On Monday, Rauner found a new target in Republican third-party gubernatorial candidate State Senator Sam McCann.
“Every election is a battle, this guy McCann is a total plant, he’s a sham, he’s a charlatan, he was put on there by Madigan and Pritzker to try siphon votes away from me,” Rauner said. […]
“There is only one ’sham’ candidate in the race for governor, and that is Rauner himself. He is a charlatan. He has bought the Republican Party and hijacked state government,” McCann said. “His four years of lies and failure are the only proof needed to back up the statement.”
One of the state Republican Party’s latest mailers says Democratic state representative candidate Lisa Dugan “had her property taxes lowered four times.”
Although the flyer contains a number of allegations against Dugan, the property tax claim is particularly mystifying. It suggests she did something wrong by seeking lower taxes.
In Illinois — and the rest of the country, for that matter — property taxpayers have the right to appeal their property assessments. […]
“Lisa Dugan is a career insider, more concerned with herself than the people she used to represent,” Travis Sterling, the Republican Party’s executive director, said in an email. “The fact is, she worked the system and saved herself thousands of dollars, all the while voting repeatedly with and for Mike Madigan in Springfield. Together, their policies resulted in skyrocketing property taxes for the hard working people in the 79th district.”
* Maybe the state GOP ought to have a chat with Rep. Breen…
Citizens residing in Illinois’ 48th Legislative House District are invited to join State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) and local tax assessment experts on Tuesday, August 28 for a free seminar on understanding the property tax assessment process and learning how to appeal tax assessments. The 1 ½-hour event will be held from 7:00 – 8:30 PM in the Glen Ellyn Police Department’s meeting room at 65 S. Park Boulevard in Glen Ellyn.
Joining Breen at the informational session will be Milton Township Assessor Chris E. LeVan and York Township Assessor Deanna Wilkins. A brief presentation will be followed by a Question and Answer session. “This event brings taxpayers together with their township tax assessors, so people can learn how their tax bill is created and what remedies are available to those who believe their assessment is too high,” said Breen.
Due to space constraints, RSVPs are requested.
I don’t mean to pick on Rep. Breen here. I get these property tax appeals workshop press releases all the time from legislators in both parties.
But the Giuliani column noted that while former Rep. Dugan’s assessed valuation declined a bit over four years, her tax bill actually rose by 8 percent during that same time period. And her local county board of review is controlled by Republicans.
So, how is that worse than a legislator setting up a meeting with two township assessors to help the few people who are savvy enough to quickly RSVP figure out how to lower their bills?
* Mark Brown writes about how Republican Cook County Commissioners Tim Schneider, Sean Morrison and Gregg Goslin are in for a rough electoral ride this fall…
Democrats are hoping to take advantage of widespread opposition here to President Donald Trump to drive suburban turnout, in part by calling attention to the Republican leadership roles of Schneider and Morrison, the county GOP chairman.
The Republicans argue their elections should be decided on their performance as fiscally responsible stewards of county government, not where they stand on Trump. […]
Democrat Hillary Clinton carried all three suburban districts in question over Trump in 2016, although Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner handily won the same areas in 2014 — an indication of the independent nature of the electorate.
“I’m perfectly aware that Donald Trump is not popular in my district,” said Schneider. “I think this election should be a referendum on Tim Schneider, not a referendum on Trump.”
As chairman of the state party, Schneider announced the state delegate vote for Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and led some cheerleading on his behalf — a moment that Democrats are hoping to use in their favor.
As mentioned in the piece, Schneider chairs the Illinois Republican Party and Morrison is the Cook County GOP Chairman. So, they both know how this works. You tie yourself to popular politicians and run away from unpopular ones. And right now there’s a severe shortage of widely known, popular Republicans in this state. That’s not a value judgement, it’s just a fact of life. The situation can change because stuff always changes in politics. But today is not that day.
Not to mention that the two GOP leaders have tried to tie just about every Democrat under the sun to Speaker Madigan, and if past is prologue they’ll do that to their own opponents this fall. Again, they know how this works.
Also, as I told subscribers not long ago, a Democratic poll in Morrison’s Republican district found Gov. Rauner had a higher net unfavorability than President Trump (the two men were underwater by 20 points or more), so they’ll probably get hit with both of those barrels.
Sorry to interrupt you watching your friends’ stories. I’m JB Pritzker. I’m running for governor and I’ll fight to bring jobs to Illinois and grow our economy.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s recent signing of bills to reduce the backlog of patients waiting for Medicaid approval won’t save a small-town nursing home from closing next month.
Pleasant Hill Village Administrator Maryann Walker told the State Journal-Register that she’s happy Rauner signed the two Senate bills earlier this month, but that they won’t keep her Macoupin County skilled-care facility open.
Pleasant Hill Healthcare is planning to close Sept. 1, mostly driven by the backlog in Medicaid payments related to the state’s delayed decisions on eligibility. The nonprofit facility is still waiting on about $2.3 million in Medicaid payments for more than a dozen patients, most of whom have either left for other nursing homes or died.
All sexual assault victims who enter an Illinois emergency room will soon be treated by a nurse trained to care for them.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Friday night that will require hospitals to train enough medical providers in how to treat sexual assault patients that when a victim arrives, a trained provider is present within 90 minutes. Hospitals will have until Jan. 1, 2022, to comply.
An earlier Tribune investigation found that although experts recommend that rape victims be treated by providers trained in that specialty, few nurses undergo the training. The care a patient receives can depend on which emergency room he or she goes to and when; one hospital may have multiple sexual assault nurse examiners on staff while another has none.
The Illinois attorney general’s office has for years provided free training for Illinois nurses, but many say they have not been able to attend or complete it because of a lack of time or money. Nurses often spend their own time to attend training programs and their own money to travel to them.
A bill intended to make it easier for college students to transfer credits within Illinois was signed into law Monday by Gov. Bruce Rauner during a visit to Harper College in Palatine.
The changes outlined in Senate Bill 2354 also encourage colleges to advise students on how best to apply credits toward degrees, with the intention of keeping students from spending money on unneeded credits.
Rauner also signed House Bill 5020, which gives priority to returning students for MAP grants. The grants, which do not need to be repaid, are awarded to Illinois residents who attend approved Illinois colleges and demonstrate financial need. Nearly 130,000 students received MAP grants last year.
* Other bills…
* Rent control is an emerging issue in the governor’s race: It hasn’t received much attention yet, but the question of whether to allow local units of government to impose rent control is beginning to emerge as an issue in the race for governor.
* Pharmacist’s Order: Birth Control Without The Doctor: Five states — including California and Oregon — allow their pharmacists to prescribe birth control, cutting out the need for a physician’s visit. Four other states — Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, and Tennessee — recently passed legislation, while several other states are currently considering similar initiatives. But in Illinois, not everyone is convinced about the approach. A proposal allowing pharmacists to dispense birth control through a standing order — similar to what pharmacists use to give vaccines — did not get sufficient votes during the spring legislative session. Some lawmakers had personal concerns about morality and birth control use; other groups said they worried with giving pharmacists too much power. Others said they were worried about the overall safety of contraceptives without a physician’s direct involvement.
* Rauner-signed legislation undoes more frequent audits required for smaller banks: Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed House Bill 4589 into law, changing the auditing period for small banks from every 12 months to every 18 months. State Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, sponsored the bill. She says it began with a call from the president of a small bank in her hometown saying Illinois regulated larger banks less than smaller ones.
* Rauner signs anti-sexual harassment bills into law: One new law bans members of the General Assembly from using any public funds, including their member office allowances, as “hush money” to keep someone silent as part of a settlement or regarding an allegation or investigation into sexual harassment that they allegedly committed. … A second new law requires at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training for professions licensed by the state that require continuing education. … Also signed into law on Friday by Rauner is a measure requiring the state Department of Public Health to develop, publish and disseminate a brochure through schools to educate the public on the effects of concussion in children and discuss how to look for concussion warning signs.
* Illinois brewers to expand as a result of new legislation on beer: According to a release from Governor Rauner’s office, the legislation allows brewers “to sell their own beer to other Illinois breweries, which will then be able to sell the purchased beer directly to customers in their taprooms, and to purchase cider for selling in their taprooms.”
* Car seat changes increase child safety: The law goes into effect in January. It’s for children 2-and-under, but also those who weigh less than 40-lbs or aren’t at least 40 inches tall . It’s definitely a law to be aware of. Violators face fines up to $75.
* Dyslexia pamphlet coming to schools: The law directs the Illinois State Board of Education to create an online handbook that will provide information about childhood dyslexia for teachers, parents and guardians. The handbook will include guidelines to help adults to recognize the symptoms of dyslexia in children; a description of educational strategies shown to improve the academic performance of students with dyslexia; and a description of resources and services available to students, parents or guardians.
* Fed looks to crack down on blue-state tax workaround before many are implemented: From what Treasury and Internal Revenue Service officials have said, it appears that they are going to crack down on efforts by many high-tax states to get around the $10,000 deduction cap on how much in state and local taxes (SALT) can be written off of a federal return. This new SALT cap became active this year after President Donald Trump signed tax reform into law last December that reduced a number of income tax rates.
* Rauner signs bill easing private takeover of water utilities, stirring outcry: Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday signed an amendment to a state water bill that makes it easier for private water companies to buy large water systems, a move critics say will lead to higher water bills for consumers. Originally signed into law in 2013, the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act allows private water companies to buy out water utilities and spread the costs across its existing ratepayers. The bill renews the act’s amendments for another 10 years and removes a limit on the size of water systems that private companies can buy.
* CUB Reaction To Gov. Rauner’s Signing Of HB 4508, Bad Water Bill: CUB fought vigorously to improve this bill, arguing that customers of Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois should not be forced to finance 100 percent of the companies’ purchase of a community’s water system. We also fought to require a local referendum before communities could sell their water system to a private operator. Instead, the legislation signed into law today is a giveaway to the state’s biggest private water companies. An expensive future awaits Illinois water customers whose towns move forward with privatization deals, under this legislation.
The money would go to the state fair’s foundation. The governor said there was a “good chance” that he would donate more and said they were “talking to many folks” about contributing and things were “going well.” He said school kids would choose a new name for the building.
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday said he doesn’t know the man suing Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan in federal court for allegedly helping to put “sham” candidates on ballots.
But the plaintiff, Jason Gonzales, is now coming to the Republican governor’s defense, arguing against requiring depositions of Rauner and many of the governor’s GOP allies and former staffers.
Gonzales’ attorneys contend the depositions Madigan’s team are seeking concern a documentary that was highly critical of the speaker titled “Madigan: Power, Privilege, Politics,” which was released in October 2016.
A motion filed Monday by one of Gonzales’ attorneys accuses the powerful speaker of engaging in “political intelligence” in order to tarnish Rauner in the November election.
“It appears that Speaker Madigan is not interested in what the witnesses know about this case but seeks instead to engage in political intelligence about the film’s origin, perhaps even to obtain evidence for the ongoing Illinois general election campaign of November 2018 or even a future suit,” attorney Stephen Boulton wrote in the motion filed in U.S. District Court. “Defendants’ subpoenas are an improper use of this Court’s subpoena power of this Court to engage in political intelligence.” […]
Madigan’s attorneys in June told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly one of the defense strategies is to try to prove that Gonzales was a “closet Republican.” Gonzales has denied being a “plant of Gov. Rauner.”
According to the story, Madigan’s lawyers are also seeking to depose Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman, Rauner’s former chief legal counsel Dennis Murashko, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, former Rauner campaign adviser Nick Ayers (who is now VP Pence’s chief of staff), Blair Hull and Kristina Rasmussen,who served as Rauner’s chief of staff after a stint running the Illinois Policy Institute.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Governor Rauner to Deliver Remarks on Governor’s Day at the State Fair
Tomorrow, at Governor’s Day at the State Fair, Governor Rauner will deliver remarks on the Director’s Lawn as part of the Illinois GOP’s election year rally. He is scheduled to speak at 1:00 PM following remarks from Lt. Gov. Sanguinetti, Leader Bill Brady, Leader Jim Durkin, Illinois members of Congress, and statewide candidates. Before his remarks, Governor Rauner will also hold a media availability (approx. 11:45 AM).
* The Question: Your best questions for the governor?
For the first time in a century, Downstate will control the outcome of this gubernatorial election.
How?
Because this is NOT a two-way race. Since both the R and the D nominees are both white male billionaires from Chicago who are uber-liberal on the social issues, they will split the Chicago vote - and effectively cancel each other out.
I believe that the three of us will split the Collar Counties equally, or thereabouts.
What that means: If Downstate will stick together; if Downstate will give us the opportunity to lead and to serve by giving us their vote, WE WIN!
If we are not successful in this mission, it will be because Downstate fumbles the ball. In a two-way race, it is impossible for a Downstate conservative to win. But in the paradigm that now exists, we CAN win and we WILL win if we stick together and if People vote their consciences and belief system instead of their party.
If we are not successful, no one can ever again claim that “Chicago controls everything”. If we are not successful, it will be because Downstaters voted for one of the two Chicago candidates. Downstaters, conservatives, moderates and good-government types, here’s the opportunity you’ve been asking for for generations. This is your moment.
Downstate Illinois, and center-right voters in every ZIP code across the state, are being given an amazing opportunity. The opportunity to take the control of Illinois state government away from the politicians who steered us into this ditch (both political parties). The opportunity to wrest that control from those politicians who are only concerned about the next election instead of the next generation.
As I told subscribers on Friday, McCann’s own internal polling has him at 11 percent, with 10 percent undecided. Gov. Rauner was at 29, Pritzker was at 42 and Kash Jackson was polling at 6, with “other” at 1 (800 likely voters polled July 25-29 with MoE of +/-3.5 percent).
In other words, McCann has a long way to go before he even gets onto that path. And Rauner and Pritzker won’t “cancel each other out” in the city. Also, considering how well the Democrats are doing in suburban special elections these days, I’m not sure an equal suburban split between the three is in the cards.
* And if Rauner does run any TV ads about McCann, he’ll undoubtedly do his best to tie him to Speaker Madigan the way he tied Jeanne Ives to the guy. Here’s what the governor told reporters yesterday about Madigan and McCann…
Rauner: But, for example, he recruited McCann. He and, uh, Pritzker and their cronies recruited McCann to run.
Bernie: You don’t know that.
Rauner: Yes. [Laughs]
Bernie: How do you know that?
Rauner: I, I know well who’s, who talked to who and who recruited what.
But, hey, a guy can dream and it’s still a free country.
