In addition to the race for governor, 49 percent of respondents preferred a Democratic-controlled Congress, while 35 percent preferred Republicans in charge. The state has at least three tight U.S. House races slated for November.
The results also indicated 56 percent of registered voters in Illinois disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job so far. In 2016, Trump got 38 percent of the vote in Illinois.
“President Trump and his job rating at 31 percent is dragging down Republicans up and down the ticket potentially,” Murray said.
Twenty-seven percent of Illinois voters named economy and jobs as the most important factor in their vote. Another 19 percent said health care, 14 percent said immigration and 11 percent said federal taxes and spending, according to the poll.
The NBC/Marist poll of Illinois was conducted Aug. 12-16 of 831 adults (which has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.2 percentage points) and 734 registered voters (plus-minus 4.4 percentage points).
* As we discussed yesterday, the federal judge in Jason Gonzales’ lawsuit against Speaker Madigan and others ruled that Blair Hull will have to sit for a deposition by Madigan’s attorneys. Hull backed Gonzales’ 2016 Democratic primary campaign against Madigan and contributed to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s 2014 election.
Hull’s attorney filed a motion today for a protective order on his deposition. All emphasis is in the original…
However, [Blair Hull] is rightfully concerned that the deposition—which will essentially be conducted by a political rival within Mr. Hull’s party—will go far beyond Mr. Hull’s firm’s contributions and loans to Illinois United for Change. Instead, it could be used to pry into Mr. Hull’s own political activism, personal connections, and support for candidates that are opposed by Defendants, including after the March 15, 2016 Primary Election between Plaintiff Gonzales and Defendant Madigan.
Such limitless discovery would politically advantage Defendants, while undermining Mr. Hull’s own right to politically oppose them, turning the discrete constitutional dispute in this case into a “political proxy war.”
More importantly, such areas of inquiry are unlikely to lead to the discovery of evidence admissible at trial in this action, which, again, concerns Defendants’ conduct as to which Mr. Hull possesses no information. As such, the Court should enter the appropriate protective order limiting the length of Mr. Hull’s deposition to two hours and its scope to the contributions and loans made by Mr. Hull’s company during the Primary Election.
Rauner says the budget impasse was "not something I wanted or that I caused." Blames it on Madigan. "He wanted the impasse because he wanted the tax hike," the gov says.
“I apologize but we may have to go through a little rough times and we have to do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers,” Rauner said referencing Reagan’s decision in 1981 to fire 11,000 striking air traffic controllers.
“We sort of have to do a do-over and shut things down for a little while, that’s what we’re going to do,” Rauner said. […]
“It’s going to be rough. It’s going to be hardball but I’m used to that. I’ve transformed a lot of business organizations in my life and I can bring that same discipline in Springfield,” he said.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner kicked off a campaign-style statewide tour Monday by indicating he’ll try to “leverage” the state’s money woes into securing a series of pro-business changes from a General Assembly controlled by Democrats likely to fiercely oppose them.
The first stop was at Tribune Tower, where the governor sought to frame up the last seven scheduled weeks of the spring session during an appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. The governor and legislative leaders will try to craft a new budget before the May 31 adjournment deadline against the backdrop of a projected deficit of $6 billion and Rauner calling for major cuts.
“Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the crisis to force structural change,” said Rauner, borrowing from a political philosophy famously coined by his friend Rahm Emanuel that “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
“It came down to three things: workers’ comp, parity in (the length of) the income tax and property tax and budget cuts. Cullerton’s position is, ‘This is the deal, take it or leave it,’ and as far as we’re concerned, it’s dead and there’s nothing more for us to do because we’re not going to take a bad deal and neither is the Senate (Republican) caucus,” [the Rauner confidant] said.
Radogno responded that no one in the governor’s office “speaks for the Senate (GOP) caucus.” She said the Senate’s grand bargain plan was “not and never has been a ‘take it or leave it’ from the Senate president and insisted talks on a “final version” were still taking place.
Some Republicans joined Democrats in July to end the impasse by passing a major income tax hike and spending plan over Rauner’s vetoes. As a result, the governor said the state had “lost” an opportunity for economic change.
“We had the possibility of a transformation for the state with the crisis that we had — if we had a principled caucus. It’s the primary reason I ran. We had the opportunity for a massive transformation. We lost that,” the Republican governor said.
* You know it’s been a pretty horrific season when your favorite team’s two biggest highlights are a nun’s outstanding ceremonial first pitch and tonight’s first big league game by a highly touted pitching prospect.
First, the nun. Sister Mary Jo Sobieck from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights…
Pritzker’s bottomless checkbook is feeding get-out-the-vote efforts, campaign staff, candidates, mailers and foot soldiers statewide. Will the media now refer to Illinois’ Democratic Party as Pritzker’s Democratic Party, as they have Rauner’s Republican Party?
They should. It is.
So, it’s no longer Speaker Madigan’s state party? Won’t the governor’s campaign be upset about this?
* The Question: Should Illinois political reporters now refer to the state Democratic Party as JB Pritzker’s party? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Monday, sponsored by State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) and State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), giving motorists the option to register their vehicles for more than one year at a time.
House Bill 4259, which passed the House and Senate unanimously, allows motorists, beginning in 2021, to register their vehicles for one or two years. It also allows owners of trailers to register their trailer up to five years. The price per year would be the same, but motorists would be able to pay multiple years up front and would not have to change their sticker every year.
McConchie and Batinick say this legislation provides a convenience and saves the state money.
“About a year and a half ago, my dad came into the house frustrated after trying to put his renewal sticker on his license plate in the bitter cold saying, ‘I don’t know why we can’t renew our plates for more than one year at a time,’” McConchie recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘What a great idea!’ We could save the state money and provide greater convenience to taxpayers.
* Other bills…
* Illinois School Resource Officers to Undergo Training: Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill over the weekend that requires school resource officers, also known as SROs, to be better prepared to deal with the student population. The training will focus on de-escalation, crisis intervention and cyberbullying.
* Rauner: Won’t sign bill to ease voting by jail inmates without changes: Representative Juliana Stratton, who sponsored the bill, said she is “clearly disappointed” by the governor’s response. She said that that supporters of the bill had negotiated with the Illinois Department of Corrections and Illinois Sheriffs Association to decide on a procedure for delivering “know your rights” information to inmates exiting custody, and that it would simply involve adding information on voting rights to a packet of information that inmates already receive upon completing their sentences. “It’s lost on me why the governor would not be in support of this information being distributed,” Stratton said.
* Illinois Governor Blocks Bill To Tell People With Criminal Histories About Their Voting Rights: In his veto, Rauner didn’t object to helping people get access to ballots during pretrial detention, but specifically took issue with the requirement that officials provide voter registration forms to people leaving jail and voting rights information to those leaving prison. He said he’d support the bill if lawmakers eliminated those elements of it.
* More than 10,000 FOIDs yet to be renewed from June: Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law Friday giving a 60-day grace period for gun owners to renew their state firearms identification cards and still own a firearm, but it won’t help the thousands of gun owners that have let theirs expire. The law allows for a Firearm Owner’s Identification, or FOID, card to remain valid for 60 days after the owner has sent in for renewal. This means a gun owner can submit their renewal for the card and still be a legal gun owner if it expires before the Illinois State Police processes it.
* Law allows Medicaid flexibility for ‘medically fragile’ kids: The law means that their expensive, highly technical care which is covered by Medicaid is exempt from managed-care organizations. The state has moved 80 percent of its Medicaid clients to managed-care organizations to cut costs.
On Saturday, Helene Walsh was appointed by Lake County Republican Chairman Mark Shaw to represent the 51st District in the Illinois House, despite her controversial views on guns, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, civil rights and more.
Today, Helene Walsh scrubbed her Facebook page of all radical views and photos.
“Helene Walsh should be straight with the voters of the 51st District. If, for instance, she believes that children should be separated from parents who are applying for legal asylum, she shouldn’t be afraid to say so,” said Nancy Shepherdson, Sixth District Democratic State Central Committeewoman and Co-Chair of the Illinois Sixth Congressional District Democrats. Walsh deleted a July 3, 2018 post that stated: “Don’t want to be separated from your kids…don’t break our laws.”
Patrick Watson Sixth District Democratic State Central Committeeman and Co-Chair of the Illinois Sixth Congressional District Democrats, noted that Walsh also deleted extreme racist, xenophobic and divisive comments posted this year. Watson noted: “If Helene Walsh wants to represent us, she should tell us that she believes without holding back or trying to hide behind platitudes.”
The Helene Walsh Facebook page was scrubbed after a statement was released by Adam Didech, county board candidate in the 20th District, condemning Walsh’s extremely candid and divisive comments.
The seat Helene Walsh has been appointed to was left open after State Representative Nick Sauer resigned two weeks ago when allegations of “catfishing for men” using an ex-girlfriend’s nude photos were made public. Helene Walsh is the wife of former Congressman and right-wing talk show host Joe Walsh.
The Illinois 51st District stretches from western Waukegan and western Mundelein in the north to Vernon Hills, Long Grove and Barrington in the south, with most of Libertyville in its center. Helene Walsh will run against Democrat Mary Edly-Allen, a bilingual teacher who is a champion for freedom and rights for all.
I’m guessing that some folks were able to save much of her online activity, however.
* From her Democratic opponent…
I’m distressed that Nick Sauer’s appointed replacement, Helene Walsh, is on record attacking the integrity of sexual assault victims. In the era of #metoo we can’t afford to replace someone accused of sexual violence w/one who scoffs at sexual assault victims. #bluewave#il51st
@michaelianblack You're coming to Chicago? Give a special shout out to Republican Helene Walsh, just appointed to the IL state legislature, and wife of Joe Walsh. Yes, she posed at a GOP rifle raffle weeks after the Las Vegas mass shooting. https://t.co/6bGEevbLwgpic.twitter.com/pJZZ5R9Zpx
…Adding… Miller-Walsh has been a fan of conspiracy theories, and now she’s being hit by one. This thing has spread around Facebook and Twitter…
🚨BREAKING: According to sources Joe Walsh's recent transformation into being Anti-Trump was part of an agreement to have his wife Helene Walsh appointed to house district 51 in Illinois……developing pic.twitter.com/nYV6XBZPal
Former President Barack Obama has recorded a video supporting Democrat J.B. Pritzker for Illinois governor.
The roughly 90-second video released Monday is the first Obama has recorded for the fall election. In it, he says he’s backing Pritzker to lead his home state because “J.B. gets things done.”
Former President Barack Obama doubled down on his endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker.
“I am proud to endorse J.B. Priztker to be the next governor of my home state of Illinois,” he said in a new video. “And let me tell you why. It’s simple. J.B. gets things done.” […]
Wednesday’s endorsement marked the second time Obama has backed Stratton. While he was president in March 2016, Obama offered his support in radio and television ads to help Stratton, a political newcomer, unseat embattled Rep. Ken Dunkin in Illinois’ 5th District on Chicago’s South Side. That contentious Democratic primary battle was the most expensive House race in Illinois history, drawing Obama back into the local politics of his hometown.
Statewide, Obama also endorsed state Sen. Kwame Raoul for Illinois Attorney General. Raoul faces Republican Erika Harold in the race to replace longtime AG Lisa Madigan, who announced in 2017 that she would not be seeking re-election.
Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker’s campaign on Monday unveiled a web video featuring Barack Obama, marking another foray into his home state’s politics for the former president. […]
It’s not a surprise that the former Democratic president would back Pritzker over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, and Obama this month released a list of endorsements that included Pritzker. The digital spot released Monday, though, gives the campaign another video to spread across the internet in the months before the November election.
Obama has gotten involved in state politics from time to time since heading to the White House, including backing Ald. Sophia King in her City Council race last year. […]
In a March 2012 Bloomberg TV interview, Pritzker hesitated on supporting Obama’s re-election efforts. “We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t know who the nominee’s going to be on the Republican side,” Pritzker said at the time.
Obama and Pritzker do share another connection that Rauner has highlighted in his re-election campaign. Pritzker was recorded on FBI wiretaps in 2008 speaking to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about being appointed to the Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, something that would ultimately put Blagojevich in prison. Blagojevich and Pritzker also discussed possible campaign donations.
* But the Illinois Policy Institute’s former news service has nothing on The Onion’s take. Click here for that one-line jab. Ouch.
Obama taped the video in his personal office in Washington a few weeks ago.
Obama spokesman Eric Schultz told the Sun-Times, “President Obama of course wants to be helpful to Democrats as we approach the midterm elections. President Obama wants to help Democrats win at every level this year. He’ll ask voters to take a good look at candidates and their records — not just the top of the ticket — but critical local races, too. We need a strong pipeline to help the Party grow beyond 2018. We need activists poised to engage, volunteers motivated to mobilize and voters motivated to vote.”
Obama on Aug. 1 endorsed 81 Democrats, including many from Illinois: Pritzker, Kwame Raoul, who is running for Illinois Attorney General, and U.S. House hopefuls Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood and Brendan Kelly.
On the sidelines no more, President Barack Obama flexed his political muscle in his home state on Monday.
In a boost to billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker’s gubernatorial bid, Obama went beyond his customary political comfort zone, leaning in hard by cutting his first video on behalf of a candidate in the 2018 midterm elections.
Um, the dude cut an Internet video in his office. And if doing that is outside his comfort zone, then what was this?…
As the governor said on Governor’s Day at the State Fair, “we’re here because we’re fighting for what’s right, and what’s just, and what’s good, and for a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
This week, the governor is touring the state with that exact message. He knows that home is worth fighting for, and he will never give up the fight for the future of Illinois.
Each day, he will make stops throughout the state speaking with voters. At least one stop per day will be accompanied by Bruce’s BBQ Big Rig, a tractor-trailer outfitted to serve BBQ to attendees at the events. [Emphasis added.]
So, now we know why he has a refrigerated truck, which, I’m told, is owned by Raymond Poe’s company. Poe, now the Agriculture Director, was a state Rep. when he ran for lt. governor in 2006 and had a truck built that could serve, if memory serves, something like 200-250 chicken dinners per hour. It was quite something to see. He wanted to set it up in Chicago, but said he couldn’t get a permit.
* The DGA claims there’s deeper meaning to the truck…
Rauner Brings Tractor-Trailer Filled of Failure to Illinois Communities
Yesterday, Governor Bruce Rauner began a new campaign swing called the “Fight for What’s Right” tour that unfortunately only highlights how wrong Rauner’s failed leadership has been for Illinois. Each community Rauner visited yesterday has been negatively impacted by his two-year budget fiasco. As a metaphor for his failed governance, Rauner’s campaign vehicle, a tractor-trailer, doesn’t list any accomplishments from the Governor’s first term.
“The only thing that Bruce Rauner’s tour will accomplish is reminding voters that they now have a tractor-trailer full of debt thanks to his failed leadership,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Every corner of the state is worse off after Bruce Rauner forced the state to go years without a budget and Illinois families will not forget that in November.”
Or, maybe it’s just a truck filled with tasty meats for hungry potential voters.
An 18-wheeler with an American flag motif on the cab and trailer wrapped in Rauner campaign blue, including the “Home is Worth Fighting For” slogan, has been provided to Rauner’s team by Poe Enterprises. That’s a farming and catering operation in which Poe is still a shareholder. Poe told me at the Governor’s Day rally at the Illinois State Fair — where the truck was parked on the road in the director’s lawn area as Rauner and others delivered their speeches nearby — that expense of the signage on the truck is shared by Rauner supporter Jason Fletcher of Athens.
On a Quincy TV station yesterday, Bruce Rauner claimed his administration did “an excellent job” responding to the Legionnaires’ crisis that took 14 lives since 2015.
“Well our team has done, by and large, an excellent job. People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there,” Rauner said on WGEM Monday. Legionnaires’ has plagued the Quincy Veterans’ Home since Rauner became governor, sickening Veteran residents and staff in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and killing 14. The Rauner administration waited six days to publicize the first outbreak, a delay one infectious disease expert called “mind boggling” and “inexcusable.”
“The fact that Bruce Rauner thinks Veterans and spouses in Quincy losing their lives to Legionnaires’ is him doing ’an excellent job’ is all we need to know about his failed leadership,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Fourteen people died on Rauner’s watch, but he still has the gall to go on a Quincy TV station, rewrite history, and insult those who lost loved ones.”
How is it 13 Vetereans die and you think everything was done right? Why did other government officials have to tell you too ask for funding to build a new home? Why did it take 5 days after the vets home got the warning too tell anyone. Do you really think you will be re-elected?
@GovRauner This is what legionnaires looks like it’s not just pneumonia this is my fathers flag draped casket right before it was folded and handed to my oldest brother! pic.twitter.com/Kv3zK0dwfy
* Rauner says improvements at Illinois Veterans Home moving at quick pace: The first step in the plan involved buying the nearby Sycamore Healthcare Center, which closed as a nursing home in April 2017. The state paid $625,000 for the facility and is gutting the complex so it can be rebuilt to house veterans during construction on the Veterans Home campus. It also can be used for other veterans-related services in the future. “The Sycamore facility is going to create a lot of options for us, so getting that done quickly — in the next few months — is a goal. And we seem to be on track to do that,” Rauner said. “We’re putting in all-new everything. We’re going to make it a world-class facility.”
* In August of 2014, gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s “Shake Up Express” made a swing through Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Macomb and Monmouth…
* Almost exactly four years later, Gov. Bruce Rauner took his “The Fight For What’s Right” tour on a swing through Mt. Sterling, Rushville, Macomb and Monmouth…
Sometimes, I just don’t understand how candidates can do this all day, day in and day out. Giving the same speeches, constantly smiling, shaking hands, making quick small talk and then heading to the next stop. That can’t be easy.
* I often get tired by just reading Rep. Tom Bennett’s Twitter posts. A small sampling…
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Monday that he did not personally send a campaign field director to a fundraiser for his opponent last week where that staffer was arrested for allegedly harassing the Democratic candidate and her supporters.
“There is no way that I would ever send anyone to go sit at a bar for multiple hours and become intoxicated with my opponent’s supporters,” Davis said when asked if his campaign sent Levi Lovell, 25, to the event for candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan at J.P. Kelly’s Pub in downtown Springfield.
Asked if his campaign might have sent Lovell to attend the event, Davis said, “I did not send anybody there. I don’t believe anybody on my campaign has ever said that they sent Levi to that event, and I certainly don’t condone the behavior. … I think it’s wrong, and frankly, there probably would have been disciplinary actions without the video that was in question.”
Sitting congresscritters don’t usually have direct control of their campaign trackers, so I’d be shocked if Davis personally sent that guy to Londrigan’s event. And I’d be even more shocked if the candidate ordered a tracker to get drunk and harass his opponent’s supporters. That sort of stuff just doesn’t happen.
But, notice this line, which was uttered after Bernie tried multiple times to get Davis to say if his campaign sent the guy: “I don’t believe anybody on my campaign has ever said that they sent Levi to that event.”
Right, they never said they sent him because Davis’ campaign refuses to answer questions about who dispatched the tracker.
* And now, this…
NEW: From the Springfield Police Report: Former @RodneyDavis field director Levi Lovell told police he was acting on behalf of the campaign in an act of "dirty politics" where he tries to catch her on camera saying something embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/vZxS3eIpiW
* Last month. Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) went on WJBC Radio and urged Gov. Rauner to be more optimistic and forward-looking on the campaign trail. This week, Sen. Barickman had a somewhat similar message to WGLT Radio…
“I don’t think Republicans win elections in Illinois simply by saying we’re the defense to (Illinois House Speaker Michael) Madigan’s offense. We don’t get to earn the right to govern simply by saying Madigan is the boogeyman,” said Barickman.
Barickman said attacking Madigan is part of the strategy since the speaker is one of the most unpopular politicians in the state.
But Barickman said Rauner will have to show how he can lead in the future, beyond obstructing Democrats.
“I think the public will want more. I think the path forward for a Republican has to be demonstrating the leadership necessary to advance our state regardless of whether Madigan is speaker or not. That message, I think, wins a general election,” said Barickman.
Thoughts?
…Adding… This tweet is a good fit for this post…
When Kankakee County residents see photos of House Speaker Mike Madigan in their mailboxes, those images come courtesy of the GOP. In Republican mailers, Madigan's head hovers over Democratic state rep hopeful Lisa Dugan.
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new statewide TV ad titled “The Main Thing.”
The ad centers around the main thing JB Pritzker would do if elected: raise taxes. Featuring quotes from newspapers across the state, it’s clear that Pritzker is deadset on raising taxes on hardworking Illinois families.
Illinois can not afford the Pritzker-Madigan agenda of higher taxes and more corruption.
The main thing JB Pritzker wants to do is raise taxes. An immediate increase in the current tax rate. A short and long term plan to increase income taxes. A threat, a promise, a plan that will punish Illinoisans. Madigan and Pritzker want more money. As soon as Pritzker takes office, a significant increase that will affect all taxpayers. JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan. Higher taxes. More Corruption.
Gov. Bruce Rauner won’t be required to sit for a deposition in a federal lawsuit that alleges Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan put up “sham” candidates in legislative races, after a federal judge ruled Monday that there’s no reason to prove “Gov. Rauner hates Speaker Madigan.”
“You can turn on a TV and see the ads,” U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said during a status hearing, arguing that anyone who’s not fully aware of the Republican governor’s animosity to the Democratic speaker is “like Rip Van Winkle and you just woke up.”
The removal of Rauner reduces Madigan’s attorneys’ deposition list to just one man: millionaire investor Blair Hull. […]
Hull is being deposed because lawyers are trying to show that he had the most participation in funding the Gonzales campaign.
A newly formed charity came to Chicago pitching state officials on its “model” way to provide low-income housing.
The Ohio-based Better Housing Foundation said it would provide safe apartments. It would help tenants get jobs and health care. And it wouldn’t evict “solely on the basis that the tenant is unable to pay their rent.”
Starting in early 2016, with little scrutiny, a pair of state agencies helped the nonprofit borrow tens of millions of dollars at lower interest rates and obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax breaks that allowed it to rapidly buy dozens of buildings across the South Side.
But a Tribune investigation has found that many residents have been left to live in deteriorating buildings. The nonprofit hasn’t provided social services there. And the charity regularly has sued to evict those behind on rent. Meanwhile, a real estate manager, lawyers and others have been collectively paid millions of dollars in fees. […]
As for the buildings themselves, closing documents show that of the nearly $14 million borrowed, just $100,000 was set aside to cover repairs in 16 older buildings mostly in South Shore but also to the west in Park Manor and as far south as West Pullman. […]
After that $52 million deal closed, DeAngelis’ firm was paid more than $3.3 million from bond proceeds — double what the state board had been told in a presentation, records show. […]
Building code problems also continued to increase. By February of this year — 19 months into the nonprofit’s stewardship — code violations topped 500. […]
Getting cheap financing was just one part of the plan. The other: getting property taxes eliminated.
The Illinois budget labeled as “balanced” by Democrats and Republicans alike has an estimated $1.2 billion structural imbalance, according to the state’s new offering statement.
The Fiscal Year 2019 General Funds budget has an estimated underlying structural deficit of $1.2 billion. To avoid future structural deficits, the Governor and the General Assembly would, among other potential solutions, need to reduce expenditures, adjust revenue collections or approve a combination of revenue adjustments and reductions in expenditures. The State provides no assurances as to how, when or in what form this structural deficit might be addressed.
According to the state’s report, the structural deficit results from one-time things like $800 million in interfund borrowing and $300 million for the sale of the Thompson Center. But there’s also the matter of $400 million in raises the state must pay, but never appropriated. Then there’s the hoped-for $400 million for pension savings from a buyout program…
“While these buyout programs have yet to be implemented, it is expected to create savings for the state in the long term,” state budget director Hans Zigmund said in a recorded investor presentation. “The state can provide no assurance as to the amount of savings actually realized from the implementation of such programs.”
* And despite the governor’s continued trash-talking of the tax hike, here’s his capital markets director…
“Several developments which have taken place since the beginning of fiscal year 2018 are putting the state on an improved trajectory for the future,” state capital markets director Kelly Hutchinson says in a recorded investor presentation, saying the permanent income tax hike “helped drive a 21% increase in general fund revenues.”
The report and the investor presentation are both here.
Director Hutchinson also made a good point during the presentation that the state’s GO bond program has a “perfect” repayment record since it was established in 1900. That’s 118 years.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Sunday vetoed legislation to expand benefit rights for paramedics and emergency medical technicians by defining them as firefighters in municipal collective bargaining agreements.
Rauner’s veto of the two measures, which were passed with overwhelming, veto-proof bipartisan majorities, was in line with his previous pronouncements that Springfield shouldn’t dictate “unfunded state mandates on local governments.”
But Rauner went further, castigating the legislation as perpetuating “the decades of political corruption that has plagued the state of Illinois for too long.”
“Time and again, elected officials have granted sweeping benefits and power to the unions in exchange for campaign contributions and political support, creating a system of entrenchment, waste and bad government,” Rauner wrote in his veto message of one of the measures.
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Sunday vetoed three education bills, including one that would have required students to learn about work ethic and another that would have created an “emotional intelligence” task force.
The work ethic bill called for the teaching of such concepts as the importance of trustworthiness, integrity, initiative, respecting authority, arriving on time, and being ready for work and dressing appropriately. […]
Rauner also vetoed a bill that would have mandated the creation of the Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning Task Force. The nine-member task force would have been charged with developing curriculum and guidelines for elementary and high school students to learn things like how to recognize, direct and positively express emotions. Members of the task force would have been unpaid but eligible for expense reimbursements.
* Press release…
[Last week] Governor Bruce Rauner used an amendatory veto on House Bill 4469, a measure that had passed both chambers with bi-partisan support. The bill would have allowed an opportunity for eligible persons detained pre-trial to vote, and provide those leaving Illinois jails and prisons with information on voting rights for individuals living with records, including the basic knowledge that in Illinois, eligible citizens have their voting rights restored upon release. Unfortunately, the Governor eliminated the provision that would have provided basic information to those leaving jails and the Department of Corrections. The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:
The Governor’s action today stands in stark contrast to our State’s commitment to protecting voting rights. It is also a sharp departure from his SB 2273 (Crosscheck) veto message, where he stated that his “administration has demonstrated a commitment to increasing access to the vote.” Proclamations like these are hollow, especially where the provision of the bill that he vetoed would’ve provide crucial information to men and women leaving Illinois jails and prison – information that would make clear that individuals with records, including those leaving prisons and jails, have a right to vote in Illinois post release.
It is especially disappointing that a governor, who has publically stated that individuals who have served time in jails and prisons deserve an opportunity for redemption, rehabilitation and a second chance to be productive citizens, would use his veto to take away an opportunity for individuals leaving prisons and jails to know about their voting rights. Especially when this bill, and the provision he vetoed, was the result of negotiations with many entities, including IDOC and the Illinois Sheriffs Association.
In the months that we have spent working on this bill, we have heard from many citizens living with records throughout the state who didn’t realize that they still had a right to vote post release. They were very hopeful that they governor would sign HB 4469, as were the many organizations, churches, community groups, and individuals who worked on this bill.
The legislature should override this veto and enact House Bill 4469 in its original form.
* Other bills…
* New law aims to keep at-risk families together, out of welfare system: The law, House Bill 4885, provides child care for children younger than 5 who are part of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services intact family case. After the DCFS case is closed, the families get an additional six months of child care.
* Stadelman proposal to crack down on mugshot websites signed into law: “These are private websites forcing individuals to pay thousands of dollars to remove incorrect information about their past,” Stadelman said. “In many cases, these people had their records sealed or expunged, or even had the case dismissed. It’s time to put an end to this unethical practice.”
Deputy Illinois House Republican leader Tom Demmer of Dixon says no one should expect the GOP to stop trying to tie Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to local Democratic candidates.
“It certainly hasn’t lost its effectiveness.” Demmer said Sunday on WGN-AM 720. “I think the reason is in most articles you read about Speaker Madigan, it talks about the tremendous amount of influence and control he has over legislation that ever even comes up for a vote.” […]
“When you think about, across the state, there’s a lot of people both Republicans and Democrats, who are frustrated with Mike Madigan’s leadership and they don’t have a way of directly voting for him or not,” Demmer said, explaining what Rauner and Republicans have described as the “People’s Pledge” asking candidates not to back Madigan for speaker.
“And so the question really comes down to, if you’re somebody in the state who thinks that 40 years in politics is long enough … that it might be time to try something new,” he said. “That’s why we’re encouraging people to ask your local state representative candidate who they’re going to vote for for speaker. This is not something that a typical Illinoisan will see on their ballot.”
A Williamson County commissioner says the push for a gun control advisory question on November’s ballot has nothing to do with letting the voters speak and everything to do with heavy-handed Springfield politics.
Commissioner Ron Ellis said when the Williamson County Board first started talking in June about letting the voters decide if the board should oppose specific gun control bills that were being debated in Springfield, he was all for it. In fact, the three-person board voted unanimously to put the question on the ballot, they just had to finalize the language. […]
Ellis said that board meeting put the political machine in top gear, and the pressure was on him particularly. He said he got a call from Joe Hackler, the Southern Illinois director for Citizens for Rauner Inc., about his support of the measure.
“I was literally told that if I didn’t put this on the ballot that there would be repercussions,” Ellis said. He said he later heard from a local Republican official that if he wasn’t careful, it was possible there could be a smear campaign launched against him for standing up to Springfield, making his political life very difficult in the future.”
Williamson County’s controversial advisory question opposing gun-control legislation died during Friday’s special meeting after commissioner Jim Marlo did not get a second for his motion to put the question on the ballot. […]
Friday’s meeting was well-attended, with the majority of the gallery filled with people wishing to speak on whether or not they thought the question should go on the ballot. The majority spoke in favor, saying they wanted the voters’ voices to be heard in Springfield, despite the advisory question being a nonbinding measure. […]
Bradley Marks addressed Ellis directly, accusing him of standing against voter turnout. He said the advisory question represents a hot-button issue that would draw out not just conservative voters, but also liberal voters as well.
“If we have to use a gimmick to turn people out to the polls, that’s sad,” Ellis replied.
In the end, however, the board voted unanimously to put their original question on the ballot…
After the question failed to advance to a vote, the commissioners voted instead to take up the original referendum opposing five specific pieces of gun legislation that were under consideration at the state level, some of which deal with wait periods for purchasing certain weapons and others banning possession of firearm accessories like bump stocks. That passed unanimously.
Helene Miller Walsh, the wife of conservative radio host and former GOP U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, has been picked to fill the state House vacancy of a former Republican lawmaker who stepped down after being accused of sending an ex-girlfriend’s nude photos to other men online.
Nick Sauer, of Lake Barrington, resigned from his Illinois House seat this month after the accusations surfaced in a Politico report. Local Republican officials on Saturday chose Walsh to replace Sauer both in the General Assembly and on the November ballot.
Now, Walsh faces the potentially difficult task of building a campaign in the short few months before the election. She will run against Mary Edly-Allen, a teacher from Libertyville, in the race to represent a central and southern Lake County district in the state legislature.
“I’m really angry about what’s going on in this state,” Miller Walsh said. “People are leaving and have already left. I’m tired of what’s going on.”
She also said that, as a legislator, she wants to help the black community. Miller Walsh is a five-year advisory board member at Project H.O.O.D., an inner city nonprofit organization started by Pastor Corey Brooks in 2012 to help people become peacemakers, problem solvers, leaders and entrepreneurs in their communities.
“We all want the same thing, ultimately,” said Miller Walsh, a lifelong Chicago-area resident. “We all want to be able to live our lives with a lot less government interference. And we are responsible for ourselves. We’re no different up here in Mundelein than they are on the South Side (of Chicago).” […]
“When people came to her, she said to me, ‘You know what, I’ve got a chance to do my part to fight for Illinois,’” [Joe Walsh] said. “I think she’ll make a great candidate because she’s the epitome of a citizen legislator. She ain’t a professional politician, that is for sure.”
Today, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign for Congress released her first general election television message to voters. The spot, titled “Hike,” tells the story of a family hike that landed her son in the intensive care unit, fighting for his life. It highlights the critical importance of access to quality and affordable health care for Illinois families. The spot begins airing on television in the district tomorrow.
“For me, and for so many parents across central Illinois, health care is a personal issue,” said Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. “No family should risk losing a loved one, or face bankruptcy, because of one medical emergency. That’s why I’m running for Congress — because Rodney Davis has voted repeatedly to cut health care coverage, raise costs, and gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Central Illinois families deserve better.”
Ten years ago, a family hike almost cost our son Jack his life. A simple tick bite led to a deadly infection that put Jack in intensive care for 21 days where he was read last rites twice. I’m Betsy Londrigan and I know that without great health care, Jack [my son] would have died. Thankfully, he came home. But then the bills started coming. Without good insurance, we would have been bankrupt. I approve this message, because now I want to make sure every parent can afford good health care for their family, too.
Madigan’s attorneys on Friday filed exhibits in U.S. District Court to show that Blair Hull — a millionaire investor who made a failed Democratic run for the U.S. Senate — emailed Rauner’s assistant to provide an update on [Jason] Gonzales’ 2016 campaign [against Madigan]. Hull helped create the PAC Illinois United for Change, which in 2016 helped to fund ads and mailers that either helped Gonzales or criticized Madigan.
Madigan’s team is seeking to show why Hull and Rauner should be deposed in the case, and to try to link that back to one of their defense strategies: trying to show that Gonzales was a “closet Republican.”
Gonzales’ team is hoping to prove that Madigan put up two “sham” candidates with Latino names to try to split the Hispanic vote in the March 2016 Democratic primary. Madigan beat Gonzales 65.2 percent to 27.1 percent. The other two candidates received a combined 7.8 percent.
Madigan attorneys also included an August 2016 email from Illinois Policy Institute head John Tillman — sent to Rauner’s assistant, his “body man” at the time and Illinois first lady Diana Rauner — which in length includes information about the anti-Madigan documentary “Madigan: Power, Privilege, Politics.” Gonzales was listed as a “potential expert” to be featured in the documentary and ultimately did appear in it.
That e-mail was addressed to “Bruce.” And the documents filed by Madigan’s attorneys appear to indicate that Hull bankrolled Gonzales’ suit against Madigan…
If this lawsuit is being supported or paid for by political opponents of Defendants, that fact calls into question Plaintiff’s credibility as a witness and as an alleged member of the Democratic Party.
They’re claiming that they believe Gonzales was a plant, and therefore the party was in its rights to do whatever it could to beat him.
MJM’s lawyers also claim that months after the primary Hull was still expressing interest in video taken of Gonzales during the primary, suggesting that there might be a link between Hull and the Illinois Policy Institute’s Madigan “documentary.” Click here to read the filing for yourself. Lots of interesting stuff in there.
* Tillman’s e-mail to “Bruce” includes a bit of PR strategizing for the Madigan documentary. “We will also use a number of other tactics to reach individuals outside of our digital community,” Tillman wrote, including..
• Syndicated columns: We are developing a series of columns that highlight Madigan’s control of legislative and political processes and the ways in which he and his political allies are enriching themselves off of Illinois’ property-tax scheme. These columns will be distributed via our Illinois News Network to approximately 15 media outlets across the state with a unique circulation of nearly 200,000 readers.
• Earned media: We will leverage our relationship with media to undermine Madigan’s narrative as a “defender of the middle class” and paint him as an obstructionist.
• Radio: We will develop radio segments based on our articles and columns on Madigan. These segments will air on our Illinois Rising radio show on AM 560 and will be syndicated through our Illinois Radio Network, which reaches more than 300,000 unique listeners.
I can’t help but wonder how newspaper publishers and radio station owners feel now about being so deliberately duped.
Mac Strategies Group, a twenty-five time, award-winning strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm, announced today that former Chicago Tribune Statehouse Bureau Chief Monique Garcia will join the firm as its vice president of public and media relations.
In this newly created role, Garcia will be developing effective communication strategies for clients’ issue campaigns, while simultaneously using her experience to help navigate the Statehouse pressroom along with media outlets statewide. She has been recognized as one of the “best state capitol reporters in America” by the Washington Post, so she offers an invaluable blend of skills to successfully execute a variety of media and public relations campaigns. This role is a natural progression for Garcia who has chronicled the political process of hundreds of public policy issues in Illinois, having served as a key reporter and leader in the Chicago Tribune’s organization over the last decade.
“Monique will develop messaging plans and strategies to gain positive public exposure for our clients,” said Ryan McLaughlin, president and CEO of Mac Strategies Group. “Her familiarity and expertise of the news process will prove to be extremely beneficial for the clients we serve. She will bring a lens to statewide issues that furthers our ability to communicate sometimes complicated subjects, providing the perspective of those who want their important stories told.”
Garcia added, “This is a wonderful new chapter in my career, as I have long watched the smart, hard work of the team at Mac Strategies Group and am excited to join their ranks. I look forward to using my experience in the newsroom to help connect clients with journalists across the state in order to drive meaningful conversations about very important public policy issues.”
Mac Strategies Group continues the expansion of its capabilities with the addition of Garcia. In recent years the firm has added Matt Murphy, the former deputy leader of the Illinois Senate, to lead its government affairs practice; Matt Butterfield, a Peabody Award-winning Chicago broadcast journalist; Tom Bowen, a former key political strategist for Mayor Rahm Emanuel; and David Vite, one of the most respected lobbyists in Illinois. The firm was started by veteran media and political operative Ryan McLaughlin in 2008 and has quickly become one of the “go to” Chicago-based firms in executing public relations and public affairs campaigns for clients at the city, state and federal levels.
Huge loss for the reading public, huge gain for Mac. Monique is not only a good reporter she’s good people. I wish her nothing but the best. And I will never understand why the Tribune let her get away.
Today, the Pritzker campaign released a new digital video featuring President Barack Obama on why he’s backing JB Pritzker for governor. In the video, President Obama commends JB’s leadership in creating thousands of jobs at 1871 and expanding the school breakfast program to over 200,000 kids.
“Juliana and I are incredibly honored to have the support of President Barack Obama as we fight for the values that defined his presidency,” said JB Pritzker. “President Obama has done so much to move our country forward: expanding healthcare for millions, leading our country out of the Great Recession, and standing up as a model of leadership and integrity for millions across our great state and nation. I was proud to play a role in his historic presidency when I led the White House Summit on Early Childhood Education, and I’m proud to have his endorsement in this election. I look forward to fighting to preserve and build on his legacy as Illinois’ next governor by putting Springfield back on the side of working families.”
“I am proud to endorse JB Pritzker to be the next governor of my home state of Illinois, and let me tell you why,” said President Barack Obama in the video. “It’s simple. JB gets things done. When folks said Illinois couldn’t be a leader in creating high tech jobs, JB thought we could, and he started a tech incubator that’s helped entrepreneurs create hundreds of new companies and more than 7,000 good jobs. When JB saw that too many of our school kids were going hungry, he made it a personal mission to change that, and working with Illinois non-profits, he helped expand a program we started to make sure more than 200,000 low-income Illinois kids have access to school breakfast.
“I know JB. I trust JB, and that’s who he is — someone who is always thinking about how he can make difference. Someone who identifies the right problems and brings the right people together to solve them. And that’s something we can use in Illinois. JB will be a governor who looks out for all of us — from downstate towns to northern suburbs to the neighborhoods of Chicago. He’ll work as hard as he can to strengthen opportunity for every Illinoisan, today and into the future. So, I’m asking you to join me in supporting and voting for JB Pritzker for the next governor of Illinois.”
Chicago billionaire J.B. Pritzker isn’t sure whether he’ll back President Obama in 2012, Bloomberg TV reported on Friday. “We’ll have to wait and see. We have to see who the nominee will be on the Republican side,” Pritzker said. “I’m a Democrat, and I tend to lean towards voting for the president.”
“As in every election, it’s going to be a choice between two people and two parties that you’re not 100 percent behind,” Pritzker said. “You just have to pick the best of a mediocre set of choices.
Billionaire J.B. Pritzker has pumped another $20 million into his Democratic campaign for governor, bringing his record self-funding total to $126.5 million with 2½ months to go before the Nov. 6 general election.
Campaign finance reports filed late Saturday night showed Pritzker made his latest out-of-pocket contribution Tuesday, two days before he was a featured speaker at Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair.
At the fair’s Republican day, Gov. Bruce Rauner asked the gathered crowd for financial help, warning that he would be outspent by Pritzker by a 3-1 ratio, though he offered no specifics. […]
Still, the Republican governor has put $95.3 million of his own money into his campaign fund since March 2013, when he announced his first candidacy for governor. In December 2016, Rauner made a record one-time contribution of $50 million to his re-election fund.
Maxwell: Why do you think at this time in Pat Quinn’s governorship he created more jobs than you have in this time in yours? [Rauner laughs] Those are the facts, those are the dry numbers. Why do you think that is?
Rauner: So, um, Quinn was a disaster for the state of Illinois. And Pritzker will even be a bigger disaster. Regulations, restrictions, tax hikes…
Maxwell: How was he able to create more jobs at this time in his governorship than you have in yours?
Rauner: We have had the headwinds of a tax hike from Mike Madigan and the talk of further tax hikes…
Maxwell: To the same rate that it was under Gov. Quinn, to the same rate.
Rauner: And, and people see the deficit spending. People see what Madigan’s doing to the state. And it’s very difficult to persuade investors, very difficult to persuade job creators to come.
Go watch the rest. The governor claims he’s talked to business owners who’ve vowed to leave the state if Pritzker is elected. Maxwell also pressed him on all the jobs his overseas trips were supposed to create that haven’t yet been announced. The governor didn’t have much of an answer.
The Democratic Party of Illinois has sent out what could wind up being the most unintentionally hilarious campaign mailer of the season.
“Mica Freeman’s Plan: No Budget, No Pay,” the DPI mailer blares on behalf of the Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield).
“If politicians in Springfield don’t do their job and balance the budget, they shouldn’t get paid. Period,” the mailer claims. “Mica Freeman is outraged Governor Bruce Rauner and Springfield politicians continued collecting taxpayer-funded paychecks while failing to balance the budget for more than 700 days, putting critical services like breast cancer screenings and domestic violence shelters at risk.”
The other side of the mailer has a photo of a bespectacled, cross-armed Freeman staring at the camera. “If you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid. Even my kids understand that. But Springfield politicians who fail to pass a budget still collect a paycheck. I say that’s wrong and I’m going to stop it.”
Wait. What?
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s top attorney Mike Kasper filed a lawsuit on behalf of several of Madigan’s House Democratic members in 2016 against Comptroller Leslie Munger for withholding legislators’ paychecks during the two-year budget impasse. The Republican Munger’s special election campaign that year centered around her “No budget, no pay” slogan, and she got backup from Gov. Rauner, who, by the way, doesn’t accept a salary.
So, I about died laughing when I saw that Democratic Party mailer.
Rep. Batinick himself co-sponsored legislation in 2015 that would’ve repealed a state law enacting a continuing appropriation for legislator salaries and General Assembly operations. That 2014 law was pushed by Madigan after Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed legislator salaries out of a budget bill in a failed effort to force the GA to take up a pension reform bill. Madigan himself sued Quinn over the paychecks and won in 2013.
Rep. Batinick also sent a letter along with several of his colleagues to incoming Comptroller Susana Mendoza in December of 2016 offering their advice on how to counter the Madigan-backed lawsuit. Batinick even owns the NoBudgetNoPayIL.com website.
The issue definitely polls well, which is why the Democrats are using it. Munger received far more votes than the other two statewide Republican candidates in 2016 (President Donald Trump and Sen. Mark Kirk). “They’re hurting Illinois, so why should they get paid?” Munger asked in a TV ad focusing on the issue. And it was extremely telling that Madigan’s members waited until after the election ended to file their lawsuit. Madigan’s side prevailed in court, however, and the issue was dropped after the appellate court ruled it moot.
I asked Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown if this meant Madigan was now in favor of the concept. “As I recall,” Brown wrote in an e-mail, “Madigan opposed efforts to block pay because it was being used as an economic weapon.”
OK, but that issue would be weaponized yet again if Rep. Batinick and now his Democratic opponent have their way.
“It’s sad that candidates are so far from policy and at a place where some do anything to win,” Rep. Batinick said. “It’s a big reason we are in the mess we are in.”
The Democratic Party of Illinois is also using the “Invest in Kids Tax Credit” program to bash a Republican House candidate.
The 75 percent tax credit on donations to a fund to help lower-income families send their kids to private or out of district schools was passed as part of the school funding reform bill. It was hotly opposed by teachers unions, but backed to the hilt by folks like Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.
So far, contributions have not met expectations. Less than $41 million has been donated, even though the program is capped at $100 million. Democratic gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker has said he will end the program if elected.
“Tonia Khouri’s extreme agenda would strip millions in funding from our schools,” the mailer blares. Khouri “supports a plan to strip 75 million dollars from our public schools in a voucher-style scheme that diverts tax money to private schools,” according to the mailer.
The mailer is interesting mainly because this plan was supposed to be popular with suburbanites, and Khouri is vying to replace retiring suburban Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago). But, apparently, the polling works on this hit.
As usual with these things, it’s also more than a bit misleading. The “extreme” plan was backed by DPI’s chairman Speaker Madigan, passed by both Democratic-controlled legislative chambers and signed into law a year ago.
