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Madigan’s daily press briefing: He’d meet with Rauner and he’s peeved at Durkin

Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rep. Greg Harris talks for about the first four minutes, then Speaker Madigan takes questions. Many thanks again to Greg Bishop for the video…

Madigan expressed his disappointment that this morning’s scheduled meeting with the other three legislative leaders was canceled and said he would still try to make it happen. He said he would meet with the governor if asked.

* Madigan also seemed peeved at Leader Durkin for not showing up to the meeting…

We met once a few days ago. Once a few days ago. He was scheduled to join the other leaders this morning, he should’ve done that.

* Madigan was then asked if, when he meets with Leader Durkin, is he meeting with Durkin or is he meeting with Durkin on behalf of the governor. Madigan laughed and said..

Why don’t you ask him that question?

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Rauner asked why Madigan could work with other governors and not him

Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From WJBC…

The third day of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s special session is Friday, but it’s still unclear if there will be any movement on a budget.

Rauner told WJBC’s Patti Penn the first two days of the session have been a ‘waste of time.’

He also said the lack of action in the special session so far was “bad faith on the part of the majority,” and that the Democrats prefer “chaos.”

* From the audio…

WJBC: Well we have taken some calls in the last couple of days, actually over the weeks. But in the last couple of days, one of the calls that came in was one that you know, might be, it’s tough for me to ask and it’s probably going to be tough for you to hear. That maybe there’s an answer to it is someone had asked ‘Why do you think that our speaker, who has worked with other governors, Gov. Thompson, Edgar, Gov. Ryan, what is it about you that he has not wanted to work with you?”

Despite the gentle nature of the question, it took the governor a beat or two to get back onto his talking points…

RAUNER: Um, I really don’t know the answer to that.

Um, he has been very very focused on avoiding a balanced budget. If, if you look back over the years, uh, you can see that this isn’t inconsistent with, uh, the behavior with his majority.

He’s been in power for 35 years and when I’ve looked at the numbers Illinois has never had a true balanced budget during those 35 years. We have always just delayed pension payments, or not paid our bills, or borrowed in the bond markets to come up with what was then called about. The reality is the budgets have not been balanced for decades and it’s the reason that we have over $200 billion in debt today. This didn’t get accrued in the last year or two. This, this has been accrued for decades. And unfortunately, we’ve had failure within the government in multiple ways by multiple parties led by the speaker. He had control of the spending through the General Assembly majority for 35 of the years and there’s never been a balanced budget. And I have said, it’s critical for the people of Illinois that we have balanced budgets, that we stop the deficit spending, that we stop the borrowing. There’s a reason that we have fewer jobs today than we had 17 years ago in Illinois. Businesses see the deficit spending and it scares them away. There’s a reason that we have a brutally high unemployment rate, one of the highest in America. And there’s a reason we have the highest unemployment in America for African American families it’s because our jobs are leaving the state. Businesses won’t stay where they don’t have confidence in the fiscal responsibility of a government.

He went on and on for a while longer. There was no follow-up to try to get him to actually answer the question.

69 Comments

NRDC warns of “giant jumping fish” at Oak St. Beach

Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

A live Asian carp has been discovered in a Chicago waterway about nine miles from Lake Michigan — well beyond an electric barrier network designed to prevent the invasive fish that have infested the Mississippi River system from reaching the Great Lakes, officials said Friday.

The silver carp was 28 inches long and weighed about 8 pounds, officials with the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee told The Associated Press. It was caught by a commercial fisherman below the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam.

* From Henry Henderson, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Midwest Program…

“Asian carp are like cockroaches, when you see one, you know it’s accompanied by many more you don’t see. This is a nightmare scenario for anyone concerned about the health of the Great Lakes and its economy.”

“We have had fifteen years to deal with this slow motion tragedy. Perhaps this finding, along with the discovery of another species of Asian carp in the Illinois River, will convey the urgency of threat to the Great Lakes.

The Trump Administration cannot delay for one minute more the release of a taxpayer funded study detailing how to deter the carp invasion. Illinois and Indiana, which have been blamed for obstructing action to address the issue, must join Great Lakes states to push for faster, stronger and more aggressive action. Giant jumping fish at Oak Street Beach will not help Illinois’ tourism economy.”

Just this week, members of Congress introduced legislation to force the Trump administration to release a plan outlining technologies to be employed at a key choke point in the Asian carps’ path towards Lake Michigan and the entire Great Lakes ecosystem. That plan would likely take decades to deploy, while Great Lakes conservation groups have called for faster solutions that would address movement of invasive species from both the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system through Chicago’s waterways.

* If you’ve never seen this nasty fish, you’re missing out…

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Proft on Rauner’s “massive” tax hikes: “He’s done and so are Republicans for another generation”

Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Dan Proft on Gov. Rauner’s “unity” speech earlier this week…

If Madigan calls [Rauner’s] bluff, he’s in a real trick back. Because if he signs what Republicans have proposed as their compromise budget with those massive tax increases, he’s done and so are Republicans for another generation. […]

Rauner’s focus is wrong, it continues to be wrong. He’s playing the inside game with the political ruling class and the elites which prop them up… The play is for the 95 percent of families that are not in the public sector, that are financing all of this… and receiving very little in return. That is his universe. He should speak to that universe. Yesterday he spoke to the political class.

* Meanwhile, Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) was also on Proft’s show and said this about Speaker Madigan…

My goal is to stop this massive tax hike and I’m going to try to get as many Republicans to come along with me as possible. It depends on what Speaker Madigan wants to do. I’m gonna argue that he needs to put every single Democrat vote on this budget before any Republican should get on it. If he takes his targets and says, ‘Oh, I don’t want them voting for a tax hike,’ I don’t think any Republican should vote for it.

Yeah, that’ll be the structured roll call split. Right.

52 Comments

*** UPDATED x1 - The plot thickens *** As if things couldn’t get any weirder

Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

Is there room for another heel in the Illinois governor’s race?

Former pro wrestler Jon “The Illustrious One” Stewart says yes — and he’s looking to put his rivals for the Libertarian Party nomination in a half nelson, then body-slam Bruce Rauner and whoever the Democrats select in the general election.

“Politics is wrestling with suits and ties on,” Stewart, 50, told Chicago Inc. “I’m comfortable on a mic, and I’m not afraid to tell the truth.”

It isn’t The Illustrious One’s first run for elected office. Back in 1997, he unsuccessfully ran as a Republican for the state House on the North Shore — with a little help from President Donald Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway.

“I was her first political client,” said Stewart, who lives in Deerfield and now runs his family’s used-car dealership. “She’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met so I’m not surprised she has got to where she is.

* Let’s welcome him to the race with a caption contest, shall we?…

Also, click here for a wrestling promo video where he describes himself as a “son of a millionaire.”

*** UPDATE *** Many thanks to a commenter for posting a link to this video…

Stewart is pro-Trump. The governor has spent the better part of two years running as far away from Trump as he possibly can. So, it’s possible that Stewart could give him some troubles with the base. Remember how some trade unions (particularly Local 150) backed the 2014 Libertarian Party candidate? Hmm.

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