* Thursday is a state holiday and I may or may not be back on Friday. I’m working on a subscriber story and I may be able to break it then. If not, I’ll be back Tuesday after President’s Day.
Illinois GOP Rep. Aaron Schock has launched his own review of tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursements he received for official use of his personal vehicle, following questions raised Tuesday about the practice.
Nearly every month since he’s been in Congress, the fourth-term Republican has received roughly $1,000 in “private auto mileage” reimbursements from his Member Representational Allowance. At the same time, he has chartered private jets on the taxpayers’ dime, incurring hefty, five-figure bills. And his campaign has shelled out upward of $50,000 for the use of his vehicle.
* The real question here is with the auto mileage, but the globe-trotting contributes to the issue. From April of 2014…
On April 6, he was in Las Vegas for the Academy Of Country Music Awards. He missed House votes the next day.
On April 19, he was in Hawaii, where a photographer posted on Instagram a shot of the chiseled Illinois Republican surfing off Waikiki Beach. He then jetted off to Asia for a six-day congressional delegation trip to China, South Korea and Japan. On April 28, he was back in New York, where he appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and Fox News.
Schock was also in Washington for 11 days that month, casting votes on the House floor.
Yet in April, Schock received a reimbursement for nearly $1,200 worth of mileage, amounting to approximately 2,100 miles on his personal vehicle. The same month, his aides received a total of $702 in reimbursements, which would equal 1,255 miles in driving.
“Congressman Schock and his team have a well-deserved reputation for constituent service,” the second statement from his office read. “This is due to extensive travel throughout the district which is 205 towns and 19 counties. The Congressman’s staff has access to his vehicle so it is used frequently when he is both in and out of the district. For example, this weekend over 800 miles were driven crisscrossing the district for events. Congressman Schock takes his compliance responsibilities seriously and procedures concerning this issue will be reviewed to determine whether they can improved.”
Schock may look urbane, but his district is most definitely rural. And I’ve run into him around that district, so I know he works it (I think the last time I saw him, he was filling his tank at a Springfield gas station). This may not be as bad as some East Coast writer thinks.
* The Question: I know it may be extremely difficult for some of you, but how about saying at least one nice thing about the governor? And no snark. Deletions will be swift.
* As slim as its paper has become, as bad as its website is, as weird as its gubernatorial endorsement was last year, and despite any run-ins I might’ve had with the higher-ups (all water under the bridge), I really don’t want to see Chicago become a one-paper town…
Chicago Sun-Times editorial employees voted unanimously [last night] to let their union pursue an agreement with the company that owns their newspaper that could lead to an exit of about a fifth of the staff.
Reporters and other newspaper staffers gathered in a downtown Holiday Inn hotel conference room and voted 28-0 in favor of offering the buyout to members, said Craig Rosenbaum, executive director of the Chicago Newspaper Guild. That union represents 73 editorial employees at the paper. He declined to provide details of the offer or the agreement with Wrapports, the Chicago-based parent of the newspaper.
Wrapports has been struggling to stem losses amid an industrywide decline in print advertising revenue that provides the bulk of income for newspapers. With a migration of readers to online and social media alternatives, advertisers have followed suit, leaving newspapers to search for new sources of revenue and to chop their budgets and staffs. […]
Employees in the top third of the seniority list could get 20 weeks of severance pay while those in the lower two-thirds would be eligible for 16 weeks, according to details of the offer obtained by Crain’s. Employees can negotiate individually for a higher rate of severance pay.
Wrapports released the following statement from Jim Kirk, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Sun-Times: “We’re glad the Guild members have voted to approve the voluntary buyout program as we realign our newsroom staffing levels in the wake of our recent sale of our suburban titles to Tribune Publishing. We have been going through this process throughout the organization as we work to solidify the future of the iconic Chicago Sun-Times newspaper and deliver strong, local stories to our readers. In working with the Guild, we hope to avoid layoffs. Over the coming days we will talk to interested employees and plan to have the process wrapped up no later than Feb. 17.” […]
The latest round of job cuts has been expected since Wrapports completed the sale of its 38 suburban newspapers to Tribune Publishing November 1. The move left Wrapports with only the Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader alternative weekly among its major holdings.
Felicia Middlebrooks of WBBM AM 780 and Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business have been named recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Chicago Headline Club.
The two will be honored at the 38th annual Peter Lisagor Awards ceremonies May 8 at the Union League Club of Chicago, according to Mary Wisniewski, president of the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. […]
The Chicago Headline Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes journalists for “their extraordinary contribution to the community and/or the profession.”
I don’t know Middlebrooks, but I’ve known Greg for what seems like forever. Congrats to my buddy.
Governor Bruce Rauner signed Executive Order 15-14 today, which establishes the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform.
The commission will examine the current criminal justice system and sentencing structure to develop comprehensive and evidence-based strategies to improve public safety. It will analyze all aspects of the current system from the initial arrest to re-entry into the community. Some areas the commission will specifically examine are ensuring there is uniformity in sentencing structure, sentencing practices, community supervision and the use of alternatives to prison.
“Illinois is in desperate need of criminal justice reform. Our prisons are overcapacity and too many offenders are returning to prison,” Gov. Rauner said. “We need to take a comprehensive, holistic approach to our justice system.”
The Department of Corrections (DOC) is operating at more than 150 percent of the inmates it was designed to house, which threatens the safety of inmates and staff. It also undermines the DOC’s ability to rehabilitate. Many of those inmates often return to prison; the recidivism rate in Illinois hovers around 50 percent.
* Gov. Rauner also said he believed that his predecessor’s early release program was mismanaged and expressed confidence that he could pull this off. He said Sen. Kwame Raoul and other legislators had agreed to serve on the commission. Raw audio…
Despite saying in December he was retiring after a 42-year career in prison work, the state’s top corrections official remains a contender to stay in his job.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that controversial Illinois Department of Corrections Director S.A. “Tony” Godinez is under consideration for the agency’s top post.
But, the new governor stopped short of giving the holdover from former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration his full support.
“We are in discussions with a number of potential leaders of our corrections system. Our current leadership certainly is in the mix,” Rauner told reporters during an event at the Sangamon County Courthouse.
* The federal Real ID Act, passed during the hysteria of the GWOT, is coming back to bite us in the wallet. The Daily Herald’s Jake Griffin fills us in…
Secretary of State Jesse White said it will cost millions of dollars for the state to meet the requirements of the 2005 Real ID Act that sets standards for creating and processing state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
“Currently, we do not require birth certificates,” said White spokesman Henry Haupt. “One factor under the Real ID Act would require us to verify birth certificates through the Electronic Verification of Vital Events system. That part of the program alone we estimate would cost $15 million over a four-year period.”
White’s office already has been granted two extensions by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The second one runs out in mid-October.
But now, DHS has started enforcing compliance. The new driver’s licenses already are needed to gain access to some federal buildings, military installations and nuclear facilities. […]
White’s office has estimated the total price at $100 million to $150 million, mostly for equipment, staffing and data storage.
This past year was a milestone, both for Bruce and for the great state of Illinois. I can’t think of a better way to say “Happy Birthday” than by showing him how much his team, family, supporters, and friends have his back.
Will you join me? It’s quick and easy – all you have to do is click this link to sign the card. It’ll only take a minute, and it will mean a lot to him, and to me.
We’ve got an important year ahead of us, and Gov. Rauner has gotten it started on the right foot with fiscal discipline, bold decisions, and exactly the kind of leadership we expected when we voted for him.
I hope you’ll join me in showing our appreciation!
Thanks,
Tim Schneider
Chairman
Illinois Republican Party
P.S. – Here’s that link one more time: click here to wish Bruce Rauner a Happy Birthday. Thanks again – Tim.
I didn’t post the link because, frankly, I don’t trust y’all to be nice on that page. Tensions are a teeny bit high these days, after all.
You can express your fondest birthday wishes here in comments. However, make extra sure to follow our rules. If you’re deleted on this one, you’re also banned. Thanks.
Commissioner Chuy Garcia released a television spot this morning focused on the misplaced priorities of the Emanuel Administration. The title of the ad is simply, “Priorities.” The ad will start airing today on all the leading networks, including both Univision and Telemundo.
Filmed on location in the neighborhood where Garcia grew up, the ad documents his commitment to fundamentally change the priorities of the City – away from corporate give-aways and towards the issues that matter most to working families.
“Last night, at the final debate, we asked the Mayor once again to explain why he walked away from his promise to put 1,000 new police on the streets and chose instead to spend City resources helping big corporations,” said Commissioner Garcia. “He failed to answer last night, but as this ad makes clear, we will continue asking that simple question. The people of Chicago deserve an answer.”
The Garcia commercial was produced internally under guidance from senior media strategist, Don Rose.
Now, like many neighborhoods, it’s not safe. Chicago has had ten thousand shootings in the last four years. It’s got to stop.
I’m Chuy Garcia.
I’ll put one thousand new cops on the street and get the guns off.
The Mayor says we can’t afford more community police.
But, he’s given big corporations one hundred million dollars in tax breaks.
If there’s enough money to keep them happy, there ought to be enough to keep us safe.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Emanuel campaign responds with a novella…
The campaign for Rahm Emanuel released the following statement and facts about Chuy Garcia’s misleading attack ad.
“It’s sad that Chuy chose to go negative in his first commercial. Instead of offering Chicagoans a concrete plan to keep creating jobs, improving our graduation rates and reducing violence, Chuy resorted to the same failed politics that drove Chicago to the brink.”
Garcia’s attack ad has numerous problems, especially his claim that Rahm gave away $100 million in corporate tax breaks – which is both untrue and unsupported – and Garcia’s refusal to acknowledge the fact that Chicago taxpayers are still paying the $80 million in higher property taxes that he voted for as alderman, imposing the largest property tax increase in Chicago history. In addition, Garcia didn’t answer Mayor Emanuel’s question at last night’s debate about why he collected an illegal property tax break for eight years.
Maybe Chuy should explain his vision instead of attacking.
Here are the facts:
FACT: Rahm ended more than $45 million in corporate tax giveaways.
Since taking office, Rahm has closed tax loopholes for cable companies, luxury skyboxes at sporting events, and airlines and other companies that used to get tax breaks for buying gasoline and other items in the suburbs.
FACT: Chicago does not provide tax credits to corporations.
Garcia is simply wrong on the facts. The City does not provide tax credits to companies.
FACT: Garcia voted for to give Motorola $5 million in tax credits and $30 million in infrastructure improvements.
When Motorola was considering moving, Garcia voted for a package to give Motorola a “special tax break” worth $5 million in tax credits and $30 million in infrastructure.
Package to Keep Motorola in IL Included Tens of Millions: “In the end, this is the financial package to which state and Motorola officials agreed: $30 million in infrastructure improvements, $5 million in tax credits and exemptions and $1 million in job training assistance in the form of a grant. State agency officials are unsure exactly how those funds will be used.” [Chicago Tribune, 04/20/1994]
Senate President Philip Described the Package as a “special tax break” on the floor. “May I have your attention, please. I — with leave, I’d like to go to 3rd Reading to pick up — to pass two bills today. The first bill is 1191, which deals with a special tax break for Motorola we need to do, so that hopefully we’ll keep Motorola in Illinois.” [Illinois State Senate Floor Transcript 3/30/94, Pg. 4]
Garcia voted in favor of Senate Bill no. 1191. [Senate Journal 1994, vol 1, 3/30/94, page 432]
FACT: Chicago taxpayers are still paying the $80 million in higher property taxes that Chuy voted for as alderman, imposing the largest property tax increase in Chicago history.
Garcia Voted for the Largest Property Tax Hike in Chicago History: Garcia voted for the Evans motion, which increased property taxes $79,928,811. [Chicago City Council Journal of Proceedings, 9/24/86, Pg. 34106, Passed 26-24]
In 2014 dollars, that is a $173 million property tax hike. [BLS Inflation Calculator]
FACT: Rahm has gone toe-to-toe with the NRA and worked on commonsense gun control for decades, earning him the support of local and national gun control advocates.
When the local Gun Prevention PAC endorsed Rahm this week, the group’s Executive Director Kathleen Sances said: “Rahm is the only candidate with a 20-year record of taking on the NRA, passing meaningful gun legislation and putting together a plan to reduce gun violence in all our neighborhoods. It was an easy decision for us – Rahm has worked for his entire career to reduce gun violence, and he’s been at the forefront of some of our biggest victories, a steadfast ally as we to push for change, and an innovator who overcomes obstacles.”
FACT: Crime rates in Little Village have fallen.
In his ad, Garcia implies that crime in Little Village has gotten worse. Garcia’s claim is at odds with his public remarks that crime in Little Village has fallen. Though much work remains to be done, crime has dropped in Little Village over the past four years. In 2014 compared to 2010, Little Village experienced a 25 percent drop in overall crime and a 23 percent drop in serious index crimes that include offenses like assault, battery and rape. Rahm will continue his focus on community policing and expanding summer jobs and after school opportunities in Little Village and neighborhoods across the city.
FACT: The Emanuel administration led a return to community policing, put more officers in high crime areas, increased investments in prevention programming and built trust with community leaders and residents.
Developing higher levels of trust between communities and police has been a major priority for this administration. Soon after taking office, Rahm moved community policing staff and resources from the headquarters to police districts – where they belong. CPD created and implemented training for police officers to teach fairness and respect – also called “procedural justice.” To date, more than 10,000 Chicago police personnel have completed this training. By the summer of 2015, CPD will double the size of its bike patrols from 200 to 400, allowing for a more direct connection between officers and the communities they serve. And this year CPD will launch a body camera pilot that will start in the 14th police district. In other cities, patrol officers’ use of body cameras has been associated with a nearly 60 percent reduction in use of force and an 80 percent reduction in complaints filed against officers. These efforts in Chicago build upon a life of supporting community policing, starting with his successful push on behalf of President Clinton to pass the COPS initiative in 1994, which put 100,000 additional cops on the street to engage in community policing.
FACT: Garcia has no plan to pay for additional police officers and even opposed hiring additional police officers as alderman.
First, Garcia has been widely criticized for failing to offer a realistic plan to pay for adding additional patrol officers on the street. Additionally, when Garcia was on the City Council, he actually claimed that “knee-jerk” calls to add more police officers won’t solve the problem of gang violence.
In Endorsing Rahm, Chicago Tribune Questioned How Opponents Would Make the ‘Math Work’: “Yet all four challengers are talking about making these holes deeper. How would they make the math work? […] The not-Rahm candidates are reluctant to offer genuine answers for all of that.” [Chicago Tribune, 2/6/15]
Garcia Blasts “Knee-jerk” Call for “More Police”: “The city agency created to steer youngsters away from street gang violence should be abolished and its $5 million budget spent on putting more police officers into neighborhoods plagued by gang crime, Ald. Juan Soliz (25th) said Thursday. In calling for the elimination of the Chicago Intervention Network, Soliz said, ‘They’re totally invisible, and they’re not part of a constructive effort to solve gang crime in Chicago. We need gang specialists who can go in with arrest power.’ Chicago Intervention Network director Robert Martin, Police Supt. LeRoy Martin, and Ald. Jesus Garcia (22d), immediately challenged Soliz’s remarks. Garcia dismissed the idea as “a knee-jerk” reaction to gang violence.” [Chicago Tribune, 9/9/88]
Garcia Voted to Close 209 Vacant Police Jobs:
Garcia voted for the 1993 Budget [Chicago City Council Journal of Proceedings, 12/15/92, 26808, Passed 33-9]
“Chicagoans face a $ 28.7 million property tax increase next year and higher taxes on soda pop and tickets to entertainment events under a budget compromise approved Tuesday that also eliminates 209 vacant police jobs.” [Chicago Sun Times, 12/16/92]
FACT: The vast majority of TIF funds – almost 75 percent – are used for schools, libraries, parks, transportation and neighborhood improvements.
The City has rejected TIF proposals from nearly every big corporation that has asked for public support and have instead used TIF to bring companies like Method to Pullman, Coyote Logistics to Logan Square and Whole Foods to Englewood. Rahm has used TIF to support public projects including new libraries in Chinatown, Albany Park, and at Back of the Yards High School, a new El station near McCormick Place on Cermak, and at our schools including new classrooms at Coonley Elementary school, new pre-K classrooms and a parent resource center at Burke Elementary, and a new athletic field at Benito Juarez Academy.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Garcia campaign…
Dear, Mr. Mayor: where are the 1,000 police you promised?
“Mayor Emanuel again demonstrated today just how out of touch he is with the reality facing many Chicago neighborhoods. Last night and again in our television advertisement, we posed a simple question to the Mayor: where are the 1,000 new police you promised? Voters are still waiting for an answer. The one thing that will do absolutely nothing to make anyone safer is a 1,387-word press release attack from the mayor’s henchman,” said campaign manager Andrew Sharp.
Wednesday, Feb 11, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While the state budget crisis increasingly hits struggling Illinois families, Exelon demands a corporate bailout. This is exactly the wrong thing for Illinois’ citizens and businesses.
Exelon is a successful, profitable company and while we appreciate success, when they claim they need more of OUR MONEY, it’s time to be skeptical.
EXELON SECOND QUARTER 2014 PROFITS: $557 MILLION
Sounds like Exelon had a pretty good second quarter! This for-profit company that seeks a bailout from struggling Illinois ratepayers made more than:
SIX MILLION DOLLARS A DAY or $252,000 AN HOUR
Tune in every day this week to find out how well Exelon did the rest of the year, culminating with their 2014 earnings on Friday.
* As I told subscribers today, Kurt Erickson has a pretty funny piece about asking Republican legislators to comment on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s right to work actions…
“Whether I agree with it or not is not the right question,” [Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island] said.
Asked again for his position on Rauner’s maneuver, the freshman lawmaker said, “I am a union fireman and I believe in collective bargaining.”
Anderson’s position sums up the political tightrope Rauner is asking his fellow Republicans to walk. While he wants their support as he takes on a Legislature dominated by Democrats, they must also be mindful that Illinois remains a state where labor unions wield power.
Some lawmakers simply didn’t return telephone messages Tuesday, including freshman Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, who recently stepped down from IDOC, where she was food service manager at facilities in Pinckneyville and Du Quoin. A spokesman for Bryant said she was unavailable to comment on this topic, and multiple calls to her went unreturned. […]
Asked if he supports the governor’s move, state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, did not answer “yes” or “no.”
Rather, he said, “I don’t disagree with it.”
You will recall that Brady actually ran for governor on a right to work platform in 2010. He backed away from that position last year.
Rauner visited Lanphier High School, where he took questions from the students, mainly about the economy, education and how he came to be governor.
Many of the students who asked questions said they were pleased with the answers, but two said they were not.
Austin Duffie, a 17-year-old junior, wanted to know how the governor would simultaneously lower taxes while raising education funding, something he’s promised since his campaign.
“Even though we’ve got a financial crisis and some departments and some services are going to have to be cut – because we don’t have the money today for them – I’m going to increase education funding,” Rauner said in his answer to Duffie.
* But when Gov. Rauner talks about increasing spending on pre-K-12 programs, it might not be the usual suspects getting more money. Instead, think about things like charter schools…
The governor was received like a superstar as he spoke to a gymnasium packed with students Tuesday morning at Robertson Charter School. With a background setting of cheerleaders and signs welcoming him, Rauner reiterated his support for education and charter schools in Illinois, adding Robertson was the perfect example of why a charter school can be a great thing for the community.
“I want to make sure your parents have good choices and options for where to send you to school,” he said. “I want parents empowered with school choice, and I want schools like Robertson to be fully funded.” […]
The kindness for the students, as well as the support for charter schools, went a long way with Robertson Principal Cordell Ingram.
With that support, Ingram said he is hopeful that Rauner can help charter schools, especially the handful that exist outside the Chicago area, achieve greater success, and possibly more financial stability.
* From our revered commenter RNUG (aka Retired Non-Union Guy)…
I was chatting with a friend the other night who has a bit of insight into how judges tend to think. We were kicking around what we think the Illinois Supreme Court might do on SB-1 and came up with three plausible scenarios.
1) The Supreme Court rules that the pension clause means what it says, period, and the pension is not subject to a “police powers” claim.
2) The Supreme Court rules that the pension clause could be subject to a “police powers” claim if a “fiscal emergency” was clearly demonstrated but, based on the bill itself only negating one class of Illinois debt (the pensions), was found that no “fiscal emergency” existed to make the claim.
3) The Supreme Court rules that the pension clause could be subject to a “police powers” claim if a “fiscal emergency” was clearly demonstrated but the court, based on the information presented in the appeal, was unable to determine if a “fiscal emergency” exists and remands it to the originating court to determine if a “fiscal emergency” as defined in the “reserved sovereign powers act” actually exists.
I think we get #2 but my friend, who argues persuasively that judges avoid a decision whenever possible, favors #3.
It’s all speculation, of course, but what are your own thoughts about RNUG’s e-mail?
What: Governor Rauner signs Executive Order on Criminal Justice Reform
Where: Sangamon County Courthouse – County Board Chambers, Room 201
200 S. 9th Street, Springfield
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Time: Media arrival – 8:45 a.m.
Executive Order Signing - 9:00 a.m.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois launched a television ad campaign today calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly to protect funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).
The Department of Human Services announced a $300 million budget shortfall last month that will leave 160,000 thousand children in low-wage households without safe, reliable child care services.
The ad is one part of an aggressive campaign being led by early childhood education advocates, parents, childcare providers and children’s organizations throughout Illinois to restore funding for the child care program. It will be shown in all major media markets in the state including: Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Quad-Cities and Champaign. The ad will air Feb. 11 through Feb. 18.
Susan and Jason McWhirter and their two children are featured in the ad. (Click here for a profile of the family). The Peoria family relies on the child care program to go to work.
“We’re very concerned about losing child care assistance,” Mrs. McWhirter said. “’My husband and I both work and I go to school so I can get a better job. Many families have no options but to leave their children in the care of others while they make a living for their family. The child care program gives me and my family options for child care that we can trust.”
The ad comes the week before Gov. Rauner is set to unveil his budget proposal on Feb. 18. The Chicago Tribune called the shortfall an “immediate test” for the governor. Working parents and children’s advocates across the state have been very vocal about the crisis and the devastating impact of not fully funding the program.
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
My name is John Lattner. I grew up and raised my family in the Chicago area. I played football for the University of Notre Dame and was honored to have won the Heisman Trophy in 1953 and went on to continue my football career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1954.
I have recently learned from my doctors that I have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and that I have a challenging prognosis. I am hoping that I get luckier than most folks who get this kind of news. I have been very lucky most of my life and I hope that luck holds up. Any man who has had the life I have had and the family with which I have been blessed with has already had more than his share of good luck.
Back when I was playing at the University of Notre Dame, I was able to get summer jobs working with asbestos in Chicago. No one ever told us anything about it being dangerous and I was happy to have a job at all. I went on to do other things and now learn years later that this asbestos has given me cancer.
My doctors told me that it is medically impossible to get mesothelioma before a minimum of 15 to 20 years of exposure. The outlook for my condition is not good and I’ve been told most people who are diagnosed with this disease die within a year or two. I am someone who has always believed in fairness. I don’t think anyone should have a leg up on any other person. A strong civil justice system in Illinois provides that fairness not just for me, but for the other men and women who get the call from the doctor that I got. I know how tough of a call it is to get.
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While the state budget crisis increasingly hits struggling Illinois families, Exelon demands a corporate bailout. This is exactly the wrong thing for Illinois’ citizens and businesses.
Exelon is a successful, profitable company and while we appreciate success, when they claim they need more of OUR MONEY, it’s time to be skeptical.
EXELON FIRST QUARTER 2014 PROFITS: $93 MILLION
THAT’S MORE THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS A DAY
And the rest of 2014 got even more profitable. Tune in every day this week to find out how well they did the rest of the year, culminating with their 2014 earnings report on Friday!
* The company scored high in the licensing process, so whatevs…
A strip club owner was approved by the state Friday to sell medical marijuana from a West Loop storefront.
The approval of Perry Mandera’s Custom Strains came Friday, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced in a news release. The approval means Mandera, the owner of VIP’s A Gentleman’s Club, can open a dispensary in a vacant building at 1105 W. Fulton St.; the business will cater to military veterans.
* She has a degree from Cornell in environmental engineering and also has business experience in environmental engineering. She’s probably making less than her fellow graduating class, so, again, whatevs…
State payroll records reviewed by The Southern Illinoisan Springfield bureau show Emily Clamp was hired on Jan. 16 to a $70,008 per year job at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
While a Rauner spokeswoman says the 25-year-old is “well suited” for the position based on her college studies, her sister, Sarah Clamp, was political director of Rauner’s successful campaign for governor against Democrat Pat Quinn. […]
In her new post, Emily Clamp is a policy adviser at the IEPA, working on a clean power plan, said Rauner spokeswoman Katherine Kelly.
She certainly seems “well suited” and qualified for the job, and it is, after all, a political appointment. Yeah, he campaigned against some of Pat Quinn’s patronage moves, but I just can’t seem to get upset about this.
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives. They were first exempted from federal income taxes in 1917 to fulfill a special mission as valuable and affordable cooperative alternatives to for-profit banks.
Even though credit unions are exempt from income tax, they still are subject to, and pay, property, payroll, and sales taxes, and a host of governmental regulatory supervision fees. Since their inception, credit unions have more than fulfilled their mission, as evidenced by Congressional codification of the credit union tax exemption in 1951 and 1998. Though the range of services has evolved to effectively serve their members in an increasingly competitive financial marketplace, the cooperative structure, which is the reason for their tax exempt status, has remained constant.
Nationally, consumers benefit to the tune of $6.6 billion annually because credit unions are tax-exempt. In Illinois, by most recent estimates credit unions annually provide nearly $205 million in direct financial benefits to almost three million members. In an era that continuously poses economic and financial challenges, credit unions remain true to one principle - people before profits - and represent a highly valued resource by consumers.
The National Right to Work Foundation is offering free legal aid to public employees seeking to exercise their right to refrain from paying union dues or fees that may result from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s newly-issued executive order.
Governor Rauner issued an executive order late Monday that instructs all state agencies to put in escrow, pending the outcome of a federal court lawsuit the Governor filed the same day, all forced union-fee deductions from nonmember state employees’ wages required by Illinois’ public-sector labor relations statute. The Governor’s lawsuit asks that a judgment be entered declaring unconstitutional the provisions of state collective bargaining agreements that require nonmember state employees to pay union fees, a judgment that would effectively grant those workers Right to Work protections.
The National Right to Work Foundation has a long history of assisting employees seeking to exercise their Right to Work rights, most recently under newly enacted Right to Work provisions in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Foundation attorneys also provided free legal representation to Illinois home-based personal care providers who, under executive orders issued by former Governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, were forced to pay union dues or fees against their will. In that case, Harris v Quinn, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Illinois scheme, ruling that individuals who indirectly receive state subsidies based on their clientele cannot be forced to pay compulsory union fees.
Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement:
“Governor Rauner’s actions may give Illinois public employees the Right to Work protections they so desperately need and deserve. These are bold steps to protect Illinois state employees’ rights not to pay tribute to union bosses as a condition of working as public servants.
“Unfortunately, union officials won’t give up their forced dues power easily. In addition to fighting Governor Rauner in court, it won’t be surprising to see them make it difficult for workers to exercise their rights. State employees who try to exercise those rights may encounter stonewalling, intimidation, or harassment at the hands of union officials.
“Right now, over 6,500 employees of the state government are being forced to pay union dues even though they’ve said they don’t want to support them.”
Those payments by workers opting out of union membership but working in workplaces operating under contracts negotiated by a union are called “fair share” payments.
“The call that ‘fair share.’ Let me tell you it’s anything but fair,” Rauner said, adding that the “fair share” deductions cost the employees who pay them an average of $577 per year.
What’s so unfair about non-members paying $48 a month for services? Argue the amount, perhaps, but the governor really believes people who have state jobs that are classified as union jobs shouldn’t be forced to pay for contract negotiations, grievance procedures, etc.?
“Government union bargaining and government union political activity are inextricably linked,” Rauner said. “As a result, an employee who is forced to pay unfair share dues is being forced to fund political activity with which they disagree. That is a clear violation of First Amendment rights and something that, as governor, I am duty-bound to correct.”
That is some seriously circular logic. The bottom line here is that Rauner believes some folks just shouldn’t have to pay for a legitimate service. They’re perfectly free to quit their state jobs, after all.
Also, when the Catholic Conference sued over being barred from some state programs because of its position on gay marriage, that suit was dismissed because the group had no inherent right to a state contract. Is this issue really all that different? Maybe it is. Lemme know in comments.
* From a subscriber…
Is this some crazy way of setting the table for a pension bill? This is so over-the-top it makes me think it’s a negotiating stance and could be leading to an opportunity to extract concessions on COLAs or increased employee contributions towards pension costs. He could withdraw the order if he gets the concessions, for example, which AFSCME might go for if there is a chance his EO might be upheld by the courts.
This just feels like theater to me and on its own, it doesn’t make sense.
What’s Rauner’s end game? It can’t be to eliminate unions, public or otherwise. That’s not going to be achievable for him, not even with two or three terms.
So if that’s not his end game, I figure the next best prize is public employees eating more of the pension/retiree healthcare costs.
Frankly, I don’t really care how much Tillman makes. I make a decent buck myself, but, hey, I’m in the private sector.
The IEA is a huge organization, while Tillman’s is quite small, so using generally accepted market principles it would stand to reason that IEA President Cinda Klickna would make more than Tillman. But that isn’t the case, unless Tillman has taken a recent pay cut. So, I’m not sure where his beef is. Also, check out his overhead. Whew.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* The Illinois Policy Institute has long bashed public employee unions and has pushed for “right to work” legislation. Yesterday, the group unveiled a new report…
“The anatomy of influence: Government unions in Illinois” takes a close look at unions’ political spending and the influence afforded to government unions as a result. This analysis offers an unprecedented review of the political donations to the current Illinois General Assembly, as well as top recipients of union political giving since 2002. It also highlights how profitable the business of forced unionization can be for those who run the unions by listing a sampling of the highest-compensated employees for the state’s major government unions: the Illinois Education Association; Illinois Federation of Teachers; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31; and Service Employees International Union.
This book also reports how unions spend the money collected from mandatory dues, according to the unions’ own filings with the federal government. In the state’s largest teachers union, the Illinois Education Association or IEA, only 26 cents out of every $1 in union dues is actually spent on the union’s stated reason for existence: representation of workers. The rest of the union’s dues and fees revenue went mainly toward overhead, administration and political activities. Other unions also fail to spend the majority of dues money on actual representation – which is supposed to be unions’ key function. At both the IEA and the Illinois Federation of Teachers or IFT, the top 20 highest-paid employees all are paid salaries of more than $100,000 annually. Cinda Klickna, head of the IEA, pulls in $235,404 annually.
In addition to salaries, money spent on politics makes up another big chunk of union spending. The Illinois Policy Institute reviewed campaign-finance reports from 2002 to 2014 and found the five major government unions in Illinois spent a combined $46 million in political campaigns in that time. That number offers just a glimpse of union political spending, as it does not include donations by local chapters of government unions.
While the vast majority of government-union political spending goes to Democrats, the review of campaign spending since 2002 showed that Republicans received nearly 17 percent of the unions’ campaign spending during that time. Former Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sat atop the heap, with $11.1 million in union donations, including nearly $8 million from the Service Employees International Union.
* Now that Gov. Rauner has opened the “debate” over right to work, the Institute will attempt to muddy up the unions by using their own financial disclosures. For instance…
In 2014, the IEA spent $692,203 on hotels and $213,118 on consultants.
The union often sends staff into the field to assist locals, and there’s plenty more cherry picking. The IFT…
• Representation takes up about 60 cents of every $1 of IFT union dues, with 22 cents spent on administration, 12 cents spent on overhead and 6 cents spent on political activities.
• In 2013, the union spent $348,958 on hotels, $104,886 on consultants and $195,854 on attorneys.
• AFSCME spent 51 cents of every $1 in union dues on representation, 28 cents on overhead, 13 cents on administration and 5 cents on political activities.
• In 2013, the union spent $463,943 on hotels, $107,059 on consultants and $654,295 on attorneys.
• In 2013, AFSCME reported spending $31,972 at its “holiday party” for staff and directors. The spending included hotels rooms and other party expenses.
• The main SEIU locals combined spent 60 cents of every $1 on representation, 23 cents on overhead, 9 cents on political activities and 6 cents on administration.
• In 2013, SEIU Healthcare spent $533,218 on hotels, $330,637 on restaurants and catering, $345,030 on airlines, $312,687 on rental cars
and $838,417 on consultants.
• SEIU Healthcare spent $49,619 on its “membership” Christmas party in December 2013. Among other Christmas party expenses, catering cost $34,556 and the tab at Binny’s Beverage, a liquor store, amounted to $6,063, lower than the $6,859 tab for its party the year before.
• SEIU Healthcare spent $7,523 for floral arrangers at an event in 2013. The year before, it spent $6,859 on Christmas decorations for the office.
Mandatory union fees were upheld by the Supreme Court’s 1977 decision in a Detroit school board case that concluded fair share dues were constitutional as long as the fees were not used to support a union’s political activities like lobbying or campaign contributions.
But in ruling on the 2014 home health care case, Justice Samuel A. Alito argued that the court’s analysis in the Detroit case had been “questionable on several grounds.”
“In the public sector, core issues such as wages, pensions and benefits are important political issues, but that is generally not so in the private sector,” Alito wrote. “In the years since (the ruling), as state and local expenditures on employee wages and benefits have mushroomed, the importance of the difference between bargaining in the public and private sectors has been driven home.”
That argument was mirrored by Rauner’s team in its lawsuit filed Monday. The suit asserts that “indeed, the significant impact that Illinois public sector labor costs have imposed and will continue to impose on the state’s financial condition clearly demonstrates the degree to which Illinois state employee collective bargaining is an inherently political activity.”
Rauner’s suit joins another case brought by union opponents in California that was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court this year. That suit was brought on behalf of an Orange County, Calif., elementary school teacher, who objects to being required to pay about $650 a year to the teachers union.
When Unions expend dollars collected pursuant to the Fair Share Contact Provisions to lobby or bargain against reductions to their own benefits packages or to shift more significant reductions to other state programs or services, there is no principled distinction between the Unions and the various special interest groups who must expend money on political activities to protect their own favored programs and services.
Indeed, the significant impact that Illinois public sector labor costs have imposed and will continue to impose on the State’s financial condition clearly demonstrates the degree to which Illinois state employee collective bargaining is an inherently political activity. […]
(I)n Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, __ U.S. __,132 S. Ct. 2277, 2289 (2012), the Supreme Court also recognized that “a public-sector union takes many positions during collective bargaining that have powerful political and civic consequences.” For that reason, “compulsory fees constitute a form of compelled speech and association that imposes a significant impingement on First Amendment rights.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Knox emphasized the “general rule” that “individuals should not be compelled to subsidize private groups or private speech.” […]
Regarding the “fair share” provisions at issue in that case, the [Harris v. Quinn] majority noted that “‘[t]he primary purpose’ of permitting unions to collect fees from nonmembers is ‘to prevent nonmembers from free-riding on the union’s efforts, sharing the employment benefits obtained by the union’s collective bargaining without sharing the costs incurred.’” Harris, 134 S. Ct. at 2627 (quoting Knox, 132 S. Ct. at 2289). The Court continued, however, that “‘[s]uch free-rider arguments . . . are generally insufficient to overcome First Amendment objections.’”
A majority of the Supreme Court also recognized in Harris that “fair share” provisions in public employee collective bargaining agreements impose First Amendment concerns not necessarily presented in the private sector, because the collective bargaining process itself is political when taxpayer funds go to pay the negotiated wages and benefits, especially given the great power of unions in electoral politics and the size of public employee payrolls. In coordination with their express political advocacy, the Unions routinely take positions in the collective-bargaining process that greatly affect the State’s budget.
* The following House Republicans were endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO last November…
20th Michael McAuliffe - R
68th John Cabello - R
74th Donald Moffitt - R
87th Rich Brauer - R
99th Raymond Poe - R
100th CD Davidsmeyer - R
101st Bill Mitchell - R
102nd Adam Brown - R
In addition, GOP Rep. Dwight Kay was endorsed by the Illinois Education Association (which isn’t affiliated with the state fed). Sen. Chapin Rose was endorsed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, as were Republican Reps. Michael Tryon, Robert Pritchard, Michael Unes, Norine Hammond, Chad Hays, Dan Brady, Charles Meier and the aforementioned AFL-CIO endorsees.
It’s not like any of those folks were given the endorsements against their will.
