Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner stopped at the iWireless Center in Moline for a luncheon with members of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce Monday.
Rauner says his administration is trying to cut down on excessive rules that are tough on small businesses. He also focused on his ongoing battle with AFSCME, the largest union of public employees in the state. Rauner has pushed for a different health care plan and a 40-hour work week for union employees.
“These are the kinds of things we’re going to change. We’ve got 20 unions to agree, so far the big union AFSCME has said ‘No, no way’ and they threatened to strike. And I said ‘We’re gonna do this, we have to do this and I hope you don’t strike, I don’t want you to strike, but we’re probably not going to miss you if you go,’ and so they don’t like that,” said Gov. Bruce Rauner, (R) Illinois.
* From the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association…
During the breakdown in [AFSCME] negotiations Governor Rauner has sent out emails and videos to State Employees where he falsely claims to support them whilst blaming others for the impasse. Now that Governor Rauner has clearly shown his true feelings, Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association President Doug House issued the following response:
“Yesterday Governor Rauner showed Illinois exactly what he thinks about State Employees. While he says one thing in Springfield, as soon as he’s back on the campaign stump, he says something different. This is a man who has made it his mission to drive our State into the ground and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process.”
Yesterday’s comment was not the first time Rauner indicated an interest in forcing a strike. During the 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Rauner said he wanted to “do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers” in state government and “shut things down for a little while”, evoking the firing of nearly 12,000 striking air-traffic controllers in 1981.
House also commented, “Real lives are at stake, and Governor Rauner needs to stop campaigning and start governing. Public employees drive our kids to school. They take care of our seniors citizens and those who can’t fend for themselves. Blaming others for his failures and blocking attempts to fix this problem are not helping.”
Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers on Tuesday said he’s spoken with each Democratic gubernatorial candidate about how they’ll represent the needs of African-Americans, Hispanics and women within their campaigns — and that he’ll announce whether he’s running for governor within the next two weeks. […]
If Summers joins the race, he’ll be the only African-American candidate. He’d join J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, Bob Daiber, Ald. Ameya Pawar and state Sen. Daniel Biss in the race.
Summers says he’s spoken with each Democratic candidate about his plans to represent minorities. He said there’s a need for a candidate “that truly represents the values” of minorities.
“There isn’t a female candidate. There isn’t a black candidate. There isn’t a Latino candidate. And I think each of the current candidates have to be able to show their commitment to those constituencies but also have to show their commitment to those who are most harmed,” Summers said. “And I think low-income communities, working families and black and brown people have been disproportionately affected by what’s happening in Springfield.”
He has an April 23rd fundraiser on his schedule, so that could be playing into this story.
Even though by most accounts he’s been a pretty good treasurer, the simple fact that he’s the Chicago City Treasurer will, unfortunately, write its own hit pieces.
* In related news, you’ll recall last week that I asked all the Democratic candidates to name one state spending program they’d cut. Summers finally got back to me yesterday. …
“Talking about cuts to line item appropriations without a comprehensive budget plan in place is unproductive and does nothing to advance the dialogue about how to address the state’s fiscal challenges. Both parties have backed budget plans with phony savings built in and continue to watch interest pile up on unpaid bills - that’s where we should start. But Governor Rauner refuses to lead. He owns this crisis and needs to give the people of Illinois a clear vision. The Governor and his allies would prefer to negotiate in the press because they know their ideas won’t make a significant dent in our unpaid bills, our bond payments, or our deficit. That’s not how you bring people together to solve problems.”
“Hi, I’m Bobby Jindal and I’m running for governor.”
With those words, Ald. Ameya Pawar introduced himself Tuesday night to comedy fans and potential voters at Chicago’s iO Theatre.
“I didn’t know how that would go,” he admitted moments later of his ethnic joke, as the laughter from the audience of around 100 died down. […]
“I’ll be the first normal Indian governor,” he joked, in a barb at both Jindal and Nikki Haley, two Indian-Americans who previously served as governors of South Carolina. […]
“I don’t think wealth is bad but I don’t think wealth is synonymous with success, either,” he said, calling for changes to the tax code to support the middle class and describing it as “kind of annoying to listen to all these crusty old white men making all the decisions.”
Yes, billionaire would-be Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker’s wife really is called M.K. — and yes, they really do call each other by their initials.
“Friends joked that we should call our kids ‘A,’ ‘B’ and ‘C,’” J.B. told Chicago Inc. on Monday. […]
Rauner recently appeared in a campaign ad in a workshop holding the kludger’s tool of choice — a roll of duct tape — which he used as a metaphor for the fixes Illinois politicians have used over the years.
But Pritzker said he too is “reasonably handy, though my wife is probably handier than me.”
“I’ve fixed the toilet,” he said. “And I’ve been crawling in claustrophobic places… you have to deal with that when you become a homeowner.”
Just last week, the Governor toured the state, reminding everyone that we need a budget that works for the people of Illinois - not the political insiders and special interests. I was with him on the tour, and the momentum from every stop on the route was impressive.
Check out our video recap highlighting the budget and reform tour
We’re running this digital ad across the state so that Illinoisans know how hard Bruce is fighting for budget and reform.
Every decision I make as Governor I make in the context - how will this impact the children of Illinois?
Will this give them a better future in the long run, living in our wonderful state?
More growth, more jobs, lower taxes, better schools and term limits on our elected officials, and redistricting reform so we have competitive general elections. A new positive direction for Illinois - that’s what we’re arguing about, that’s what we’re battling for.
The best thing we can do to restore government and our prosperity for the long term - change the political culture so it’s not insiders running the government for the insiders’ benefit, but restore democracy.
“Tuition has gone way up in this state,” he said. “It’s become harder and harder for middle class families to put their kids through school. College is not affordable in this state when you don’t have (Monetary Award Program grants for low-income students) — and we don’t fund MAP grants.
“So we’ve got to step back up to the plate here, and we’ve got to make sure that people who are seeking to get a degree in higher education have the ability to get it.” […]
Asked if he favors an expansion of MAP or something like the limited free college program proposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Pritzker replied, “As long as every kid who wants to go to college and can’t afford it has the ability to, I think that answers the question.”
He said that if every young person had the opportunity to go to a public university or obtain vocational training at a community college, “I think we’re going to have a much better and more economically productive state.”
Pritzker fielded a question about burdensome student loan debt, and replied with a suggestion that young people launching their own businesses should be given more time to pay back their loans.
“The idea that if you’ll go be part of a startup enterprise, or start up your own enterprise, that we ought to give you a grace period from having to pay your student debt,” said Pritzker. “Because it strikes me that we want to create jobs in this state. Startups and small businesses are the ones that are creating most of the jobs.”
Pritzker’s own company, Pritzker Group Private Capitol, invests in fast-growing technology companies. And he led a group that founded Chicago’s non-profit digital startup incubator, “1871”.
Before his meeting with the Illini Democrats, Pritzker toured the University of Illinois’ Research Park, which he compared to his own activities as a venture capitalist.
* Brownie last week on the Senate’s attempt at putting together a grand bargain…
“This was neither grand nor a bargain,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown. “House Democrats were waiting for something to come about in a final form to even comment on. We never really saw that. We saw a group of bad ideas — harder for workers to take care of their injuries, harder for people to pay police and firefighters and teachers.”
Speaker Madigan has advanced a handful of smallish proposals this year, but he’s shown little interest in sitting down with Gov. Rauner or the House Republicans to try and hammer out an agreement to end the impasse. Rauner has said repeatedly that Madigan is not interested in a deal. I’ve said more than once that if the Senate could pass something, then Madigan would finally be put on the spot.
* The Question: Do you think Speaker Madigan really wants a deal to end the impasse? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Today's the day! Moving out of the People's House & into the Ag Director's house on the fairgrounds. Apparently, Stella is ready to go! pic.twitter.com/VXXdie6q7u
A large private party at the Illinois State Fairgrounds turned violent early Sunday morning, with police reporting more than 20 shots fired and four people stabbed.
Capt. Jerry Felts of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office said it’s fortunate nobody was shot or more seriously injured in the hail of gunfire.
Deputies discovered dozens of spent shell casings, as well as bullet-hole damage to the Illinois Building, a bullet hole through a window in the Expo Building and several vehicles shot.
The four people who were stabbed all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. […]
The violence stemmed from a fight that erupted during a party at the Illinois Building, attended by at least several hundred people, Felts said.
In an effort to keep Americans safer on the roads this year, BackgroundChecks.org researched state DUI rankings. BackgroundChecks.org used a combination of CDC, Department of Transportation data, and local state data, to create a comprehensive score for each state.
The top 10 states with the worst DUI problems in America are Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, South Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Maine.
The 10 states with the least DUI Problems are: New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Utah, Rhode Island, Virginia, Indiana, Washington, and Kansas.
“The fact that over 10,000 people a year die from DUI related accidents is a travesty”, said Trent Wilson, co-author of the research. “We hope this research will open some eyes and make people think twice before drinking and driving.”
Click here for more. Illinois ranked 48th. So, at least we’re doing something right here.
* As you know, Rauner said last week that he will veto HB40, which would delete the “trigger” language in state law that some say would return Illinois to pro-life legal status if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The bill would also provide for Medicaid funding of abortions beyond what is provided now.
*** UPDATE 1 *** I expect this has something to do with what Gov. and Mrs. Rauner told pro-choice activists in 2014…
RAUNER DECEPTION ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS TO BE REVEALED
Pro-choice group releases evidence exposing Governor’s frenzy to curtail women’s right to choose
What: Personal PAC makes major announcement regarding Gov. Rauner’s position on HB 40
When: April 19, 2017; 12:30 p.m.
Where: Allegro Hotel, 171 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601 (Palladium Room)
Who: Marcie Love, Personal PAC Founder & Chair Emerita
Melissa Widen, Personal PAC Board Chair
Terry Cosgrove, Personal PAC President & CEO
Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President
Anna Valencia, Clerk, City of Chicago
*** UPDATE 2 *** Susan Musich, Board Chair, Planned Parenthood of Illinois…
Last week, Governor Rauner let us know his true stance on reproductive rights. By stating his intention to veto HB 40, Governor Rauner is refusing to safeguard legal access to abortion in Illinois in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Further, he is perpetuating discrimination against women with low-incomes by prohibiting them from using state Medicaid coverage to access abortion care.
Planned Parenthood believes that women should have access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, regardless of where they live or the source of their health care coverage. The uncertainty of reproductive health care policies in Washington DC means that we must ensure there are protections in place at the state level. Governor Rauner need to stand with all Illinois women, not just some!
*** UPDATE 3 *** Posted by a commenter…
In 2014, Bruce Rauner took the pro-choice position to every question in the Personal PAC questionnaire except on Parental Notification, as confirmed by Diana Rauner
A 1975 Illinois Law (Illinois Abortion Law of 1975: P.A. 81-1078) states that when the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision is overturned or modified, Illinois law will revert back to its pre-Roe status, meaning abortion will again become illegal in Illinois as it was prior to 1973.
1. Do you SUPPORT legislation repealing this 1975 law and replacing it with a law stating that decisions about reproductive matters are to be made privately between a woman and her doctor, without government interference?
Question 5 asks:
5. Do you SUPPORT restoring abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan?
Question 6 asks:
6. Do you SUPPORT legislation to restore state employees’ health insurance coverage for abortion?
Bruce Rauner said he supports all 3, which is what HB 40 does
The claim costs and other metrics of 18 state workers’ compensation systems are analyzed in depth in a new series of studies, CompScope™ Benchmarks, 17th Edition, released by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).
“The research can help policymakers and other stakeholders identify current cost drivers and emerging trends in a wide variety of workers’ compensation system components,” said Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive vice president and counsel.
The studies examine trends in workers’ compensation medical and indemnity payments in a number of states with significant changes, either through new laws or through court rulings. They also examine how income benefits, medical payments, duration of disability, litigiousness, and benefit delivery expenses changed over time, and they compare how these measures differ from state to state.
The following are sample findings for some of the study states:
California: Total costs per claim remained stable between 2010 (claims with experience through March 2013) and 2013 (claims with experience through March 2016), likely reflecting the impact of Senate Bill 863.
Florida: Total costs per claim grew moderately from 2010 to 2015, but two 2016 Florida Supreme Court decisions are expected to increase workers’ compensation system costs.
Illinois: Total costs per claim decreased 6.4 percent since 2010, reflecting the impact of a 30 percent reduction in fee schedule rates for medical services.
Indiana: Total costs per claim decreased 4 percent from 2014 to 2015, the result of a nearly 10 percent decrease in medical payments, partly offset by a nearly 5 percent increase in indemnity benefits per claim. Those changes are likely related to provisions of House Enrolled Act 1320, which enacted a hospital fee schedule and increased income benefits paid to injured workers.
According to the report, in 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available, Illinois business paid 9.4 percent of profits in state and local taxes.
The rate was lower in other Midwest states, including Indiana at 7 percent, ranking fifth; Missouri, 7 percent, sixth; and Ohio 7.3 percent, ninth. Michigan was 16th and Wisconsin 24th, with rates of 8 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. All of them now have GOP governors who have pushed through tax cuts.
In the Midwest, only Minnesota had a higher business tax burden than Illinois: 9.7 percent of profits, or 32nd.
Nationally, Illinois’ rank of 30th is an improvement over last year’s 32nd. That appears to be due largely to the repeal of the Quinn hikes, which took effect mid-fiscal 2015. […]
Illinois ranked dead in the middle—26th—in terms of the share of the total tax burden paid by business. But again, the state’s 39.4 percent share was higher than the Midwest average, though interestingly tied with Indiana.
Pritzker said Monday that while he would “focus on getting a fair tax system that’s progressive” as governor, as for this year, “We’re left with this stopgap, lifeline proposal” and “I don’t know what social services (agencies) and universities are going to do if we don’t get that in place, because it doesn’t appear to me like we’re gonna get a full-on budget.”
Pritzker said Rauner is holding up the budget for “an agenda that has nothing to do with a budget,” and telling lawmakers, “If you give me this agenda, I’ll let you figure out how to get a budget. That’s not leadership.”
Pritzker was at the church because it is where the Illinois Coalition for Community Services has a summer lunch program for children. While the food is federally funded, a reduction in the coalition’s staff during the state budget impasse has dropped locations for that program from 70 across the state to seven, said Jason Gyure, executive director.
Rauner has lamented pain caused by the budget impasse as he seeks structural change. But, said Pritzker, “When you’re a child who’s not able to get that meal … that short-term pain is more painful than the governor is describing. So if you ask me, there’s a kind of a focus on spreadsheets and not people by this governor.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner said during a visit to Peoria on Monday that he was “cautiously optimistic” that “in the next few weeks we might get a deal” that leads to a spending agreement.
But he offered no detail on what might be in that pact, and when asked to quantify the reasons behind his expectations, Rauner offered tantalizingly little in corroboration.
Emphasizing that he didn’t want to “overpromise” a result after having suggested the potential deal to employees of Getz Fire Equipment during a question-and-answer session at the South Peoria business, Rauner said that he had been “hearing chatter and feedback from some of the senators and some of our administration staff that the negotiations are proceeding and they’re starting to develop some consensus on certain things that have been difficult so far.”
When asked, he didn’t provide any specific examples, but said he’d heard that “some of the senators are making progress with each other, feeling good about where some Democrats have moved on a couple things, some Republicans have moved on a couple things.”
Clearly, I’m having a bit of fun — but there’s a broader, more important truth here about how to build our politics in this state.
I’m of the belief that we are stronger when all of us, from all walks of life, come together to build something collectively — not when we’re dependent on a single person or their vast personal wealth to make change.
Unfortunately, we know all too well here in Illinois what happens when we let one individual have a disproportionate share of power or influence. Whether because of their money or their connection to the machine, what happens is a select few make decisions about us, without us — and the rest of us pay the price.
That’s why we’re doing things differently with this campaign, and building a new kind of politics in Illinois. One powered by action, support, and yes, $25 contributions from thousands of people like you.
If you share this vision for a new politics in Illinois, help us grow this movement. Chip in $25 or more and let’s show that a movement of people is stronger than any self-funder (even me).
Rauner and state Sen. Daniel Biss are the two gubernatorial candidates reporting more than a million dollars of campaign cash on hand, according to the first major campaign report filed Monday with the state’s Board of Elections.
Businessman Chris Kennedy fell just shy of that mark, with $907,427.61 on hand when the reporting period closed at the end of March.
And billionaire venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker beefed up his total with $7 million out of his own pocket after the filing period closed.
“This election isn’t about money, it is about values,” said Pritzker. “It is about standing up for progressive values. It’s about standing up and saying that millionaires and billionaires ought to pay a higher rate of tax than people who make 20 and 30 and 50 and $50,000 a year.”
Pritzker referred to a graduated income tax, which he says should be part of any tax increase in Illinois. […]
Pritzker used his own family story to promote the value of entrepreneurship and philanthropy —- touching on the work of his father, Hyatt hotel magnate Jay Pritzker, his own company, and his work to expand Illinois’ school breakfast program and establish the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in the Chicago suburb of Skokie.
“I know I started out lucky in life,” said Pritzker, “but I know I have to work hard every day to earn what I’ve been given. So I’ve spent much of my life building things that would be good for other people.”
During his tour Monday, Pritzker told reporters that he favors getting rid of Illinois’ flat income-tax rate.
“When I become governor, the first question we ought to ask is: Who should pay the bulk of whatever it is that we want to pay for? And the answer is that yes, millionaires and billionaires and people who can afford to pay are the ones who should pay more, not people who make 20 and 30 and 40 and $50,000 a year.”
Asked if he supported a graduated income tax or the “millionaires tax” proposed by House Speaker Michael Madigan, Pritzker said he wanted a graduated tax.
“We can call it whatever you like,” the Chicago Democrat said. “I think a fair tax in this state would be to ask people who can afford to pay to pay more. It shouldn’t fall on the middle class or people who are working poor.”
A new expense filing reveals how Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign is investing heavily in an online mapping technology aimed at influencing voters - and potentially elected officials. The filing shows the Rauner camp’s biggest recent expenditure - more than $338,000 - went to a New York-based company called Project Applecart. (See Rauner’s filing). The technology uses unorthodox ways of collecting data on individuals, including through high school yearbooks and obituaries, according to this explainer: watch here. It identifies a “social anchor” who has links to voters with similar ideals. That anchor is then targeted in phone banks and other messaging. The technology can also be used to target an elected official who a campaign is attempting to influence for an endorsement or other action. GOP presidential contender John Kasich in 2016, used Applecart during the New Hampshire Republican primary, where he came in second to Donald Trump.
Among Rauner’s top expenditures was $338,092.12 to Project Applecart LLC, a New York company that offers “strategic political consultancy” while developing technology built to give tools and insights “for motivating political action.” The company says it builds “scalable, scientific and data-driven solutions,” according to the company’s website.
Other expenditures included $27,278.75 for Arena Online, a Salt Lake City digital marketing firm specializing in political campaigns.
* Scott Kennedy…
Since last fall the Rauner campaign has paid $668K to Project Applecart LLC for "Technology" and "Principal payment, Project Applecart LLC".
* From David Jacobson, Vice President Communications – Public Finance Group, Moody’s Investors Service…
Late yesterday, Moody’s announced it was placing all seven of its rated public universities in Illinois under review for downgrade because of the state’s failure to enact a budget providing full operating funding to the universities for the current fiscal year FY 2017 and the resulting operational and liquidity strains on the universities. The total debt affected by these rating actions is $2.2 billion.
Moreover, we have already downgraded Northeastern Illinois University two notches from Ba2 to B1 because of the university’s continued rapid liquidity deterioration due to weakened cash flow, caused in part by the protracted state budget impasse. With continued pressure on enrollment and sustained state funding uncertainty, the university has limited avenues by which it can improve its liquidity position over the medium term. Northeastern Illinois’ B1 rating also remains under review for downgrade.
We expect to conclude these reviews within 90 days. Reviews will focus on each university’s exposure to continuing state budget pressure given failure of the state to adopt a budget for the current fiscal year and the resulting use of each university’s own liquidity to bridge the funding shortfall. This includes an assessment of projected liquidity and operating performance for each university for the June 30, 2017 fiscal year-end. We will review contingency plans and other expense actions initiated to cope with the shortfall in state operating appropriations. Also included in the reviews are budgeted FY 2018 operations and assumptions. We will also assess each university’s near-term debt service commitments against pledged revenues and related reserves.
The result of the review could result in differing actions, including some potential multi-notch rating actions depending on liquidity and ongoing ability to adjust to the prolonged lack of state operating funding.
Four of the seven already have junk ratings on their bonds, while two others are within one or two levels of losing their investment-grade status. Only debt from the state’s flagship institution, the University of Illinois, is rated more than three steps above junk. The review affects $2.2 billion of debt and threatens to leave the universities facing increased borrowing costs if investors demand higher yields to compensate for the risk. […]
Moody’s also lowered Northeastern University deeper into junk on Monday, dropping its rating by two steps to B1, four levels below investment grade.
