* Newsweek took a look at Gov. Rauner’s anti-union moves and concluded its story with this quote…
…Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31 in Illinois, says Rauner’s efforts are supplemented by “unprecedented resources” and “an incredible level of coordination” involving anonymous donors funding a network of self-described “policy institutes” now operating in every state.
She also says the Illinois governor harbors “pure, unalloyed hatred and [a] Darth Vader destruction fantasy” toward the state’s unions, and predicts Rauner’s “dangerous obsession” will backfire with Illinois voters. “We have a $4 billion deficit in this state, and he has no plans to address it. He spends his time running around the state every day launching attacks on unions. That’s how he spends his time.”
Um, wow.
Those contract negotiations are going swimmingly, I presume
* Actually, I told subscribers last week about a rare behind the scenes look provided by AFSCME itself…
Negotiations show governor’s real agenda – Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for state employees got off to a late start. Then they got thrown dramatically off course when, on the very first day of bargaining, the Rauner Administration flagrantly violated the current agreement by issuing an Executive Order (EO) to bar Fair Share fees.
That EO’s stated aim is “preventing Illinois state employee unions from using…fair share fees to influence wages, pensions, and benefits that are….subjects of collective bargaining under the Illinois Labor Act.” In other words: trying to hamper unions’ ability to negotiate strong, fair contracts. And now that negotiations have gotten underway, it’s clear that Rauner’s effort to weaken unions in state government is the Number One goal of his representatives at the bargaining table.
As is normally the case, negotiations are first addressing only non-economic issues, such as health and safety, grievance procedure, hours of work, layoff protections, seniority, subcontracting, or discipline. Management is proposing dozens of changes to key sections of the contract, all with one overriding aim: to undo decades of progress in shaping working conditions for state employees that are safe, humane and fair. To achieve that goal, they are also seeking contractual changes that would drastically undermine the union’s ability to safeguard employee rights.
Gov. Rauner has said his goal is to eliminate all union membership in Illinois within the next four years. He’s also pushing privatization of public services. No doubt state employees are at the very top of his hit list on both counts. He’s putting out misleading information about state employee wages and benefits (which AFSCME has already discredited!). And the proposals he’s making at the bargaining table, even before discussions of economic issues begin, make all too clear his hostility toward state employees and the vital work we do.
Your AFSCME Bargaining Committee – more than 200 democratically elected rank-and-file members – is determined to stand fast against this onslaught. But this is not a fight that can be won solely at the bargaining table. It will require the involvement of every union member in every corner of this state – standing up and standing together. It will also involve reaching out to your friends and family to let them know what the governor is trying to do and to enlist their support. Your local Bargaining Committee members and your local’s Member Action Team will keep you informed about the progress of negotiations and how you can join in the critical battle to defend your union contract.
Oof.
* Meanwhile, the governor’s office added to its “Coalition of the Willing” today…
Hi, Rich –
Another update:
Heyworth passed the governor’s Turnaround Agenda Resolution. It is attached.
Best,
If you didn’t know, Heyworth is in McLean County and has a population of 2,841.
* And the National Review looks at the latest developments in Kentucky…
Now a dozen counties in Kentucky — including three of the ten largest in the state — allow workers to choose for themselves whether to pay union dues. Local laws now protect half a million Kentuckians from forced union dues. Unions have filed suit in federal district court.
Hardin County (the county the unions sued) just filed their motion for summary judgment. Final arguments are due in to the court in early May; the judge will rule sometime thereafter.
The Marshall County Board wants former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock to pay the $76,000 in unbudgeted county costs for special elections to fill the 18th Congressional District seat he abandoned.
The board voted unanimously Thursday to send the Peoria Republican a letter requesting the reimbursement. Schock resigned last month following controversy over his use of taxpayer and campaign funds.
The costs for the special primary and general election have been estimated at $38,000 each, officials said. In a vein somewhat similar to a collection letter, the board offers Schock options of sending either the full amount or an agreement stating that he will pay later. […]
“Schock has more money (in that fund) than the county has in its reserves,” [State’s Attorney Paul Bauer] said.
According to the Comptroller’s website, Marshall County had $3.6 million in general reserves at the end of Fiscal Year 2014, up from $3.5 million the year before. Not a bad little pile of cash for a county of 12,000 people. It was sitting on another $2.9 million in “special revenue” reserves, about the same as the year before.
So, while this is a fun little publicity pop, the county can clearly afford to pay for the special elections. Reserves are supposed to be for unintended expenses. These specials certainly qualify.
The number of inmates from local jails transferred into the state prison system and sent home the same day — referred to as a “turnaround” — has tripled in the past five years. The number increased from about 330 in 2010 to about 1,000 in 2014, according to state prison figures prepared Feb. 13 for the maximum-security Northern Reception and Classification Center outside of Joliet.
Turnarounds last year accounted for nearly 6 percent of the 17,181 prisoners processed through the center. It cost about $800,000 to process those 1,000 individuals, including expenses for staff, DNA tests, meals, clothing, and train or bus money for transportation home, according to a Tribune analysis.
So, they’re sending mainly Cook County prisoners all the way to Joliet for a DNA sample and paperwork only to be released the same day? The state couldn’t just pay the county to do that, or station some DOC employees at the jail?
A Tribune analysis shows that from October through January, 331 prisoners from Cook County spent a combined total of about 23,000 extra days beyond their sentences unnecessarily locked up at the jail. Delays in the court system occur for many reasons, including judges and lawyers not moving cases, and because of legal maneuvering.
Smith said it costs $143 a day to house an inmate in the jail, meaning the extended stays cost county taxpayers about $3.3 million.
It doesn’t actually cost the county $3.3 million because of fixed costs. But the judicial/prosecutorial/defense delays in dealing with mostly minor offenders is just ridiculous in Cook.
America’s relationship with its mentally ill population continues to suffer as a result of inadequacies in the country’s mental health care system.
For the mentally ill in Chicago, the effects of this inadequacy are felt on a magnified scale, as budget cuts and a lack of community-based mental health resources have left these individuals with minimal support. More often than not, this means being repeatedly swept up into the criminal justice system for low-level, non-violent crimes
VICE News takes an immersive look at this issue by going inside the Cook County Jail and speaking with community members on Chicago’s south side.
Hey Rich, I wanted to get this to you on the record, concerning the turnaround figures out of Cook County.
The IDOC is required by law to take offenders into its custody and process their discharge or release to MSR. The IDOC must take the offender’s picture, take a DNA sample, assign an IDOC number, process parole paperwork, assign a parole agent, verify parole host site, send an offender to medical to see if he needs a prescription, if he does, we provide a two weeks supply of medication. The IDOC will incur the costs of releasing a person on the same day whether he or she is processed at the NRC or at the Cook County Jail. There are an average of four turnarounds per day out of Cook County. We would have to pay for the staff at Cook County and backfill the positions at the NRC for processing offenders who come from other counties. There is insufficient justification for hiring additional staff to handle an average of four turnarounds a day. When you remove the staffing costs, we’re looking at a hard number of $56 per turnaround, which includes gate money, transportation money, shoes, clothing, and meals.
The bigger issue is how long it’s taking the court system to take an individual from arrest to conviction and sentencing. A change in statute might prove efficient if it mandates judges to order time served for offenders who have completed their sentence in the county jail.
* Adriana Cardona-Maguigad has written a fascinating story about Puerto Rico municipalities giving heroin addicts one-way airline tickets to Chicago, where the addicts often end up in unlicensed, unregulated “treatment” centers, and then, eventually, on the streets. Read it all.
* Gov. Rauner invited Oscar the Puppy to the mansion yesterday afternoon for a play date with his two dogs, Pumpkin and Stella. The dogs had a great time, playing and running throughout the Executive Mansion grounds for well over 2 hours. Pumpkin, who is 15 and somewhat disabled, did the best she could to keep up and Oscar seemed to respect her age. That was a relief to me because Oscar has, in the past, aggravated some older dogs with his boundless desire for play. Having Stella around helped, I think.
I was also relieved that Oscar avoided the chicken coop. Yes, Pat Quinn’s coop is still there. Stella and Pumpkin are highly trained bird dogs, so they’ve mostly stayed away from the chickens. Oscar ain’t exactly highly trained to do much of anything.
* The governor and I agreed that our entire conversation (which I’d describe as often brutally frank, yet mostly quite pleasant) would be off the record, but he said he’d be happy to take a photo with Oscar that I could post.
Unfortunately, we both forgot about the pic until after I left.
Oops.
* So, here’s one of Oscar from Saturday. The little guy was curled up in one of his favorite nooks in our house, where he can sit and watch the squirrels play outside…
A proposal to extend the temporary medical marijuana program doesn’t have Gov. Bruce Rauner’s support.
“The governor believes there is a lot of time left to evaluate a pilot program, and we should not extend the program until it has been fully evaluated,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in an email.
Rep. Lou Lang, the Skokie Democrat who championed the medical marijuana law and is now working to keep the temporary and delayed program in place for more time, said he was asked by officials in Rauner’s administration to hold off on filing a bill seeking more time for the program.
But the bill was filed and it’s making progress, clearing committee and now scheduled to be heard by the House. All of the Republicans on the committee voted against the bill last month, with one not voting. […]
The pilot program has been in effect for nearly a year and a half, but no marijuana has been sold to patients. Permits to grow marijuana were handed out last month.
The current four-year pilot program expires in 2017. Lang’s bill would extend the pilot program four years from when the first dispensary opens.
* The Question: Should the state’s medical marijuana pilot program be extended during this spring’s session, or should the GA wait a while longer to see how things work out? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Republican Mark Zalcman formally withdrew his candidacy from the upcoming special election for the 18th District Congressional vacancy today.
With only 19 days granted to gather slightly more than 1000 valid voter signatures in order to gain ballot access, Zalcman stated that he was forced to withdra because he could not have reached the required number in the 19 days granted by the Governor Bruce Rauner. […]
He states that this was “done purposely by the Governor to insure that Darin LaHood would not have to face any grassroots opposition in the campaign.”
* But there is one loose end still out there. From an oppo dump and a subsequent Google search comes the case of Kendrick Weatherspoon…
Weatherspoon was convicted in 2003 of being a felon in possession of a gun. On appeal, the court said Assistant U.S. Attorney Darin LaHood made improper statements during closing arguments. The court decided there was prosecutorial misconduct because LaHood vouched for the credibility of witnesses and encouraged the jury to convict in order to alleviate social problems.
The 32-page opinion said LaHood engaged in the same kind of vouching in two other cases in which convictions were overturned. (The U.S. attorney’s office later persuaded the appellate court to delete references to LaHood’s name and lose the term “recidivist conduct,” replacing it with “repeat-offender conduct,” which still sounds more like a criminal than a prosecutor.) […]
The court kicked the Weatherspoon case back for a new trial based on LaHood’s misconduct, and Weatherspoon pleaded guilty. […]
LaHood was “overworked and overwhelmed,” another prosecutor said. LaHood had four years of experience as a state prosecutor in Illinois, but both prosecutors said he needed better supervision in the federal system and didn’t get it, just as Bogden had admitted.
Kendrick Weatherspoon was convicted in 2003 in U.S. District Court in Nevada of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial in 2005 because prosecutor Darin LaHood had made improper arguments at trial. LaHood told jurors they should believe the police officers who testified against Weatherspoon and should convict him because it would “make you comfortable knowing there’s not convicted felons carrying around semiautomatics.” The case was the third in two years in which the Appeals Court said improper statements by LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, required it to overturn a conviction. […]
Weatherspoon had been sentenced originally to 10 years in federal prison. After the court overturned his conviction, the government entered a plea agreement with Weatherspoon, and he was sentenced to three years instead. Weatherspoon, who had been remanded in October 2003, was released in June 2006 on time served. Just two months after being freed, he tested positive for marijuana, a violation of his supervised release. Weatherspoon was subsequently returned to prison for 15 months. At the request of the U.S. attorney’s office, the Appeals Court deleted the name of LaHood, the prosecutor, from its opinion.
When invalidating LaHood’s work on the case, Circuit Judge Stephen Trott—himself a former federal prosecutor—said LaHood crossed the line by arguing that jurors convict the accused in order to protect the community from an armed convicted felon.
“Trott’s politely brutal opinion,” the Las Vegas Review reported in 2009, “said Bogden recognized LaHood’s mistakes and ascribed them to lack of supervision on the part of Bogden’s office and LaHood’s lack of training and experience. Bogden told the court LaHood’s errors were because of a management failure in his office.”
Even though LaHood had four years of experience as a state prosecutor in Illinois, “he needed better supervision in the federal system and didn’t get it,” Nevada U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden said.
LaHood’s discredited tactic seems to denote an anti-gun sentiment behind his arguments.
* This was also an issue when LaHood unsuccessfully ran for Peoria County State’s Attorney. From a 2007 interview…
Toward the end of our lunch, LaHood volunteered some criticism he expects to get from his opponent. There was a case he tried in Las Vegas that was overturned on appeal because of “prosecutorial misconduct.” The case was called United States v. Weatherspoon, and you can read the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion here. It was a 2-1 decision by a three-judge panel.
The “misconduct” to which the ruling refers is something called “vouching.” It’s where the prosecutor vouches for the credibility of the witnesses (in this case, police officers) in the case. To a layman like me, this sounds like no big deal, but apparently in legal circles it’s a no-no. Such an action “plac[es] the prestige of the government behind a witness,” and thus prejudices the jury against the defendant. It “invites the jury ‘to trust the Government’s judgment rather than its own view of the evidence.’”
In his defense to me, LaHood stated that he “makes no apologies” for being “aggressive” in his prosecutions. He said he had prosecuted over 1,000 cases and had only been reversed three times. The Ninth Circuit, he explained, is one of the most liberal appeals courts in the country (they were the ones who famously said that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional), and other courts have found that statements like the ones he made were not considered vouching. He encouraged me and anyone else concerned about this issue to read the ruling for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
In today’s Indiana, 27 percent of jobs are in occupations that pay below poverty, a national organization, the Working Poor Families Project, has reported.
Largely as a result of such forces, median incomes in Indiana have fallen 12 percent since 2007, U.S. Census figures show. And low-income workers were hit hardest. A Brookings Institute analysis found an earnings decline of more than 25 percent in lower-income Indianapolis households.
Replace Bruce Rauner as Keynote Speaker for SIU Graduation 2015
SIUC President Randy Dunn stated the impact of Rauner’s proposed budget cuts would slash $62 million from the SIU system, $44 million of which would be cut from SIU Carbondale specifically. Rauner’s budget proposal would set SIU back to funding levels comparable to the 1985-86 school year, and potentially cause up to a 6% increase in tuition. Choosing him as a keynote speaker is a slap in the face to SIU students and faculty who already deal with underfunded programs and facilities.
Graduation should celebrate not only the achievements of students as individuals, but the institution of SIU as a whole. How can anyone be expected to celebrate progress when our keynote speaker is someone who only intends to set us back?
Despite the petition, university officials and some students say the appearance could end up being a good thing.
“The petition is just one more reason why we should welcome the governor in may.” said SIU spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith on Saturday, “Hopefully we can make an impression on him during his visit, reflecting what the cuts mean to our campus.” […]
“Governor Rauner got put into a tough spot coming in” said SIU student and SIU College of Engineering student government rep. Matt Schmidlin, “it’s a double edged sword, meaning that, I think he does have good intentions coming down and actually wanting to see what’s going on in the university. I really hope when he comes down, he makes the most of his time - if he still decides to still be the commencement speaker for us - and actually take a look at what might be cut here.”
Political analyst David Yepsen has said the Illinois budget has been in need of drastic action since before the governor took office, and even University president Randy Dunn agrees that some cuts will be needed for the benefit of the whole state.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* Students organize statewide rally: Friday, 11 ISU students will lead groups from colleges across Illinois in a protest in Springfield against the proposed additional budget cuts
Rep. Bill Foster, of Naperville, announced Friday that he will not challenge Republican Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016 and instead is backing another Democrat, Rep. Tammy Duckworth.
Foster, a physicist, said in a statement he wanted to avoid a “costly and, ultimately unnecessary, primary” election.
He said he will serve as co-chairman of Duckworth’s finance committee to help her raise cash for her race.
The Democratic establishment is rapidly coalescing behind Duckworth and Foster didn’t bring much to the table except his personal wealth, which wasn’t enough to compete at that level anyway.
* Meanwhile, from a press release…
Tom Cullerton, a first term state Senator from Villa Park, announced that he is starting his exploratory campaign to represent middle-class families of Illinois’ 8th Congressional District.
“I am exploring a run for Congress because I want to make sure working families like mine have a voice in Washington,” Cullerton said. “I know what it’s like to wake up at 3 a.m., punch a time clock at 4:30a.m. and put in a hard days work. From the crippling cost of college to the shrinking opportunities for our next generation, I will use my blue collar work ethic to fix the problems the middle class faces. It’s a common experience that many people in the 8th district share but a unique experience in Congress. That is something that needs to change.”
Cullerton beat a 24-year Republican incumbent in 2012, making him the first Democrat ever elected to the state Senate from DuPage County. Before serving in the Illinois Senate, Cullerton served as Village President of Villa Park while working as a route salesman for Hostess Brands. Cullerton believes that his experience as a card carrying union member will be a unique perspective in Congress.
Cullerton’s candidacy sparked early endorsements from local labor and elected officials, including Assistant Majority Leader Senator Tony Munoz and Carol Stream Mayor Frank Saverino.
“I have seen Tom grow into an effective legislator, who can work across party lines while preserving his Democratic values,” said Munoz. “Tom’s skillset will be missed in the state Senate, but I am confident that he will help break the gridlock in Washington and move our country forward.”
“Tom has been a champion of the Western Suburbs for more than a decade. He clearly understands the issues our families and businesses face.” Saverino said. “His leadership made the Elgin-O’Hare Western Access project a reality, bringing economic growth to the region that was desperately need. We need people like him leading in Washington.”
Cullerton is a Veteran of the United States Army serving as an 11H TOW Gunner and combat medic until being honorably discharged in 1993. After moving to DuPage County, Cullerton decided to become active in the community. He formed and served as a captain a local neighborhood watch. He also became a member of the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion, and coaches little league.
* Last week, however, one of Cullerton’s Senate colleagues backed another candidate…
State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-28th District) and dozens of local Democratic leaders and activists today announced their support of Raja Krishnamoorthi’s candidacy to replace Rep. Tammy Duckworth in Congress.
“Raja offers meaningful solutions to protect working families and shares my commitment to help people in our community achieve the American Dream,” said Kotowski, a Democrat whose state legislative district includes parts of the 8th Congressional District of Illinois.
Kotowski’s district includes Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Roselle and Schaumburg.
* Phil Kadner writes about local reaction to the governor’s “Turnaround Agenda,” which includes several anti-union provisions, including so-called “right to work zones.” As you already know, the governor wants local governments to pass resolutions in support of his agenda…
Like all of the [Republican] mayors I have spoken with, [Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland] is under the impression that the governor’s turnaround agenda is a “take it or leave it” proposition.
“My understanding is that the language is non-negotiable,” he said. “The governor didn’t use those exact words, but that’s definitely the impression we’ve all gotten.”
Einhorn has not met personally with the governor, but he said the executive committee of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, which did meet with Rauner, also communicated to him that the governor’s turnaround resolution was to be adopted as written by his office staff.
“That’s simply not realistic and I doubt the governor meant it that way,” Einhorn said. “You can’t dictate to other government entities. No one does that. Everything is negotiable. And I would think that if the governor wants our support, if he wants a letter he can take to legislators to Springfield that says we support his goals, he would be happy to accept whatever we pass that demonstrates that sort of support.” […]
[New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann], who met with the governor along with other Will County mayors, said he also was under the impression that the items in the turnaround agenda were non-negotiable.
“We have no plan to vote on this right now,” Baldermann said.
* But things may be changing. Last week, for example, the Republican-dominated Winnebago County Board passed a heavily edited Rauner resolution…
(T)he board’s resolution excluded Rauner’s anti-union items, such as “fair share” dues for workers who don’t join a government union, and ending prevailing wage provisions for construction projects.
“We just felt that items like fair share and prevailing wage have to be settled on a higher level. We don’t feel it’s realistic to expect much is going to be done on those items,” Christiansen said.
[Rauner] said he would pitch the “huge, huge” savings cities could get if they could push and benefit from the turnaround agenda, including “local control of collective bargaining and unionization, local control of prevailing wage and project labor agreements.”
“A number of mayors have said to me, ‘Bruce, you deliver those two things for me, I’m not that worried,’ ” he said, adding, “Now, not every mayor has said that, but many have.”
The administration is expecting lots more municipalities will climb on board in the next few weeks. We’ll see.
The obvious idea here is to try and leverage the powers of local officials to prod legislators to do the governor’s bidding and gives him some PR backing. That’s a good plan in and of itself, but this is such a huge mountain to climb that even if he and his staff manages to convince lots of municipalities to sign on (and that’s still a big if), it won’t necessarily pass a bill.
* Rick Pearson has a pretty good take on what newly reelected Mayor Rahm Emanuel needs from the state to help balance his budget, including a discussion of the city’s looming pension costs. Go read the whole thing, but here’s a little nugget that didn’t get much play last week…
.
In a new development last week, the Illinois Department of Transportation warned cities across the state that they would see a $27.5 million cut in their share of state motor fuel tax payments, equal to about $1 per resident. It’s part of a deal struck by Rauner and lawmakers to use road construction money to plug other gaps in the current year’s state budget.
* Greg Hinz also takes a look at what Emanuel may want…
Emanuel can forget about getting the state to chip in more for Chicago teachers’ pensions. Not going to happen. But Rauner seems open to a new casino that could provide the city $100 million a year. And he and Emanuel both have talked about “modernizing,” “expanding” or otherwise widening the state’s sales tax to cover more services, with the city receiving a healthy cut of the take.
Of course, Rauner will exact a price. It likely will include tacit acceptance of some of the budget cuts he’s been proposing. More recently, he seems to be signaling that he also will require support for some of his anti-union initiatives. Could Emanuel see his way to put some Democratic votes toward, say, further reforms in the workers’ compensation system? Maybe.
Regardless, Emanuel almost certainly must raise property taxes, as I suggested in my last column. And there, too, he will need Rauner. Not to raise taxes per se but to implement something Emanuel’s campaign floated a few weeks ago and then abruptly pulled off the table: a big boost in the homestead exemption so that low- and moderate-income homeowners are pretty much exempted from any property tax hike that comes down. Such a bill could end up being good politics for both men.
“There is going to be substantial movement in Springfield one way or another,” [City Treasurer Kurt Summers] said. “Some of the ideas, we’re not going to see this session. Period. Some of them we are but they are going to be a part of a larger structural change.”
Summers says there’s a bill nearing passage in Springfield that that would give Teachers Pension Funds their own tax levy. No, says Summers, that doesn’t mean higher property taxes.
What it does mean, he says, is that school systems couldn’t delay payments to their pension funds to pay for other things.
Gov. Bruce Rauner is scaling back his legislative agenda, but only in terms of the number of bills in which it’s contained. He once said it would take six to eight bills to advance his so-called “turnaround agenda.” That’s now down to four pieces of legislation, but Rauner says that doesn’t mean he’s dropping any of his proposed reforms. “Right now we’ve got it in four buckets—pension reform, economic growth pro-job creation reform, government reform and ethics and conflict of interest reform,” Rauner said.
“We’ve got it in four buckets. We can divide those into eight bills, 10 bills, or three bills, it’s really a function of what the legislature prefers. The key is we get this legislation done now. It’s a four-month agenda, not just a four-year agenda. It’s right now. We need the votes taken this spring.”
Rauner has been touring the state promoting his “turnaround agenda.” He wants changes to workers’ compensation and civil liability laws, right-to-work zones for communities that choose them, changes to project labor agreements for public works projects, and limits on property tax increases.
Rauner said the various proposals have been drafted into legislation, but they are not yet ready to go before lawmakers for consideration.
“We will introduce those when the leaders say we should introduce them,” Rauner said. “I don’t know when that’s going to be.”
