In which I agree with the governor
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s office…
Signing Statement for HB 950
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House,
99th General Assembly:
Today I signed House Bill 950 from the 99th General Assembly, which authorizes the issuance and renewal of liquor licenses for certain establishments located in Chicago.
This legislation is a continuance of the General Assembly’s practice of providing retail liquor licenses to single businesses through a statutory exemption process. However, it should not be necessary for business owners to seek statutory changes in order to obtain a retail liquor license. Going forward, I would encourage the General Assembly to enact a process whereby exemptions for retail liquor licenses can also be handled at the local level. By doing so, we ensure every resident and business owner has access to seek exemptions and are treated fairly.
I look forward to signing a bill that establishes such a process in the future.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
* From the bill’s synopsis…
Authorizes the issuance and renewal of a license to sell alcoholic liquor at premises located within 100 feet of specific churches or schools located in the City of Chicago.
So, because state law bars the sale of booze within 100 feet of churches or schools, legislators have to pass complicated bills every time somebody with a little clout wants to carve out an exemption.
* Here’s the part of this bill which deals with one of the two exemptions…
(1) the sale of alcoholic liquor at the premises is incidental to the sale of food;
(2) the sale of alcoholic liquor is not the principal business carried on by the licensee at the premises;
(3) the premises are located on the opposite side of the same street on which the church is located;
(4) the church is located on a corner lot;
(5) the shortest distance between the premises and the church is at least 90 feet apart and no greater than 95 feet apart;
(6) the premises are between 4,350 and 5,000 square feet;
(7) the church’s original chapel was built in 1858;
(8) the church’s first congregation was organized in 1860; and
(9) the leaders of the church and the alderman of the ward in which the premises are located has expressed, in writing, their support for the issuance of the license.
There are about 70 of these complicated exemptions in state statutes right now.
The governor is right. This is a local issue. Let them decide what to do.
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* The latest Illinois Issues article includes this quote from a study of the Illinois pension system…
“The general condition of the pensions operating under the laws of Illinois may be correctly described as one of insolvency. That is to say, viewed from the standpoint of sound finance and of having the necessary reserves to carry out the payment laws, there are immense deficiencies in the existing funds.”
That study was conducted 100 years ago, in 1917.
* And then there’s this…
Why does the state’s Constitution include such strict, locked-in language for pensions? At the 1970 Constitutional Convention, delegates were aware of a persistent problem in Illinois. Pension funds were suffering, and police and fire unions led a fight to protect their benefits. In the 1930s, when New York state was faced with the same problem, it established a new clause that made sure New York was stuck with the benefits it had promised. Under the threat, the state got its act together and shored up pension payments.
Illinois delegates took the language from New York with the hope that if it worked there it could work anywhere.
Of course, it didn’t work
This is Illinois, after all.
* The piece also takes a look at Senate President John Cullerton’s proposal, so click here and go read the whole thing. Good stuff.
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It’s just a bill
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Conservative Democratic state Rep. with an increasingly Republican district who will undoubtedly be targeted by the GOP next year offers up some red meat that won’t go anywhere, but gets his name in the papers. Mission accomplished…
A state representative from Smithton has filed a bill that would eliminate Illinois’ Firearm Owner’s Identification card, which is needed to buy or possess a gun.
Rep. Jerry Costello II, a Democrat, says FOID cards are a burden to “responsible” Illinois residents and prevent them from obtaining firearms and exercising their second amendment rights.
“It is burdensome on law-abiding citizens to have to overcome bureaucratic red tape in order to exercise their second amendment rights,” Costello said in a prepared statement.
All Illinois residents — barring a few who are specifically exempted, such as on-duty military personnel — must apply for a FOID card in order to legally purchase or possess a firearm or ammunition. According to Illinois State Police, the process is meant to determine whether an individual is eligible to purchase a firearm before allowing them to do so.
The bill is here.
* Editorial uses following words to describe the NFL Players Union’s stance on a piece of legislation: “Squawks,” “barking,” “strident,” and “whining.” Instead of wading through the Trib’s hyperbolic invective, here’s a non-strident take on the same topic from the Insurance Journal…
Should injured pro athletes be allowed to earn workers’ compensation benefits until they are 67 years old, like other workers, even if their athletic careers normally would have ended more than 30 years earlier?
That issue is being debated between the Chicago Bears and the NFL Players Association in the Illinois Legislature as one unlikely element of a compromise proposal to end a nearly two-year-long fight over the state’s budget.
The Bears are leading other Chicago sports franchises in backing a measure that would reduce a former player’s ability to tap into workers’ compensation after a career-ending injury. They want to cap certain payments to athletes at no older than 35 or five years after their injury. Currently they can claim benefits up to age 67, like other workers.
Neither the teams nor players’ advocates will say how much money is at stake. They agree it is not a relatively big pot — while theoretically some could claim millions, most if not all athletes settle their claims for reduced sums up front, the players association says.
Only a handful of pro players filed for the benefit here in the past four years, although the association would not identify them or describe their individual cases.
But one example in the public record of an athlete who claimed this compensation is former Bears offensive lineman Ted Albrecht, a first-round draft choice whose career ended with a back injury in 1982. An arbitrator tried to deny his claim, but an appeals court ruled he was entitled to receive an award based on the difference between his $130,000 Bears salary and what he later earned as a travel agent and sportscaster, which ranged from $87,000 to $36,000 between 1983 and 1986.
* Probably not a bad idea…
Legislation sponsored by State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) that would provide a clear enforcement mechanism to ensure a detailed review of purchases made through out-of-state joint purchasing agreements received a unanimous vote of recommended approval on Thursday from the House State Government Administration Committee.
“This issue was brought to my attention because of purchases made by Illinois government units through joint purchasing agreements with other states’ government units. Illinois law requires competitive bidding, but because other states’ laws are not always as protective of taxpayers as our own, we need a strong enforcement mechanism to make sure Illinois law is followed. House Bill 2424 gives our state’s Chief Procurement Officer, who is charged with enforcing that law, the authority needed to thoroughly review these out-of-state procurements for compliance with Illinois law.”
According to Breen, joint purchasing agreements are very common among local units of government and allow for quantity discount pricing, which ultimately saves taxpayers money. While group purchasing is typically done by entities within the same state, there are occasions when joint purchasing agreements cross state lines.
“After filing this bill, I’ve had numerous other situations involving multi-state agreements that appear to have skirted Illinois’ Joint Purchasing Act,” Breen said. “As our school districts and other units of local government continue trying to bring down their costs through these types of purchasing agreements, we need to support those efforts while making sure our competitive bidding laws are being followed.”
Breen said he is currently negotiating an agreed amendment to the bill with stakeholders that will be added prior to the bill’s final consideration on the floor of the House.
* Related…
* Tom Kacich: Bill looks to memorialize victims of ‘79 gunfight
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that Illinois should take a day each year to honor former Democratic President Barack Obama, but it shouldn’t come with a day off work. […]
“It’s incredibly proud for Illinois that the president came from Illinois. I think it’s awesome, and I think we should celebrate it,” Rauner said when asked about the measure by a reporter at an unrelated event. “I don’t think it should be a formal holiday with paid, forced time off, but I think it should be a day of acknowledgment and celebration.”
In line with Rauner’s view, a Senate bill would designate Aug. 4 as Barack Obama Day — but it would be a commemorative day instead of a state holiday. […]
Other proposals to honor the former president and his influence in Illinois have surfaced in the General Assembly. One plan would label the stretch of Interstate 55 from the Tri-State Tollway to East St. Louis the “Barack Obama Presidential Expressway.” A separate measure would dub the Tri-State the “President Barack Obama Tollway.”
We’ve already got a Kennedy Expressway, an Eisenhower Expressway, a Reagan Tollway, a Grant Park, a state holiday for Lincoln’s birthday, etc.
* The Question: What should Illinois do to honor Barack Obama? No snark and please explain.
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AG Madigan wants expansion of hate crime law
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Responding to what she called a spike in reports of harassment and vandalism targeting Jews, Muslims and other minorities, Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling for legislation that would broaden Illinois hate crime laws.
Madigan on Thursday hosted a “summit” at the Thompson Center, with a panel of leaders from two dozen advocacy groups, ranging from the Jewish United Fund to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, to Lambda Legal and the National Immigrant Justice Center. The disparate groups were concerned about an increase in hostility toward Muslims, immigrants and LGBTQ people they claim has coincided with Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency.
“We just had active-shooter training at our office, because we also realize that we have to keep our people safe,” said Kim Fountain, chief operating officer of Center on Halsted, an LGBTQ rights organization. “It scared a lot of our staff, but we had to do it.”
Madigan is backing legislation that would make electronic harassment on Facebook, Twitter or other social media a prosecutable offense, and also would give her office the power to pursue civil damages for victims of hate crimes.
* The proposed new provisions are underlined and bolded…
A person commits hate crime when, by reason of the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factor or factors, he or she commits assault, battery, aggravated assault, intimidation, stalking, cyberstalking, misdemeanor theft, criminal trespass to residence, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to vehicle, criminal trespass to real property, mob action, disorderly conduct, transmission of obscene messages, harassment by telephone, or harassment through electronic communications as these crimes are defined in [other statutes].
* From the synopsis, it also adds this provision…
Provides that independent of any criminal prosecution or the result of a criminal prosecution, any person suffering intimidation, stalking, cyberstalking, disorderly conduct, transmission of obscene messages, harassment by telephone, or harassment through electronic communications may bring a civil action for damages, injunction or other appropriate relief. Provides that the Attorney General may bring an action for civil damages for a hate crime in the name of the People of the State. Provides that the court shall impose a civil penalty of $25,000 for each violation of the hate crime statute.
Thoughts?
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Déjà vu all over again
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* He doesn’t have an ownership stake in his law firm, he says his salary at the firm is less than his legislative pay and that his total compensation is less than the governor’s official salary and he doesn’t work for or financially benefit from state-related clients. And yet…
State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, is one of the most powerful people in Springfield, talked about as a possible future president of the Illinois Senate.
He’s also a partner in a Chicago law firm that’s been paid more than $9 million in the past five years for doing legal work for state agencies, government workers’ pension funds and local governments whose citizens he represents in the Senate, a Chicago Sun-Times examination has found.
That covers work done for more than 20 government bodies, including the city of Chicago, Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the agency that owns McCormick Place and Navy Pier.
The firm — Burke Burns & Pinelli — has done work for agencies whose budgets Harmon votes on, including the Illinois Department of Transportation, and government pension funds regulated by Harmon and his fellow legislators, as well as the village of Rosemont, one of the suburbs he represents in the Illinois Senate, according to records and interviews. […]
Harmon — who once worked as deputy legal counsel to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago — was elected to the state Senate in 2002.
There’s a whole lot of sizzle and not a lot of steak in that piece, not unlike an eerily similar BGA story from 2012…
Since bringing an influential state legislator on board as a partner in 2005, a small Chicago law firm has secured at least $6.3 million in legal work from state agencies that receive funding and oversight from the General Assembly, the Better Government Association has learned.
While that relationship smacks of a conflict of interest, it’s not the only curiosity involving the legislator, state Sen. Don Harmon, and the firm where he’s a partner, Burke Burns & Pinelli Ltd.
The BGA also found that Harmon – a Democrat from Oak Park who once served as deputy legal counsel to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan – voted earlier this year on a casino bill that his firm helped craft on behalf of its client, the City of Des Plaines. […]
A BGA review of state financial records shows Burke Burns, a firm of 10 or so attorneys, was paid more than $1 million in each of the past two fiscal years for state-related work.
Overall, the firm was paid more than $6.3 million – or an average of $900,000 a year – from 2006 to 2012 for state-related work, according to interviews, and documents obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. (Fiscal year 2006 was Harmon’s first full year with the firm.)
By contrast, in the four years before Harmon joined the firm, annual payments exceeded $575,000 only once, topping out at $711,734, records show. However, those totals may be incomplete because several state agencies indicated they no longer had data for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. In addition, some records relating to bond work are not always tracked by state agencies.
Harmon says if all payments were included it would show the firm’s state work hasn’t increased dramatically since his hiring, especially given the rate of inflation. But he declined to disclose actual payments or turn over financial records to the BGA.
* One of the reporters who wrote today’s Sun-Times story was with the BGA when that 2012 story was published. An opinion piece above his name was also published back in 2012. It threw the kitchen sink at Harmon…
Harmon’s street cred as a “reformer” or progressive has to be questioned.
Why does his law firm advise public-sector clients not to speak to the media?
Why did he vote to water down the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, which ensures journalists and regular citizens can access most government documents?
Why did he accept $300 in campaign donations just a couple months back from D & P Construction, a waste-hauling company that’s repeatedly (and publicly) been linked to the Chicago mob?
Why did he introduce a piece of legislation that would allow office holders to “double dip” – hold two elected positions at once?
Peter Silvestri, a Cook County commissioner and Elmwood Park’s village president, told the BGA that Harmon fronted that bill at his request. After the BGA learned of the legislation, Harmon relayed that he changed his mind and was withdrawing his support.
But about a month later he quietly resurrected the bill in the form of an amendment to an unrelated piece of legislation. When we tried to ask him about the flip-flop, Harmon wouldn’t return our calls. He later told the BGA he regretted getting involved in the matter. The legislation was never approved.
Lastly, although we’re not into branding people with “guilt by association,” it’s worth noting Harmon started out his career as an aide to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat who is the ultimate Machine guy – one of the most powerful political figures in the state and one of the largest obstacles to reforming our troubled government system.
This isn’t to say Harmon hasn’t done good things. In fact, he’s worked with the BGA on legislation, including a successful effort to kill the misused and abused “legislative scholarship” program.
But judged through a larger prism, Harmon isn’t challenging the status quo. He is the status quo.
Ergo, today’s piece.
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Rauner defends grand bargain parameters
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After not speaking to reporters since he gave his budget address, Gov. Rauner took questions yesterday, including on whether he helped or hurt the Senate’s attempt at reaching a bipartisan compromise…
“President Cullerton in the media asked me to weigh in. Democrats and Republicans in private asked me to weigh in. That’s what I did. I honored their request. And if you listen to what I said, everything that I laid out was very reasonable, very reasonable,” Rauner said. […]
Rauner’s parameters include a permanent property tax freeze in exchange for a permanent income tax hike. The Senate plan currently calls for a two-year property tax freeze. The governor also wants a limit on spending and further changes to the workers compensation law for employees hurt on the job, as business groups say the Senate’s plan to curb workers’ compensation costs doesn’t go far enough.
“We should do these things, and they should in no way infringe on or hurt the ability to get a final deal,” said Rauner, who noted the House approved a permanent property tax freeze earlier this year.
But that vote came during the lame-duck session when there was no possibility the bill would be taken up by the Senate, a move designed to provide political cover to Democrats. Local schools and towns oppose a property tax freeze, saying it would hurt their ability to tap into money for day-to-day operations.
Actually, President Cullerton said it would help get Republican votes if the governor came out in favor of the grand bargain. Instead, the governor laid down a list of his own demands.
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“We are proud to call him one of our own”
Friday, Feb 24, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Greenville, North Carolina TV station last year…
A Marine reservist from Illinois says he helped rescue one of two teens who were struggling in the surf off Emerald Isle Tuesday night.
Duncan Harris of Peoria, Illinois spoke to WITN’s Heather King on WITN News at Sunrise Wednesday. Harris says his family is on vacation in Emerald Isle. Tuesday night, he says his sister heard screams on the beach. Harris says from the deck of the house, he saw at least one person in the water, between 100 and 150 yards out in the surf. That’s when he and another man he doesn’t know ran into the water.
The two pulled a teen back to the beach, and Harris says they were told there was another boy out there. At that point, rescue boats arrived to help the still struggling teen.
* That rescue led to a Carnegie Hero Fund award in December…
Duncan Harris said he’s often asked if he feels like a hero after he and another man helped pull a drowning boy from the ocean.
“To me, it’s just one of those things,” said Harris, 23, of Buffalo Grove. “When it happened, I acted.”
While Harris, a Marine reservist, isn’t quick to call himself a hero, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission thought the title was fitting when it named him a recipient of the Carnegie medal, an honor for those who risk their lives to save others.
Peter Pontzer, 51, of Fairfax, Va., the other man who worked with Harris to save the boy, also will receive a medal, along with 19 others, the commission announced this week.
* And, yesterday, Gov. Rauner held a ceremony for Harris at his Statehouse office…
Thursday was Duncan O.C. Harris Day in Illinois.
Did you know that? There were no parades for the Buffalo Grove resident. No special treats. No days off school.
Maybe you missed it.
But for the family of the teen Harris saved from drowning, one day surely doesn’t seem like enough.
“Duncan did not hesitate for a minute in putting his own life in danger in order to save this boy’s life,” Gov. Bruce Rauner said during Thursday’s recognition ceremony in Springfield. “His brave and courageous actions reflect the very best of the people of Illinois, and we are proud to call him one of our own.”
Video of the ceremony is here.
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* SJ-R business editor Tim Landis on the impact of a potential AFSCME strike on Springfield and the surrounding area…
“If you talk to anybody, any member in any field, and anybody who watches tax revenue, there is this massive amount of uncertainty accruing,” Bill McMahon, executive director of Local First Springfield, said Thursday. […]
Not only are consumers affected, said McMahon, businesses are reluctant to expand and hire as a result of the uncertainty.
“Everyone is waiting for things to settle out,” said McMahon. “It’s all the things you feel like in a recession.” […]
The anxiety is evident in spring and fall surveys of local business sentiment by the Survey Research Office at the University of Illinois Springfield. A little less than half of business owners surveyed in the fall expected sales to increase in the coming year compared with nearly 70 percent who made that prediction in the fall of 2015. In the most recent survey, 56 percent cited state finances as the biggest challenge in the coming year.
Springfield officials, including Mayor Jim Langfelder, recently have blamed the uncertainty of state finances for an estimated $1.3 million shortfall in sales tax revenue for the fiscal year that ends Tuesday.
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Adding insult to injury in higher ed
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tony Arnold…
About 260 Northeastern Illinois University students may be forced out of their campus jobs because of a new rule put in place as a result of the Illinois’ ongoing budget impasse. […]
(A) new rule put in place in December by the State Universities Civil Service System, the organization that administers university employee rules, is creating new headaches for Northeastern officials as they try to save money. The rule states that if a university is going to force its employees to take unpaid days off, then it has to prove it’s doing what it can to save money by first kicking students out of their part-time campus jobs.
Northeastern is believed to be the first Illinois school to be pursuing furloughs that will trigger this new rule.
“I can’t figure out right now a way around it. And I just find that exasperating,” said Richard Helldobler, the interim president of Northeastern.
A university spokesman said if the school goes through with the furloughs, it’s unclear how long the students will be out of their campus jobs.
Helldobler said the state currently owes Northeastern $17 million and over the last few years, the university has taken several measures to save money, from reducing personnel by more than 100 positions to furloughing many of its employees for six days last year.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
State lawmakers are being asked to leave schools’ physical education requirements out of the “grand bargain” budget resolution that’s being negotiated in the Illinois Senate.
Senate Bill 13, one of the bills that are packaged in the “grand bargain,” primarily focuses on a property tax freeze. But it also allows school districts to reduce physical education requirements to three days a week, and would expand exceptions available to high school students who participate in extracurricular physical activities.
At an event in Springfield Wednesday, former U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart of Belleville, a retired Army major general, said he applauds bipartisanship in solving the state’s budget crisis, but it shouldn’t be an excuse to roll back the country’s national readiness.
“Do we really want to do that, when we have a statewide and a nationwide epidemic of obesity?” Enyart asked. “Let’s not have a setback in our national readiness, and in our national health. PE is essential to our public education system, and is part of the state’s duty to our nation.”
* The Question: Should the state allow schools to cut back PE to three days per week? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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Congresscritters who draw state pensions
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Roskam example is particularly interesting, considering the context…
Six term Wheaton Republican Peter Roskam is a powerful figure in the U.S. House, where he chairs a key panel on tax policy and wants to delay Medicare and Social Security benefits for millions of Americans by raising the eligibility age.
But Roskam - who has criticized his home state as a “fiscal basket case” and marshalled opposition to a federal rescue for Illinois’s troubled pension funds—began collecting his $37,452 annual pension from the state for his years as an Illinois lawmaker at the first legal opportunity last year when he turned 55.
Roskam is one of three members of Congress from Illinois who had previously served in the Illinois General Assembly and are now getting pensions from the state for their years in Springfield. Like Roskam, all began cashing in on their 55th birthdays under generous rules established by the state legislature long ago for its own members.
One of them, Republican Mike Bost of Downstate Murphysboro, in 2012 threw a tirade over a pension reform bill on the floor of the Illinois House. It was so spectacular that a video of it went viral on You Tube. The other, Evanston Democrat Jan Schakowsky, once used her congressional office to urge against a reduction in annual benefit increases for public pension recipients in Illinois—of which she was one.
Bost, 56, gets $73,018-a-year in retirement pay from Illinois while Schakowsky, 72, gets $27,888. And that comes on top of the regular $174,000 salaries paid to all members of Congress. Schakowsky and Roskam also have qualified to receive federal pensions after they retire from the U.S. House, while Bost has three years to go in office before reaching that landmark. […]
Expressing concern for long-term solvency of federal programs for retirees and the elderly, Roskam also backs proposals to raise the age of eligibility for drawing Social Security benefits as well as qualifying for Medicare.
When it came to drawing his own Illinois pension, however, Roskam wasted no time taking advantage once he became eligible after turning 55 in September 2016. For his 13 years of service in both the Illinois House and Senate, Roskam recently began collecting an Illinois pension that starts at $3,128-a-month but will grow over time with automatic cost of living add-ons that kick in once he turns 60.
In Congress, Roskam frequently holds up Illinois’ fiscal crisis as a cautionary tale illustrating the need to bring pension entitlements under control.
In 2011, Roskam organized a letter signed by Republican leaders in the U.S. House as well as all GOP U.S. House members from lllinois warning then-Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature that financial help to resolve the state’s pension crisis would not be forthcoming from Washington.
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* Sneed…
Sneed hears the 2005 Chrysler that State Comptroller Susana Mendoza dumped in favor of a $32,000 Ford Explorer may have had 104,000 miles on it, but a top source claims it was in impeccable condition and not in need of expensive repairs, despite Mendoza’s claims.
“It was spotless inside, detailed all the time — and in mint condition,” the source added.
A friend of mine who once worked for the comptroller said he’d ridden in that car and agreed with the above characterization, “except for a slight Marlboro musk.”
* Meanwhile…
Days after the Bruce Rauner-funded Republican Party attacked State Comptroller Susana Mendoza for buying an Illinois-made used car for appropriate state government use, the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association slammed Rauner for his hypocrisy after failing to pass a state budget, spending 54K dollars on a luxury SUV from funds earmarked for State Troopers, and ignoring the outrageous fiscal mismanagement of Donald Trump.
“Rauner should end his petty political games and get to work passing a state budget to help Illinois families,” said President Doug House of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association. “It’s especially rich that he breathlessly attacked Comptroller Mendoza for purchasing a used vehicle for pool use when he bought a brand new $54,000 SUV for his own use out of funds earmarked for State Troopers,” said House.
Pictures of the SUV parked outside the Thompson Center are included in this release. Also included are purchasing and voucher records detailing the vehicle’s intent and use.
Funds for the luxury SUV for Gov. Rauner’s use came from a fund that is supposed to pay for the Illinois State Police. The starting salary for a State trooper is $57,000 – about the cost of the Governor’s sweet new ride.
House continued to blast the Rauner-funded Republican Party for its hypocrisy on fiscal matters.
“Where was the Republican outrage when Governor Rauner hired Donna Arduin, a $30,000 a month budget consultant that couldn’t pass a budget? What about giving his “wingman” Leslie Munger a new job as Deputy Governor that pays $135,000? And hiring her whole patronage army of nearly 30 people at a cost to taxpayers of $1.8 million? How about Donald Trump’s weekly golf trips to Florida – an amount spent on his family in just one month that President Obama spent over an entire year?
“The Republican Party lead by Bruce Rauner is bankrupt of credibility when it comes to fiscal matters,” said House.
Finally, House defended Comptroller Mendoza’s service to Illinois to fix the mess she inherited.
“In her short time in office, Comptroller Mendoza has been working tirelessly to prioritize payments to the needy and to minimize the impact of Governor Rauner’s inability to do his job and submit a balanced budget. His failure to propose a balanced budget has led to a $12.4 billion backlog for state taxpayers,” said House.
I’m told the pic they provided isn’t even the right car, but the purchasing order is here. As you can see, the purchase was made on behalf of the Illinois State Police’s Executive Protection Unit for “increased mobility for secure transport of public officials.” So, yeah, it’s a fund “earmarked for State Troopers,” but protecting executives is part of their job.
I’ve asked the State Police if the governor’s office was involved in the purchasing decision, but haven’t heard back yet.
*** UPDATE *** From the ISP…
The ISP continuously reviews the status of its Fleet, and makes purchases based upon vehicle conditions, mileage and usage. The ISP’s Statewide Fleet Section Supervisor or one of his staff works with the fleet coordinators for each work unit to ensure we have the correct specifications for a vehicle purchase when we order a vehicle for ISP work units. The ISP Fleet Section did not discuss this vehicle purchase with the Governor’s Office.
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Newspaper publishes blockbuster investigative story, legislators hold a hearing, newspaper publishes another story…
State lawmakers pressed Wednesday for stronger regulation of pharmacists’ hours and workload as a way to protect consumers from harmful errors, but pharmacy lobbyists largely did not budge.
In the first public showdown since a Tribune investigation in December found 52 percent of 255 tested pharmacies failed to warn patients about dangerous drug interactions, top pharmacy representatives said safety improvements already in the works will give Illinois some of the nation’s toughest restrictions.
At the center of a sometimes contentious hearing was legislation sponsored by Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, that calls for limiting the number of hours pharmacists work each day, restricting how many prescriptions they fill per hour and adding meal break requirements for pharmacists she said are so overloaded that consumers are in jeopardy.
Pharmacists must juggle calls, track down doctors on questionable prescriptions, deal with multiple insurance issues, supervise technicians and even empty the trash on days when they may work a dozen hours and dispense 300 orders, Flowers said. […]
What became clear to Flowers and pharmacy lobbyists is that more hearings and negotiations are likely to take place before she puts her legislation up for a vote.
And then they’ll get another story.
* Legislator introduces a bill to bring back legislative scholarship, attracts precisely zero co-sponsors, editorial board blasts the entire General Assembly…
They say it’s hard to separate a boy from his dog. It’s even harder to separate a politician from his perks.
Is the Illinois General Assembly really a legislative body? Or just a parody of one?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell, and HB 279 represents Exhibit A for that proposition.
* Columnist who pushed to change Illinois’ state song to a Cheap Trick tune upset by silly bills…
State lawmakers need something to do.
Maybe hand them orange vests and garbage bags, and let them collect litter along the roadside. Give them some sort of busy work. Otherwise, they’ll keep proposing silly bills.
Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, wants to boost the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph on most interstates outside of Chicago. For you lead-foots, maybe that sounds good. But there’s a downside: faster speed limits would help residents flee Illinois faster. As it is, pretty soon, we’ll be able to drive as fast as we want, as there’ll be almost no one or no cars left.
* Related…
* Obama could be a highway star — but should it be I-55 or I-294?
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* The event starts at 10:30. Click here to watch our live coverage post. You can click here for what’s being billed as a live video feed that I wasn’t able to embed here. WTAX is also promising live coverage, so click here for that.
*** UPDATE 1 *** AFSCME says 81 percent voted to authorize a strike. Its press release is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch won’t tell reporters how many state workers actually cast ballots. However, a spokesman told me that right around 80 percent of eligible voters turned out.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor’s office…
The Rauner Administration released the following statement in response to AFSCME’s strike authorization vote. The following is attributable to General Counsel Dennis Murashko:
“The vote to authorize a strike is an attack on our state’s hardworking taxpayers and all those who rely on critical services provided everyday. It is a direct result of AFSCME leadership’s ongoing misinformation campaign about our proposal.
AFSCME leaders would rather strike than work 40 hours a week before earning overtime. They want to earn overtime after working just 37.5 hours per week.
AFSCME leaders would rather strike than allow volunteers like Boy Scout troops to lend a helping hand inside government. They want to ban the use of volunteers.
AFSCME leaders would rather strike than allow state employees to be paid based on merit. They want to stick to paying people based on seniority, regardless of whether they’re doing a good job.
And while hard working families across the state face skyrocketing health insurance premiums, AFSCME leaders want to strike to force higher taxes to subsidize their health care plans that are far more generous than taxpayers have.
Put simply, AFSCME leaders will do or say anything to avoid implementing a contract that is fair to both taxpayers and state employees alike.
If AFSCME chooses to strike, we will use every resource to ensure services continue to be available to the people of Illinois. We continue to encourage AFSCME to work with us in implementing a contract that is similar to those ratified by 20 other unions.”
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* Press release…
Speaker Michael J. Madigan is forming a bipartisan House task force to continue working on an equitable education funding formula and address questions a state commission recently left unanswered.
“The question of how Illinois funds our public schools is one that affects every community in our state,” Madigan said. “As such, the entire process for making formula changes – from crafting an overall outline for reform, to working through the specific details – needs to be carefully considered by legislators from across the state. This task force will continue House Democrats’ commitment to vetting these decisions and making sure all voices are heard.”
Madigan has appointed Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, as well as Reps. Linda Chapa LaVia, Fred Crespo, William Davis, Marcus Evans, Laura Fine, Jay Hoffman, Rita Mayfield, Emily McAsey, Michelle Mussman, Elgie Sims and Justin Slaughter to form an education funding reform task force along with House Republicans. The task force will continue the work of the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, address unanswered questions in the commission’s final report, and continue to craft equitable school funding reform legislation.
House Democrats serving on the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission recently noted that aspects of the Commission’s final report failed to clearly reflect the group’s discussions. Amongst other concerns, the report did not properly recognize that Illinois’ current school funding system is broken, in large part, because of overreliance on property taxes and underfunding from the state. Illinois’ property tax dollars account for 67 percent of all education spending, while the nationwide average is 45 percent. Without reform that acknowledges this overreliance on property taxes, the current education funding system will continue to be regressive compared to states with less property tax reliance.
“House Democrats played a leading role on the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, and successfully pushed the Commission to meet more frequently,” Currie said. “While the Commission did not accomplish everything it set out to do, it did show that a bipartisan group of lawmakers can work toward consensus on major issues. There are questions that remain unanswered and points that still need clarification. We look forward to continuing to work cooperatively on this important and complex issue.
The best way to start making this idea into reality is by crafting an actual piece of legislation. That isn’t directly addressed by Madigan’s press release, however.
*** UPDATE *** Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis…
We hope this new education reform task force is not an attempt to delay the positive work and progress of the Illinois School Funding Commission. As was discussed throughout the commission process, the goal was for the framework report to lead to a bill that could pass both chambers and be signed by Governor Rauner. Through bicameral and bipartisan discussions, we stand ready to work together in fixing our state’s broken school funding formula.
Except they can’t even agree who’s gonna write the bill.
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* From the Kearney Courier…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s goal to reduce the state’s prison population by 25 percent can be achieved, but only if extensive changes are made to the criminal justice system, according to two members of a state commission that issued recommendations on prison reform.
Retired 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Elizabeth Robb and Andrew Leipold, law professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, were panelists Wednesday for a forum sponsored by the McLean County League of Women Voters and the Central Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Both served as members of Rauner’s commission to develop proposals to cut the state’s prison numbers by 25 percent by 2025. […]
Robb cited current drug laws with enhanced penalties as one of the areas recommended for change by the commission. The add-ons for selling drugs near schools and parks disproportionately affect African Americans in urban areas and “are not effective and not a deterrent,” said Robb.
Commission members also reviewed the reasons people are sent to prison and explored alternatives to incarceration, including a law that has added 700 people to the inmate population for stealing vehicles.
“We can make a cut in the prison population by changing that law,” said Robb.
Thoughts?
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Fisking Rauner
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pantagraph…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday he understands the frustration of Illinois residents tired of living without a state budget.
“It’s frustrating we don’t have a budget. … When I started this job, I was 6-8 and had a full head of hair. It’s hard,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not patient, but I am extremely persistent. … I’m going to stay persistent.” […]
He said his requirements to approve a budget remain the same: “I’m not going to sign an unbalanced budget,” and “I won’t sign off on any new taxes unless we get major structural changes” in government regulations as called for in his agenda.
Just to be clear, he won’t sign an unbalanced budget, but he’ll propose three of them in a row.
* More…
“I ran for governor because all of my fellow business builders were leaving Illinois,” he said. “The number one state people are going is Indiana. C’mon. It ain’t for the weather. … Our problems are all self-inflicted. Our government is a bureaucratic nightmare, and we’re going to change it.”
Notice that he said “my fellow business builders” and not his current favorite phrase “job creators.” Why? Well, maybe because when he was asked during a campaign debate to detail some jobs he created he couldn’t.
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* Ummm…
Kind of unclear on the actual concept, don’t you think?
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker was called out by a progressive legislator and is back-pedaling…
I’m told that Pritzker was trying to parody the right with his original tweet. Meh. That stuff should be left to the professionals.
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Rauner dodges reporters
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Brian Mackey…
In the week since his budget address, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has done little to promote his plan or defend it from attacks by Democrats.
That’s a significant departure from last year. Back then, Rauner toured the state, highlighting his call for greater funding of public schools. This year, he took a ski vacation in Utah.
On Wednesday, Rauner made a brief speech at an education conference in Springfield. Afterward, he refused to answer questions from reporters.
The ski trip was reportedly to celebrate his birthday, but Rauner would not say which — until an aide told him, “You can answer how old you are.”
He’s 61. Wikipedia lists his age as 60, so there was some confusion.
* Mackey was not as kind on Twitter yesterday…
A bit harsh.
* Monique Garcia…
Rauner spoke at three separate events across the state, starting his morning in Chicago, where he addressed the Illinois State Board of Education. The governor’s official schedule listed him as not doing a media availability at that stop, but indicated he would field questions from the media at later events in Bloomington and Springfield.
That didn’t happen. Press aides cited a change in plans due to the governor’s busy schedule. Reporters asked some questions anyway as Rauner entered and exited a gathering of school administrators at a Springfield convention center.
“How are you and CK getting along?” Rauner asked a Chicago Tribune reporter, referring to his spokeswoman Catherine Kelly. […]
Rauner also riled up lawmakers by posting a campaign video shortly after his speech touting “a grand bargain” to end the budget. That’s the same term the Senate has adopted for its plan, and some felt the governor was trying to take credit for work done by lawmakers.
On Wednesday, Rauner did not answer when asked if he felt his speech ultimately would help or hurt the Senate’s efforts to strike a budget deal, nor did he respond when asked what feedback he has received from lawmakers. The governor also remained silent when asked about criticism of the campaign video.
He has an event scheduled at his office today at 11:30, an hour after AFSCME announces its strike authorization vote results, so he is expected to talk to the media today.
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