Unclear on the concept
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ugh…
The Illinois Department of Human Services this week shuttered a public aid office in Illinois’s poorest county.
With the office closing Wednesday, Alexander County residents needing face-to-face assistance signing up for or with questions regarding medical, food and cash benefits will have to travel to nearby Mounds in Pulaski County.
Case managers at the resource centers are charged with reviewing applications and helping people apply for aid that includes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which is for pregnant mothers and their young children; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, and state Medicaid benefits.
DHS spokeswoman Veronica Vera said the decision was not driven by the state’s budget fiasco, but rather because state officials noted slow traffic at the public aid office in Cairo. About 15 people per day visit the office, she said, and even fewer visit the office daily in Mounds. […]
She noted that the Mounds office was just a few miles away from the one in Cairo, and also said there was an office in the region in Decatur. “I don’t know how far that one is,” said Vera, whose DHS administrative office is located in Chicago, of the Decatur office.
Decatur is east of Springfield, about 3 hours and 40 minutes north of Cairo. There are other offices much closer than Decatur, including one in Anna and Marion, according to DHS’s office, though she did not mention those.
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Putting the mayor’s proposal into perspective
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s takes a look at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed $500 million property tax hike…
If the huge increase were in place now, Chicago’s average composite property tax rate—which includes all government agencies, such as the county, schools and libraries—would be lower than all but five suburbs in Cook County. The tax rate is just one factor in determining a property owner’s tax bill, which also is affected by changes in real estate values.
Three of the five municipalities with lowest tax rates are in the northwest suburbs: Barrington, which has the lowest rate, South Barrington and Inverness.
Downtown Chicago, which has a higher tax rate than the rest of the city, would have the 15th-lowest tax rate in the county. Communities that would have lower tax rates than the city center include Prospect Heights, Willow Springs and Winnetka. […]
(E)ven with such a large increase, the city’s tax rate still would be slightly less than it was in 1996, according to clerk’s office records.
* But… and this is a major “but”…
Chicago already has the highest commercial real estate taxes of any major city in the nation except New York, said developer Steven Fifield. Builders and commercial property owners put much more emphasis on actual tax bills, which will climb, than tax rates, he said.
The tax hike, combined with other factors such as rising construction costs and climbing land prices, likely will cause a slowdown in new construction projects, particularly apartment buildings, said Fifield, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based Fifield Cos.
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* Erickson…
A Republican state lawmaker from Champaign said Friday he will not seek re-election in 2016.
State Rep. Adam Brown said he is taking on more of a leadership role in his family’s 1,000-acre farming operation and needs to step down from the 102nd district post he’s held since 2010.
“My plate has been beyond full for some time,” said Brown, 30, who recently announced the birth of his second child.
His pending departure, first reported by Capitolfax.com, is the latest in a line of Republican lawmakers who have announced they are not running again. Others include state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld of Okawville and state Reps. Mike Tryon of Crystal Lake and Ed Sullivan of Mundelein.
* Bernie…
House GOP Leader JIM DURKIN of Western Springs had great things to say about his outgoing chief of staff and the person who will replace him.
Chief of staff SCOTT REIMERS of Springfield, who turns 44 this weekend and makes $140,000 annually, will go into lobbying. ANDREW FREIHEIT, 44, of Wheaton, who now makes $130,000 annually as chief legal counsel and ethics officer for the caucus, will become chief of staff. Durkin said in a prepared statement that he expects a smooth transition and that Reimers will stay on staff through the end of September.
Durkin called Reimers “one of the hardest-working people I know” and “a devoted public servant and an important member of my team.”
Reimers said Durkin will “forever be a good friend,” but he also said that after 21 years with the General Assembly “and missing too many of my children’s games and activities, I felt it was time for me to start a new challenge.” He and his wife, LORI, have two children.
So, we’ve got three retiring House Republicans plus the chief of staff.
A pattern?
I dunno.
* I’ve talked to all of the retiring legislators at some length and the only pattern I’ve found is that they want to get on with their lives. A couple of them also had some health issues. Plus, Reimers was the chief under Durkin’s predecessor, so many figured he’d eventually be moving along.
And “Coach” never moved into his new district, so that retirement has been expected for quite some time.
* Don’t get me wrong, this session isn’t going as planned for the Republicans, who initially rejoiced at finally having a governor to backstop them, then ended up being being even more tightly controlled than their ’shroomy colleagues across the aisle.
So, I don’t doubt that the governor has something to do with all this. But I wouldn’t ever say that it is the reason.
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* A recent piece in Illinois Issues is getting some attention…
Charlie Wheeler III, a longtime observer of Illinois politics and head of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield, has a plan that could at least get the two sides talking. In a column in the Illinois Times, Wheeler rolled out how Rauner, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton could actually accomplish some things together. Wheeler recommends the two sides use an “agreed bill” process, in which all parties compromise and write the legislation together. This process has been used in the past, often with success and acceptable results for both sides of a dispute.
Wheeler’s explanation is lengthy, but here are the highlights of his compromise ideas.
Workers compensation: In a true compromise, tighten the definition of workplace injuries, which Rauner wants, and place more scrutiny on insurance companies, which would please Democrats.
Tort reform: Give Democrats a choice between stricter rules on where to file personal injury lawsuits, restricting “pain and suffering” awards, or sponsoring a constitutional amendment to determine if voters wanted to limit certain damages.
Property tax freeze: Enact a freeze, but only if Rauner drops demands that would severely restrict collective bargaining and eliminate a prevailing wage requirement. Wheeler didn’t mention this one, but we’d add, pave the way for voters to decide a way to reduce the number of local governments.
Redistricting and term limits: On both issues, turn to citizen groups to get the amendments on the ballot through the petition process. Rauner, who supports both issues, could use his bully pulpit to support the issues, but would remove them from his legislative agenda.
Andy Shaw also pointed to Wheeler’s piece as a possible model. Charlie’s piece can be read in full by clicking here.
I’ve supported most of these ideas in the past, particularly an agreed bill process on workers’ comp and dropping the anti-union stuff from the property tax freeze. And as we found out yet again last year, Illinoisans can’t legally put a term limits constitutional amendment on the ballot.
The problem isn’t with the ideas, the problem is the complete lack of will to talk about the ideas.
Once Speaker Madigan decides he’s willing to talk about workers’ comp reforms that don’t include “causation,” then the talks can bear some fruit, but not until he’s willing. Same goes for everything else, on both sides. There just is no will right now to move anything forward.
* The only thing that ever dependably moves these guys to act is a crisis, and despite the long impasse we just haven’t seen one yet that’s urgent enough to generate some will. And instead of talking about the budget for the last few weeks, all the leaders and members did was griped about the AFSCME bill. Speaker Madigan has long chastised the governor for focusing too much on non-budget issues, but what did he do for weeks? I mean, you’d never know there was a budget problem to listen to Madigan et al.
So, Rep. Dunkin wasn’t wrong when he said…
Meantime, on Wednesday eight people were killed in Chicago. The schools are $480 million short. And this is the most salient thing we can talk about in Springfield?
*** UPDATE *** Like I said. No will…
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Ignore ‘em
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Nate Silver…
In a sense, the primaries are a lot like the NCAA basketball tournament: You know there are going to be some surprises. The odds of every favorite winning every game in the NCAA tournament are longer than a billion-to-one against. And yet, in the end, one of the front-runners usually wins. (Since the men’s tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, all but three champions have been No. 4 seeds or better.)
So be wary of grand pronouncements about What It All Means based on a handful of “surprising” developments. Is Scott Walker’s campaign off to an “unexpectedly” bad start, for instance? Maybe. (I wouldn’t be thrilled if I were one of Walker’s strategists. I’d also remind myself that we have five months to go before the Iowa caucuses.) Even if you grant that Walker is having some problems, however, it would be stunning if all the Democratic and Republican campaigns were doing exactly as well as pundits anticipated. At any given moment, some campaigns are bound to be struggling to meet expectations, or exceeding them.
Similarly, while one might not have predicted that Bernie Sanders would be the one to do it, it was reasonably likely that some rival would emerge to Hillary Clinton. It’s happened for every non-incumbent front-runner in the past: Buchanan for Dole; Bill Bradley for Al Gore.
The other big difference between the general election and primaries is that polls are not very reliable in the primaries. They improve as you get closer to the election, although only up to a point. But they have little meaning now, five months before the first states vote.
It’s not only that the polls have a poor predictive track record — at this point in the past four competitive races, the leaders in national polls were Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton and Rick Perry, none of whom won the nomination — but also that they don’t have a lot of intrinsic meaning. At this point, the polls you see reported on are surveying broad groups of Republican- or Democratic-leaning adults who are relatively unlikely to actually vote in the primaries and caucuses and who haven’t been paying all that much attention to the campaigns. The ones who eventually do vote will have been subjected to hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of advertising, had their door knocked on several times, and seen a half-dozen more debates. The ballots they see may not resemble the one the pollsters are testing since it’s likely that (at least on the GOP side) several of the candidates will have dropped out by the time their state votes.
All very good points.
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Simon gets back in the game
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this almost a month ago. AP…
Former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is running for state senate in southern Illinois’ 58th District.
The Carbondale Democrat made the announcement Monday at the Du Quoin State Fair.
Simon says in a written statement that she’ll “stand up for Southern Illinois’ families and their jobs.” The former teacher says she’ll also campaign on the issue of funding for education.
* From the Southern…
“When a governor messes with our rights to organize, I get angry. And because anger isn’t going to do much for me, I’m moving my anger into action,” Simon said. […]
“There’s so much at stake right now, we need strong unions,” Simon said. “The reason the governor is holding the budget up is because he wants to weaken the union rights in Illinois and I am entirely opposed to that.” […]
“I’m running to support our rights to organize, to preserve the hard-fought gains we have made before. I’m running because that governor is not hurting just us,” Simon said. “His refusal to budge on the budget is making it hard for working parents to just get by and stay at work.” […]
“That governor grew up in a life of wealth and privilege, he might not understand us, he might not care, but I am running to be a strong voice for Southern Illinois and one that [Rauner] can’t ignore,” Simon said.
Simon is being backed by the Senate Democrats.
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Two very important lessons need to be learned
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
There was a reason why state Rep. Esther Golar, D-Chicago, showed up late for session Sept. 2.
She’s been quite ill.
Unbeknownst to many of her colleagues, Golar was brought into the Statehouse that afternoon via wheelchair. With a weak and halting voice, Golar asked for assistance putting on a light jacket while chatting with a smattering of well-wishers before bravely walking to her seat on the House floor.
She told friends that she hadn’t eaten solid food in three weeks, although she didn’t say what had made her so ill. In desperate need of intravenous fluid, Golar eventually had to be taken to a Springfield hospital.
Through it all, the six-term South Side legislator said she absolutely had to attend session because she knew it was important, not just to help override the governor’s veto of AFSCME’s now-infamous “no strike” bill but to have her say on all the other overrides and important measures.
A whole lot of bills went down in flames that day because Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago, decided not to cut short his trip to New York and skipped the session. Numerous override motions failed by a single vote, as well as a bill designed to reverse the governor’s 90 percent cut to child care services.
Quite a few Democratic legislators were furious at their colleague. Some sent him text messages to express their displeasure after their bills went down to defeat. He had no empathy in reply, despite the fact that tens of thousands of Illinoisans, from struggling working mothers to unionized employees, will be impacted.
While it’s true that the AFSCME bill, which would have prevented a strike or a gubernatorial lockout, received only 68 of the 71 required for passage, House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters that if Dunkin had been in town all Democrats would have voted for it. However, Rep. Scott Drury, the sole “No” vote in the Democratic caucus, denied that he ever would have voted to override when asked by the Sun-Times. Rep. Jack Franks voted “Present.”
When I asked whether Dunkin’s committee chairmanship was now in danger, Madigan said he had no plans yet to punish him. Madigan’s members were not so quick to forgive, however, and several said they hoped for some sort of retaliation.
That could get tricky, though. The fact is that the House only has 71 Democrats, so Dunkin’s vote will be needed in the future. And if organized labor goes on the attack in the spring primary, they’d better not lose.
Besides, if Madigan follows his usual path, he’ll ride to Dunkin’s rescue if the incumbent draws a primary challenger. There is no better way to ensure a member’s undying gratitude than pulling his sorry behind out of a raging political fire.
The governor’s top people flatly denied that they offered Dunkin anything in exchange for his no-show. Rauner worked harder than he ever had to defeat the override motion. Greg Hinz at Crain’s Chicago Business reported that sources told him Rauner attended a Dunkin fundraiser this summer. But AFSCME Council 31 contributed $2,000 to Dunkin’s campaign fund in June.
Aside from Dunkin’s unexcused (and perhaps inexcusable) absence, the real problem here is twofold.
First, a large number of House Republicans voted somebody else’s conscience (Rauner’s) rather than their own, or that of their districts. Or they wimped out and cast yet another “Present” vote or didn’t vote at all.
More important, though, AFSCME crafted a purely partisan power play. Instead of bringing friendly Republicans into the fold, the union relied on Democratic leaders to handle everything. And in the process, a whole lot of Democratic suburbanites were hung out to dry by their leaders.
This was, in other words, a typical Illinois Democratic move. In that world, “bipartisanship” too often means Republicans are forced to vote for Democratic bills as is.
Just look at Sept. 1’s floor action. Instead of accepting some of the governor’s relatively minor amendatory vetoes, the Democrats instead chose to override him and failed miserably. All those underlying bills–encompassing hundreds of hours of work—are now dead.
So maybe Dunkin unintentionally did his Democratic colleagues a favor. He showed them that their power isn’t as great as they thought. The absence of a single legislator completely undermined their quest to send messages of total defiance to the Republican governor. Whether they like it or not, that day’s abject failures showed yet again that Illinois no longer is a one-party state.
Hopefully, some Democrats paid attention.
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* Phil Luciano writes about the demise of a local program because of a $50,000 state budget cut…
For years, TCAP has been the only social-service provider in isolated, ramshackle Richland Farms, otherwise and ingloriously known as The Bottoms. In addition to assisting children with academic and other needs, TCAP has hosted adult workshops on home security, cyberbullying and other topics.
In a forgotten chunk of East Peoria where residents struggle to make ends meet, the project has run a food bank. And amid shacks that lack computers, TCAP has served as a clearing house of information, such as where and when parents can get free school supplies. […]
As of Sept. 16, funding officially will end. The problem goes beyond the Springfield budget impasse. As with other prevention programs aiming to reduce education and crime woes, TCAP’s funding has been erased in the governor’s effort to cut spending.
“Unfortunately, when the state looks at things, prevention programs are the first things to go,” the CYFS’s Glancy says. “But there will be problems later.”
* Bre Linstromberg Copper writes about cuts that will eliminate a detox program…
The Wells Center in Jacksonville will be shutting down its detoxification program on Oct. 1.
Executive Director Bruce Carter said the program is being discontinued because of the continuing state budget impasse and funding reductions by the state.
“It became clear in July that if the state didn’t pass a budget, we would have to start looking at ways to reduce our expenses,” Carter said.
* But…
A five-year pilot project on Interstate 72 east of Springfield will help determine whether there is a better way to extend the life of Illinois’ most heavily traveled highways.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is testing use of a concrete and buffer overlay on a section of I-72 just outside of Springfield as an alternative to the traditional hot-mix asphalt overlay. The just-completed work was part of a multiyear rehabilitation of pavement and bridges on the interstate between Springfield and Decatur.
Nearly 21,000 vehicles travel the popular commuter section of I-72 on the east side of Springfield, according to IDOT figures, including approximately 3,000 heavy trucks daily.
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[Comments are now open on this post.]
* As usual, it’s Erickson with the scoop…
State Rep. Reggie Phillips, a Republican from Charleston, said he has taken out options on real estate in [Florida] and made other preparations in anticipation of a possible move.
“We’re very actively looking at it,” Phillips told the Quad-City Times Springfield bureau. “I’m a practical businessman. I can’t stay here and allow myself to be strangled by incompetence.”
Phillips, who owns a homebuilding and real estate company in Charleston, took office in January and was hopeful Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner could move quickly to implement his plans to make Illinois a more business-friendly state.
But, he said, “The fight is a lot harder than what I anticipated.” […]
Phillips did not offer a timeline for when he might make a decision, but records show he has taken steps to open a business in Florida.
* You’ll remember Rep. Phillips…
* Rep. Phillips is a sponsor of a “right to work” bill, and now we know why…
State Rep. Reggie Phillips made his feelings on the proposed right-to-work resolution clear Thursday, saying AFSCME members are “like ants” and asking his members to lock arms and support towns that pass the resolution.
Phillips, R-Charleston, along with State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, spoke at the Charleston Chamber of Commerce’s legislative update lunch at the Unique Suites hotel. Phillips pointed to right-to-work and pension reform as two of the biggest topics state legislators are dealing with.
Phillips said he will ask Charleston city officials to resurrect the right-to-work resolution, rescinded by council members after union supporters packed council meetings to speak against it, and wants his constituents to support it.
Phillips noted he attended one of the council meetings in support of the resolution.
“There’s only 38,000 members in AFSCME (represented by the contract in Illinois),” he said. “You’d think there’s 38 million. They’re mobilized, like ants.”
Phillips said he wished Gov. Bruce Rauner and Phillips’ own supporters would have stood firm on the issue. The process of change may be painful but is necessary for the state, he said.
“Trust me, it’s like spanking a child sometimes,” he said. “The child doesn’t want to be spanked, but in the end it’s going to make them a better person.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Rep. Reggie Phillips announces he is running for a second term
Charleston, IL – State Representative Reggie Phillips today announced he will seek a second term as State Representative in the 110th District.
“I went to Springfield because I was tired of seeing bad policies drive jobs and opportunities away from our state,” Phillips said. “I looked at my grandchildren and I wondered what kind of future will they have? The decision to run was based on my desire to turn our state around. I think it is important to have representation in Springfield that is not beholden to campaign contributors or party leaders. I am an independent voice and I serve the people of the 110th District and I would be honored to continuing serving in Springfield for another term.”
Rep. Phillips is working with local farmers in opposition to the Green Belt Express Clean Line. He also sponsored a measure (House Resolution 173) to support the nation of Israel. Additionally, he is working with several of his colleagues to pass a measure (House Resolution 671) which calls for an investigation of Planned Parenthood in light of the recent videos exposing some horrific practices involving the sale of human body parts.
One of Rep. Phillips’ top priorities is to change the economic climate in Illinois and enact meaningful business reforms. Illinois ranked dead last in the Midwest per capita for new payroll jobs added to the economy in 2014 while Iowa ranked 14th and Wisconsin 20th, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“One of things I find so frustrating is that there are a few simple changes we can make to really get our economy going but we continue to ignore these simple reforms,” Phillips said. “Enacting real workers’ compensation reform, reducing excessive business regulations, and unleashing the full potential of Illinois’ natural resources would put us back on a course to economic growth and prosperity. The current policies are not working. Illinois also needs term limits and we need to take the legislative remap process out of the hands of politicians. We can turn this state around but it starts with real, meaningful reform.”
Rep. Reggie Phillips grew up in Arthur, Illinois. He and his wife Martha have four adult children and 10 grandchildren. In 1986, Reggie and Martha started a residential and commercial building business in Charleston, Illinois which now employs approximately 400 people. He was elected State Representative in the 110th District in 2014. The 110th District encompasses parts or all of Coles, Crawford, Lawrence, Cumberland, and Edgar Counties.
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Dunkin speaks
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
[Comments are now open on this post.]
* Paris Schutz caught up to Rep. Ken Dunkin by phone…
“For [Speaker Madigan] to throw me under the bus like that is foul,” Dunkin told Chicago Tonight over the phone. “I guess they took for granted that I was going to be there. I told them emphatically that I was going out of town. They knew damn well I was going to be gone.”
Dunkin confirms that he was in New York for both work and personal reasons: he first attended a work conference and then a funeral for the friend of his wife. He says he told the speaker and his staff that he was upset the bill wasn’t called a week earlier, and he sacrificed personal and family time to be at the statehouse then, and that he supported the bill at that time. But Dunkin says that his support for the bill eroded when he started asking more questions.
“This is such an unprecedented move by any union under any governor in this state’s history. I wanted to see what they were talking about,” Dunkin says. “I wanted to see the union’s position and where they were in negotiations in writing. I asked AFSCME for information on what specifically they were negotiating and they said, ‘We don’t typically share that information.’ I also asked the governor’s office and had to squeeze information out of them.” […]
When asked if Gov. Rauner did anything to persuade Dunkin to miss the vote or if he offered any sort of benefit in return, Dunkin said, “Hell no.” But Dunkin admits that the governor made the case that AFSCME had a poor record on hiring and protecting the jobs of minorities in state agencies. He says AFSCME flatly rejected that claim but offered him no evidence to the contrary. […]
“The speaker made this a super issue,” Dunkin said. “I don’t want to be a part of his political manipulations. I don’t know what he was thinking when he called the bill knowing he didn’t have 71 votes. He knew I wasn’t 100 percent on board anyway. I’m not in the pocket of Mike Madigan. I don’t work for Mike Madigan, I work with him. I don’t work for the governor. You can print that.”
“There are 47 other bodies that [Madigan] has worked with equally if not longer,” Dunkin said. “But I’m the cause of his self-manufactured defeat? Meantime, on Wednesday eight people were killed in Chicago. The schools are $480 million short. And this is the most salient thing we can talk about in Springfield? This bill meant nothing to the average person.”
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Mazel tov!
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* In keeping with our ongoing theme of treating people as humans instead of cartoon characters, I give you one Richard Goldberg.
Yeah, some of y’all don’t much like Richard. I get it. The governor’s chief liaison is also the Prince of Snarkness and not exactly popular around here.
Regardless, he’s still one of my favorite people in the entire Rauner administration. You just don’t know him like I do.
* This past weekend, Richard treated his girlfriend Roxie to one of those Lake Michigan dinner cruises. I’ve met Roxie on a few occasions and she’s about the nicest person you’ll ever know. Some of us sometimes wonder what she sees in our boy, but he’s most definitely blessed to have her.
Anyway, Richard told us that he was going to pop the big question during the cruise. And he followed through…
Nice rock.
For whatever reason, Roxie said “Yes.”
I couldn’t be happier for them.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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First time for everything
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* House Republicans have been avoiding taking stands on bill after bill this year. But this is the first time I can remember a newspaper calling a member out on it. From the Southern Illinoisan…
State Rep. Terri Bryant is doing her damnedest to amass the most milquetoast legislative voting record possible. Her middling quest for ambiguity is a disservice to voters and her office alike.
Bryant, R-Murphysboro, yet again refused to pick a side Wednesday night when House Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of SB 1229, legislation more concerned with empowering union bosses than serving the state.
The freshman Republican was in the chamber when the override died. She just didn’t cast a vote. Any vote. None. The roll merely registers Bryant as “no vote.”
Strong stand, indeed.
It’s just the most recent addition to a disturbing pattern taking shape since Bryant took office in January.
Put simply, she too often goes AWOL when strident leadership is most required. Right-to-work zones: present. July’s temporary budget: no vote.
Oof.
Go read the whole thing. It’s quite harsh.
And considering all the grief that Rep. Ken Dunkin has taken this week for skipping Wednesday’s session, it’s about time other folks who refused to hit a button right in front of them took a bit of heat as well.
Frankly, I don’t care how a legislator votes, as long as it’s reasonably consistent with their own ideology and/or their districts. But when you skip a vote, you’ve crossed over into unacceptable behavior.
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‘Tis the season
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Candidate petitions started hitting the streets on September 1st…
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The question nobody’s asking
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times early yesterday…
Dyett High School will reopen as an open-enrollment arts-themed high school, a decision that, it is hoped, will end the three-week hunger strike by the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization (known as “KOCO”), Janice Jackson, chief of education for Chicago Public Schools, announced Thursday.
Saying newly-installed leaders at CPS had to “look with fresh eyes,” Jackson said CPS would be “taking pieces” from all three options presented under a prior request for proposals. That includes one from the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett/KOCO and another from Monica Haslip, founder of Little Black Pearl.
“We will have an arts theme, but it will not be run by Little Black Pearl, and we are also bringing in the technology piece that KOCO has lobbied for.”
Students who live within Dyett community boundaries would be given enrollment preference. Remaining seats would be filled by a lottery.
Jackson said CPS settled on an arts program because that model attracts students from all over the city.
* All sorts of people were hopeful that this would break the impasse and end the hunger strike…
Claypool announced the plan for Dyett at the district’s Loop headquarters alongside Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson, senior adviser Denise Little and a group of African-American elected officials and community leaders that included U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill.; Ald. Will Burns, 4th; and state Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago. […]
“In my opinion,” Rush said Thursday, “the activists — the community activists, those who really care about the community, those who are really concerned about the educational future of the community — they have won.
“They wanted Dyett to remain open, it’s going to be open. They wanted Dyett to be an open-enrollment facility, it’s going to be an open-enrollment facility. They wanted Dyett to be a neighborhood school, well, they won. It’s a neighborhood school.”
* Mary Mitchell…
CPS was forced to deal with Dyett High School, and KOCO can take credit for that.
Now that CPS has come up with a proposal for Dyett High School that would help this community heal, it would be foolish for KOCO to fight it.
* It didn’t work…
“This does not reflect the vision of the community,” the group said in a statement after reviewing the proposal that CPS hoped would end the 2 1/2-week hunger strike by the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization.
And as for ending the hunger strike, the group’s spokesman, J. Brian Malone, said: “We haven’t made that decision yet.”
* As Progress Illinois has been reporting for a while, the Dyett protests have been “spearheaded” by the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, or KOCO for short…
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget town hall meeting got shut down Wednesday night after Dyett protesters took over the stage, which caused security to lead Emanuel away from the scene. […]
“Twelve people have been on a hunger strike for 17 days, three of them have been hospitalized in the process, and these people are coming closer and closer to death to get a school. That’s why I went on that stage,” Jawanza Malone, executive director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, a key group behind the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School, told the newspaper after the meeting was disrupted.
Wednesday’s budget town hall meeting, held at the South Shore Cultural Center, was the second of three that Emanuel is holding this week. Emanuel also faced a raucous crowd at Monday’s budget meeting, during which people chanted and spoke out in support of the Dyett hunger strikers.
“All we’re asking is for a quality school in a neighborhood. It doesn’t take five years, 17 days or to the end of a meeting to make a decision,” Malone added. “The mayor is refusing to make a decision.”
Keep in mind that the hunger strikers have also demanded that the other two groups which were vying to run the school step aside. KOCO has protested the opening of a grocery store in the middle of a vast food desert because of “gentrification” concerns. These folks appear to be quite radical, and radicals don’t often want to settle for half a loaf.
* I apologize in advance if I’m out of line here, but somebody needs to start asking some questions that would’ve naturally come up if KOCO was part of the “regular” city apparatus.
Could there be another reason for KOCO’s obstinance? Since the group is “spearheading” both the protests and the push for that particular school, are they at all in it for the money, the jobs, the contracts and the influence that would come from creating a school of their own? And are they willing to allow hunger strikers to die to achieve those all too earthly goals?
I sure hope not. And I’m also sure they would flatly deny it if asked.
Click here to read the group’s proposal for the Dyett school. Scroll down to page 25…
That’ll probably be a smallish contract, but it is quite interesting that KOCO plays a formal role in the school’s envisioned operation.
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The cat herder
Friday, Sep 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Zorn writes about House Speaker Michael Madigan’s alleged cloak of invincibility…
And Rauner, the political novice who was ostensibly going to be overmatched by the savvy Madigan, didn’t suffer a single Republican House vote in favor of the override. The Democratic failure Wednesday strengthens Rauner’s position with AFSCME and negotiations over terms to begin budget talks.
Ah, but is Madigan simply trying to lure Rauner into overplaying his hand? Does he plan to use Wednesday’s anti-union votes to turn Republican seats Democrat in next year’s election?
Some hopeful chatter on the message boards is saying yes, he’s still playing the long game and is going to win. But that’s still his reputation speaking, not reality.
Reality is that he lost. The game has changed. It’s from Rauner that the satisfied chuckle emanates: “Bwa-ha-ha!”
That’s true, except that the governor was far more magnanimous in victory than Zorn gives him credit for.
* Madigan does not exert absolute control over his members, and that has been on clear display time and time again. Remember his pet project millionaire’s tax? The constitutional amendment was defeated when Reps. Franks, Drury and Dunkin voted against it - the same three Democrats who didn’t vote for the AFSCME bill override motion…
Just about everybody from the governor (”legislators that Madigan controls”) all the way down to the most casual political observer constantly say that Madigan can do whatever he wants. He’s the grand puppet master. For years and years, people said he was fighting with Governors Blagojevich and Quinn because he was not so secretly setting up his daughter for a run at the big office. But then she said she wouldn’t run because he wouldn’t step aside. So much for that theory.
* Madigan has carefully cultivated this perception of invincibility. It’s part of his schtick. I think I’ve told you the story about why he never played golf at his golf outings. He told me that he had this illusion of power, and if people saw him futilely hacking away at a golf ball that illusion would be damaged. (Later on, he learned to play golf properly because his son was interested in the game.)
I remember sitting on the Republican side of the chamber in January of 1995 when Lee Daniels was elected Speaker. Back then, I was allowed to roam around wherever I pleased, so I sat next to some House Republicans that day to get a feel for the moment. As is tradition, both Madigan and Daniels were nominated for Speaker. The nominating speeches dragged on for a while and then Madigan asked to be recognized. An audible gasp rippled through the GOP side of the aisle. What was he up to? What trick did he have up his sleeve?
Turns out, it was nothing of the sort. Madigan said that Daniels had waited long enough and asked for a unanimous roll call. The relieved Republicans stood and cheered.
* But occasionally, as with the AFSCME bill, reality creeps in and people who previously thought that Madigan was all-powerful are now saying either that he’s lost his touch or that he’s up to something else that we mere mortals can never comprehend.
Meh.
What happened on Wednesday was just one more illustration of the difficult reality of herding cats. Madigan is an expert cat herder, for sure. Likely the best who ever was. But occasionally some cats will scamper away.
* Madigan runs his Statehouse office like he runs his ward office - he’s a consummate fixer, he does favors large and small, he protects his people from every sort of possible harm.
And every once in a while he does things to show that he is capable of serious retribution, both to keep his own people in line and to warn away anyone who might mess with his people. You’ll recall how he stripped a committee chairmanship from Rep. Jay Hoffman for being too close to Rod Blagojevich. And then there was this…
John Bills’ career at City Hall wasn’t without its series of bumps, like the time in 2000 when Bills took it upon himself to support the campaign of then-Ald. Patrick Levar, 45th, against Dorothy Brown in her successful run for Cook County Circuit Court clerk. He made the mistake of not seeking Madigan’s approval.
“Unbeknownst to John, I guess Madigan didn’t think Levar had much of a chance, so there wasn’t a lot of support,” Ryan said. “Anyway, when Madigan found out that John was working for Levar he wasn’t too happy and called him in. They had a bit of a falling out.”
Bills, then an assistant commissioner in the electricity bureau, was exiled to a trailer in a South Side quarry.
“The next day, John was moved to the quarry and handed a tape measure,” Ryan said, adding that Bills spent about a year measuring offices for renovations. “Eventually, they let him back in.”
“He absolutely hated it,” another friend said. “I remember he had to go down to (13th Ward Ald. Frank) Olivo’s office with his tail between his legs begging to get back in good graces.
“Eventually, Madigan let him back in,” the friend said. “For one thing, he raised a lot of money for Mike.”
* His members love him and fear him, and he prefers it that way. I’ve used this example before…
Hundreds of guys depended on Paulie and he got a piece of everything they made. And it was tribute, just like in the old country, except they were doing it here in America. And all they got from Paulie was protection from other guys looking to rip them off. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s what the FBI could never understand. That what Paulie and the organization does is offer protection for people who can’t go to the cops. That’s it. That’s all it is. They’re like the police department for wiseguys.
Again, he’s a powerful man, and a true legend. But buying into this theory of invincibility perpetrated by so many is merely buying into Madigan’s own personal spin. He’s extremely talented, but he’s still just a man.
This is real life, not a cartoon fantasy.
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* Kurt Erickson has a story about the 440 people who were hired by the state during August…
State Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, who is running for comptroller in 2016, said the hiring numbers indicate that many people may not be taking the lack of a budget seriously.
“We don’t have a budget. We have this awful stalemate. But people are acting like it’s no big deal,” Biss said. “It’s just bad, bad news.”
Biss said there may be legitimate reasons to hire some workers, but the numbers indicate government appears to be operating in a “business as usual” manner.
“This is a crisis. God help us if this is the new normal,” Biss said.
State Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, said if the objective of the budget impasse is to bring government services to a halt, it is not working.
“We can’t even shut down government right,” Harris said. “It’s a weird, crazy situation that, without pressure, it won’t get resolved. The whole things seems odd.”
* And Brian Mackey writes about how the governor and the four leaders haven’t met since possibly the end of May…
The calendar has been filled with pressure points that were supposed to help push the governor and Democrats toward compromise: The end of the legislative session in May. The new fiscal year July 1. Not being able to make the state payroll in mid-July or provide funding for schools in August. But each of these has come and gone, with a mix of courts, consent decrees, the governor himself stepping in to ease pressure.
No pressure, no conversation. And no conversation, no deal.
The problem in the Capitol is not just that the state’s top politicians are talking past each other.
The problem in the Capitol also seems to be that the state’s top politicians are not talking at all.
Discuss.
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