State Sen. Kwame Raoul released a new TV commercial Tuesday that leaves no doubt as to who he believes is his prime opponent.
“Pat Quinn’s incompetence in illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner,” the ad says. “Quinn failed as governor. Why would we want to make him attorney general?”
Quinn said he doesn’t believe he failed as a governor. “I signed six straight budgets and the guy who came after me didn’t do any. I’ve been a lawyer for everyday people, I’m not a corporate guy, I don’t take campaign contributions from utility companies, or banks, or red light camera operators.”
According to Quinn, Raoul has taken donations from all three.
Pat Quinn’s incompetence and illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner. Jobs for friends and family, endless investigations, and now Illinois is a broken mess. Quinn failed as Governor.
Why would we make him Attorney General?
Kwame Raoul was called to fill Barack Obama’s seat. Now Kwame’s endorsed by teachers, firefighters, nurses, and the state’s pro-choice group to protect Illinois and serve us. Kwame Raoul – Attorney General
…Adding… Quinn is also running the sound from the TV ad as a radio spot. Click here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Raoul campaign…
Quote: Pat Quinn’s incompetence and illegal hiring gave us Bruce Rauner
“Audit draft shows more mismanagement in Quinn’s anti-violence program,” Joe Mahr, Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 4/5/2016.
Republican Bruce Rauner went on to beat Democrat Quinn in 2014 after relentlessly charging that Quinn used the grants as a political slush fund to help win votes in Democratic strongholds. Rauner’s administration declined to comment on the draft audit, citing the confidentiality of the process before an audit is released. But in the administration’s response to auditors, also obtained by the Tribune, the agency’s new leaders blame the Quinn administration for the debacle.
“Jim Dey: Investigation into illegal hiring under Quinn expanded,” Jim Dey, The News-Gazette, 5/4/2017.
Last week, a court-appointed outside monitor released a voluminous report that laid bare all the gory details surrounding five years of illegal patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation. But that report didn’t close the book on the wide-ranging conspiracy to violate state hiring rules by top officials in former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. Indeed, there could be more much forthcoming.
Quote: Jobs for friends and family…
“Watchdog details how top Democrats under ex-Gov. Quinn got state jobs for friends, family,” Monique Garcia, Ray Long, Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, 4/25/2017.
A new report issued Monday by a court-appointed watchdog charged with looking into patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation details how top Democrats clouted relatives and friends into positions under former Gov. Pat Quinn, even as many of those hired had little or no experience. “
Quinn and his administration under yet another FBI investigation!” Kirk Allen, Edgar County Watchdogs, 10/27/2014
Quote: Endless investigations and and now Illinois is a broken mess thanks to Quinn.
“Jim Dey: Investigation into illegal hiring under Quinn expanded,” Jim Dey, The News-Gazette, 5/4/2017.
Last week, a court-appointed outside monitor released a voluminous report that laid bare all the gory details surrounding five years of illegal patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation. But that report didn’t close the book on the wide-ranging conspiracy to violate state hiring rules by top officials in former Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. Indeed, there could be more much forthcoming. Why? Federal Magistrate Sidney Schenkier on Monday signed an order directing the court-appointed monitor, Chicago lawyer Noelle Brennan, to conduct a wide-ranging examination of “all positions under the jurisdiction of” Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and file a “preliminary status report” of her findings by July 31. The question behind all this is: If IDOT became a patronage dumping ground for politically connected job seekers under Quinn, what about the rest of the state’s executive departments and bureaus? “Editorial: Was Pat Quinn running the state of Illinois – or a job fair?” Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4/28/2017 The OEIG’s 2014 investigation stopped short of blaming the governor’s office for the explosion of exempt “staff assistant” jobs created under Quinn, but Brennan’s report says Quinn staffers were “the driving force.” The report notes that of 154 staff assistants hired from 2009 to 2013, 53 had connections to Quinn’s office and another 56 were sponsored by other elected officials.
“Feds subpoena emails in Quinn anti-violence fund inquiry,” Ray Long & Monique Garcia, Chicago Tribune, 7/4/2014
federal grand jury has issued a subpoena for emails of key players in Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled $54.5 million anti-violence program, including the former head of the program and two former ranking members of Quinn’s administration.
“Quinn and his administration under yet another FBI investigation!” Kirk Allen, Edgar County Watchdogs, 10/27/2014
“Watchdog details how top Democrats under ex-Gov. Quinn got state jobs for friends, family,” Monique Garcia, Ray Long, Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, 4/25/2017.
Bottom line: Fact’s don’t lie but Pat Quinn and his campaign sure do.
* Democratic Cook County Assessor candidate Fritz Kaegi put another $250K into his own primary race, bringing his self-funding total to just under $1.6 million. Kaegi says he’s a progressive, so the self-funding bit is apparently OK with folks who don’t like rich candidates in other races.
* And The JOBS PAC was just reinvigorated with $300,000 from the Illinois Manufacturers Association and is now making independent expenditures on behalf of two opponents of the Cook County pop tax, commissioners John Fritchey and Richard Boykin.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Biss campaign just reported $270 in contributions, including $100K from Jonathan Soros, who had earlier agreed to match small donors.
Chris Kennedy, Democratic candidate for governor, called on the state of Illinois to divest from gun and weapon companies today during a news conference outside the James R. Thompson Center.
“Just like a budget is a reflection of an organization’s values, so too is an investment portfolio a reflection of an organization’s morality,” said Kennedy, who was joined by his running mate, Ra Joy. “Investing in gun manufacturers makes the companies more profitable because it drives down their cost of capital making easier for them to make money.
“Our government should not be using one hand to stem the flow of guns into our communities and, at the same time, using the other hand to subsidize the gun businesses by investing in them.”
Kennedy also highlighted the fact that State Sen. Daniel Biss benefits from these pension investments as a member of the Illinois General Assembly.
“Once again, Biss claims this is the moral issue of the day, yet finds a way to flip flop and benefit from being on opposing sides,” Kennedy said. “For Biss, what sets the issue of gun investments apart from earlier issues like pensions is that with the gun issue: there is no separation of time. Biss is on both side simultaneously.
“He speaks about the horrors of guns and benefits from investments in them at the same time.
“Biss has been in Springfield seven years and has done way too little to be a responsible steward of his investments or the investments of the people of the state.”
Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Vista Outdoor are among the gun and weapon companies the companies that the state of Illinois invests in.
* The Question: Your thoughts on this idea?
…Adding… Biss’ campaign calls the premise of the Kennedy press release “absurd” and points to the candidate’s long record on gun control.
They add that Biss called for pension investment divestiture from “dirty energy” companies in January and Kennedy remained silent, perhaps, they suggest, because Kennedy invests in some of those companies.
…Adding… Kennedy campaign…
Chris did divest last year as soon as he learned his index funds included those investments.
As you may have read, in mid-January, the Department of Commerce opted to levy a tariff on Canadian newsprint, which is widely used in the industry. In some cases, that’s adding as much as 10 percent to the cost of newsprint, which is, of course, one of our company’s big expenses.
As if times weren’t tough enough in that industry.
The Chicago Tribune unveiled plans [yesterday] for a sweeping reorganization of its newsroom, aimed at becoming what publisher and editor-in-chief Bruce Dold called “more nimble, more entrepreneurial, more responsive to our readers’ current interests and permanent passions.”
Dold outlined the changes, including the addition of a second managing editor and expansion of the newspaper’s “audience insight team,” in an email to the staff.
“We have to change the way we work and challenge our assumptions about how we create stories and relate to our readers,” Dold wrote. “We must put the audience at the center of what we do. A strategic goal for this newsroom is to produce digital journalism so meaningful, habit-forming and essential that people are willing to buy digital subscriptions.”
* Crain’s media reporter…
Newsroom overhaul @chicagotribune is forcing workers to reapply for jobs in revamped org chart: "This challenge is as great as any generation of Tribune journalists has faced, and we know you are equal to the task."
It appears programming on Chicago’s iconic rock station “The Loop” will come to an end as fast as news broke that the radio station was sold to a Christian broadcaster.
According to a letter to employees from Marv Nyren, vice president of Cumulus-Chicago, WLUP’s programming will end Tuesday, just hours after reports first surfaced on the sale.
According to the Chicago Tribune and a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the Educational Media Foundation has agreed to buy WLUP-97.9 FM from Merlin Media for $21.5 million, planning to covert the legendary station into a “non-commercial educational station.”
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Tuesday:
“Over the past several weeks, I have had meetings with members, staff and lobbyists to discuss issues of sexual harassment. Due to my recent meetings with staff, I felt it necessary to address some of the concerns they raised directly with the members of the House Democratic Caucus. The statement below was delivered to the caucus this afternoon:
“A handout you received during last week’s caucus detailed complaints brought to the chief of staff, directors, supervisors and the ethics officer over the last five years, including sexual harassment complaints made by staff against members. I want to be crystal clear - it is inappropriate for members to make sexual comments or sexual advances to, or engage in sexual relationships with, staff, whether that person is employed directly by you, the Office of the Speaker, or another caucus. This applies to both male and female legislators.
“It is clear from my discussions that staff view you as their superiors or supervisors, and with that you are in positions of power over them. This dynamic is ripe for potential harassment. I expect each of you to treat staff with respect and keep your relationships strictly professional. If I become aware of any complaints against a member by staff, or another member, I will personally get involved to put an end to it.”
*** UPDATE *** Alaina Hampton press release…
“Speaker Madigan now says he is committed to getting ‘personally involved’ in preventing sexual harassment. That may prove to be a step forward–but today, it rings hollow. The Speaker had three months to get ‘personally involved’ in my case, but took no action until he knew the story was about to come out.
“Perhaps my telling my own story publicly, combined with the EEOC’s notification of my right to sue last week, has caused the Speaker to have a revelation about his ethical and moral obligation to those who have been harassed and even assaulted in his own organization. More likely, he’s being driven to action by the threat of losing his grip on power–not by any personal concern for the well being of the women in the House Democratic Caucus or the Democratic Party of Illinois.
“I, and countless other victims and survivors, will be watching the Speaker’s next moves closely. We are hopeful that he will back up his words with meaningful and swift action.”
Dan Caulkins says the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to contribute $55,400 to the campaign fund of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) should be seen as a slap in the face to women everywhere.
“It’s beyond shameful, when you consider that they portray themselves as the party of female voters,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “It sends a terrible message and outweighs any statement claiming to have regard for the victims. It’s like they are trying to buy their way out of this.”
Darren Bailey views the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent move to contribute over $55,000 to the re-election campaign of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) as just another example of just how much Illinois politicians are intent on maintaining the status quo in Springfield.
“I think politics has easily become the biggest industry in the state,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “So many people involved now are just there for self-seeking reasons. They’ve entrenched themselves in telling voters whatever they need to keep things moving along.”
Dwight Kay says the State Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to provide more than $55,000 in campaign funds to the re-election effort of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) sends a clear and dangerous message to voters.
“That kind of money is not just given out because you like someone,” Kay told the East Central Reporter. “It sends the horrible message that if someone is willing to spend that kind of money on a candidate that’s not putting in that much for themselves, that candidate is essentially bought and paid for.”
Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) thinks the “good ol’ boy network” is alive and well in Springfield, as evidenced by the Democratic Victory Fund’s recent decision to contribute more than $55,000 to the re-election campaign of Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago).
“Democrats are only interested in maintaining power so it is no surprise they are supporting Sen. Silverstein, a longtime incumbent with plenty of name recognition,” Ives told the Prairie State Wire.
“The Democratic Victory Fund would support Silverstein after all the controversy because he has held a position of leadership for a long time, and kept his mouth shut, while he alone took the fall for the wrongdoings in Springfield that could have brought down other legislators, namely Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago),” Rotheimer told the Lake County Gazette on March 1. “Unless the Democrats demand that the $55,400 in campaign funds that Sen. Ira Silverstein received from the State Democratic Victory Fund are returned, the Democratic Party in Illinois consents to a Democratic senator’s unlawful behavior that was found to be in violation of the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and conduct that is unbecoming to a legislator.”
* Today at the Statehouse…
Denise Rotheimer, a lobbyist-turned-candidate who accused Sen Ira Silverstein of sexually harassing her, says @JeanneIves is the “only champion” for her and “stood with me since the beginning.” Both pushing for HB4840, which would expand access to info from Leg Inspector General pic.twitter.com/lvrq1PkJei
A letter to Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 members from its president, James Tracy, is sparking backlash from the Northwest Side GOP Club and some union members for Tracy’s endorsement of Democratic State Central Committee candidates Cynthia Santos and John Cullerton.
In his letter to Local 2 members, Tracy encourages members to support Santos and Cullerton in the upcoming Democratic primary, writing “they support the right to choose and will stand with Democrats at the state and federal level to protect funding for Planned Parenthood, stop extreme cuts to women’s health and demand equal pay for women.”
A recent post on the Northwest Side GOP Club Facebook page showing a snapshot of Tracy’s letter to union members is calling out the union president for using his post to take on issues such as Planned Parenthood funding and a “progressive” tax.
“This is insane,” the Northwest Side GOP Club’s Facebook post reads. “So the Local 2 Firefighters Union now takes positions on abortion? They are pro-abortion?”
Illinois residents have picked “The Blues Brothers” as the top movie in state history, making it the first item on a list of Illinois’ top 200 people, places and things.
The list is being compiled as part of Illinois’ bicentennial celebration. Every two weeks, people may cast votes online for their favorites in a new category. By early December voters will have selected 10 favorites in 20 categories.
More than 1,500 people voted on the first category, selecting the movie featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The next movies selected were “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “A League of Their Own.”
OK, I’m finally on board with this bicentennial thing.
* To me, “The Blues Brothers” is an art film. The camera’s framing of Elwood as he sits next to his SRO’s window while the L train passes by is one of my favorites in any movie…
For one of the most memorable comedy films of the late 20th century, The Blues Brothers starts grimly enough, with an arresting aerial shot of industrial Chicago, as the smoke from dark satanic chimneys smear the sunset. It’s as if director John Landis is tipping us off that what follows, a film of madcap fun and action rampage, is comic escapism from the bleak modern American life.
To obtain the seven limousines for the wedding party, my father used up his last favor with Mad Pete Trullo.
And…
Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this?
Elwood: No, for a microphone.
Jake: A microphone?
[pause]
Jake: Okay I can see that.
* Some of my friends have memorized the entire script…
Four fried chickens and a Coke.
I hate Illinois Nazis!
* Plus the great music and by-then-forgotten African-American stars (who even knew that Cab Calloway was still alive?), a car chase under the L tracks, SWAT teams…
No, sir, Mayor Daley no longer dines here. He’s dead, sir.
Every frame, every song, every sentence of that movie is something I hold dear. Plus it’s about a couple of misfit musicians trying to do a good deed for once. I’ve known people like that most of my adult life…
Jake, you get wise. You get to church.
The film’s back-story was even fascinating. Anyway, I have lots of work to do today and I wish I had more time, so I’ll close with this…
Monday’s hearing was called after the administration released an August 2016 report from Belleville-based consulting engineer BRiC Partnership suggesting steps to mitigate the problem, including replacing the underground water-distribution system and plumbing inside 15 campus buildings where the most susceptible residents live for $8 million.
[Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries] said in December that plumbing replacement could cost $500 million or more; in January, she told lawmakers about the BRiC report and said it put the price tag at $25 million to $30 million. She has never explained why she used estimates that at a minimum were more than four times higher than the actual number.
BRiC’s 2016 report, which cost $20,000, listed about a dozen ideas for a total of $17 million. The administration paid BRiC another $40,000 to update and expand its 2016 report. That update released last month indicated plumbing replacement for the entire campus would be $11 million; expanded options for the other ideas combined would cost no more than $24 million.
Jeffries explained Monday that the August 2016 delivery of the BRiC report was just two months after the June completion of a $6.5 million water-treatment facility and wanted to test its effectiveness before taking any more actions. But Public Health officials had confirmed two more cases of Legionnaires’ in late July, just days before BRiC’s arrival on campus.
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
Director Jefferies, you’ll recall, said yesterday that she prefers “to speak with journalists who have journalistic integrity.” Hmm.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
At a hearing yesterday, Bruce Rauner’s administration announced that the Legionnaires crisis that has already lasted nearly three years and taken 13 lives will continue for at least another “three to five” years.
After 13 residents died on Rauner’s watch, the failed governor has struggled to deal with the health crisis, desperately resorting to press stunts and cover ups instead of real action to fix the problem. Now, as Rauner feels political pressure for his nearly three years of inaction, his administration is taking a page out of the Trump playbook and attacking the press instead of solving the crisis.
“Bruce Rauner has fatally mismanaged the Quincy Veterans’ home, and now he is attacking the press and covering up information instead of taking real action to fix the problem,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Our state’s heroes can’t wait three to five years for this failed governor to address a crisis he has let spiral out of control.”
A yearlong study offers rigorous new evidence against using prescription opioids for chronic pain.
In patients with stubborn back aches or hip or knee arthritis, opioids worked no better than over-the-counter drugs or other nonopioids at reducing problems with walking or sleeping. And they provided slightly less pain relief,
Opioids tested included generic Vicodin, oxycodone or fentanyl patches although few patients needed the most potent opioids. Nonopioids included generic Tylenol, ibuprofen and prescription pills for nerve or muscle pain. The study randomly assigned patients to take opioids or other painkillers. That’s the gold standard design for research.
If they don’t work better than less risky drugs, there’s no reason to use opioids given “their really nasty side effects — death and addiction,” said lead author Dr. Erin Krebs, a physician and researcher with the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. […]
About 42,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016 involved opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl. Many people get hooked while taking opioids prescribed for injuries or other short-term pain and move on to cheaper, more accessible illicit drugs like heroin.
Krebs said the strongest evidence from other studies shows that physical therapy, exercise or rehabilitation therapy works best for chronic pain. And she said noted that there are a variety of nonopioid drugs to try if one type doesn’t work.
Would having access to the correspondence of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, shed light on his handling of sexual harassment allegations by associates?
We don’t know — and it’s designed that way because the documents of Madigan, like all Illinois lawmakers, are exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act.
The legislation, enacted in 1984, is a critical tool to ensure our public bodies are transparent and that, to quote the act, “all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees.”
That sounds good, but the General Assembly has elected to exclude one noteworthy group from disclosure rules — lawmakers themselves. The argument is legislators deal with sensitive constituent issues and share draft legislation that are negotiating documents. (Congress has a similar exemption and cites similar logic.)
That means a citizen can get, say, five years’ worth of internal emails of the local township cemetery board, the calendar of Gov. Bruce Rauner and any other documents related public business, but can’t see any paperwork for our elected citizen legislature.
For Madigan, that also means all correspondence is exempt for his two high-profile positions — as speaker, which he’s held since 1983, and as head of the state Democratic party, his position since 1998.
* It’s certainly true that the GA exempted itself. Here’s the law…
Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents. […]
A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the date of the final denial.
Reports and records of the obligation, receipt and use of public funds of the State, units of local government and school districts are public records available for inspection by the public according to law.
All officers of the Executive Branch shall keep accounts and shall make such reports as may be required by law. They shall provide the Governor with information relating to their respective offices, either in writing under oath, or otherwise, as the Governor may require.
There is no such language in the Legislature’s article, which is an argument legislators use when they say they were meant to be exempted. The same goes for the judicial article. The courts have also ruled that because the GA didn’t include the judiciary in the FOIA statute, the judicial branch was exempted. So, I highly doubt the folks in black robes will ever open that Pandora’s Box by prying open GA records.
Also, I have no idea how a state government could legally subject a political campaign committee to the FOIA laws.
* Look, I’d love to see the GA covered by FOIA. But unless somebody wants to go out and gather enough petition signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot (and that could work because it may fall under the “Amendments shall be limited to structural and procedural subjects contained in Article IV” language) not much can be done unless GA members voluntarily do it themselves.
Fat chance of that happening.
…Adding… From an attorney…
If you look on the GA website, both the House and Senate have memos with categories of items available under FOIA. What isn’t available is personal correspondence (e.g. letters constituents send to their members). Also, the draft exemption applies to all units of government, not just the GA.
• Quorum calls for meetings of the House and House Committees
• Legislation and motions filed by members of the House, including roll call of voting
• Reports and fiscal notes filed with the Clerk
• Documents filed in House Committee hearings (roll calls, witness slips, notices of
action)
• Transcripts and audio recordings of House floor debate
• Video of House floor debate (2005 to present)
• Audio recordings of House Committee hearings
• Vouchers and documents detailing District Office expenditures
• Vouchers and documents detailing House Operations and Leadership expenditures
• Official Journals of the House
• District Office leases
• Personnel Rules adopted by each member for their District Offices
• Name, title, start date and salary for employees of the House
• Property inventories for House Operations, Leadership, and District Offices
Don’t look for much action from the Illinois Capitol this month. In fact, don’t look for much of anything, lawmakers from both parties said, because the General Assembly is pretty much taking the month of March off.
Both the Illinois House and Senate are scheduled for just four days of sessions this month, and they could cancel some of them.
State Rep. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, said Illinois lawmakers haven’t done much all year.
“If you look at the calendar, in January we were here just a few days. In February it was about the same. In March we’re in four days, that’s it for the House,” Bennett said.
State Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, said while lawmakers haven’t done much so far, he noted that the real action always comes in late April and May. […]
On key issues – such as property tax reform, pension reform and workers compensation reform – there’s no expectation that lawmakers will do much of anything about them.
“For this year, with the elections, with the primary election, with the general election, no one wants to give the other side a win,” Bennett said. “They just don’t.”
I don’t expect much to happen, either. But, hey, one never knows.
* Along those lines…
After several gun bills were passed in the Illinois House last week, several legislators telling me there's more work to do and there won't be votes this week. Also, a busy schedule ahead of primary means some candidates (Drury, Raoul) won't be present to vote.
Sale or possession of a backpack that has been manufactured or designed to include Kevlar or any other imilar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms; or a removable backpack insert made of Kevlar or any other similar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms that have been manufactured or designed to be included in a backpack.
Since the [Florida schooil] shooting, bulletproof backpacks have been selling out across the country. With names like BulletBlocker and Guard Dog - parents are snapping them up.
“I guess that’s just the harsh reality of the world we live in today,” said parent Nick Barnett.
* The ad begins with part of this Robert Kennedy quote, who is pictured: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” The rest…
Chris Kennedy’s father fought for civil rights, equality and fairness. Today, the fight lives on in Chris’ campaign for governor to take on a broken political system. Endorsed by newspapers across the state as authentic and independent. Kennedy will be an anti-establishment governor with a progressive agenda and the vision to reshape Illinois.
The best thing he’s got going for him is his family heritage. Pritzker inherited money, Kennedy inherited his last name. You go with what you have in this business.
* According to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s latest poll, the federal tax reform law isn’t yet helping the Republicans. “Do you support or oppose the tax reform plan passed last December by the Republican Congressional majorities?”…
Well over a majority, 53% of Illinois voters say they opposed the tax cut with 15% strongly opposed and 38% who opposed and 2% who said “neither”. The state is deeply polarized on this issue with 80% of Democrats opposed while 75% of Republicans supported the tax cuts. Independents were in the middle with 36% who supported and 48% who opposed the cuts.
Central city Chicago voters opposed the tax cuts by a margin of 63% who opposed and 28% who supported. Downstate voters were more closely divided over the tax cuts with 40% who supported and 41% who opposed. 33% of suburban Chicago and the collar counties voters supported and 55% opposed the tax cuts.
Illinois voters were asked whether the tax cuts would make them more or less likely to vote for Republican congressional candidates in November. 33% of the respondents said the tax cuts would make them more likely to vote Republican in the fall while 56% said less likely with 6% choosing neither.
85% of Democrats said less likely; 80% of Republicans said more likely while 29% of Independents said more likely and 49% said less likely.
Downstate voters chose more likely over less likely by a margin of 48% to 42%. Chicago voters chose less likely by 70% to 19%. Suburban Chicago and the collar counties voters chose less likely over more likely by a margin of 58% to 31%.
The question of which party “best represents your interest in the U. S. Congress” produced a solid advantage for the Democrats. 43% of the respondents overall chose the Democrats; 28% chose the Republicans while 2% chose the Green Party, 6% the Libertarians, and 12% chose some other party.
40% of downstate chose the Republicans and 31% chose the Democrats while 2% chose the Greens and 7% the Libertarians. In Chicago, 55% favored the Democrats and 15% favored the Republicans. 6% took the Libertarians and 3% the Greens in Chicago. 45% of Chicago suburban and collar counties voters chose the Democrats and 25% the Republicans while 2% chose the Greens and 5% the Libertarians.
Keep in mind that these are registered voters, not likely voters. And more men were polled than women. Both of those things are not at all optimal.
* Methodology…
The margin of error of the entire sample of 1,001 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. […]
Live telephone interviews were conducted by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas using the random digit dialing method. The telephone sample was provided to Customer Research International by Scientific Telephone Samples. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters and quotas based on area code and sex (<60% female). The sample obtained 51% male and 49% female respondents. Interviewers asked to speak to the youngest registered voter at home at the time of the call. Cell phone interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample. A Spanish language version of the questionnaire and a Spanish-speaking interviewer were made available.
Field work was conducted from February 19 through February 25. No auto-dial or “robo” polling is included. Customer Research International reports no Illinois political clients. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the Institute’s endowment fund. The data were not weighted in any way. Crosstabs for the referenced questions will be on the Institute’s polling web site, simonpoll.org.
Generally speaking, do you think things in our country are going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 27%
Wrong direction 64%
Don’t know 9%
And what about the direction of the State of Illinois? Generally speaking, are things in Illinois going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 9%
Wrong direction 84%
Don’t know 7%
And how are things [in your local area? Are they] going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?
Right direction 54%
Wrong direction 37%
Don’t know 10%
* From the Institute…
“Voters have been more negative about the state of Illinois than the rest of the country since the inception of our poll in 2008,” said Charlie Leonard, an Institute visiting professor and one of the designers of the poll. “It is notable that the state ratings are still 20 percentage points more negative than the national ratings and there is an 18% gap between Illinois and the nation on the ‘right direction’ option.”
So, maybe if we legalized it the public might be happier with the way things are going here? Just sayin.
* Back to the press release…
Two-thirds (66%) of Illinois voters said they favored this measure compared to nearly one-third (32% who opposed. Those favoring were 46% who strongly favored and 20% who favored legalization compared to 24% who strongly opposed and 8% who opposed and 3% were unsure.
Downstate voters favored legalization by a 58% to 40% margin; Chicago favored by 77% to 22% and suburban Chicago and the collar counties favored by 66% to 31%. Democrats favored by 78% to 20%; Republicans were evenly divided at 49% favor and 49% opposed and Independents favored by 62% to 36%.
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows political newcomer Marie Newman in a statistical dead heat with longtime Congressman Dan Lipinski. The poll, made available first to POLITICO, showed 43 percent of those surveyed supported Lipinski and 41 percent backed Newman — the two percentage points were within the margin of error. The automated poll of 648 likely Democratic primary voters was taken Feb. 27-28. […]
The numbers reflect a huge jump in Newman’s name recognition since October, when she only logged 18 percent in a Normington Petts poll. Since then, various groups, including NARAL, Planned Parenthood and SEIU have backed Newman, and a superPAC targeting Lipinski has helped drive up her name ID and his negatives. While Lipinski has more money in his account than Newman, over the last few weeks, the Citizens for a Better Illinois political action committee spent nearly $700,000 on ads attacking Lipinski. Newman had the help of veteran Democrats U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez who publicly rejected Lipinski, calling his views opposing abortion rights and votes on immigration too conservative for his district. The AFL-CIO has backed Lipinski and he has the support from dozens of mayors and village presidents in the 3rd Congressional District.
The survey was conducted from February 27-28, 2018. PPP surveyed 648 IL-03 likely Democratic primary voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.9%. This poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews.
* The breakdown of those who participated in the survey are:
o 55% women, 45% men
o 16% Hispanic or Latino, 71% white, 7% African-American, 6% other
o 31% aged 18-45, 46% aged 46-65, 23% older than age 65
During the last Census, the district was 66 percent white, 25 percent Latino and 5 percent African-American. However, that’s probably not how the actual voting breaks down.
United for Progress, Inc., has launched a new television ad, “Don’t Be Fooled,” which highlights Marie Newman’s record of fly-by-night campaign exaggerations, misstatements, poor management, and policies that will hurt Illinois workers.
“A member of Congress can’t deliver progressive change in Washington without character and experience. And Marie Newman unfortunately has neither,” said United For Progress, Inc. Treasurer Bruce Goren. “She claims to fight for workers and yet took a stand against 14,000 airline workers in her own district. She shamelessly lied about her record as a nonprofit leader and business owner. She claims to be a progressive and yet has no record of fighting for progressive change. We ran this ad because voters in the 3rd District deserve to know the truth: Marie Newman would be a disastrous choice for Congress.”
If Marie Newman has her way, subsidized foreign airlines will take away U.S. jobs. But that’s not the only thing fly-by-night with Marie Newman. She says she set up a charity for bullied children. But the IRS has no record of it. The restaurant she ran was cited for over a dozen health code violations. Her experience for public office? Dropping out of the race for Library Board. Don’t be fooled by the flimflam. Send Marie Newman and her out-of-state attack dogs packing.
* This is yet another pre-primary week when one chamber is in session while the other takes a break. It’s the House’s turn to work this week, but after its scheduled adjournment on Thursday it won’t return until April 9th. The Senate is off this week, comes back to town next week and then leaves until April 10th. Watch all the action with ScribbleLive…
