* US Sen. Mark Kirk responds to the Tribune’s decision to endorse Tammy Duckworth in a Trib op-ed today…
When I went back to work in the Senate, I knew the judgments would be quick and furious. I walked differently, talked differently and even looked different than a year before. But I was going to force people to judge me by my actions, and here’s what I did:
• I became one of the first Republican senators to support gay marriage and actively lobbied for its passage in the Illinois legislature.
• I led the effort to build bipartisan coalitions to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank — protecting over 47,000 Illinois jobs.
• I secured $18 million each year starting in 2013 to combat gangs of national significance, including Chicago’s Gangster Disciples.
• I supported comprehensive, compassionate immigration reform to unite families and bring so many in our community out of the shadows.
• I created a bipartisan majority that enacted sanctions against Iran that ultimately crippled the Iranians’ economy and forced them to the negotiation table.
• I fought to reform our Veterans Administration system, to protect whistleblowers and better fund veteran health care. […]
I’m not the same man I was in 2010. I’ve had to accept it, but not everyone has.
Instead of judging me for the work I’ve done in the Senate, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board sought to “sucker punch” me by judging me on my health. It would be comparable to the Pulitzer Prize Board judging the ability and skills of reporters solely on the financial solvency of the paper they write for. Neither standard makes any sense.
I’ll be the first to admit I cannot run as fast, jump as high or swim as quick as I used to. But each day I go to work fighting for Illinois families and I’m proud of my results.
Cabinet-level appointees of the Illinois governor would be barred from using their official positions to campaign for candidates under a commonsense, bipartisan measure proposed by Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) and Senator Sam McCann (R-Plainview).
The legislation – which has been drafted and will be filed soon – reflects federal ethics rules prohibiting government employees from using their official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.
“The taxpayers of Illinois want to know that professional managers, not politicians, are running the agencies that oversee such vital areas as agriculture, transportation and natural resources,” Manar said. “The federal government realized this long ago and took steps to prohibit such activity.”
The legislation was prompted by the appearance of state agency directors – including lawmakers who were appointed to cabinet-level positions by Gov. Bruce Rauner – in campaign ads endorsing specific candidates and criticizing challengers.
Nothing in current Illinois law prohibits the former lawmakers from identifying themselves as leaders of state agencies while campaigning for candidates who were appointed by Rauner to replace them in the Legislature.
McCann noted that these former lawmakers benefited from a significant pay hike and a boost in their public pensions when Rauner strategically plucked them from their legislative seats and placed them in lucrative positions overseeing state agencies.
“I am shocked by the hypocrisy of longtime former lawmakers who saw their paychecks skyrocket to six figures – compliments of an executive appointment – now publicly criticizing candidates as career politicians,” McCann said. “Tactics like these are nothing short of pay-to-play politics, and Illinois deserves better.”
The proposed legislation would apply to directors, secretaries, assistant directors, assistant secretaries, deputy directors and deputy secretaries of state agencies and departments who are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Illinois Senate.
Violations could result in fines, discipline or dismissal by the governor.
Other states have taken steps to close ethics loopholes like this. In addition, the Illinois State Police has restrictions on troopers appearing in uniform in campaign materials.
Manar said the measure is intended to strengthen Illinois’ ethics rules so that governors in the future won’t be tempted to use executive appointments to influence elections.
“Our executive branch has made great progress since the years of George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich – governors of each political party who went to prison for abusing the trust the people of Illinois placed in them,” Manar said. “I invite Gov. Rauner to support our efforts to position Illinois as a model for good government at the highest levels.”
* The idea apparently came about because of this mailer…
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spent the past two days in Ames and Boone, making a push for voters to support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, saying her plans for economic growth are better than her Republican opponent’s.
In Boone on Monday, Vilsack met with about 30 people at the Democratic Headquarters, 813 Keeler St., telling them to vote early and campaign for Democrats on the Nov. 8 ballot.
* From the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, with emphasis in original…
Quarterly reports from the Illinois State Board of Elections were due on Monday, when Illinois campaign committees report their total contributions, expenditures, and funds available from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016.
ICPR’s research team added up the totals for all Senate and House candidate committees, legislative caucus committees, party committees, and leadership committees on both sides of the aisle to better understand spending totals as the General Election heats up.
Breakdown by Party
While Democrats appear to have ended the quarter with more funds on hand, Illinois Republicans raised and spent about twice as much as Illinois Democrats from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016. The main differences came from Political Party and Legislative Caucus Committees, where Republicans raised and spent over three times as much as Illinois Democrats in the third quarter.
* The Tribune reports today that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is closing both of its vehicle emissions testing facilities in Chicago. City residents will have to go to Skokie, Addison or Bedford Park. The facilities in Tinley Park and Elk Grove will also be closed by IEPA…
The federal Clean Air Act requires that emission testing facilities must be located within 12 miles of motorists who need to get their vehicles tested. Most 1996 and newer gasoline-powered passenger vehicles are subject to testing after they are 4 years old. The emissions check is required every other year. […]
The cost-cutting closures are the result of contract renegotiations with Applus Technologies, a Chicago-based company that specializes in vehicle emissions testing.
“The new contract reflects a more efficient, more accurate and less expensive test that will result in significant cost savings to the state of Illinois,” Kim Biggs, spokeswoman for the state Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement.
The Illinois EPA estimates savings of $11 million per year and $100 million over the life of the contract, which typically lasts about a decade. The state’s cost will drop from $6.95 per test to $2.85.
So, they get a much less expensive test, but then they also close facilities? What the heck?
If you think accusations of corruption and election rigging are “loser hysteria,” you need to take a few minutes and watch James O’Keefe’s latest undercover video released Monday morning.
The video features the escapades of Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s check-kiting husband Bob Creamer, who, according to one of his operatives, is a key instigator of Trump rally violence.
At about 3:30 in O’Keefe’s latest 16 minute video, the subject turns to Bob Creamer, starting with an undercover interview with Creamer.
“Wherever Trump and Pence are going to be, we have events,” Creamer tells the undercover reporter. “And we have a whole team across the country that does that. Both consultants and people from the Democratic Party apparatus and people from the campaign, the Clinton campaign. And my role in the campaign is to manage all that.”
If you watch the video, what they’re actually talking about is egging Trump supporters on so that they react violently.
Robert Creamer, husband of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Scott Foval — two little-known but influential Democratic political operatives — have left their jobs after video investigations by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas Action found them entertaining dark notions about how to win elections.
Foval was laid off on Monday by Americans United for Change, where he had been national field director. Creamer announced Tuesday night that he was “stepping back” from the work he was doing for the unified Democratic campaign for Hillary Clinton.
The moves came after 36 hours of coverage, led by conservative and social media, for O’Keefe’s video series “Rigging the Election.” In them, Foval is filmed telling hidden-camera toting journalists about how they’ve disrupted Republican events; Foval also goes on at length about how an organization might cover up in-person voter fraud. In another Tuesday night statement, the Creamer-founded Democracy Partners, which used Foval as a contractor, denounced both Project Veritas and the statements caught on camera. […]
The result of all that was that the “Rigging the Election” videos got a skeptical reception — at first. But the video of Foval, a Wisconsin-based politico with a long résumé, had him bragging about a litany of political dirty tricks. In the first video, he boasts of “conflict engagement in the lines of Trump rallies,” takes credit for the violence that canceled a Trump rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago, admits he has paid “mentally ill” people to start trouble and says there’s a “Pony Express” that keeps Democratic operatives in touch, regardless of whether they work for super PACs or the campaigns not permitted to coordinate with super PACs.
In the second video, Foval spends five minutes discussing how voters might be brought from outside Wisconsin to commit voter fraud, buying cars with Wisconsin plates to avoid looking suspicious. “We’ve been bussing people in to deal with you f—kin’ a–holes for 50 years, and we’re not going to stop now,” he says.
* From Schakowsky’s Republican opponent…
Republican Ninth District Congressional candidate Joan McCarthy Lasonde of Wilmette today released the following statement in reaction to video released Monday by Project Veritas, linked here.
“Today, I am delivering to Rep. Schakowsky a letter demanding her resignation. She must be held responsible for what’s on that video.
“Millions of voters across America, in both parties, are expressing horror over conduct described in the video. Their consciences have been shocked — as they should be — because nothing less than the sanctity of functioning democracy is threatened by that conduct.
“Rep. Schakowsky likely participated in those activities and, in any event, must have known about them and could have stopped them
“The video, along with a second one just released, unquestionably prove a widespread, concerted effort to disrupt political events with violence. Most sickening, those efforts include use of mentally ill and homeless people as pawns to provoke violence. Lives were put at risk.
“Violations of federal campaign laws prohibiting coordination between campaigns and independent political organizations are also clearly indicated.”
* Greg Hinz digs into the local angle on the national Fraternal Order of Police’s endorsement of Donald Trump…
But the statement also reports that, to get the national endorsement, Trump had to get votes from two-thirds of the state lodges.
In Chicago, the FOP asked its unit representatives—the local union officials—to survey the rank and file. The results: 43 wanted to endorse Trump, four sat it out and zero back Hillary Clinton. Similarly, the board of the state lodge voted 172 for Trump, five for no action and zero for Clinton.
Like it or not, that tells me that Trump has a receptive audience when he tells police that no one has their back when they hit the street, but he will. Though Trump’s tone is beyond histrionic, his core message in some ways was pretty similar to what ex-Chicago top cop Garry McCarthy told the City Club a few weeks ago.
* But check out the Chicago FOP’s endorsement page. Among others, the union is also backing Chicago state Reps. Ann Williams and Sara Feigenholtz, two of the most liberal members of the General Assembly.
On the campaign trail, [US Sen. Mark Kirk] said he’s gotten plenty of questions about Trump. But he says most voters are accepting of his position.
After an event last week with college Republicans at Illinois Wesleyan University, Kirk told reporters he was optimistic that the Republican Party will work to remind Americans that it’s the “party of fiscal conservatives and national security hawks.”
He insists that Trump won’t be an anchor on his or other Republicans candidates downballot. That said, he had a hard time hiding his disdain for his party’s candidate at the top of the ticket.
“Right now I would tell Trump to shut the hell up,” Kirk said. “This is not productive.”
To: House Majority PAC
From: John Hagner, Clarity Campaign Labs
Date: October 19, 2016
Subject: Schneider Poised to Defeat Dold in November
A survey conducted October 11th to 13th, 2016 by Clarity Campaign Labs on behalf of House Majority PAC shows that voters in Illinois’ 10th Congressional district are likely to elect Democratic challenger Brad Schneider over incumbent Congressman Bob Dold in November. The survey includes 738 responses, conducted by IVR calls to landlines and live operator calls to cellphones, with a margin of error of +/- 3.61% at a 95% confidence interval.
Brad Schneider leads Bob Dold by 10% in the race for Congress. Schneider gets the support of 44% of the voters in the district, compared to 36% for Dold. When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward supporting, Dold adds 2% while Schneider adds 4%, bringing the margin to 48% to 38%. Schneider’s lead complements a wide Democratic margin at the top of the ticket in the district. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 23% - 53% to 30% - showing room for even more growth in Schneider’s support as election day approaches.
Schneider and Dold are both well-known to the voters in the district: 63% of the district’s voters have an opinion on Schneider while 70% have an opinion of Dold. Schneider’s favorable rating is 33% and his unfavorable is 30%. Bob Dold’s favorability is now in the red: 34% have a favorable opinion while 36% of the district gives him an unfavorable rating. While 23% and 22% are neutral on the two candidates, respectively, 13% have still not heard of Schneider while just 8% have not heard of Dold.
Schneider has a commanding lead with Democrats, winning 86% - 5%, while also winning 9% of voters who identify as Republicans. He trails among Independents 37% - 45%, though his comparatively lower name recognition and Democratic Presidential performance suggest that he has room to grow. The district’s party ID leans Democratic, with 45% identifying as Democrats and 35% as Republicans. Schneider’s solid Democratic performance and near-parity among Independents (20% of party ID) are key to his large topline margin.
Schneider benefits from a huge gender gap, winning 50% of women to 39% for Dold. Dold has a much smaller lead among men, 46%-41%.
While Bob Dold has been able to win in non- Presidential years, he struggles with the higher turnout and down-ballot pressures of Presidential years. While Mitt Romney lost this district, he ran well ahead of the 30% Donald Trump is currently getting. Brad Schneider’s record and his connection with this district, combined with the toxic Republican brand created by the Republican Presidential nominee, looks to be too much for Dold to survive in 2016.
The poll was conducted by Clarity Campaign Labs, using a sample pulled from the TargetSmart voter file. Responses were weighted using turnout scores to reflect the likely voting electorate in Illinois’ 10th Congressional District.
These two guys could easily wind up trading that seat back and forth every two years until the next remap. We’ll know soon enough.
Fresh off a stinging defeat for Congress in 2006, Democrat Tammy Duckworth was asked by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to head Illinois’ Veterans’ Affairs Department and instantly handed a list of new missions to accomplish.
Her top priority, Blagojevich declared, was to step up efforts to sign people up for the state’s fledgling Veterans Care program, an initiative aimed at providing affordable and comprehensive health coverage to “thousands of Illinois veterans.”
At its high-water mark during her tenure, however, the program averaged fewer than 100 veterans enrolled, state records showed.
Now Duckworth is pointing to her work assisting veterans as a big reason voters should promote her from the U.S. House to the Senate as she challenges Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.
A Chicago Tribune examination of Duckworth’s record after a decade in public service shows several of her initiatives at the state VA fell flat, her subsequent post at the federal VA mostly focused on public relations and her two terms in Congress have been marked by only a few legislative successes.
The story reads almost like a massive oppo dump. It’s very long, but go check it out.
*** UPDATE *** From Duckworth’s campaign…
Good afternoon —
You probably saw this morning’s Tribune story, and I wanted to take an opportunity to set the record straight. Despite promising a comprehensive look at Tammy’s record, the story is an almost entirely negative collection of disconnected data points, and fixates on issues over which Congresswoman Duckworth had little actual authority. Moreover, legitimate and tangible accomplishments are mentioned only in passing, or ignored completely.
Tammy Duckworth’s work at the VA was praised by President Obama for, among other things, “helping to cut the number of homeless veterans in half.” In Congress, Tammy helped protect service members from predatory lending and pass legislation to help Veterans transition their skill sets to civilian work. And, Tammy co-authored the Clay Hunt SAV Act, which has improved mental health care for Veterans and is named after someone with whom Tammy worked. To quote President Obama, the Clay Hunt Act “is saving lives right now, and that’s because of Tammy.”
At the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy:
Implemented a first-in-the-nation mandatory PTSD screening program for Veterans
Created the first state-run 24-hour suicide prevention hotline
Allocated IDVA funds to increase counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder
Increased the rate at which Illinois helped Veterans find jobs from 34% to 62%
Helped start two legal assistance programs for Veterans in Illinois
These are among the reasons President Obama called Tammy, “a passionate advocate with a record to match” and why Tammy earned the following recognitions:
The AMVETS Civil Servant Of The Year Award
Veterans and Military Families for Progress’ Lifetime Achievement Award
Illinois’ Abraham Lincoln Veteran Champion Award
Disabled American Veterans’ 2008 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year
The Tribune also focused on the deeply flawed Veterans Care program, which had been established and widely criticized before Tammy began her tenure at the IDVA. Tammy spoke publicly about the program’s issues in 2007, criticizing it for setting eligibility requirements too narrowly, which prevented Veterans from getting the care they needed. The story also fails to note that Tammy mitigated the issues with the program by channeling money to where it would be more effective until she was able to convince lawmakers to expand the eligibility rules, which happened toward the end of her tenure. As a result, access to care for more Veterans increased as she was leaving the Department.
The bottom line is that since recovering from her wounds at Walter Reed, Tammy Duckworth has dedicated her life to helping Veterans, and she’s achieved tangible results. It is of course fair to look at that record in total, but today’s Tribune story unfortunately fails to do that. Please see the documentation below, which highlights additional accomplishments with regard to Veterans, and feel free to reach out with any questions.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has decided to take steps to allow more than 200,000 Illinois residents to remain eligible for food stamps, averting a threatened year-end cutoff that had alarmed social service advocates.
Sources in the Rauner administration said the governor will apply to renew a federal waiver that since 2009 has exempted Illinois from a federal requirement placing a time limit on some food stamp recipients.
The waiver applies to unemployed adults ages 18 to 49 who are not disabled or raising minor children.
The affected individuals, referred to as Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, otherwise would be subject to a limit of three months of food assistance during any 36-month period if they are not working or engaged in a training program at least 20 hours a week. […]
Although it is generally agreed that the state meets the qualifications for the waiver — intended for areas with high and sustained unemployment — there was concern Rauner might not pursue it because of pressure from conservatives who regard it as a wasteful loophole.
* Illinois Public Radio takes a look at something we discussed here the other day about the transportation “lockbox” proposal’s potential impact on state parks…
The argument goes that money collected from the state tax on motor fuel — 19 cents a gallon — should only be used for things like roads and bridges and highway law enforcement. The lockbox would also apply to tolls, license plate registration and so forth. […]
The answer begins four years ago, when the Department of Natural Resources was in bad shape after years of funding cuts.
Legislators decided to put a $2 fee on every license plate renewal. Back in the 2015 budget year — which is the last time Illinois had a normal budget — DNR got $19 million from the license plate fee, about 12 percent of the agency’s state funding.
This is where the lockbox might cause problems. The proposal talks about highways, bridges, airports and trains — but it doesn’t mention state parks or recreation areas. Is the land under DNR’s control really part of Illinois’ transportation infrastructure?
Amendment backers say “probably.” Todd Maisch is with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. He says he thinks questions about DNR funding have been “overblown,” and that DNR’s license plate money could be siloed into transportation purposes.
MAISCH: “They go to maintain the roads, the trails, the traffic safety, the Conservation Police that are out there on the roads as well. We’re not going to say that it’s not an issue to discuss, but we think the scope of the problem is really very limited.”
* But there’s another issue that may be overlooked here. Illinois has a ton of specialty license plates. For instance, here’s the description of the Autism Awareness plate…
By purchasing the Autism Awareness License Plates, you will contribute to the Autism Awareness Fund administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services for the distribution of grants for research, education, and awareness of autism and autism spectrum disorders.
By purchasing a set of Chicago Bears License Plates, you will contribute to the Professional Sports Teams Education Fund with the funds to be deposited every six months into the Common School Fund.
By purchasing these plates, you will be helping support scholarships for Illinois college students while displaying your pride for your favorite school or alma mater.
Tony McCombie doesn’t like to admit that she’s Gov. Bruce Rauner’s candidate in House District 71. But, it’s for that reason that Illinois voters should choose the Republican Savanna mayor over incumbent Democrat Rep. Mike Smiddy on Nov. 8.
There’s a proxy war raging in District 71 between Rauner and Speaker Michael Madigan. And, in that fight, we’ll side with Rauner almost every time. […]
Smiddy was bought and paid for years ago.
The same will probably be said for McCombie in two years. But, at the very least, she’s owned by the people demanding reform.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an endorsement like that.
* A harsh new Republican TV ad uses video footage of Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion) seconding the nomination of Michael Madigan for another term as House Speaker. The ad calls Bradley a “loyal lapdog” for Madigan. Watch it…
Keep in mind the context here. Not only is Madigan very unpopular, but the Republicans have spent millions of dollars driving that unpopularity home with voters.
