Is that really necessary?
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Second City Cop blog passed along this completely made-up story from a Chicago police officer…
I was out there tonight on Lake Shore drive while the white Protestors. And a few Black Protestors were filming us and yelling. I seen a White Girl with her camera phone filming us. She was holding the camera in the air. Then some black guy grabbed the girls phone and took off into the crowd. The girl then approached the cop next to me and stated that this black guy just grabbed her cell phone. The cop next to me raised his arms up and stated ‘Don’t call the police’. I started laughing and she turned to me and asked why I was laughing.I stated you don’t like or want the police around so you go chase that black guy. She stated that’s your job to protect me and my Property. I stated you are protesting me from doing my job. She walked away crying
I get the irony and the humor. Just desserts, indeed. Too bad it’s not true.
* I also get the explanation from the blog’s proprietor, who apparently fell for the gag…
Point #1 - One copper isn’t going to chase this guy into an obviously hostile crowd.
Point #2 - The cops had orders to try to keep the protestors on the sidewalk. The priority wasn’t to apprehend phone snatchers. In a volatile situation like that, property crimes take a backseat to the overall picture. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.
Point #3 - As we said here a few days ago, f— the police until you need the police. Do you understand now ma’am?
Heh.
* But what I don’t “get” are all the blatant racial references in the concocted story. Who writes like that? Who publishes stuff like that? Wait, I think I know the answer.
And the comments on the post are definitely NSFW. If that blog doesn’t have the most hideously vile comment section in all of Illinois, I don’t know what the “winner” might be. Whew.
It’s one thing to be defensive in the face of serious public criticism, it’s quite another to be disgustingly offensive.
* I also don’t get why a Chicago cop would find it appropriate and non-provocative to allegedly blast “Sweet Home Alabama” over his patrol car’s loudspeaker while escorting a “Black Lives Matter” demonstration on the city’s West Side…
Sheesh.
* Look, I like cops. I always respect people who can and will do something that I can’t or won’t do, and that particular occupation most certainly clicks both boxes. They have in many, many ways a no-win job.
But sticking up for (or even encouraging) the minority of racists, misanthropes and rule-breakers doesn’t ever endear me to anyone. You wanna know why some citizens are so angry at you? Look in the mirror.
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* From a We Are One Illinois press release…
In response to a motion by the state seeking to short-circuit the Illinois Supreme Court’s normal procedure and replace it with an unfairly rushed schedule in the appeal of a ruling that struck down Senate Bill 1—pension-cutting legislation affecting active and retired teachers, state employees and university employees—the We Are One Illinois union coalition and the other plaintiff groups have requested that the Court follow its established rules to ensure a fair process with ample time for all parties.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has requested a significantly truncated schedule for her appeal of a Sangamon County Circuit Court ruling that overturned SB 1.
Saying that a rushed process is unnecessary and could be unfair, the union coalition and other plaintiffs have asked the Supreme Court to adhere to its normal schedule for hearing appeals, allowing all parties adequate time to respond.
While the state claims to want a decision before the end of May for budget-making purposes, our filing points out that the state’s own appeal seeks only to return the case to the circuit court, where a decision would certainly not come before the supposed May deadline. In short, the state’s argument is based on trying to create “a false sense of urgency.”
Further, our reply notes, “The defendants made no effort to consult with the plaintiffs on any agreed briefing schedule prior to filing their motion. The reason is obvious. The defendants seek to impose a manifestly unfair briefing schedule on the plaintiffs” by severely reducing our time available to prepare required responses.
The motion is here.
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Today’s number: $560 million
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a November 1st Crain’s editorial…
You know you’ve got a good thing going when profitability is only a bailout away. That’s the kind of mojo that’s working at Exelon Corp., which is signaling it will seek legislation next year to provide hundreds of millions of additional dollars to its fleet of Illinois nuclear plants, which the Chicago power company contends are struggling financially.
Exelon says three of its six plants in Illinois are in the red and will stay that way without policy changes in Springfield. Presumably the other three are profitable, but Exelon won’t go into details. None of this would be much of an issue if Exelon weren’t on the cusp of seeking a blanket fix for what could be a very specific problem. The company says it plans to pursue a “market solution” in Springfield that benefits all of its nukes in Illinois, even those in the black. […]
Crain’s Senior Reporter Steve Daniels walks readers through the numbers we do know in the Oct. 27 issue. He confirms Exelon’s nuclear business indeed has taken a hit. Pretax profits at the Midwest operation plunged by almost three-quarters to an estimated $4.90 per megawatt-hour in 2013 from $17.38 in 2011. Midwest revenue fell 28 percent in the same period, undercut by cheap natural gas and unusually low “capacity” fees paid by all energy consumers to power plants to ensure electricity is available when demand soars.
Those declines are tough. Even so, Exelon’s Midwest fleet as a whole still is profitable by Crain’s estimates. And the pain will be alleviated in the coming year. A big increase in capacity prices paid to power plants—costs that caused the summer spike in most Chicago-area consumers’ electricity rates—will boost Exelon’s Illinois revenue by $388 million from June 1 to May 31, according to one estimate. Meanwhile, there’s good news on the corporate earnings front: Exelon’s third-quarter profit rose 35 percent to $993 million, powered by gains in its utility and generation units.
* Well, Steve Daniels ran another story the other day about how that original $388 million estimate was only the beginning…
PJM Interconnection, the Valley Forge, Pa.-based regional power-grid operator for all or parts of 13 states including northern Illinois, on Dec. 3 approved changes to the way electricity generators are compensated for their promise to deliver during peak-demand periods. The changes, which are subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will benefit Chicago-based Exelon more than any other power company in the 13-state region, analysts say.
When they take effect in 2018, those alterations will funnel more than $560 million in additional revenue that year to five of Exelon’s six Illinois nuclear stations, according to an analysis by former Illinois Power Agency Director Mark Pruitt. (One, the downstate Clinton plant, isn’t in the PJM region and wouldn’t benefit from the special payments.) Spread across all six of Exelon’s plants, that revenue would add roughly 22 percent to the net revenue they collected as a group in 2013.
Compared with what Commonwealth Edison customers pay today, the changes would hike the price of electricity 19 percent. Customers’ total rates would increase by 11 percent, although that number is expected to rise with increases in the separate cost of delivering the juice. […]
The increases PJM is trying to engineer would benefit Exelon more than any other power company operating in PJM’s footprint, according to Hugh Wynne, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Based on the $272-per-megawatt-day capacity price that PJM is forecasting (118 percent higher than today’s), Exelon stands to enjoy an earnings boost of 55 cents per share, 21 percent higher than analysts’ consensus 2016 earnings estimate, Wynne said in a Nov. 21 report.
* Meanwhile…
When he takes office as governor Jan. 12, one of the first hot potatoes Bruce Rauner may have tossed to him is the recently passed bill to extend the smart grid law that allows for annual electricity rate hikes via a formula.
Senate President John Cullerton is holding onto the bill for now and may not deliver it to the governor’s office until smart grid foe Pat Quinn leaves office. In so doing, Cullerton clearly hopes that Rauner will look more favorably on the legislation, which would extend the formula rates Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois are charging for two years. The law then would sunset in 2019 rather than 2017, as it currently does. […]
If Cullerton waits and sends the bill to Rauner, Rauner won’t have to act on it immediately despite the fact that a new General Assembly will convene on Jan. 14. He would have the full 60 days governors normally have to sign, veto and make amendatory changes to bills that cross their desks.
That’s good for him politically because otherwise he might feel pressured to sign into law electricity rate hikes statewide as one of his first official acts as governor.
Actually, all he can really do is sign it or veto it. An amendatory veto couldn’t be sustained in the next General Assembly. He’d kill it by doing that. Then again, it would be a way of sending a message to the GA about what he would accept. We’ll see.
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Question of the day - Golden Horseshoe Awards
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno’s operation was the only one which picked up any seats last month. Knocking off a third generation political scion like Mike Jacobs wasn’t easy and was a complete team effort, from the very top of Radogno’s staff right on down. So, I’m breaking with tradition and giving the 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Republican Campaign Staffer to three incredible people: Nick McNeely, Jim Reis and Rachel Bold…
Reis helped [Republican candidate Neil Anderson] fundraise relentlessly and local money funded the exceptional ground game that McNeely and Bold pulled together. SGOP should put a team like those three on every race - it really paid off.
I completely agree. I really like the way the SGOPs ran their operation this year. More like this, please.
* The crowd favorite for the 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Senate Democratic Campaign Staffer was obvious, the inestimable Mitch Schaben…
While many people began working on campaigns in June or July this year, Mitch started working on Manar’s campaign the day after he finished stomping Mark Minor in Forby’s district in 2012. The Senate GOP’s might as well write off whatever race he is on in 2016, because he won’t be outworked. I would call him a machine, but I think he would outwork most machines. Manar is a great candidate, but you need more than a great candidate to run up an 11 point lead in a bad year in a Republican leaning district.
It also couldn’t have been easy to have been the former chief of staff’s campaign manager. Manar is super-smart, so his manager had to bring his “A Game” every, single day.
* OK, on to our next categories, with last year’s winners in parentheses…
* Best Illinois State Representative - Democrat (Rep. Greg Harris)
* Best Illinois State Senator - Democrat (Sen. Kwame Raoul)
I decided yesterday that, from now on, the realities of Statehouse partisanship dictate lumping these party categories together. I’m much more likely to get responses for both categories by doing it this way. Or, at least, that’s the theory. We’ll see how it works today.
Remember to explain your nominations or they won’t count and please do your utmost to nominate in both categories. Thanks!
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* Shia Kappos at Crain’s…
Diana Rauner’s Ounce of Prevention, which advocates for and funds early childhood education programs, received $14.2 million in state funding in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 28 percent of its $50.0 million budget.
Ethics experts say her dual role creates questions about whether the Rauner administration can impartially supervise existing grants or approve new funding for an organization run by the governor’s wife.
“It’s going to appear that it’s doing well because she’s pulling strings,” says Patricia Werhane, Wicklander chair of business ethics at DePaul University. “She should give up that position.”
Donations to Ounce potentially become a way for lobbyists and vendors to influence the Rauner administration, says Melanie Sloan, executive director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, in Washington, D.C. “Ounce of Prevention will suddenly be deluged with contributions,” she says.
But the concerns aren’t a reason for Diana Rauner to step down from her unpaid position, according to Ounce spokeswoman Megan Meyer. “There are no ethical issues,” she says, adding that the organization is taking some steps to limit the appearance of a conflict. Meyer says other staff members will lobby legislators on funding issues, although their supervisors will report to Diana Rauner, who reports to the board.
Not all “ethics experts” agree, however. The story quotes Susan Garrett of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform as saying it’s not a big deal as long as there is a firewall. And the Rauner transition team released a response…
The Rauner administration will ensure that the Ounce will receive no special treatment from state agencies and will, as it has for years, compete for grant funds and state contracts on the same fair and evenhanded basis as other valued social service organizations
* Personally, I side with Garrett on this one. Also, I think Diana Rauner has done a tremendous job over at Ounce of Prevention and believe she’d be a moderating influence on her husband if he follows advice from his goofy, hard-right “budget consultant.”
But, as the story points out, the Rauner campaign objected strongly when former Sun-Times reporter Dave McKinney set up an even stronger firewall with his wife, a Democratic political consultant. Those strong objections led to McKinney’s suspension and ultimate resignation.
So, reluctantly, I gotta say: What’s good the for the goose…
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Feds won’t call Whitaker to the stand
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Federal prosecutors in Springfield on Tuesday said they would not call Eric Whitaker, the former state public health chief and friend of President Barack Obama, to testify at a state grant scam trial.
The announcement came a day after prosecutors persuaded a judge to declare Whitaker a hostile witness based on more than two hours of questioning outside the presence of the jury.
On trial are Leon and Karen Dingle, who stand accused of benefiting personally from faith-based grants designed to help fight AIDS, pandemic flu and breast cancer.
* The Sun-Times has the back story…
On the witness stand for more than two hours, Whitaker voiced concerns that the Justice Department’s pursuit of state grant-fraud cases in the Central District of Illinois has been racially motivated.
Prosecutors have charged the Dingles and eight other people in six different cases, most of which involve no-bid grants and contracts that began being doled out when Whitaker headed the Illinois Department of Public Health for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich between 2003 and 2007.
Of those 10 people, only one of them — Karin Dingle — is white, while the rest are black.
“Almost everybody who’s been indicted or scrutinized has been African-American. That’s what I mentioned to you,” Whitaker, who also is black, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass. “What I don’t support is a selective investigation.” […]
“Personally, I’m upset about this process and how I’ve been made to look like I’m on trial,” Whitaker said. “My not answering a question was really about an affair. . . . I’ve been made to seem like I’m somehow corrupt. I’m angry about that.”
But Whitaker also said he didn’t see himself as a hostile witness.
“I’m angry — but not hostile,” he said. “I would testify truthfully . . . and let the chips fall where they may.”
* Background from the AP…
The government has charged Dingle and his wife, Karin, with fraud, money laundering and tax evasion for allegedly using more than $3 million in grant funds intended for AIDS awareness and other public health programs on luxury cars, a yacht club and vacations.
In addition to his ties to Golden, the government says Whitaker was an “approving official” of DPH grants during the time millions of dollars went to Dingle groups.
Dingle’s lawyers argue that Whitaker’s interactions with Dingle were rare, short-lived, produced insignificant benefits and are seven-year-old history.
“I know we had grants,” Dingle said Monday. “I don’t know that we managed grants day to day.”
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* From the Illinois Republican Party…
Yesterday, despite having very little experience in sports and over the strong objections of several board members, Governor Quinn’s campaign manager, Lou Bertuca, was given a six-figure job to run the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
Today, the Illinois Finance Authority is preparing to give Quinn crony, Chris Meister, an extension on his contract running the agency. Meister is also a close friend of Jack Lavin.
The Illinois Finance Authority is filled with Quinn pals. The Chairman, William Brandt, is a Quinn friend and donor who gave Paul Vallas a six-figure job so he could run for Lt. Governor.
“It is shameful that Governor Quinn would prefer his legacy be one of giving insider deals and jobs to cronies and friends rather than holding his head high and exiting government in a responsible fashion.” – ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider
I was sent the IFA’s agenda yesterday and forwarded it to the Rauner transition to let them know I was working on this story.
* Chairman Brandt called me last night in response to my request for comment. He pointed to the state statute…
From nominations received from the Governor, the members of the Authority shall appoint an Executive Director who shall be a person knowledgeable in the areas of financial markets and instruments, to hold office for a one-year term. The Executive Director shall be the chief administrative and operational officer of the Authority and shall direct and supervise its administrative affairs and general management
Brandt said Director Meister’s term expires this month. The Authority can’t implement the bond sales the board approves without an executive director, Brandt said. They’re doing about $788 million in bond approvals at today’s meeting alone.
So, the ILGOP press release may be just a false alarm.
*** UPDATE *** Chairman Brandt just called to say that Meister agreed today at the board meeting that if and when the incoming governor or member of the governor’s administration requests Meister’s departure, he would do so immediately.
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* From the Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics website…
Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics advises federal, state, & municipal leaders, political candidates, and private sector clients, on economic, fiscal and state policies. We analyze the impacts of policy upon markets, identify trends and opportunities, and inform strategy that optimizes performance.
Our firm operates under the leadership of acclaimed economist Wayne Winegarden; former California, Florida, New York, and Michigan Budget Director Donna Arduin; and the visionary “Father of Supply-Side Economics,” Arthur Laffer.
* Laffer, of course, believes that tax cuts pay for the themselves, and advised Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback…
Everybody knew the tax cuts would cost money; the fiscal note for 2014 estimated that the cuts would cost $800 million in 2014. But the tax cut package was sold as a panacea for all that ails the Kansas economy. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) predicted that the tax cuts would spur economic development, investment, and a lot of job creation. Indeed, Arthur Laffer, who developed the Kansas tax cut plan, practically guaranteed success. But it didn’t work. The Kansas economy is stagnating, the deficit has grown, and the state’s bond ratings have been embarrassingly downgraded.
* Bruce Rauner was asked about Gov. Brownback’s philosophy at a gubernatorial debate this fall…
“I don’t agree with the tax policies that were put in place in Kansas,” Rauner declared in response to Dunn-Thomason’s question. In other words, tax cuts without regard for consequences is not in the cards.
* But Rauner’s transition team has hired Laffer’s partner…
In a sign that Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner wants to shrink state government and reduce taxes, the political newcomer has hired a controversial GOP consultant to help him craft his first budget.
Donna Arduin, who helped prepare budgets for Republican governors in New York, California, Florida and Michigan, was in Springfield last week meeting with officials from various state agencies to discuss state finances, the JG-TC Springfield bureau has learned.
* More…
While Rauner has been mostly silent on specific budget details, Arduin’s track record in other states includes proposals to reduce spending on human service programs. She also has supported privatizing prisons, which is barred under Illinois law. […]
She left as Schwarzenegger’s budget chief after 11 months with many of her initiatives to shrink government left undone.
“She has a complete tin ear with respect to the political ramifications of particular cuts, ” University of California-Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain told the Los Angeles Times in a story published in 2004.
Discuss.
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