* This ad was recorded off a friend’s TV set with a mobile phone, so it’s kinda blurry. But it is a very hard-hitting spot, running on expensive network TV and paid for by Democrat Juliana Stratton’s campaign…
* Script…
TEXT: Do we really know Ken Dunkin?
WOMAN 1: The history of violence and menacing criminal behavior towards women.
WOMAN 2: Found guilty of battery.
MALE KID: Voted to allow people to carry loaded guns on our streets.
WOMAN 3: Failed to pay child support.
FEMALE KID: Voted with Republicans to cut child care for thousands of kids.
WOMAN 1: Tried to weaken punishment for sex offenders.
WOMAN 4: Violated protection orders.
FEMALE KID: So why is he still in charge?
TEXT: Say no to Ken Dunkin.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Dunkin held a press conference today to call on the House to pass his higher education bailout bill that we discussed yesterday.
Rep. Dunkin noted that Gov. Rauner said today he would sign the bill and said “all” House Republicans have committed to voting for it. He said 47 House members have agreed to vote for it, which would apparently be all Republicans and himself.
I don’t know why Garcia did this, other than his stated Rauner angle, but he’s never been a sellout.
…Adding… From an experienced commenter…
That’s been the rumor, he wants to replace Orr. I didn’t put a lot of faith in the rumor but it’s been repeated often, in particular in reference to some of the latino politics currently at play which is supposed to involve some jockeying to then take Garcia’s seat. Thinking about future weighted vote could explain at least one heated committeeman’s race.
OK, so maybe Ed’s right.
…Adding More… The full press release…
Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (7th) is endorsing Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan for re-election, Madigan announced Wednesday.
“Now more than ever, local families need Michael Madigan in the State Capitol fighting for them,” Garcia said. “Under Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, families are facing unprecedented attacks on their financial security, students are under threat that their schools will close, and elderly residents are unable to get the medical care they need. Governor Rauner has failed to put the needs of our families ahead of his own personal agenda, which in itself is an attack on the middle class. Michael Madigan has stood up against Governor Rauner’s dangerous agenda that endangers our local families and families across Illinois.”
“I’m honored to receive Commissioner Garcia’s support and proud to work with him to strengthen our neighborhoods and protect our families and what we have worked hard to build,” Madigan said. “At the very heart of that goal is fighting against reckless agendas aimed at driving down the wages of the middle class and struggling families and weakening their standard of living, and fighting against dangerous plans that hold up funding for critical programs that our families depend on, like medical care services for the elderly, breast cancer screenings for women at risk, and affordable child care.”
“Michael Madigan continues providing the strong leadership that our neighborhoods need to succeed and thrive,” Garcia said. “He has been a progressive leader on issues of citizenship, parent mentoring, battling predatory lenders that have forced families into foreclosure, voter protections, and better funding for our schools.”
The Illinois Republican Party is hoping to profit from the March 15 presidential primary by holding a fundraising dinner in honor of Gov. Bruce Rauner on the Friday before Election Day.
Already, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has confirmed he’ll be there, and all of the current GOP presidential contenders, including Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio, have been invited to the reception and dinner at the Palmer House Hilton. Even some of the former Republican presidential candidates have been asked to attend.
Tickets for the event start at $500 per person and go up to $40,000 to serve as a “Gold Sponsor,” which includes two tables of 10 with a photo opportunity and a one-year membership in the “Governor’s Council.”
* The Question: Your best guess for the benefit(s) received for serving on the “Governor’s Council”?
Illinois ranks in the middle of the pack on things like these…
29 - AFFORDABLE AND AVAILABLE HOUSING Illinois had 62 apartments or other units that were affordable and available for every 100 renter households with very low incomes in 2014. Very low-income households are those with incomes at or below half of median income in the metropolitan or other area where they live.
27 - CHILD POVERTY RATE: 19.9 percent of children under age 18 in related families in Illinois had incomes below the poverty line in 2014.
25 - POVERTY RATE: 14.4 percent of people in Illinois had incomes below the poverty line—about $24,000 for a family of four—in 2014.
25 - GENDER WAGE GAP Among full-time, year-round workers in Illinois in 2014, women’s median earnings were 79.2 percent of men’s median earnings.
23 - HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE: 83 percent of high school students in Illinois graduated on time at the end of the 2012–13 school year.
23 - DISCONNECTED YOUTH: 15 percent of youth ages 18 to 24 in Illinois who were not in school or working in 2013
23 - LACK OF HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE: 19.8 percent of people under age 65 and below 138 percent of the poverty line in Illinois did not have health insurance at any time in 2014.
22 - TEEN BIRTH RATE There were 24.6 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 19 in 2013 in Illinois.
20 - CHILDREN LIVING APART FROM PARENTS: 5 children in Illinois lived in foster care for every 1,000 children under age 18 in 2013.
20 - UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COVERAGE: 29.9 percent of unemployed workers in Illinois were helped by unemployment insurance in 2014
44 - UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 7.1 percent of all workers in Illinois were unemployed in 2014
* I was kinda surprised at how high we ranked on this…
13 - SAVINGS AND ASSETS: 5.3 percent of households in Illinois used high-cost, high-risk forms of credit to make ends meet during 2013. This includes payday loans, automobile title loans, refund anticipation loans, rent to own, and pawning.
Illinois’s quest to take over Chicago’s schools intensified as Governor Bruce Rauner said the state can block the district from borrowing in the municipal-bond market, a claim the nation’s third-largest school system rejects. […]
The district said the state doesn’t have the power to keep it from borrowing, as Rauner claimed.
“The governor has come up with a number of novel legal theories,” Forrest Claypool, chief executive officer of the district, said in comments aired Monday on Chicago Tonight, a public-television show. “The statute is very clear that the authority he seeks to exercise does not apply to the Chicago public schools.” […]
Rauner’s administration said the statute that the district cited, which established a school finance authority that was dissolved in 2010, no longer applies. “That applied only when the reform board existed, which it no longer does,” said Catherine Kelly, a spokeswoman for Rauner. “CPS can be required to develop a financial plan and would be prohibited from issuing bonds during that period.”
* Backgrounder from the governor’s office, with emphasis in the original…
The Chicago School Finance Authority was enacted to provide financial oversight to CPS, but was legally dissolved by law on June 1, 2010. On that date, CPS was no longer “subject to” the School Finance Authority or Article 34A that established the School Finance Authority. CPS clearly remains subject to Article 34 and as a result, ISBE is now the body that maintains financial oversight over CPS.
Section 1A-8 of the School Code sets out a test for when a school district is in “financial difficulty”. That provision applies to CPS. Section 1A-8 states, in part:
No school district shall be certified by the State Board of Education to be in financial difficulty solely by reason of any of the above circumstances arising as a result of (i) the failure of the county to make any distribution of property tax money due the district at the time such distribution is due or (ii) the failure of this State to make timely payments of general State aid or any of the mandated categoricals; or if the district clearly demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State Board of Education at the time of its determination that such condition no longer exists. If the State Board of Education certifies that a district in a city with 500,000 inhabitants or more is in financial difficulty, the State Board shall so notify the Governor and the Mayor of the city in which the district is located. The State Board of Education may require school districts certified in financial difficulty, except those districts subject to Article 34A, to develop, adopt and submit a financial plan within 45 days after certification of financial difficulty. The financial plan shall be developed according to guidelines presented to the district by the State Board of Education within 14 days of certification. Such guidelines shall address the specific nature of each district’s financial difficulties. Any proposed budget of the district shall be consistent with the financial plan submitted to and approved by the State Board of Education.
A district certified to be in financial difficulty, other than a district subject to Article 34A, shall report to the State Board of Education at such times and in such manner as the State Board may direct, concerning the district’s compliance with each financial plan. The State Board may review the district’s operations, obtain budgetary data and financial statements, require the district to produce reports, and have access to any other information in the possession of the district that it deems relevant. The State Board may issue recommendations or directives within its powers to the district to assist in compliance with the financial plan. The district shall produce such budgetary data, financial statements, reports and other information and comply with such directives. If the State Board of Education determines that a district has failed to comply with its financial plan, the State Board of Education may rescind approval of the plan and appoint a Financial Oversight Panel for the district as provided in Section 1B-4. This action shall be taken only after the district has been given notice and an opportunity to appear before the State Board of Education to discuss its failure to comply with its financial plan.
No bonds, notes, teachers orders, tax anticipation warrants or other evidences of indebtedness shall be issued or sold by a school district or be legally binding upon or enforceable against a local board of education of a district certified to be in financial difficulty unless and until the financial plan required under this Section has been approved by the State Board of Education.
* And this is from CPS…
CPS welcomes the Governor’s request for additional information on the District’s finances, and will share information – much of which is already publicly available – in coming days.
· In fact, in order to sell bonds last month – which CPS did in spite of the Governor’s best efforts – CPS was required to post an extensive disclosure document that provided a true and accurate picture of its current financial situation.
· Multiple provisions in the School Code expressly contain definitions that make it clear that this doesn’t apply to CPS.
o First, CPS is subject to Article 34A in state statute.
§ While Governor Rauner’s office distributed language from Section 1A-8 of the Illinois School Code, his office failed to note that districts subject to 34A are explicitly excluded from the excerpts that they distributed.
§ Section 1A-8 of the School Code explicitly lays out the only actions the state can take in the case of a District in financial difficulty. In Section 1A-8(a), ISBE can collect relevant financial information. In Section 1A-8(b), the statute allows ISBE to make a determination about the districts’ financial conditions. In the case of districts in financial difficulty, in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants, statute permits IBSE only to notify the Governor and Mayor of the city.
§ ISBE’s ability to take additional actions applies only to districts that are not subject to Article 34A.
o Second, CPS is clearly defined as a district in a City with over 500,000 inhabitants (Article 34).
§ The statutory language the Governor’s office shared references actions to be taken as provided in Section 1B-4, which explicitly concerns only districts in cities with 500,000 or fewer inhabitants.
If the State Board of Education certifies that a district in a city with 500,000 inhabitants or more is in financial difficulty, the State Board shall so notify the Governor and the Mayor of the city in which the district is located. The State Board of Education may require school districts certified in financial difficulty, except those districts subject to Article 34A, to develop, adopt and submit a financial plan within 45 days after certification of financial difficulty.
* Just about everything everywhere else in the School Code delineates between school districts in cities over 500,000 and everywhere else. For instance, from the governor’s backgrounder…
the State Board of Education may rescind approval of the plan and appoint a Financial Oversight Panel for the district as provided in Section 1B-4
But, as CPS points out, if you go to 1B-4 the statute clearly gives controlling authority to 1A-8, which brings us back to this…
If the State Board of Education certifies that a district in a city with 500,000 inhabitants or more is in financial difficulty, the State Board shall so notify the Governor and the Mayor of the city in which the district is located. The State Board of Education may require school districts certified in financial difficulty, except those districts subject to Article 34A, to develop, adopt and submit a financial plan within 45 days after certification of financial difficulty.
And, of course, much, but not all of 34A was repealed.
* I think CPS makes a good point. However, this one’s gonna end up with the lawyers and a judge if Rauner decides to push it.
You may not see children sleeping under bridges or asking for a spare dollar on the street, but homeless children are out there. In Illinois, public schools reported more than 59,000 homeless children in the 2013-2014 school year, and nearly half of them are out on their own.
Those kids now have one less safe place to stay because of the state budget impasse.
Normally housing four kids at a time, rooms inside the Mahoney Transitional Living facility now sit empty. Kerie Moore at the Family Counseling Center says she was supervising the shelter but, without the funds blocked by the budget impasse, this once-busy house is now quiet. It was forced to close last week.
“It’s just something that is desperately needed in this area and, right now, it’s just without resources,” Moore said.
* Meanwhile, from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless…
After promising to consider legislation that would immediately fund services to homeless youth, Gov. Rauner, through his policy director, told CCH, youth, and providers on Tuesday afternoon that his office would not support the bills at this time.
The governor met personally with homeless youth on Friday to hear the stories of how the state-funded programs had changed their lives, helping them gain employment and get stably housed. Caprice Williams, 22, said closing the program would be like losing the only family she and her infant daughter have.
“Ninety-percent of the funding contained in HB 4955 and SB 2603 is sitting in dedicated funds that are building up as real estate and foreclosure-related fees are collected,” said Julie Dworkin, director of policy for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. “We can’t understand why the governor would choose to let these funds sit there while homeless youth are going to end up back on the streets.”
The governor’s office agreed to support one small portion of the bill that would release federal funding for affordable housing development. While that is a positive step, it will do nothing to help service providers that are in danger of closing after not being paid for eight months.
Last week, one of the state’s homeless youth providers could no longer float the state and had to shut down its six-bed transitional housing program, leaving seven southern Illinois counties with no housing options for homeless youth. Two other programs have run out of money to pay rent on apartments that house the youth in their programs.
Homeless youth and providers vowed to keep fighting for the release of funding for their programs.
Rauner was asked about this today and he said it was “ridiculous” that the state doesn’t have a budget - even though most of this cash is apparently sitting in special state funds. Ripe for a sweep, I suppose.
Rauner also said he was a “huge” contributor to homeless causes. “I’ve put a lot of money of my own to help homeless veterans.”
* With three, long weeks to go before primary day, one wonders what other shoes are gonna drop in this race. Man, this is one brutal spot…
* Script…
Sen. Sam McCann is falling apart. First he got caught evading his taxes, dodging nearly 200 grand, forcing the state to dissolve his business. Then McCann was taken to court three times for unpaid credit card debt. Now we learn McCann used campaign money as a personal slush fund, cashing in over 80 grand in potentially fraudulent mileage reimbursements. A politician who makes the law, then breaks the law. That’s sleazy Sam McCann
Oy.
…Adding… From comments…
Win or lose this race…Rauner crew wins. Which legislator is going to step out of line now, if it means having this sort of stuff dumped on your head?
The Kirk For Senate campaign launched its first television ad of 2016, titled “Security.” The ad highlights the growing threat of ISIS and the stark national security contrast between Senator Mark Kirk and Rep. Tammy Duckworth. The statewide ad buy begins today.
Statement from Kirk For Senate Campaign Manager Kevin Artl:
“Rep. Duckworth’s delusions on national security endanger Americans. Rep. Duckworth has repeatedly ignored reports that ISIS is printing fake Syrian passports and that terrorist plotters have already been arrested on U.S. soil posing as refugees. Her calls for allowing 200,000 Syrian refugees into the United States, despite grave concerns from our nation’s top security advisers about the vetting process, prove once again she is naive and reckless.”
The terrorists referred to above were Iraqis who were plotting an attack in Iraq, not the US.
* Whatevs. Kirk needs to shore up his name ID, which is low, and his GOP primary support, which could be better. I also agree with much of this [slightly altered by me] e-mail from a Democratic pal…
Looking at his buy (which essentially matches and in some places exceeds Duckworth’s) this looks like an attempt to keep Duckworth’s numbers in some check to make sure there’s no post-primary polls that show this out of reach. If Duckworth has airwaves to herself with positives, she might build a 10-15 point lead…and everyone would decide he’s toast. He’s got to keep it close.
But it’s also interesting that they’re spending so much. They’ve been telling everyone that they’re going to have that big post-primary COH advantage because of Duckworth’s ‘messy’ primary… And yet he may spend more than she does. Too bad for them Zopp is such a disaster
AUDIO OF DUCKWORTH: I signed on for 200,000 Refugees. (:02)
TEXT: Tammy Duckworth Supports Bringing 200,000 Syrian Refugees to America.
AUDIO: Even though the FBI says there’s no way to guarantee they aren’t terrorists.
TEXT: 15 Refugees Involved in Terror-Related Cases.
AUDIO: Mark Kirk is leading the fight to stop refugees until it can be done safely.
TEXT: Mark Kirk, Stop Syrian Refugees Until It Can Be Done Safely
AUDIO: Who do you trust to protect your family? Mark Kirk
AUDIO OF KIRK: I’m Mark Kirk and I approved this message.
*** UPDATE *** Response…
Senator Mark Kirk, routinely labeled the most endangered incumbent U.S. Senator, is out today with an incredibly dishonest new campaign ad attacking Tammy Duckworth. The ad is virtually identical to one his campaign aired in December, and which fact-checkers referred to as ‘bogus,’ ‘exaggerated,’ and something for which Kirk ‘[s]hould be ashamed.’
In response, Duckworth campaign spokesman Matt McGrath issued the following statement:
“First, Senator Kirk didn’t tell the truth about his military record, now he’s not telling the truth about Tammy Duckworth. The last time Kirk ran an ad like this independent fact checkers said the attacks were false, and they saw it for what it was: shameful and deceptive fear-mongering. But let’s be clear: this issue speaks to a real difference in this campaign: Tammy Duckworth believes in leading through strength and not fear, and that America is safest when we stand firmly by our values. Kirk is once again resorting to dishonesty and the lowest common denominator to paper over his record of being wrong about every major foreign policy decision of the last 15 years, and now he’s all too willing to embrace the odious, anti-Muslim politics and tactics of Donald Trump, which make us less safe.
“At any rate, all you need to know about Kirk’s campaign and his standing with Illinois voters is that his first ad of 2016 is an attack on Tammy Duckworth — and a totally dishonest one at that. It’s an unfortunate and undignified path for Senator Kirk to pursue, regardless of his desperate political situation.” — Matt McGrath, campaign spokesman
In much of the district, Madigan remains familiar and popular and, he intends to stay. The block outside Gonzales’ Pulaski Avenue office just became a no parking zone until 3/16, the day after the election. Coincidence? Gonzales thinks not.
“He’ll do anything, absolutely anything in his power to get reelected,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales admits accepting major money from donors who also support Governor Bruce Rauner, but he insists, he’s a Democrat through and through, not a Republican plant.
Madigan’s district is about 70 percent Hispanic, which may help Gonzales. Still, he knows who the underdog is…and it’s him.
* The Illinois Municipal League released its legislative wish list yesterday…
Automatic Appropriation Authority for Local Funds
Expansion of Home Rule Eligibility
Constitutional Amendment to Limit Future State Mandates
Public Safety Arbitration Reform
Pension Cost Relief and Structural Reform
Opt Outs for Future Unfunded Mandates Affecting Communities With Fewer Financial Resources
Local Control Over Prevailing Wage Decisions
Workers’ Compensation Reforms
Annual State Review of Mandates
* Its main priorities…
Automatic Appropriation Authority for Local Funds
The common sense approach to managing local revenue sources (motor fuel tax, 9-1-1, use tax and gaming revenues) is to put the distribution power back into the hands of local governments - and make that a seamless approach with automatic distributions to local entities. Currently, these fund distributions are dependent upon the state budget process even though these are non-General Revenue Funds and do not affect state government budgets. “Moving Cities Forward” recommends policy reform eliminating the need for annual appropriation enactments.
Expansion of Home Rule Eligibility
Municipal leaders across the state support expanding home rule eligibility to include communities of 5,000 residents and above. The current Illinois Constitution only grants automatic home rule status to municipalities in excess of 25,000 residents, or to municipalities that pass a local home rule referendum. Currently there are 211 home rule governments in the state, and if passed, the expansion would elevate another 173 communities to home rule status.
Public Safety Arbitration Reform
Arbitrators are rendering decisions in labor disputes that compel local governments to offer wage and benefit awards that exceed available revenues. What’s needed is more transparency in the arbitration process and a requirement that those decisions be based on actual revenues available to the city. The current process has led to financial hardships on local governments including budgeting difficulties, service reductions and employee layoffs.
Local Control Over Prevailing Wage Decisions
Municipalities are in favor of locally-elected boards and councils establishing exemptions up to a certain dollar amount for which prevailing wage rates would not be required. IML supports an update to the policy to allow the opportunity to establish cost reductions for projects currently covered by the Prevailing Wage Act, as well as exemptions for certain types of work entirely.
Workers’ Compensation Reforms
Employers are already faced with ever-increasing costs for doing business, and current workers’ compensation policy has only contributed to the “It’s hard to do business in Illinois” mentality. IML members are in support of reducing employer costs by amending Permanent Partial Disability benefit payouts, lowering the number of weeks that benefits are paid for shoulder injuries by clarifying the definitions of “Man as a Whole” and requiring arbitrators and/or the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) to strictly adhere to American Medical Association (AMA) guidelines when determining permanency ratings under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
The proposed arbitration reform makes some sense and has been bandied about lately as a possible compromise on the Turnaround Agenda.
The prevailing wage stuff will need to be fleshed out much further, but it’s interesting.
And the workers’ comp ideas could also provide an avenue for discussions.
* Finke reports on the group’s top two priorities…
Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League, said some ideas on the list have been pushed by the IML for years and others are the outgrowth of last year’s task force on government consolidation and mandate relief. He acknowledged that some of the ideas have received a cool reception in the General Assembly in the past. […]
While saying all of the items on the agenda are important to local governments, he said two are “critically important.” One is to make state assistance to local governments a continuing appropriation so that the money owed is paid automatically, even without a budget in place. Last year, the local government share of state income, gasoline and gambling taxes was held up for months because of the budget impasse. The issue only got resolved when lawmakers passed a separate bill authorizing those payments to be made and Gov. Bruce Rauner signed it.
The other critical issue, he said, is allowing more communities in the state to become home rule, meaning local governments have the ability to pass laws to govern themselves (so long as they obey the state and federal constitutions). In Illinois, only cities with more than 25,000 residents or those who approve it by referendum can now be home-rule units. Only 211 of the state’s 1,297 cities are home rule.
The IML agenda wants any town with more than 5,000 residents to have the option of voting in home-rule powers. One town that could be affected is Chatham, whose village board president, Tom Gray, is president of the IML.
They know Rauner has been keen to sweep their revenue sharing, so the group’s number one priority is no surprise. That home-rule thing is interesting, to say the least.
To ensure integrity within any public-private partnership created in Illinois and that all ethical and transparency requirements are met, Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan on Wednesday announced the creation of a bipartisan special House committee to review Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to establish a private company that will work with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to dole out state money and tax breaks to corporations.
“The formation of a public-private partnership could produce lasting benefits, but our obligation to taxpayers includes working to ensure transparency and integrity within the program,” Madigan said. “I support efforts to boost Illinois’ economy and create more good-paying jobs for middle-class and struggling families. That’s who should benefit from a public-private partnership, and the tax dollars given to any corporation should be spent wisely and with the proper oversight.”
Earlier this month, Rauner announced a plan to create a privately run economic development corporation that would partner with the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. While Rauner said the corporation would be funded with private donations, taxpayer dollars would still be at stake and DCEO would be required to approve any incentives or deals offered to companies.
Last spring, Madigan worked cooperatively with Rauner on the governor’s request to create a public-private partnership in Illinois. However, the measure failed to advance beyond passage in the House due to the governor’s opposition to Madigan’s belief that the partnership should be reviewed after three years to ensure tax dollars are spent wisely and to determine if it is functioning as intended.
Similar public-private efforts in other states have experienced problems in recent years. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., for example, was criticized in an audit for, among other things, not requiring financial statements from companies receiving incentives, granting awards to ineligible businesses, failing to ensure jobs had been created by companies after awarding them with nearly $1 million in tax credits, and in some cases hiring firms with conflicts of interest. In Virginia, it was reported that a public-private infrastructure project, due to a lack of transparency, led to massive cost overruns and ultimately the state halted the project, but not before taxpayers had paid the contractor $290 million for the unfinished project.
The private corporation, as proposed by the governor, would not be subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, as confirmed by DCEO director Jim Schultz. Madigan said that must change to permit greater transparency of how taxpayer dollars are being expended.
“Given what has happened in other states due to the lack of transparency and proper oversight, my belief today is the same as it was last year, and that is that a public-private partnership can be achieved, but with the proper safeguards and transparency in place,” Madigan said. “Illinois is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges, so taxpayer dollars must be used wisely and efficiently. Simply authorizing a public-private partnership without taking into consideration the controversy that has occurred in other states is not in taxpayers’ best interests.”
State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, will chair the Special Committee on Public Private Partnerships, and House Democratic members will include Reps. Chris Welch of Hillside, Will Davis of Homewood, Carol Sente of Vernon Hills, Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates, and John Bradley of Marion. House Republicans are expected to name members to the committee.
* I have some subscriber stuff to finish, so chew on this reader e-mail for a bit…
I came home last night to find a new book in our house, “Big Bad Bruce.” I thought of our Governor, obviously, and chuckled.
But then later on I read it to my kids. Trust me, take a 15 second to look through the pages on the attached link. (“look inside” on the top left) The pictures and captions are really spot on.
If I hadn’t known any better I would think this was a parable somebody had written about our Governor and the budget stalemate (though he does turn it around after he gets a taste of his own medicine).
