Question of the day
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Shaw Media…
We don’t expect any meaningful ethics changes so long as Madigan is in charge. He has to go. […]
Blagojevich was not the cause of Illinois’ corruption problem – he was only a damaging symptom. The culture of corruption that continues to plague state government will not change without a real change in attitude and leadership in the legislature.
* The Question: Agree or disagree? Make sure to explain your response. Thanks.
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Problems with Simon Poll
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We discussed the Simon Poll results last week, but Rick Pearson took a look at the numbers…
However, the poll, which has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points among Democrats, relies on a methodology that raises questions about its accuracy.
The survey does not weight its results based on the demographic makeup of Illinois voters, including by gender, geography or race. For example, of the poll’s 1,000 registered voters, 56% were identified as male and 44% female. The federal census, however, shows a majority of the state’s population is female while 2016 exit polling showed the state’s Democratic electorate was 54% female.
The polling sample also did not accurately reflect the percentage of the vote that came from strongly Democratic Chicago compared with less Democratic suburbs and Downstate. Only a quarter of the poll’s Democratic results came from the city of Chicago, while actual voting in 2016 showed the city accounted for 35% of the state’s total Democratic primary turnout.
In addition, the new survey skewed heavily toward older voters, compared with 2016 exit polling that showed roughly 40% of the Democratic electorate was under the age of 45. The new poll’s racial breakdown of 60% white, 24% black and 6% Latino tracked closer to Illinois voting demographics in the last presidential primary.
Crosstabs are here. Discuss.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Revenue announced that adult-use cannabis sales generated $7,332,058 in cannabis tax revenue during the month of January, with an additional $3,147,928.29 generated in retail sales tax revenue. Governor Pritzker’s recently released budget conservatively estimated the state would collect $28 million in cannabis tax revenue during the remainder of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 2020. Today’s announcement puts the state on track to surpass that estimate.
Once administrative fees are accounted for, 45% of the adult-use cannabis tax revenue will be reinvested in communities disproportionately impacted by the failed war on drugs and used to fund substance abuse and mental health programs. The $3,147,928.29 in sales tax revenue will be divided between the state’s general revenue fund and the local governments where purchases were made.
“Today marks another milestone in the successful launch of Illinois’ legal cannabis industry. Our goal has been to build the nation’s most socially equitable program that includes new opportunities for the communities most harmed by the failed war on drugs. Revenue raised in this first month will soon begin flowing back into those communities to begin repairing the damage done by the failed policies of the past and creating new opportunities for those who have been left behind for far too long,” said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor to Governor Pritzker for Cannabis Control.
The state collects cannabis revenue in two ways: a variable excise rate dependent on THC potency and type of product, and a 7% cultivators excise tax imposed on the sale of cannabis to retailers. Earlier this month, the state announced that over $39 million in adult-use cannabis product was sold at retail stores.
Last Wednesday, Governor Pritzker released his Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which projected cannabis sales would generate $28 million in cannabis tax revenue for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020 (ending June 30, 2020). As the industry matures, revenues are estimated to grow to $127 million in FY21, of which $46 million will go to General Funds.
More info about how the money is distributed by clicking here.
* Meanwhile…
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* The governor’s budget includes hiring lots more workers. Finke breaks it down…
If you are a non-state worker you are probably already moaning about padding the payroll and filling do-nothing jobs an all of the other nonsense that goes on. But the fact is state government employment has been hollowed out to the point that some jobs aren’t being done correctly anymore. FOID card renewals have gotten their share of publicity, but that’s hardly the only example. State employee unions like to point to labor statistics (not from them) that Illinois has the fewest number of state workers per capita of any state.
In the current budget, there is authorization for 55,490 workers. (It’s actually 55,490.5 but there wasn’t time to verify who was authorized to hire half a worker). As of December 31, there were 51,207 jobs filled. Pritzker’s budget calls for a headcount of 57,207.
Of the 1,646 additional workers, 700 would be in public safety positions (mainly Corrections) and 600 in human services (a good deal in the Department of Children and Family services).
Remember, though, that Pritzker said there would be a hiring freeze if the graduated income tax isn’t approved.
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
A bipartisan group of Illinois lawmakers has gotten behind a proposal to repeal the state’s new car trade-in tax and replace it with a different fee structure.
As of Jan. 1, Illinois’ sales tax applies to any trade-in vehicle worth more than $10,000. That means trading in a $30,000 car for one worth $60,000 will cost the customer an extra $1,200 in additional sales taxes. It’s estimated to bring the state $60 million annually, affecting what state officials insisted was a small portion of Illinois residents.
Legislation filed earlier last month would repeal the application of sales tax to trade-in value over $10,000. In turn, it would charge a tax based on the selling price of the car if it’s worth more than $15,000 or how many years old it is if valued at less than $15,000. It would take effect 120 days after it’s enacted.
Industry experts predicted the Jan. 1 change would have a profound effect on consumer buying habits and the change appears to have set in quickly.
“Last year, we had about 26 trade-ins by now from the first of the year that were over $10,001,” said Daniel Fontana, sales consultant at Mike Haggerty Buick GMC in Oak Lawn. “We’re only floating at 19 right now.”
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Tony Munoz (D-Chicago).
* Bernie…
State Rep. TIM BUTLER, R-Springfield, has filed a bill that would allow breweries to start “mug clubs.”
A mug club is a loyalty program where bar patrons can purchase a special mug from the establishment and have it refilled at a discount over the course of a year.
Currently, such discounts are prohibited under the state’s happy hour law, which only allows the sale of drinks at a reduced price for up to four hours a day and 15 hours a week.
Under Butler’s legislation, a carve-out would be made “if a person purchases a mug, cup or other glassware” as part of a mug club program.
Butler said the idea was sparked by a conversation he had with the owners of BUZZ BOMB BREWING CO., 406 E. Adams St., who hope to bring the concept to Springfield.
The bill is here.
* Another try…
Is it time to raise the speed limit again? The suburban lawmaker who six years ago pushed to boost our highway limit from 65 mph to 70 mph seems to think so.
State Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-North Aurora) has filed legislation, Senate Bill 2565, to lift Illinois’ highway speed limit to 75 mph. But where Oberweis got overwhelming support for increasing the limit to 70 mph six years ago, skeptics already are emerging for taking it up another 5 mph.
* WCIA…
Senator Ram Villivilam said he wants to bring back a small business tax credit for $5,000 for every new position a business with fewer than 50 employees makes. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce likes the idea of the bill, but does not know if the incentives are strong enough. “We still think it has the same fundamental flaws, unless you really go ahead and get up to $10,000 or $15,000,” said Todd Maisch. “But even then, there is going to be a suspicion that what is there one year won’t be there the next, as soon as the legislature decides that they want that revenue back.”
For a business to receive the credit, the position created will have to pay at least $15 per hour.
…Adding… Marni Pyke…
Quashing the proposed extension of Route 53 north into Lake County may have been the easy part.
Residents who waged war against the pricey expansion rejoiced when the Illinois tollway dropped the project last July, effectively dooming it for lack of funds.
Now, however, there’s a 1,100-acre hot potato squatting in Lake County. The state spent $54.3 million over 48 years acquiring land for the defunct road.
What to do? Looks like it’s task force time.
Legislation is percolating through the General Assembly to create a task force authorized to recommend uses for the land by Dec. 31.
The bill is here.
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The rest of the story
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last week…
A retired state employee who worked at the Illinois Department of Public Health for 33 years won a state deal worth up to $80,000 to work part-time as an outside consultant after his former co-workers steered the contract to him, according to a report published by the Office of the Executive Inspector General.
State records show Don Williams, who retired from IDPH in mid-2017, received $36,040 in contract payments while simultaneously collecting his state pension and Social Security retirement benefits.
In a letter dated August 23rd, 2019, IDPH responded to the OEIG, and said it had voided the contract after someone filed a complaint, alleging a conflict of interest. […]
Governor Pritzker’s office said it had discussed the issue with the former HFSRB chairman before the board met to decide on an appropriate course of action. Pritzker’s government lawyer Ann Spillane said the Governor’s Office will “review the State’s procurement system” in response to this episode.
* Also…
The Office of Executive Inspector General’s said Friday a contract for data services was too narrowly drawn to favor awarding it to a retired state worker.
However, the office also said it could not pinpoint blame for the way the contract terms were developed because multiple people were involved in the process.
* Hannah Meisel gets to the bottom of it…
Those responsible for the contract believed Williams was the only person who knew how to use the Certificate of Need database, which is used by both IDPH and the health facilities board to handle incoming applications, calculate fees and draft reports.
Williams told investigators that the only two other employees who ever used the database retired, and he was “the only one who has worked on the database since the mid-1980s,” according to the report. Williams also estimated it would take “three to four months” to train someone to use the database. […]
“[Health Facilities and Services Review Board Administrator Courtney Avery] also told investigators she estimated training a new person to use the database would have taken three months. […]
IDPH’s former Deputy Director Bill Dart told investigators that Williams’ retirement from the agency in 2017 “caught IDPH off guard, and that to keep things flowing smoothly,” the agency agreed to rehire Williams on a 75-day appointment, which was followed by a subsequent 75-day appointment in 2018.
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Adventures in signage
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a reader…
These pictures are from yesterday [Saturday] evening. This construction warning sign has two vinyl banners - one on each side - affixed to metal poles via some plastic cable ties. Note the cones around the trailer. This was sitting at the corner of 101st and Longwood on the easternmost border of Lipinski’s district, across from St. Barnabas Church in the 19th Ward. It showed up there yesterday afternoon, right before services, and was gone this afternoon.
Last weekend an identical setup was seen near 111th and Kedzie, which is next to St. Christina Church.
Lipinski is very pro-life so this seems like an effort to get the pro-life Catholic vote.
The interesting thing is this setup is illegal since it’s sitting in a public street. The one at 101st and Longwood was blocking half the street.
* The pics…
Man, that is so Chicago.
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Rod 101
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich emerged from prison just like he went in: defiantly proclaiming his innocence and ostentatiously displaying his carefully coiffed victimhood.
If you were too young to know about Blagojevich or your memory is hazy, you’re now getting a lesson in Rod 101. He knows what reporters want, and he’s more than happy to give it to them if it serves his purposes. He will say anything, literally anything, to stay in the public eye, no matter how far from the truth it may be. And reporters are eagerly obliging him.
He once proclaimed himself “on the side of the Lord” during a budget stalemate. He repeatedly accused House Speaker Michael Madigan, the chairman of the state Democratic Party, of being a Republican. After his proposed gross receipts tax failed in the House by a vote of 0-107, he said that, overall, it had been an “up” day.
Blagojevich was late to absolutely everything, including the funeral of Sen. Vince Demuzio, a beloved Statehouse figure. Oftentimes, his tardiness was intentional. I rode on a tour bus with him in 2007 while he was promoting his gross receipts tax. As we arrived at the outskirts of a small town for yet another staged event, the governor ordered the bus driver to pull to the side of the road because, he said, we were ahead of schedule. He disappeared into the restroom to brush his hair, finally emerging to give the go-ahead to proceed to the venue, 15 minutes behind schedule.
He thrived on chaos because that kept him at the center of attention. His reign was marked by one bitter overtime legislative session after another as he did battle with his archenemy Madigan.
It got so bad at one point that then-Rep. Joe Lyons, D-Chicago, one of the most chill state legislators you will ever meet, marched up to the press box to tell reporters in all sincerity that the governor had become a “madman.” Then-Rep. Mike Bost called for his impeachment more than a year before Blagojevich’s arrest. He literally drove people crazy just by being him.
He was elected as a reformer in the wake of Gov. George Ryan’s scandals. He held a big, showy Chicago press conference with every reform group imaginable during his first term to press for changes that would box in and embarrass his nemesis Madigan. And then he was reelected by 10 points just days after his chief campaign fundraiser was busted by the feds.
Blagojevich was a populist phony. He fought for good things like universal children’s healthcare and free public transit rides for senior citizens, but it was always about him. He rode a tall white show horse.
He truly believed he could be president one day, then watched in growing horror as an obscure state legislator who practiced what he preached on reform rose to the U.S. Senate and then the White House.
After wrapping up his first overtime session (which was resolved after he agreed to skip two years’ worth of state pension payments) Blagojevich attended the 2004 Democratic National Convention but left early because the media’s focus was on keynote speaker Barack Obama and not him.
He had awe-inspiring political skills, then squandered everything. He didn’t want to be governor any longer because with Obama’s rise he finally realized the office was no longer the national springboard he’d imagined. So he said and did some stupid things to secure his future while the feds were listening and wound up in prison.
It could’ve actually been much worse. Attorney General Lisa Madigan had been investigating his administration. She ended her probe at the federal government’s request, turning over all her files to them. But then the feds took the easy route of planting bugs in his office and monitoring his phones.
Blagojevich inherited a troubled budget and then proceeded to drive Illinois into a fiscal ditch from which it has never recovered. And 19 months after his predecessor was convicted on federal corruption charges — the same predecessor whom Blagojevich had railed against for six solid years — he was arrested at his own home in an early morning federal raid.
He eschewed his pardoning power, unwilling to grant the forgiveness that he presumes will be offered up to him now. But you shouldn’t be forgiven if you don’t apologize, and he has never once said he was sorry for the damage he did to his state.
* You may have seen some stories over the weekend quoting Blagojevich about his opinion on various matters. I’m not posting those stories here and this is why…
* Related…
* Criminal justice reform needs a true champion — not the unrepentant Blago
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Poll: Foxx drops, Conway surges
Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This poll is “new” only in that the Conway campaign decided to publish it today. The survey was completed eight days ago, so some of the numbers are eleven days old. Press release…
With three weeks left before the 2020 Democratic Primary, a new poll released today shows former prosecutor and Naval Intelligence Officer Bill Conway surging in the race for Cook County State’s Attorney. Conway is now within the margin of error (28% Foxx / 26% Conway / 6% Fioretti / 4% More), narrowing his deficit by more than 20 points after trailing Foxx by 22 in December. Additionally, in a head-to-head match-up Conway leads Foxx by 5 (41% Conway / 36% Foxx).
“Voters across Cook County are tired of Kim Foxx’s status quo, where the politically-connected get one set of justice and everyone else gets another,” said campaign spokeswoman Eliza Glezer. “It’s clear that in Bill Conway they see the change we need: someone with the independence and experience to clean up the State’s Attorney’s office so that it works for everyone regardless of who they know or where they’re from.”
Other key findings include:
By more than two to one, likely Democratic primary voters disapprove of how Foxx handled the Jussie Smollett case. With a majority 57% disapproving and only 25% approving, this promises to be a major problem for the incumbent who has refused to answer straightforward questions on how she handled the case for nearly a year and who shows no signs of stopping, despite special prosecutor Dan Webb’s decision to reindict Smollett.
Democratic primary voters are favorable toward Conway and unfavorable toward Foxx. Indeed, while nearly twice as many have favorable views of Conway as unfavorable (29%/16%), Foxx’s rating is net negative (36%/40%), a major problem for a well-known incumbent whose numbers are moving the wrong direction.
Bob Fioretti (6%) and Donna More (4%) are not major factors in this race, and like Foxx their support has trended down since December.
Frankly, I thought the Smollett disapproval would be higher, but that’s certainly not good.
And the trend doesn’t appear to be Foxx’s friend…
A superPAC supporting Foxx recently disclosed a $2 million contribution.
* Methodology…
The above findings are from a survey of n=600 likely Cook County Democratic primary voters conducted February 13-16, 2020. The poll’s margin of sampling error is +4.0%.
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