Attorney General Lisa Madigan today sent a letter to Gov. Rauner condemning the federal executive orders on immigration and urging him to use his authority to protect all Illinois residents from the harm caused by the executive actions. While there is a temporary halt to the immigration travel ban, other provisions of the Orders could greatly impact the lives of Illinois immigrants.
The president issued several Executive Orders on immigration. The executive orders instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security to seek agreements with states and localities to authorize local law enforcement to serve as immigration officers. They also directed that sanctuary jurisdictions are not eligible to receive certain federal grants. Another order suspended immigration from seven nations for 90 days and suspended the admission of all refugees for 120 days.
In her letter, Madigan stated that the Executive Orders have threatened the future of immigrants and refugees who have settled in Illinois and who greatly contribute to the state. The Attorney General urged the governor to refuse to agree to deputize Illinois law enforcement to work as federal immigration officers, policing immigrants in the state. Madigan also urged the governor to strengthen the state’s efforts to ensure immigrants and refugees can safely settle in Illinois and protect them against hate crimes. […]
The Attorney General urged the governor to pledge to protect immigrants and refugees in several ways:
* Refuse to enter into any agreement that would use Illinois law enforcement authorities as federal immigration officers. Deputizing Illinois law enforcement as immigration officers would not only divert already scarce resources away from public safety efforts and raise serious legal questions, but also undermine the values on which the country was built.
* Strengthen the work performed by the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services within the Illinois Department of Human Services, which assists immigrants and refugees settling in Illinois through training, health screening, citizenship classes and other services. From October 1, 2016 through January, 31, 2017, 1,001 refugees arrived in Illinois.
* Commit to strong enforcement of Illinois’ anti-discrimination laws and bolster efforts to fight hate crimes against all residents across the state, including immigrants and refugees. Illinois’ hate crime statute provides both criminal and civil protections to those who have experienced hate-based harassment, injury and property damage.
Immigrants make up about 14 percent of Illinois’ population or nearly 1.8 million residents, making Illinois sixth among all states in the number of foreign-born residents. Cook County ranks the third largest U.S. county in its number of foreign-born residents. The benefits of immigration to Illinois are immense. A recent study found that Illinois businesses owned by immigrants produced $2.6 billion in business income in 2014, with immigrants composing 22 percent of the entrepreneurs in Illinois and immigrant-owned businesses employing over 280,000 people.
* Related…
* ADDED: Press Release: Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed an amicus brief today in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco in support of a lawsuit challenging the federal Executive Orders on immigration as illegal and unconstitutional.
A top ally of Gov. Bruce Rauner warned members of the largest state employee union to be “careful” about “crossing” the Republican governor by going on strike, suggesting that individual jobs are more important than the group’s political standing in Springfield.
The comments by House Republican leader Jim Durkin come as members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 are voting on whether to authorize a walkout amid a prolonged contract battle with Rauner.
“They are dealing with a person who’s a very determined individual, and he’s a tough person. And he drives a bargain,” Durkin said during a Friday taping of WLS-AM 890’s “Connected to Chicago” that airs at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“But the fact is, if you cross him, I think you have to be careful. That’s a situation, if you do that, you’re crossing a governor who’s, I think he’s going to do what he thinks is best at the end of the day, which is not going to be in the best interests of AFSCME members and their families and loved ones,” Durkin said.
And he should know. /snark
Durkin’s people would like me to remind y’all that while he did say some blunt things, he is on record more than once supporting legislation to pay state workers during the impasse.
Still trying to close a $215 million budget gap they blame on the governor, Chicago Public Schools officials are trying to chip away at that hole by freezing $51 million in spending, officials announced Monday.
About $28 million of the $51 million in planned savings will come by CPS halting planned expenditures on new textbooks, more technology, field trips, hourly employees and other items. An additional $5 million in planned spending on teacher training also is being frozen.
No school is supposed to lose more than 5 percent of its initial budget this year, but CPS wouldn’t immediately release any school-by-school figures. Schools that have squirreled away money for supplies or to get a jump on equipment for next year likely have the most to lose.
Another $18 million in savings is set to be realized by CPS scaling back funding to the 100-plus charter schools it helps bankroll. Those schools will have to decide how to adjust their budgets accordingly. […]
“Unfortunately, there is still more we must do to close the $215 million hole Gov. Rauner blew in our budget,” [CPS CEO Forrest Claypool] wrote in a letter addressed to Local School Council members tasked with approving individual school spending.
Notice they didn’t blame the House Speaker for not trying to override the bill in December. And, yes, I know the override woulda failed, but my point is what’s done is done and we’re in a new spring session and it’s time to move forward already.
Chicago Public Schools faced a shortfall in its operations budget of roughly $500 million at the close of its past fiscal year, leaving the financially troubled district with a significant bill to cover even as it struggles to balance this year’s spending plan.
The budget shortfall was reported in a recently issued financial postmortem for 2016 that also repeated a long-held conclusion: CPS either needs an infusion of new money or will have to make major cuts if it is to keep operating as it has been. […]
Even if CPS manages to make up for state aid that hasn’t arrived and pulls together other savings to balance a $5.5 billion operating budget, which relied on ambitious assumptions, more than $100 million from last year’s shortfall remains.
…Adding… Yeah, this message from Claypool will help…
Governor Rauner, just like President Trump, has decided to attack those who need the most help. Governor Rauner and President Trump regularly attack Chicago because they hope to score political points. It is shameful.
Most recently, Governor Rauner broke his word by blocking Chicago from receiving $215 million for our schools. That $215 million was supposed to be a first step – just a first step — toward treating your children fairly. That $215 million was supposed to be a first step toward providing your children with their fair share of the dollars Illinois spends on children in the rest of Illinois. But Governor Rauner broke his word and did not take even that first step.
*** UPDATE *** Um, dude, he can’t “reverse his veto.” What’s done is done…
Claypool: We ask the governor to reverse this veto immediately. We ask parents to call Rauner's office to demand fair funding.
As Missouri’s right-to-work legislation is signed into law today, Illinois is now surrounded by states with right-to-work laws, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce is calling on Illinois lawmakers to respond with a strong pro-growth policy agenda.
“As of today, Illinois is now surrounded by states that have right-to-work laws. As pressure increases from other states, it is essential that Illinois responds with a strong pro-growth agenda for jobs and the economy in our state,” said Todd Maisch, Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “That doesn’t mean that Illinois has to adopt a right-to-work law. But it does mean that Illinois needs to take strong action on pro-growth policies to help us compete. Other states are becoming more attractive for employers, and Illinois should respond on behalf of our economy.”
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is calling on state lawmakers to address five key state policy areas that can help accelerate the Illinois economy in 2017. They are:
Enacting pro-growth economic reforms - Illinois tax policy cannot be developed without regard to its effect on Illinois businesses, workers and our economy. Instead, any revenue discussions must be balanced by including corresponding pro-economic growth reforms to help employers and workers. For example, the state could establish tax credits to help small businesses shoulder the cost of bringing on new employees. In addition, the state must immediately restore the Illinois Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (the EDGE tax credit) that helps attract investment and job creation and retention in the state.
Reforming Illinois’ unfair workers’ compensation system - The current workers’ compensation system in Illinois is tilted far out of balance. Employers throughout the state continue to call for reform of the system because it hurts the ability of Illinois employers to create – and even maintain – jobs here. Reforming the system can restore balance, reduce employers’ costs for insurance, and no longer allow workers’ compensation costs to be an obstacle to growing a business in Illinois.
Rejecting anti-competitive proposals – Lawmakers should do no further harm to our state’s jobs climate. Proposals that pile more requirements on employers in our state adversely affect Illinois businesses and make our state less competitive with others. These shortsighted proposals would only move Illinois in the wrong direction and lawmakers must reject them.
Working together on common sense regulatory issues – When state Democrats and Republicans worked together, they have enacted important regulatory reforms for the state. In fact, the Illinois Chamber has led initiatives that reduce costs and make government more responsive. In 2017, legislators can finally modernize the state’s outdated telecommunications law to drive more investment in modern technologies and networks to benefit those who rely on them: Illinois businesses, consumers and public safety officials.
Focusing on education outcomes and workforce preparation - While K-12 education funding gets most of the headlines out of Springfield, Illinois must avoid being dragged into an education debate that strictly focuses on who pays more, who pays less, whose communities receive more and whose receive less. Illinois must ask tougher questions if we are to improve our economy, respect taxpayers and live up to our obligations to the next generation. State policymakers must be focused on improving educational outcomes and supporting students interested in careers that do not require a four-year college degree. Those goals must be in sight before we begin a new discussion about education funding, not the other way around.
“These reforms will re-establish balance and help Illinois become more competitive. By enacting them in 2017, we believe Illinois can better compete with other states and begin living up to its full economic potential,” Maisch said.
Notice how they dumped on the governor’s education funding reform commission?
Also, Maisch mentioned a progressive tax proposal that was recently introduced in the Senate as being a non-starter. He also dissed the “opportunity tax” idea and dismissed the Senate’s grand bargain for not doing nearly enough. “We are open to the idea of additional revenues. We are. But that seems to be the first thing people want to talk about,” he said.
Maisch told reporters that the Senate’s proposal is “out of whack,” and “out of balance.”
“My members will tell me when they think there’s a package that’s worthy of their support,” he said.
* Subscribers can watch the press conference with their special password. Click here.
* Meanwhile…
Cullerton says grand bargain plan now only has 12 bills; no minimum wage.
* Senate President John Cullerton himself brought up the rumors about a possible retirement during his City Club appearance today when he was asked what he would say when he comes back to give another speech a year from now….
IL Senate President Cullerton: I am returning next year…disputing retirement rumor
* I asked longtime commenters and pension experts RNUG and Arthur Andersen to take a look at the Illinois Policy Institute’s latest pension proposal.
Let’s start with RNUG. You can see all of his work by clicking here (that link also includes the group’s full explanation, by the way). But this is his summary…
The Bad (from a taxpayer and / or employee perspective)
1) In terms of fixing the pension underfunding, it is a “kick the can” plan not much different than the Edgar Ramp.
2) It is a Defined Contribution plan that shifts both investment and retirement risk to the employee. Your 401K is all you have; no AAI, and if you invest poorly, no one to bail you out.
3) Most likely, it will force local schools districts to raise local / property taxes.
4) Universities may have to raise tuition.
5) Community colleges will, most likely, have to do a mix of 3 and 4.
6) Encourages employee turnover because there is no significant benefit / reason to stay employed at the State.
The Good (from a taxpayer and / or State perspective):
1) For about 8 – 9 years, State contributions to the pension funds will be lower than under the current Edgar Ramp.
2) It transitions the State out of the Defined Benefit business, reducing the risk to the State. As part of this, it eliminates
any AAI.
3) Encourages employee turnover, which might l;ower salary levels because people will have less longevity.
4) Shifts future liability for all TRS and a portion of SURS from the State to the local entities.
5) If Tier 2 is completely abandoned, removes future risk of Tier 2 violating “Safe Harbor” rules
6) Effectively gets the State out of the pension business by 2047 or so.
* And AA gives us his “first read observations”…
1) They aren’t saving $1 billion in 2018, they’re shifting it from the State to schools and universities. Where we stand today, which ones can afford to pick up that cost?
2) The “extrapolation” of TRS figures to SERS and SURS is seriously flawed. The three funds have very different member bases, salary schedules, and demographics. No actuary would tell you that is a sound method.
3) Fixing Tier 2 has to be done, and sooner rather than later. Their approach is off the mark. The fix for Tier 2 is either reduce the member contribution or increase the benefit. Their plan doesn’t do either one.
4) Their proposed contribution rates are a bad idea. The rates are different for the 3 systems because the benefits are different. Charging an SERS member 8% for a benefit that is lower than the SURS/TRS member is just a different flavor of the Tier 2 problem. On the other hand, the proposed 7 percent employer contribution is too low to cover the current employer’s normal cost, or the employer’s share of currently accruing benefits. Working from memory, I think TRS’ is around 17-18 %, with the employee’s share being 9%, leaving the employer cost around 8-9 percent.
5) It’s settled fact that 401(k) plans are more expensive to administer. (Not a biggie, relatively, but it should be considered.)
6) The SURS experience is instructive. When offered the choice, less than a third of SURS members selected the 401(k)-type benefit option. This option is a popular choice among faculty who don’t expect to spend a career in Illinois, so the “portability” is desirable. I don’t know that this experience is typical among other employee groups-I doubt it.
Conclusion-typical IPI half-baked baloney. About the only positive thing I can find to say about it is that nothing is blatantly unconstitutional.
*** UPDATE *** You can read Cullerton’s speech as prepared for delivery by clicking here.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Senate President John Cullerton is speaking to the City Club today. From his office…
Declaring “failure isn’t an option,” Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today will address the City Club of Chicago in an effort to rally public support for a sweeping balanced budget deal designed to end a devastating financial impasse that has dragged on for nearly two years.
“If we can pull this off, we’ll pay businesses on time, fully fund MAP scholarships, ensure state workers get paid and government doesn’t shutdown, assemble a complete budget for the first time in two years and put Illinois on the path to a balanced budget,” Cullerton is expected to say in the speech.
“We’ll also save billions on pension costs, give voters the power to reduce Illinois’ ‘most in the nation’ number of local governments and give schools relief from state mandates.
“It’s an intricate and delicate give-and-take designed to create a plan that can win bipartisan support among lawmakers and hopefully get the governor’s signature.”
The Senate President is scheduled to deliver his remarks at noon today.
* I’m told that this passage from one of my recent newspaper columns will be featured in his speech…
[Over the past two years], sexual assault victims were frozen out of counseling, homeless teens and domestic violence survivors were kicked to the curb, breast cancer screenings were eliminated, and large and formerly stable charities like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois as well as small and vulnerable service providers laid off thousands of staff members and discontinued programs.
* Except for the governor, few have questioned Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s legal reasoning in her motion to lift a judicial order mandating state employees be paid without a formal appropriation. Instead, the objection has mainly centered around AG Madigan’s timing. Why did she wait so long? From her SJ-R oped…
Consequences of budget inaction have already been catastrophic: As attorney general, my goal is always to allow the executive and legislative branches of government to do their jobs without legal intervention. While the “stopgap” budget was in place through the end of 2016, it was my hope that the governor and the legislature would work to enact a budget that funded state operations for the remainder of this fiscal year.
But the “stopgap” budget expired, and Illinois now has no spending plan in place. As a result, the governor and the legislature face the urgent need to enact a budget. To abide by the Supreme Court’s decision and the state Constitution, I have asked the court to make clear that any spending plan must provide explicit authority to pay state employee salaries.
I recognize the difficulties the governor and the legislature have faced in enacting a budget. I do not want state employees to be harmed by this crisis. This is why I recommended that the court provide additional time to put the budget in place to avoid undeserved hardship to state employees. The governor and legislature can resolve this situation at any time, and they have had a year and a half to do that.
To be sure, there have been signs of progress, but there also have been repeated setbacks. This court filing should give the budget process the momentum it needs.
By asking the court to uphold the Constitution, we will finally solve this destructive crisis - not create one.
Rauner: One eye on Trump, another on 2018 election
Rauner has worked to balance his approach to Donald Trump’s presidency, being a Republican governor in a state that went heavily for Hillary Clinton.
For example, on the executive order regarding the travel ban, a Rauner spokeswoman said in a statement that the governor opposes a ban that targets a religion and thinks the courts should determine the legality of Trump’s executive order. But Rauner has supported limiting the number of Syrian refugees coming to Illinois.
In that statement, Rauner is speaking to the unpopularity of it and the controversy of it without fully condemning it.
I’ve also been told over and over this week that Rauner won Illinois in 2014 by doing well in Chicago suburbs, which is where Trump did poorly. So Rauner’s trying to draw a distinction between himself and the new president.
* And that last bit about the suburbs is the main political reason behind this bill…
While the likelihood of a Roe repeal in the immediate future is up for debate, a law on the state books has some advocates alarmed that such a move could spell quick trouble here: Illinois has a so-called trigger law for abortion, meaning the instant Roe were to be repealed, all abortion in which the mother’s life is not endangered could potentially cease to be legal in the state.
One of only a handful of states with such a law on the book, Illinois passed its measure just two years after the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v Wade decision. At the same time, some legal experts have argued that Illinois’ trigger lacks real power. According to the Tribune, in 2006, laws like Illinois are “statements of policy, not actual bans,” as noted by attorneys on either side of the debate. Illinois’ law lacks specifics and the state’s abortion ban that preceded Roe was repealed, the Trib notes.
Still, it’s a surprising statement, considering the abortion advocacy network that extends from the present moment (groups like the Midwest Access Coalition, which helps abortion seekers from more restrictive states come to Chicago) to decades back (the iconic Jane Collective helped provide the service to women in need in the early 1970s, when abortion was illegal.) And some Illinois lawmakers want a change of text regardless.
A bill in the Illinois state house, sponsored by Representative Sara Feigenholtz, would change the law and remove the trigger effect.
We’ve talked about this bill before. There’s disagreement over whether the trigger means anything, but putting it on Rauner’s desk would force him to take sides.
* But there’s also this provision…
HB 40 also removes discriminatory provisions from Illinois law that denies insurance coverage of an abortion to many women who depend on Medicaid and State Employee Health Insurance.
“Every woman, regardless of whether she has private or government health insurance should have affordable and comprehensive health care coverage,” said Brigid Leahy, Director of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “Women should not be denied abortion coverage because of how much they earn. Access to full coverage enables a woman to make personal health decisions based on what is best for her and her family,” added Leahy.
If passed, Illinois would join 15 other states that provide women with health assistance funds that cover the full range of pregnancy-related care including a woman’s decision to end a pregnancy.
* Comptroller Mendoza went off on Gov. Rauner during an appearance on Rick Pearson’s WGN radio show yesterday…
“We are now going into a third year without that balanced budget proposal. He hasn’t done it once. He hasn’t done it twice. As a result of that, my office is responsible for having to pay $11.2 billion in bill backlogs. That’s how bad of a situation we’re in. We’ve had six downgrades to our credit since Gov. Rauner has taken office,” Mendoza said.
“Our state has never been worse off financially, yet this governor’s personal finances have more than tripled since he was sworn in,” she said, noting his adjusted gross income for 2015 was $188 million compared with $58.5 million in 2014. “You have to acknowledge there is a massive disconnect between the reality that he’s living in and the reality of your average person in the state of Illinois.”
* And here she is responding to the governor’s contention that she should continue paying state workers without a court order or a legal appropriation…
“It’s really clear. I would be in violation of the law if I continued to pay, and, you know, the governor, I think, has a habit of not paying attention to the state constitution,” she said. “He basically went out of his way to put this on me to somehow deflect to me and to ask me, basically demand, that I break the law. And that’s not going to happen. I mean, like, he’s not above the law. I’m not above the law. The law is the law.”
She said Rauner was trying to posture that, “Oh, Comptroller Mendoza, it’s her fault that the state’s goes into crisis or it’s the attorney general’s fault.
“It’s like, enough of the blame game, enough of the deflection. Take some responsibility. Lead this state. You’re now going into your third year. You’re not a rookie to this anymore. You can’t call yourself an outsider. It’s as insider as you get, and it’s time for him to do his job,” she said.
One of the governor’s worst habits is he loves to tell people how to do their jobs. The comptroller should pay a certain type of bill without an appropriation, the attorney general should drop her legal motion, newspaper headline writers should write more favorable headlines, AFSCME should help him implement his last and final offer, the House Speaker should pass his legislation, etc., etc., etc.
He does all of this to deflect blame from himself and he’s mostly gotten away with it, mainly because Speaker Madigan is so fabulously unpopular.
* Remember when he spent a small fortune on TV ads attacking Madigan after the 2015 spring session failed to produce a budget? Part of that was certainly designed to degrade the Madigan brand and make Democrats nervous. But it was mainly about blaming Madigan before that failure was hung around his own neck.
As Illinois prepares to celebrate 200 years in existence, a local legislator wants to give the state a corrected state seal as a birthday gift.
House Bill 479, sponsored by Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, seeks to change the date on the outside ring from Aug. 26, 1818, which is when the first state constitution was signed, to Dec. 3, 1818, when Illinois officially became a state.
Butler believes, although important, the first constitution’s date should be removed for the actual day Illinois became a state.
President Barack Obama’s birthday may become the next state holiday, if some Illinois Democrats have their way.
House Bills 231 and 503 and Senate Bill 55 all make Obama’s birthday, Aug. 4, an official holiday.
Both House bills would make Aug. 4 a “legal holiday,” in which state government offices shut down, and schools and businesses have the option of closing. The Senate bill’s “Barack Obama Day” would be commemorative only.
“I teach economics for a living in a high school, and I wanted my first set of bills to include items that are what I call “basic economics in action,” said the West Leyden High School teacher, in Northlake. “When I came to the concept of scarcity being something that gives things value, this idea was what came to mind.
“Our list of official designations is long enough that it, in my opinion, has decreased the value of official state designations in general. I hope that paring it back provides more value to the ones that remain.”
To put sum up his sentiment in layman’s terms: less is more.
In 2015, Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, sponsored successful legislation that was prompted by a group of fourth-graders at Chatham Elementary School to make sweet corn the official vegetable of Illinois.
McCann in a written statement defended the use of the various state symbols.
“Firstly, I have great respect and admiration for my colleague, Sen. (Tom) Rooney. I’m sure that it is being put forth with the very best of intentions,” McCann said. “But generally I feel that the state symbol bills that advance in the legislature grow organically within the communities and regions around the state. ”
However, McCann acknowledged that lawmakers might want to focus on something bigger, like passing a state budget, before adding any more state symbols.
When: 11:30 am, Monday, February 06th
What: ILGOP Chairman Schneider holds press call to discuss Madigan Family attempt to block employee pay
Call in information: Call-In: 1-857-216-6700, Passcode: 905279 [Numbers updated]
Today, the Illinois Republican Party added Attorney General Lisa Madigan to BossMadigan.com after her action to shut down state government.
Check out the page and watch the ILGOP’s new digital ad here: BossMadigan.com/Lisa-Madigan/
No one has benefited more from Mike Madigan’s political machine than Lisa Madigan. Mike helped jumpstart Lisa’s political career when she was just 32 years old and was elevated to the state senate. Just four years later, Mike helped make her Attorney General. She’s now been the state’s top prosecutor for more than a dozen years.
While corruption ran wild through Illinois, Lisa Madigan did little. Even as patronage scandals circled the Speaker’s office, Lisa could find no wrongdoing. Still, Lisa was held to be above politics.
Until now.
After months and months of waiting, Lisa suddenly and without warning filed a court motion to block state employees from getting paid.
Her action could force a major crisis of state government and hurt thousands of Illinois families. With a government shutdown, the lives and livelihoods of those who rely on and provide vital government services would be in danger. Not surprisingly, this is the exact type of crisis Mike Madigan wants.
It’s now clear: Lisa Madigan is working for the Speaker, not the people.
ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider Statement on Madigan Family Attempt to Block Employee Pay
“Lisa Madigan is playing politics with state workers, their families, and millions of Illinoisans who rely on government services. It’s clear that Mike and Lisa Madigan are working together to protect the status quo and stop reform by causing a crisis.” - Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-6th) is scheduled to attend a closed meeting of the Palatine Township Republican Organization Saturday morning and will likely be greeted by protesters demanding a public meeting with area residents to address concerns about the Trump Administration.
Roskam is scheduled to appear at the Palatine Township Republican Headquarters, 765 N. Quentin Rd., Palatine, from 9 to 10 a.m.
Activists from three Palatine-area groups — 6th District of Illinois - Holding Peter Roskam Accountable, Action 6th District Illinois and Palatine After March Action Group, formed since President Trump’s inauguration — are organizing the protest outside the Palatine Township Republican Organization meeting set for tomorrow.
“I’m going to put them on the parkway, they’re not coming into my meeting and we’re not going to answer their questions,” Palatine Township Republican Committeeman Aaron Del Mar told the Journal & Topics Thursday. “We’re not going to infringe on their freedom of speech. I bet there’s going to be three people (protesters). I bet we have 100 people at our meeting.” [Emphasis added.]
About 400 protesters jeered U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton outside in freezing temperatures on Saturday while he met with about 100 members inside the Palatine Township Republican Organization office in Palatine.
* 400 is quite a bit more than 3, last time I checked. Click here for ABC News raw video which features protesters gamely chanting “We are more than three.”
Liberals probably ought to embrace the “snowflake” slam. Snowflakes are complicated, no two are alike, they can be easily blown away, but enough of them together can create real problems…
* People swamp Congress with calls in era of Trump: The past few weeks have caused headaches for members of Congress and their staff. But so far, the deluge of calls has not caused much of an issue for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis. Ashley Phelps, a spokeswoman for the Taylorville Republican, said Friday that they have seen a small uptick in phone calls, mostly centered around possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act and recent executive orders signed by President Donald Trump concerning immigration.
Union ally Will Guzzardi, a Democratic state representative from Logan Square, also urged [Chicago] teachers to save some anger for Springfield.
“The reason you all are on furlough here today and not in classrooms teaching our children, the most immediate cause is Gov. Bruce Rauner,” he said. “So in addition to demanding that Chicago Public Schools do right by our students, I need your help in demanding that Gov. Rauner give a fair shake to the black and brown students in Chicago.”
Catherine Kelly, a Rauner spokeswoman, deflected the blame, noting the governor is “someone who’s been in office for two years.”
“We would encourage Rep. Guzzardi to work with his colleagues to ensure the framework by the bipartisan, bicameral School Funding Commission is passed into law, so that we better fund our low-income students and the schools that serve them,” she wrote in an email.
No bill has been introduced.
So, they’re gonna use the “framework” as a fig leaf? Pretty thin stuff there, considering that it’s nowhere close to being ready to put into actual legislation.
The Illinois School Funding Reform Commission wrapped up its work last week and delivered its report on revamping K-12 school funding on time.
That was the good news. The bad news, at least in the eyes of some people, is that the commission delivered its report. Because in their eyes, the last thing Illinois needs is another report that says the way the state pays for public education is flawed and needs to be fixed. What Illinois needs is a concrete proposal that actually fixes the problem, something that has eluded the state for literally decades.
Pretty much everyone went out of their way to praise the work of the commission and say it was an example of what can happen when people work together in a bipartisan way. Unfortunately, this bipartisan cooperation didn’t produce anything that legislators can actually debate, let alone vote on. There still has to be a bill drafted that incorporates all the ideas of the “framework” laid out by the commission.
If you want to buy a new lawnmower and your spouse doesn’t approve, do you yell at her for months on end? Do you retaliate by refusing to buy her a birthday present? Do you bad-mouth her all over town?
Of course not. You find a way to overcome her objections. Is it too expensive? Find a less pricey model. Is your preferred choice too big for the garage? Suggest a smaller one. Is she upset about something else you’ve done? Apologize profusely and vow never to do it again.
These basic principles are taught in standard sales training. To succeed, salespeople have to constantly overcome objections. Some are easily anticipated, some are not. When I was in sales training many years ago, my teacher strongly encouraged me to use his lessons in all aspects of my life. It’s why I’ve always said that the best training for reporters is to do commission-only sales for a while because chasing down stories requires overcoming a whole lot of obstacles.
My good friend Steve Schnorf and I talked about this valuable lesson just the other day. Steve was budget director for two Republican governors. You’d never know to look at him that he once held such a high-level government post, particularly if the big man rode by on his beloved Suzuki Volusia 800, with his long beard and long hair blowing in the wind. He’s a man’s man. A party-loving, road-tripping, music-loving bohemian. But he’s also a gentlemanly, kind, super-intelligent and pragmatic human being—the rarest of combinations these days.
Steve was diagnosed in December with terminal pancreatic cancer, and his treatments are causing that long gray mane of his to fall out of his head. We’ve spent quite a bit of time together since his diagnosis. Last Wednesday night, we chatted about how he’d used those sales techniques in his years in government. You have to look for ways to overcome obstacles if you want to get to a solution.
So, obviously, one of Steve’s greatest regrets as he prepares to depart this world is that he was never able to
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Missouri will no longer require workers who benefit from collective bargaining to pay union dues. That means Illinois is going to be surrounded by so-called right-to-work states.
Experts aren’t sure what that means for the economy in formerly big-labor states. Gary Burtless is a labor economist with the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. He says right-to-work states have weaker unions, but he’s not sure which leads to which.
“Whether they’re weaker because they were weaker to begin with, and the right-to-work law just is the proof that they’re weak politically as well as economically weak is the question.”
The political ramifications are more straightforward. Unions are among the main financial backers of the Democratic Party.
The best way to weaken an opposing party is to dry up its funding source. Here in Illinois, the Republicans have made the Democrats’ money toxic by tying it all to Speaker Madigan. Not quite the same thing, but you get the general gist.
Kentucky went Republican in November and that state passed a so-called “right to work” law in January. Iowa has had a “right to work” law since those statutes were first allowed by Congress. Indiana passed its law in 2012 and Wisconsin passed a broad law in 2015 after earlier passing a more narrow one.
The latest Illinois credit rating downgrade from Fitch Ratings is chock full of phrases that could be used in the next campaign cycle against the governor and other incumbents.
The one that’s made the most headlines is “Unprecedented failure,” as in Fitch’s downgrade “reflects the unprecedented failure of the state to enact a full budget for two consecutive years and the financial implications of spending far in excess of available revenues, which has resulted in increased accumulated liabilities and reduced financial flexibility.”
But that’s just stating the obvious. Pretty much anybody paying half attention out there knows the people who run the government are participating in an “unprecedented failure.” This has never happened before in Illinois, or in any other state for that matter.
However, here’s another Fitch phrase: “Fundamentally weakened,” as in “Even if the current attempts at a resolution to the extended impasse prove successful, Fitch believes that the failure to act to date has fundamentally weakened the state’s financial profile.”
In other words, digging out from under this impasse is going to be a long, hard, painful slog. And the longer the impasse lasts, the more difficult that process will become.
As the state’s economic activity appears to slow, a third Fitch observation is worth noting here: “Illinois has failed to capitalize on the economic growth of recent years to bolster its financial position.”
While other states were piling up surpluses during the national economic recovery, Illinois was creating a mountain of debt mainly because Democrats allowed the 2011 tax hike to partially expire and the Republican governor wouldn’t negotiate a new revenue and spending deal until he got his precious economic reforms. So if the national economy does enter a recession in the coming months, Illinois will be in a truly horrible spot.
One more phrase from Fitch: “Very weak,” as in “Illinois’ operating performance, both during the great recession and in this subsequent period of economic growth, has been very weak.”
Starting in 2002, Illinois has elected three governors in a row who can’t seem to get their arms around the job. And, instead of helping them do their jobs, legislative Democrats, particularly in the House, have preferred to fight and obstruct them. Even the income tax hike turned out to be a failure because it was temporary, expiring midway through a fiscal year while a Democratic governor was heading out the door. “Very weak,” indeed.
And speaking of weak, Gov. Bruce Rauner indicated to the Chicago Tribune last week that he plans to propose a budget much like the one he unveiled last year. In other words, yet another punt.
Last year, the governor punted on $3.5 billion in cuts needed to put his proposal into balance. Instead of outlining the actual cuts, and therefore wearing the political jacket for suggesting those cuts, he simply said he was willing to work with the General Assembly on finding where to cut or the GA could give him the authority to make the cuts on his own—without first explaining where he would cut.
If cuts became necessary, the governor told his legislative audience last year, “I would ask the legislature to work with us to make these tough decisions. If you are not willing to do that, then give the Executive Branch the flexibility to reallocate resources and make reductions to state spending as necessary.”
And this is what Gov. Rauner told the Tribune last week: “Either the General Assembly authorizes me to make cuts, not my first choice but I’ll do that, or let’s work together to do a balanced budget with cuts and, what I prefer is, a balance of cuts, some revenues and major structural change.”
State law forbids governors from using revenue streams that aren’t currently in place to balance their budget proposals. Rod Blagojevich did that time and time again, coming up with tax or fee plans that magically balanced his proposal. But every reform has its downside, and the downside to this one is that instead of using phony revenues to balance a budget plan, Gov. Rauner has used phony cuts.
The root of “leadership” is “lead,” and that, by definition, means going first. Our state Constitution, however flawed, built that leadership into its two main budgetary mandates. First, the governor proposes a balanced budget, then the General Assembly passes a balanced spending plan. Neither have worked out too well of late, or for quite a while. But the state constitutional convention delegates obviously wanted governors to lead.
Instead, we get six downgrades in the last two years.
