* Umm…
* I wasn’t at today’s Chicago press conference, but I did listen to the audio and that’s not the question Rauner was asked and his answer was more involved than that. The governor did dodge the question, for sure, but here’s what he actually said…
Mary Ann Ahern: Can you say today whether or not, are you aware, yes or no, of sexual harassment complaints within your office?
Gov. Bruce Rauner: So, here are the simple facts. We have a very clear, rigorous process for investigations of any potential of wrongdoing. Clear lines of authority, clear lines of reporting. We have a very independent, very confidential executive inspector general. Any specific requests or questions you have about anything pending really needs to go to the inspector general. I am not authorized to comment about it. And I specifically have taken action to put out a code of ethics, code of ethical behavior in my administration through executive order. And have pushed, made sure everybody in our state government has gone through ethics training, specifically around harassment.
Quite the pickle.
…Adding… Per a commenter, if you look at page 49 of the Office of Executive Inspector General’s latest report you’ll see one “founded report” for the governor’s office in Fiscal Year 2017. It’s unclear what that is, exactly. But here’s the procedure…
If the OEIG, upon the conclusion of an investigation, finds reasonable cause to believe that a violation of law or policy has occurred within its jurisdiction, it will write a founded report that documents:
• the allegations of wrongdoing;
• facts confirmed by the investigation;
• an analysis of the facts in comparison to the applicable law, rule, or policy; and
• findings and recommendations.
In accordance with State law, OEIG reports are provided only to the affected public entities and other appropriate authorities, such as the Governor or a board of trustees. The OEIG does not have the authority to enforce its recommendations, and therefore, it is the responsibility of the affected agencies to act upon OEIG recommendations.
So, the governor knows of at least one founded report from OEIG. I wonder what that one’s about?
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* Background is here. From Tom Shaer at the Cook County Assessor’s Office…
The recent article in The Economist about property assessment in Cook County, Illinois was incomplete, not even somewhat balanced and thus very unfair.
Approximately 95% of the information the Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) provided to reporter The Economist was not used. We do not expect every media outlet (including Capitol Fax) to print everything we say, or even half, but when our side of the issues is virtually ignored, that doesn’t allow readers to make up their own minds.
Worse, The Economist failed to ask CCAO about most of the article’s points, so we had no opportunity to add information to address them. We have never had that concern with CapFax.
The Cook County Assessor’s Office has long maintained that the Chicago Tribune pieces about property assessment in Cook County are deeply flawed. Their opinions are based primarily on a sales ratio study not conducted by assessment or appraisal professionals; such private ratio studies are not admissible in Illinois courts. None of this appeared in The Economist.
The Economist printed nearly 200 words of quotes and descriptions of criticism by six different critics of Assessor Joseph Berrios, including three political opponents. It printed only 36 words representing Assessor Berrios’ response. That extreme imbalance violates standards of fairness.
The term, “reciprocal gift-giving” was used to describe assessments and appeals but The Economist did not request details on how property is assessed and how appeals are decided. We state, unequivocally, that there is no rampant over-assessment or under-assessment of property in Cook County.
CCAO was never asked about a comparison of Cook County to New York City’s lower success rate for appeals. But The Economist nevertheless made that comparison, which is grossly misleading because it is an apples-to-oranges concept.
Why? Because New York’s assessment system produces wildly incorrect low assessed values. With properties already assessed so low, why would most appeals be successful?
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokesman, Wiley Norvell, and George Sweeting, Deputy Director of that city’s Independent Budget Office, have publicly called for wide legislative changes to eliminate “major inequities…built into the system.”
Yet, somehow, The Economist suggests New York City is a shining example to which Cook County should aspire. Nonsense.
No one in the Cook County Assessor’s Office believes any media outlet should seek to please public officials. However, media should desire to possess all facts and information and present them fairly or at least a little more evenly. Thank you.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Back in 2009, I asked you if Illinois State Fair manager Amy Bliefnick should resign her position if she ran for the Illinois General Assembly.
And as I told you the other day, former Rep. Darlene Senger is circulating petitions to run for comptroller. Senger is currently Gov. Rauner’s chief legislative liaison. So…
* The Question: When should Darlene Senger resign? When she files her D-1 statement of candidacy, when she files her petitions, when she’s certified for the ballot, before spring session begins in January, after the Republican primary, or never? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
web surveys
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* Embattled state Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) has disclosed his first campaign contribution since being publicly accused of sexual harassment. He reported a $7,000 contribution from the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC today. The group also gave $5,000 to Silverstein’s wife Debra, a Chicago alderman.
* Onward. Along with Blair Hull, a firm called 116 Windsor Drive LLC was one of the biggest contributors to Illinois United for Change, which funded a big-money campaign against House Speaker Madigan in the 2016 Democratic primary. That same firm recently contributed $11,100 to Rep. Scott Drury’s attorney general bid. Drury, of course, is not on Team Madigan.
* During the third quarter, Bob Daiber reported raising $16,199 for his gubernatorial campaign, of which $10,000 was a loan to himself. He ended the quarter with $12,021.91 in the bank.
Daiber just filed an A-1 today, so I clicked the link to see… a $5,000 loan from himself.
Props to the guy for sticking with it, I suppose. But… man.
* Meanwhile, as we’ve already discussed, Rep. Jeanne Ives filed a D-1 disclosing her bid for governor yesterday. From the Tribune…
But as with her first round of candidacy petitions that had to be tossed after a typo was found, there may be some issues with the Ives for Illinois campaign fund.
State Board of Elections officials said they were in contact with the Ives campaign over its initial reporting of $267,725 in cash available in the new fund — without disclosing the source of the money.
There also was the question about the Friends of Jeanne Ives fund, which had been used for her legislative campaigns. That fund ended September with $8,488 and has since raised an additional $15,000, including $10,000 last month from a political action committee with ties to political organizations associated with talk show host and failed 2010 Republican governor primary candidate Dan Proft.
Ives filed an A-1 today detailing $263K in contributions. Click here. She has not yet closed down her other account, however.
* One more…
In September, fired Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy caused a stir when his name showed up on an exploratory committee for Chicago mayor.
The chairman of that committee, Northwest side businessman Brian McCormack, told the Sun-Times there was an effort to draft McCarthy to run against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. But first McCarthy wanted: “two things: that we have the financial wherewithal … to get his message out to the people of Chicago. And that the citizens would want him to be mayor,” McCormack told the Sun-Times.
McCormack said he expected to have an answer by late October.
Well, it’s now mid-November, but a look at that committee shows lackluster fundraising. Just eight people donated for a total of $26,000. Nearly half of that total comes from chairman Brian and Kathryn McCormack.
Another $5,000 of that came from Florida donor Harvey Freundlich who once pleaded guilty to attempted delivery of a controlled substance.
Blair Hull, who once ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, also donated $2,500.
There’s that Hull name again.
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* Background is here in case you missed it. From the ILGOP…
In light of tweets and paid advertising from Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and EMILY’s List spreading false information against Congressman Rodney Davis about what was said in a House Committee hearing on Tuesday, Erika Harold, Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, and Avery Bourne issued the following statements calling on Londrigan and EMILY’s List to apologize to Davis:
“Sexual harassment is not a partisan issue, and the continued misrepresentation of Congressman Davis’ position does a disservice to the constituents who care about this issue and makes it more difficult to find the common ground needed to eliminate sexual harassment from the workplace. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Stephanie Schriock should immediately issue a statement retracting their misrepresentations and join in the bipartisan efforts to protect women from sexual harassment.” - Republican candidate for Attorney General Erika Harold
“As someone who has experienced sexual harassment, I commend Congressman Davis for speaking out about this very serious topic. I believe Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, Stephanie Schriock, and others who are politicizing this issue need to apologize to Congressman Davis and get to work on solutions that will protect women in the workplace.” - State Representative Sara Wojcicki Jimenez
“I have worked for Congressman Davis and I know that he is an advocate for women seeking public office and an advocate of having strong female leadership on staff. Just last year, during my own campaign, I dealt with opposition spreading false information and lies about me. Since then, I have pushed for campaigns to be about issues – not spreading false information to voters. It is unfortunate that Betsy Dirksen Londrigan has decided to go down this path of personal and false attacks. I urge her, as well as her ally, EMILY’s List, to issue an apology to Congressman Davis right away.” - State Representative Avery Bourne
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* Gov. Rauner signed SB402 today, which, among other things, adds a prohibition of sexual harassment to the state’s ethics laws. He also signed HB137 and issued this signing statement…
Today I sign House Bill 137, which waives the one year restriction on the Legislative Inspector General conducting investigations of complaints that were raised, but neglected, between December 2014 and November 2017.
This bill represents a positive but small step toward addressing the pressing issue of sexual harassment in the Capitol. It ensures that a vacancy in the Office of the Legislative Inspector General does not allow for complaints and reports of victims to go unheard.
The General Assembly should now look to meaningful reforms of its ethical oversight structure to ensure that the new Legislative Inspector General has robust and independent investigatory and enforcement power. As currently codified, the Legislative Inspector General has a narrow mandate and limited authority. The legislature should conduct a thorough analysis of the existing statutes of limitations to ensure remedies are available. For example, after the Office of the Legislative Inspector General finds reasonable cause of a violation, there is a limitation of 18 months in which to file a complaint with the Legislative Ethics Commission. That time limitation will certainly need to be modified.
I am putting my signature to House Bill 137, but look forward to working with members of the General Assembly willing to take the next steps toward greater independence, transparency, and enforcement mechanisms for the Legislative Inspector General.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
Thoughts?
* related…
* Why is Springfield’s #MeToo movement still in the dark? The Ethics Commission, some say: State Senator and former Lee County Sheriff Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, introduced legislation last week that would remove the lawmakers from the commission and replace them with independent citizens qualified to hear complaints. It would prohibit individuals who have participated in any political activity in the past 10 years from sitting on the commission. “Legislators shouldn’t sit in judgement of other legislators,” Bivins said. “I totally get why more don’t come forward until they have more assurances that their voice will be heard and that they will get justice and fair dealing with their complaints.”
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Rep. Wallace writes about sexual harassment
Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Litesa Wallace (D-Rockford) writing in Teen Vogue…
It’s a kiss on the cheek that narrowly misses my lips instead of a handshake. It’s a lingering hand on my back, too low and for too long. It’s a comment about my appearance and an invasive question about my personal life. It’s everywhere and it’s all the time—especially for black women.
I’ve been an Illinois state representative for three years, and I was a legislative staffer for the three years prior. I’ve experienced firsthand the pervasive culture of unchecked sexual harassment that disempowers and silences women, especially women of color.
During my first year in office in 2014, I remember turning to a woman colleague after a man made yet another inappropriate comment in the legislature. “How do you deal with it?” I asked her. “That’s just how he is,” she said, explaining that in her experience, it was better to ignore harassment than confront it.
I hear this reaction from so many women, and most often from women of color, who experience the destructive intersection of sexism and racism known as misogynoir. After decades of being assaulted, disrespected, and underrepresented, it’s painful and dangerous to come forward with our stories. Consequences for sexual harassment are few and far between in Springfield. But the political consequences for speaking out are almost guaranteed.
Discuss.
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* Gov. Rauner was asked yesterday why he hasn’t spoken to Comptroller Mendoza since she was sworn in…
No need to talk with her directly, my team is talking to her all the time. I can tell you [crosstalk] this is important. We put a tax hike on the people of Illinois. I vetoed it, but it went in anyway. We’re still running a $2 billion deficit. The fiscal irresponsibility of the folks in charge, Speaker Madigan, is outrageous.
We have to fix this. Our unpaid bills are still going up. And we can’t invest to grow jobs. We can’t invest to invest enough. We got a federal grant for this [off-road vehicle trail system on reclaimed Saline County strip mine], but we could be doing more if we had balanced budgets. And we could be doing more if we grew our economy.
And, and the, the comptroller and the Speaker, who she really works for Speaker Madigan, they don’t get that. They, they just think taxes, more taxes, higher taxes are the answer. It’s not the answer. We gotta grow. Grow good paying jobs in southern Illinois. Don’t tax people and push the jobs out. [Crosstalk] Thanks, everybody.
…Adding… It should be noted that Rauner’s hand-picked comptroller, Leslie Munger, now works for the Rauner administration. And the new comptroller candidate backed by Rauner, Darlene Senger, is on Rauner’s payroll as his chief legislative liaison.
*** UPDATE *** From Comptroller Mendoza…
Governor Rauner has no accomplishments of his own to boast of, so he resorts to patronizing and condescending attacks on me.
He’s struggling with the fact that he has been outworked, outperformed, and beaten at every turn by a strong and independent 5’3” woman. Last week’s bipartisan 164-3 rebuke on the override of the Debt Transparency veto must still sting.
To be clear, I was elected by 2,676,244 voters, which is 852,617 more votes than Governor Rauner received, to work for the 12+ million people in the State of Illinois. I am accountable to them, and it is time that the Governor be as well.
Absent the pleasure of a meeting with the Governor, I’d like to ask him this: What did you spend the $2.8 billion in unauthorized deficit spending on, and how do you plan to pay for it? How much will your Rauner Tax cost the people of Illinois?
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
…Adding More… Check out the not so subtle trolling of Gov. Bruce V. Rauner on the comptroller’s website…
…Adding Even More… Aviva Bowen makes a good point on Facebook…
Why is it SO hard to believe that a tenacious, smart woman can’t be impressive in her own right, that she must be doing the bidding of a man?
Rauner really needs to rethink these attacks in the current climate.
* Meanwhile, from the same press conference…
In broad, vague terms, he also called for rolling back the “Madigan income tax hike,” lowering property taxes and restoring good government. “I’ve got, actually, dozens of companies who want to come to Illinois. They want to come to Southern Illinois,” Rauner said. But he said Illinois is losing out on that potential to neighboring states such as Indiana where “the property taxes are one-third, the workers’ comp costs are one-quarter.”
“They’d love to be in Illinois but the costs are prohibitive,” Rauner said.
An aide to Rauner cut off questions from media six minutes into a question-and-answer session following his announcement of the ATV park.
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* From August…
A nearly $1.6 million jackpot has made the VFW’s Queen of Hearts raffle in the small town of Morris, Ill., something of an obsession. Locals and out-of-towners are clogging streets and driveways with their cars, waiting in line for hours and spending wads of cash for a chance to draw the winning card.
Normally, in this sleepy town about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, the raffle draws a few dozen participants, and the prize money may reach hundreds of or even a few thousand dollars. But if no one wins, the pot rolls over each week; and now the stakes in the Queen of Hearts raffle have been growing for almost a year. The final drawing is at 6 p.m. Monday.
As the pot has grown, word spread and the crowd has also increased.
Now there’s an hourslong line every day to buy tickets at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6049. Police provide security, and the fire marshal regulates how many people can be inside the hall. Neighbors complain that cars are blocking their driveways, and the VFW bar manager warned online that rude ticket seekers should not “GET IN MY FACE” anymore before tickets go on sale.
* How it’s played…
Queen of Hearts is a game where 54 cards – a full deck plus two jokers – are put facedown on a board. The object is to pick the queen of hearts. Players buy raffle tickets for a chance to pick a card off the board. If both jokers are chosen, the game resets, and all the previously pulled cards return to the board.
* It’s certainly bringing big crowds to some tiny towns…
Thousands swarmed to the small Illinois town of Aviston Wednesday night for a chance to win some serious cash — more than $800,000.
* A buddy of mine was telling me that one of these progressive drawings had swelled well into the six figures in little Mt. Olive. From the town’s Facebook page…
With the Queen of Hearts drawing growing, it is very important that motorists do not park by barricades, fire hydrants or block alleys. Please dont block roadways while listening to the PODCAST. These are all very important for safety reasons. Violaters will be ticketed and/or towed. Please be respectful to the neighborhood.
* But now there’s word that some private bars are hosting the raffles and some of the not-for-profit groups aren’t getting the required permits. From the BND…
At least a dozen Queen of Hearts raffles in the metro-east may not be in accordance with state law, according to a Belleville News-Democrat investigation.
In some cases, the raffles themselves appear to violate parts of the state’s Raffles and Poker Runs Act. In other cases, the raffle ordinances in the cities don’t appear to be consistent with state law. And in yet other cases, the cities don’t appear to be enforcing their own raffle ordinances.
Gambling critics and experts say if the laws are not followed and enforced, it can lead to big problems: The prize money could be seized by the government, losing players could demand refunds, the insurance policies of the organizations might not cover accidents, and large crowds can threaten the safety of communities.
And even though some of these raffles have reached jackpots approaching $1 million, no one, either from the local or the state level, seems to regulate them. […]
The most common problems found with Queen of Hearts raffles and city raffle ordinances in the metro-east included:
▪ Not having a maximum prize amount in the city ordinance, or raffles going over the maximum prize amount in the ordinance.
▪ Conducting raffles at premises that do not appear to be allowed under state law. At least three local Queen of Hearts raffles are being conducted at privately-owned bars.
▪ Organizations being issued raffle licenses despite not applying for them, or in some cases, raffles being conducted without the city issuing any license at all.
Confusion and various interpretations of the law seem to have led to disparities in local ordinances. In some cases, the city regulations do not follow state law. In others, the city has no ordinances at all, but still hands out raffle licenses.
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* In its anti-tax zeal, the Tribune seems to want the federal government to tax income and property twice…
Republicans in the U.S. Senate have proposed a tax overhaul that would eliminate the itemized deduction known as SALT, for state and local taxes. The House version, which could be voted on Thursday, keeps some of the deduction in place but caps it at $10,000. Durbin describes the SALT deduction as crucial relief for middle-class families in Illinois and other states with heavy tax burdens, such as New York. “We’ve seen increases in our state income tax. We face regular increases in property taxes. This is the one deduction that gives these families a little bit of help and the Republicans are eliminating it,” Durbin said this week on the Senate floor. […]
Now we’re at the root of the dispute over the SALT deduction: Illinois politicians wouldn’t need to fight so hard to retain it if property taxes — and a 32-percent rise in the personal income tax rate (to 4.95 percent) that took effect in July — weren’t so high in the first place. So let’s credit the GOP tax reform push for forcing this issue: Why are Illinois taxes so high? How about addressing that problem instead of reaching for the deduction Band-Aid? […]
But rather than burrow into the actual problems that lead to higher state and local taxes, critics of removing or modifying the SALT deduction blame congressional reformers whose lower deductions would allow marginal tax rates to drop. That would help all Americans. As is, residents of states with lower taxes have to subsidize the high taxes collected by Illinois, by New York, by California …
We get it. Nobody wants to pay more in taxes. Deductions seem to soften the blow, even if they drive marginal tax rates higher. But if we’re truth-telling, a deduction that serves as mere salve for a government’s tax-and-spend addiction isn’t sound public policy. It’s not a solution. It’s like sticking the pacifier in the baby’s mouth to keep it quiet a little longer. Eventually, the pacifier has to go.
Illinoisans send more tax money to DC than they get back (as a state, we consistently rank near the top of this list), but the Tribune would apparently like us to send even more.
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* Tribune…
As Chris Kennedy campaigns for governor, he’s talked about his business successes. He’s pointed to his management of the Merchandise Mart, “one of the great economic engines of Illinois,” and to his role developing skyscrapers on Wolf Point along the Chicago River.
Kennedy, however, has not highlighted one of his biggest projects to date — a nearly half-billion dollar public-private partnership to build a convention center and Medical Mart in Cleveland.
Local politicians, led by a longtime family friend, gave Kennedy’s company a no-bid contract and pushed through a controversial sales tax hike to pay for it.
As the project got off the ground, Kennedy told Cleveland residents the one-stop medical superstore would remake the Rust Belt city’s image into a “Disney World for doctors” and draw coveted medical conventions to town.
Instead, the project was plagued by accusations of insider dealings, secrecy and failed promises. Kennedy’s company made millions of dollars, while residents are stuck paying more on items they purchase.
The concept was flawed from the start. The idea was to build a Merchandise Mart for the medical profession, but the idea hadn’t worked elsewhere. A Cleveland tax hike paid for just about everything, and by the looks of things, Kennedy’s side risked almost nothing. From October…
Part of the $465 million taxpayer-funded complex that also includes the convention center, the 235,000-square-foot Global Center has been nothing short of an abysmal failure in each of its three or so different incarnations in the short five years since it opened: The original plan for a healthcare mall showcasing high end medical wares was scrapped early on, replaced by a vision of attracting trade shows and conferences with a focus on education.
Anyway, go read the whole thing. (Headline explained here.)
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* Crain’s…
IlliniCare, a private insurer that’s part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Medicaid managed care overhaul, is cutting reimbursement rates to medical suppliers by up to 50 percent.
The rate cut beginning on Jan. 1 impacts suppliers that provide durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, oxygen tanks and ventilators, to low-income residents on Medicaid.
The move not only will impact suppliers’ business, but could fuel their exodus from Medicaid managed care, leaving patients in the lurch. Sen. David Koehler, a downstate Democrat and a critic of how the state has further privatized Medicaid by outsourcing it to insurance companies, has proposed legislation to require that insurers pay suppliers as much as the state does.
“I think we have to watch this very carefully because, especially in smaller towns, we may just cut off the supply that may be very vital to someone’s health,” Koehler said. […]
John Hoffman, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which runs Medicaid, said in a statement that HFS is committed to ensuring that insurers offer Medicaid members services and equipment. But “it is the responsibility of the health plans and providers to negotiate with each other to accomplish this within the framework of contracts, laws and rules overseen by the Department.”
Doesn’t look like a negotiation to me.
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* A letter from Illinois Board of Higher Education Chairman Tom Cross and Executive Director Al Bowman to US Sen. Dick Durbin dated November 14…
Dear Senator Durbin:
The Senate tax reform proposal released on November 9, 2017 and the House plan released two weeks ago contain a number of measures that place new tax burdens on higher education. A broad cross-section of higher-education groups have voiced significant concerns. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education noted that “the House tax-reform proposal released today would discourage participation in postsecondary education, make college more expensive for those who do enroll and undermine the financial stability of public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities.”
The House bill would change a number of tax deductions that were intended to offset the costs of higher education for both students and corporate sponsors. The Lifetime Learning Credit, for example, allows individuals and families to claim a tax deduction of up to $2,000 for tuition, as well as credit for student-loan interest, and a $5,250 corporate deduction for education-assistance plans. In addition, donations to colleges and universities could decline if fewer individuals itemize deductions as charitable gifts.
The Senate tax reform proposal includes an excise tax on large endowments that support a wide range of college and university functions, including financial aid. Additionally, revenue from licensing of college and university logos would be treated as an unrelated business tax.
In the aggregate, a number of provisions found in both the House and Senate plans would make it more costly for colleges and universities to carry out their missions and the net result will be a significant increase in the cost of higher education.
We would be happy to meet with you or your staff to discuss these critical matters. Please contact us at …
* Meanwhile, from the DGA…
In Washington, Congressional Republicans are attempting to force through a tax overhaul skewed to benefit the wealthiest while many middle-class Illinois families could see an average tax increase of $1,267. And once again, Governor Bruce Rauner is doing nothing to protect them.
In an interview with the Pantagraph, Rauner apparently “lauded” the Republican tax reform effort and talked about cutting the federal tax rate. However, the Republican plans would actually raise taxes on many Illinois middle-class families while exploding the deficit as the wealthiest enjoy a disproportionate share of the benefits.
According to a recent study, the Senate version would mean higher taxes for about 15% of middle-class Illinois households – raising taxes by an average of $1,267.
The House version would mean higher taxes for 27% of middle-class American households – raising taxes by an average of $1,360.
Rauner last month said he has “no obligation” to comment on federal matters. Will Rauner really sit quietly as middle-class taxes go up?
“Bruce Rauner loses all credibility if he stays silent while his own party plans to raise middle-class taxes,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner refusal to stand up to his party and President in Washington shows he’s fighting for himself and not for Illinois families. Now, Republicans want to raise middle-class taxes, and Rauner is going to let it happen.”
The governor has a press conference today in Chicago, so maybe he’ll be asked about this.
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Chicago vs. Downstate
Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Chicago Reader’s take on Chicago vs. Downstate…
The animosity between Illinois’s largest city and its smaller towns is almost as old as the state itself. I say “almost,” of course, because Chicago, incorporated in 1837, is 19 years younger than Illinois, which is set to begin a yearlong celebration of its bicentennial on December 3. Downstaters have always thought of Chicago as a black hole of street violence and political corruption, sucking up tax dollars generated by honest, hard-working farmers. Chicagoans have always thought of downstate—when they’ve thought of it at all—as an irrelevant agricultural appendage full of Baptists and gun owners who’d just love to turn Illinois into North Kentucky.
For most of Illinois’s history, the two spheres have been evenly matched in influence, with downstate contributing some of Illinois’s most important political figures, from Abraham Lincoln to Adlai Stevenson. Downstate was also the forcing ground of internationally known industries: Moline gave us John Deere, Peoria gave us Caterpillar, and Decatur gave us Staley, which in 1920 hired George Halas to coach a company football team he would move to Chicago the following year and rename the Bears.
More recently, though, the misunderstandings and alienation between Chicago and downstate have been ramped up by two particularly 21st-century phenomena: globalization and political polarization. As the big global city in the northeastern corner of the state sucks jobs and college graduates out of the rest of Illinois, downstate is becoming older, less educated, less prosperous, more reactionary, and more Republican. Politically, downstate is in complete opposition to the Chicago area, especially on such culturally charged matters as gun rights, LGBT rights, and abortion. But it lacks the votes to bend the state to its will on any of those issues. This was never more evident than in 2010, when Governor Pat Quinn defeated state senator Bill Brady, a social conservative from Bloomington, despite carrying only four of the state’s 102 counties—and could’ve won by carrying only Cook County. […]
Obviously, a lot of downstaters are mad as hell about losing political and economic influence to Chicago. But do Chicagoans even notice? And if they notice, do they even care? No, and probably not. Culturally, Chicagoans don’t identify with—or even think much about—the state they inhabit. As a friend puts it, “I’m not an Illinoisan. I’m a Chicagoan.” I once mentioned to another Chicago friend that I’d just visited a small town in southern Illinois, “down by the border with Kentucky.” She looked at me quizzically. “Illinois doesn’t have a border with Kentucky,” she said. (This is someone with a master’s degree—but not in geography.)
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