* Press release…
About a hundred volunteers drawing from organized labor, community organizations, and local residents turned out for a major petition drive on Saturday at the IATSE Union Hall on Northwest Highway in Chicago’s 41st Ward and collected approximately twice the requisite number of signatures needed, squarely placing Merry Marwig’s name on the ballot in her rematch against Rauner-ally Mike McAuliffe.
“I am grateful for the support of the working men and women who came out today to put my name on the ballot in my rematch against Rauner-backed Mike McAuliffe,” said Marwig. “Since the last election, I have continued to walk door to door and talk to residents about McAuliffe’s atrocious voting history and the thirst for change is greater now in my community than ever before.”
Since the last election, 20+ year Republican incumbent Mike McAuliffe has been keeping up his end of the bargain in his pact with failed Governor Bruce Rauner. After taking millions of dollars from Rauner-allies, McAuliffe has spent the last two years carrying the water for Rauner, Inc. Voting against legislation to protect a woman’s right to choose, driving the state further into debt while also slashing services for veterans and senior citizens, as well as voting to increase class sizes to more than 40 children per classroom in local schools like Ebinger Elementary. In addition to acting as an accomplice to Rauner’s anti-middle class agenda, ****McAuliffe did not even bother to vote on the bi-partisan budget plan that recently passed, ending the years long budget stalemate.***
“Despite where you stand on the issues, everybody I’ve talked to since that vote is furious that McAuliffe didn’t even bother to take a vote on what should have been the most important bill of his career,” said Marwig. “He is collecting his paycheck and he’ll have his pension, but when people find out that he cannot even bother to cast a vote they ask, ‘why is he even there?’”.
McAuliffe has not issued a statement on his dereliction of duty and has not responded to constituents who have called his office looking for a response. After Saturday’s successful petition drive placing Marwig’s name on the ballot for the upcoming election, neighborhood residents are eager to hear if a new election will force McAuliffe to explain his actions over the past two years.
Marwig lost the 2016 race by about 5,600 votes, 56-44, in a high-dollar race that saw the incumbent going on Chicago network TV in August. But, supporters of the candidate said two years ago that Marwig had agreed to run twice, figuring she’d do better the second time around. We’ll see.
* Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools recently sent out a letter praising the incumbent Republican…
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*** UPDATED x1 *** A sparse trade delegation
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s news service has a story on Gov. Rauner’s trade mission to Japan and China…
Moweaqua, Illinois, soybean farmer Austin Rincker is also marketing chairman for the Illinois Soybean Association and an at-large director for the association. He said he hopes the governor works to increase soybean exports.
“Here, we’re kind of in the lower commodity price kind of environment,” Rincker said, “so we need to be looking for more markets and expanding our export markets.”
Soybeans were Illinois’ second-most exported commodity, increasing 51 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the US Census Bureau.
Rincker said China’s need for soybeans for hog feed is growing, but one thing lawmakers need to focus on is taken care of Illinois’ infrastructure.
“We’ve got so much infrastructure in Illinois with the river systems, rail and things like that,” Rincker said, “we’ve got so many neat ways of getting soybeans exported out of Illinois, and that just makes us a pretty unique state for serving export markets.”s trip.
Increasing exports would be great, but the governor did not bring a single representative of Illinois agriculture or agribusiness with him on this trip.
Strange.
Wisconsin’s governor brought along 13 executives from eight Wisconsin companies to Japan. Rauner brought just one, from the LaSalle-Peru area. Click here to see the progress reported today by Indiana’s governor, who is attending the same conference. I have yet to see a release from Gov. Rauner today. If he brings home that big Toyota plant, then all will be forgotten, however.
* The Pritzker campaign tossed in its two cents earlier today…
Bruce Rauner is on a trade mission to Asia this week, but he might have issues drumming up business after his manufactured budget crisis devastated the Illinois economy.
Let’s look at the ways the Illinois economy has suffered under Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership:
Small Business Centers Devastated: One quarter of Small Business Development Centers have closed, slashing the number of jobs created and retained by them.
Infrastructure Crumbling: One in every three miles of roads and one in ten bridges is heading for unacceptable condition next year.
Employees Laid Off: Nearly 7,500 higher education jobs were lost.
Universities Decimated: 72,000 fewer students enrolled in Illinois public colleges and universities.
Social Service Workers Laid Off: Lutheran Social Services, the state’s largest social service provider, cut over 750 jobs due to lack of funding.
Credit Ratings Downgraded: Five Illinois universities were downgraded to junk status, and the state credit rating remains only one notch above junk status.
Population Shrinking: For three consecutive years, Illinois has lost more population than any other state.
Roadwork Suspended: 20,000 IDOT employees were temporarily laid off, costing the state $34 million in economic activity and one week of work.
“Bruce Rauner devastated the economy, bad mouthed the state, and is now trying to convince businesses to come to Illinois,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “If Rauner wants to attract businesses, he should figure out how to lead our state instead of running it into the ground.”
*** UPDATE *** I hope he talked with more than one company…
On conversations with Japanese businesses leaders
Rauner: There are more than 630 Japanese companies that have invested in Illinois. They have more than 1,200 locations, which is incredible, and they employ almost 50,000 Illinoisans now. … But we do talk candidly about the things that we’re trying improve and what I’m trying to do as governor. The most important thing we can do in Illinois is not only invest in our education — and I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished in education — but to make our business climate more attractive, and the regulatory climate and also the taxes.
I did hear from one company that wants to grow in Illinois. (On Sunday) we met with them. (Rauner declined to name the company.) And they emphasized property taxes were a hindrance. They were very candid about it. We talked about how we’re working to reduce the property taxes. They were excited to hear that because they’d like to invest and grow in Illinois, but the property taxes are a problem and they asked us for help.
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* Pritzker campaign…
Illinois public universities have seen their rankings plummet after the damage done by Bruce Rauner’s 736-day budget crisis. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University are among the schools that have suffered lower rankings under this failed governor. Here’s what Crain’s had to say:
Crain’s Chicago: The state’s budget mess hits U of I anew: its U.S. News ranking
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is citing Springfield’s long budget stalemate as a culprit in its fall on the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of U.S. colleges and universities. The downstate campus dropped to 52nd from a tie for 44th.
While Illinois went for more than two years without a budget, public universities like the U of I confronted smaller and less-reliable state funding, and many out-of-state students gave second thoughts to applying.
“Given the financial challenges facing higher education over the past 25 months, our focus has been on protecting our students’ Illinois experience and ensuring their success,” Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones said in a statement. “We are proud that despite the state budget crisis, our graduation rate, freshman retention rate, admitted student quality and reputation among peers and high school counselors all held steady or improved. Our class sizes crept up, but only slightly.”
“Bruce Rauner starved Illinois public universities for funding, forcing students to leave, teachers to be laid off, and now rankings have plunged,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner’s damage is done to our public education system.”
* American Bridge…
Rauner said he’d fix Illinois… but he’s done nothing of the sort. Rauner has spent his time bullying the state legislature to make a point, mismanaging his staff, flubbing basic policy procedures, going back on promises he made while campaigning, firing his staff, and most importantly, holding the state of Illinois back from economic growth. Because of Rauner, Illinois’ public colleges and universities have faced enormous hardships, forcing them to cut faculty and staff and leading to fewer options for Illinois students… and fewer students altogether.
American Bridge spokesperson Lizzy Price made the following statement:
“Bruce Rauner has failed at every aspect of leadership and his bullying tactics and mismanagement has led to economic and educational setbacks that only harm Illinois students and stunt their future growth. Rauner isn’t fixing Illinois - he’s dimming the lights on what would have been a bright future for Illinois students.”
Just take a look at the effects of his disastrous moves as Governor:
Crain’s Chicago Business: The state’s budget mess hits U of I anew: its U.S. News ranking
University of Illinois cites budget stalemate the reason the school dropped from 44th to 52nd in U.S. News and World Report ranking.
State Journal-Register: Assessing the Damage: How the state budget impasse hurt our public colleges and universities
Illinois universities lost $660 million in funding over two years, causing them to face credit downgrades and forcing them “to exhaust cash reserves, raise tuition, and eliminate academic programs and faculty.”
Illinois public colleges and universities cut 7,500 jobs, more than $1 billion a year in economic output.
Of those jobs lost were 2,300 faculty positions paying an average of $88,000 per year, reducing teaching capacity in computer science, nursing, business, mathematics and science.
In-state tuition rose 7 percent - nearly $1,000.
Schools enrolled 72,000 fewer students.
Chicago Tribune: Column: Rauner yanked the plug on student loan bill of rights. Lawmakers need to bring it back.
“This bill will provide a helping hand to student borrowers and their families coping with an often confusing and complex college loan system.”
“It’s also a significant step toward addressing a growing student loan crisis, one that’s dealing with rising defaults and could morph into a nationwide financial catastrophe.
Chicago Times: Can Bruce Rauner bounce back from a terrible summer?
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* SJ-R…
The state collected $300.5 million in tax revenues from 26,873 [video gambling] machines for the 12-month period ending June 30 as terminal numbers have grown each year since gambling began with 61 machines statewide in September 2012, according to an annual wagering report from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The figure topped 27,000 by the end of July and was projected to hit 28,000 by mid-2018. […]
The state averaged 249 new terminals a month in the latest fiscal year, compared with 263 per month in the previous year and an average of 838 a month in the first two years of legalized gaming. Noggle said growth has been spread across the state. Video gambling remains banned in Cook County and Chicago.
State revenue from video gaming totaled $255.2 million from 23,891 terminals the prior fiscal year. Local government revenue from gambling terminals increased to $60.1 million from $51 million the year before.
* From COGFA’s report…
In FY 2017, the State’s share of tax revenues from wagering in Illinois reached $1.310 billion, a 7.9% increase from FY 2016 levels. The continued growth in video gaming tax revenues paid into the Capital Projects Fund ($44 million increase in FY 2017 to $296 million) and the increase ($58 million) in lottery transfers was more than enough to offset the $7 million loss in riverboat gaming transfers… Horse racing related State revenues continued its downward trend generating only $6 million.
Lottery transfers (and other State‐related lottery revenues) comprised 56.3% of total gaming revenues in FY 2017, whereas riverboat transfers comprised 20.6%, and horse racing comprised 0.5%. Video gaming’s growth in Illinois’ gaming market continued in FY 2017, comprising 22.6% of these gaming revenues in FY 2017, significantly up from its FY 2014 value of 9.1%.
Statewide adjusted gross receipts (AGR) for Illinois riverboats in FY 2017 were down 1.6% from FY 2016 levels, while admissions declined 5.8%. Modest increases in AGR at the casinos in Aurora and Des Plaines were offset by AGR declines at the other eight Illinois casinos. State revenues generated from riverboat gambling totaled $393.0 million in FY 2017, which was a 1.9% decline from FY 2016 levels. Increased competition from video gaming continues to be a major contributing factor for these declines.
Before the addition of Des Plaines, in FY 2011, Illinois had the lowest amount of gaming revenue (in terms of AGR) of the casino‐operating states in the Midwest. The addition of the casino in Des Plaines allowed Illinois to rise ahead of Iowa between FY 2012 and FY 2015. But five consecutive years of declining revenues has Illinois ($1.406 billion in FY 2017) again trailing Iowa ($1.453 billion), in addition to Missouri ($1.719 billion) and Indiana ($2.130 billion). […]
Illinois’ total horse racing handle amount decreased from $593 million in CY 2015 to $571 million in CY 2016, a decline of 3.9%. This decline occurred despite the fact that advance deposit wagering increased $22 million or 15.3% and on‐track wagering increased $2.7 million or 3.2%. These increases were offset by a $37.6 million decline in intertrack wagering and a $10.0 million decrease in off‐track wagering. The overall horse racing handle total in 2016 was 40.1% below levels from just ten years ago. […]
Illinois had the 12th largest lottery in the U.S. in FY 2016, based on total sales. The per capita average of lottery sales in Illinois was $223 which was 23rd out of the 45 lotteries in the U.S. Per capita sales were basically flat at $222 in FY 2017.
* And check out this chart…
Gambling at video terminals is gonna surpass riverboats very soon. The boats would be wise to make bigger investments in that business.
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Misadventures in campaigning
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Kennedy folks…
Dan Biss seems to have made a trend in echoing Chris Kennedy’s message - big and small. Three examples:
1) Chris’s property tax rollout speech (May 30) came before Dan Biss’s HOME plan that he sent in a fundraising email titled Enough talk: (June 20). During Chris’s May 30 speech, he also called it a “racket” which is the same word Biss used in his June 20 email.
2) Chris joked with a tracker in a photo posted to Cap Fax (July 13) and then Dan Biss did the same thing on his social media (July 15)
3) Chris has long been calling our property tax system “rigged” (July 18 tweet) and says we need to lessen our dependence on property taxes and fully fund education at the state level. He’s also called on a statewide ban on having elected officials serve as property tax attorneys.
Daniel Biss posted on Facebook yesterday delivering the same message using the same language: “rigged.” (screen shot below).
* The screen shot…
* Meanwhile, speaking of borrowing phrases…
* Kennedy appears to have missed yet another gubernatorial forum…
* Uh-oh…
* And Kennedy’s campaign is advertising via listserv for a Deputy Finance Director…
High-profile Illinois gubernatorial race seeking a Deputy Finance Director to begin immediately. The Deputy Finance Director will help develop and execute the finance plan including reporting all contributions, managing prospect and donor follow-up and planning and staffing events. The Deputy Finance Director will report to Finance Director and work closely with senior leadership. Must be in or willing to relocate to Chicago by October 1.
They keep saying that the alleged “retool” is actually a bulking up as the primary nears. And they most certainly do need somebody else raising money because, man, the fundraising reports are not great. So, perhaps this is a positive story. We’ll see.
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* Someone claiming to be from the “Illinois Tea Party” is doing robocalls into House GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s district in an attempt to recruit a “conservative reform candidate” to run against Durkin.
The caller claims Durkin is “anti-gun,” pointed out that he voted for “transgender birth certificates” and for “yet another suburban bailout of Chicago Public Schools.” The call also tries to blame him for the 15 House Republicans who crossed party lines and voted for the “Chicago Democrat” tax hike. “Durkin is no leader,” the caller claims.
We need “conservative reform leaders,” the caller says, “who will fight Mike Madigan and the Chicago bosses rather than acquiesce to them.”
As I told subscribers yesterday, I asked Dan Proft if he’s behind this call and never heard back…
*** UPDATE *** With thanks to a commenter, Illinois Tea Party founder Denise Cattoni has posted the script on her Facebook page and appears to be the person in the call.
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* From Doug House, the president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association…
Rich, last night the IDCCA held an executive board meeting and voted to set a date of Saturday October 7th at 11:30am to conduct a vote for an endorsement for Governor at our general membership meeting. My statement is attached.
* His statement…
Why I will cast my vote for JB Pritzker for the IDCCA endorsement for Governor and why I am urging the other Chairmen and Democrats across the State of lllinois to do the same.
I was elected president of the IDCCA in 2015 on a platform based on my personal commitment to take back the governor’s office in 2018. I have worked tirelessly to achieve that goal. A year ago, I asked the 102 Democratic County Chairmen of our statewide organization to be patient and to wait before endorsing, to allow for a formal vetting to take place. It was important that we get to know our candidates and for them to get to know us and see what our counties across Illinois look like and to feel the pain that has been inflicted upon our residents by this Republican governor and his Alt Right administration, but I believe we have now seen enough.
I have spent a great deal of time with many of the candidates, watched them interact with the public, studied their positions, and reviewed their preparations to become our next governor.
Only JB Pritzker has demonstrated all of the following attributes that will help him WIN;
* Temperament: JB is even tempered and does his homework, he comes prepared every day, and he is in his element while campaigning.l describe him as “A Happy Warrior for the People.”
* Strong Message: JB shares our core values of a financially strong Illinois, healthcare for all, and JB has a record of standing up against social injustices to all: workers, women, people of color, LBGTQ, immigrants, disabled, the young and the old.
* Broad Based Support: JB has shared his progressive vision of empowerment and independence and it is being embraced across our state.
* Organizational Growth: JB has built out a campaign infrastructure that will withstand the test of a race that already has national attention and national implications.
It is important as the primary approaches that people who identify themselves as Democrats know who their leadership believes will give them the best opportunity to get our state back on track and restore it to the shining example of economic opportunity and financial stability it once enjoyed.
While other candidates are to be commended for stepping forward, only JB Pritzker has generated the excitement around a progressive message, intensely and constantly engaged our common opponent, and demonstrated the ability to mount the comprehensive statewide campaign that will be required to win. It is for these reasons that I will enthusiastically cast my vote and ask others to do same for an IDCCA endorsement of JB Pritzker for Governor.
It probably didn’t help matters when Chris Kennedy left House’s Labor Day event in the Quad Cities before he was scheduled to speak. I got a few text messages and calls about how House wasn’t pleased. But, then again, this thing has probably been baked in for a while.
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* From the Republican Governors Association…
Reporters Slam IL Dem Gov Candidate Chris Kennedy’s “Struggling” Campaign
Illinois Democrat gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy was supposed to be the darling of the Illinois Democratic Party. They said he had the name, the money, and the stature to compete.
But things haven’t worked out the way Chris Kennedy or the Democratic Party had planned. Now, reporters from major state publications are blasting his “struggling” campaign for governor over his inability to pick a running mate, circulate petitions, raise money or connect with voters.
On Sunday, Illinois’ top political reporters discussed the flailing Kennedy campaign.
Politico’s Natasha Korecki called out Kennedy’s campaign for repeated “missteps”.
WLS Radio’s Bill Cameron slammed the campaign as “not as competent as we would expect.” Cameron even went so far as to note, “The camera doesn’t seem to love him. And on politics, he just doesn’t seem to be playing it too well.”
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet summed up his campaign well when she remarked, “Kennedy is struggling.”
Kennedy’s troubles with the press come just days after Politico reported that Kennedy’s campaign “is readying for a re-tuning”.
This would be the second campaign reset for Kennedy. By the looks of it, he needs it.
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RRB is still in denial
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I basically stopped listening to Channel 5’s story about its interview with Rod Blagojevich when the reporter introduced the piece with this…
He is the same Rod you remember and he absolutely maintains his innocence.
* Roundup…
* Blago: His life in prison
* Blagojevich: Mops, sings, jokes — accepts ‘fate … assigned to me’
* 10 things we learned from Blagojevich interview
* Tribune Editorial: Why every Illinois politician should read Blagojevich’s words
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Republicans pounce, Holocaust survivors defend
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the ILGOP…
Pritzker’s $100K Contribution to Blagojevich: “Sounds like pay-to-play to me”
There’s a “trend” in Pritzker’s questionably close relationship to Blagojevich
In an interview with WLS’ John Howell & Ray Stevens, reporter and Connected To Chicago host Bill Cameron said J.B. Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich swapping campaign cash and state grants “sounds like pay-to-play to me”.
Here are some other highlights from Bill Cameron in that interview:
“I’d be surprised if it were not pay-to-play.
“…This is kind of a trend in which you now have [Pritzker] in a relationship with Blagojevich. The first one being having been caught on tape in an FBI wiretap trying to get Blago to line him up to be State Treasurer.
“So being pals with Blago is never a good idea because Blagojevich turned out to be so toxic. Anyone, anything he touched is poisoned.
“And you also have the property tax break after he pulled the toilets out of his Astor Street mansion. These are things that people will remember…”
Cameron is alluding to the bombshell Tribune report where it was revealed that Pritzker and Blagojevich swapped campaign cash and state grants four days apart.
Pritzker and Blagojevich are no strangers to helping each other out.
Since 1996, Pritzker bankrolled Blagojevich’s political interests, and in return, Blagojevich and Chicago ward bosses propped up Pritzker’s failed plans to run for office.
While Blagojevich may have failed to elect Pritzker, Pritzker still held up his end of the bargain. Pritzker and his family contributed over $160,000 to Rod Blagojevich’s campaigns.
And let’s not forget when the Chicago Tribune published their first bombshell report on Pritzker’s close ties to Blagojevich this past May.
FBI wiretaps revealed Pritzker schemed with Blagojevich to be appointed Illinois Treasurer. In the same call, Blagojevich pressed Pritzker for campaign contributions. Pritzker brushed off the FBI wiretaps by saying his calls with Blagojevich were an attempt at “public service”.
Illinoisans should be worried about what Pritzker will do if he’s allowed to buy the governor’s office just like he bought influence with Blagojevich.
Notice that the Holocaust Museum is not mentioned.
* From a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune…
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is more than just a museum for us. It is a place that tells our stories. As survivors, it brings light where there was only darkness. And that light was made possible in large part because of J.B. Pritzker’s dedication and commitment.
In 1999, we brought an idea to Pritzker. We wanted to bring a Holocaust museum to Illinois. We hoped he might help us get our idea off the ground. To our surprise and delight, he did a lot more than that.
For the next 10 years, Pritzker stood with us at every turn. He led the way to see our idea become a reality, tirelessly giving his time and his support to make it possible. He came to every meeting. He met every survivor. It was his heart and his warmth that resonated with us.
That’s why we were saddened to read the story “Pritzker camp: Donation not tied to grant. Billionaire boosted Blagojevich fund; museum got $1M” in the Chicago Tribune. We are incredibly proud to have worked with Pritzker to bring this museum in our state and the Tribune’s story is an insult to our hard work. It is an insult to a place that tells our stories. It is an affront to so many Holocaust survivors who have found solace and hope in what Pritzker helped make possible.
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Rep. Sente won’t run again
Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kerry Lester…
Democratic state Rep. Carol Sente is the latest in a long string of moderate suburban lawmakers to leave office.
She will not seek another term in 2018, she told the Daily Herald exclusively. […]
In office since 2009, Sente said she “set a goal from the outset to serve between eight and 12 years.” News of her departure comes as a host of other moderates from the suburbs have announced similar plans, as an atmosphere of partisan gridlock pervades the state capitol in Springfield.
“I think moderate legislators are getting lost and that troubles me,” Sente said. “Those of us in the middle, frankly, are drowning.”
Her retirement letter is here.
…Adding… The list [Updated]…
…Adding More… The Wheeler mentioned above is Barb Wheeler. Rep. Keith Wheeler is running again.
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