I am writing to update you on the effect of the budget impasse on providers of services through contracts with the Department on Aging. Part of our money is being paid out by court order when we make hardship requests for payment. But none of the FY 2017 money to reimburse us for services we’ve already provided, under contract, that isn’t court ordered is even being sent to the Comptroller, despite the stopgap budget. I’ve heard from several providers, today alone, that they cannot make ends meet. Two have told me TODAY alone, that their boards are threatening closure because they have exhausted their reserve funds and can’t see how to make payroll in January. I hear from agencies every day now, asking for help to make payroll. If you could see fit to shine a light on this very real problem, I’d appreciate it.
I’m forwarding a video from the Responsible Budget Coalition about the impasse’s effect on the Senior Services Plus Meals on Wheels program in Alton.
Cindy Cunningham
President, Illinois Adult Day Services Association
* Earlier today, GOP Rep. Mark Batinick gave his side of the story about Tuesday’s often tense working group meeting to discuss local government mandates and consolidations. A few minutes ago, Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) sent me this…
Hi Rich,
I attended Tuesday’s meeting at the request of Speaker Madigan and I’m happy to share my perspective. Unlike my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I think it’s incumbent on any legislator to gather the proper information and data prior to passing important legislation. I and my other Democratic colleagues refuse to be a rubber stamp for the Executive Branch while important questions remain unanswered. The message I heard loud and clear was that in order for the State to get a budget, the General Assembly better cave to the Governor’s demands.
Prior to the meeting, I was told the group would discuss mandates, but the actual topic was destruction of collective bargaining rights. The Governor’s office did not provide us with legislative language prior to or during the meeting. Democratic members and staff asked many questions in an attempt to nail down specifics on each proposal discussed. There were some tense moments, usually when a Democratic legislator or staff had the audacity to ask for specific information, or an explanation about the negative impacts of the Governor’s proposals on middle-class families.
When the meeting ended, there was a willingness to continue discussions, despite the fact that the Governor’s Office was leaking blatantly false information about Democrats’ position to the media during what we thought were private discussions. We asked the Governor’s Office to provide language and additional information, and indicated we were ready to meet again. However, I was informed a few minutes ago that the Governor’s Office refuses to engage in further negotiations at this time.
Chris Welch
Man, if they’re still trying to push through significant collective bargaining limits at this stage of the game, we can probably forget about a deal.
*** UPDATE *** I’m told by the Rauner folks that they disagree with everything in Welch’s e-mail.
Democrats, they say, have been asked to provide some counter-offers, which they say the Democrats have refused to provide. So, until the Dems do provide those counter-offers, there’s apparently no sense in having further meetings.
However, Sen. Andy Manar told me that he agrees with everything Rep. Welch wrote. “I was fully expecting to have another meeting to continue where we left off,” he continued. “To prepare, I asked our staff to put together information to be ready for the next time we met.”
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Nonpartisan Legislative/Agency Staffer goes to Andrea Creek…
LRB certainly doesn’t get enough credit, but is an easy scapegoat for problems with a bill, and I think Andrea Creek is probably the most looked-over asset to the Capital. She spots issues with legislation that the sponsor would never foresee and cleans up problems in the revisory bill that none of us ever understand, all while being patient and helpful.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Government Spokesperson goes to John Patterson…
Patterson does a great job framing Cullerton and Cullerton’s positions as the reasonable, responsible ones.
He is low key, and not flashy, but Dave is universally respected by the press and media corps and is always available to answer questions, dig up statistics, and fill in facts on the tightest of media deadlines.
* On to today’s categories…
* Best Illinois State Representative - Republican
* Best Illinois State Representative - Democrat
As always, make sure to explain your vote or it won’t count. Also, please do your very best to nominate in both categories. Thanks!
“The change in tone is due to the uninterrupted campaign rhetoric that we listened to for over two years,” Brown said. “That fills everybody with the expectation that if there were some kind of a budget agreement … once a vote was taken, there would be a never-ending series of attack ads. Robocalls, dark money, (and) character assassination sponsored by Governor (Bruce) Rauner.”
* There is ample justification for this viewpoint. After all, the governor, who is by far the largest single contributor to the Illinois Republican Party, regularly denies all knowledge of his party’s activities…
“That’s its own process. I have nothing to do with it. I don’t spend my time thinking about it or focusing on it.”
There’s also the Aaron Schock dark money precedent. All of a sudden in early 2013, the potential gubernatorial candidate started getting whacked by dark money attacks. The same sort of thing happened again in 2014 against all of Rauner’s opponents.
So, the Madigan types figure dark money will most definitely be used against Democrats after a budget agreement, whether through Dan Proft or some other group, and that Rauner will flatly deny any and all involvement, just like he’s doing now with the BossMadigan.com website.
…Adding… Wordslinger makes some great points in comments…
Yes, that will happen, but so what? You still have to do your jobs.
And please — getting whacked in campaign media for making tough votes? Madigan’s crew engineers tough votes all the time so they can whack GOP candidates with them later.
The Dems should consider making the great leap forward to the 1990s when it comes to message delivery and maybe they wouldn’t worry about Rauner so much. It’s not like his crew is dazzling with the message.
Right now, Dems are getting clobbered because they’re not in the ballgame.
…Adding More… From Juvenal in comments…
Have Democrats used rollcalls to put Republicans in tough positions? Sure.
But not ever that I can recall when it came to something that required bipartisan support to pass that Democrats actually wanted.
When you want something to pass, and it requires a structured, bipartisan rollcall, there is always another piece to the deal: both sides have to agree that the bill isn’t going to be the basis of attack ads.
In other words: every Democrat who voted for George Ryan’s license fee hike could rest assured that neither Ryan, Daniels, or Pate would come after them.
That trust is utterly lacking.
And it doesn’t make a bipartisan agreement impossible, but it does make it that much more difficult, because now those Democrats have to be much more careful about what level of funding they can defend, not just for targets either. You have to assume that dark money is going to flood the streets of Chicago again against black caucus members accused of raising taxes for Boss Madigan.
Heck, Rauner just spent money pillorying Forby for voting to confirm his own labor board appointments.
Democratic legislators should put taxpayers ahead of their personal interests & drop lawsuit to prioritize their paychecks #nobudgetnopaypic.twitter.com/EbJMN3xACK
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate in November remained at 5.6 percent and nonfarm payrolls increased by +1,700 jobs over the month, based on preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and IDES. October job growth was revised up to show an increase of +3,400 jobs rather than the preliminary figure of +2,200 jobs. Despite the upward revision, job growth remains below the national average, with Illinois -29,600 jobs short of its peak employment level reached in September 2000.
“Through 11 months of 2016, the nation’s rate of growth continues to outpace our rate by 50 percent,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “The biggest sector gains have been in professional and business services with 37,200 jobs added, while the biggest losses have been in manufacturing, with 8,700 fewer jobs.”
“If Illinois had grown at the same rate as the nation since the beginning of the recovery in 2010, we would have an additional 222,700 jobs,” said Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity Acting Director Sean McCarthy. “With a balanced budget and structural reforms, our economy will be better able to grow jobs and provide opportunities for Illinois families.”
In November, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Education and Health Services (+3,500); Leisure and Hospitality (+3,100); and Other Services (+1,800). The four industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,800); Construction (-2,300); Manufacturing (-700) and Information (-700).
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +43,000 jobs with the largest gains in two industry sectors: Professional and Business Services (+35,400); and Leisure and Hospitality (+17,700). Industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines in November include: Manufacturing (-10,100), Financial Activities (-5,600) and Information (-5,200). The +0.7 percent over-the-year gain in Illinois is less than the +1.6 percent gain posted by the nation in November.
The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national unemployment rate reported for November 2016, which declined to 4.6 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is down -0.4 percentage points from a year ago when it was 6.0 percent.
The number of unemployed workers increased +0.5 percent from the prior month to 368,500, down -6.4 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force was little changed over-the-month and grew by +0.5 percent in November over the prior year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
Exelon officials announced Wednesday that they plan to hire more than 400 people to fast track multiple capital projects at the Quad Cities Generating Station near Cordova and its Clinton, Ill. nuclear power plant.
The announcement comes one week after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the Future Energy Jobs Bill into law at Riverdale High School near Port Byron and similar ceremonies in Clinton, Ill.
“Opponents of the Future Energy Jobs Bill called it a bailout, but that’s a ridiculous argument,” said Rory Washburn, executive director of the Quad Cities area’s Tri City Building Trades Council. “This legislation is already creating good paying jobs for Illinois families and leveling the playing field so our safe and well run nuclear facilities can compete fairly with other subsidized sources of clean energy.”
Elk Grove Village’s mayor and board of trustees will rescind their support for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” amid the threat of a lawsuit from a suburban-based labor union.
Neither village officials nor a representative of International Union of Operating Engineers 150 on Wednesday would discuss the basis for a potential lawsuit stemming from the board’s April 2015 vote backing the Republican governor’s plan. […]
The village board unanimously approved a settlement Tuesday with Local 150. Under the deal, the village promises to formally rescind support of the Rauner agenda in a public vote by Jan. 31, 2017, and the union agreed to forgo any legal challenges.
Both sides said the settlement is unrelated to an investigation into whether the mayor and five board trustees qualify to collect pensions. After the village board passed the resolution backing the governor’s agenda last year, Countryside-based Local 150 accused board members of working too few hours for membership in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund — prompting an investigation by the pension fund’s attorneys.
Tuesday, Mayor Craig Johnson said the village was facing possible litigation if it did not rescind the resolution. […]
Local 150 spokesman Ed Maher said the union brought actions in court against the McHenry County Board and the city of Rockford for violations of the Illinois Open Meetings Act related to those two governments’ passage of similar resolutions supporting Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda.”
After the 2015 meeting, Maher and other union officials were critical of the fact that, although an agenda item was posted on the village website 48 hours in advance of the April 28 meeting, the village did not post a copy of the full resolution supporting parts of the “Turnaround Agenda” on the website in advance of the meeting.
The Illinois Open Meetings Act requires only that items which would be voted on by village trustees or members of other public boards or commissioners as “action items” be listed 48 hours in advance on agendas. The open meetings law does not require the full language of a proposed ordinance or resolution be posted in advance.
* Rauner had a real opportunity at the start of his term to woo the more conservative construction trade unions and use that alliance to yank the public unions’ chains. Several of those trade unions had already pushed for public employee pension reform - at Speaker Madigan’s behest, no less. Rauner made big promises of a major capital bill during the campaign, but he’s barely talked about it since then. The trade unionists would’ve swooned over him had he done that.
Instead of focusing all of his immediate attention on getting things done, the rookie governor went off on a bizarre, Randian speaking tour for the first four months of his first spring session, telling everyone who would listen the magical benefits of “right to work” and eliminating the prevailing wage - completely impossible dreams with the makeup of the Illinois General Assembly.
Gov. Rauner basically launched an existential war right out of the gate, which united all unions as never before and arc-welded the Democratic Party to them. They firmly believe that if one goes down, so does the other. That ain’t the greatest atmosphere for compromise.
And now, even some of the governor’s most pathetically symbolic early “victories” are being rolled back at the local level while the state burns to the ground.
It was Rauner who canceled the last scheduled meeting last week with House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and the other legislative leaders because he said the Democrats weren’t prepared to offer a spending plan. The five haven’t met since, even though Rauner has repeatedly said he wants to meet every day until a budget agreement is reached.
“I was flabbergasted,” Rauner said of the Democrats’ response. “They said, ‘Well, we’re not ready. We need some time.’ What was clear is they are not taking this process seriously.”
“We have asked to meet every day,” Rauner added. “When they indicate they are ready to have a good-faith negotiation, and so far they have not, we’ll meet every day.”
That’s not how the Democratic leaders see it. Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesman said they believe progress is being made by working groups who are negotiating workers’ compensation changes, government consolidation and other issues the governor has said he wants addressed. Those groups have been meeting even though the leaders have not.
“That’s why the Senate president was surprised and disappointed when the governor canceled the follow-up meetings when it seemed like we were finally on the verge of a budget framework,” the Chicago Democrat’s spokesman, John Patterson, said. “President Cullerton hopes the governor will reconsider and come back to the table and resume working toward a fair and balanced budget.”
Those are two completely and diametrically opposing viewpoints. And it sounds a lot to my ears like the rhetoric over the stalled AFSCME negotiations, which the governor also declared to be at impasse.
* But Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) attended Tuesday’s working group meeting to discuss local government mandate relief and consolidation and saw the Democrats’ negotiating posture up close and personal. He sent this to me yesterday evening…
I’m in commercial real estate. In commercial real estate you negotiate. All day long you negotiate. Sometimes you negotiate big issues. Sometimes small ones. But you are always looking for as many win-win situations as possible. At least I am.
After two decades of negotiating on a nearly daily basis I can tell you it is easy to spot whether a party is negotiating in good faith or not. You can tell when someone is trying to tank a deal or work hard to get one done.
I attended my first working group meeting on Tuesday. I saw all the telltale signs of a party not wanting get a deal completed. Frankly, I wish the meeting was in public and video recorded. Some of the pettiness displayed was breathtaking. We should be digging in, in good faith, to get a real deal done. The people of Illinois deserve no less. That wasn’t the case Tuesday.
If any Democrat who attended Tuesday’s meeting is willing to send me a statement, I’d be happy to publish it.
One of the problems for many lawmakers is that they view their jobs as full time.
They certainly get paid full-time salaries – $67,836. Many receive stipends of $10,327 for extra duties. The total: $78,163.
But the Legislature is in session only from January until May, with a 2-week veto session in November.
Full-time employment? Not hardly.
By stretching their legislative jobs to full time, such lawmakers don’t have any “real” jobs to fall back on. And now, their personal finances are feeling the pinch.
How many “real jobs” allow workers to take off January through May (and beyond) every year? Some lawyers can do it, but do we really need more of them in the GA? Could school teachers take that much time off? Factory workers? Please. I suppose they could all become Uber drivers like Rep. Andrade. Or they could get government jobs at the local level, which can often accommodate politicians, but do we want more of that?
We could probably restructure the General Assembly so that it doesn’t meet as often, but that would require a pretty darned heavy lift.
* However, there’s no doubt that their pay rate makes them a big target when things don’t go well. And things haven’t gone well in Illinois for quite a long time.
“The question of salaries has haunted American legislatures since the 1640s,” said Peverill Squire, a professor of political science at the University of Missouri and an expert on state legislatures. “It has been a chronic issue where lawmakers generally ask for more pay and the public is almost always resistant.” […]
Lawmaker salaries vary wildly across the country, from California, where legislators make nearly $100,000 a year, to New Hampshire, where they are compensated with $100 annually and no per diem. Overall, though, they tend to skew low. In 2014, according to research by Squire and Gary Moncrief, a political science professor at Boise State University, the median base pay was $20,833.
Low pay also puts limits on who can realistically serve in a legislature. In states like New Mexico that have short legislative sessions, lawmakers must leave their day jobs for one or two months every year and travel to the state capital — in addition to dealing with year-round demands from constituents. Many lawmakers must be independently wealthy or have flexible jobs that allow them to juggle politics and everyday work. Part-time legislators are also more likely than full-time legislators to be retirees, Moncrief said. It’s no surprise, then, that state lawmakers tend to be older than their constituents.
As Illinois enters a new period of heightened budget uncertainty, colleges and universities must again decide whether to front grant money to low-income students who are supposed to be receiving state aid.
A new survey from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers the grants through the Monetary Award Program, suggests some schools that covered the grants in the fall aren’t making guarantees for the spring.
Of the 96 colleges and universities that responded to the survey, 53 percent said they would guarantee the funding for the spring semester, down from 60 percent in the fall. Because the commission didn’t receive responses from 36 schools whose students are eligible to receive MAP grants, it cautioned against drawing overarching conclusions from the responses. […]
When lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner approved a stopgap spending plan that’s funding higher education and most other state operations through Dec. 31, they included money to finish paying off last year’s MAP grants. No money was included for the current year, however, leaving public and private universities and community colleges to decide whether to credit students’ accounts for the grants as many had the previous year.
While nearly all public universities covered the grants this fall, only two-thirds are committed to covering them in the spring, according to the survey.
[Manar] said first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner “has divided our state into pieces,” and has “used that division every day against Democrats.”
“I think Democrats have to become better at delivering a message that resonates with voters because we have the right policies,” Manar added. […]
“Personal wealth is a factor,” Manar said. “That’s something I don’t bring to the table. Never have; probably never will. But I think there’s other factors that have to be considered when coming up with a nominee.”
“If we’re going to straight up nominate someone who simply has money with no message and no way to deliver a message and no way to resonate with working-class voters, then we’re probably not going to fare as well as … we otherwise would,” he said.
I’ve known Andy for quite a long while. He’s about as sharp as they come.
* One problem, though, will be his school funding reform push. It’s a good idea and he’s visited just about every nook and cranny of Illinois touting it, building friendships and alliances as he goes.
But the wealthier suburbs won’t like it unless there’s lots more state money put into the mix to shield them from state funding cuts. And lots more state money means, of course, a tax hike.
* VanillaMan’s latest, based on “Must be Santa,” a tune I’ve loved since I was a kid. Click here if you need a refresher…
Who’s got a solution to business flight?
Rauner’s got a solution to business flight!
Who spends millions each election night?
Rauner spends millions each election night!
Business flight, Buys election night,
Must be Rauner, must be Rauner,
Must be Governor, Governor Bruce.
Who wants to give us Right To Work?
Rauner wants to give us Right To Work!
Who drives unions completely bezerk?
Rauner drives unions completely bezerk!
Right To Work, completely bezerk,
Buys election night, business flight
Must be Rauner, must be Rauner,
Must be Governor, Governor Bruce.
Who’s wants to save us 1.4?
Rauner wants to save us 1.4!
Who doing that by waging war?
Rauner’s doing that by waging war!
1.4, waging war,
Right To Work, completely bezerk,
Buys election night, business flight
Must be Rauner, must be Rauner,
Must be Governor, Governor Bruce.
Who says he wants to limit terms?
Rauner says he wants to limit terms!
Who says Madigan’s got cooties and germs?
Rauner says Madigan’s got cooties and germs!
Limit terms, cooties and germs,
1.4, wages war,
Right To Work, completely bezerk,
Buys election night, business flight
Must be Rauner, must be Rauner,
Must be Governor, Governor Bruce.
Ryan, Blago, Quinn and Rauner!
Governing Illinois is sure a downer!
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Hooray!
Two in the Slammer, and two got away!
One fine day, will come our way,
Just not now, don’t have a cow,
Rauner’s in charge, our debts enlarge,
We’re in a hole, that’s his goal
Must be Rauner, must be Rauner,
Must be Governor BRUCE!
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best campaign staffer - House Democrats goes to Travis Shea…
There’s no doubt Travis is one of the hardest working guys on staff and he won one of the biggest races this cycle. Trump won that district and somehow Travis still pulled out a win for Katie.
Not to mention that the Democratic Party in general did horribly in Madison County this year. Travis also ran an innovative race, which should definitely be rewarded.
*** UPDATE *** The above award was rescinded on March 6, 2019. Click here for more info.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
Highly honorable mentions go to Julia Larkin and Anne Schaeffer, two of the very best.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best campaign staffer - Senate Democrats goes to Sam Hobert…
He is an obsessively dedicated young guy who ran one of the most professional campaigns the caucus has ever seen. When the GOP shifted late resources towards Michelle Smith, he didn’t panic. Throughout October, Sam rallied the troops and the candidate, which resulted in a 5+ point victory in an area where Republicans always seem to be on the cusp of breaking through.
Honorable mention goes to crowd favorite Reena Tandon.
* Let’s move on to today’s categories…
* Best Nonpartisan Legislative/Agency Staffer
* Best Government Spokesperson
The first category is new and is posted by popular demand. So, you can nominate somebody from LRB, LRU, LIS, COGFA, etc., or you can nominate an agency/administration staffer (except for liaisons because they have their own category).
Make sure to explain your vote or it won’t count and make sure to nominate in both categories. Thanks!
“A good place to begin, good place to begin would be the level we were at before the income tax expired,” Madigan said, referring to the 5 percent individual income tax rate and 7 percent corporate tax rate set in 2011 as part of a four-year temporary tax hike.
“And starting there, you can go in whatever direction you want to go,” Madigan said.
* The SJ-R’s Bernie Schoenburg called Rauner out on it today. Their exchange…
Bernie: He said up or down. He said a starting point and then you go up or down from there.
Rauner: OK.
Bernie: You keep saying he did it one way, but he said something different than what you say.
Rauner: Income tax hike without reforms.
Bernie: Is your administration OK with 4.75 percent because that’s been reported?
Rauner: A year ago he said he wanted to do an income tax hike without reforms, without reforms. And, now he’s not talking about that, in fact he’s trying to go like this on new revenue. And he’s just saying ‘Let’s just do a budget like we’ve done seven times… What were those seven? What were those seven? Do you know? Have you asked? What were those seven? Those seven were all stopgap, short-term, incomplete spending plans. That’s what they were. And they didn’t include any reforms. We can play word games if you want, it’s a waste of time.
Progress, I suppose, but notice how the governor avoided that last question?
Illinois group homes for adults with disabilities will face tougher licensing standards and enforcement and they will be graded for the first time on quality and safety, a top official for the Illinois Department of Human Services vowed to state legislators Tuesday.
Secretary James Dimas told Senate and House lawmakers that his department has launched more than a dozen reform measures to heighten enforcement of 3,000 group homes statewide and increase public transparency involving the care of 12,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
He spoke at a bipartisan Senate and House hearing convened in response to a Chicago Tribune investigation, “Suffering in Secret,” which exposed how Illinois has steered thousands of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable residents with disabilities into a network of state-funded group homes, then routinely obscured evidence of harm from the public.
One of the most sweeping reforms outlined by Dimas would provide limited public access to previously sealed investigative files. The department is working with the Illinois attorney general’s office to provide group home addresses and full enforcement histories to families and guardians. […]
The Tribune reported that Human Services’ enforcement arm, the Office of Inspector General, had sealed thousands of investigative files, redacted group home addresses from public records and concealed the oversight process so thoroughly that outsiders could not determine when or where investigations occurred or what action, if any, was taken.
* Sen. Daniel Biss ran the committee and this is part of his press release yesterday…
“I appreciate the testimony of Secretary Dimas and Inspector General McCotter, as well as the action they already have taken to address problems and their recommendations for changes going forward.
“However, I am disappointed that some of my colleagues in the legislature view this crisis as an opportunity for political finger-pointing rather than a moment for bipartisan cooperation to save lives and pave the way for a better future for vulnerable Illinoisans.
“Let’s not pretend that the solutions to this very serious problem lie in the past. The solutions can only be found in partnership with the current governor and his administration – one that went to great lengths to conceal important information about group home abuse and neglect from the public, from the victims’ families and from the media.
“It is incumbent upon Gov. Rauner to give this crisis the attention it deserves, to put forth a budget for the state of Illinois and to ensure financial and staff resources are put where they’re most desperately needed today.
“Not only does that include working with the Legislature to designate money to properly pay group home caregivers, it also means immediately filling the lapsed gubernatorial appointments on the board that oversees these group homes for developmentally disabled adults.”
* Three House Democrats who are suing over their withheld paychecks appeared on “Chicago Tonight” last night. Rep. Silvana Tabares (D-Chicago) made by far the best argument…
“The fact of the matter is that the governor, the executive branch, is trying to apply pressure to lawmakers to give in to his corporate demands… and selling out our constituents for a paycheck. I’m not going to support the governor’s corporate demands and sell out my constituents. I was elected to fight for working men and women and not hurt the middle class. And this is a bullying tactic that the governor is doing to bully and squeeze lawmakers to pass his corporate demands.”
That’s a good reframing of this issue. The interviewer just wanted to talk about the budget, but this ain’t about the budget, it’s about agreeing to the governor’s preconditions to a budget. And those preconditions are simply unacceptable to many, many Democrats, including Tabares. I don’t care who the House Speaker is, that’s just the way it is.
* Tabares made this point more clearly and succinctly when she was asked at the end of the interview if she thought there’d be a budget his fiscal year. Her response…
“Social service agencies are suffering throughout the state because there’s no budget, and there’s no budget because the governor will not discuss it with Democrats until we pass his corporate demands.”
* Meanwhile, Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) was asked on the program about all the harsh newspaper editorials on the topic, including one that called for a legislative uprising. His response…
“I think that’s what’s going on with this lawsuit. There’s a legislative uprising toward the billionaire governor who directed the multi-millionaire comptroller to try to starve the legislature. He’s trying to starve us because we’re going to run out of money a lot sooner than he will. He made $188 million last year alone. He’s sitting in his mansion laughing and eating and paying his bills on time while people are just struggling to make ends meet.”
That’s not as good as Tabares’ argument, but the class conflict stuff does work. They should probably find a way to combine the two arguments.
* By the way, Illinois legislators make just shy of $70,000 a year. As Welch noted, Gov. Rauner made $188 million last year, or about $15 million a month. An average work year, without vacations, is 2,080 hours (40 hours a week times 52 weeks).
So, Gov. Rauner made $90,385 an hour last year. That means he made more in a single work-week hour than state legislators make in an entire year.
There are 177 legislators in the General Assembly. 177 times $70K equals a total annual payroll of about $12.4 million, without other stuff.
The governor therefore made $2.6 million more in a month than the entire General Assembly makes in a year.
A federal grand jury has indicted City of Chicago Alderman WILLIE B. COCHRAN on charges he pocketed money from a charitable fund that was intended to help families and children in his South Side ward.
The 15-count indictment alleges that Cochran used money from the 20th Ward Activities Fund to pay his daughter’s college tuition and to finance his gambling expenses, as well as to purchase items for use in his home. The indictment also charges Cochran with extorting money from a lawyer and a liquor store owner in exchange for Cochran’s aldermanic support.
The indictment was returned Tuesday in federal court in Chicago. It charges Cochran, 64, of Chicago, with eleven counts of wire fraud, two counts of federal program bribery, and two counts of extortion. An arraignment date has not yet been set.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI initiated the investigation after receiving information from the former City of Chicago Legislative Inspector General’s Office, which was headed at that time by Faisal Khan.
“When an elected official uses public power for personal gain, the average citizen pays and our democratic system suffers,” said U.S. Attorney Fardon. “We will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute any elected official who attempts to use their office to enrich themselves.”
According to the indictment, Cochran corruptly solicited and demanded $1,500 from an Illinois attorney who represented real estate developers with properties in Cochran’s ward. Cochran solicited and obtained the money for his continued and future aldermanic support of the developments, which included a property developed under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, according to the indictment.
The indictment also charges Cochran with corruptly soliciting and demanding payment from a 20th Ward liquor store owner who sought an amendment to the Municipal Code of Chicago to allow package goods licenses on the store’s side of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Shortly after soliciting the payment, the City Council of Chicago in April 2015 passed a Cochran-sponsored amendment that allowed for issuance of the licenses on that block, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Cochran was the sole signatory on a bank account for the 20th Ward Activities Fund, a charitable endeavor that purported to host ward events such as a summer back-to-school picnic, a Valentine’s Day party for senior citizens, and events during the holiday season. In reality, Cochran used a portion of the money contributed by donors for his own personal use, the indictment states. These expenses included $5,000 toward his daughter’s college tuition, and approximately $25,000 that Cochran withdrew from automated teller machines in or near casinos where he gambled, according to the indictment.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charges in the indictment are punishable by a total maximum sentence of 280 years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather McShain and Christopher Stetler.
Court records hint at recent financial troubles for Cochran. He has been the target of three foreclosure lawsuits over his personal home and laundry businesses he held a financial stake in.
State records show that since January 2015 Cochran has filed an unusually large number of revisions to his campaign finance paperwork — around 80, including 10 since early last month. Over the previous eight years, Cochran had filed only six amendments to his campaign records.
In some of the amended campaign finance reports, Cochran revealed he had paid himself out of his campaign fund. In several instances, Cochran did not report those payments until well after he filed his campaign reports with state elections officials — in some cases more than a year or two later.
From 2012 through 2016, Cochran spent $397,574 in campaign funds. About one-third of that — $128,297 — went to himself, the records show.
* This is starting to remind me of the last year or so of the Blagojevich administration, when the warring parties were too involved with their fight to notice the national trend. From The Hill…
State tax revenue growth slowed in the first several months of the new fiscal year, forcing legislators and budget officials in states across the country to slash projections and spending plans while raising concerns that the next economic recession is just around the corner.
A new report from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) found that half the states have experienced revenue shortfalls in the early months of fiscal year 2017, which began in August. The shortfalls come as sales and personal income tax growth slows and corporate income tax declines.
Those shortfalls forced 19 states to enact mid-year budget cuts in fiscal year 2016 — more than any year outside of a recession since 1990. Some budget analysts fear slowing sales and income tax growth can be a leading indicator that an economic downturn is right around the corner. […]
States expect to bring in a total of $808 billion in revenue, up 3.6 percent over the year before. But 12 states — Alaska, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming — experienced revenue declines in 2016, and eight more expect revenues to drop this year.
With almost half of the fiscal year completed, base receipts are down $607 million through November. Last month’s briefing mentioned concern with FY 2017 revenue performance—that concern continues to grow. Unfortunately, the weakness is in the largest revenue sources such as income and sales taxes, thereby limiting the State’s ability to engage in reimbursable spending, resulting in very poor federal source performance.
Gross corporate income taxes are off $297 million, or $260 million net of refunds. Gross personal income tax, despite a good November, is still down $96 million or $144 million if refunds and diversions to the education and human service funds are included. As mentioned, sales taxes are weak and have fallen $1 million. Overall transfers are down $79 million to date. Only the one-time nature of this month’s SERS repayment has allowed other sources to post a $103 million increase.
With a dramatic falloff in federal sources in November, receipts are behind last year’s dismal pace by $200 million. Growth will have to increase dramatically over the remainder of the fiscal year even to hit the Commission’s very modest projection.
“We will continue to highlight Pritzker’s ties to both Rod Blagojevich and Mike Madigan until he makes a final decision concerning a run for the Democratic nomination for governor,” said Aaron DeGroot, a state GOP spokesman. He said the robocall was being made to “Democratic donors, Democratic elected officials and Democratic Party activists.”
Christopher Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, said the state GOP’s effort — and the depth to its early opposition research — may represent a pre-emptive strike to Pritzker and other Democrats considering a challenge to Rauner.
“This could be an attempt at a chilling effect for people to read between the lines and see how much money they have and how willing they are to go negative so early,” Mooney said. […]
“Normal rules would say it’s a big waste of money, coming during the holidays, with fatigue from the last election, with it coming so far in advance of the next election,” Mooney said. “But it’s only a waste of money if money matters to you. Even if they get a little bit of benefit out it, maybe it’s worth it because they don’t care about the money.”
Meh. That Blagojevich-related oppo was all basically just based on Google [and LexisNexis] searches. The real stuff isn’t out there yet.
And making a few hundred, or even a few thousand robocalls costs almost nothing. Something like 2 cents per call.
But he’s right that Team Rauner is signaling that it’s more than willing to go negative extremely early. This is unheard of stuff here, campers. [ADDING: From Wordslinger in comments: The dark-money negative spots started on Aaron Schock in January 2013] And we’re in for two solid years of it no matter who gets in. Other potential candidates are surely paying attention.
Many are questioning the unusual timing of the attacks — prior to official announcements to run. Democratic political strategist Pete Giangreco said links to Blagojevich by the party didn’t work in Democrat Tammy Duckworth’s successful run for Republican Mark Kirk’s U.S. Senate seat.
“I frankly think the Republicans are scared to death of J.B. Pritzker, and I think that they made up this fake narrative with Blagojevich because that’s what they do whenever they can’t beat somebody,” Giangreco said. “They tried the Blagojevich attacks on Tammy Duckworth, and she beat Mark Kirk by the largest margin that any incumbent senator has been beat by in Illinois since World War II. So if they want to keep talking about Blagojevich, keep going because we’ll keep beating them by record margins.”
The Republicans also targeted Democrat Chris Kennedy last week, criticizing his contributions to a super PAC to support Illinois House Democrats in their November campaigns. Kennedy, former chairman of the University of Illinois board of trustees and son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is also considering a run for governor.
An advisor to Kennedy called the attacks on both Kennedy and Pritzker a distraction from the GOP’s record.
“It’s telling that the Illinois Republican Party and Bruce Rauner are going to be afraid to run on their record of having decimated our state,” the advisor said. “I think that is telling as to why they’re engaging in this kind of back and forth and digging things up. I think they should focus on their record at the end of the day, not talking about something that happened 10 years ago. Give me a break.”
Mark Kirk basically ran out of money and was running in a state that went overwhelmingly Democratic. Not a great comparison for 2018. Neither of those guys will be short on cash and the 2018 turnout will be different, although it’s not yet certain how different. If it’s another 2006 (the last Republican presidential midterm), Rauner better watch out. If it’s more like 2002, he’s got a good shot.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
During his latest Facebook Live event, Gov. Bruce Rauner said the only way to get an agreement on ending the budget impasse is for both sides to come to an agreement.
Rauner said stopgap budgets are the wrong approach because it just kicks the can farther down the road.
“We’ve been kicking the can in Illinois, not paying our pensions, not paying our bills, for decades, and it’s created the mess that we’re in.”
Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills is over $10 billion, the unfunded pension liability is nearly $130 billion, and deficit spending is more than $5 billion this year alone.
The answer, Rauner said, is controlling government spending and passing reforms, such as a property tax freeze and workers’ comp reforms to grow the economy.
“We’ve been flat economic growth on jobs for years; meanwhile, our government spending has been on a rocketship,” Rauner said. “That, by definition, always results in unbalanced budgets and deficit spending for the long term, and we’ve got to change that.”
David Tewksbury, who studies political communications at the University of Illinois, says politicians are always trying to shape the narrative.
“Whoever frames what this issue is about is the one who’s probably going to win it, at least as far as the public opinion is concerned,” Tewksbury says.
Rauner wants voters to think the budget impasse is the fault of Democrats fighting to hold onto power, while Democrats say Rauner is trying to force radical changes on Illinois.
Help me out. I watched Gov. Bruce Rauner’s 30-minute Facebook Live event Tuesday on the state of the budget impasse, and I didn’t get it. To me, it seemed like a waste of time.
The event was billed as an opportunity for citizens to directly ask the governor questions about the budget. Rauner read printouts of questions apparently screened from queries submitted in advance.
I heard a lot of blaming and little substance about how the Republican governor would work with Democratic legislators to solve the state’s problems. […]
We roll along, not so merrily, toward an inevitable tax increase to raise revenues. Democrats and Republicans alike seem most concerned not with balancing the budget but with making it appear the other side is chiefly responsible for the tax increase. So, voters know who to blame in 2018. […]
I don’t understand the governor’s demands that a property tax freeze and term limits are needed for a budget deal, and his Facebook chats aren’t providing much insight. It seems to me that the best way to achieve a budget deal would be if the governor fulfilled his constitutional duty to present a budget proposal.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Rauner shouldn’t expect such a proposal anytime soon. He noted that it’s the executive branch that actually spends the state’s money.
“The logic would dictate that the people who are going to spend the money should tell everyone how they’re going to spend it and how much,” Brown said.
Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the Senate president continues to be disappointed that the meetings were called off.
“We’re hopeful that the governor will come back to the table and we can resume negotiations,” Patterson said.
While the leaders aren’t currently meeting, groups of rank-and-file lawmakers have resumed discussions on areas of the governor’s policy agenda, including workers’ compensation, an issue Rauner addressed on Facebook. Although Republican leaders publicly criticized restarting the so-called “working groups,” members of both parties and both chambers are participating.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party added J.B. Pritzker to BossMadigan.com as part of the party’s ongoing effort to shed light on the people that empower Mike Madigan.
“J.B. Pritzker’s inherited fortune is the financial muscle behind Mike Madigan’s Chicago political machine. Just this year, Pritzker gave Madigan’s political front group almost one million dollars in an attempt to force a tax hike with no reforms and stop Gov. Rauner’s plans to improve Illinois through term limits, a property tax freeze and economic growth. J.B. Pritzker’s financial disclosures show his true loyalties lie with Mike Madigan.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
J.B. Pritzker and Madigan sit at the top of the Chicago political machine that has nearly bankrupted Illinois. Madigan runs it while Pritzker feeds Madigan his inherited fortune.
Just this year, Pritzker gave Mike Madigan’s political front group, Leading Illinois for Tomorrow, nearly one million dollars in an attempt to force a tax hike with no reforms and stop Gov. Rauner’s plans to improve Illinois through term limits, a property tax freeze and economic growth.
But Pritzker’s record of backing the political machine doesn’t stop with Madigan. Pritzker was a key ally and fundraiser of disgraced and imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
J.B. Pritzker cut his political teeth as a fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich. Over the years, Blagojevich supported Pritzker’s political endeavors, and Blagojevich relied on J.B. for campaign cash.
In fact, Pritzker was one of Rod Blagojevich’s largest individual donors, contributing over $120,000 to help elect the most corrupt politician in Illinois history.
J.B. Pritzker was also at the center of Rod Blagojevich’s criminal scheme to sell Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat. Pritzker told Blagojevich he wanted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate, and in exchange Blagojevich wanted Pritzker to personally raise tens of millions of dollars for him.
The Pritzker tape was used to help send Rod Blagojevich to jail.
Before you know it, every Democrat in the state is gonna be on that list. I mean, if they’re gonna put Rep. Elaine Nekritz on the enemies list, they might as well add everyone. Remember this?…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has spent the past couple of weeks trying to put pressure on Democrats to approve his so-called turnaround agenda items by suggesting that many in the opposition party privately support his ideas.
He did it again Monday at a news conference in his Capitol office. “The exciting thing is, Democrats in the General Assembly, in private, many of them — not all — many of them agree with the reforms,” Rauner said.
Asked to name one or two such Democrats, Rauner said most “are unwilling to say much publicly because they don’t want to get retribution.” But the governor did name Northbrook Democrat Elaine Nekritz, who he contends publicly declared support for his ideas months ago.
Elaine Nekritz has voted 7 times to make Mike Madigan the Speaker of the House. In return, she was selected by Madigan to serve on his leadership team. Only the most loyal legislators are named one of Madigan’s top lieutenants, and taxpayers have paid a steep price for Nekritz’s loyalty.
Nekritz voted for Mike Madigan’s reform-free, 67% income tax hike, the largest in state history. She joined Madigan in teaming with Rod Blagojevich on a pension scheme that increased debt by up to $22 billion. And Nekritz even voted for legislation that makes sure she gets paid even if there is no state budget. Now, legislators are using the Nekritz-backed legislation to sue so they get paid before social services receive their funding.
It’s time for Elaine Nekritz to break with Mike Madigan.
As of Sunday, according to Sun-Times reporter Dan Mihalopoulos, the Chicago Police Department has brought on 409 recruits this year but seen even more officers — 547 — retire. Another 100 recruits joined the police Training Academy on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mihalopoulos reports, police districts in which people must wait the longest for the police to respond are mostly on the South Side, while all the districts with the quickest response times are on the North Side.
The only fair conclusions to be drawn, then, are that we’ll just have to see it to believe it that Chicago’s really getting many more cops, and Chicago had better deploy that larger police force more fairly, assigning more officers to where they are needed most. A handful of extra cops won’t make Chicago safer, especially if they are not dispatched to where the crime is.
As of Oct. 19, there were 6,244 rank-and-file police officers working in Chicago’s 22 police districts. That’s down more than 800 cops from the 7,047 working beats shortly after Emanuel took office in 2011.
Or look at the numbers this way: At the start of 2011, the year Emanuel won his first term, the Police Department had 12,737 members. Now, that number is below 12,000. Compare that with a decade ago, when overall Police Department staffing was more than 14,000.
Illinois’ economy will suffer for years because of the ongoing budget stalemate.
That’s according to a man who was once responsible for leading Illinois — former Governor Jim Edgar.
“The damage is … the worst damage I’ve seen. I mean even the bad years of Blagojevich and the image he gave of Illinois, I don’t think has done anything as much damage as we’ve seen.” […]
He says there are huge, long-term consequences of students choosing to attend out-of-state universities. And Illinois businesses are threatened by the government instability.
Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan seems happy enough to let universities and social services twist in the wind if a budget can’t be reached by Dec. 31. Imagine that.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton have both been more open to discussion, but Madigan’s intransigence is beginning to suggest a sinister strategy of gridlock that could continue until an election showdown with the governor in 2018.
Which brings those of us living in the present, we who worry about what will happen to the state in the next two years and beyond, back to that vacuum. We’d like to fill it now with a union-style protest of 177 rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties marching on Springfield with signs and pitchforks and no per diems, demanding something supportable to vote on. We’d like to see a rebellion by resolute suburban Democrats refusing, however quixotically, to support Madigan’s re-election as speaker.
Sound like the impossible dream? Maybe. But, if the leaders don’t fill the void soon, they’d better brace for an onslaught of even crazier ideas than these.
Recent data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics shows candidates for state House and Senate seats in Illinois alone raised more than $95 million this past election cycle.
Illinois ranks second in the nation for money raised to support state legislative races. […]
There are 12.1 million people in Illinois, and there were 61 contested races. The only state to top fundraising in Illinois was California, with $118.9 million raised. But the population of that state is three times larger than Illinois and it had a greater number of contested races in the 2016 general election.
* Your morning holiday song from VanillaMan. If you need to refresh your memory about how “Here We Come A-wassailing” goes, click here…
Here we come a-borrowing,
For funds that are so green!
Here we come a-ho-oeing,
For loan rates so obscene!
When you run this silly state,
Filled with squabbling silly hate,
We can’t be taken seriously
By bankers who accrue,
All we know is-whom we’re going to sue!
Here we come a finger-pointing,
Campaigning door to door!
But we aren’t the one whose disappointing,
Performance you abhor!
That would be the other guy,
I-would never let Illinois die,
And I need you to know I tell the truth,
It’s that-Republicans lie!
Every fact they say-they falsify!
Here we come a-waffle-ing,
From Cairo to South Beloit!
If you let Boss Madigan rule,
Illinois becomes Detroit!
So here’s what we ought to do,
Lower our wages, live on stew,
And take all the money that we saved,
And bid Democrats adieu!
Then you’ll witness an Illinois anew!
Here they go a-promis-ing,
They’ll fix everything just right!
But there will be no compromising,
And no budget will be in sight!
Hang in there! Hold your breath!
He has two years in office left,
And pray for a Happy New Year,
New Year!
Until then, hope your paychecks clear!
