plug. An updated statement…
Following a scathing audit issued by the Illinois Auditor General on Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, the Legislative Audit Commission began its legally required public review of that audit and its findings.
We have had a healthy and spirited debate on the Commission. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and – with bipartisan agreement – the Audit Commission has scheduled a two-day public hearing with seven subpoenaed witnesses next week.
The Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern from Washington D.C. – has now requested no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program for 90 days.
I believe it is appropriate for the Audit Commission to consider that request at our July 16 meeting. We certainly do not want to impede their criminal investigation of the NRI program. However, we also have legislative duties and obligations that we must fulfill to the people of Illinois and our constituents.
Each member of the Audit Commission – myself included – will have to weigh those competing interests to determine whether we change course on a public review of how more than $55 million in taxpayers’ money was spent.
However, to be clear, the Audit Commission has already taken legal action. Seven witnesses have been subpoenaed and are compelled by law to attend next week’s hearings. We’ve taken legislative action.
This legislative action cannot – and should not – be undone with the sweep of a hand or a backdoor meeting. Only legislative action can rescind those efforts.
Unless Legislative Audit Commission takes new legislative action to change course, then I presume the Audit Commission will proceed with the plan laid out through its bipartisan, transparent process.
