“I’m excited to be back here in Monroe County. This is strong Republican territory here,” he cheered, motioning to a crowd of more than 22o supporters. Rauner had attended the county’s Republican Lincoln Day Dinner in 2013 as a prospective gubernatorial candidate and returned in 2014 for a short visit while on the campaign trail.
During his speech, the governor went on to thank the county for their support and for fighting for the party’s values. He briefly mentioned the state budget, but only as a means to transition into his agenda.
“Some people think the problem is about the budget,” he uttered in a sincere tone. “It’s partly about the budget, but it’s really about our future prosperity.”
To Rauner, that future prosperity includes bringing power back to the Republicans in Springfield — he confidently foretold at the dinner that eight more Illinois Republicans would unseat Democratic representatives in the 2018 elections. He also continued his call for pension reform, job growth, term SAT limits and non-partisan redistricting, among other topics. [Emphasis added.]
Rauner’s standard stump speech always includes that line these days about picking up eight Democratic House seats. He says it everywhere he goes.
“I am all in to make sure we pick up eight seats next November,” Rauner said [at the Piatt County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner]. “And when we do, Republicans control the House of Representatives. … We can turn this state around dramatically if the House flipped to Republican control. … We’ve got a really good shot.”
It would actually take a nine-seat pickup for Republicans to take over the Illinois House
The Democrats have 67 House seats. So if the Republicans pick off 8 seats there’d be a 59-59 tie.
Personally, I’ve been praying for a 59-59 tie since the 1990s. Man, what great theater that would be.
* Ameya Pawar’s official response to JB Pritzker’s announcement sent to reporters…
“J.B. Pritzker is an accomplished investor and philanthropist and I welcome him to the race for governor. People are hungry for a governor who understands working families and my legislative record shows my commitment to protecting the middle class. I look forward to a healthy debate about the issues.”
* But this is what he sent to supporters…
Friend –
Moments ago, another billionaire entered the race for Governor. In a field of millionaires and billionaires, Ameya stands out as a voice for all of us – a leader with a strong track record as Alderman of delivering results for working families.
Big money politics shouldn’t limit what we can achieve as a state. When supporters like you speak up and chip in, we can fight back. Please show your support right now by donating $5, $10, $15 or whatever you can.
Ameya may not have a Springfield-backed Super PAC or a billion dollars, but what we’re building is far more powerful – thousands of grassroots supporters like you who are ready for real change.
The groundswell of support we see in town after town shows that voters are hungry for real change in Springfield. They’re looking for a progressive champion. A leader who isn’t afraid of taking on tough issues.
Now we need to keep this going to compete with our opponents’ big bank accounts and their special interest money. Can you chip in $5 or more to fuel our momentum?
Together, we’re sending a signal that people across Illinois are tired of the Trump/Rauner agenda, and ready to bring real change to Springfield.
I’ll post other reactions as they come in.
*** UPDATE *** United Working Families is a coalition that includes the Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union and SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana. It sent out an e-mail today entitled “BREAKING: Battle of the Billionaires”…
It’s official: Billionaire investor J.B. Pritzker is entering the race for Illinois Governor.
If he wins the Democratic primary, he’ll square off against billionaire investor Bruce Rauner, who recently put $50 million of his own fortune into his re-election campaign.
Tired of being priced out of politics? Donate $5 or more a month to become a United Working Families member today.
A real estate mogul in the White House. An investment banker in Chicago’s City Hall. And now the billionaires are battling it out for the Illinois Governor’s mansion, while more and more working people are left behind.
It’s time to build something different: politics for the people, not the plutocrats. Become a member of United Working Families today.
Illinois is my home. This is where I’ve raised my family, where I started businesses and where I’ve created programs to improve the lives of people across the state.
What’s happening now in Springfield is offensive to our values and who we are as a state. Bruce Rauner’s failure as Governor isn’t just about numbers, it’s creating real damage every day to people across Illinois.
Now, let me address a question I imagine may be on your mind:
With Bruce Rauner as Governor and Donald Trump as President, why do we need another rich guy running for office?
My answer is that it’s a matter of values, and that Trump and Rauner are trying to destroy many of the things I’ve spent my life fighting for.
About a century ago, my great-grandfather Nicholas arrived in Chicago penniless. He worked hard — but he had help. A social service agency helped him find a place to live. A good public school helped him learn English. A state university allowed him to get a higher education degree.
You can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you don’t have any, and this state gave my great grandfather his bootstraps.
It’s what everyone in Illinois deserves, it’s what I’ve been fighting for my whole life, and it’s what I’ll be fighting for every day as your next governor.
Pretty sure that argument alone is not gonna do the trick. Your own thoughts about what he should say?
* This from a state Republican Party whose governor says he would be fine with a 4.99 percent income tax rate and a new tax on services…
Before even announcing his campaign for governor, J.B. Pritzker followed Mike Madigan’s lead and proposed raising the income tax to over 5 percent without any reforms to fix Illinois.
At the City Club in 2015, Mike Madigan said that raising the income tax back to 5 percent with no reforms was “a good place to begin.”
Now, as J.B. Pritzker prepares to plunge into the Democratic primary, he’s made clear he supports Madigan’s tax hike plan.
Behind closed doors, Pritzker told Chicago machine insiders that he supports raising the income tax to over 5 percent.
At a meeting with Democratic activists just three weeks ago, Pritzker told party insiders the following:
“Let’s remind everybody, the tax used to be 5 percent, and he let it lapse down to three and three quarters percent. And that’s what started a lot of the problems that we’ve got in the state. So, if you just put it back that’s $5 billion dollars. That doesn’t get you everything you need, but it’s a good way toward, you know, toward getting real revenue in the state.”
“Like a true machine politician, J.B. Pritzker mirrored the Madigan tax hike plan behind closed doors, before even announcing his campaign. It’s clear that Pritzker’s loyalty belongs to Mike Madigan and his plan for Illinois is higher taxes with no real reform.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Also, the doors weren’t closed. The media was inside the event.
But, hey. Politics!
…Adding… I thought they were referring to the Democratic committeeman’s event, but Yaffe says the recording was made during “a meet and greet put on by a state legislator from Chicago.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** The ILGOP has a new press release and a digital ad…
“Political insider J.B. Pritzker is the financial muscle behind Mike Madigan’s political machine, funneling over a million dollars to help him in just the last year. And like Madigan, Pritzker wants to hike the income tax to over 5 percent without any fixes to repair Illinois. One can only imagine the devastation Mike Madigan could do with a lapdog billionaire at his side. Pritzker puts the insiders first and the taxpayers last.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Kirsten Kukowski
To welcome Pritzker to the race, the Illinois Republican Party is launching digital ads highlighting the Madigan-Pritzker plan to pass a devastating income tax hike with no reform to fix our broken system.
Pritzker Caught on Tax Hike Lie
Tells media one thing, insiders another
At his campaign announcement, J.B. Pritzker responded to tapes revealing his plan to raise the income tax to at least 5%.
His response to the media? The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Pritzker, “tells reporters state should start with taxing millionaires and billionaires first, not middle class.”
Except, he told Madigan machine insiders the exact opposite – admitting that his tax plan could not realistically be implemented for at least three years.
Pritzker said behind closed doors, “so lets just talk about this flat income tax, because we’re not going to be able to turn it into a millionaire’s tax, a fair tax – it’s gonna take us three years.”
“Pritzker kicked off his campaign by trying to cover up his real tax plan: a massive tax hike on every Illinoisan with no real reforms,” said Illinois Republican Party spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. “The tape doesn’t lie. If he’s elected, J.B. Pritzker wants to take income taxes over 5 percent as soon as he takes office with no changes to bring down costs or grow jobs.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor’s campaign…
We’ll be frank – no one on Team Rauner is surprised by the news today.
J.B. Pritzker announced his bid for Governor and now joins a list of Democrats who want to be governor so they can raise your taxes while enacting no changes to control spending, reform government or grow jobs.
In fact, Pritzker has already said he wants to take the income tax to over 5 percent. Higher than it was under Pat Quinn!
We know they will all try to tell a different story. So, we’ve set up a fund to directly combat the anticipated attacks from J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, and any other candidate as they try to detract from their own questionable plans.
Your contribution today will help us keep Illinois voters informed of the truth.
Here on Team Rauner, we’re working to bring back Illinois and put our state’s families first. And now matter how hard the political machine tries to stop us, we won’t give up.
The entire tone of these Fix Illinois commercials seems meant to create the impression that Rauner is a newcomer to Illinois’ problems instead of one of the major problem creators for the last couple of years.
He’s not some new guy with great, new solutions running for office. He is the hard-line governor of the state that won’t pass a budget.
So, these dress-up commercials seem more that a bit disingenuous.
Maybe the Democrats should counter the governor’s commercials with commercials of their own.
Let’s see, Rauner dressed up as Norm the carpenter from “This Old House” (minus the protuberant stomach possessed by all real carpenters).
Who could Madigan dress up as for his TV commercial?
* The Question: Who could Madigan dress up as for his own TV commercial? Explain.
Indiana gained 20,000 Illinoisans on net in 2015, the most recent year of data available. From 2006 to 2015, Illinois lost more than 119,000 people to Indiana on net. That’s equivalent to Indiana annexing the entire city of Peoria.
Illinois also suffered a net loss of more than 11,000 people to Wisconsin in 2015, and nearly 86,000 people over the preceding decade. That’s almost as if the entire city of Waukegan moved 15 miles up the shoreline.
There is some good news for Illinoisans: The state now has more payroll jobs than ever, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it’s a question of where those jobs are being created that should concern political leaders. […]
Illinois has regained barely a sliver of the manufacturing jobs that evaporated during the Great Recession, and it’s lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs since the turn of the century. There are now far more jobs in sectors such as state and local government, leisure and hospitality, and business and professional services than in manufacturing. It didn’t used to be that way.
Indiana and Wisconsin, however, are seeing strong manufacturing comebacks. Both states have recovered a larger share of their manufacturing jobs than Illinois, and manufacturing workers see higher wages than their Illinois counterparts, when adjusting for cost of living.
A mostly empty warehouse at 2410 South Grand Avenue East in Springfield now holds neat rows of filing cabinets and pallets of paper records which belong to the Department of Human Services. The lease agreement binds Illinois to fulfill at least the first five years of the deal, which adds up to a minimum of $2.4 million.
Procurement Board Member Ed Bedore, an appointee of House Speaker Michael Madigan, tells WCIA the total cost could clear $11 million before the 10-year deal is over. Bedore estimated Illinois could have purchased the property for $700,000. It’s value is listed at $1.1 million.
The Procurement Policy Board is led by Chairman Frank Vala, a Republican appointee of Governor Bruce Rauner. Vala’s five-member panel had the chance to block the Rauner administration from overspending on an inflexible lease arrangement, but it never held a discussion about the terms of this lease. Rick Morales and former state representative Bill Black are the other two Republican appointees on the board. Larry Ivory was appointed by Senate President John Cullerton, a Democrat. […]
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services provided this statement in an email: “The lease was secured through the open, competitive bidding process and was fully reviewed by the Illinois Procurement Board.” WCIA is only aware of one other bid for this particular lease. Those familiar with the Procurement Policy Board’s discussions say the warehouse lease was never even discussed.
The DHS statement also claims the facility owners, Climate Controlled Holdings, LLC, made “additional enhancements” to the warehouse, upgrades the state could not afford to make without a full budget or a specific appropriation.
According to records kept by the Secretary of State’s office, Climate Controlled Holdings is registered to Mr. Thomas Storniolo at 20 North Clark Street in Chicago. The business appears to be a young entity. It was registered with the state in February of last year.
Storniolo’s LinkedIn page also shows him as the Controller of New Frontier Management.
WCIA reporter Mark Maxwell is new to town, so he apparently didn’t recognize the New Frontier Management name.
Old-timers will recognize it, however. That’s the company which used to be run by Bill Cellini and which leased a whole bunch of buildings to the state over the years.
* From a reader who knows how to do research…
Climate Controlled Holdings (CCH) has 3 members of the LLC and has a registered agent named Thomas Storniolo at 20 Clark Street, Suite 1600. One of the members of CCH is Andiamo Development LLC. The other two LLCs are registered in Springfield. Andiamo has the same registered agent and address. Andiamo is managed by 3GEN Management INC. 3GEN Management has the same registered agent and address and lists Jeffrey Richards, also of the same address as President of 3GEN Management.
On LinkedIn Thomas Storniolo identifies himself as the Controller/Secretary at New Frontier Management, Co. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-storniolo-3152a564/)…
New Frontier Management lists Thomas Storniolo as the registered agent and is also at 20 Clark Street, Suite 1600. The president is listed as Claudia Cellini. New Frontier Developments has the same registered agent and address and also has Claudia Cellini listed as the president.
In a 2011 article on Bill Cellini, Bernie Schoenburg writes “New Vista’s address is listed as 20 S. Clark St. in Chicago, an address shared by several other firms associated with the Cellini family.” (http://www.sj-r.com/x422405742/Cellini-business-interests-remain-extensive-documents-show) The focus of that article is partly on New Frontier Companies. New Frontier Company, on their website http://www.nfcompanies.com/, lists their address as 20 Clark Street, Suite 1600. The registered agent for New Frontier Company is Thomas Storniolo at 20 Clark Street, Suite 1600. The president for New Frontier Company is listed as William F. Cellini, Jr.
Additionally, you’ll see that the property was obtained January 3, 2017 for $575,000 (http://tax.co.sangamon.il.us/SangamonCountyWeb/app/saleSearchResults.action?pn=22-02.0-201-029&township=&saleClass=&saleYear=&fromDate=&toDate=&fromAcres=&toAcres=) Yet, it is listed on CMS lease inventory going back to October of 2016 for a lease starting February 1, 2017 (https://www.illinois.gov/cms/agency/property/leasing/Documents/October-2016-CMS-Lease-Inventory.pdf) In October, 2016 CMS is listing a lease starting Feb 1,2017 with CCH for a building they don’t even purchase until January 3, 2017.
The lease started before the property was even purchased by the new owners? That ought to raise some eyebrows. But it’s that Cellini family name which could gin this up even more. This may very well be all smoke and no serious fire, but it’s an easy thing to understand for Springfieldians who’ve seen these types of deals for decades.
CMS put out for bid three times the need for warehouse space before settling on the Springfield location. Only two landlords responded – apparently a sign of property managers’ reluctance to do business with the state of Illinois, which is more than $12.6 billion behind in paying vendors.
*** UPDATE *** From CMS Acting Director Mike Hoffman with all emphasis in the original…
Hi Rich –
First, this lease was handled in the exact same way as every other lease as required by law, which includes review and approval by the independent Chief Procurement Officer.
It was posted publicly on the Illinois procurement bulletin and reviewed by the Procurement Policy Board.
State and Federal law requires the safe keeping of these documents.
The Quinn administration was inappropriately keeping these documents in dilapidated facilities around the state including Dwight Correctional Facility. These facilities were not designed for storage of sensitive materials and some files were incurring damage from flooding, mildew and mold. In addition, DHS staff was unable to access many of these documents without having to travel and incur further costs.
Some of these storage areas also did not have the proper level of security to store these documents.
Under this administration, DHS made the decision to consolidate these documents in a more appropriate facility in Sangamon County – providing better access to the documents, greater security as well as a climate controlled space that would ensure the integrity of these documents as required by law.
Finally, the consolidation of these documents is an important first step in any future digitization effort. As far as the facilities that were used under the Quinn Administration, the storage of these documents at those sites precluded the sale or disposal of these locations of which the maintenance and upkeep costs taxpayers millions each year.
The initial requirement stated by DHS was 26,000 sq ft.
An RFP was put out twice with no responses.
By the time the third RFP was issued DHS’ space needs had already increased to 37,000 sq ft. and there were more sites scheduled to be consolidated which would increase their need even more.
As such, the option was exercised to take the full building of 60,000 sq ft.
It is important to note: that Climate Control Holdings was the only bidder who put forward two properties – CMS took the lesser of the two bids.
Rich, to your question about leasing before they owned:
The law allows CMS to enter into a lease as long as the party shows site control and/or option to buy – they had shown an option to buy.
The Democrat-controlled Illinois House is preparing another stopgap spending plan that would allocate more than $800 million to higher education and human services.
A House committee Wednesday afternoon approved the plan that taps into two special state funds intended to help education and human services. The vote split along party lines. The bill now goes to the full House.
The two funds get a small part of income tax receipts as they are received by the state and are constantly replenished.
“We have $800-some million dollars sitting in a bank account gathering dust, doing nothing, that could go out the door immediately to help our communities, to help seniors, to fund our higher education system,” said Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago, a top House Democrat budget negotiator.
The move came as Northeastern Illinois University announced it was canceling three days of classes in an effort to save on salary costs as it struggles to make ends meet without financial support from the state. School employees were already asked to take unpaid furlough days during the recent spring break.
Rauner, however, disputed the idea that the Democrats’ plan would help. He posted a video on his Facebook page and said stopgap budgets do little to address long-term issues but “keep universities, community colleges and social service agencies on the verge of collapse with no permanent lines of funding.”
The governor repeated an earlier pledge that he would not sign off on another one-time spending plan unless it also included provisions to “protect taxpayers” such as a permanent property tax freeze.
“Instead of focusing on stopgaps that serve the Springfield insiders, we should be coming together to pass real and lasting solutions to our problems,” Rauner said.
Yeah, well, the Senate tried to do that and was stopped dead in its tracks.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Democrats were watching the Facebook video during caucus.
“It’s reminiscent of the big staircase press conference he had at the end of May a year ago, where he denounced everybody. And then at the end of the day, he signed a temporary spending plan that included $400 million in spending for higher education that he had left out,” Brown said of the video. “I think history may serve as an example here. We are hopeful of getting a full budget done but that appears to be an elusive goal.”
Brown was referring to a news conference Rauner held on the Capitol staircase, surrounded by GOP lawmakers, in which he called the 2016 spring session a “stunning failure” while accusing Madigan of holding the state hostage. The Illinois Senate — just before the midnight adjournment — shot down a budget plan that was approved by the Illinois House. In June 2016, Rauner signed a stopgap budget and school funding bill — while calling it no solution, and not a balanced budget: “This is a bridge to reform. That’s what this is.”
That partial budget ran out on Jan. 1 — leaving social service agencies and universities in the lurch of the historic budget impasse. […]
The Facebook video was released as House Democrats wrapped up a caucus to discuss the measure.
A new survey conducted by United Way of Illinois documents the impact of Illinois’ record-breaking budget impasse on the human services sector and on people and communities across the state. Data shows that 69% of agencies have received no or only partial payment for services delivered in fiscal year 2017.
“We see the deep and lasting effects of this impasse every day in our schools, in our neighborhoods and in the state’s spiraling reputation. The lack of urgency from the state in coming together to work on a full budget is negligent given rising violence, population decline and the loss of jobs and talent,” said Sonja Reece, Board Chair of United Way of Illinois, the statewide association of 52 local United Ways and the largest non-governmental funder of health and human services in the state. “While stop-gap funding provided limited and temporary relief to some service providers, it did not repair the long-term damage imposed by the lack of a full budget, nor is it funding current service delivery.”
Survey data showed that 46% of agencies have been forced to reduce the number of clients served, with the highest reported declines in the areas of youth development, mental health and job training. “Hospitals, law enforcement, State’s Attorneys, housing and city/community staff are asking when services will start again as they have no other resources to take care of the quite dire situations in their communities,” said Kathy Weiman, CEO of Alternatives in Moline.
Twenty-five percent of respondents have been forced to completely eliminate programs due to the lack of payment from the state. The most significant program cuts were reported in the areas of criminal justice, job training and youth development—programs that were contracted by the state to reduce crime and violence and build the strength of the Illinois economy. “We know investing in our young people and in training for living wage jobs is key not only to solving social challenges like poverty and violence by providing opportunity, but also in growing the local economy,” said Wendy DuBoe, President and CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. “Additionally, waiting lists for services and a lack of psychiatric support for the mentally ill results in more expensive interventions down the line.”
Agency respondents reported taking a number of measures to continue delivering services contracted, but not paid for by the state, including eliminating staff, not filling vacant positions, increasing waiting lists and utilizing cash reserves. Survey data shows that private philanthropy cannot plug the hole left by the state, with only 1 in 10 agencies reporting they have replaced 25% or more of the funding owed to them by the State through additional fundraising efforts.
“Private philanthropy can never provide enough resources to solve for the delinquency of the state,” said Reece. “United Ways and generous Illinoisans are doing their best on the private end of the private-public partnership meant to maintain and build well-being in the state, but we currently have no public partner.”
The survey was conducted March 3-March 17, 2017, and responses were received from 463 human services agencies that represent every region in the state and every service category including youth development, domestic violence prevention, mental health, emergency housing, senior services and employment training.
By the way, that 69 percent who report receiving no or only partial payments for services in FY17 is almost double the 35 percent who reported the same thing in Fiscal Year 2016.
Chris Kennedy’s campaign for governor of Illinois announced today it has received over $1 million from over 3,000 individual contributors since launching his candidacy six weeks ago.
Kennedy has raised more individual contributions in the first six weeks of his campaign than Governor Rauner did between announcing his campaign and the Republican primary in 2014.
“Thousands of Illinois families have contributed to this effort because they know fixing our state’s challenges will take more than a big wallet,” Kennedy said. “Illinois has never been in worse shape than it is under Governor Rauner. We need a fundamental change in state government. Thousands of Illinois families have responded to our message because they want to restore the promise of the American Dream. I am ready to bring my unique set of experiences to build a stronger economy that works for every Illinois family, no matter where they live in our state.”
Sneed is informed Dem dollar powerhouse J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire businessman and major Dem donor, will officially announce his bid today to run for governor in the Democratic primary.
UPDATE: The Pritzker campaign later Thursday morning announced the time and place of the announcement: 2 p.m. at Grand Crossing Gym, 7655 S. Ingleside Ave.
There’s lots of snark potential there and I was all set to unleash a fusillade of it, but was then informed by a Pritzker staffer that the candidate has lost 50 pounds, so he has probably seen the inside of a gymnasium in recent weeks.
Grand Crossing Park and its surrounding community take their name from a historic train wreck which occurred less than a mile away from the site of the park.
Again, the snark potential is pretty much endless. But that same Pritzker person sent me a text message earlier today. The person hadn’t Googled the park or the neighborhood and wasn’t involved in the location choice, but said…
The community is still standing– they rebuilt it together after a historic train wreck. That’s a pretty decent job description for the next governor.
Not a bad analogy.
*** UPDATE *** From Sen. Daniel Biss…
“I welcome J.B. Pritzker into this primary race — one which will be a test for Democrats across Illinois. Do we want to perpetuate the broken politics that got us into this mess to begin with or do we want to write a different kind of future? Do we try to out-Rauner Bruce Rauner or offer a truly democratic alternative that empowers ordinary Illinoisans? I welcome the debate about whether the future of the Democratic party will be a vehicle for the very rich and machine politicians or one for the rest of us.”
Ready? OK. Assuming it passes the House, should the Senate Democrats pass the Gov. Rauner-opposed stopgap budget bill that funds some higher education and social service needs, or should it focus on passing its grand bargain proposal and a full-year budget? The polling app isn’t working today, so answer below and make sure to explain your answer, please.
A coalition of 17 downstate school districts say they filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Gov. Bruce Rauner and his administration, contending the state has failed to provide enough money to deliver a “high quality” education for students.
The suit against Rauner and the Illinois State Board of Education argues that Illinois’ reliance on local property taxes to pay for schools creates a disparity in poorer communities where districts have less of a tax base to rely on. That makes it harder for students to meet educational standards adopted by the state as class sizes increase and programs are cut.
The school superintendents bringing the lawsuit want the state to put in place a different model to determine how much money the state should funnel to low-income districts in order for students to meet those standards, saying current assessments are “arbitrary and capricious.”
“Despite efforts to properly educate our leaders, pleading for change and commonsense solutions at our legislators’ fingertips, when negotiations begin in the Capitol, students’ needs get lost in the political shuffle and the battle for power in Springfield far outweighs doing what is right for children,” said Brad Skertich, superintendent of Southwestern Community Unit School District #9, which serves the towns of Brighton, Medora, Piasa and Shipman
I’ve asked for a copy of the lawsuit and will share when I get it.
* From Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis…
“Illinois school districts are receiving the highest level of funding ever under Governor Rauner, who has increased school funding by $700 million since taking office. The Governor also created a bipartisan school funding commission to improve the formula, which has recommended changes that will create an equitable school funding formula that will better meet the needs of each students within every school district in our state. The Governor never stops working to increase funding for our students and hopes school districts across Illinois will work with him and members of the General Assembly on this endeavor.”
For the past year, J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan have teamed up in an attempt to install Madigan supporters in local elections – and have failed miserably.
Before the 2016 election, Pritzker secretly funneled $200,000 to Madigan-backed House candidates, hiding his name by funneling the money through corporations. Madigan Democrats lost six seats in that election.
Last month, Madigan ally Linda Chapa LaVia failed to advance to the runoff in her race for Aurora Mayor after being blasted for her ties to Madigan. Pritzker campaigned and provided Chapa LaVia with financial support. Then, Pritzker backed Rick Guzman in the runoff, who lost to Republican Richard Irvin. Irvin will be Aurora’s first black Mayor.
And just yesterday, Pritzker teamed up with Democratic activists to oust Mayor Roger Claar from Bolingbrook. Despite statewide Democrats descending on the town, and despite Pritzker’s photo-op door knocking, Claar appears to have held on in a village with a heavy Democratic registration advantage.
Instead of trying and failing to win local races, Madigan should pass a balanced budget with reforms.
* From the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association…
Against Proft and Rauner’s Millions, Democrats Make Historic Gains
Big Republican outside money wasn’t enough to stop Democratic victories
Springfield, IL - Across Illinois, Democrats made unprecedented gains against outsized Republican spending and influence in local races. Republicans invested heavily in municipal and township races across the state, but Democrats made headway in elections they had not won - in some instances - for over a decade.
“Dan Proft and the Republicans were ready for the Democratic backlash after Trump’s election, but the money Bruce Rauner gave them wasn’t enough,” said Doug House, Chairman of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association. “Across the state, Democrats picked up seats we weren’t supposed to win as well as in other places where thousands of dollars were spent against us. The takeaway: No Republican will go unchallenged no matter how hard and how tough the race will be.”
Democrat wins were evident across Illinois in these locations:
City of Kankakee - Chasity Wells-Armstrong upset incumbent Nina Epstein, electing Kankakee’s first Democratic African-American Mayor.
City of Rockford - Democrat Tom McNamara bested his opponents in a landslide, proving Rockford does not stand for Bruce Rauner’s turnaround agenda.
City of Springfield - Democrat Kristin DiCenso won in convincing fashion beating her Republican Precinct Committeeman opponent by almost 70%
West Deerfield Township (Lake County) - For the first-time Democrats took entire control of this Lake County Township.
Vernon Township (Lake County) - Democrats swept the trustee elections, as well as electing Daniel Didech as Supervisor - taking out five incumbents.
Normal Township (McLean County) - Democrats elected supervisors and trustees to this township board for the first time in over 100 years.
Springfield Township (Sangamon County) - Lakeisha Purchase made history last night by becoming the first Democrat (and top vote getter) to be elected to the Springfield Township board since 1976
Chatham Township (Sangamon County) - Diana Carlile became the first Democrat (and top vote getter) ever to be elected to this predominantly Republican stronghold.
Palatine Township High School District 211 (Suburban Cook County) - Love trumped hate, and incumbent school board members who supported transgendered students were re-elected against opponents funded by outside hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.
New Trier Township (Suburban Cook County) - Among many areas Dan Proft was funding, Republican candidates attempted to fly below the radar in this township, but were soundly defeated by the Democratic Economy Party.
Maine Township (Suburban Cook County) - Democrats elected Claire McKenzie in the all GOP-controlled township government.
Richland Community College (Macon County) - Macon County Democratic Chairman Jim Underwood won in impressive fashion and will now be able to bring a strong Organized Labor voice as this Community College as they deal with higher education cuts from Bruce Rauner.
Lincoln Land Community College (Sangamon County) - Not even Donald Trump could save 16-year incumbent and former Trump State Director Kent Gray. He was trounced by Democrat Gordon Gates in this contested race.
In other races across the state Democrats came within inches of beating entrenched incumbents. Grass-roots Democrat Jackie Traynere lost by less than 100 votes against 30-year Republican Trump supporter Roger Claar after Dan Proft and others spent hundreds of thousands in television attack ads against Jackie.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and his conservative allies had a good night in yesterday’s suburban elections, winning more races than they lost. […]
[However] On the North Shore, a slate of incumbents easily held off challengers in contests for New Trier Township commissioner, despite lots of conservative activity. And in High School District 211, where Rauner ally and big funder Dick Uihlein also was involved , incumbents won easily in a race focused on whether to revisit the district’s stance on allowing transgendered students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their self-identified gender.
Beyond that, Rauner made a bit of play in elections in Rockford, and got clocked.
Still, overall results show that as long as Rauner’s big wallet is open, it will have an impact.
A new report by the Illinois Policy Institute finds that workers’ compensation costs Illinois taxpayers $982 million each year proving that not only is it a budgetary item, but it is also a major cost driver that should be controlled and managed.
The new report analyzes workers’ compensation costs for state government, school districts, townships, special district governments, municipalities, counties, other special police and fire districts, and publicly funded construction projects.
Illinois taxpayers are forced to shoulder not only the cost of government wages, health insurance, pensions and other benefits, but also to fund workers’ compensation costs that surpass those among the other states in the region. According to the recent “2016 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking Summary,” Illinois’ system is the most expensive in the Midwest and ties for seventh-most expensive in the nation.
That comes up to a combined $982 million, about 4 percent of payroll. The total number is almost certainly higher because the institute was able to get only partial information from the city of Chicago. (Chicago officials tell me the cost to the city alone runs about $100 million a year.)
If those costs were lowered to the average of other Midwest states, state and local governments collectively would save about $300 million a year, the institute contends. […]
“I always figured 5 percent of payroll (for workers’ comp),” says [Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League], the former mayor of Carbondale. “I haven’t seen their report yet, but I think their numbers are reasonably accurate. Some of the items they talk about have a considerable cost.” […]
[The Illinois AFL-CIO] underlines that the institute’s figures in part are estimates, and says that cost of workers comp for construction workers is covered by private contractors, not the government. Finally, it says that average medical costs alone here are lower than in Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa.
On the other hand, Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno likes it. She says in a statement, “Once again, we have evidence that Illinois’ workers compensation system is costly to not only private industry, but units of government and the taxpayers as well. Illinois is out of step. There are definitely ways to lower costs—some of which was accomplished in our 2011 reform effort which is now showing some results. But there is clearly room for additional cost-saving reforms which I continue to fight for in the legislature.”
* I’ve seen some people mocking Mrs. Rauner on social media for this comment by her husband. But it’s not a laughing matter. I know numerous parents who are upset to the point of freaking out about this very same thing…
Gov. Bruce Rauner continues his push to reverse the trend of people leaving the state by bringing about economic reforms he says will grow the economy.
During his most recent Facebook live event Tuesday, Rauner read a question about why people are sticking around if the state is in such bad shape. Rauner said he and his wife, Diana, struggle with this issue.
“We’ve raised our six kids in Illinois. None of them live in Illinois,” Rauner said. “They all have found their opportunities outside of Illinois. My wife cries about it. It’s so sad.”
Many young adults are leaving because of the lack of opportunities in Illinois, the governor said.
“I talk to so many people who are frustrated. They don’t see their children and their grandchildren having the future in Illinois that they had themselves, that we had, that I had, growing up in Illinois going back 30, 40, 50 years ago,” he said.
The governor is in a position to do something about it, of course. Some of the parents I know are sad because they don’t want their kids going to an Illinois university, and that’s directly on the governor for his refusal to negotiate a budget.
And this impasse isn’t helping the economy and jobs one bit. It’s hurting. Period. Full stop.
The race drew $200,000 in campaign ads and mailers to oust McLaughlin, who had been in office since 1993 and raised eyebrows when the village board voted last year to make the mayor’s office a full-time job. The move bumped his $40,000 salary up to $150,000 in what Pekau denounced as a “pension grab.” McLaughlin dismissed the claim as “misinformation” because the move eliminated a costly village administrator position.
McLaughlin also suggested the presidential election played a role in his defeat, saying it ushered in “a sea change in the way people cast their votes.”
“The national elections in November taught us those lessons,” McLaughlin said in a concession statement. “The election is over, at least for me. In tact is a team of trustees who love Orland Park like I do.” […]
Pekau, a U.S. Air Force veteran and business consultant, said he would opt out of a pension if he won. On Monday, he said the donations from Dan Proft-led Liberty Principles PAC, which received hefty donations from Gov. Bruce Rauner last summer, helped his cause.
A slate of candidates calling itself Parents with Purpose went after three open seats on the District 211 school board, largely in opposition to the district’s agreement with the federal government to provide girls’ bathroom and locker room access to a transgender student who filed a complaint with the federal government.
The slate was supported by an aligned group called Parents for Privacy, made up of about 50 families who are suing District 211 and the federal government over the agreement. The suit is pending.
With almost all precincts reporting, though, incumbents Robert LeFevre Jr. and Anna Klimkowicz and former board member Edward Yung appeared headed for victory. They have said generally that they support the agreement, though it applies to only one student.
In an historic election for the Lake County city [of Waukegan], Democratic alderman Sam Cunningham defeated independent candidate Lisa May. Cunningham’s victory will make him the city’s first African-American mayor. May would have been the city’s first female mayor.
Democrat Tom McNamara took home the Rockford mayoral race with 68 percent of the vote. […]
McNamara will replace Larry Morrissey , a three-term mayor who decided last fall to not run for re-election. […]
McNamara may find a friendlier City Council seated before him when he is sworn in as mayor May 1st. Although Rockford’s aldermen have tended not to vote along party lines, power will shifted from Republicans to Democrats. Republican Jamie Getchius and Independent Teena Newburg are both incumbents who lost to their Democratic challengers. Democrats picked up two open spots for a total of 8 of 14 council seats. A record number of Independents ran this year – five for alderman and two for mayor – but they all lost.
In Evanston, management consultant Steve Hagerty was leading the city’s first openly gay alderman, Mark Tendam, with 50.5 percent of the vote — a margin of just 163 votes.
In Aurora, the race to lead the state’s second-largest city was also too close to call, as Rick Guzman — assistant chief of staff to Mayor Tom Weisner, who stepped down for health reasons last year — led by just nine votes as of 10 p.m. over Ald. Richard Irvin.
Absentee ballots were expected to be tallied in both races into Wednesday morning.
* Pecak upsets Broda to become Lisle mayor: Pecak said during the campaign that he was running to bring change to the village. The construction manager said he would work for a property tax freeze, a balanced budget and improved transparency.
* Lincoln-Way 210 voters have their say following school closure: Two longtime Lincoln-Way High School District 210 board members appeared to be trailing in their bids for re-election against a crowded field Tuesday night, following a heated year of fallout stemming from the closing of a high school and questions about board oversight.
Longtime Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar could be returning for another term. As of last night, the incumbent held a narrow lead over challenger Jackie Traynere with all 32 precincts reporting. Claar has been the mayor of the village for over 30 years. He stirred up controversy last year after hosting a September fundraising event for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
His opponent, Jackie Traynere, currently a Will County board member, received endorsements from Illinois’s U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and congressman Bill Foster. But unofficial results show Claar leading Traynere by just 103 votes. Provisional and mail in ballots will be counted in 2 weeks.
Traynere spokesman Tom Bowen acknowledged because of the number of outstanding votes, Traynere is facing an “uphill battle.” […]
Claar hosted a fundraiser for Trump in September, which angered some voters in the suburb of about 75,000 people. As a result, support for Traynere poured in from top Democrats nationwide, including from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and a group spun out of Sanders’ campaign. […]
[Claar] has previously dismissed the situation in Bolingbrook, saying Democrats are “trying to take over” and partisan politics shouldn’t be a factor in the race. His tenure has seen major development and growth in Bolingbrook.
The municipal contest is technically nonpartisan. But concerns raised in the presidential campaign and initial months of Trump’s tenure have hit home in the racially-diverse community with two mosques and where at least 20 percent of the community is foreign born.
It looked like every member of Claar’s Bolingbrook First slate would hold onto their seats except for trustee Sheldon Watts, a recent appointee on the board.
The race was seen as offering a glimpse into Mr. Trump’s early effect on elections in 2017. Mr. Claar, 71, the village’s mayor for 31 years, was running unchallenged for his ninth term last fall when he co-hosted a fund-raiser at the Bolingbrook Golf Club for Mr. Trump, who was then the Republican presidential nominee.
But it quickly escalated into a political issue for Mr. Claar: More than 100 people protested the fund-raiser, saying that Mr. Trump did not share the values of their diverse, Democratic-leaning village of about 74,000. One of the protesters, Ms. Traynere, 54, decided to challenge Mr. Claar in the mayor’s race — and quickly made Mr. Claar’s association with Mr. Trump one of her main lines of attack.
A lineup of powerful Democrats in Illinois, including both United States senators, campaigned for Ms. Traynere. Soon Mr. Claar, who usually runs unopposed, found his job on the line.
There were other issues at stake in Bolingbrook — Ms. Traynere said Mr. Claar had driven the village into debt, and Mr. Claar said she was unqualified for the job. Before Election Day, it was unclear whether Bolingbrook residents would vote on their feelings for Mr. Trump, or whether they would focus on more local concerns instead. Early voting was brisk, indicating that residents were fired up about the race.
* And the Tribune, which for whatever reason didn’t cover this race until it was over…
Traynere said she called Claar and congratulated him on a good race, but she did not concede.
She pointed to Claar’s thin lead as an indicator that people in Bolingbrook want change.
“I don’t think this town wants him,” she said, adding that if Claar had done such wonderful things for Bolingbrook his lead would be larger.
“David really hurt Goliath,” she said, noting Claar had the benefit of a larger campaign fund.
If he won, the town wants him. And if he outspent her, that’s on her and all the folks who backed her.
Claar apparently did very well with vote by mail, which may be why the Traynere people aren’t predicting victory. He mailed to a wide swath of registered voters and then constantly followed up. Bolingbrook is a nice place to live if you like the suburban experience, so running on that and against the natural fear of change (particularly tax hikes) was a pretty solid formula and helped bring people to the polls who may have otherwise not voted. And it appears to have worked.
Also, I’m told Congressman Dan Lipinksi dispatched a few of his precinct workers to Bolingbrook to help Claar. Some of the same folks who backed Traynere are also coming after him in the Democratic primary.
* Subscribers know more, including the Team Rauner react and immediate prospects in the Senate…
House Democrats are weighing a plan to rush money to social service providers and universities that have gone months without state funding, with some pushing for a vote this week before legislators leave town for spring break.
As with all things in the Capitol, plans remain fluid. But there’s roughly $750 million set aside in special funds not currently being used that could potentially be tapped, said Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat and key budget negotiator. That’s just a fraction of what would normally be spent on higher ed and care for the state’s most vulnerable, but Democrats’ hope is to provide a lifeline amid widespread cuts and layoffs.
“I think we need to do everything that we can to get some money to these folks as soon as we can,” Harris said.
Talks of pushing the plan come as a bipartisan budget proposal in the Senate remains stalled, which Democrats blame on interference by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Still, Rauner continues to say he’s hopeful the Senate can come up with a broad agreement, and he has generally opposed one-off spending plans.
He may have generally opposed one-off spending plans, but he did two in 2015 and another one last year.
*** UPDATE *** Monique with some deets…
Ok, let’s do this again: Rep. Harris says stopgap has $258 million for social services, including $6.6 mil for domestic violence shelters.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The governor tweets his video response…
Stopgap spending plans do nothing to balance the budget, they don’t fix a broken system. They force higher debt & higher taxes down the road pic.twitter.com/JXLuszE2Cb
He’s claiming the proposal will “force higher debt,” but these things are being funded by special state funds specifically designed for those very same spending purposes.
* There are two distinct tracks currently developing in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. One is for “top underdog” status between Pawar, Biss and, to a lesser extent, Bob Daiber and Kurt Summers if he gets in.
The other developing track is for “acknowledged frontrunner” status between Kennedy and Pritzker. The Summers poll showed Kennedy leading the pack with 44 percent, so he’s a frontrunner, but Pritzker has the big dough. Unlike the other candidates, Kennedy needs to show he can raise the money to directly compete with Pritzker. I’m not sure this shows he can do that yet…
Businessman Chris Kennedy hasn’t released his full contributions for the first quarter, but according to records with the state Board of Elections, he has received at least $145,700. He also has contributed $250,100 to his campaign, which broke the caps.
Kennedy’s campaign on Tuesday said he is attending a fundraiser in New York, hosted by his sister, which is expected to reap $250,000 for his campaign.
Aside from his own contribution, Kennedy has so far reported raising less money this quarter than Pawar or Biss. And with the contribution caps off, you’d think he would be expecting to raise more than $250K at a Kennedy-hosted fundraiser in one of the wealthiest cities on Earth.
First quarters are usually a first-time candidate’s best quarters, but that isn’t happening with Kennedy. Still, there’s a very long way to go with a whole lot of unknowns in front of us and money isn’t everything.
Turns out an effort has been underway by a segment of the party to recruit state Sen. Sam McCann (R-Plainview) to run against Rauner in a GOP primary. Three sources told us as much, and last night, McCann confirmed to POLITICO he has been approached. Despite Rauner’s financial advantage, a primary from a serious opponent would obviously create a major headache for the governor. Having to defend himself from the conservative wing of the party (I love Trump!) while making himself general election-worthy (I hate Trump!) could prove beyond tricky.
McCann made clear he would not entertain a decision about a gubernatorial run during the legislative session. “I do not intend to think about the concept of running for governor, let alone comment on it, until after May 31st, if at all,” McCann told POLITICO. “There was a significant segment of the party that attempted to recruit me to run as an independent in 2014. I chose not to do that because I wanted to play a role in bringing my party and my beloved state together, not see them both torn apart more than they already were. Fast forward to the present and we see our state more divided and in bigger shambles than ever. It’s heart wrenching,” McCann said.
“I have been casually approached by some within the party about running for governor. I have said to each of them what I will say to you now: I am a patriot. I do not believe it is fitting or proper for anyone of either party to actively and openly campaign for any state office as long as the General Assembly is engaged in its regular spring session. Especially considering the historic times in which we find ourselves,” he said.
HISTORY — You may recall that McCann is a pro-union Republican who went against Rauner and voted for a labor arbitration bill. Rauner and the governor’s political allies heavily targeted McCann in the last primary election, to no avail. McCann is now helping lead the charge against Rauner’s move to privatize nurses in Illinois prisons.
Second, primarying Rauner probably wouldn’t turn out that well for McCann. Remember all the 2016 primary race oppo on his personal finances and the claim that he was Speaker Madigan’s “favorite Senator”? McCann’s voters ignored most of it because they know their guy. He won’t be known statewide so Rauner wouldn’t even have to respond all that much to either the Trump stuff or the social conservative angle (McCann is pro-life).
Third, if labor unions help primary Rauner they could wind up highlighting his moderation on some social issues, which will only help him in the fall. They’ll also give Rauner and his organization a tuneup race and an excuse to blanket the state with ads. But if McCann (or somebody else) sticks to things like the impasse, he could rough Rauner up a bit in advance of the fall campaign.
* But could he win? According to that recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll, Rauner’s job approval rating is 63 percent among Republicans. That’s more than enough to win a primary, of course, but it ain’t great for an incumbent and will hurt him with base turnout in the fall if those numbers don’t improve a lot. There is some room here to bruise him badly in a primary if the poll is accurate and the race is run properly. But a primary is still almost undoubtedly a Kamikaze mission.
*** UPDATE *** Considering the Statehouse’s usual gossip mill, this recent WMAY interview might be where the rumors actually started…
An area Republican lawmaker says he would be willing to support a primary challenger to GOP Governor Bruce Rauner if the right candidate came along.
State Senator Sam McCann made the comment during a live interview with WMAY’s Frank McNeil Monday. […]
McCann says he’s tried to mend fences with the governor, without success…and says the two of them have traveled too far to come back.
And then somebody tells somebody about the radio program and it eventually morphs into Republicans want McCann to run. Or not.
