Friday the 13th open thread
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* What could possibly go wrong?…
Daily Public Schedule: Friday, March 13, 2015
What: Governor Visits Sawing & Shearing Inc. to Discuss Turnaround Agenda
Where: 13500 S. Western Ave., Blue Island
Date: Friday, March 13, 2015
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Another travel problem for Schock
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The National Journal piles on…
[Congressman Aaron Schock] appears to have improperly accepted money from an outside group to cover travel expenses for a companion on a trip to India and failed to disclose it in a possible violation of House rules, according to a National Journal review of public records.
Schock traveled to India on official business in August 2014, a trip during which he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Global Poverty Project, an advocacy organization that seeks to alleviate extreme poverty internationally, footed the bill, according to a spokesman for the group.
But Schock’s photographer and videographer, Jonathon Link, traveled with him on the trip, which was well-documented on Schock’s Instagram account. The organization offered to pay for the costs of one staffer to accompany Schock as long as the staffer flew economy class, according to the spokesman. Another aide was originally going to come, but the organization noted they were looking for a photographer, and Schock suggested Link, with whom he has worked in the past, the spokesman said. The photos Link took were made available to both Schock and the Global Poverty Project.
The problem is House rules allow a member to accept private money for a companion’s travel expenses only if the companion is a staffer, spouse or child. Link was none of those; he didn’t appear on Schock’s official or campaign payroll until September 2014.
Man, that must be one thick oppo book. Go read the whole thing.
More to come. Bet on it.
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Illinois unemployment rate drops to 6.1 percent
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From IDES…
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in January decreased 0.1 percentage points to 6.1 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national unemployment rate reported for January at 5.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment, however, shed -7,100 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. A person who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits will still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
In January, three industry sectors posted large gains in employment: Leisure and Hospitality (+3,300); Educational and Health Services (+2,300); and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+1,600). Four industry sectors reported large declines in employment: Professional and Business Services (-5,500); Government (-2,700); Construction (-2,500); and Manufacturing (-2,100).
“While a month-to-month decrease in nonfarm payrolls is not unusual, it’s clear Illinois has more work to do to catch up with other states,” said Director Jeffrey Mays. “Our economy is simply not yet firing on all cylinders.”
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +65,000 jobs with the largest gains in Professional and Business Services (+16,700); Educational and Health Services (+15,200); and Construction (+11,100). One sector posted a decline in January over the prior year: Financial Activities (-1,400).
The continuing manufacturing losses are worrisome. The government sector losses could increase if state funding starts drying up.
* Check out this part of the Illinois Policy Institute’s react…
Some economic sectors such as education and hospitality added jobs in January, however, the business-services, construction and manufacturing sectors saw job losses. […]
These sectors lost jobs from December 2014 to January 2015:
Professional and business services: lost 5,500 jobs
Construction: lost 2,500 jobs
Manufacturing: lost 2,100 jobs
Notice something missing? Government job loss totals, even though they were the second highest on the list. But admitting that fact would screw up the meme.
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The power of crises
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Riopell…
Time is running out for lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to find a budget fix that will allow the state to keep paying for court reporters across the suburbs.
The money for their salaries runs out at the end of the month, raising big questions about how courts will continue to operate without reporters tapping away during hearings the law requires them to attend.[…]
[Kane County Chief Judge Judith Brawka] says she remains hopeful Rauner and top Democrats will cut a deal before funding runs out. Deadlines, she says, and the “impending sense of doom” that come with them, tend to motivate deal-making.
“At a crisis point, they find a solution,” Brawka said.
That’s very true. Usually.
I think they’ll probably get there, too. It just hasn’t been very pretty, but it never is.
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Rev. Barrow
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The Rev. Willie T. Barrow, a direct link to some of the greatest civil rights leaders and protests, died Thursday at age 90.
She had been in the intensive care unit of Jackson Park Hospital, getting treatment for a blood clot in her lung.
“She was small in stature but she was a giant in character,” said the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger of St. Sabina Church. “She was a person who was rooted in faith and who was a warrior for justice. The best way we can honor her is to live like her.”
* From the President…
Reverend Willie T. Barrow was a Civil Rights icon and a Chicago institution, a “Little Warrior” in pursuit of justice for all God’s children. In 1936, when she was just 12 years old, Reverend Barrow demanded to be let on to her all-white school bus in Texas, and the fight for equality she joined that day would become the cause of her life. She marched with Dr. King on Washington and in Selma. She stood up for labor rights and women’s rights. She made one of the first pieces of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and proudly welcomed LGBT brothers and sisters to the movement she helped lead.
Nowhere was Reverend Barrow’s impact felt more than in our hometown of Chicago. Through Operation Breadbasket, the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, and her beloved Vernon Park Church, she never stopped doing all she could to make her community a better place. To Michelle and me, she was a constant inspiration, a lifelong mentor, and a very dear friend. I was proud to count myself among the more than 100 men and women she called her “Godchildren,” and worked hard to live up to her example. I still do.
Michelle and I are deeply saddened by Reverend Barrow’s passing, but we take comfort in the knowledge that our world is a far better place because she was a part of it. Our thoughts and prayers are with Reverend Barrow’s family, and with all those who loved her as we did.
* From Mayor Emanuel…
“Today all Chicagoans mourn the passing of Reverend Willie T. Barrow.
“From a teenager who demonstrated for equality in the segregated south to a revered Chicago icon who helped to found Operation Breadbasket, Reverend Barrow spent her life on the front lines in the fight for justice. She marched in Selma and played a pivotal role in persuading Dr. King to take his fight for equality to Chicago.
“Known as ‘The Little Warrior,’ Rev. Barrow was small in frame but her voice was powerful, and contributed immeasurably to the cause of fairness, justice and opportunity in our community and the nation. We mourn her loss but give thanks for the impactful life she lived.
“I have ordered flags at all city facilities lowered in Rev. Barrow’s memory, and offer our thoughts and prayers to her family and many friends.”
* Attorney General Madigan…
“Reverend Barrow was a tremendous person, with a strong spirit and an unrelenting passion in seeking justice for all. While small in stature, this ‘Little Warrior’ never shied from a fight worth fighting. She was a true public servant in every sense. We have all benefited from her courageous work, and I am proud to have known her and learned from her example. I will miss her love and leadership.”
* Congresswoman Robin Kelly…
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Reverend Dr. Willie Barrow. Rev. Barrow’s passionate pursuit of social justice and unwavering commitment to equality for African Americans, women and gay Americans will continue to inspire for generations. I am proud to have had such an esteemed icon of the civil rights movement as a fellow Sigma Gamma Rho Soror. After a lifetime of answering the call to justice, it seems somewhat poetic that she herself be called home only days after the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Selma March. In her honor, we must follow her courageous example and continue the pursuit of justice and equality for all.”
…Adding… Joint Black Caucus Chairwoman, Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford…
“Although the Reverend Dr. Willie T. Barrow was small in stature, she was mighty in her lifelong dedication to racial equality and social justice. We the members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus are deeply saddened at the loss of one of the mothers of the movement. I will personally miss her encouragement, kind words and fierce advocacy. We all stand on her shoulders as sons and daughters of the movement.”
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Question of the day
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Your one-word impression of yesterday’s Illinois Supreme Court oral arguments on pension reform?
One word only, please. Thanks.
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Editorial: “Don’t fall for Exelon bailout”
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Editorial boards are sounding the alarm about the Exelon bailout bill.
Crain’s Chicago Business: “THIS ‘MARKET SOLUTION’ ONLY BENEFITS EXELON”
You know you’ve got a good thing going when profitability is only a bailout away…
Bailouts for profitable enterprises? That’s not the kind of juice that ratepayers should be shelling out for.
Chicago Sun-Times: “EXELON MUST MAKE CASE FOR BAILOUT”
Not so long ago, Exelon…was extolling the merits of an open market for power as its profits rolled in. Now, with power prices plunging, Exelon has lost enthusiasm for the open markets it championed in the 1990s and wants the Legislature to devise a new formula that will protect its profits, quite likely driving up utility bills for homeowners and businesses.
If Exelon is hard up, they can show us. The company should open its books to show how its nuclear fleet is performing.
What’s good for Exelon doesn’t much matter if it’s bad for the rest of Illinois.
Belleville News Democrat: “DON’T FALL FOR EXELON BAILOUT”
Good old Exelon. The company has come up with legislation to subsidize its nuclear reactors, get electric users throughout the state to pay for it and claim it’s in the interest of clean energy.
State lawmakers need to see this bill for the dirty trick it is and kill it.
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the SJ-R’s coverage of yesterday’s massive Statehouse protest over Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts…
The governor did make a brief appearance in the Capitol while the rally was beginning but did not actually attend. As he walked through the protesters on the first level, he said it looked like they were “having fun on a beautiful day.”
They did not take kindly to the governor’s description.
“That’s incredibly condescending and irresponsible to say,” Johnson said. “We’re here on a mission. We are family, and so, yes, we’re talking to each other, but that’s how you build power.”
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Better patient safety is the key to lower health care costs. For more information, click here.
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Time for a new PR team
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Um, dude. Really?…
While declining to comment on some of the reports, Schock’s PR team has taken issue with the accuracy of others, like a Politico story on Monday that said Schock had reported on federal campaign finance documents that he spent more than $3,000 on software when in fact the money was part of the cost of a flight in a software executive’s private plane to a Chicago Bears game and his district.
Oh, yeah, that’s so much better. And, by the way, the rest of that cost was picked up by the taxpayers. Sheesh.
Congressman Schock is paying big bucks for a new PR firm and that’s what they come up with? It was for a private jet flight to a Bears game?
I think he should demand a refund.
* Even so, if you click that link above, you can watch video of CNN’s reporter asking a ton of blatantly loaded questions and then whining after Schock refuses to respond: “I’ve been polite to you.”
DC reporters must have a different definition of the word “polite.”
* Meanwhile, you may have heard that a couple of national right-wing bloggers have called on Schock to resign. Schock’s response was on-point…
He said he wasn’t taking seriously calls for his resignation coming from right-leaning outlets online. […]
“I would simply say these are the same groups who have called on (House Speaker) John Boehner and (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell to step down,” the Peoria Republican said. “So they’re people who fundamentally have never supported me and probably won’t ever support me — and, unfortunately for them, I’m not going anywhere.”
He implied that opponents to his political right were using the stories to make political hay at his expense.
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Credit Unions: Member Driven, Built for Main Street
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Locally-owned credit unions return their earnings as a benefit to their members through services like free ATMs, better rates and lower fees. When credit unions exceed expectations, their members – including Illinois working-class families – share even more in those benefits.
Illinois credit unions gave back to their members in a big way during 2014. From CEFCU in Peoria, which delivered a record dividend more than three times the one it issued the previous year; to Gas & Electric CU in Moline; NuMark CU in suburban Chicagoland; and Catholic & Community CU and Scott CU in downstate Metro East – in the aggregate, nearly $43 million in bonus dividends alone.
This success is due in no small part to the continued loyalty of credit union member-owners – and can occur because credit unions are structured as not-for-profit, member-centric financial cooperatives.
Overall, Illinois’ Main Street credit unions annually return $205 million in direct financial benefits to the savings accounts of almost three million members – your local constituents – not to the pockets of a select few Wall Street investors. No matter how much each credit union may return individually, there is one theme the movement agrees upon collectively: It’s all about members!
That’s the credit union difference.
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Budget cut react continues to roll in
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Based on reports by members only, the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF) estimates 51,447 children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and/or serious mental illnesses will experience limited access to, or lose access to, community-based services and supports under the Department of Human Services’ proposed fiscal year 2016 budget.
“We find these conservative impact estimates on individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses and their families disturbing,” said Janet Stover, IARF President & CEO. “Even with the Department making efforts to preserve core and essential services, every proposed cut will cut bone, and these estimates make that clear,” continued Stover.
The Department’s proposed budget cuts $193 million in funding from community-based services and supports for children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental illnesses in the critical areas of residential services for individuals with high medical/behavioral support needs (ICFDD), psychiatry, housing supports, early intervention, respite, autism, dental and epilepsy services.
• 16,533 individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) will lose access to psychiatry, care coordination, evidence-based mental health services and housing supports – which will lead to increased hospitalizations and incarcerations;
• 808 adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities will lose residential and developmental services and supports in ICFDD settings – which will lead to increased utilization of state-operated developmental centers (SODCs);
• 1,798 individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families will lose access to respite services – which will lead families to seek out-of-home services, higher cost services and supports;
• 11,208 children ages 0-3 will lose access to early intervention services – which will lead to higher long term costs in special education;
• 21,100 individuals with epilepsy will lose access to case coordination, case management and outreach services;
“Again, these are estimates based on responses from IARF members. Given the number of service providers, individuals and families that would be impacted statewide, as well as statements made by the Department on proposed cuts in previous budget years, our estimates are only thumbnail sketches of the statewide impact,” said Stover.
National and state studies, including data prepared previously by the Department of Human Services, show the efficacy, cost savings and preference of community care by individuals and families. The average cost of a nursing home placement in Illinois is $31,400; one year incarceration in a Department of Corrections facility is $38,268. Compare that to the average annual cost to serve an individual with a serious mental illness in the community, which ranges from $2,329 to $19,443 (intensive treatment and rental housing supports).
By cutting rates and eliminating grant-supported programs, individuals will be required to seek services in higher cost settings, such as state-operated developmental centers (SODCs), hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes and jails.
Further compounding the damage the budget would do to individuals and families, an estimated 1,539 would lose jobs under the proposal, removing tax dollars from state coffers and likely causing many to rely on public assistance themselves.
“Nearly 90 cents of every state dollar invested in community services is spent on the staff supporting individuals in programs,” said Stover. “Providers are already challenged to hire and maintain quality staff with the wages they pay now due to years of lack of investment by the state in rates and reimbursements. Studies show the need for these staff positions in the community will continue to grow. We simply can’t absorb the job loss, nor can Illinois,” continued Stover.
“There will be no savings as a result of this proposed budget for community services…cutting these services will actually increase the state’s costs almost immediately,” said Stover. “Fifteen years ago, we launched an advocacy campaign with the message ‘Don’t Be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish’ and here we are again. Fiscally, it makes no sense to allow these cuts - not to mention the emotional anguish of this vulnerable population having to regress to service settings that we have been working to modernize for the last ten years,” she said.
* Meanwhile, I told subscribers about this yesterday…
In what state park district officials called an “unprecedented” decision, Gov. Bruce Rauner Wednesday indefinitely suspended all state grants for park district construction projects. […]
“These suspensions even cover construction projects that are currently in progress,” noted a memo from the Illinois Association of Park Districts. “With construction season upon us, this decision could not come at a worse time. The suspension not only threatens jobs that are helping to grow Illinois’ economy, it creates exposure to local taxpayers for existing contractual obligations and project costs.”
* Mayor Emanuel weighed in this morning…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel today called on Governor Bruce Rauner to immediately reverse his decision to suspend Chicago park improvements that are planned or in progress after learning late yesterday that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) instructed the Chicago Park District to immediately freeze state grants awarded for park improvements.
“The Chicago Park District and I have worked to enhance the quality of life in Chicago by providing safe and inviting parks and facilities; and to create a park system that prioritizes the needs of children and families,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Governor Rauner’s decision to suspend grants for new parks across Chicago and the rest of the state will hurt every child who wants to swing on a swing set or play on the monkey bars, and a slight to every parent who wants their child to have a safe, community-oriented place to enjoy.”
A total of 27 Chicago projects at 25 parks across Chicago stand to lose $28 million for improvements if this funding is not restored.
* And…
The impact of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts on the CTA is even worse than the $105 million hit that the transit agency originally projected, CTA President Forrest Claypool said Wednesday. […]
The RTA initially calculated that the cuts to the Chicago-area mass transit system — the CTA, Metra and Pace — would total almost $130 million. In turn, CTA officials said a preliminary analysis of their agency’s share of the cut came out to $105 million, which is roughly 7 percent of the CTA’s operating budget.
* And…
Illinois’ deepening budget problems could begin affecting the paychecks of nearly 5,000 prison workers starting in the coming weeks, an analysis of state payroll information shows.
According to records at the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, at least five of the state’s fleet of more than two dozen prisons do not appear to have enough money to meet payroll through the end of the state’s fiscal year June 30.
The analysis by the Herald & Review Springfield Bureau shows prisons that will run short of cash include facilities in Vandalia, Taylorville, Mount Sterling, Sumner and Jacksonville.
* And, finally, Western Illinois University’s president weighed in on the governor’s proposed budget cuts today…
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A look ahead
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the pension reform bill in the Senate, even though he did not agree with all of its provisions. He attended the oral arguments Wednesday and didn’t sound optimistic afterward.
“I think the indications are there won’t be a remand (to the circuit court) and we’ll be back to the negotiating table,” Raoul said.
* Our in-house pension expert RNUG offered up a few ideas yesterday…
What is probably back on the table plus some previous ideas:
Normal cost shift for TRS
‘Tier 3′ aka 401K type plan for new hires
Voluntary / optional 401K type plan for the systems that don’t currently offer it. Devil will be in the details.
Voluntary higher contribution rate in exchange for an early retirement option (rule of 75 but at least 10 - 15 years of higher payments first?) for SERS
Voluntary trade of the 3% AAI for a straight CPI
A lot of other small items I can’t remember at the moment.
Not saying any of these are necessarily good ideas or would even save any money but they would probably be legal.
Any other thoughts?
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Pension roundup
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Unsurprisingly, the Chicago Tribune editorial board sided with the state government on the pension law…
In [the Illinois Supreme Court’s] July 2014 ruling in a case that said Illinois couldn’t reduce retiree health benefits, the court majority offered a sentence that now looms over these proceedings — and over that chronic failure of Illinois pols: “(W)e have concluded that the provision was aimed at protecting the right to receive the promised retirement benefits, not the adequacy of the funding to pay for them.”
The state has a much stronger argument in this pension case, in part because today’s emergency — the enormity of the pension shortfall and its strangulation of spending on other state priorities — is more extensive and more dire than were the stakes in the health benefits case.
We hope the justices appreciate the distinctions between the two cases. They likely will rule this spring. When they do, they’ll speak volumes about the future of a struggling state — and about the likelihood that its pension system will run insolvent.
* But the Tribune’s reporters gave us the strongest rebuttals to that argument…
Justice Robert Thomas, a Republican from Wheaton, noted the state’s pension problems were “arguably” created by the state itself. He asked Shapiro whether a ruling to uphold the law would allow the state to create a financial emergency, then attempt to resolve it by invoking its police powers to change pension benefits.
Thomas also asked Shapiro if it was “incongruous” for the state to allow the Illinois income tax rate to roll back 25 percent on Jan. 1, costing the treasury more than $4 billion a year, while at the same time claiming a financial emergency.
That’s really hard to argue with. Not to mention this. And this. Etc.
Fleshing out Thomas’ point…
He questioned whether the state could simply shortchange other areas of state spending and then walk away by claiming police powers.
“If the court holds that the state can invoke its police powers to violate core constitutional guarantees to respond to an emergency that at least arguably the state itself created, then aren’t we giving the state the power to modify its contractual obligations whenever it wants?” Thomas asked.
* More…
Chief Justice Rita Garman to plaintiffs’ lawyer Gino DiVito: “Does the police power ever allow [the state] to impair these pensions under any circumstances?”
DiVito: “Your honor, certainly not under these circumstances. Certainly not. It is absolutely clear that the intent of the drafters, when the General Assembly invoked fiscal problems, fiscal difficulties, not having enough money, it was absolutely clear that that was not a basis that could be relied upon.”
…
Justice Lloyd Karmeier to Solicitor General Carolyn Shapiro: “If sovereign power resides in the people, and the people adopt a constitution which specifically provided for a pension clause having different wording than the contract clause . . . does that not indicate what the people, the sovereign, has given to the Legislature to act within?”
Shapiro: “The constitution restricts the state’s ability to act. [But] it cannot give away certain absolutely core and fundamental attributes of sovereignty, and the ability to protect the public welfare in extreme situations is one of those.”
OK, but how “extreme” is this situation? It’s not like the state can’t raise more revenues. Then again, here’s the state’s response……
“it’s fair to say that the budget situation in our state is not yet fully resolved.”
“Raising taxes alone can’t always be the answer to a fiscal crisis when the state might otherwise want to use its police powers,” Shapiro added later.
* But…
“I hesitate to say the Lizzie Borden defense, but I’ve killed my parents. Have mercy on me. I’m an orphan. This is a situation of the state’s making,” said union attorney Aaron Madugg.
* Then again…
Justice Thomas asked what the Court should do, then, with the clear evidence in the Constitutional debates that the delegates intended that there be no benefit cuts in trying times – wasn’t reducing future benefits problematic then? Counsel [for the state] concluded by once again arguing that if the delegates to the Constitutional Convention intended that the clause be absolute in its protection for employee pensions, then the clause violated the Federal constitution.
* Also…
The sharpest questioning of Shapiro came from Thomas. At one point, he asked her why the state claimed it wanted an expedited hearing so that the court could rule before lawmakers’ scheduled May 31 adjournment deadline, then asked for the case to be sent back to Belz where it would face months of hearings and another likely appeal.
Yeah. Kinda weak.
* Mark Brown, as usual, has some interesting observations…
The four Democratic members of the court, who form a controlling majority, said not one word during the 50-minute oral argument. Not a peep, which isn’t necessarily a sign of anything either. Maybe the cat had their tongues. […]
In a signal of how important the case is, not only to the state but to all Illinois municipalities, Chicago Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton sat front and center in the Supreme Court chambers. […]
All that really matters, though, is what those four silent Democrats — Anne Burke, Charles Freeman, Thomas Kilbride and Mary Jane Theis — were thinking.
Three of those justices are from Chicago. An adverse ruling could easily drop Chicago’s bond rating into junk status.
Discuss.
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Perhaps a bit on the “yellow” side
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune’s headline writer got a little carried away today…
Quick! Somebody call a doctor! We’re losing him! Oh, the humanity!!!
The actual story is pretty good, but we’ll have more on the pension arguments in a bit. I just thought you might get a chuckle out of that screen grab.
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