A fresh infusion of hope came with the new year for the Cairo Port project in the form of a sizable donation from the Rauner Family Foundation.
In a news release from Cairo Public Utility on Wednesday, it was announced that Gov. Bruce and wife Diana Rauner’s foundation would be donating $100,000 to the project. Larry Klein, chairman of the Port District and general manager of CPU, said in the release this donation will allow them to drum up interest from shipping companies. […]
He also said that as more companies express interest in the port, which would be built on 160 acres along the Mississippi River-side of the city, it will open up more funding opportunities in 2018 and beyond. […]
However in May, [Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg] told the paper there was a need for about $1 million in “soft money” to pay for legal fees, permits and surveys before any real development could start.
On a visit to Cairo in May, Delta Regional Authority Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill said the DRA valued the project and could jump in at any point in its development, but said that soft money was needed before they could make any commitments.
Maybe JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy could open their wallets as well?
Stars, they’re just like us! They’re also finding it difficult to function in Chicago’s unbearable cold.
“Whoa .… Chicago is hella cold. I gotta break off all of my friendships with people who don’t live in my bedroom or kitchen. I’m a house-person now,” actress Gabourey Sidibe tweeted this week. She is back in town filming the rest of Season 4 of the Fox drama “Empire.”
The city’s subfreezing temperatures seemed to vex even celebrities who are from here.
The Chicago rock band Twin Peaks updated the lyrics of its song “Good Lovin’” at Thalia Hall over the weekend to reflect the weather: “It’s (expletive) freezing in Chicago. The snow falls on my window.”
Rapper Vic Mensa, who hails from the South Side and is often in Chicago, tweeted last week: “Chicago I’m sorry I left you for so long but I’m back to freeze to death with you.” He helped celebrate the opening of the new Near North bar/lounge LiqrBox.
* The Question: Any weather-related trouble to report?
Jan. 1 may be the start of the new year, but Jan. 2 marks the start of a controversial new program that adds up to millions in tax breaks for Illinois residents and millions more in scholarships for private-school students.
If Illinois follows the history of other states, taxpayers will be up and online early Tuesday, snapping up a maximum of $75 million in tax credits available for making donations to the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program.
The tax credits, administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue, translate to as much as $100 million in scholarship donations to parochial and private schools throughout the state.
“Many of my clients are very interested in it,” said Neil Kawashima, a tax attorney with McDermott, Will & Emery who counsels wealthy individuals and families. “Obviously [there’s] the philanthropic benefit of helping low-income children obtain scholarships for tuition to private schools and parochial schools, but also there are significant tax benefits as well.”
He expects all the tax credits the state has set aside could be claimed within “days” because there are annual online stampedes for the credits in other states with similar plans.
And if other states are any indication, Illinois will want to brace for some serious interest: In Georgia, one of 17 others with a similar subsidy, all available tax credits have been snapped up by donors on New Year’s Day each year since 2015.
Illinois apparently ain’t Georgia.
* Governor’s office press release…
Illinois’ new Invest in Kids scholarship program — which gives low- to middle-income students opportunities to attend non-public schools that best meet their educational goals — attracted more than $36 million in pledged contributions on Tuesday, Jan. 2, the first day the state began accepting applications, Gov. Bruce Rauner announced today.
Taxpayers can contribute up to $1.3 million to eligible organizations and receive an income tax credit equal to 75 percent of their approved contributions. The state caps total yearly contributions at $100 million.
“When we unleash the power of private-sector investment incentives like Invest in Kids, great things are possible,” Rauner said. “Within its first hour of going live, more than one-third of all Invest in Kids contributions have been allocated for the 2018 tax year. This outpouring of generosity is truly a testament to the many Illinoisans who believe in offering students and their families a choice in their education.”
Taxpayers wishing to contribute to Invest in Kids may apply online through MyTax Illinois, the Illinois Department of Revenue’s free online account management program.
Individuals and businesses must apply to the Illinois Department of Revenue to obtain Contribution Authorization Certificates that permit them to make authorized contributions to one of the approved scholarship granting organizations. Those organizations, in turn, provide scholarships for eligible Illinois students to attend qualified non-public schools in Illinois. The application process ensures equal access to the $75 million in tax credits available each year.
REPORTER: Can you speak specifically to legislation you would support to reinvest in communities and decrease violence in Chicago and across the state?
KENNEDY: Sure, there’s all sorts of programs that have been proven both in Chicago and around the country. We can duplicate ideas that have been successful elsewhere. And we can refund, reinvest in the programs that have worked in Chicago. Chicago pioneered the notion of interrupting the spread of violence once it begins, with programs like Ceasefire. The work that was done here was perfected in other communities like Boston. We could take the best of that thinking and bring it to Chicago and have an incredible impact. We don’t have this problem in other cities. We don’t, and we can solve it here. We just need the will to do so.
REPORTER: But in terms of legislation and education, or um, supporting business. Any ideas there that you would support as Governor?
KENNEDY: Well, I’d say the most important thing is to ban elected officials from having outside jobs that are adverse to the interests of the body they were elected to serve. We need to ban elected officials from being property tax appeals lawyers. Until we do that, until we get the dirty money out of politics, we’ll never get the dirty politicians out of government. They will prevent us from moving to a different system of funding our schools. If we don’t move to a different system of funding our schools we’ll never provide our kids great education. If we don’t provide them great education we’ll never provide them great opportunities. Without great opportunities, they’ll be doomed to spending their lives committing crimes of survival and that is not right, not in America.
I would really like to see the legal and constitutional defense of this ban on doing property tax appeals while serving in the General Assembly.
* I asked Ann Lousin about Kennedy’s idea a while ago. Lousin, as you likely know, is one of our top state constitutional scholars. She didn’t think Kennedy could legally ban that particular outside work, but didn’t totally rule it out without first seeing how he worded it. Even so, she called it the “usual garbage” from a campaign. So, Kennedy’s “most important” issue could turn out to be a fairy tale.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy on Wednesday accused Mayor Rahm Emanuel of being part of a “strategic gentrification plan being implemented by the city of Chicago to push people of color out” of the city. […]
Asked about minorities moving from the city to the suburbs, Kennedy said: “My belief is they are being pushed out. This is involuntary. We’re cutting off money for schools, cutting off money for police, allowing people to be forced to live in food deserts, closing hospitals, closing access to mental health facilities.”
“What choice do people have but to move, to leave, and I think that’s part of a strategic gentrification plan being implemented by the city of Chicago to push people of color out of the city?
Asked who is behind the alleged plan to push out minorities, Kennedy pointed to Emanuel.
“I believe in the tone at the top,” he said. “I believe the mayor is aware of what’s going on, and I think he is allowing that to occur and in some ways encouraging it.”
* More…
More Chris Kennedy. He says Mayor Emanuel is purposely disinvesting in certain communities to push out black people.
"I believe that black people are being pushed out of Chicago intentionally."
Kennedy cited as an example of the “strategic gentrification plan” a move by CPS to close four South Side high schools for a year before a new school opens in 2019.
“I don’t know what you can say when the strategic plan for Chicago Public Schools suggest that the entire community of Englewood can go an entire year without access to a high school,” he said.
“What are you saying to the people there? No one’s going to move there who’s got a high school kid. And anybody with a high school kid has to think about what they’re going to do. It’s just a device to empty out the community,” he said.
The CTU’s Twitter account seems to be nodding the union’s approval. Check it out.
In response to Kennedy’s comments about city violence, Police Supt. Eddie Johnson released a statement.
“I’ve never heard from Chris Kennedy. I’ve never even met him. He’s never visited a police station or asked me or my team for any kind of briefing on what we are doing in Chicago to address the gang violence and ongoing infusion of illegal guns on to our streets,” Johnson said in the statement.
“I don’t recall seeing him at our CAPS meetings or in our beat meetings. As far as I can tell he hasn’t spoken to one officer or any of CPD leadership. I’m not a politician but I do take issue when the hard work our men and women are doing to beat back this violence is used to score political points. In terms of violence reductions, no one is spiking the ball, but we must acknowledge and build upon the commitment and progress being made by communities and officers working together to reduce crime.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Mayor’s office…
“It’s sad to see Chris Kennedy joining President Trump and Governor Rauner in using cynical, politically motivated attacks about Chicago’s communities for his own personal gain. His divisive comments today are a direct assault on one of this city’s great strengths — our diversity — and they ignore the work being done in neighborhoods across the City - and in conjunction with community leaders and residents — to improve the quality of life for everyone who calls Chicago home. The noise of this particular election will come and go, and when it does we’ll still be focusing on boosting neighborhood small businesses, investing in our schools, and improving public safety.” - Matt McGrath, mayoral spokesman
* Related…
* Chris Kennedy Discusses Illinois’ Gun Violence Problem, His Plan For Change: Solidifying his stance as not a regular Democrat, he said leaders of his party are part of an economic system that pushes minorities out of the city. And, he added, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner strangles social programs to help victims of violence and the poor.
California Governor Jerry Brown, one of the most liberal Governors in the nation, has found a political role model in Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Brown recently followed Rauner’s lead, allowing a sanctuary state law to take effect in California this week.
In an interview with Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan called the choice “a political decision. Not a law enforcement decision.” Homan said Brown “knowingly and intentionally put law enforcement at risk. It put American communities at risk.” Homan went on to say, “If [Brown] thinks he is protecting the immigrant community, he is doing quite the opposite. If he thinks ICE is going away, we’re not. As a matter of fact, we’re going to significantly increase our presence… If politicians in California don’t want to protect their communities, ICE will.”
State Representative Jeanne Ives, a Republican Candidate for Governor, released the following statement in response:
“Mr. Homan’s comments could very easily apply to Illinois, which Governor Rauner made a sanctuary state by signing SB31 last year. Sanctuary policies make all of us less safe. Liberal elites, like Jerry Brown and Bruce Rauner, are very cavalier with the lives of other people. They use people as the means to their political ends. Brown and Rauner believe they are above the law. And, therefore, believe they can decide who has to follow it and who does not. I will lead the charge against the pandering political class.
“2017 ended with nearly 3,400 shootings and almost 650 homicides in the city of Chicago alone. As leaders, we should be focused on protecting families, not criminals. Governor Rauner betrayed law-abiding families in favor of political pandering.
“I’m a pro-legal-immigration conservative. America as a beacon of freedom and opportunity for people the world over is a good thing and should be maintained. But we cannot be without the rule of law.
“Sanctuary state protects those who violate the law at the expense of those who follow the law. It pits law enforcement agencies against one another rather than encouraging cooperation in the interests of making communities safer. Governor Rauner’s sanctuary state policy should be repealed. As Gov, I won’t pretend not to be in charge. I will lead this charge to protect our citizens. With Republican colleagues like John Cabello, who has introduced a repeal of the inanely named Trust Act, and downstate Democrats, we will repeal this extreme and dangerous policy.
“I won’t pretend not to be in charge.” Man, that silly statement is gonna haunt him until November.
The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says politicians who run sanctuary cities should be charged with crimes.
Thomas Homan said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto that the Department of Justice needs to file charges against municipalities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities and deny them funding.
He also says politicians should be held “personally accountable” for crimes committed by people living in the U.S. illegally.
Homan said, “We’ve got to start charging some of these politicians with crimes.”
* Related…
* Illinois ACLU: Trust Act not a substitute for Bloomington ‘welcoming city’ ordinance
* “David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age: Social Media, Blogging and Activism in Egypt”…
The popular belief that Rauner won because he’s rich, and the reality that he has already tossed over $50 million of his own money into his re-election race in the same way that normal people drop pennies into fountains, has led many state Democrats to think that you have to fight billions with billions. Rauner has unlimited cheddar, so goes this line of thinking, and therefore we need someone with unlimited cheddar to beat him. There is no other possible explanation for why political neophyte J.B. Pritzker is (supposedly) leading the Democratic race for the nomination, other than fear of Rauner’s riches and the fact that the Pritzker family name adorns roughly every third building in Chicago.
Here’s the reality: While the state faces some unique structural economic challenges that will be a drag on any Democrat, the party does not need a billionaire to win this year’s gubernatorial election. In fact, they probably just need someone with a pulse who isn’t a criminal or a serial sexual harasser.
Beyond Pritzker and the person regarded as his chief opponent, Chris Kennedy (and yes, he is that kind of Kennedy), there is a candidate who is getting overlooked but who might ultimately be the best choice: state Sen. Daniel Biss. A former University of Chicago math professor, Biss is now the default progressive darling in this race after Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar dropped out.
While he is somewhat unpolished on the stump, Biss boasts the most progressive platform of the remaining contenders, promising to do things that will put him on a collision course with the hated Democratic legislative machine, like enacting limits on how long one person can serve as the leader of the Illinois House or Senate. He wants to amend the state constitution to allow progressive taxation, eliminate tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and publicly finance state elections. Biss also supports free community college and expanded investment in the state’s declining public universities, and opposes the kind of corporate tax giveaways embodied in Chicago’s plan to allow Amazon to keep its workers’ state income taxes should the company locate its second headquarters here.
In a year’s time, many people die — about 33,000 in 2016-17. But births more than offset that; Illinois gained nearly 154,000 new little citizens in that same time frame. Plus, the Land of Lincoln welcomed more new residents internationally than it lost — a net increase of 33,700.
The reason Illinois’ population is falling — while that of most states’, including all neighboring ones, are increasing: More people are leaving than arriving. The state’s “net domestic migration” was a minus-114,779. That’s just in a year’s time.
In the seven years since the last census in 2010, Illinois has seen a net loss to other states of nearly 643,000 people. That’s roughly the combined populations of Champaign, McLean, Macon, Vermilion, Iroquois, Douglas, Piatt and Ford counties.
Why is Illinois losing people while other states are gaining?
* OK, so while I was Googling stuff about the governor’s new budget director Hans Zigmund, I came across a study from the past October that Zigmund co-authored entitled “Dynamic Fiscal Analysis: Increasing Minimum Wage in Illinois.” From the report…
Negative effect on employment
Given that increase in wage is not due to increase in productivity, workforce will be reduced to compensate for increase in labor cost.
Negative effect on Gross Domestic Product
Higher labor cost & higher cost of goods and services have a detrimental effect on competitiveness. This leads to decrease in exports and business investment.
Negative effect on prices
Raising labor cost will be translated into higher prices.
Positive effect on Personal (and disposable) income
Raising minimum wage will increase earnings – personal income- of eligible workers (those that remain employed)
Negative effect on Real personal disposable income
Given the increase in prices, there is a negative effect on real personal income.
Positive effect on population growth.
Increased net economic migrants, probably explained by an improved consumption access index in IL and by improved relative real compensation rate in the state.
That last highlighted point is kinda interesting. The study goes on to suggest that some folks would make enough money to get off public assistance programs, lowering state costs.
* The governor made some New Year’s resolutions. Here’s one of the tweets…
Roll back Madigan's tax hike, pass a balanced budget: We will introduce a plan to repeal the Madigan tax hike and require the budget to be truly balanced. No balanced budget = no pay for legislators. They need to earn their paycheck before taking more from yours. #twill#ilgov
OK, first, notice that he didn’t actually say he would introduce a truly balanced budget. He put that off on the General Assembly. But he did say he’d introduce a plan to repeal the tax hike, so I’ll be interested to see what he does since he has yet to introduce a balanced budget himself.
* Meanwhile…
Three state employees are assuming new roles in the Rauner Administration in the new year, the governor announced today.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has named Hans Zigmund the new director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Zigmund will succeed Scott Harry on Jan. 15, 2018. Harry is taking a position with the Illinois State Board of Education. Andrew Perkins will advance to deputy chief of staff for Legislative Affairs, succeeding former state legislator Darlene Senger, who is pursuing other public service. And Rachel Bold assumes the role of press secretary on the governor’s communications team.
Zigmund joined state government in 2006 as a staff economist in the Illinois Department of Revenue. Since then, he has served in positions of increasing responsibility, including chief economist. He also was associate director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2011 to 2013, and has been director of economic policy in the governor’s office since August.
Rauner said he wishes Harry and Senger well in their new ventures, and is confident that Zigmund will hit the ground running. […]
Perkins, who most recently served as the governor’s Senate liaison, now will lead a team that interacts with members of the General Assembly to advance the governor’s agenda.
“Darlene did a tremendous job in Legislative Affairs,” Rauner said. “We are fortunate to have another dedicated public servant in Andrew.”
Perkins began his career as a policy analyst for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. He spent more than two years as an appropriations analyst for the Illinois Senate Republican staff, and returned to DCEO as deputy director of Legislative Affairs before joining the governor’s office in 2016. […]
Bold, formerly with the Senate Republican staff, joined the governor’s communications team in November. The new press secretary is a Springfield resident. She earned her bachelor of arts in communications and international studies from Monmouth College.
Making it legal to raise industrial hemp has been a topic of discussion in Illinois for years. Wisconsin is the most recent state to allow farmers to grow it. Will Illinois be next?
Back in 2014, the federal farm bill authorized states to grow hemp for research purposes… and effective in 2015, Illinois allowed specific state universities to do so. […]
“For farmers it’s an opportunity to possibly diversify into a new crop. It’s something different than maybe the traditional crops you see grown in Illinois. It would be an opportunity for them to diversify and possibly make some new income off a new crop” [said the Illinois Farm Bureau’s director of external relations Bill Bodine].
He says to expect another try in 2018.
“We’re likely to see legislation introduced that would legalize industrial hemp production in the state. That legislation is something the Illinois Farm Bureau will be supportive of.”
For once, the main obstacle to legalization wasn’t some outdated belief that hemp is somehow evil. It was instead about stepping on a Statehouse interest group’s toes. That’s actually progress in a weird way, but the opposition needs to be overcome this year.
*** UPDATE *** JB Pritzker…
“Legalizing industrial hemp will help diversify and expand our agricultural economy and I am strongly in favor. I stand with Senator Toi Hutchinson, who is leading this fight in the General Assembly, and will work with her and farmers across Illinois to make legalized industrial hemp a reality in our state.”
Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) played a role in the drawn out legal battle between the Village of Broadview and a proposed adult “gentleman’s club,” Chicago Joe’s Tea Room, according to a 2013 deposition of former Broadview Mayor Henry A. Vicenik.
Vicenik, who was no longer mayor at the time of the deposition, said that Durkin called to arrange a meeting between him and David Donahue, one of the principal parties behind Chicago Joe’s.
Donahue is a one-time aide to House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and former Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, who spent eight years in federal prison for stealing $12 million in city funds.
In the deposition, Vicenik said he and Donahue discussed how Vicenik, who was named personally in the lawsuit, could get out of the case. An attorney deposing Vicenik noted an earlier statement made by Vicenik that Donahue had threatened to take Broadview board members’ houses away.
In 2007, the board voted to deny Chicago Joe’s a “special use” permit, and the court cases began and are still ongoing.
Vicenik did not return a call from West Cook News for comment.
Durkin’s office responded to an email asking about the relationship between Durkin and Donahue with a letter from Patrick W. Walsh, a Clarendon Hills trial lawyer: The letter in part said, “Representative Durkin does not and did not represent Mr. Donahue.”
U.S. District Court records also show that Durkin attempted to quash a subpoena to testify in a deposition. The judge denied the motion. Durkin, an attorney, represented Broadview in the mid-2000s in between stints as a House member.
* A follow-up story in the Sun-Times never mentions the Proft media piece, but does debunk some of the story, although you gotta first wade through a bunch of tantalizing sizzle like this…
In a sworn deposition in a federal court case, the former mayor of Broadview testified that Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin called and asked him to meet with a strip club consultant who has fought village officials for more than a decade over plans for a new adult-entertainment venue.
But scroll down and you’ll see that Durkin actually prevailed on his motion to squash the subpoena…
Durkin was subpoenaed in the case repeatedly but his lawyers convinced the judge he shouldn’t have to testify.
“I think whatever involvement he had in that one conversation is tangential at best,” the judge said.
In his deposition in the case in March 2014, Donahue denied asking Durkin to contact Vicenik for him, but said he had a conversation with Durkin before Vicenik called him.
“I think I spoke to Jim Durkin about something,” Donahue said. “I told him that I had tried to get ahold of Henry Vicenik, and I had not been able to get ahold of him.”
Donahue said he didn’t know why Vicenik called him after that.
“I assume Durkin may have mentioned it,” Donahue said. “If he ran into [Vicenik], he told him, you know, ‘Donahue was looking for you.’”
In an interview this week, Donahue said, “I did not ask Jim Durkin to set up any meeting. As far as I know, he didn’t.”
Durkin denies intervening in Broadview strip club dispute despite ex-mayor’s testimony
Proft, of course, is backing a GOP primary challenger against Durkin. He’s getting some big help from Local 150 of the Operating Engineers, which is part of the new Sun-Times ownership group.
* The Tribune looks at reported campaign contributions so far in the attorney general’s race…
*Among the eight Democrats running in the March 20 primary, state Sen. Kwame Raoul tops the field in money so far. The longtime lawmaker started with more than $406,000 in the bank at the end of September and has added about $540,000 in donations since.
*In many cases, candidates have written big checks to their campaign funds. That includes Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, who gave her campaign loans of $178,000 last week, listing a total of about $530,000 in fundraising in the last quarter.
*Chicago Park District President Jesse Ruiz has loaned his campaign $100,000 and contributed a few thousand more, and records show he has raised about $475,000 so far.
*State Rep. Scott Drury recently chipped in $170,000 to his bid and has collected about $364,000 all told.
According to the article, former Gov. Quinn has reported raising about $81K. Sharon Fairley chipped in about $240K to her own campaign. Aaron Goldstein gave himself $185K and raised less than $9K. Renato Mariotti raised about $160,000.
