Rauner raw audio
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Listen to the governor talk to the media at Lyons Township High School…
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“I am so done with hailing while black”
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Laura Washington makes some very valid points…
Traditional taxi cabs made 350,000 trips beginning or ending in Chicago’s underserved communities between October 2015 and March 2016.
Ride sharing companies, like Uber and Lyft, racked up a stunning 3.9 million trips to or from underserved communities in the same period, according to City Hall.
The city defines “underserved” as “areas with high levels of transit-dependent populations and areas that are not receiving high levels of taxi or ride-share service.” Mostly, the South and West sides of Chicago. […]
“If we don’t level the playing field, we are in jeopardy of losing the taxicab industry. The cab industry has been a vital part of our city. They’re ambassadors for the city,” the 9th Ward alderman told the Chicago Sun-Times last week. […]
Uber responds that 66 percent of Uber drivers are rolling less than 10 hours a week, to supplement their incomes or keep them going between jobs. The digital disrupter argues it makes no sense to saddle drivers with hundreds of dollars in licensing fees and a blind bureaucracy, and claims the ordinance would put them out of business.
I don’t buy that and, yes, some regulation is needed.
But let’s get real. While some taxi drivers are professional, many are hardly “ambassadors.” Those I encounter are rude, clueless and reckless.
Most infuriating, they won’t pick up and drop off in certain neighborhoods. I am so done with hailing while black.
Thoughts?
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* The Senate President has responded to Gov. Rauner’s press release from earlier today demanding a “clean” K-12 approp bill…
Statement from the Office of Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton regarding the governor’s remarks on education funding:
“Governor Rauner said in his budget speech that no schools should lose funding, and yet more than one-third of the school districts in Illinois lose money under his plan.
He would force schools across Illinois to slash services and staff. Some might not be able to open or stay open next year.
Chicago schools alone lose $74 million. Governor Rauner’s plan cuts funding for schools in East St. Louis and Naperville as well.
That’s not acceptable. Our students deserve better.
I am encouraged that the governor and Republicans recognize the current system’s failings. They said they want a system that recognizes the needs of rural and low-income communities. Lucky for them, that plan is pending in the Illinois Senate and they will soon get the chance to vote for it.”
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Rauner again demands “clean” education bill
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Governor Bruce Rauner toured Lyons Township High School today to advocate for fully funding education in Fiscal Year 2017. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno and House Leader Jim Durkin introduced legislation (SB3234/HB6335) in February that would fully fund schools for the upcoming school year. By passing either of these bills, the General Assembly is ensuring schools will receive state funding and open in the fall.
“Our priority right now should be funding our schools for the upcoming school year,” Governor Rauner said. “Since day one, I have been committed to building a world-class education system in Illinois that ensures every child goes to a high-quality school and can go on to a high-paying career. Fully funding our schools is a step closer to making that a reality.”
School districts are already planning for the upcoming year and need direction from Springfield on how much funding they will receive from the state. SB3234/HB6335 ends proration - which benefits every district in the state - fully funds schools for the first time in seven years, and sends a record level of state aid to districts across the state.
“We need to give parents, teachers and school districts the confidence to plan for and to open in September,” Leader Durkin said. “By taking care of our schools, we can build on the bipartisan momentum in Springfield to pass a budget alongside reforms that fund social services, government services and public safety.”
Governor Rauner and the Republican Leaders reiterated they are committed to reforming the current school funding formula. They agree a new formula should send more money to low-income and rural schools without taking resources away from other districts and pitting communities against each other.
“By fully funding schools we are showing the students that they come first,” Leader Radogno said. “School funding is a complicated and emotional issue because of its implications for districts across the state. With funding for the upcoming school year secured, we can continue to work on finding a fair and bipartisan school funding formula.”
* But some folks are starting to catch on to this game. From a Pantagraph editorial…
While many Illinois school districts would welcome additional money from the state, there’s a question whether it’s wise to continue to throw more money into a system that is seriously flawed.
That appears to be what Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republicans in the General Assembly want to do.
The current system is grossly unfair, with rich districts spending up to $30,000 per student and poorer districts getting by on as little as $6,000 per student. The result is students from low-income areas, which several studies have shown need more help in order to succeed, receive the least amount of help. The current system undoubtedly places more value on some students than others.
Rauner threw cold water on the latest bill from Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, claiming it was a bailout for the Chicago public schools. Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, joined the well-orchestrated chorus.
The day before the scheduled vote, the Rauner administration exploited the politically-charged issue by releasing a report on which districts would gain money and which would lose. The administration has had the bill since February, so the release was obviously politically motivated. If this analysis truly took the Illinois State Board of Education two months to complete, then they need to hire better analysts.
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Question of the day
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Check out the guy with the big white boutonnière…
Rep. John Anthony (R-Joliet) sent that pic to me over the weekend. He said a neighbor gave it to him and she estimates the photo of Rep. Michael J. Madigan and others was taken in 1974 or 1975.
* The Question: Caption?
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This Is Illinois
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
Illinois, already 11 months behind in the race to come up with a budget for this year, has now been lapped by several U.S. states.
Eleven states have approved two state budgets in the time Illinois has failed to finish one, according to research from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
After Pennsylvania approved a stopgap plan in March that ended its monthslong stalemate, Illinois became the lone state without a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.
Not all states adopt a yearly spending plan. Of those that do, 11, including Florida, Maryland, New York and Colorado, have a spending plan for the current fiscal year as well as the next.
* Related…
* Editorial: School funding system fundamentally unfair to many: Rauner has stated he’s in favor of education reform, although most of his actions thus far have been to maintain the status quo. In the best interests of the state’s students, Rauner and the Republicans should quit playing political games with Manar’s proposal and work to reform a system that is fundamentally unfair to many.
* Enemies Rauner, Madigan not at odds when it comes to business
* Chicago State University graduation rate drops to 11 percent: Chicago State has long argued that it’s unfair to judge it on the graduation rate of first-time, full-time freshmen since that national standard fails to include the many students who transfer into the institution later in their studies — or leave and graduate from other institutions. The university’s six-year graduation rate for transfer students was 49 percent in 2015. “The uniqueness of Chicago State University is that it primarily serves transfer students,” Land said. [Emphasis added.]
* List of Executive Mansion donors not being released yet
* Illinois budget impasse puts summer training for teachers in jeopardy
* Industry, lawmakers: Struggling Fairmount needs gaming expansion
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* Basically, Burke’s firm obtained these tax reductions by focusing on various money-losing units…
A law firm headed by Ald. Edward M. Burke, one of Chicago’s most powerful Democrats, has helped Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and investors in his luxury downtown hotel cut their property taxes by 39 percent over seven years, saving them $11.7 million, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis has found.
Burke — one of 47 Chicago aldermen who voted to approve development of Trump International Hotel & Tower in 2002 — won reductions in six of the seven years for the hotel, retail and other commercial space in the skyscraper, records show. […]
In 2010, Burke saved Trump’s company almost $3.5 million by convincing Houlihan he’d overvalued the entire skyscraper. Houlihan lowered his $432 million estimation of the value to $122 million after Burke argued that most of the residential condos hadn’t been sold, the tower’s storefronts along the river were vacant, the hotel had largely been unoccupied and sales of hotel condos hadn’t worked out as planned. Burke’s law firm even called the concept of selling hotel rooms to investors a “failed business model.” […]
In 2011, Burke saved Trump and his growing group of hotel investors $1.7 million by convincing Houlihan’s successor, Joseph Berrios, another powerful Democratic Party leader, that Houlihan had been overvaluing the commercial space, which was now taxed separately from the residential property.
Since nobody was renting commercial space, Cook agreed to lower the tax burden. And Burke’s firm actually sued Chicago Public Schools, City Hall, Cook County and other governments for refunds. The case is still pending and Burke handed it off to another firm to avoid a direct conflict.
* But…
Of Illinois’ 10 casinos, none is as lucrative as Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. Since 2012, it’s reported revenues of more than $400 million a year after winnings — twice as much as any other casino in Illinois.
That success makes its property quite valuable, according to Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.
But, year after year, Rivers’ owners have argued that profits shouldn’t matter when calculating how much the casino is worth. And each year they’ve gotten an appeals panel to override Berrios, giving them more than $4 million in property-tax cuts since the casino opened nearly five years ago.
Figuring the value of the casino property should be “based upon what this property would be worth if we weren’t operating a casino there,” says Neil Bluhm, the politically active billionaire real estate developer who chairs the casino’s owner, Midwest Gaming & Entertainment.
So, on the one hand, Cook takes into account money-losing units when estimating taxes. And on the other, it discounts the vast sums of money being made at a different property.
It’s a system ripe for manipulation.
*** UPDATE *** From the assessor’s office…
Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios was not the only assessor to lower the assessment on Trump Tower. In 2009, then-Assessor James Houlihan issued a Certificate of Error asking the Cook County Board of Review (BOR) to lower his own earlier assessment on the hotel portion of that building by 95%.
Upon taking office as Assessor (after serving on the BOR), Mr. Berrios identified other errors made by the previous administration. He thus lowered the assessment on Trump Tower’s retail space, much of which was never fully built. That area remains raw, undeveloped space. Other past errors were addressed over several years and, under Assessor Berrios, the Trump building is now properly classified and assessed.
The Cook County Assessor’s Office uses the standard procedure of income-approach-to-value when assessing industrial and commercial real estate. If, after verifiable good faith effort to rent space and otherwise generate revenue, some vacancy still exists, the resulting lower income and its effect on the property’s value is taken into consideration here. Simply put, when income is down, assessed value is likely down. When income is up, value is up.
This impartial system resulted in facts which did not appear in the Sun-Times story, including: the Assessor’s Office did not lower Trump Tower’s assessment for Tax Year 2013 and, as the market improved, we then raised the assessment on the retail space by 33% and the hotel by 32.5% for Tax Year 2015. In fact, Trump Tower’s hotel is now the third-highest assessed hotel in Chicago, ahead of the Peninsula, Waldorf and Park Hyatt. Further, CCAO’s assessed value of the condominium portion was raised by 17% for TY15.
Commercial real estate is assessed at 25% percent of its fair market value. Residential real estate is assessed at only 10% of fair market value.
Thank you.
Tom Shaer
Deputy Assessor for Communications
Cook County Assessor’s Office
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Campaign fodder
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve discussed before, Rep. Jack Franks has kicked up a hornet’s nest in McHenry County by highlighting a state law which requires county board members to work 1,000 hours per year as part of their agreement to participate in their pension plan. It’s not just McHenry, though. Sangamon County has the same rule, and a Democratic House candidate made a very big oops…
[Tony DelGiorno], who also is a candidate for state representative against incumbent Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove, in the 99th House District, says that after being elected to the county board in 2012, he was filling out employment documents.
“The IMRF paperwork was included and I was told at the time that county board members are eligible and we can sign up if we want to,” he said.
But nobody ever told him, he said, about the 1,000-hour standard.
Does he meet that threshold?
“I highly doubt it,” DelGiorno said. His full-time job is as partner in a law firm. […]
DelGiorno contacted the IMRF, asking to withdraw from the pension system because he said he learned of the 1,000-hour requirement from The State Journal-Register. […]
But Beth Janicki Clark, associate general counsel to IMRF, wrote back, saying a choice to participate in the system by an elected official is irrevocable, under state law.
Yeah, that won’t make it into a campaign hit piece. Never. Not in a billion/trillion years.
/snark
* Related…
* Dysfunction in Springfield, big money encourage more candidates into the field
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It’s time for some answers
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R...
A political candidate spending more than $200,000 in gas and auto repairs in less than 11 years — at the same gas station — is more than a little bit eyebrow-raising.
When the owner of the gas station turns out to be a city alderman, things get even more interesting.
And when the same candidate reports other campaign expenditures that seem overly large, including payments to a bank for items that don’t seem banking related, it seems time to ask some more questions.
But what makes the case of former state Rep. Frank Mautino stand out even more is this: He’s now the Illinois auditor general, meaning that his job is to examine state government spending and compliance with rules and regulations.
It means that Mautino, a former Democratic deputy majority leader in the House for 24 years, must stand up to an even higher level of scrutiny than most politicians. Anything less and he risks eroding any trust that citizens have in his ability to run the auditor general’s office in an upfront manner as their advocate and watchdog. Indeed, many might argue that Mautino’s spending as a legislator, combined with his lack of an explanation, has already damaged the office’s credibility, especially coming after the long tenure of the well-regarded William Holland.
Mautino isn’t talking, though. In February, a group of Republican lawmakers sent him a letter asking for an explanation. Mautino, who has hired lawyers and a PR firm, asked for time to respond. The lawmakers requested a response by Feb. 25; this week, they publicly asked again for answers, saying Mautino had never responded to them.
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A very good idea, but it’s not a panacea
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jim Dey…
Here’s a stunning statistic that is the norm in Illinois politics.
Independent Maps reports that seven of 10 legislative elections on the fall ballot will have only one candidate.
* After giving it much thought, I think remap reform will probably have more of an impact on primary ballots than in the general.
I mean, think about it. Does it really matter if Republicans run against Democrats in Chicago or the south suburbs? How about if Democrats challenge Republicans in Iroquois County, or the counties around Effingham - where Obama lost to Alan Keyes? Western DuPage, anyone?
People in this state tend to live near others who share their views, or they adopt the views of those around them (not quite sure which is which). Either way, we have huge geographic blocs in Illinois which overwhelmingly favor one party over the other, so all the remap reform in the world probably won’t change that, except occasional one-off results that might happen anyway.
So the biggest impact could be on incumbents who can’t protect themselves from primary opponents by drawing them out or packing in all their friendly (to them) territory.
* But, yes, I can certainly see how some areas would be more in play with remap reform. Sen. Andy Manar’s Democratic-leaning district might not be possible under the Independent Maps proposal, particularly its “respect geographic boundaries” mandate. The Peoria area could get more interesting. The Democrats’ hold on a single, mostly DuPage County district might not be possible, either. And the GOPs might have a much better shot at picking up some suburban Cook seats and maybe some spots in southern Illinois.
On the other hand, recent off-year statewide elections (2010 and 2014) clearly showed that Republican candidates can win majorities in Democratic districts (Bill Brady and Bruce Rauner won the majority of House and Senate districts both times).
* I strongly favor remap reform. Politicians shouldn’t pick their voters.
But I don’t believe it’s a be-all, end-all solution. We ought to do it because it’s one of many things we can accomplish to make things more small “d” democratic here. If it were up to me, I’d take away the chamber leaders’ strangleholds on committee chairmanships and staff. Elect the chairs and minority spokespersons within their caucuses and make the staff answerable to them and not the leaders. Some would also give voters much more say in policymaking. I think I’d be open to some of that.
That being said, I think many of the critiques of the Independent Maps’ proposal are valid. This thing would likely reduce Chicago’s influence. You might think that’s a positive development. Heck, I might even agree on some levels. But it’s probably gonna happen if this passes.
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Let’s be careful out there
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I can’t disagree with any of this…
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Friday he hasn’t had a chance to review legislation proposed to help financially struggling nuclear power plants in Clinton and the Quad-Cities, but he considers nuclear power important to the state’s “energy mix.”
Answering questions during a visit to Bloomington, Rauner said, “Nuclear plants have have a lot of good-paying jobs” that he doesn’t want to lose.
But he added, “I’m concerned when a big company says in order to stay in Illinois, they need a big taxpayer subsidy.”
Exelon Generation, owner of the two plants, said the Next Generation Energy Plan unveiled Thursday contains financial relief needed to keep the two nuclear plants open, along with other steps to promote low-carbon energy sources and energy efficiency. The company on Friday laid the groundwork for closing the plants if the proposal fails.
I was given a briefing on this bill last week, but was left with more questions than answers. It’s complicated, to say the least.
For instance, ComEd complains that “net metering” for solar isn’t fair to its other customers. In essence, they’re paying rooftop solar producers the full cost of not only the electricity, but also the cost of delivering that power through the grid. That drives up costs for everyone else (although, solar is such a tiny segment right now that it hardly matters). But instead of just making net metering truly “net,” they’ve come up with a murky rebate plan that the solar companies hate. Solar has not taken off here, partly because of ComEd’s policies. This plan of ComEd’s doesn’t look like it’ll change things much.
The company wants to offer similar rebates to business customers, claiming it’ll spur rooftop solar on big box stores, but they don’t have a single company they can point to that has expressed any interest.
* Crain’s…
The choice: Allow hard-to-come-by jobs to disappear, with the economic hit striking mainly downstate, or in an election year pass legislation that can be characterized by opponents as an electricity rate hike mainly benefiting profitable companies.
Of course, the other complicating factor is the budget impasse between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic leaders that is resulting in layoffs at colleges and universities and social service providers dependent on state funding.
Rauner says he hopes the General Assembly will balance job losses in particular communities against hitting everyone in Illinois with higher rates. House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman, Steve Brown, says he senses little alarm among lawmakers and notes “there’s a pretty crowded plate already” of demands on elected officials.
Robert Flexon, CEO of Houston-based Dynegy, is highly critical of the state government for “fighting with itself” while industries like his are in trouble. “It’s a disgrace to the people of Illinois and the hardworking men and women at our plants,” he says.
When times were good, they demanded deregulation. Now that wholesale prices are down, they demand re-regulation.
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Buried numbers
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WaPo looks at that New York Times poll of Chicagoans that we discussed last week…
The new survey found a city that described race relations as generally bad, while majorities of all residents think there is some or a lot of discrimination against black and Hispanic residents. There is a sizable racial divide separating how people feel about certain issues like education, city services and the conditions of public facilities.
This gulf is particularly acute when it comes to how people perceive the police department. One in 3 residents said the city’s police officers are doing an excellent or good job. While nearly half of white residents (47 percent) and more than a third of Hispanic residents (37 percent) felt this way, just 12 percent of black residents echoed that opinion. When people from these three groups were asked whether police were doing an excellent, good, fair or poor job, the highest single response was from black residents, nearly half of whom answered “poor.” (Three out of 4 residents said they had not personally interacted with an officer within the past six months, and for most of those who had, they said their interactions were positive.)
* OK, but check out the poll itself…
What is the single biggest problem facing Chicago today? (INTERVIEWER: DO NOT PROBE IF GIVE A STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER, I.E. – “CRIME”) (DO NOT READ LIST. ENTER ONE ONLY) (IF RESPONDENT GIVES MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE, PROBE WITH: “I understand, which of those would you say is the biggest problem?)
The results…
“Crime/violence/gangs” vastly tops every other issue across every racial demographic. “Police/police shootings/community relations with police,” barely registers. They appear to be more upset at the cops for not protecting them from criminals than anything else.
* But, yes, Chicagoans also say the cops need to get their house in order…
And thinking about Eddie Johnson, Chicago’s new police superintendent, do you think it is more important for him to focus on (reducing crime) or (reforming the way the police department operates)? [INTERVIEWER NOTE: IF RESPONDENT SAYS “BOTH EQUALLY”, PROBE ONCE WITH “WE KNOW BOTH OF THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONE TO BE THE TOP PRIORITY…”] (rotate items in parentheses)
Results…
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Rauner says he’s going to Poland
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lots and lots of Polish-Americans live in Illinois. At one time, Chicago had more Poles than any city in the world other than Warsaw. So this makes plenty of homer politics sense…
If Gov. Bruce Rauner achieves the anti-union, pro-business reforms he has made the hallmark of his administration, he plans to travel the world to promote the state — and the first country he’ll visit will be Poland, he said Sunday.
Rauner made the pledge to the large Polish congregation of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1118 N. Noble St., whose parishioners celebrated Polish Constitution Day over the weekend.
“On May 3, 1791, Poland became the first nation in the world to join the United States in democracy and freedom by constitutional right. The people of America have no greater friends in the world than the people of Poland,” Rauner said.
“We are working hard in Springfield on reforms so we can grow our economy and get more value for taxpayers and fund our schools properly,” he said. “I hope soon we’ll have those reforms accomplished, and then I’m going to travel the world to create stronger ties with the people of Illinois with nations across the globe.”
* But the country’s authoritarian government has pushed demonstrators into the streets. A quarter million folks protested the other day, the largest since the fall of Communism…
The protest comes amid a mounting political crisis in the central European heavyweight, triggered by changes the populist-oriented Law and Justice (PiS) government has made to the constitutional court.
In December it pushed through legislation to stack the court and modify its decision-making rules.
The court itself struck down the changes as unconstitutional in March, pitting it against the PiS majority government, which wasted no time to dismiss the ruling.
The resulting deadlock means the court is paralyzed, leaving Poland without a fundamental check on government powers.
The PiS moves have drawn sharp criticism from the EU and the European Parliament, which Warsaw has dismissed as unnecessary interference in its internal affairs.
Markets have also reacted strongly to the controversy, hitting Poland’s zloty currency and the Warsaw stock exchange.
* From Carnegie Europe…
Fundamentally, over a quarter of a century since the demise of the Communist regime, the differences are now over the direction and reach of the EU, particularly when it comes to values. For Law and Justice, the EU’s values—such as gender equality and a secularism that plays down Europe’s Christian traditions—are intrusive and damaging for Europe’s and particularly Poland’s identity.
The onslaught of globalization is another issue. It has left Law and Justice supporters, especially conservative, rural communities, without anchors—save for the Catholic Church. These parts of society were generally ignored by Civic Platform. Law and Justice now wants to rectify this.
But there is something else that perpetuates this kind of politics of revenge. It is the absence of an independent civil service culture. Professional and competent officials from the foreign and other ministries in Warsaw are being replaced or demoted. (The same thing happened in Hungary.) This robs ministries of continuity, of an institutional memory, and of loyalty. It robs them of ambition and independence.
Maybe it’s time for civil society—especially Modern, or Nowoczesna, a new and fast-growing political party led by Ryszard Petru—to begin campaigning for something that has eluded Polish politics since 1989: a well-paid, independent civil service free from the politics of revenge. This is something that civil society activists are in a position to do. They are the younger generation—free, hopefully, of Solidarity’s bitter, polarizing ideological disputes.
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* One of the weirdest developments of the spring session…
Despite Chicago Public Schools’ financial straits, a state investigation concluded the district’s books don’t warrant an intervention from Springfield.
The Illinois State Board of Education’s finding that CPS is not in “financial difficulty” as defined by state law represents a blow to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s efforts to give the state greater control over district finances. […]
“It’s clear in our analysis CPS has financial challenges and a spending problem,” ISBE spokeswoman Laine Evans said in a statement. “However, at this time they do not meet the criteria for certification of financial difficulty, as defined per statute. ISBE will continue to monitor the situation and the district’s finances.”
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said in a statement that ISBE’s “decision demonstrates that Gov. Rauner’s attempts to drive CPS into bankruptcy are misguided and wrong.”
* Sun-Times…
“The district has not realized two consecutive years of negative operating fund balances, nor is it forecasted in this model,” ISBE wrote in the report.
CPS faces a $1.1 billion deficit in the new fiscal year starting July 1, and has been hoarding cash to make a massive pension payment on June 30. It passed last year’s budget with a $480 million gap and has been begging Springfield to help ever since, borrowing hundreds of millions at sky-high interest rates in the meantime. The district has also argued it is exempt from ISBE oversight and has been lobbying for a change to the state funding formula for schools. […]
In February, when the investigation was announced, Rauner said “The state’s going to be ready to come in and take action.”
Blaming CPS’ spending woes on its contracts with the Chicago Teachers Union, he continued, “I believe a state takeover is appropriate.”
He even began looking for a superintendent to replace CPS CEO Forrest Claypool.
* And…
The district must make a $675 million pension payment next month. Officials say they can only cover that bill with short-term borrowing and that the Legislature must rectify problems with the statewide school-funding formula.
“You don’t need an actuary or an accountant to know CPS has financial problems,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement. “Otherwise, the district wouldn’t be repeatedly asking the state for an additional half a billion dollars.”
* One more…
The decision not to declare the district in financial difficulty could suggest recognition by the Rauner-appointed state school board that it lacked proper legal footing to take over CPS in the first place, a Democratic legislative source said.
In April, Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued an opinion that the state lacks the authority to take control of the school system’s finances, including its ability to borrow to help fund operational costs.
OK, so CPS got Rauner off its back, but isn’t it tougher to get money from Springfield if they’re not actually on the verge of chaos?
* Meanwhile…
“Suburbanites don’t want to bail out Chicago, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to see Chicago succeed,” [Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine] said. “And if there’s a way to make our education funding system better, we’re open to that. But understand, part of the reason Chicago is getting less money than last year is that they have fewer students. You know, when we talk about closing schools, (Emanuel) did close 50 schools and I give him credit for standing up and fighting to do that. I think he did the right thing when he tried to do that last time. But they have 100 more that are really, you know, adult employment centers serving as schools. They need to do more in that regard.”
Murphy is resurrecting the kind of scorched-earth rhetoric from a quarter-century ago at the Capitol, when the city-versus-suburbs dynamic raged mightily. Then-Republican Senate Minority Leader James “Pate” Philip of Wood Dale famously likened the flow of state money to CPS to pouring “money down a rat hole.”
For Murphy, Emanuel’s argument doesn’t hold water in light of the Democrats’ long-held control of the legislature.
“Ask yourself, do you really think this system is set up to be to the detriment of Chicago, when Chicago Democrats have run Illinois for years? It just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Murphy told WLS-890 AM reporter Bill Cameron on the “Connected to Chicago” program that aired Sunday and can be listened to here.
*** UPDATE *** The governor’s react…
A staff report for the ISBE says CPS may be in potential difficulty, but not so bad that it qualifies for the state takeover that Governor Rauner has been threatening. He is shaking his head.
“To say that I was a bit surprised by that decision would be an understatement,” he said. “On one hand, we’ve got Forrest Claypool and Mayor Rahm Emanuel screaming fire, disaster, mass layoffs, huge financial crisis and on another hand we’ve got a state agency, a state bureaucracy, saying things aren’t so bad.”
The governor says he wants to get to the bottom of that.
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“I think Trump is good news”
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ahern…
With Donald Trump emerging as the Republican party’s likely presidential nominee, how will his candidacy affect the campaigns of Illinois Republicans?
Republican Strategist Chris Robling told Ward Room that he believes Trump could help certain statewide candidates.
“Downstate and in the collar counties, and even somewhat in the city, for a statewide candidate like [Senator] Mark Kirk or [Illinois Comptroller] Leslie Munger, I think Trump is good news,” Robling said.
Thoughts?
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Define “savvy”
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Andy Shaw…
Greg Goldner, one of Illinois’ savviest political consultants, drafted a comprehensive budget plan months ago that included detailed spending cuts, revenue increases and pro-business reforms — the long-cited keys to a “grand bargain,” as some call a final agreement— but it’s been on a shelf gathering dust since then
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Unclear on the concept
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* OK, let’s say you graduated from college with a monstrous mountain of student loan debt that you can’t default on. Your first job paid $30,000 a year. But after a while, it became apparent that you couldn’t pay rent, transportation and everything else it takes to live as well as your student loan payments. So, you run up the credit card debt just to survive. But eventually, that becomes untenable. You’ve maxed out all your cards and the student loan company is breathing down your neck.
So, you find a different, better-paying job, where you make $50,000 a year. Over time, you pay down your credit card debts and, with some frugality, manage to live within your means while making your student loan payments on time.
But then your boss tells you that he can no longer afford to pay your salary and he cuts you back to $37,500 a year. And now the Tribune editorial board can’t figure out what your problem is…
The temporary state income tax hike of 2011 took an extra $31 billion out of taxpayers’ pockets but — despite Democrats’ forceful promises — did little to change the debt-driven trajectory of state government. Taxpayers are still paying a rate of 3.75 percent, a rate one-quarter higher than before the hike. It has made no difference. Illinois’ unpaid bill pile grows every day.
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Get out of the way
Monday, May 9, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
With yet another poll showing plunging downstate support for Gov. Bruce Rauner in a Republican district and the intense Republican freakout over Donald Trump’s impending presidential nomination and its impact on independent suburban women, there appears to be a growing feeling among Democrats, particularly in the Illinois Senate, that they need to get out of the way to let the other party crash and burn.
The almost year-long state government impasse is most definitely having an impact on Gov. Rauner’s poll numbers. Bernie Schoenburg reported in the State Journal-Register last week that a Public Policy Polling poll of appointed Republican state Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez’s Springfield-area district had Rauner upside down, with 37 percent approving of the way the governor is doing his job, while a majority of 54 percent disapproved. Rauner won that district 58-37 in 2014, according to Illinois Election Data’s numbers. So, basically Gov. Rauner’s numbers have flipped almost entirely the other way.
Another PPP poll of GOP state Rep. Terri Bryant’s southern Illinois district near Carbondale was even worse for the governor. Rauner won Rep. Bryant’s district 60-33, but 57 percent of voters in that district disapprove of Rauner’s job performance, while only 33 percent approve. That’s just about a mirror opposite image of his 2014 result. Both polls were taken April 14-17 and had margins of error of a bit over 4 percent.
A PPP poll taken last August in Bryant’s district had the governor’s job approval rating at 40 percent and his disapproval rating was 51. So, that’s a net loss of 13 points in eight months. And, again, this is a Republican district, albeit one that has plenty of government workers.
Rep. Bryant is also experiencing a freefall if the pollster’s numbers are correct. Last August, PPP had her at a 50 percent job approval rating and a 27 percent disapproval rating. Now, she’s at 42 percent approval and 43 percent disapproval. That’s a huge 24-point swing.
Meanwhile, Gallup’s daily March tracking polls showed 70 percent of women nationally had an unfavorable view of the presumptive nominee Trump. That number is surely higher in the more Democratic-leaning Illinois, where independent suburban women have been the deciding factor in just about every major statewide race since 1990.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Rauner recently let it be known that he won’t endorse Trump and won’t attend the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer, and why, as I write this, appointed Comptroller Leslie Munger is expected to make the same decisions because she’s up for special election this fall.
And you also don’t have to be Einstein to realize that the one-two combo of Rauner and Trump could spell big trouble for down-ballot Republicans.
On the other hand, Rauner’s team says it has polling which shows, by a 2-1 margin, that voters blame House Speaker Michael Madigan more than the governor for the ongoing impasse. To voters, Madigan is “the all-knowing puppet-master,” explained one Rauner official last week. Madigan’s been around so long and is believed to have so much control over Illinois politics and government that he’s seen by voters as “the key to getting something done.”
So, as long as this impasse is going on, Rauner’s legislative allies have a handy pivot they can use, paid for with oil tanker loads of the wealthy Rauner’s cash. Whenever Democratic legislators or candidates demand their Republican opponents answer for the latest Trump outrage or their support for and/or from the unpopular Rauner, the Republicans can turn it back on the Democrats by demanding they justify their support for and/or from the obstructive Speaker Madigan (or Democratic Party of Illinois Chairman Madigan, in the case of Senate candidates).
But even if yet another “Fire Madigan” effort by Republicans isn’t as effective as they believe it will be (the first two tries failed badly), many Democrats will freely admit right now that voters are overwhelmingly blaming incumbents rather than a single political party or person for the impasse—and there are a whole lot more Democratic incumbents than Republicans in the General Assembly.
In a campaign, once your opponent goes down you never take your boot off that person’s neck. So, with Rauner and Republican legislators going down and Trump about to make a big splash, there’s naturally plenty of temptation among a certain type of Democrat (***cough*** intheHouse! ***cough***) to keep this impasse going.
But all those legislative Democrats may wind up doing if the impasse lasts through November is unhelpfully distract Illinois voters from the weirdness at the national and statewide levels.
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