Question of the day
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
The Quinn campaign today released a new television ad focusing on Bruce Rauner’s record of laying off workers, outsourcing jobs overseas, jumping through elite tax loopholes, and stashing cash in the Cayman Islands- a notorious tax haven.
Time and time again, Bruce Rauner has shown his willingness to game the system in order to get rich at the expense of everyday people in ways that run counter to his professed love for Illinois. The 30-second TV ad, which includes cited facts about Rauner’s record, will begin running statewide on Tuesday.
* The ad…
* The Question: What do you think of Gov. Quinn’s new TV ad? Explain, please.
…Adding… Ah, heck, let’s do a poll, too…
survey tool
66 Comments  
|
* Tribune…
It may not feel like it to Chicago-area drivers, but Illinois is the third least expensive state to operate a vehicle, according to a study released Monday by personal finance site Bankrate.com.
Illinois’ drivers spend on average $343 a year in repairs, $698 in insurance and $947 in gasoline, for a grand total of $1,999 in yearly costs, which puts Illinois just below Ohio and Iowa, named the cheapest state at $1,942. (Iowa has the cheapest insurance rates in the country, Bankrate said, and car repairs are also relatively inexpensive.)
Of course, Chicagoland motorists tend to spend much more than drivers across the state on average. Using the average price of gas last year in Chicago versus the Illinois average with Bankrate’s calulation for average gallons used, Chicagoans paid $980 for gas last year compared with $947 statewide.
The most expensive state in which to operate a vehicle was Wyoming, according to Bankrate, with yearly average costs of $2,705.
Chicagoans apparently don’t drive as much as Downstaters, so that would explain why their costs aren’t that much higher.
* But back to reality…
A new report by Realtytrac shows Illinois among the top 10 states in the number of home foreclosures.
The numbers come at a time when homeownership rates in the nation have fallen to a 19-year low.
21 Comments
|
Mike Smith
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Arrangements for former state Rep. Mike Smith…
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 from 3-7, at the Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton. A funeral services will be on Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 10 am, at the funeral home.
* Journal Star…
Longtime friends and political colleagues from both sides of the aisle spent Saturday recalling “a good soul” — hardworking, even-tempered, kind lawmaker who died too soon.
Former state Rep. Mike Smith, D-Canton, died overnight Friday at age 48 of a heart attack.
The longtime state lawmaker, who left the Legislature in 2011 after a 16-year career and then served on the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, will be “remembered as one of the truly nice guys in the Legislature,” onetime colleague Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, said Saturday afternoon.
“Everybody was his friend,” he said. “He just had that kind of personality and that kind of charm.”
I lost count of the number of texts, e-mails and phone calls I received over the weekend pointing me to this and other stories.
* The man who defeated Smith in 2010 had a very classy statement…
Statement from Rep. Mike Unes on the passing of his predecessor, Rep. Mike Smith, overnight.
“I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Rep. Mike Smith. My sincere prayers and the prayers of our region are with his family and friends. I always found Mike to be a kind, caring man who cared deeply about public service. His service to our region will not be forgotten. He will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”
* More…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says that Smith set an example for what service to the people of his district and the people of Illinois should be. “Our thoughts are with his family and numbers friends who may be comforted by his legacy of service,” says Quinn of Smith’s passing.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan praised his dedication to both his district and to education. “No one worked more tirelessly on behalf of our school children than Mike Smith. Mike Smith always had a very keen interest in looking after the well-being of Canton and central Illinois.”
Mike was the youngest member of the House when he was first elected. He had health issues for years that he was never able to personally overcome. I’m really sorry to see him go.
10 Comments
|
Polling average: Rauner 7-8 points ahead
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Another day, another poll…
According to a survey by Gravis Marketing for Human Events magazine, Mr. Rauner leads Mr. Quinn by 8 points among likely election voters, with 48 percent for the Republican challenger and 40 percent for the Democratic incumbent. A considerable 12 percent of voters are reported as undecided, many of them Democrats.
Both men improved their standing slightly from the last Gravis survey in April, when the numbers were 43 percent to 35 percent.
The survey, which has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percent, includes only a portion of Mr. Quinn’s recent Cayman Islands/Rauner’s rich assault. But if Mr. Quinn is drawing only 31 percent of the independent vote, he’s going to have a problem in the Nov. 4 election.
From the pollster…
The political poll was completed using Gravis Marketing Internet Panels combined with traditional telephone responses. The results of this poll were weighted 20% via Gravis Internet Panels & 80% through an automated telephone survey.
Hmm.
* Huffpo included the survey in its polling chart…
Real Clear Politics has not yet plugged in this new survey. RCP’s average is a seven-point led for Rauner, which is only a point away from HuffPo’s.
* Meanwhile…
Back to Gravis, which showed Mr. Durbin with a rather narrow 48 percent to 38 percent lead over Mr. Oberweis, with 14 percent undecided. If true, it’s not a very impressive lead.
Mr.Durbin’s campaign had no immediate response to the poll. But he has been furiously campaigning of late, a sign that he’s a smart politician, or that he’s a tad concerned, or perhaps a bit of both.
For those Democrats who think Winter Springs, Fla.-based Gravis might have stacked the deck, the poll found President Barack Obama with an only slightly negative job performance rating, 48 percent negative to 45 percent positive, which is far better than his national figure and a sign that the president from Chicago retains considerable home-state loyalty.
The HuffPo average in this race is Durbin +11.75.
11 Comments
|
Quinn demanding debates
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Usually, when a candidate is complaining that his or her opponent is dodging debates, that means the candidate is trailing badly. From a press release…
Below is the statement of Quinn for Illinois Deputy Press Secretary Izabela Miltko following news that Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner fled the state once more to one of his out-of-state luxury properties, a 6,000 square foot, $2.2 million ranch in an exclusive area of Montana on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Rauner has so far refused participation in any debates for the 2014 general election campaign for governor.
“Harry Truman said if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. But with Bruce Rauner, the question becomes, “Which kitchen?” since he owns so many.
“Faced with questions about his troubling business record, his stashing cash in the Cayman Islands, and his refusal to release his full tax records; Bruce Rauner has again retreated to his Montana ranch that helped him avoid paying his fair share of taxes.
“But Bruce Rauner is not just dodging tough questions: he’s also dodging debates.
“Mr. Rauner may have nine luxury properties to flee to when the going gets tough, but he can’t hide forever from a debate on the issues that the people of Illinois deserve.”
Below is a full list of the debates for which Governor Quinn has accepted the invitation to participate. Bruce Rauner to date has refused participation.
Sept 17th: Daily Herald
Oct. 7th: University of Illinois in Champaign
Oct. 9th: League of Women Voters/ PBS Peoria
Oct. 14th: Urban League and Business Leadership DuSable Museum
Oct 16th: League of Women Voters / ABC7 Chicago
Oct. 19th: Elmhurst College
Oct. 23 - NBC5/U of C Institute of Politics
Oct. 30th: WTTW/ Chicago Tonight
* Other stuff…
* Rauner splashes cash around to help fellow Republicans: Since the start of 2013, the Rauners have made 119 political contributions — giving a total of more than $265,000 — to 75 Republican organizations across Illinois.
* Gov race spending soars, but ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’
* Hate to bug you, Gov. Quinn or Mr. Rauner, but try this…
94 Comments
|
New AARP poll shows serious anxiety
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AARP has a new poll of Illinoisans aged 50 and over. Click here to read it all. Let’s start with the politics. Bruce Rauner leads Gov. Pat Quinn 48-39…
Again, the governor has base problems.
* President Obama’s job approval rating is upside down among the 50+ crowd…
* But the real story here is the deep anxiety levels among the aging and aged. For instance, 61 percent of non-retirees say they have or will delay their retirement for financial reasons. And 76 percent of all of those polled say the Illinois economy is bad, with 46 percent saying it’s “very bad”…
* Almost two-thirds say their income is falling behind their cost of living…
* “Looking ahead to the next five years or so, do you feel more hopeful and confident, or more worried and concerned about being able to achieve your economic and financial goals?” More worried and concerned are in red…
* “Voters are assigned 20 points for each of five economic concerns about which they say they worry very or somewhat often. A minimum score of 0 reflects no economic anxiety, while a maximum score of 100 indicates a great deal of economic anxiety”…
It isn’t difficult to see why Bruce Rauner keeps bringing up the tax issue every chance he gets.
* On to other concerns. 64 percent said it was important to them “that the next governor preserve access to reliable, affordable landline service in Illinois,” with half saying it was “very important”…
* “How important is this issue in helping you make your voting decisions this year? - Helping older people and the disabled live independently.” 79 percent said it was important, with 65 percent saying “very important”…
19 Comments
|
Today’s number: 32 percent
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From last week…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign says the 2013 hiring of an $80,000 per year policy analyst at the state’s transportation agency had nothing to do with politics.
But, records show Edward M. Healy, 29, served as chairman of a campaign fund that had close connections to the Chicago Democrat’s campaign until June of that year.
Healy, who serves as a public transportation policy analyst for the Illinois Department of Transportation, chaired the Stronger Illinois Committee, which raised money from labor unions and funneled it to Democratic candidates running in the 2012 election for the General Assembly
The executive director of the Stronger Illinois committee was Cheryl Byers, a longtime Quinn friend and supporter who is now back on the governor’s campaign payroll as political director after helping him win the race for governor in 2010.
Byers is considerably more than just “a longtime Quinn friend.”
* And most of the money raised by the committee didn’t get funneled into legislative campaigns. Take a look at this breakdown of the Stronger Illinois Committee’s finances…
* Total money raised: 22 receipts totaling $227,800
* Transfers out to campaigns: 142 Expenditures totaling $74,010
* Total expenditures excluding transfers out: 136 Expenditures totaling $150,935.66
* Cheryl Byers, payroll and reimbursements: 36 Expenditures totaling $77,409.08
* Taxes: 32 Expenditures totaling $43,149.24
* Rent: 24 Expenditures totaling $6,000
Transfers out to campaigns totaled a mere 32 percent of total funds raised. Expenditures were twice that of transfers out, and Byers’ pay and reimbursements also exceeded transfers out.
Sheesh.
19 Comments
|
* Last October, Bernie Schoenburg tried to get some answers from Bruce Rauner about the candidate’s land holdings outside Illinois. After multiple attempts, he didn’t succeed…
I asked why he was reluctant to provide specifics.
“There’s no hiding here,” Rauner said. “We’ve got to focus like a laser. … You know what? At the right time, we’ll be talking in detail about all my investments and all my tax returns and all that stuff. Today, it’s focused on jobs, schools, taxes and term limits.”
* After the Tribune reported on Rauner’s Montana/Wyoming property in more detail, Bernie followed up with the campaign…
Interestingly, the campaign’s on-the-record response the next day came via email from Steven Yaffe, who happens to be my 19-year-old nephew from New Jersey who has completed his freshman year at the University of Chicago. He said he recently joined Rauner’s communications team as press assistant, and I was the subject of his first on-the-record response.
“Press assistant”? Hardly. Read on…
Last month, Yaffe became part of a story about the gubernatorial campaign when he was ousted from the site of a Quinn event by an Illinois State Police trooper assigned to Quinn’s security detail. Yaffe was working as a “tracker,” which is a campaign operative assigned to record actions of the opponent. As seen on a WLS-TV story on July 22, Yaffe’s video shows the trooper telling him to “stay out” and Yaffe’s protestations that it was a public event.
So, Rauner’s campaign apparently promoted a 19-year-old tracker to “press assistant” and then they tell him that his first assignment is responding to his uncle’s inquiry?
What a bunch of jerks.
Not to mention that the kid chose politics over blood. But he’s just a kid. The Rauner campaign, on the other hand, apparently has no shame.
55 Comments
|
“Evelyn loves the Springfield area”
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Evelyn Sanguinetti contacted a former law school classmate who is a staff attorney at the Illinois Department of Human Rights about getting a state job before she was tapped to be Bruce Rauner’s running mate…
“Hello Honey — With the New Year, I am seeking other employment opportunities. Is anything available in ur hood?” she wrote in an email to the attorney [on the afternoon of Jan. 1, 2013].
The worker responded a day later, saying nothing was open and that state government was in the midst of a budget-related round of layoffs. But he suggested she file her resume with the state’s main hiring agency in order to get the process moving. […]
And, the Wheaton resident added, “Isn’t cow tipping a work requirement in Springfield (LOL)?”
Schrimpf suggested the comment wasn’t meant as a dig about downstate Illinois.
“The cow tipping reference was a jovial exchange … Evelyn loves the Springfield area, and unlike Pat Quinn, who spends the bulk of his time in Chicago, she looks forward to working in the capital region next year,” Schrimpf said.
Have at it, campers.
* Meanwhile, let’s go back to that new Sun-Times poll…
When asked who was “better prepared to serve as governor if the need arises,” 45 percent of respondents gave the nod to the former Chicago Public Schools CEO, Vallas, who ran for governor in 2002. Wheaton City Councilwoman Sanguinetti drew support from 35 percent of those polled.
That ain’t much of a help to Quinn.
* Crosstabs…
74 Comments
|
A near miss at Bud Billiken parade
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* DNAInfo…
Two people were shot during the annual Bud Billiken Parade Saturday, police said.
The victims, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were shot about 12:30 in the 4200 block of South King Drive. The man said he was standing on King Drive when a group of people he did not know approached him, said Officer Veejay Zala, a police spokesman.
An argument ensued, and one person in the group pulled out a gun and shot the victim, Zala said. The group then fled northbound on King Drive. The man, who was shot in the left arm, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in “stable” condition. The boy was shot in the right hand and suffered a graze wound to his buttocks. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in “stable” condition.
The boy’s wounds appear to have been self-inflicted.
* CBS2…
The shooting occurred as Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner was shaking the hands of potential voters along the parade route in that general area, campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf confirms.
Schrimpf says he and others at the scene noticed spectators ducking and fleeing and police activity. He said he did not hear any gunfire with all of the parade-related noise.
Schrimpf says he doesn’t think Rauner was aware the shooting had happened, as he and his supporters and campaign bus passed by.
More…
“We were walking along the parade route and then suddenly, for whatever reason — we now know it was a shooting,” Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said. “There was a bunch of spectators suddenly running south and away from what was going on. We at the time had no idea what was going on. We just saw a bunch of people running away.”
* Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon claims to have heard the shots…
Near 42nd Street, a group of people suddenly ran toward the barricades that lined the street. A woman shouted something I couldn’t understand and then she ran north, with a crowd running behind her.
That’s when I heard three, maybe four, loud bangs right in a row.
It sounded like firecrackers. Sure, I’ve shot guns before but I guess I’m fortunate to have grown up in a part of the state where my first thought went to firecrackers.
Many of the people around me, who evidently didn’t think of firecrackers at all, dropped to the ground. Other paradegoers ran, many carrying babies and small children, in any direction they could that wasn’t near the sound of possible gunfire. I looked to the area where the sounds came from figuring if anyone was shot he or she would need help. Not that I could do a darned thing on my own, but I knew people who could. I don’t have a security detail, but there were two state police officers close by.
As I searched for them, Chicago police started running past me.
People who had dropped down for safety were starting to stand up again. I noticed members of the Thornton Township High School marching band, in their beautiful purple and white uniforms, had dropped to the pavement for safety, right in their rank-and-file position.
* Sun-Times…
“Why can’t we just have one day of peace?” paradegoer Sherri Grover shouted to the crowd as police attended to the victims.
“I just ask that the gangbangers stop the violence, please,” Grover said. “This is the one day for our children.”
Witnesses said several babies and a woman in a wheelchair were nearby when the two were shot.
* The Quinn campaign’s video of the parade makes no mention of the shooting…
17 Comments
|
Quinn’s base problem
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A new poll of 1,085 likely voters conducted by We Ask America for the Chicago Sun-Times finds Bruce Rauner leading Gov. Pat Quinn 51-38. The most explicable difference between this poll and one leaked to Michael Sneed by the Quinn campaign (and which I also obtained and gave to subscribers) is that this WAA poll is of likely voters. The Quinn numbers, which had him down by one point, were registered voters - which is almost always a more Democratic universe in off-year elections.
* But check this out: “Which gubernatorial candidate do you consider to be a reformer?…
Oof. So much for “You know who I am.”
And check out some of the crosstabs on this question…
Look at how few Democrats and Chicagoans consider Quinn to be a reformer.
* Which candidate for governor do you think understands your every day concerns?…
No success yet in painting Rauner as an out of touch billionaire. From the xtabs…
Quinn really has problems with his base, not to mention with independents. Ouch.
* Which candidate for governor is more likely to solve Illinois’ budget problems?…
Despite the fact that Rauner’s plan would blow a gigantic hole in the state budget, even Democrats aren’t thrilled with Quinn’s plan…
* Back to the Sun-Times story…
A deeper dive into the head-to-head data in the poll between Rauner and Quinn shows that the Republican is outscoring the incumbent among both men and women. Rauner also appears to be doing surprisingly well among those who identified themselves as Democrats, spelling potential trouble for the governor.
Nearly 17 percent of Democrats chose Rauner as their preferred option for governor, the poll showed. By contrast, Quinn got the nod from self-identified Republican voters 7 percent of the time.
The survey also has Rauner with a steep advantage among independents. The poll found that nearly 54 percent of those swing voters chose the Republican candidate, compared to nearly 32 percent for Quinn.
Most of those Democrats will “come home.” And if you look at the xtabs, 12 percent of Democrats were undecided. So the race will obviously tighten up down the stretch.
55 Comments
|
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
As you probably know by now, the US Attorney’s office in Chicago has agreed to drop all felony charges against Illinois state Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) and has charged him instead with a simple misdemeanor.
The original 17 federal counts of bank fraud and submitting false information to a bank each carried potential sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine - meaning Ford was essentially looking at spending the rest of his natural life behind bars for allegedly falsely obtaining a higher credit line that he wasn’t eligible for and using part of the proceeds for things unrelated to the loan’s stated purpose.
The new charge of delivering a false tax return to the IRS is calculated in the plea agreement to be a term of zero to six months.
What the heck happened here?
The Assistant US Attorney who was in charge of Ford’s case also handled state Rep. Derrick Smith’s investigation. Smith was recently convicted of accepting a cash bribe, but one of the jurors in the trial told the Chicago Tribune after the verdict that some of his colleagues struggled with what they considered to be “sleazy” federal tactics.
Ford’s legal team included famed criminal defense attorney Tom Durkin. The team filed a motion in June which attracted some press coverage over an explosive claim that Ford was being targeted because he was a black legislator. But the motion to dismiss the indictment also revealed for the first time how the case began, which Ford’s attorneys said “belie the notion that this is an even-handed, simple bank fraud case.”
At the time of Ford’s indictment, the US Attorney’s office claimed the investigation fell “under the umbrella of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force,” which the feds claimed was investigating “significant financial crimes.”
But an FBI report from May of 2011 shows that a mortgage broker under indictment was asked by the FBI about a loan officer who worked out of an office owned by Ford. The broker was asked if he’d ever spoken with Ford, if he knew whether Ford had other offices and if he knew whether Ford managed his campaign office out of his realty office. The case title on the FBI form was “CSLPO,” which means “Corruption of State and Local Public Officials.” Ford’s lawyers wrote that the federal probe was “undeniably a politically motivated investigation.”
The defense also pointed to a recent FDIC civil suit brought against ShoreBank, where Ford did business. One of the defendants was alleged to be negligent for violating policy on 20 loans. The defendant was also Ford’s managing loan officer. The allegations included misconduct by other ShoreBank loan customers (several of whom are white) which appeared to far exceed Ford’s. And a 2008 internal FDIC report uncovered by Ford’s attorneys described the legislator as being “extremely cooperative” with the bank, and pointed to what Ford’s lawyers say was the his real problem - the downward spiral of the real estate market.
“Unable to find any political corruption grounds to prosecute Defendant, the prosecutors selected this misguided and improper bank fraud case,” Ford’s attorneys wrote. Ford’s attorneys also demanded information from prosecutors about any other federal investigations of ShoreBank customers and any directives from above on how to handle the Ford investigation.
The Assistant US Attorney who handled Ford’s case has since left for private practice and a new US Attorney is now in place. Those two career moves appeared to have put some fresh eyes on this Ford matter, particularly after that motion to dismiss was filed.
Whatever happened, US Attorney Zachary Fardon deserves plaudits for reexamining this prosecution. From the very start, the case appeared to be heavy-handed and overly charged and nowhere near in line with the financial task force’s goal of prosecuting “significant” crimes. It’s not often that a top federal prosecutor will back down, but Fardon obviously did and that’s to his great credit.
The new charges agreed to by Ford state he overvalued a property’s rehab costs by about $23,000 when calculating his capital gains on the property’s sale, which wound up costing the IRS $3,782 in lost taxes.
“I regret this mistake,” Ford wrote to his colleagues last week, and concluded by saying he hoped the ordeal “will make me a better person and a more effective Member of the Illinois General Assembly.”
Ford obviously has his flaws, but I hope he can now move forward with his life.
* Related…
* Fardon explains LaShawn Ford plea deal: “It’s not our job to win or lose,” Fardon said. “It’s our job to do the right thing. My office is full of altruistic public servants who work hard every day to make hard judgments about what is the right thing given the particular facts and circumstances in front of them. That’s what we do. And so, in that case as in all, we did what we thought was right.”
* LaShawn Ford honored at West Side church
* Rep. LaShawn Ford Says He Still Has Supporters, Hasn’t Lost ‘Respect’
* Editorial: Ford’s sweet victory: The Journal has been stout in its defense of LaShawn Ford, not because we had any insights into his tax returns but because we have come to know him in our reporting of his efforts as Austin and Oak Park’s state rep over the past eight years and as a real estate developer before that. We could ask harsh questions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office because these charges have always seemed a gigantic overreach to us.
15 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
Turn on the Wayback Machine
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Three years ago today, I posted a Sun-Times story about Bruce Rauner testing the waters…
Bruce Rauner, the venture capitalist who helped make Mayor Rahm Emanuel a millionaire, is edging toward a run for governor of Illinois as a Republican, prominent Illinois Republicans tell the Sun-Times.
Rauner, 55, is senior principal and chairman of Chicago-based GTCR Golder Rauner LLC, a Chicago-based private equity firm.
He recently garnered attention as a prime mover of the education reform legislation that passed Springfield, smashing teachers’ right to strike and paving the way for longer school days in Chicago.
Rauner has been testing the waters and telling other Republicans he is gearing up to run, senior elected Republicans and Republican campaign veterans told the Sun-Times. Rauner did not return a call seeking comment.
* On a lark, I scrolled through the comments. Some were quite prescient. Here’s “just sayin’”…
Rauner is head and shoulders above Brady, Dillard, and Rutherford. It’s not even close in terms of competence, accomplishment, smarts, and effectiveness.
It’s Major League Baseball vs. t-ball.
If Brady, Dillard, and Rutherford were honest they would say “yeah we pretty much suck compared to this guy.”
“Ghost“…
Dillard needs to start campaining and raising money now
* Some weren’t quite so forward-thinking…
Can anyone name a single big-money, well financed candidate with no political experience that has ever won anything in this state?
I can’t. He might be a great guy, but without any knowledge of how to run or any experience at running, he’s just setting himself up to be milked by campaign consultants.
* Near the bottom is a comment from “Bill.” It was a little weird seeing his comment - almost like bumping into a ghost.
In case you’re a newbie to the site, Bill Naegele commented here for years and gloried in stirring the pot. He passed away in March.
Here is Bill’s observation…
If this Rauner guy is so smart how come he wants to be governor?…and spend his own money, no less~!
I think a lot of us are still pondering that question.
Man, I really miss that guy.
* Speaking of good guys who are now gone, I’ll be leaving soon for the party being thrown in the late Gene Callahan’s honor over at Norb Andy’s. I wouldn’t expect any more posts today.
8 Comments
|
Another Frerichs bumble
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I completely understand why somebody would stand on principle and refuse to pay a tax that wasn’t owed throughout numerous appeals. I don’t understand why a guy running statewide wouldn’t have just written the stupid little check months ago to get this off the books and then and only then continue with his appeal.
Greg Hinz…
At issue are taxes on two suites of offices [Democratic state treasurer nominee Sen. Michael Frerichs] rents in Champaign from the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. One suite, 600 square feet of offices, has been used since 2007 for Mr. Frerichs’ Senate staff. The other, next door, has housed his political operation since 2010.
Since the transit district is a public agency, it does not owe taxes on property it uses. But a leasehold tax that effectively is the same as a property tax is owed by those who rent space from the district, at least some of them.
Ergo, the Champaign County Treasurer has sent bills to Mr. Frerichs.
And he hasn’t paid those bills, which total a mere $1,814.17 going all the way back to 2008. The Senate President’s office agrees with Frerichs, but the Department of Revenue has ruled against him, just as they earlier ruled against Rep. Monique Davis, who was in an almost identical situation.
* And then there’s this…
Mr. Frerichs also had owed $170.78 for his political office. But that amount was paid earlier this week after a local blogger and Mr. Cross’ campaign began making inquiries.
According to Frerichs Campaign Manager Zach Koutsky, the campaign office bills weren’t paid because they were “incorrectly” mailed to the legislative office, where they perhaps were inadvertently lumped into the larger dispute over whether legislative office is or is not exempt.
Look, I like Mike Frerichs. I think he’d make a good treasurer (as would Tom Cross). But if you’re gonna run for office you gotta clean up this little stuff first.
36 Comments
|
Adventures in tracking
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner’s tracker took video today of Gov. Pat Quinn being questioned by Statehouse reporter Hannah Meisel about how his security detail kicked a tracker out of a public event a couple of weeks ago…
An additional irony is that the booted tracker is related to a different reporter who was at today’s scrum. Probably not a great move by the Quinnsters, although the reporter is about as top notch as one can get.
* Meanwhile, remember how the Quinn campaign has been complaining about a tracker who allegedly hides in bathrooms at events to avoid being detected by Quinn security? The Quinnsters say the tracker also changed clothes after being turned away from one event.
Well, the tracker in question is featured prominently in a Rauner door-hanger, which is entitled “Put politics aside, support Bruce and Evelyn” and features endorsements from a couple of Democrats an independent and the GOP tracker…
38 Comments
|
Attention iPhone users
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Some iPhone owners are telling me they’re having trouble sending me text messages. The texts, they say, are displaying an error message.
As I told you yesterday, I dumped my iPhone for a Samsung Galaxy S5, so I’ve left IOS for Android.
* I shut off iMessages on my iPhone and used a trick I found online to get out of the iMessage system. I had do that because iMessage texts from iPhones weren’t being sent to my Android phone. The fix worked on my end because I’m now receiving texts from some iPhone users. But your iPhone may still think I’m an IOS guy and that’s why you’re getting a failure message.
I think the solution is to click on the failed text and then hit “resend as text message.”
As I’m finding out, IOS does not make it easy to leave.
Any other suggestions in comments would be appreciated.
13 Comments
|
Today’s number: 0.00002 percent
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Justin Levitt, a professor at the Loyola University Law School writing in the Washington Post…
(R)equirements to show ID at the polls are designed for pretty much one thing: people showing up at the polls pretending to be somebody else in order to each cast one incremental fake ballot. This is a slow, clunky way to steal an election. Which is why it rarely happens.
I’ve been tracking allegations of fraud for years now, including the fraud ID laws are designed to stop. In 2008, when the Supreme Court weighed in on voter ID, I looked at every single allegation put before the Court. And since then, I’ve been following reports wherever they crop up.
To be clear, I’m not just talking about prosecutions. I track any specific, credible allegation that someone may have pretended to be someone else at the polls, in any way that an ID law could fix.
So far, I’ve found about 31 different incidents (some of which involve multiple ballots) since 2000, anywhere in the country. If you want to check my work, you can read a comprehensive list of the incidents below.
To put this in perspective, the 31 incidents below come in the context of general, primary, special, and municipal elections from 2000 through 2014. In general and primary elections alone, more than 1 billion ballots were cast in that period.
Go read the whole thing.
* Kevin Drum did the calculation used in our headline…
So far, he’s found 31 cases representing around 200 individuals. If every one of them turns out be a genuine case of fraud, that’s a fraud rate of: 0.00002%.
And, of course, many of those are only allegations not yet proved.
90 Comments
|
Today’s quotable
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Democratic Governors Association is trying to gin up the animosity toward Rauner…
As Chairman of GTCR, Bruce Rauner was a central figure in the formation of ConvergEx. As news breaks that ConvergEx’s CEO will be added to the list of Rauner’s indicted business associates - Rauner is again trying to distance himself from the CEO and the company he formed.
The truth is the that GTCR’s investment model includes picking company managers and management strategies. But Bruce Rauner is banking on the fact that you won’t understand how he made this money through private equity.
Rauner actually said, “Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”
OK, first of all, the head of ConvergEx wasn’t indicted. The head of ConvergEx Global Markets Limited was indicted. It’s a subsidiary.
The video of the quote is here. Go to the 44:45 mark.
* Rauner also said this right after that above DGA-supplied quote (which I corrected after watching the video)…
“I help companies grow. I provide capital to help companies grow and that’s about the level of detail that I’m going to get into.”
20 Comments
|
And another one…
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We have a Rauner manure caption contest already up and running, so let’s do one for the governor as well…
And I know Abe’s ax appears to hover above his head like the Sword of Damocles, but violent imagery in comments is absolutely prohibited here, so keep it light. Thanks!
75 Comments
|
* Illinois Public Radio…
Bruce Rauner says there’s “nothing sinister” about venture capital firms using the Cayman Islands as a tax shelter, but says he has never used the investment vehicle for his personal benefit. […]
Until he stepped down to run for governor, Rauner was head of a capital investment firm, GTCR, which has several investment pools there.
At an appearance at the Illinois State Fair last night, Rauner — wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and brown boots — insisted it’s a “widespread, common practice.”
“What my firm did is what many, many financial firms do and I think the majority of venture capital firms and private equity firms do, and that is - when they invest in a foreign company, a non-U.S. company, they’ll set up an investment vehicle, often in the Caymans, so that their limited partners are treated, for tax purposes, the same way as, as if it was a U.S. company.”
He ran GTCR, so if his firm made money off Caymans investments, then he personally profited.
* But the focus is shifting today to another island nation, Bermuda…
The onetime head of a company tied to Bruce Rauner and an associate — men the GOP candidate for governor Thursday called “rogue employees” — have been indicted in federal court in New Jersey on charges they stole millions of dollars in a sophisticated trading fraud.
Anthony Blumberg, 49, of New Jersey, and Craig Marshall, 47, of Bermuda worked for ConvergEx Global Markets Limited, a Bermuda-based broker and subsidiary to a firm Rauner’s former private equity company helped found.
Blumberg and Marshall were indicted late Wednesday on criminal charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.
The indictment is here.
* More…
“These were rogue employees at a subsidiary of a company GTCR had invested in,” Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf said. “The employees were fired, and ConvergEx cooperated with the investigation. What they are alleged to have done is unacceptable, and they are rightfully being prosecuted.” […]
Rauner joined GTCR in 1981 and was its chairman until stepping down in October 2012 but “had no say in hiring either of the two people,” Schrimpf said.
* Background info from the Quinn campaign…
GTCRauner formed ConvergEx in October 2006 and installed Blumberg as CEO that very month until 2011: http://www.convergex.com/about-us/history
GTCR was the largest shareholder and controlled the board (they had more seats than any other partner)
GTCR features ConvergEx on its website as an example of a successful company: http://www.gtcr.com/our-focus/financial-services-technology/portfolio/convergex-group
Rauner told Chicago Magazine in 2011 that GTCR’s - his- whole business strategy was handpicking executives. Here’s the profile. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2011/GTCRs-Bruce-Rauner-Talks-Investments/ Here’s Rauner’s q&a in the article:
Q: Most private equity firms buy mature companies and unwanted divisions of large corporations, managements intact. But you seem to go out and find management and then, together with them, go buy the companies.
Rauner: We’re in two businesses: industry research and executive recruiting. We study industries, and we network like crazy to find the superstars. Today, we’re partners with two dozen CEOs. Some we’re backing for the second, third time. It can take from six months to nine years from the time we meet someone until we actually become partners with each other.
Q: But sizing up the executive is nearly everything?
Rauner: A lot of reference checking. Are they winners? How did they handle failure in their careers? We go to all the trade shows. We call it the leader strategy. Deal flow comes to them. Talented executives come to them.
Key Point: Now GTCR Chairman Rauner wants to pretend he has nothing to do with the guy who was put in place by GTCRauner to be the CEO of ConvergEx from Day One when GTCR was in charge every step of the way? How stupid does he think we are?
* Background info from the Rauner campaign…
BNY and GTCR were equal investors in Convergex. Convergex though was staffed with BNY executives. As shown below, Blumberg was already with BNY and had been since 2002. He came with the deal.
Anthony Blumberg Came Into Convergex From Bank Of New York-Mellon. “BNY ConvergEx management includes Velli, Kerry Pack, John Meserve, Anthony Blumberg, George Costafos and Charlie Raphold from BNY. The trading grossed $297 million last year. Tom Gavin, David Quinlan and Jeff Shoreman make up the Eze contingent. The vendor grossed $43 million last year. Much of that is recurring or commission-like coming from routing orders to brokers. Goldman Sachs, previously a large owner of Eze Castle, does not have a stake in BNY ConvergEx. Operations will be split between New York and Boston, Eze’s current headquarters. The deal is expected to close this year.” (Peter Chapman, “BNY ConvergEx Eyes Hedge Funds with Eze Merger,” Traders Magazine, 8/1/06)
Anthony Blumberg Originally Worked For Credit Lyonnais, And Then Bank Of New York-Mellon, Before Joining Convergex. “Prior to the formation of ConvergEx Group, Mr. Blumberg served as a Managing Director at Credit Lyonnais Securities where he established G-Trade Services, one of the world’s largest global portfolio trading groups, which was later acquired by The Bank of New York and became a part of BNY Securities Group in 2002.” (“Our Leadership Team,” Archived Convergex Webpage, 2/10/11)
…Adding… More from the Rauner campaign…
(T)he Quinn fact sheet you just put up on ConvergEx is false and intentionally misleading. It’s not a typo, the Quinn campaign has repeatedly tried to mislead the public over the last 16 hours by claiming Mr. Blumberg was the CEO of the entire CovergeEx company to give the false impression that he was hired by or otherwise directly connected to Bruce Rauner.
That’s simply false. He was the CEO of a subsidiary to ConvergEx who was hired by Bank of New York Mellon in 2002, four years before GTCR invested. Additionally, GTCR was not the “largest shareholder” of Convergex. It was an equal investor with BNY Mellon, which is why the firm’s and its subsidiary’s leadership, including Blumberg, came over from BNY Mellon.
25 Comments
|
* Reid Wilson at the Washington Post…
With no big national wave benefiting either party this year, some Democrats and Republicans are finding themselves unexpectedly competitive in territory that’s usually anything but — and at least half a dozen governors in so-called safe states, who tend to expect few bumps on this stretch of the road to re-election, are finding their campaign fortunes oddly uncertain.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) faces voters this Saturday in a Democratic primary in which he has outspent his opponent, state Sen. David Ige (D), by a 10-to-1 margin. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) won with more than 63 percent of the vote in 2010 in his heavily Republican state. But polls show both incumbents trailing.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) faces a fierce challenge from businessman Tom Foley (R), who is expected to win his primary election next week. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) trails his opponent, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner (R), in an ordinarily blue state. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) faces a close rematch against state Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D) that has drawn national attention. And Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) is running neck and neck with state Sen. Jason Carter (D), in a state where no Democrat has won the governorship since 1998. […]
Quinn, who won office with just 47 percent of the vote in 2010, signed what he said was a temporary income tax hike, then proposed making the increase permanent.
“Quinn has to significantly improve on his own 2010 performance, after raising income taxes, after falling way short on improving the economy and in the midst of a federal investigation into a 2010 anti-violence program and a lawsuit over patronage hiring practices at the Department of Transportation,” said Rich Miller, editor of Capitol Fax, an Illinois political publication.
Subscribers know the rest of my comment, which also included a warning that Quinn can’t ever be counted out.
15 Comments
|
Caption contest!
Friday, Aug 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This pic was sent to me by the Quinn campaign. It features a man holding a Bruce Rauner sign standing in front of a pile of Illinois State Fair manure. I don’t know whether this was staged or not, but they claim it’s a Rauner supporter..
Heh.
Try very, very hard to keep your comments clean. I know it won’t be easy, but try. Thanks.
…Adding… This is obviously no Rauner supporter. I didn’t look at the sign closely enough, but it has an anti-Rauner message, which certainly gives the caption a different potential twist.
84 Comments
|
* Drip, drip, drip…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign says the 2013 hiring of an $80,000 per year policy analyst at the state’s transportation agency had nothing to do with politics.
But, records show Edward M. Healy, 29, served as chairman of a campaign fund that had close connections to the Chicago Democrat’s campaign until June of that year.
Healy, who serves as a public transportation policy analyst for the Illinois Department of Transportation, chaired the Stronger Illinois Committee, which raised money from labor unions and funneled it to Democratic candidates running in the 2012 election for the General Assembly
The executive director of the Stronger Illinois committee was Cheryl Byers, a longtime Quinn friend and supporter who is now back on the governor’s campaign payroll as political director after helping him win the race for governor in 2010. […]
Quinn campaign spokeswoman Brooke Anderson dismissed questions that Healy’s hiring at the DOT was political and said Quinn did not create the Stronger Illinois PAC — even though Byers told the state board of elections the address was in the same suite of offices as the Quinn campaign.
* Rauner campaign react…
“Pat Quinn got his start as convicted Governor Dan Walker’s patronage chief so it’s no surprise that Pat Quinn’s administration is now embroiled in its own patronage scandal. It looks like it still pays to know Pat Quinn.” – Rauner spokesperson Mike Schrimpf
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Quinn campaign wants you to know that Healy has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Harvard.
And here’s more from the Rauner campaign…
Stronger Illinois Paid Just $250 A Month In Rent For A River North Office
Stronger Illinois Paid Just $250 A Month In Rent For A River North Office. (Illinois Board Of Elections, Accessed 8/7/14)
In 2013, The Average Cost Per Sq. Foot For Chicago Office Space Was $32.24 Per Month. (Chicago Office Market Overview,Colliers International, Q3 2013)
If Stronger Illinois Was Paying Average Rates For An Office Separate From Taxpayers For Quinn, Then The Office Was Just 15.5 Sq. Feet.
Edward Healy’s Brother, Brian, Works For Quinn’s Reelection Campaign
Brian Healy, Edward Healy’s Brother, Is On Taxpayers For Quinn’s Payroll And Has Been Paid $7,582.31 Since January 29, 2014. (Illinois Board Of Elections, Accessed 8/7/14)
Edward Healy’s Sister, Margaret, Was A Quinn Surrogate
Margaret Healy, Edward Healy’s Sister, Appeared At A Quinn Press Conference To Attack Bruce Rauner.“Margaret Healy, a sixth-grade Chicago history teacher at Chicago City Day School, held up her pay stub and talked of living in a basement apartment and sometimes borrowing her parents’ car to make ends meet.” (Natasha Korecki and Sydney Lawson, “Quinn: Rauner Uses Loopholes To Dodge Taxes,” Chicago Sun-Times, 7/9/14)
*** UPDATE 2 *** Quinn was asked about this issue today…
33 Comments
|
* From a press release…
The Jim Oberweis for US Senate campaign released the following statewide radio ad to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon:
VO: Did you know Article 2, Section 1 of the impeachment against Dick Nixon was for using the IRS against his political enemies?
VO: Did you know Dick Durbin asked the IRS to investigate a political opponent about the same time the IRS began illegally targeting American families?
VO: Did you know Dick Durbin refuses to reveal any other correspondence he may have had with the IRS during the midst of the scandal?
VO: Did you know Dick Durbin took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the IRS union and refuses to return the money?
VO: Did you know Dick Durbin refuses to answer whether he supports a Special Prosecutor to get to the bottom of the IRS mess even though most Americans want one?
VO: Paid for by Oberweis for Senate
JO: I’m Jim Oberweis and I approve this message and if you elect me to the U.S. Senate, I’ll make sure we get those answers…. and that the IRS will never again be used as a weapon against American families.
JO: It was wrong when Dick Nixon did it, and it’s wrong when Dick Durbin does it.
JO: To help me stop this type of abuse, please visit my website, jimoberweis.com
To listen to the ad, click here.
39 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
