* It’s a bit blurry, but here’s a photo taken by Amanda Vinicky of Gov. Pat Quinn and House Speaker Michael Madigan. “So close, yet so far away,” is Vinicky’s caption. A larger version is here…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Illinois Republican Party charges media companies for access to their convention events. So, for instance, this is from the IL GOP’s 2008 campaign finance report…
Chicago Tribune
435 N Michigan Ave Ste 250
Chicago, IL 60611 $600.00
8/28/2008 Other Receipt
Illinois Republican Party
Registration Fee […]
NBC-WMAQ
454 N. Columbus Drive
Chicago, IL 60611 $1,200.00
9/2/2008 Other Receipt
Illinois Republican Party
Registration Fee […]
WLS-Radio
190 N State St
Chicago, IL 60601 $600.00
8/27/2008 Other Receipt
Illinois Republican Party
Registration Fee
The Democrats historically have not offered that option.
Pay to, um, play?
Just sayin…
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the IL GOP…
The Illinois Republican Party provides media access to convention events at no charge. The receipts you highlighted were from media that opted to pay for ILGOP-arranged meals and transportation - not for access to the events.
*** UPDATE 3 *** This was sent to media members before the 2004 GOP convention…
Illinois Delegation Service Fees– It has come to our attention that some of you have not received the information regarding the Illinois Service Fee. Toward that end, there is a $500 per person fee that is required for anyone participating in the Illinois Convention activities schedule for convention week. Those who have paid the service fee will receive a special credential will allow them access to all the activities.
What does it include?
· Access to daily delegation breakfast
· Access to evening “night cap” party
· Luncheon aboard the Bateaux on New York Harbor
· Cocktail reception prior to convention
· Convention staff office
· Taste of Illinois goodie bag, commemorative lapel pin, delegation golf shirt and much more.
If you do not have a service fee credential, you will not be admitted.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* A press release from the Illinois Republican Party arrived in my in-box at 4:39 yesterday morning…
Last night, a flurry of reporter tweets alerted the public that Illinois Democrats were banning media coverage of their events in Charlotte:
Mary Ann Ahern @MaryAnnAhernNBC:
First impressions: #ILGOP more accessible than #ILDEMS
We just got kicked out of Omni Hotel interviewing Rev Jackson #DNC #Demsdontlikeus
We made it to Charlotte, but Spkr Madigan says no media allowed at party #DNC #Madiganpartypooper http://yfrog.com/h4n5vsmj
Charles Thomas @CharlesThomas7
Now IL Dems ban reporters from delegate reception. @ilgop is party of transparency? #Madigan #DNC2012 pic.twitter.com/oSjKUEX5
Interviewed @GovernorQuinn on street ’cause IL Dem hotel bans newsies. #Madigan #DNC2012 pic.twitter.com/04rC2fo8
TV news media banned from IL delegation hotel. Can’t be serious. #DNC2012 #Madigan pic.twitter.com/qbomVei1
Carol Marin @CarolMarin
Madigan’s party closed to press. Can you imagine?
“It’s sad but not at all surprising that Mike Madigan and his corrupt cronies brought their Chicago tradition of secret backroom meetings all the way to Charlotte,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said. “Voters face a clear choice in the coming election. Republicans want to make sure as many people as possible hear our ideas to lower taxes, cut spending and put our economy back on track. Democrats want to kick out the media, lock the door and make sure voters can’t hear their plans to raise taxes, increase spending and keep our country moving in the wrong direction.”
Here are today’s key questions for Illinois Democrats – in case anyone spots one sneaking out of Mike Madigan’s secret, closed-press meetings:
1) Why are you banning Illinois reporters from access to your events at the DNC?
2) What are you hiding from Illinois voters that you can’t allow reporters into your events?
3) Are you afraid of your candidates being quoted speaking about unpopular far-left economic policies like higher taxes, increased spending and exploding debt?
4) Are you afraid of voters learning about your sponsors and SEIU union bosses that may be in attendance?
5) Why do you think the Illinois Republican Party is more transparent than you are?
A bit over the top by everybody involved, apparently.
* Several state legislators have filed an amicus curiae brief defending the constitutionality of the state’s law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. As you already know, a suit has been filed claiming that the state’s civil unions law creates an unconstitutional “separate and unequal” status for gay and lesbian couples.
The brief was filed by Republican state Senators Kirk Dillard, Matt Murphy, Darrin LaHood, Bill Brady, Democratic state Senator William Haine, Republican state Representatives David Reis, Michael Connelly, Richard Morthland, Patti Bellock and Paul Evans, and Democratic state Representative Joseph Lyons.
Led by Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont) and Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton), the legislators’ brief supports a motion to dismiss the ACLU and Lambda Legal lawsuits filed by Thomas More Society attorneys, on behalf of downstate county clerks who were allowed into the case to defend the law.
“We welcome the bipartisan support for Illinois’ marriage law offered by this respected group of legislators,” said Peter Breen, executive director and legal counsel for the Thomas More Society. “They rightly point out that under our constitutional system, the issue of how the government treats domestic relationships is reserved to the General Assembly.”
The legislators assert that the judicial branch should not rewrite the state’s marriage laws, stating that “to do so would be to place the court in a position of acting as a super-legislature, nullifying laws it does not like. That is not our proper role in a democratic society.” They also claim that such action would, “Dramatically interfere with the constitutional guarantee of separation of powers by which the general assembly is empowered to make public policy….”
The legislators also cite several sociological arguments stating that “… the marriage structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents ….” The legislators also supported the religious liberty concerns raised by the amicus brief of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, also filed this week, indicating that “of great concern to us is hostility that may be shown to Illinois’ religious minorities” who oppose same-sex marriage.
* The Question: In your opinion, does the state civil unions law create a “separate and unequal” status for gays and lesbians? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
California debt is beating Illinois bonds by the most in three months as investors choosing between the two lowest-rated U.S. states reward efforts to bolster the finances of the nation’s biggest pension.
Illinois lawmakers failed to advance any measures in a special session Aug. 17 aimed at addressing the nation’s worst- funded pensions. Standard & Poor’s last week cut the state’s credit one level to A, sixth highest. That’s one step above California, where the Legislature passed a plan last week that is projected to curb pension liabilities by as much as $55 billion.
The two states are “a study in contrasts in what they’ve done recently, especially as it relates to pensions,” said James Dearborn, managing director in Boston at Columbia Management Investment Advisers, which oversees $16 billion in munis. “Illinois continues to be the poster child for pension issues.”
Um, huh? Most of the changes approved by California legislators apply only to future employees…
Assembly Bill 340, authored by Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena, would apply immediately to state or local government employees hired after Jan. 1, 2013. The measure sets caps on how much of their pay can be counted toward their pensions, rolls back the formulas used to calculate those benefits and pushes back the retirement age.
Those new workers would also share half the normal cost of their pensions with employers. Current employees also would pick up at least half of that cost within five years through collectively-bargained agreements. After that, employers could impose the 50-50 split.
In a Daily Herald survey, Illinois convention delegates gave him passing grades, with 80 percent saying he should be the party’s 2014 nominee and 20 percent suggesting someone else. […]
In the Daily Herald survey of party faithful attending this week’s convention in Charlotte, 40 percent of respondents gave Quinn a “B” grade for his time in office. Another 25 percent assigned him an “A” and more, 28 percent, gave him a “C.”
Fifty-one Democrats responded to the survey, out of 214 total delegates.
On the question about Democrats’ 2014 nominee, several among the 20 percent who want an alternative to Quinn named names, listing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon.
Twenty-one respondents skipped that survey question, compared to 30 who answered it.
Most people looked at last week’s veto by Gov. Pat Quinn of the gambling expansion bill and saw nothing except defeat for the issue. But the governor appeared to deliberately leave open some doors that you could drive a riverboat through.
For instance, nowhere in his veto message did Quinn mention slot machines at horse tracks.
Quinn had been an adamant foe of allowing the horse racing industry to set up “mini casinos” at their tracks, believing it would mean an oversaturation of the gambling market. He cited the inclusion of slots at tracks in last year’s gambling bill as a major reason why he opposed the legislation.
But Quinn subtly began to back away from his opposition, which was included in his “Framework for Gambling in Illinois” plan in October that he wrote in response to criticisms that he wasn’t making his positions known to negotiators.
In May, during a meeting with gambling proponents, Quinn refused to say whether he would agree to slots at tracks if legislators included a ban on campaign contributions from casino operators. That refusal was taken as a big hint that Quinn had backed off, and governor’s office insiders confirmed that was the direction he was heading.
Reporters then tried for days to get Quinn to say in public if he still opposed slots at tracks, and he would always refer them to his “framework” in response.
Quinn’s veto message last week outlined his main opposition to the bill, which mostly followed his “framework” from last year. He strongly highlighted his demand that casino companies not be allowed to make campaign donations (although he didn’t mention contributions from immediate family members of casino operators, who generously pumped up his campaign fund during the 2010 cycle).
Quinn also sharply criticized what he considers to be a lack of oversight of a new Chicago casino. The governor repeated his assertions from his October framework that the bill doesn’t give the Illinois Gaming Board adequate time to “make critical licensing and regulatory decisions.” And he said again that money from expanded gambling needs to go to education.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has fought hard against too much state oversight of a city casino. But Quinn made clear last week in his veto message that Emanuel will have to give in on that, and, to his credit, the mayor seems to be willing to do so.
It’s also clear that some sort of contribution ban will have to be put in place for the governor to be convinced. The ban won’t really work all that well. The casinos could just contribute to other funds, which would wash their money back into the system.
For example, Indiana prohibits contributions from casino operators, but the Republican Governors Association’s “super PAC” gave $1 million to Indiana’s GOP gubernatorial candidate last month, and the RGA has received at least $1 million from a single casino owner.
Money will always find a way into the political process. Quinn received several large campaign contributions from an immediate family member of the Des Plaines casino owner in 2010.
Even so, word is that Dick Duchossois is open to a contribution ban. Duchossois owns Arlington Park racecourse via his interest in a big corporation. His son’s massive contributions to Republicans in 2010 reportedly sparked Quinn’s ire. And some of Quinn’s Democratic friends who have casino ownership are major Duchossois haters.
But if Duchossois agrees to a contribution ban, even implicitly, then that particular issue might see some progress — although we could probably expect a vigorous court challenge from other casino owners on 1st Amendment grounds.
In May, insiders said Quinn wanted to wait until the Legislature’s November veto session to deal with gambling expansion and then use the future tax revenue to heroically fix a gaping budget hole. The second part of that is coming to fruition with Quinn’s demand that much of the tax money from more gambling go to education.
The General Assembly cut the education budget by $210 million this spring, and the gambling expansion is expected to bring in about $200 million a year. Quinn could, therefore, claim that he had “saved” the education budget with gambling growth.
The veto session part is a bit more tenuous, however. Quinn wrote in his veto message that the state cannot “gamble its way out of our fiscal challenges.” The governor claimed that “even a casino on every street corner cannot repair the state’s $83 billion unfunded pension liability.”
The governor’s message was pretty emphatic. There will be no gambling expansion until pension reform is in place.
* House Speaker Michael Madigan was asked about the “Fire Madigan” campaign being run by the Illinois Republican Party…
“Let’s remember, Illinois Republicans are standing in opposition to the retention of a son of Illinois as president of the United States,” Madigan told reporters.
“They don’t want to talk about Romney and Ryan and their destruction of Medicare, so they want to create a diversion,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to work. I think the people of Illinois know that Illinois Republicans just want to sit on the sidelines and say, ‘Well, the Democrats have a majority. They should solve all the problems.’”
* The Republican Party chairman responded via press release…
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady responded, “Illinois voters can’t afford anyone sitting on the sidelines while Mike Madigan and his rubber stamps drive our state into the ditch. If Illinois voters want to save Illinois, they need to fire Madigan and his cronies in November.”
Now the strongest words yet from House Speaker Mike Madigan indicating a pension overhaul will wait, at least until November: “I’m not planning on being in Springfield before the election, now I’m only one person down there but I don’t plan to be down in Springfield before the election.”
* He also hinted that the Democrats might try to go it alone on pension reform…
Madigan for the first time suggested he might be willing to pass a pension package strictly with Democratic votes rather than rely on non-existent GOP support. […]
“What we’re learning in recent years is on these major issues, you do them when you’re able to do them. We repealed the death penalty in Illinois. We raised the income tax in Illinois. Those were all done after a general election,” Madigan said, referring to two hot-button matters the Legislature passed during a January 2011 session.
“The better question is when are you able to put together 60 and 30 votes to pass a major piece of legislation,” he said.
Madigan had insisted on at least 30 Republican votes in his chamber to pass a pension deal, but he appeared to back off that demand Monday during a question-and-answer session with reporters following a breakfast of Illinois delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
“That’s always a possibility. That’s always a possibility,” he said. “Again, you have to be there. You have to work to find 60 and 30 votes. Sometimes they’re there. Sometimes they’re not,” Madigan said when asked about a Democratic-only roll call on pensions.
Right now, the votes aren’t there. It’ll be extremely tough to get them as well. We’ll see.
* Schock to Illinois delegates: GOP can learn from Madigan: While he cut at Democrats for fiscal mismanagement and a tax increase, he noted Madigan has “done a very good job with candidate recruitment. One thing I’ve learned is if you have all the money in the world and you have a bad horse, you don’t win on race day.”
* From an AFSCME press release, sent yesterday afternoon…
Just two weeks after a huge crowd of working men and women booed him off the stage on Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair, Pat Quinn found that he couldn’t escape responsibility for his anti-labor record even in Charlotte, NC.
Starting today at the Democratic National Convention, the state’s largest union of public-service workers — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 — announced it will publicize Governor Quinn’s push to lay off 4,000 state employees, slash retiree pensions and break union contracts while giving away hundreds of millions of dollars in new corporate tax loopholes.
The union will debut a new mobile billboard near Governor Quinn’s campaign fundraiser this evening at the Capital Grille, 201 N Tryon St., and will bring it to many events in Charlotte this week.
A letter sent this afternoon to the entire Illinois delegation laid out the governor’s record.
The letter is here. And here’s the mobile billboard referenced in the press release…
* Gov. Quinn talked about being pro-labor during a speech to Illinois delegates yesterday…
“Today is a very special day in American history — it’s Labor Day and every day should be Labor Day. … It’s so important that we honor labor all the time,” the governor said. Quinn touted support for increasing the state’s minimum wage, which currently stands at $8.25 an hour, $1 above the federal minimum wage.
The misgivings of organized labor toward Quinn were muted somewhat by improvements in manufacturing jobs in the state as well as new United Auto Workers union jobs at the Chrysler Corp. plant in Belvidere, the Ford Motor Co. plant on Chicago’s South Side and the Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plant in Normal — successes Quinn readily touted to the delegates.
“I’m a friend of labor and I will always be friends to labor because they helped me,” Quinn told reporters later. “Governors have to make tough decisions. Sometimes they upset some people. But I think I’ll do well with ordinary working people in Illinois across our state because they know I fight hard for them every day.”
“I haven’t forgotten (Quinn) won by 32,000 votes (in 2010), and I think a few other people haven’t forgotten that either. I don’t know how he could win re-election again without making peace with labor. But we’re ready. We’ll be at the table. All it will take is a phone call,” Carrigan said.
State Sen. Bill Brady, the unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor two years ago, met with delegates Thursday morning after arriving from an anniversary celebration in New York with his wife, Nancy. The senator from Bloomington said a decision on making a third bid for the office would “probably” come in January.
Brady spent Wednesday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in a suite sponsored by the Republican Governors Association, which pumped millions of dollars in TV advertising into his losing bid against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in 2010. While there, Brady said he received some encouraging words from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
“Jeb Bush said it to me, he said, ‘You know, Bill, I don’t know if you’re going to run again. But I’ll tell you, strangely as it seems, I wouldn’t have won the second time if I didn’t lose the first,’” Brady recalled. “He said in big states like Illinois and Florida, people need to get to know you and if they don’t know you, when people attack you, it sticks. So it’s important that I continue to get to know people, if that’s what I want to do.”
* The Question: Should Sen. Bill Brady run a third time for governor in 2014? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Fran Eaton should be given a lot of credit for taking on this issue so directly. I don’t always agree with her, but somebody needed to write this story since both of these gentlemen are considering a bid for governor. Eaton approached the incredibly touchy subject in a very honest, open and frank manner…
This week, the issue of gay politics is in the news as one likely candidate for governor - State Treasurer Dan Rutherford - reportedly made an off-the-cuff comment in Tampa in support of anti-Republican Equality Illinois picking up the bar tab for the Illinois Delegation. The State Treasurer is quoted as saying that those who don’t like it “can go someplace else to drink.”
That was an eyebrow-raiser for conservative Republicans back home who are concerned about preserving traditional marriage in Illinois.
Then Wednesday night, a second potential 2014 gubernatorial candidate - Congressman Aaron Schock - told PBS he is opposed to same sex marriage. In response Gay blogger John Aravois expressed his thoughts about Schock, writing:
“GOP Rep. from IL Aaron Schock said last night on local PBS in Chicago that he’s opposed to gay marriage. I think it’s finally time we had an honest and open discussion about what this guy’s sexual orientation really is. Because if he wants to play the anti-gay card, then he makes his own sexual orientation an issue. He needs to directly answer and put to rest all the talk about him being gay.”
Another eyebrow-raiser. And perhaps the signal that it is time to address a rather difficult topic.
So, let’s start with the obvious. Both Rutherford and Schock are not married. Rutherford is 57 years old and Schock is 31. Both have dedicated their adult professional lives to public service.
Rutherford worked for ServiceMaster before becoming a state representative, then a state senator, and now the state treasurer. He’s been involved in politics statewide for decades, and has actively promoted Republican candidates and local organizations. While in the legislature, his voting record was above average on conservative issues with a lifetime average rating of 70 according to the staunchly conservative URF legislative scorecard.
However, Rutherford was the sole Republican vote in favor of adding “sexual orientation” to the state’s non-discrimination statute. The vote caused a furor, and rumors about Rutherford’s sexuality really began to fly.
That’s when I interviewed Rutherford and when I asked him what he referred to as “The Question.” He had heard the same rumors over the years and was eager to answer it publicly. Indeed, Rutherford told me directly, “No, I am not gay.”
The other legislator whose sexuality has been questioned is Aaron Schock. Schock was first elected to the Peoria school board when he was 19. At age 21, he challenged an incumbent Democrat state rep and knocked her off in a hard-fought race. At age 27, he ran and won a tough primary race in his first bid for Congress, when Ray LaHood stepped down.
Schock’s a respected, hard-working legislator and as the youngest member in Congress, his future in politics appears to be limitless.
He’s handsome, articulate and photogenic. He’s become a rock star on Capitol Hill and he’s reaching out to his generation with Republican ideals.
I’ve been asked numerous times whether Schock is gay - as if I had proof one way or another. “From discussions I’ve had with those closest to Schock, he is not,” I’ve answered time and time again.
I’ve also explained that Schock experienced a soul-searching time when his parents divorced. He sought pastoral counsel and subsequently made a public declaration of his faith in Jesus at a very conservative church in Peoria. That all happened while he was serving as an Illinois House member.
Fran writes that she’s never asked Schock “The Question,” but the congressman was asked about it back in 2004, according to a 2009 Schock profile. That Details Magazine profile is no longer online, but it’s still searchable…
Schock is hoping his romantic prospects will improve too, once he settles in. He’s the only one of his siblings not married with children, and is similarly an outlier among his friends. “I had a group of five or six guys, and we hung out and traveled—ski trips and stuff,” he says. “They slowly got picked off—married, married, married.” His pals try not to dog him about his love life. “I think he’s got enough pressure as it is,” says Shea Ledford, a concrete worker who’s been Schock’s good friend since high school.
Indeed, there’s been enough speculation about Schock’s confirmed-bachelor status that, as far back as 2004, a Chicago newspaper asked him whether he was gay (his response: “No . . . I’m not.”).
* Eaton, a very conservative blogger, concludes her piece with some almost liberal remarks…
So, do we have a right to know about a candidate’s personal and public position on moral issues? The answer is “yes”. But I contend it’s less about what a candidate does in their bedroom and more about what the condition of his or her heart, soul and mind is.
Do they respect and guide their lives according to time-solidified scriptural, moral principles? That alone is what will determine the direction they lead their own lives, their homes, and their state.
Perhaps that’s “The Question” we all need to ask ourselves before we ask them the other.
Thoughts?
But before you comment, I need to tell you that I’m gonna delete anyone who makes inappropriate comments and will likely ban those deleted commenters for life. Speculation, rumors, “somebody told me” etc. will not be tolerated. There is going to be very little leeway on this post, so don’t test me.
So, if you think I might delete you, don’t write it. If I think I might ban you, just walk away from your computer. I’m not kidding about this. Don’t push me. Thanks.
* A DCCC campaign tracker showed up at a public event held by Republican Congressman Bobby Schilling on August 25th. A police officer was stationed outside the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce Auditorium and informed the tracker that he wouldn’t allowed to film inside. The event was not political, it was “an educational forum” on veterans’ issues. Attendees…
Congressman Bobby Schilling, Mr. Duane Honeycutt, Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Chicago (VARO), Ms. Dawn Oxley, Acting Director of the Iowa City VA Health Care System, Ms. Jean Swiderski, TRICARE, and Mayors David Blanton and Skip Lee
* The tracker tried to argue his case, but to no avail. The police officer cited “federal regulations” as the reason. Watch…
I’m not a huge fan of trackers, but they’re a fact of life and congressmen shouldn’t be stomping on the 1st Amendment.
This is especially ironic when you consider that an infamous tracker video of Democrat incumbent Phil Hare helped Schilling defeat the incumbent. Hare was hosting an official public forum on health care reform when he was approached by tea partiers.
“We just provided the hall here,” said an official at the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce Auditorium when I called this afternoon. “We weren’t even here for it.” The official did say that the flier for the event included a statement prohibiting video cameras, but she didn’t know why.
I suppose you could say that Schilling learned from Hare’s mistake. But you could also say that Schilling is being pretty darned hypocritical here.
* Meanwhile, earlier this week, Republican congressional candidate Jason Plummer sent an e-mail to his supporters asking for cash to put gas in his tank…
Help Fuel My Truck!
Hey Team,
Today I started my District-wide truck tour. Over the next few days, I am going to be visiting communities within every county of our District!
As you all know, poor public policy has destroyed Southern Illinois’ economy. This truck tour will give me another chance to hear issues affecting the people of Southern Illinois first-hand.
This race is not about Washington, D.C. talking points; it is about who will represent the people of Southern Illinois best in Washington, D.C.
This morning I stopped in Ava, DeSoto, Royalton, Zeigler, Oraville, and Mount Vernon, but I need your help to reach voters across the entire District.
Will you donate $10, $20, or $50 to help me fill up my truck and continue my journey through the District?
Any amount helps me continue to gain
insight into the issues affecting residents of the 12th District.
I can’t do this without your help.
Please contribute today!
Sincerely,
Jason Plummer
12th Congressional District Nominee
* The Democratic response…
In response to an out of touch email from inherited multi-millionaire Jason Plummer, President of the Southwestern Illinois Building Trades Totsie Bailey challenged Plummer to disclose his tax returns before asking working people for gas money to “fill up his truck.” Bailey criticized Plummer for asking folks to “chip in for gas money” when Southern Illinois families are hurting and trying to stretch every dollar to make ends meet, but Plummer won’t even have an honest conversation about his finances or how much he stands to gain from a tax plan that could help him pocket nearly $1 million in tax breaks.
President of the Southwestern Illinois Building Trades Totsie Bailey said:
“First inherited multi-millionaire Jason Plummer won’t disclose his finances with voters even though he could be taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax breaks and now he wants us to cover his gas? Inherited Multi-millionaire Jason Plummer has never had a real job and doesn’t know a thing about working for a living. It’s outrageous inherited multi-millionaire Jason Plummer would be so flippant as to pretend he needs gas money. Inherited multi-millionaire Jason Plummer is running on a tax plan where he personally could profit another million in tax breaks. The last thing we need is one more career politician who doesn’t get us. Washington is broken – we don’t need multi-millionaire heir Jason Plummer personally profiting from the wreckage and doing nothing for workers or our middle class.”
State Rep. Rich Morthland is recovering from surgery after an encounter with a cow left him with a knee injury.
The Cordova Republican says the injury happened Thursday when a cow trying to bolt through a gate smashed its head into his knee. […]
Morthland says doctors told him a tendon in his knee was severely damaged. He’ll need to immobilize his leg for six weeks and follow that with physical therapy, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Genesis Medical Center in Silvis, Rep. Morthland said the injury happened early Thursday morning when a cow trying to bolt through a gate “smashed its head into my knee.
“Thankfully I screamed so hard it scared the other cows off, and I managed to close the gate,” he said. “I couldn’t get up and I had to drag myself 100 yards to my car.”
Rep. Morthland said he managed to get in the car and drive the mile to his house where he honked the horn to alert his wife Betsey, who drove him to the hospital.
“I smelled like crap,” Rep. Morthland said jokingly.
That last line is our runner-up.
I wish Rep. Morthland a speedy recovery, and I hope he’s not in too much pain. But I would also like to thank him for giving attendees to my little dinner party such a hearty laugh last night when I read the story aloud to them.
“Thankfully I screamed so hard it scared the other cows off.”
*** UPDATE *** From Kelly Kraft at the governor’s office…
Hi Rich— To the below— really important here—-
We have already won the major issue in this case: whether we are obligated to pay raises if they are not appropriated. Judge Billik’s answer in July was “no.” That means, unless Billik is reversed by a higher court we will not be obligated to pay some of the dollars associated with the raises.
All that remains is for the Judge to determine —-are we going to have to pay everything that we DO have remaining in approps that could go to raises or something less.
The judge has not preliminarily ruled for the union. In fact, on the major issue at dispute-whether subject to approp applies-the state has already won. Even on the side issue of —what we owe— from what approp we actually have, the judge hasn’t preliminarily ruled either. It was just an order from the judge to preserve the approps that could possibly be used for pay raises by vouchering them-and that had to be done today.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* An arbitrator ruled earlier this year that the state had to pay employee pay raises that Gov. Quinn had refused to pay because there was no specific appropriations authority for the cash. Gov. Quinn appealed the ruling to the courts, which kicked the case back to the arbitrator, who kicked it back to the judge. The judge prelminarily ruled for the union yesterday…
The judge in a dispute over Illinois workers’ pay raises is telling Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration to hand over unspent money from the state budget in case he rules in favor of the employees.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Billik Jr. ordered a voucher for $18 million in unspent payroll money sent to the state comptroller. Millions of dollars more might also be involved.
The Thursday decree came a day before the state’s authority to earmark spending from the last budget expires. Quinn hasn’t paid about $60 million in raises required by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ contract from 2011 because he says the Legislature didn’t appropriate it.
* Ordering that vouchers be submitted to Comptroller Topinka is not the same as forcing the state to actually pay the raises. Not yet, anyway…
Quinn spokeswoman Kelly Kraft reiterated that no money is being paid yet.
“Vouchers will not be finalized or paid out until, at the very least, there is a final order from the trial court as to what payments … can be paid and are owed by the state,” Kraft said. […]
Billik is continuing to do fact-finding to determine if, in fact, money wasn’t available to honor the raises. He has previously ruled that the Quinn is not obligated to spend money that wasn’t appropriated by the General Assembly.
* The lapse period expires today, so the judge’s order simply meant that vouchers had to be submitted before the deadline. AFSCME’s Henry Bayer explains…
“The Quinn administration is doing everything possible to avoid honoring its contract with frontline state employees,” said AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer. “If the end of August passed without this order, the state would claim it ran out the clock and couldn’t be held accountable.”
* AFSCME ain’t happy, to say the least. This is from a recent e-mail newsletter to its members about the contract negotiations. Highlighting is in the original…
Certainly a big cause of the anger union members expressed at the State Fair rally was Governor Quinn’s efforts to undermine collective bargaining rights and economic security for state employees. After more than eight months at the bargaining table, negotiations for a new state contract are at a virtual standstill as the Quinn Administration continues to press for massive concessions that would take thousands of dollars out of union members’ pockets.
The current contract expired on June 30, but the parties agreed to extend it pending the involvement of an independent mediator in the bargaining sessions. The mediator has now been selected by mutual agreement and will attend the next round of bargaining which is scheduled for September 10-12.
But few on the Union Bargaining Committee hold out much hope for what the mediator can accomplish given Management’s determination to extract some $3 billion from state employees in the form of wage cuts and health care cost increases. While the Committee has been able to beat back many of Management’s proposals to drastically weaken job rights, the Employer has refused to budge on its demand for massive economic concessions.
Over the past month, Council 31 staff and Bargaining Committee members have held more than 200 meetings at worksites across the state to inform employees directly of just what’s at stake in these negotiations—and what it will take to gain a fair contract.
The meetings were eye-opening for many employees who didn’t realize just how steep the cuts would be. In meeting after meeting, union members spoke up and pledged to do whatever it takes to protect their economic security, retain affordable health care, and preserve their union rights.
AFSCME members in state government have never faced an Administration so totally indifferent to its responsibility to provide vital services to Illinois citizens—or so unremittingly hostile to the employees who provide those services. It’s going to be a long, tough fight to preserve those services and to protect the gains we’ve made over the years.
In the coming weeks, your local leaders will be reaching out to you to affirm your commitment to making that fight. Be sure you’re there on the frontlines to carry it on.
That last graf is ominous. Strike?
* In the same newsletter, AFSCME talks about the large crowd booing Gov. Quinn at the Illinois State Fair…
Quinn has one of the worst records in the country—coming up right behind Wisconsin governor Scott Walker—when it comes to attacking working families. He is trying to lay off more than 4000 state workers, destroying jobs in communities across Illinois. He’s withholding negotiated pay raises, leading the charge to cut pensions, and pushing for huge contract concessions
So it’s no wonder that when Quinn finally made his appearance at a rally on the fairgrounds, hundreds of angry union members were waiting to greet him with signs, boos and chants. Their righteous chorus quickly drowned out anything the governor had to say and sent him scurrying off to leap into his waiting limo.
Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Illinois has achieved an all-time high seat belt usage rate in 2012. Federal observational surveys showed that 93.6 percent of front-seat passengers were using seat belts as of June, up from 92.9 percent last year and above the national average of 84 percent. The governor credited this significant public safety achievement to impactful awareness campaigns, motorist compliance, strategic partnerships with state and local law enforcement, and strengthened traffic safety legislation. Governor Quinn also urged travelers to drive safely during the Labor Day weekend.
“Labor Day Weekend should be a time of parades, barbeques and baseball, not sitting in a hospital ER, wondering if a loved one will survive a crash,” Governor Quinn said. “Seat belts save lives, and Illinois’ high seat belt usage rate is the result of our comprehensive efforts to ensure that drivers in Illinois are buckling up. When traveling this Labor Day, make sure everyone is buckled up, including those in the back seat, and such precious cargo as infants, the elderly and pets.”
Prior to the primary safety belt law, police could not pull a driver over based solely on a seat belt violation. Since the primary belt law was enacted in July 2003, belt usage has climbed each consecutive year, going up 17.4 percentage points from 76.2 percent in 2003 to nearly 94 percent in 2012.
“Through our effective partnerships with law enforcement and advocacy groups across Illinois, we have been able to achieve a record rate of seat belt usage,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider said. “The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is working diligently toward 100 percent statewide usage and to help drive zero road fatalities to reality.”
Additional legislation signed by Governor Quinn last summer required that all passengers buckle up, including those riding in the back seat of vehicles, to help further prevent traffic accident-related injuries or fatalities. Along with successful awareness programs and enforcement efforts, these laws have helped lead to an overall reduction in fatalities on Illinois roads over the last ten years.
