* Assistant DCEO Director Andria Winters and I didn’t hit it off too well. The first time we ever talked we wound up in a loud and extended state policy argument and didn’t speak much to each other for weeks afterward. We’ve long since patched things up, however, and I always get a kick out of hanging with her and her husband Aaron. Those two are something, man.
Winters leaves DCEO today to become Intersect Illinois’ new president. Intersect Illinois is described as: “A private organization working collaboratively with the Department of Commerce to increase our competitiveness for jobs and investment.” It’s the privatized DCEO, basically.
Andria was the policy director for Motorola Mobility and was also director of strategic initiatives for the company’s foundation. She worked for US Sen. Mark Kirk in a high-level job and currently serves on the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s board of directors. We still don’t always agree, but she’s a darned good person.
From a press release…
“Intersect needs leaders who understand the best that Chicago and Illinois offer. Andria brings a wealth of knowledge of key regional growth sectors as well as how to break down bureaucratic barriers for business,” added Ted Souder, Head of Industry, retail for Google. “She is a great addition to the team and will be an important conduit for businesses and economic development organizations.”
“My concern with the proposal so far, is they’re largely based upon re-ramping the payment schedule and slowing down the payment schedule and backloading it,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done in Chicago for decades and it’s the reason Chicago has the worst credit rating of any city other than Detroit.
* Well, the inimitable Fran Spielman put one and one together and got veto threat…
Although the City Council easily approved the mayor’s plan to slap a 29.5 percent tax on water and sewer bills to save the Municipal Employees pension fund, the Illinois General Assembly still needs to sign off on employee concessions tied to the deal as well as the funding schedule.
Same goes for the mayor’s plan to save the Laborers pension fund, bankrolled by a previously-approved, 56 percent tax on monthly telephone bills. […]
In an emailed statement, Molly Poppe, a spokesperson for the city’s Office of Budget and Management, said the governor fails to recognize that Chicago is moving “from a woefully insufficient contribution level set by state law that ensures bankruptcy in the next ten years to a responsible payment plan with a ramp” to an “actuarially required contribution” that “ensures actuarial funding in perpetuity.”
Pressed on whether Rauner was, in fact, threatening a veto, his spokesperson Catherine Kelly would only say that the “dialogue” continues about “enacting comprehensive pension reform for both the city and state.”
“Unlike the state, the city of Chicago is taking steps to address its challenges head-on . . . While the state’s credit rating is susceptible to rating downgrades, we think Chicago’s identified pension funding proposals should forestall further downward rating pressure,” the report states.
“Illinois’ unprecedented budget impasse is ultimately political and the path to compromise is still unclear . . . By operating without a budget for so long, state leaders have created a structural budget gap too severe to address without significant new revenues or drastic cuts.”
The last time Rauner vetoed a Chicago pension bill, both chambers overrode it with a couple of House Republicans jumping on board. So, a veto might be futile again. We’ll have to see.
So, essentially he paid a blackmailer in the Philippines. For what? Well, that’s apparently blacked out above. And then the blackmailer wanted even more money and that’s when things got really weird.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Oof…
In statement, frmr Rep. Ron Sandack says he was target of int'l crime ring that lured him to engage in "inappropriate online conversations."
*** UPDATE 2 *** From what I’ve been able to discern from reading online stuff, the first thing to do when this happens is to shut down all social media accounts so that the blackmailer can’t ping friends/contacts/followers. Sandack, you will recall, abruptly shut down his social media accounts several days before he abruptly resigned. Sun-Times…
Sandack said counterfeit social media accounts started appearing, which he said jeopardized his online identity.
“Nonetheless, I was a victim. Poor decisions on my part enabled me to be a victim and, as a responsible citizen, I reported it and have been working with the police throughout their investigation,” Sandack said in the statement. “I want it to be clear that no aspect of my involvement in this incident was related to my position as a State Representative nor was the computer state property.
“I’m human. I made a mistake for which I am remorseful and ashamed; especially because I have hurt my family, and there is no greater self-inflicted wound than that.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Ain’t that the truth…
Jim Durkin: "I respect Ron Sandack’s decision to resign on July 25 and believe he did the right thing."
* From the Sun-Times write up on yesterday’s editorial board debate with the comptroller candidates…
Mendoza’s campaign has also sought to highlight that Munger has listed Elizabeth Brandt, mayor of Lincolnshire as her campaign chairwoman. Of importance is that Lincolnshire in December adopted right-to-work rules, passing a controversial labor ordinance that gives union-covered employees the option of whether or not to pay dues.
But Munger on Thursday denied Brandt’s involvement in her campaign, calling it an “error” that she did not remove her from paperwork filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Brandt’s name is still listed on her paperwork for her comptroller campaign.
* That’s not all the comptroller said. Munger claimed that she didn’t really get her comptroller campaign off the ground until this year. “I did not update my paperwork,” she said.
* If Brandt wasn’t such a gung-ho poster mayor for a hugely controversial attempt to impose a local “right to work” ordinance (with a big assist from the legal arm of the Illinois Policy Institute) this would be no big deal. But she is, so it’s a legit issue whether Munger or the Republicans or anybody else care to admit it. If you elevate a person like that to such a place of prominence in your official campaign, you have to answer for it.
And because the Illinois attorney general has declared ordinances like the one that Brandt engineered illegal, it’s not just a local issue. It’s a statewide issue because if Brandt and the Illinois Policy Institute succeed, other municipalities could follow. Keeping her on as campaign chair for ten months after that ordinance passed implies agreement.
And, by the way, as I write this, she’s still listed as Munger’s campaign chair.
…Adding… From the Munger campaign…
Susana Mendoza was Rahm Emmanuel’s outspoken Campaign Co-Chair. If she wants to play guilt by association, we ask her;
Does she take responsibility for Rahm Emmanuel’s record $543 million property tax hike?
Does she responsibility for Rahm Emmanuel’s $239 million water and sewer tax hike?
Does she take responsibility for Rahm Emmanuel’s $60 million garbage collection fee?
Does she take responsibility for Rahm Emmanuel $48 million taxi and ride hailing service fee hike?
Does she take responsibility for Rahm Emmanuel’s $40 million amusement tax hike on computer “cloud” services and streaming?
Emanuel is spelled with one “m,” and despite saying it was an “error” to not file paperwork changing her campaign chair, Munger still hasn’t done it.
Otherwise, what do you think?
…Adding Even More… Apparently, Ms. Brandt didn’t get the memo about not being involved…
Illinois may be operating on stopgap budgets into 2019, a local legislator warned this week.
“I want to be blunt with you,” state Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Joliet, told the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees on Tuesday. “I hear from more and more of my colleagues that we might force Illinois to subsist on stopgap budgets through fiscal year 2019.” […]
He said the forecast for more stopgap budgets is based on a belief that Gov. Bruce Rauner will continue to attach his turnaround agenda proposals to full-year budgets. Democrats have opposed the Republican governor’s turnaround agenda. […]
McGuire said funding problems facing higher education also has led to talk of consolidating some of the state’s nine public universities. Possibilities being discussed, he said, include combining Eastern Illinois University with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as combining Chicago State University with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Oops…
Senator Pat McGuire, D-Joliet, issued the following statement to clarify his recent remarks regarding the status of higher education in Illinois.
“I am not aware of any discussions at any level of government about consolidating state universities. What I attempted to say at Tuesday’s Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees meeting is that absent any apparent plan to stabilize Illinois higher education, suggestions are being tossed about. I regret I did not communicate that clearly, and I regret any harm done to those schools named.
“I am eager to work toward an Illinois higher education plan.”
* The Southern Illinois has been interviewing legislative candidates. Here’s part of the paper’s sitdown with Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton)…
“We’ve got to sit down and make things work. We’ve got to tighten our belt up. You’ve got to cut back.” Forby said legislators need to go through the budget line-by-line and look for areas to cut before they consider a tax increase. He said only then would he consider a new proposal to raise revenue.
Asked whether he thought that had not happened in the past, Forby, who has been in the General Assembly since 2001, said there’s more work to be done. He said he’s never voted for a tax increase because of that. Forby said one area where he thinks the state could save money is in the elimination or reforming of Central Management Services, because he believes that agency causes many duplication of services throughout state government. But he did not name other big-ticket items he could support cutting. Rather, Forby talked only in general terms about the need for the state to tighten its belt. […]
Forby said that to the best of his knowledge he has not supported a tax increase during his time in the General Assembly. He voted against temporarily raising the corporate and personal income tax in 2011 that then-Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law. According to newspaper records, Forby supported a similar bill to raise the income tax in 2009 that didn’t become law, making a last-minute decision to change his vote from “present” to “yes.”
“I cannot go home and throw my nursing homes out in the street, shut my hospitals down and not pay our bills,” Forby was quoted as saying after the vote. “It’s definitely going to hurt me, but you know what sometimes you have to do the right thing. You just can’t lay back and hide all your life.” Forby has been criticized by his opponent for that vote. Forby said this week he didn’t recall that vote.
“I don’t think I’ve voted on taxes since I’ve been up there,” he said.
Still, going forward, Forby said he believes that “everything should be looked at” when it comes to finding ways to balance the budget. Whatever is passed will need bipartisan support, Forby said.
“It’s time for Gary Forby to stop lying in a desperate attempt to save his political career and start telling the truth. He voted to nearly double the income tax and expand the sales tax.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe […]
(I)n 2009, Forby voted for a $5.2 billion tax hike on all Illinoisans. The bill would have doubled the state’s income tax and expanded the sales tax. Forby then defended his vote, telling the Southern that, “sometimes you have to do the right thing.”
Forby should “do the right thing” and be honest about his record.
* While we’re on the topic of southern Illinois, click here to check out an op-ed by Jimmy Dean, a local radio personality. Dean writes about the various candidates’ positive attributes. Quite refreshing in this day and age.
Human Rights Campaign criticizes Schneider ad in IL-10: The gay rights advocacy group is taking issue with a new TV ad that former Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Dold in the North Shore 10th Congressional District.
In the ad, a female narrator says: “Dold and the Republicans even said employees could be fired, just for being gay.” The picture accompanying the words shows Dold in between photos of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Dold is the only House Republican to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Coalition and Dold was the first House Republican to become a co-sponsor of the Equality Act.
“Bob Dold has repeatedly voted in favor of federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. And he has made clear through his votes and support for marriage equality that he believes in a world where everyone, including LGBTQ people, can live free from fear of discrimination,” David Stacy, the group’s government affairs director, said in a statement.
To back up its claim, Schneider’s campaign website cited a January 2010 interview Dold gave to WLS-AM 890 radio.
“Dold said gay people shouldn’t be given ’special rights’ to ensure that employers are prohibited from firing someone because of their sexual orientation,” the Schneider campaign says in a footnote.
The DCCC also points to a vote Dold took earlier this year. He joined six other Republicans who support gay marriage in opposing an amendment that would have kept the prohibition on anti-LGBT discrimination by federal contractors out of a bill that created the option to review and repeal federal regulations.
The Dold campaign insists that the vote — on a so-called motion to recommit — was a procedural maneuver, not a substantive policy vote. Most members of the majority party typically vote against motions to recommit.
Dold voted for amendments offered by Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney and Scott Peters that protected President Barack Obama’s executive order prohibiting discrimination against LGBT employees of federal contractors.
* Um, wouldn’t it be better if they just worked out their problems with the guy and keep him around? I mean, for crying out loud the university has been screaming about the lack of money for well over a year, just laid off a ton of staff, and now they’re gonna shell out big bucks to get rid of a guy who has received high marks from faculty and other leaders? This makes no sense…
Sources: severance for outgoing #CSU president Calhoun, let go after 9 months on job, could be as high as $600,000 #ChicagoTonight
Faculty members say Calhoun’s hands were tied when he was hired. The board of trustees created a four-person management team that consisted of Calhoun and three other administrators that would make all the administrative decisions. The professors we spoke to say those other administrators are close with the trustees and with the university’s former president, Wayne Watson – whose own tenure was marked by scandal, but who was being paid severance and is currently on the board. They believe Watson and other trustees wanted to call the hiring and spending shots, and that Calhoun suffered from one fatal flaw.
Rauner said this week that his administration will look closely at appointing new trustees to the board. Four trustees’ terms are up in January.
“I’m still trying to sort out, our team’s trying to sort out, exactly what’s going on there,” Rauner said Thursday. “We’re going to do a thoughtful process to try to find highly qualified individuals to serve on that board. The second thing I’ll say is, Chicago State is a very important institution. We’d like to see them do well. I would like to be very supportive of them. But in the past, for many years, they’ve had management problems and they’ve had significant financial difficulties. And I’d like to see them better run.”
Trustees at financially troubled Chicago State University voted Friday to approve a separation agreement with President Thomas Calhoun Jr. that includes a $600,000 payment.
The vote was 6-1 to accept Calhoun’s resignation. Trustees are scheduled to choose an interim president later Friday.
Former Gov. Jim Edgar and Chris Kennedy, former chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, will speak at a luncheon called “Elections 2016: Candidates, Chaos and Consequences” in Springfield on Sept. 27.
The Better Government Association program will feature BGA president and CEO Andy Shaw having a “candid conversation” with Edgar and Kennedy about the election season. Natalie Bomke, reporter and anchor at Fox 32 TV in Chicago and daughter of former state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, will be emcee.
There are several local sponsors to the event, with Isringhausen Imports the presenting sponsor.
* After releasing his doctor’s report this week which claimed he has made a “full cognitive recovery,” Sen. Mark Kirk is now running a TV ad about his stroke…
The Kirk For Senate campaign has launched a new television ad, titled “Determined,” highlighting Senator Mark Kirk’s determination to recover from his stroke and represent Illinois with fierce independence.
I remember holding the hand of the paramedic and knowing something was very wrong.
I thought that was the last human being I would ever touch.
As I learned to walk and climb again, I thought of our Illinois families struggling to get by.
After facing death, Mark returned even more committed to serve.
Bucking his party to support marriage equality and fight to combat gun violence.
I was determined to return to the Senate, to do the job you elected me to.
