* Cook County Record…
On the same day Illinois voters by wide margins selected Democrat JB Pritzker to be the state’s next governor, and his running mate, Democratic State Rep. Juliana Stratton, to serve as lieutenant governor, a group of Pritzker campaign workers added Pritzker and Stratton as individual defendants in a discrimination lawsuit the workers brought in the closing days of the gubernatorial campaign, particularly targeting Stratton for allegedly defaming the campaign workers behind the suit as “extortionists.”
On Nov. 6, the group of campaign workers, through their attorneys Shay T. Allen and Jeanette Samuels, both of Chicago, filed an amended complaint in Chicago federal court, which for the first time named both Pritzker and Stratton as defendants in the case.
The lawsuit also added a count of defamation against Stratton, alleging she “caused to be widely disseminated false statements about the Plaintiffs, including that they were extortionists.”
The lawsuit now further alleges that, after the lawsuit was filed, the Pritzker campaign retaliated against five of the plaintiffs, placing them on “’administrative leave with pay,’ pending the outcome of an investigation into knowingly false allegations against them,” actions they said were taken with the approval and knowledge of Pritzker, Stratton and Pritzker campaign manager Anna Capara.
“… No meaningful investigation has taken place and the moving force of the adverse employment action taken against Plaintiffs was to punish them for asserting their constitutional rights,” the complaint said.
* From the amended complaint…
After the filing of this lawsuit, Defendant Stratton caused to be widely disseminated false statements about the Plaintiffs, including that they were extortionists.
I looked and didn’t see an instance where Stratton said they were extortionists. Some news reports did describe the lawsuit and preceding demand for $7.5 million as a form of extortion or characterized her comments as such, but she never actually said it that I could find. Here’s an example…
Pritzker and his running mate Juliana Stratton denied the allegations, and Stratton referred to a letter sent by the plaintiff’s attorney in which the plaintiffs demanded a $7.5 million settlement in a 24-hour window, suggesting the whole thing is akin to an extortion attempt.
“When people feel like they have been harassed or discriminated against, they have the right to come forward and have their voices heard. In this case, we had a letter delivered to us asking for $7.5 million dollars in 24 hours or they threatened legal action and to go to press. That’s not a good faith effort,” Stratton said in a statement.
…Adding… The Pritzker campaign says it still has not yet been served with the lawsuit.
* Meanwhile…
I am that former Pritzker campaign staffer who posted an Instagram video in October of a colleague wearing a charcoal face mask and pink nail polish after a long day at the office.
I posted the video to my private Instagram account late on a Saturday night after a 14-hour workday. Five days later, at the precise moment when it would inflict the most harm on the Pritzker campaign, somebody leaked a screenshot of the post to the media. The leak came just days before Halloween and after NBC’s Megyn Kelly ignited a media firestorm on Oct. 23 by making racially insensitive remarks about blackface.
It never occurred to me for a moment that my colleague’s face mask resembled blackface, and I had no idea Kelly was planning to defend blackface on national television three days after I posted the video.
To anyone who was offended by the image, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. It was taken out of context and I simply did not see what now seems so obvious. What I found humorous about the video was my colleague’s impersonation of Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs while tending to his pores.
Childish? Yes. Poorly timed? Absolutely. Intentionally racist? Not in the least.
Thoughts?
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Asked and answered
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Amazon will split its second headquarters between New York’s Long Island City and Arlington in northern Virginia, the e-commerce giant said Tuesday, ending Chicago’s hopes of adding a highly coveted corporate name and thousands of high-paying jobs to the city’s burgeoning tech sector. […]
Now local leaders must figure out on their own how to make Chicago a stronger magnet for technology talent. Some said being on Amazon’s short list helped boost Chicago’s reputation as a tech city. But there is still work to be done attracting companies — large and small — to Chicago, and growing local startups and businesses.
* Duncan Black…
As people start counting up the absurd amounts of public money that are going to be handed over to Amazon, I’ll ask the dumb question of why most municipalities are unable to comprehend that providing nice things for their citizens is also a good way to attract a tax base. I mean, build a d**n park. Improve your schools. Clean the streets (this is a Philly thing). These things are relatively cheap compared to throwing hundreds of millions at companies that don’t need them anyway.
There’s more to it than that (for instance, Penny Pritzker’s new P33 initiative looks promising), but it’s a good place to start.
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* Tribune…
“I’ll be living at the governor’s mansion in Springfield. Of course, my children are going to school here in Chicago and so I’ll be doing a lot of commuting, my wife will also be doing a lot of commuting — even my children will be doing a little commuting,” [JB Pritzker] said in a brief interview with the Tribune.
“I thought it was unfair to take them out of their schools,” he said, referring to his daughter, Teddi, 16, and son, Donny, 14. “One is in high school, one is going into high school — we’re excited about living in Springfield and spending time in central and southern Illinois.”
It’s a politically savvy move. Governors from the big city like to have a rebuttal to the Chicago governor vs. Downstate governor debate, which can be defined by where the state’s chief executive calls home. Back in the 1990s, a spokesman for two-term Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, who hails from Springfield and occupied the mansion full time, used to famously respond to reporters’ questions in that vein, saying Edgar was the governor of “all of Illinois.”
I said this often during the Blagojevich days, but if I was the governor of Illinois and I had kids there is no way in heck I would make them go to school in Springfield.
The whole thing is a non-issue to me anyway. There’s no mandate that the governor live in Springfield and the mansion is not the White House. Also, maybe I can start going to Blue Monday at the Alamo again because I haven’t wanted to run into the governor while I was trying to have fun.
* Finke says it best, though…
In case you didn’t see it elsewhere, Pritzker has addressed the most overrated issue facing state government.
He said he does plan to spend most of his time in the Governor’s Mansion, even if his wife and two kids will continue to spend most of their time in Chicago.
As before, if you think having the governor live in Springfield is a really important issue, answer this question: Do you honestly think Rod Blagojevich would have been a good governor if he’d simply lived in the mansion?
Not even a good governor, a better governor. The answer to both is “No.”
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* Troy LaRaviere press release…
In November of 2017, I was the first person to enter the 2019 race for mayor. Today, in November of 2018 it looks as if I will become the first candidate to exit the race. Our crew of volunteers did an amazing job. One volunteer collected nearly 2,000 signatures on her own. I thank them all, and I thank the people who invited me into their homes, who took the time to listen to me and my message and who gave of what they had. Unfortunately, however, it appears we’re going to come up short. The responsibility for this is ultimately my own.
With two weeks left in the petition process, it would require more money than we’ve been able to raise in an entire year. We would also require a massive influx of organized petitioners, just to give us a shot at reaching a signature threshold that would survive the aggressive challenge our petitions are going to get from political insiders from the more well-funded campaigns. Then, of course, there are the legal costs of defending ourselves from that legal challenge. So we will soon begin the process of winding down our campaign.
* WTTW…
The latest to throw his hat into the ring is State Rep. La Shawn Ford of the 8th District, which includes much of the city’s West Side.
“What we want is really pretty simple – the people of Chicago want a seat at the table, and our beloved city of Chicago should be financially stable, healthy and safe – and that is why I now announce that I am running to be the next mayor of the city of Chicago,” Ford told supporters Thursday. […]
A supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries, the six-term state representative has a history of backing progressive causes, including support for the “ban the box” bill that would bar private sector employers from asking questions about a job candidate’s criminal history. Ford has also championed microloans for ex-offenders. […]
Earlier this year, Ford caused something of a stir when he appeared on the TV show “Fox & Friends” to encourage Emanuel to work with the Trump administration to get more resources to tackle gun violence. Emanuel had been feuding with President Donald Trump over the city’s status as a so-called “sanctuary city,” but Ford said he would welcome Trump to Chicago and argued that the mayor’s poor relationship with the president was ultimately harming the city.
* Related…
* Activist who helped force release of Laquan video will run for 5th Ward alderman
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* These two are talking about Democratic congressional gains in the suburbs, but the same applies to the Illinois General Assembly. The Democrats racked up significant suburban wins this year (and may have set themselves up for more gains in 2020) while continuing to lose ground in rural Downstate areas…
Mass transit is gonna be a much bigger issue than it already is now that the suburbs are such a large part of the two Democratic caucuses and Downstate opposition will be more muted. Also, building true high-speed rail lines to Champaign, Rockford and maybe the Quad Cities while boosting MetroLink in the Metro East would take care of many Downstate Democrats’ concerns.
I was a bit puzzled why JB Pritzker didn’t weigh in during the summer’s Metra meltdowns. This issue may need a signal-boost with the Pritzker camp, which is why you’re seeing it here.
* As for guns, well, here’s the ISRA’s take…
Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) executive director Richard A. Pearson is imploring members to stand strong under the new administration of Democrat J.B. Pritzker.
“The fight is on and the ISRA will be there fighting for you,” Pearson wrote in the latest bulletin sent to members. “As Sir Winston Churchill pointed out, countries that fight, although they may get defeated from time to time, always rise again. That is also true of causes like ours.”
Pearson also sought to remind voters of how important it is to have their voices heard at the ballot box.
“There are those who tell me they did not bother to vote because they didn’t believe their vote counted,” he said. “As I write this, there is one pro-gun candidate who is ahead by exactly one vote. Helene Miller Walsh leads her opponent, in the 51st District, with 25,106 votes to her opponent’s 25,105 votes. Don’t tell me your vote does not count.”
Pritzker topped Gov. Bruce Rauner and is slated to take office in early 2019. “To all those people who didn’t vote, or would not vote, for Bruce Rauner because he was not the perfect candidate, if bad firearm legislation passes into law it is your fault, plain and simple,” Pearson added.
Rauner received about 100,000 fewer votes this year than he got in 2014. But his 2018 total would’ve still been enough to defeat Gov. Pat Quinn four years ago. Point being, it wasn’t specifically the lack of votes from gun-rights supporters that did him in. Lashing out at the public is never a good look.
* The Question: What other Illinois policy directions do you foresee after this year’s election?
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The way ahead
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rick Pearson…
“If you want to be purely political about it, the numbers just don’t hold up,” [former Gov. Jim Edgar] said. “White people aren’t going to be around (as a majority) much longer. You look at what’s coming up, young people, people of color, we’ve got to figure out a way to attract them. You may not carry all of those, but you’ve got to do better than we did in this election.”
Greg Baise, the outgoing president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, faulted Republican leaders in the suburbs for not actively recruiting support among a changing electorate after years in which the GOP just assumed newcomers largely from the city would become Democratic defectors. Baise cited the retirements of some women suburban legislators whom local GOP leaders replaced with suburban men as one example of a failure to look forward.
“We don’t take the opportunity, when you’re trying to grow in the suburbs,” Baise said. “Is there any effort to find Hispanic business leaders that are Republican-oriented and to promote them and to talk with them and have them a part of any activity? Any effort like this? I haven’t heard of any if there is, whatsoever.”
“The business community, we get the phone calls (from campaigns) at election time: ‘Oh, can we have somebody walk through a manufacturing facility?’ Well, guess what they see when they walk through the manufacturing facility?” he said, noting that many have large numbers of Latino factory workers. “And half of the supervisors for the owners of those companies have to speak Spanish.”
* Shia Kapos…
Illinois Democrats’ takeover of every level of government has the Illinois Republican Party is taking stock on how to shift gears. The way Pat Brady sees it, the Illinois GOP needs an “autopsy” similar to what the national GOP underwent in 2012 when Mitt Romney lost to President Barack Obama. “We need to get back to the party of Reagan, a party that appeals to a broad spectrum,” he told POLITICO.
That would mean having to pull back from the politics of Dick Uihlein, the business magnate who supported conservatives across the country during this past election season, including Alabama Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore—who was accused of sexually assaulting teens when he was in his 30s. Uihlein lives in Wisconsin but has been an influence on GOP politics in Illinois, funneling $8.5 million to the Liberty Principles PAC and to conservative gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives (who lost to Bruce Rauner in the primary).
Brady and others say the Illinois GOP would do better to stop focusing on social issues like gay marriage, especially as more young people and women get involved in the voting process.
GOP state Rep. Dave McSweeney also points to the missteps of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. “ We have a massive tax hike, out of control spending, a big unpaid backlog of bills—and we have fewer Republican General Assembly members,” he told POLITICO. “We’re worse off than when he came in.”
McSweeney says Republicans need to follow Democrats’ political tactics: Run a grassroots GOTV campaign. “This wasn’t a policy victory,” he said, referring to J.B. Pritzker’s rout over Rauner. “Pritzker ran on a vague platform. What he and Democrats did was get out the vote.”
The trouble with Brady’s thinking is that, while Bruce Rauner was a classic “post-autopsy” Republican candidate, Donald Trump threw that autopsy out the window and tripled-down on immigration, etc. The president cannot be wished away and his reelection bid is next on the statewide list, so finding Republican Latino candidates, as Baise suggests, is gonna be really tough. And winning over minority voters, as Edgar urges, ain’t gonna be easy, either.
Also, shortly before election day, Brady called polls showing Rauner trailing by double-digits “inherently unreliable.” Rauner lost by 15 points. He’s a better surrogate than he is a prognosticator.
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Moms on an independent mission
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* NPR Illinois…
Jean Sinzdak — associate director of the nonpartisan Center for American Women and Politics — says Tuesday’s election saw a number of firsts.
“Voters in places where that happened were really hungry for a different sort of candidate,” she said. “For someone who was not the quote un-quote typical elected official, which has historically been older and white and male.” […]
Sinzdak says nationwide women running for office ignored traditional advice of downplaying the fact that they were mothers or had kids at home.
For [Democratic House candidate Joyce Mason], it was a key theme of her campaign; she called herself a “mom on a mission.”
Sinzdak says that’s good news for future elections.
“What that means long-term is that it might open the playing field for more women and other newcomers to the political process to not feel like they had to fit a certain mold,” she said.
Maybe this is a new thing elsewhere, but it’s not new here. Way back in 1994, House Republican Leader Lee Daniels recruited a bunch of suburban PTA/school board moms to run against Speaker Madigan’s Democrats. They highlighted their personal lives and it worked so well that Madigan himself adopted the practice, which continues to this day. Democratic Rep. Michelle Mussman’s 2010 campaign slogan was none other than: “Mom on a mission.”
* What is different this year is the refreshing independence of so many of the latest suburban women candidates, Mason included (coincidentally, I told subscribers about Mason earlier today).
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Car-sharing showdown
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Well, that’s one way of looking at it…
On Tuesday, lawmakers turn their attention to Springfield for a veto session taking up bills the governor rejected over the summer. One of those is a bipartisan measure extending regulations for car-sharing operators like Turo. The bill would impose regulations similar to those in place for rental-car companies. A source close to lobbying efforts says an override of that bill is expected when the veto session starts.
What it would mean: Lawmakers on both sides are ready to move on without Rauner. This car-sharing bill is an easy first step for Democrats and Republicans as they feel out their new world with a Democrat moving into the governor’s seat. The bill addresses bipartisan ideals: consumer protection and taxation. An override could signal trouble for Rauner on more controversial measures as D’s and R’s start feeling comfortable seeing eye-to-eye on things while the governor operates in lame duck status.
I didn’t realize Politico was selling content ads.
* Hinz…
The battle pits Turo and other “ride-sharing” companies—which allow private-car owners to lease their vehicles via a phone app—against Enterprise, Hertz and other firms that rent their own vehicles under regulations and taxation set by the government.
Involved on one side or the other are many of the Capitol’s best-known lobbyists. Included: former gubernatorial campaign manager Chip Englander, former Chicago governmental relations chief Victor Reyes, recently retired state Sen. Pam Althoff and Bob Uhe, the longtime chief counsel to House Speaker Mike Madigan.
Enterprise won the first round in the spring, when lawmakers approved a bill unveiled late in the session to effectively require both sets of companies to be treated the same under the law. The ride-sharers struck back when Gov. Bruce Rauner used his amendatory veto to rewrite the bill, saying the state should not “unintentionally smother” a growing business.
Lawmakers now will decide who wins. Bill advocates appear to have a strong hand to play in the House, which approved the bill in the spring with 78 “aye” votes (71 are needed for an override), but advocates will need to pick up a couple of votes in the Senate if they are to win.
Enterprise argues that traditional firms are at a disadvantage competing against private-owned vehicles that do not face the same regulatory and taxation costs, such as airport access fees.
* Just about every contract lobster in the building is working this bill. And you know things are high stakes when you see oppo…
Last spring, then-state Sen. Pam Althoff voted for a bill backed by Enterprise and other rental car companies to impose regulations and taxes on car-sharing services that are gaining popularity, especially with young adults.
Althoff, a McHenry County Republican, was one of the sponsors of the measure, which passed the General Assembly at the end of May but was vetoed Aug. 28 by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who said it would “squelch” progress and innovation.
Althoff left the Illinois Legislature a month later, resigning after more than 15 years, and soon registered as a Springfield lobbyist. Among her first clients? Enterprise.
* Press release from Turo and Getaround, both of which opposed the original bill and supported the governor’s veto…
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one corporation urging Legislators to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that would triple-tax anyone using online peer-to-peer networks to share their car through services like Turo and Getaround. Those residents pay a 6.25% sales tax when they purchase their car. They also pay 4.95% in income taxes on any money they make while sharing their car with others. Now, companies like Enterprise want them to also pay a 5% state tax and upwards of 15% in local taxes each time they share their vehicle.
Rental car companies, meanwhile, are exempt from paying any sales taxes when they purchase their fleets of vehicles – an exemption that costs the State of Illinois nearly $200 million in lost tax revenue every year.
Senate Bill 2641 began as an innocuous bill which, in the final days of the Spring 2018 session, was quietly gutted and replaced with language calling for new taxes. Amid heavy lobbying, it was approved with no public hearings and without testimony before a transportation committee. […]
Nearly 10,000 Illinois residents share their car on Turo and Getaround, making an average of $625 a month. Of those car owners, 96% have two or fewer cars on the platform. This bill suggests residents using car sharing services should pay higher combined taxes than large car rental corporations.
* Did you notice that part about how “96% have two or fewer cars on the platform”? That’s likely because of this problem in Chicago…
On the 4700 block of north Kenmore Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood sits a collection of cars all owned by “Michael O.” — the city’s most successful auto lender on car-sharing platform Turo.
Michael O., who is actually Michael Anthony Oates, according to city paperwork, owns as many as 40 vehicles that he leases out for short-term stints using Turo, a Silicon Valley-based startup that promotes itself as the future of the car rental industry, just as Airbnb has disrupted the hotel and motel industry. […]
Oates’ fleet of mid-line vehicles he rents out on Turo has caused major parking headaches in Uptown, where he parks a portion of his 40 vehicles on a street just two blocks away from the Aragon Ballroom and the Riviera Theatre, and where many residents struggled to find parking even before Oates’ cars showed up.
Ald. James Cappleman (46), who also lives on Kenmore, found out about Oates’ cars a little more than a year ago, when residents began to complain that lock boxes containing keys to the cars began showing up on fences outside of apartment buildings on the street.
* Press release from the bill’s original proponents who are pushing for an override…
The legislation would also require peer-to-peer rental services to collect and remit the same taxes as other vehicle rental companies, which they are currently circumventing even though vehicles on their platforms contribute to congestion and roadway wear and tear. While peer-to-peer companies market themselves as a way for individual car owners to make ends meet by renting out their personal vehicles, some have fleets consisting of a dozen or more vehicles. […]
The Governor’s veto of this legislation creates an entirely separate legal framework for peer-to-peer companies. It also pre-empts local control and prevents government bodies from collecting the optional 1 percent local car rental tax from peer-to-peer companies. Preventing municipalities from collecting local sales taxes on peer-to-peer rentals means communities across the state will go without revenue that funds crucial services and programs for residents.
“Municipalities have watched their funds be depleted in recent years, which is why it is imperative that the state not prevent them from collecting this revenue, particularly since it falls in line with industries already being taxed,” said Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League.
As noted above, the bill passed the House with a veto-proof majority, but it only received 34 votes in the Senate, which is two votes shy. Ten members didn’t vote and seven voted “Present,” so it looks like there’s room for improvement.
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Veto session preview
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WMBD…
State lawmakers return to Springfield on Tuesday for the first day of the annual veto session.
Similar to four years ago legislators return with the prospect of a different governor being sworn in just over two months from now. Unlike four years ago, the new governor will be a Democrat who will be working with Democratic majorities in the House and Senate that grew even larger on election day.
There are plenty of items on the agenda including raising the minimum salary paid to school teachers and possibly raising the age to legally purchase tobacco to 21.
Lawmakers say the change to the governor’s office will alter the atmosphere at the capitol.
* Finke…
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, said the change coming to the governor’s office alters the atmosphere for this veto session.
“A lot of this stuff might get pushed off until (next year),” Butler said. “I do not see where we have any huge pressing issues that are going to be taken up in the veto session.”
Butler said avoiding an override vote would be particularly true for bills that didn’t get supermajorities when they passed the General Assembly. They could be reintroduced next year, and sponsors would hope for a different outcome with a different governor.
Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said circumstances may also have changed since lawmakers were last in session, leaving some sponsors to rethink their bills. […]
“I think the transition to the new administration is going to require much attention not just from the incoming administration, but from legislators as well,” Manar said. “I think, at this moment in time anyway, it is taking up much of the oxygen in the room.”
* Bishop…
State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, who serves as the Senate president pro tempore, said with all the challenges facing the state, he doesn’t think there will be gloating during the veto session.
Harmon said Rauner’s loss takes away his leverage in trying to keep Republicans from supporting bills. Aside from “counting noses” on bills to see what measures have enough support for an override, some may consider holding off until next year, he said.
“I think members will also look at their bills and then decide or consider ‘what compromises did I make to pass this bill in a bipartisan environment where we knew we needed a Republican governor to sign it and when I do things differently if I need only a simple majority and have a friendly governor,’ ” Harmon said.
[State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet] expects Democrats to pass a few bills over Rauner’s veto.
“And then close up shop early and just wait to get their complete all-Chicago, all-the-time domination back,” Rose said.
* Riopell…
Among some of the proposals Rauner nixed: eventually raising the minimum salary for teachers to $40,000 per year, taking Illinois out of a controversial multistate voter database, and expanding voting rights to people who have been incarcerated but not convicted.
Pritzker has told reporters he expects lawmakers to override Rauner’s veto of the legislation about jailed voters. It was carried by his running mate, state Rep. Julianna Stratton.
Lawmakers also could push ahead with new proposals, including dueling plans aimed at companies emitting dangerous ethylene oxide gas such as Sterigenics in west suburban Willowbrook.
Separate proposals from House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs and Democratic state Rep. Sam Yingling of Grayslake would limit and eventually ban use of the chemical in Illinois. The legislation, which is set for a Tuesday committee hearing, is intended to pressure hospitals and sterilization companies to switch to safer alternatives.
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* Democrat Anne Stava-Murray defeated Republican Rep. David Olsen. As we’ve discussed before, she’s also fiercely anti-Madigan. From her Facebook page…
Legislators are deciding THIS WEEK on whether or not to commit to vote for Madigan as speaker.
I have committed to voting “nay,” a campaign promise I will keep.
Some other reps are currently considering speaking out against bullying and voting “Nay” to Madigan and community support could help them commit sooner.
Contrary to popular belief, YOU can do something about this!! Here are three things to do:
1) Sign & Share this Change dot org petition: https://chn.ge/2RMrxEo
2) Call your newly elected State Rep and make the ask: that both parties (R)s and (D)s nominate TWO candidates for Speaker.
Not sure who to call? PM me your address and I will send you the number to call.
3) While you’re on the phone with your rep, ask them to commit to voting “NAY” on Madigan and his rules as he’d want them
* The Representative-elect is going to be quite something to watch. Take a look at her Daily Herald candidate questionnaire. She’s up on the issues better than some incumbents I know. For instance…
Property taxes in Illinois are absurdly high.
To fix property taxes, we need to fix the largest driver of cost within property taxes: public education funding.
Anyone who talks about property taxes in isolation — like when my opponent sponsored political posturing legislation to eliminate them completely — misses the larger point of how broken our state’s system of education funding has been.
The cost burden for public education has been taken on at the local level for far too long. This has a negative impact on both property taxes and consistency of quality of Illinois public schools. Some Illinois public schools haven’t been able to afford basics like clean water or bus service that allows children to physically access the education that’s being paid for. Overcrowded classrooms can burn out educators who want to help and make a difference, but lack the basic resources to do so.
While the 2017 funding formula begins to work on overcoming these problems, successfully accomplishing the goals it sets out requires additional sources of revenue, as outlined in the prior question- with the main increase being realized through regulation and taxation of adult usage (21+) of marijuana.
Only when we correctly fund pensions and education will we see real property tax relief.
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A few minutes with JB Pritzker
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker has taken the prospect of an immediate income tax hike off the table, telling the Sun-Times that he won’t pursue an “artificial” progressive income tax during the coming spring legislative session.
Pritzker floated the idea as a possible way to impose an immediate graduated income tax, which the Illinois Constitution forbids. He said it “could” be done by using exemptions and tax credits for the working poor and the middle class to shield them from higher income tax rates. But he hasn’t really talked about the idea since April, and he never said he was fully committed to doing it. Not to mention that an immediate tax hike — even if it is only on upper-income earners — could mar and complicate his first months in office and give groups like the Illinois Policy Institute a reason to stoke up public opposition against him.
When I asked Pritzker what he feared most about taking the reins, Pritzker said he didn’t approach the task with fear. Instead, he said he wanted to develop ways of dealing with the “real challenges” ahead.
“But we can’t do it in a hyper-partisan fashion,” Pritzker stressed, adding that was one of the reasons he’d called both Republican legislative leaders on election night. He said he made it clear he wanted to work with both of them.
“Good ideas can come from anywhere, including Republicans,” the governor-elect said. “I think we have a real opportunity to get some things done if we get rid of the partisan rancor and talk across the aisle.”
While he didn’t mention it, attempting to raise income taxes on upper-income earners right out of the gate would probably not help bring Republicans to the table. Just the opposite. A capital bill, however, would go a long way toward brightening Statehouse spirits, and Pritzker has pledged to pass one.
I asked Pritzker if he will appoint any Republicans to run state agencies. He said no decisions have been made on available positions, “but I will for sure have people from both parties serving in the administration.”
Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar is co-chairing Pritzker’s transition committee. Edgar said nice things about Pritzker during the campaign and could be an important ally in the coming months because several legislators in both parties are graduates of his renowned fellowship program and still maintain close and respectful ties to him.
“It’s extraordinarily important that we have a dialogue, even when we disagree significantly,” Pritzker said of what he’d learned from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s dealings with both parties in the General Assembly. “That dialogue shouldn’t end,” he said. “There’s not gonna be any, you know, holding hostage.”
Asked about his first legislative priority in January, Pritzker pointed to his campaign promise of focusing on things that will “lift up the standard of living” for Illinoisans by “putting dollars back in their pockets.”
Pritzker said that would include his plan to allow people who don’t currently qualify for Medicaid to buy in to the program and then use it as their primary health insurance (which, as proposed, wouldn’t cost the government any money). Increasing MAP grants for college students was another possibility, as well as helping former college students refinance their education loans, which, he said, “would put hundreds of thousands of dollars back on the table for people.” He told other reporters he wants to increase the minimum wage.
I asked Pritzker if he was aware that over the years, the state government had been “hollowed out.” Expenditures to actually operate the government and implement programs have been diverted to pay constantly rising pension and health care costs, as well as for mandated wage hikes. Lots and lots of existing jobs aren’t filled when they become vacant because of this issue. And that has caused real problems in some crucial state agencies.
While Pritzker stressed that he still had a lot to learn, he said he was “quite well aware that there are many positions that haven’t been filled, that there are many issues that have just been sitting in a folder or file somewhere that haven’t been addressed, and some of them are very public and on the front pages, but some of them are hidden and back of the house.”
When asked to complete this sentence: “By May 31st of 2019, ‘x’ will be approved, I guarantee it,” Pritzker laughed and said, “We will have a budget.” Let’s all hope House Speaker Michael Madigan doesn’t make him eat those words.
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* Press release…
Gov. Bruce Rauner and Governor-elect JB Pritzker will make a joint appearance at the state’s 200th Birthday Party on Dec. 3, the day in 1818 when Illinois became the nation’s 21st state.
Both men rallied around a unity theme in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election. “There is no better place to start uniting than at an event that celebrates the greatness of Illinois,” Rauner said.
“The milestone represented by our 2ooth birthday is especially important as we turn our focus to the future,” Rauner said. “The state possesses a legacy of invention, persistence and economic vitality. This is the time to reflect on those assets and come together to put them to work for the people of Illinois.”
“Just as Illinoisans of all backgrounds have united and pushed our state forward for 200 years, we will celebrate our bicentennial as one Illinois,” said Governor-elect JB Pritzker. “We are the land of Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama, home to the world’s leading companies and universities, an economic powerhouse of the Midwest and agriculture powerhouse of our country. Together, we will ring in our third century with hope and optimism and strive to build on the progress of the 200 years before us.”
The Bicentennial Commission also announced a change in venue for the official Bicentennial Birthday. The celebration is moving from the United Center to the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier.
The Birthday Party program will remain largely the same. People attending the affair will be treated to a star-studded presentation of things BORN, BUILT, and GROWN in Illinois.
The highlights include an original Gettysburg Address Rap – “All People are Created Equal” – by Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton, Chicago), performances by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Buddy Guy; a special acoustic performance by Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon; and a Championship Parade featuring star athletes marching with Chicago team championship trophies.
According to Stuart Layne, executive director of the Governor’s Office of the Bicentennial, the venue change makes it possible to produce a more intimate event for sponsors, partners and attendees. The change was necessitated in part by weaker than expected tickets sales during the month preceding the election.
“The Bicentennial celebration has been staged without the benefit of any state funding,” Layne said. “This move means that we can stay on budget and still put on a memorable party for this landmark occasion.”
People who have purchased tickets for the United Center may use them for the party at Navy Pier or contact Ticketmaster for a refund prior to Dec. 2. Future ticket purchase opportunities will be announced as they become available.
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* Thread…
For what it’s worth, I lived on a military base in Germany when my parents worked for the Department of Defense. I don’t know what the military mail service is like today, but back then the APO service we used was glacial.
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