Three Strikes, You’re Out
After a baseball season’s delay, Pritzker has yet to deliver on his promise to release tax returns
Today is the 214th day since J.B. Pritzker pledged to release his tax returns. 214 days is exactly how long the 2017 Major League Baseball season lasted from Opening Day (April 2) to Game 7 of the World Series (November 1). Let’s take a look at some of the things that happened in that 214 day span:
214 days is 5,136 hours which is enough time to play 1,712 games (assuming the average duration of a baseball game is approximately 3 hours).
In the MLB, each team averages about 146 pitches per game, meaning that in this 214 day span with 1,712 games, there would be approximately 499,904 pitches.
But enough hypotheticals, let’s look at some stats.
In that span, the Chicago Cubs played 172 baseball games, and (not including playoffs) had 5,496 at bats resulting in 1,402 hits and pitched 1,447.1 innings.
The Chicago White Sox played 162 games, had 5,513 at bats and 1,412 hits, with a collective 1,421.2 innings pitched.
A lot of things can happen over the span of 214 days, but J.B. Pritzker can’t get his taxes done?
* Daniel Biss yesterday…
If you read my emails regularly, you probably know that I can’t stop talking about prime numbers — whole numbers greater than 1, divisible only by 1 and themselves.
And, you may have guessed, today’s date (11/13/2017) is special because it is made up of prime numbers. But there’s a different reason why this date is important: it corresponds to another special number — 127.
As everyone knows, 127 is the smallest prime that can be expressed as the sum of the first two or more odd primes: 127 = 3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29. But what you may not know is that this number, more importantly, marks how many days are left before the Illinois Democratic primary — we are 127 days out.
That means we have 127 days left to hit our goals — and if we’re going to fight the wave of big money spending, we can’t afford to miss any of them.
Tap here to chip in $3 or whatever you can to help reach our $30,000 November fundraising goal.
* Remember a couple of weeks ago when I had an appointment in the late afternoon and had to shut down the blog early? Well, I got to the appointment and they looked at me funny. What the heck was I doing there? Turns out, we’d canceled that appointment and had rescheduled it for today at 1 o’clock, but I neglected to delete it from my calendar. Oops. So, I wound up taking some “me time” for the rest of that afternoon. But today is now upon us.
It’s nothing major. Having a tooth pulled and then starting the implant process. But it could be awhile.
Keep it Illinois-centric and, please, do your utmost to be nice to each other. Thanks.
Chris Kennedy received the endorsement today of Lori E. Lightfoot, chair of the Police Accountability Task Force and leading advocate for police reform and accountability.
“Lori’s long been a champion of fairness and equality, and the city of Chicago is a better place because of her leadership. Lori fearlessly speaks truth to power and, with a government beholden to political insiders, her courage is critical to the future of Chicago,” Kennedy said. “We are so grateful for her endorsement of our grassroots campaign to bring fundamental change to Illinois.”
The campaign released a video endorsement from Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor and partner at a Chicago law firm, stating the following:
“They’re two men of tremendous integrity. I think their track record; their experiences really show and demonstrate that. They recognize that our state is fundamentally going in the wrong direction. As a resident of Chicago, where we’ve seen our violence escalate to 1990 levels, Chris is the only candidate who is talking about violence, obviously has a personal history with it, and understands the devastating ripple effects that violence can have on individuals, families and communities.
“Chris is really focused on the imbalance in our education funding and I think that’s critically important. When parents send their kids to school, they have a lot of expectations. Of course, they want their kids to learn, they want their kids to be safe, and they have the right to expect that their tax dollars will be used in a way that when their kids matriculate through high school, they’re going to be ready to take on the challenges of adulthood, starting with either going on to college, getting into a trade or having some other kind of job that they can build a life around.
“That’s not what’s happening in Illinois. Chris gets that, he understands it, and he’s willing to take on the fight to change that around for families across the state.
“I’m proud to be support Chris Kennedy and Ra Joy. They have the right vision, the right voice, and I’m an enthusiastic supporter.”
Today, the Northwestern Illinois Building Trades (NWIBT) endorsed JB Pritzker for Governor. NWIBT represents over 15,000 workers in the building trades throughout Northwestern Illinois. JB and Juliana were endorsed with a unanimous vote of the member locals.
“The Northwestern Illinois Building Trades are proud to stand with JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton,” said Northwestern Illinois Building Trades President Alan Golden. “JB and Juliana stand for working people in Illinois, and they are fighting for every community in our state. Their tireless commitment to growing jobs, protecting the prevailing wage, and fighting for collective bargaining rights best reflect the priorities and values of our membership. We hope Illinois can come together in solidarity with their campaign and make sure JB and Juliana beat Bruce Rauner and win in 2018.”
“I am so proud to receive the endorsement of the Northwestern Illinois Building Trades and the hardworking Illinois families they represent,” said JB Pritzker. “Together, we will grow the economy, guarantee the right to collectively bargain, and fight for project labor agreements in Illinois. Now more than ever, we must stand up for our shared values and the working families under assault by Bruce Rauner’s special interest agenda. I’m humbled to have the endorsement of NWIBT, and the working families it represents will always have a seat at the table when I’m governor.”
* And another colleague recently endorsed Biss…
Illinois State Senator and Democratic candidate for governor Daniel Biss announced today that Senator John Mulroe has endorsed his campaign.
“Daniel is the only candidate with the vision, experience, and grassroots support needed to build a state that supports middle-class and working families,” said John Mulroe. “As we’ve worked together to build a fair tax system and resist Bruce Rauner’s destructive cuts, I’ve seen Daniel’s progressive values in action.
“Whether he’s creating a first-of-its-kind retirement savings program or protecting consumers from misuse of personal data, Daniel is known for examining every facet of the issue at hand, engaging key advocacy groups, and organizing our colleagues to bring about long-term change. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate in the legislature, and I look forward to supporting Daniel on the campaign trail and when he’s governor.”
“It’s an honor to receive John Mulroe’s endorsement,” said Daniel Biss. “Combining a keen understanding of the needs of working families with an unwavering belief in government as a force for good, John has been a steadfast advocate for progressive reforms and a key fighter against Rauner’s destructive agenda. I’m grateful to have such a determined and solution-oriented ally in the Senate and on the campaign trail.”
Today’s announcement about Sen. Mulroe is the latest in a series of endorsements by several elected officials and organizations who have joined Daniel Biss’ campaign in fighting for progressive values in Illinois. See the full list of endorsements here.
* Everybody loves to immediately scream with righteous fury these days. The twitters went bonkers. But, as it turns out, the reporter should’ve been a lot more clear…
For the record, Davis is not saying he will do this. He said he had female staffers who were concerned about this. That's why he asked what to do about it. https://t.co/ToIWoSVKnN
And Davis specifically said: "Obviously that's not the right approach.” Thought it’s smart that he raised it and asked what is being done to prevent this from happening. https://t.co/6dIlz2Fwly
Everyone chill out on Rep. Rodney Davis. He did not say he will hire fewer women to avoid sexual harassment. He asked how to prevent other offices from doing that.
“If [the gubernatorial candidate who wins] is in favor of the idea and would be less likely to veto it, then it’s got a much better chance in the Spring of 2019,” said political expert Jak Tichenor with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
Tichenor said polls show 2/3 of Illinois voters, or 66 percent, are in favor of making it legal if it’s taxed and sold like alcohol. Democratic candidate for governor, J.B Pritzker, feels the same. […]
Estimates show legalization could make Illinois between $350 million to $700 million a year. Tichenor said there’s no dismissing the fact that Illinois is in desperate need of money, but despite that, many lawmakers aren’t yet on board.
“This is still a very difficult sell for downstate lawmakers who tend to be much more conservative,” said Tichenor. […]
“You’re going to see this issue really come to the forefront over the next few months and over the next year,” said Tichenor.
* The Question: How soon could recreational marijuana be legal in Illinois? Make sure to explain your answer, please. Thanks.
“This is the best pizza in the United States and it’s not close,” Eric Phillips tweeted Saturday along with a photo depicting an amorphous pile of pepperoni and sauce that is purportedly a pie from some place called “Pequod’s Pizza.”
That specious assessment did not sit well with Big Apple gourmands, who were quick to pile on the seemingly clueless Midwest native.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, and it’s rare that an opinion can be wrong — but this is one of those rare cases,” New York pizza tour guide Scott Wiener told The Post. “It’s an irresponsible statement to make as a representative of the city itself.”
Phillips deflected: “I don’t think anyone cares what type of pizza the mayor’s press secretary likes. I think they care more about someone not being a phony. Especially about pizza!”
It’s now official: Chicago-style pizza is better than the flimsy, flaccid version they serve in New York
That’s the conclusion from the man whose primary job is to sing the praises of his boss, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and all things Big Apple.
But Eric Phillips, the mayor’s press secretary, didn’t just say he likes Chicago’s Pequod’s Pizza. He gushed about it in a series of tweets over the weekend.
Chicago-style pizza is for tourists. Notice that Phillips is from Wisconsin.
Out-of-towners might be surprised to find a significant number of locals (South Siders in particular) prefer pizza with a wafer-thin crust to that of the deep-dish style otherwise associated with our great city.
Call this South Side-born pizza tavern or pub style. For many, this trumps the deep-dish as the true Chicago pizza. […]
To keep their customers drinking, “the bars got the idea to create a pizza that is a little less breadlike,” Porter said.
“The pizzas had a cracker-style dough and are a little more salty than usual,” Porter said. “The bar owners decided to cut the pizzas up into cocktail squares and give them out for free.
• According to Fahe, an organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Appalachia, the average poverty rate of the counties that make up the Appalachian region is 19.7 percent. The average poverty rate for the nine Illinois counties that constitute the Illinois Ohio River Valley region is 19.9 percent, as of the 2015 U.S. Census estimates.
• In four of the nine counties, the poverty rates are above 20 percent. They are Alexander, at 34 percent; Saline County, at 23 percent; Hardin, 21 percent; and Pulaski 20 percent. […]
• Seven school districts had a student population loss of greater than 10 percent between 2013 and 2017: Buncombe (Johnson County), at 22 percent; Meridian (Pulaski County), at 20 percent; Cairo (Alexander County), at 17 percent; Egyptian (Pulaski County) and Shawnee (Union County), at 16 percent each; Cobden (Union County) and Century (Pulaski County), at 13 percent each. […]
• The opioid epidemic is hitting Southern Illinois harder than any other region in the state. Seven of the nine counties — Hardin, Pope, Saline, Gallatin, Massac, Union and Alexander — ranked in the top 10 in terms of Schedule II opioid prescriptions per patient in 2016, according to a recent report by the Belleville News-Democrat, which cited data from the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program. Four of those counties were in the top five: Hardin, at 3.51 prescriptions per patient; Pope, at 3.16; Saline, at 2.99; and Gallatin, at 2.97. […]
• Child abuse and neglect rates are well above the statewide rate in all nine counties, and double or more the statewide rate in the counties of Alexander, Hardin, Massac, Saline and Gallatin, according to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
• Child sexual abuse rates are triple the statewide rate in Alexander, Hardin, Gallatin and Saline.
The incumbent Republican replayed many of his greatest hits from his 2014 campaign during his two stops in Decatur and Champaign on Monday, but he struggled to defend his own record on job growth since he took office.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show Illinois ranked 48th in job growth nationwide between September 2016 and September 2017. Only two states ranked lower during that stretch and they lost jobs.
Rauner acknowledge the state’s economic troubles, but said the problem predates his tenure.
“I could say that we have added 150,000 new jobs since I became governor,” Rauner said of his first three years in office. That figure doesn’t match seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which list new jobs in Illinois at 119,000 since January of 2015.
Rauner’s campaign later replied to our request for clarification via email saying his jobs figure was only meant as a rough estimate, and pointed out that the official federal numbers don’t account for non-seasonally adjusted data.
* Meanwhile, IWT has been giving the governor a lot of grief for this comment…
People say, well, we didn’t have a budget for two years, that caused a problem. That’s not the case.
What’s happened is 35 years of deficits has caused our problems.
And so he fixed that by… doing what, exactly? He took an admittedly bad situation and turned it into a disaster for more than two solid years. You don’t fix a structural budget problem by piling on more debt and close to a billion dollars in interest on backlogged bills.
As Chicago’s innovation scene continues to grow, tech employers should have plenty of fresh talent to choose from, according to a new report, which shows the number of local STEM graduates, and computer science grads specifically, is skyrocketing.
The report, published today by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition and LinkedIn, shows that Illinois is now the second largest producer of computer science graduates in the country, awarding nearly 10 percent of the nation’s computer science degrees. And from 2012 to 2016, Illinois rose from 43rd to ninth when ranked among states who had the highest number of STEM field graduates overall.
In 2016, Illinois institutions produced more than 40,000 STEM degrees, representing 31.8 percent of all of the state’s graduates, outpacing the national average, which is about 28 percent. Among those STEM degrees earned last year, 3,300 were earned in computer science.
“With an increased focus on cloud computing, big data, IoT, and mobile computing, the importance of computer science talent in the economy continues to grow,” according to the report. “Those with computer science skills are some of the most sought-after members of the workforce, with around half a million computer and information technology jobs expected to be added nationally by 2024.” […]
But are there enough tech jobs for all these recent grads? The outlook is better than it has been. STEM jobs in Illinois generally lag behind the national average, but according to the report, the state is taking steps to close the gap. Over the last five years, Illinois has been adding STEM jobs at a rate that is outpacing the national average. Computer-related jobs specifically have increased 5 percent annually, according to the report.
The study also showed software engineers in Chicago often stay at their jobs longer than in other regions. Of course, the city loses some of its talent to other tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle, but Chicago retains more of its computer science talent than other cities, keeping about half of them
It looks like U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam doesn’t think much of Alabama U.S. Senate hopeful Judge Roy Moore after all.
A few hours after refusing all comment on Moore and his alleged sexual misconduct toward teenage girls, Roskam is calling on Moore to step aside and let someone else fill the Senate seat that was vacated by fellow Republican Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. attorney general.
“The allegations leveled against Roy Moore are disturbing,” Roskam said, according to an NBC News tweet sent after Roskam refused to talk about Moore in a meeting with Crain’s editorial board.
“My office takes allegations of sexual assault and harassment very seriously, and I call on Moore to step aside (as GOP nominee) as a distraction to Senate and House members so they may continue focusing on serving the people,” the statement added.
Roskam’s office confirmed that it issued the statement, but said it was doing so only for media outlets that separately asked about his views. Roskam had told Crain’s that he was meeting with the edit board to talk about tax policy, and not other matters.
That wasn’t so hard, was it?
* In other news, this is from the Pritzker campaign…
Yesterday, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin joined Governor John Kasich of Ohio and countless Republican leaders in calling for disgraced candidate Roy Moore to drop out of the Alabama Senate race, but Bruce Rauner continues to say nothing.
Five women have now bravely come forward alleging Moore pursued sexual relations while they were underage, with a woman yesterday alleging Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16. Nearly the entire Republican party has spoken out, but Bruce Rauner remains characteristically silent.
“This is another clear case of right and wrong, but maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by Bruce Rauner’s silence,” said Pritzker communications director Galia Slayen. “Whether it’s Rauner refusing to speak out about Donald Trump trying to sabotage Obamacare, failing to immediately denounce the anti-Semitism, racism, and violence in Charlottesville, or even acknowledging a racist cartoon printed by his supporters, time and again Bruce Rauner has chosen political expediency instead of standing up to his party and speaking out for what’s right.”
*** UPDATE *** From the ILGOP…
Hi Rich,
I wanted to pass along Mary Ann’s reporting from last night on Roy Moore (video attached). The Pritzker camp falsely stated that Governor Rauner has been silent on Moore, which is not true. The governor believes that Roy Moore should step down immediately.
Speaking of silence, where are J.B. Pritzker’s tax returns? 214 days have elapsed since Pritzker first pledged to release them.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is going on offense as a vote nears on whether to repeal her highly unpopular tax on sweetened beverages, saying doing so could force an 11 percent across-the-board cut in county spending.
In a fiscal note sent to commissioners just before the weekend, Ammar Rizki, the county’s acting chief financial officer, said losing the tax would reduce county income slightly over $200 million in fiscal 2018 without a new revenue source, resulting in “an approximate 11 percent reduction to each of those departments and offices from their base FY2017 appropriated expenditures.”
Included as possible cuts: the closure of some county health clinics, “reduction of services at or closure of Provident Hospital or the Oak Forest Health Center” and possible “downgrading our Level 1 trauma center at Stroger” Hospital.
Also, she warned, a recent cost-saving reduction in the inmate population at the jail, from 10,000 to under 7,500, now could be reversed because of cuts to prosecutors, public defenders and jail-avoidance programs, forcing more suspects to be held in jail pending trial. And equally in jeopardy is “our ability to send out property-tax bills on time.”
Even the security of local elections is on the line, because “cash for new election equipment to protect our voting systems from cyber-attacks would have to be purchased on borrowed money, which ultimately increases our bill dramatically.”
Rebuked on a pop tax, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Monday proposed cutting $200 million through a mix of laying off midlevel managers, holding the line on raises and requiring workers to take unpaid days off. […]
“It seems to be a solid plan,” said Commissioner Sean Morrison, a Palos Park Republican who was the main sponsor on the repeal that was approved 15-2 last month. “I’m certain that there’s going to be something that will be tweaked. That’s just normal. […]
The biggest savings — $96.3 million — would come from a series of moves that includes delaying purchases of equipment; stepped-up enforcement of parking, cigarette and alcohol taxes; cutting justice program funding and a drug-school program for nonviolent offenders; and reduced spending on things like travel, postage, office supplies and printing. That figure also counts on holding the line on salary increases across the board. There would be seven unpaid days off for Circuit Court clerk union employees, and 15 furlough days for nonunion workers in the office. Salaries would have to be negotiated with multiple unions, but commissioners said there’s union buy-in on the furlough days.
Nearly $50 million in savings would come from eliminating 746 currently vacant positions. Preckwinkle had already proposed axing 254 vacancies from the budget, so the total would be 1,000.
An additional $51 million would be saved through hundreds of layoffs to reduce the number of midlevel managers, eliminating some programs and reducing some staffing in noncritical areas. The job cutbacks would have the biggest effect on the offices of Dart and Evans, with the sheriff facing 244 layoffs and the chief judge 222, commissioners said.
Today, the Biss campaign released a new video encouraging voters to hold Democratic candidates to the same standard to which they held Donald Trump and demand that J.B. Pritzker fulfill the pledge he made seven months ago to release his income tax returns.
The video highlights the similar excuses Donald Trump and JB Pritzker have given to reporters and individuals alike who ask about releasing their tax returns. Both billionaire businessmen argue that it is “complex.”
“No Democratic candidate for governor should be in the same sentence as Donald Trump when it comes to accountability and transparency. How can you credibly promise to lead the resistance to Trump when you mimic his billionaire ways,” said Biss campaign manager Abby Witt. “Illinois voters deserve a governor they can trust to fight for the middle class—not another billionaire who can’t keep his promises.”
