* One of the more over the top fundraising appeals I’ve ever seen. From the Illinois Family Institute. Emphasis added…
As a father of six children, I often wonder what Illinois will be like in twenty years. What will it be like for your children and grandchildren?
We cannot know for sure. We can’t predict the future. Only God knows for certain.
I do know, however, that things are sure to be worse, much worse for our children, if we don’t do something now to stop the moral collapse, which will be hastened if our lawmakers undermine marriage by legalizing same-sex “marriage.”
I am doing everything in my power to prevent that from happening. I’ve put tens of thousands of miles on my car and logged weeks away from my family to fight this evil agenda in 2013, and I need your help today.
I’m not alone in making sacrifices. Many courageous people are stepping up and doing their part, including the staff and a dozen or so dedicated volunteers at IFI. I need you to do your part today.
The Chicago Sun Times admitted this week that Leftists are still “shy” of the votes they need to pass homosexual “marriage.” And that is because you have refused to stay silent. Now we must finish what we started earlier this year. We must show up in Springfield again. The politicians need to know how strongly you feel about this attack on common sense, reason, and decency. They have to understand that marriage redefinition isn’t as popular as some politicians and media pundits want you to believe it is.
And our politicians need to know that we aren’t going to allow them to ignore the best interests and rights of children and individual religious liberties without a fight. I can do no less for my children. It is my duty. It is our duty.
A friend told me about a group of WWII veterans from Iowa that drove all the way to Washington D.C. this week. They risked arrest by passing through the barricades set up by the president to keep veterans from viewing their monuments. We should be inspired to defend marriage with the same courage, conviction, tenacity, and sacrifice that the greatest generation fought to defend American principles and to honor their fallen. If we don’t stop the enemy from achieving his goal of destroying the family, there won’t be any monuments to visit. America will collapse. It is only a matter of time. Read Genesis 19.
I need your help today to continue the fight against this anti-family agenda. It takes a lot of money to pay staff, keep the bills paid, maintain our full-time office, host Pastors’ Breakfasts, travel to every part of the state, run ads, send out mailings, produce a timely and relevant website, and organize a huge Lobby Day(s). In just one week the October 23rd Lobby Day will be over. The bills won’t wait for next week.
And the truth is, the bills are mounting, and they must be paid.
We don’t get any money from the government or from the mega-rich like our adversaries do. We rely on the Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of his people: moms and dads, grandmothers, and grandfathers from all across the state.
Would you show your support for this cause and our work. Would you take a couple of minutes to make an online contribution?
Maybe you cannot be in Springfield next Wednesday.
You can make a donation.
I don’t hesitate in asking for your financial support. I am not ashamed. I’d beg you for your support if that would help. This cause is that important to me, and the Illinois Family Institute is that effective.
I know it is important to you as well. Please help your Illinois Family Institute remain strong in this fight.
Thanks for not delaying in making your contribution.
God be with you and with the great state of Illinois.
David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
* Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, a new Fako & Associates poll has been released in Demcratic Rep. John D’Amico’s Northwest Side district. D’Amico tells Mark Brown he’s still undecided…
A new poll commissioned by Illinois Unites for Marriage Equality indicates D’Amico’s constituents — at least those likely to vote in a Democratic primary — strongly support legalizing same-sex marriage with 66 percent in favor compared to only 24 percent against.
The poll of 351 likely Democratic voters, conducted by Lisle-based Fako & Associates, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
You always have to consider the source with any poll, although D’Amico conceded this one appears legitimate.
Still, D’Amico did not sound persuaded by the results, especially with the poll’s concentration on Democratic voters.
D’Amico said he’s “got a whole district to represent,” not just those who take a Democratic ballot.
“I’ve seen a lot of numbers thrown at me,” he said. “I’m trying to feel it out for myself.”
D’Amico said he expects to rely more on “my own unscientific poll, talking to people.”
D’Amico is Mayor Emanuel’s floor leader, so he’s under extreme pressure to vote for the bill.
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about his opposition to the privately financed Illiana Expressway…
Emanuel said he doesn’t consider the project a benefit. “I don’t see Illiana as in the self-interest of the city of Chicago, from a competitive standpoint,” he said last week. Emanuel did not elaborate, but experts point to the importance of the thriving and competitive freight industry in Chicago and the surrounding region.
Not to mention O’Hare and Midway because of the proposed expressway’s proximity to Peotone. Chicago mayors have always guarded O’Hare, but keep in mind that Emanuel is attempting to privatize Midway, and that’ll probably be more difficult if a third airport is a likely prospect.
The final decision will come this evening. That’s when a little-known but powerful panel, the Policy Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, is scheduled to vote on whether to endorse the proposed Illiana Expressway, moving it to the top of the region’s transportation priorities, or to place the south suburban road in a lower category, something that would make it ineligible for federal funding and likely kill it.
At this point, neither side appears to have a win sewn up. As of last night, one well-placed observer had it eight votes in favor, eight against and three undecided. In other words, a dead heat, depending on who actually shows up.
Public-private partnership procurements are complicated. They take time to put together, with significant input from private industry regarding their structure and terms. Halting the Illiana Expressway’s progress now eliminates this option.
It may be that the market determines that the highway is not a good investment. If that is the case and the project does not make financial sense, then it should not move forward. To be sure, managing financial risk to the taxpayer should be the No. 1 priority for any public-private partnership.
But expecting a ready-made deal before a project is allowed to pursue private investment is a recipe for failure and hamstrings the very innovation that public-private partnerships promise.
Our infrastructure in Illinois is aging, and we don’t have the resources to keep up with demand. The Illiana Expressway is an opportunity to explore a new way to address how we invest in transportation, and one that I am excited to see move forward.
Mr. Kirk really does run the risk of badly tarnishing his green shield. Building roads to nowhere to suck jobs and people out of the central area is antithetical to everything good urban planning ought to be about.
And throwing around money we don’t have — hey, Senator, remember all those speeches you made about how Illinois is bankrupt? — won’t impress any true fiscal conservative.
I seriously doubt that if the investors take a pass that the road will be built. But investor interest is reportedly quite strong, so I’m not too worried about costs. And this is a toll road, remember.
* Greg and I have shared e-mails back and forth about the Illiana, and this was a main contention of his that he also wrote about in his blog…
Above and beyond that is the fact that not only CMAP’s integrity but also the core future of the Chicago area is at stake in this decision. For once, the area has an agency that is trying to prioritize spending decisions so that the most needed projects get the money. But if Mr. Quinn gets his way on this one, the message will go out loud and clear that the bad old days are back, that dividing up the government pie is a free-for-all without rules in which every side just leans on their favorite pol to get their way.
You gotta admit, Mark Kirk and Pat Quinn make an odd couple. Even in Illinois. Just what are you up to, Senator?
…Adding… An insider with some knowledge of the roll call says he believes the pro-Illiana forces have lined up 11 votes. Ten are needed to win. Stay tuned.
* The DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau is running a sweepstakes…
Just 20 miles west of Chicago, DuPage County is less than a day’s drive from more than half the nation’s population—making it an ideal destination for a weekend road trip.
DuPage County can be beautiful in fall and winter, and we offer lots of seasonal activities, unique events, value-added hotel packages, and special discounts and deals to make your trip especially enjoyable.
Come and discover a road trip that’s just your style in DuPage County, Chicago’s western suburbs!
DuPage Weekend Road Trip Sweepstakes
Enter to win a DuPage County weekend sponsored by the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau and its partners:
* A $500 BP gas card
* A “car care” basket full of goodies
* An overnight stay, breakfast and spa credits at the luxurious Hotel Arista in Naperville, Illinois
One lucky winner will be selected from all entrants after our sweepstakes ends on March 31, 2014.
Prizes have no cash value. No transportation provided. Prizes to be awarded by the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau (DCVB) and its partners. The DCVB may substitute a prize of equal or greater value, solely at its discretion. Any taxes, duty or extra fees are the responsibility of the winner. Prize package must be used by March 31, 2015, unless otherwise specified by awarding business.
* The Question: What would you do in DuPage County if you were the “one lucky winner”?
* I’ve read quite a bit of coverage about the deal to end the government shutdown and avoid hitting the debt ceiling. Lots of stories focused on the possiblity that this could happen again next February. I highly doubt it. From Government Executive…
The measure also extends the nation’s ability to borrow—which the administration said would be exhausted Thursday—through Feb. 7. The Treasury Department will be permitted to use extraordinary measures to borrow after that date, if it needs to, which could extend the deadline. There’s also a mechanism for Congress to vote in favor of a “motion to disapprove” any increase the president announces, but Obama can veto that and force an override effort.
No way will both chambers pass a motion to disapprove.
At least on the borrowing limit aspect, this was a complete defeat of the tea party Republicans.
Buried in the Senate bill to end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling is a provision to nearly quadruple funding for an Ohio River dam project, an allocation slammed as “disgraceful” by Republican Sen. John McCain.
The dam project, which was approved in 1988, has drastically soared over its original budget of $775 million, and the new bill will raise its funding to nearly $3 billion.
Supporters of the project, called the Olmsted Locks and Dam, say it is necessary to reduce bottlenecking at the crossing of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Despite being approved over 20 years ago, the project is still described as “under construction between Illinois and Kentucky” on the Army Corps of Engineers’ website.
Nothing like a little pork for the Senate Minority Leader to grease the wheels of government.
Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican backed by the tea party, said Wednesday that the confrontation leading to a partial government shutdown had left him with “disappointment and frustration” because Congress could have acted to tame the national debt “and the reality is, we didn’t do anything.”
Hultgren, 47, a Republican from DuPage County, spoke with the Tribune before casting the only “no” vote in the Illinois delegation on a bipartisan deal to reopen the government and avert default.
“Overall, I had no desire to see the government shut down, no desire to see our debts not paid, but I am very concerned about the larger picture: $17 trillion in debt and significant increases in new entitlement programs and debt that will only increase taxes on my constituents,” the second-term congressman said. […]
State Sen. Jim Oberweis, an investment manager and dairy magnate from Sugar Grove, is the GOP state central committeeman for the 14th District. He said Hultgren had “done a good job,” and he would be surprised if a Republican challenged the two-term congressman in 2014.
There are lots of rumors that Joe Walsh has switched gears and was thinking about challenging the lackluster fundraiser Hultgren in the GOP primary. We’ll see how this vote impacts the future there.
Republican Rep. Rodney Davis said that while he opposes the president’s health care law, the shutdown that furloughed as many as 800,000 workers was “absolutely unacceptable.”
He said a default would have had “disastrous effects on an already-fragile economy.”
The President and CEO of the tea party group Freedomworks predicted that House Republicans who vote in favor of the latest plan to avert a debt default and re-open the federal government, will face primary challengers.
“Absolutely,” Freedomworks CEO and President Matt Kibbe said on CNN when asked if House Republicans would pay a “political price” for voting for the plan. “You’re seeing that and a repopulation of the republican party.”
There have been some reports that FreedomWorks has money troubles, but that’s not a unanimous consensus by any means.
If there is cash available, that could be the best news to come Erika Harold’s way since she launched her primary campaign against Davis earlier this year. She can’t raise money on her own, but maybe an outside group will ride to her rescue.
* Related…
* Treasurer Rutherford: Federal default threat a wash for Illinois finances: But with the federal default looming, Rutherford said his office moved about $1.2 billion out of treasury bills and into other investments such as repurchase agreements, money market accounts and commercial paper. Rutherford said there were concerns about how quickly the state could get the money back in the event of a default. “We looked at other instruments to still draw interest, but which were secure,” he said. “The other instruments were actually up in the market, so it allowed us the opportunity to at least equal, if not to the penny, very close to the penny equal the U.S. treasuries.”
* University of California at Berkeley professor Franklin Zimring’s Sun-Times op-ed denouncing the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab analysis of the mandatory minimum sentencing proposal for illegal gun possession has been getting quite a bit of play. Several readers have asked why I haven’t posted the piece.
I simply thought it was too emotional, too focused on a personal attack and lacking in specific reasons why the Crime Lab analysis was wrong. Go read it yourself.
Among all cases where there was a conviction for an aggravated UUW charge in Chicago from 2003 through 2012, on average 43% were sentenced to probation and another 10% were sentenced to boot camp, community service, or “other.” Put differently, fewer than half are sentenced to jail or prison over this time period.
The data do show that the share of aggravated UUW cases receiving probation, boot camp, community service or “other” declined from 2003 to 2012. But it’s still the case that as of 2012, one-third (33%) of aggravated UUW cases receive a sentence of something other than time in jail or prison.
Analysis by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council claims that the average length of stay in the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) for aggravated UUW cases that do get sent to prison is one-third of a year for people convicted of their first aggravated UUW offense, and 1.15 years for those convicted for at least the second time.
We can debate all day about first time offenders. Set them aside for now.
* But there is no doubt that 1.15 years for repeat offenders is ridiculously low. I mean, you get convicted for Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon and then busted and convicted again and serve a year?
Prosecutors are to blame for this, as are judges, as are laws. A fix is in order.
Mandatory minimums may or may not be the best way to overcome the natural human tendency to focus on the after-the-fact outcome of some risky behavior, rather than on the risky behavior itself. But everyone concerned about the massive social costs that gun violence imposes on the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Illinois should be in agreement that we need to figure out some way to increase the certainty of some sort of sanction for the very high-risk behavior of illegal gun carrying.
* So, I’ve been listening to the Joe Walsh interview of Bruce Rauner while I was looking for other stories to post and heard something quite interesting. Walsh’s show is sponsored by the Illinois Policy Institute.
They have their own columnist, their own news service, their own “think tank,” tons of Statehouse lobbyists and now they’re sponsoring Joe Walsh’s radio program. “Ubiquitous” is a word that comes to mind.
…Adding… From Joe Walsh…
RIch,
clarification: the Illinois Policy Institute is not a sponsor of the Joe Walsh show.
They are only sponsoring the October Governor Candidate Townhall Series.
thanks,
Joe
* In reality, though, Walsh’s interview was by far the best, most comprehensive I’ve ever heard of Bruce Rauner. He’s actually quite good at this. I’m now a fan. No joke. Listen to the show yourself…
* More Rauner info from the Walsh interview…
* “I’m going to prosecute corruption wherever possible,” Rauner pledged. “I’m going to try and create an office of a special prosecutor purely to go after self-dealing and conflicts of interest in state government. They will be very busy in that role.”
* Former state Sen. James Meeks, a prominent African-American minister, is “helping” Rauner and “advising” him, the candidate claimed.
* Rauner said he would veto a gay marriage bill unless voters approve it during a referendum. He refused to say where he stood on the issue, saying he thought the people should decide.
* Rauner said he will address the crime problem in three ways: “Creating a boom economy in Illinois,” improving schools with charters and vouchers, and transforming the budgets at the state local levels. “We’ve got to take on the government union bosses that are bankrupting our governments and making them spend too much so we can afford to hire more police officers.”
At least he stays on message. Later, though, he said he wanted a “special deal” for police officers to spare them from pension cuts.
* The candidate pledged to reverse Rod Blagojevich’s executive order establishing “card check” union elections.
* He said he opposes legalizing marijuana, calling it a “slippery slope” to drug addiction.
* On abortion: “I do support a woman’s ability to decide early in pregnancy, but I would also support ways to make abortion safe and rare. I support parental notification, late term restricts, I would certainly advocate for adoption as a far, far better alternative.”
* On his Republican primary opponents: “I am fundamentally a different person. They are all career politicians who’ve been in Springfield for decades, every one of them. They all take government union money. They all are in the pension system. I don’t know how many of your listeners have seen what the legislators get in their pensions. It’s outrageous. It’s overly generous. It’s unfair. Nobody should be in that system, it should be a 401(k) system. None of them have been leaders. I’ve been a leader in everything I’ve ever done. I drive results. I’m financially independent, I can stand up to the corrupt interests in Springfield and I’m the only one who can get it done.”
* Frankly, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I read the Crain’s story about how AT&T had been rated the best mobile phone carrier in Chicago…
For the first time, AT&T finished first in calls, web surfing and text messaging on wireless phones, according to Root Metrics, which routinely tests networks in cities nationwide. AT&T dethroned Verizon Wireless, which previously had the best overall score.
AT&T’s edge is network speed more than quality. AT&T and Verizon were virtually tied in reliability.
Root Metrics, based in Bellevue, Wash., said AT&T’s download speed is 19.1 megabits per second, compared with 13.5 megabits for runner-up Verizon. […]
AT&T tied for the lowest rate of dropped calls, at 0.2 percent. […]
For AT&T, the study helps validate the billions the Dallas-based company spent in Illinois in recent years. It spent $2.6 billion on wired and wireless networks in Illinois between 2010 and 2012, followed by another $625 million in the first half of 2013. Although AT&T didn’t break out wireless spending, it has been adding infill networks aggressively in high-demand areas, such as Navy Pier, to take loads off the overall network.
Federal authorities are investigating possible securities violations involving the state’s largest charter-school operator, the scandal-scarred United Neighborhood Organization.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission requested documents last month from the clout-heavy Chicago group, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by the Chicago Sun-Times. […]
A top UNO executive, Miguel d’Escoto, resigned in February, days after the Sun-Times reported the group gave $8.5 million of business to companies owned by two of d’Escoto’s brothers with money from $98 million in state school-construction grant funding.
The SEC is looking at how UNO raised more than $37.5 million on Wall Street in 2011 through state-approved bonds, the letter shows. […]
Quinn’s move to restore funding allowed UNO to finish construction of the state-funded UNO Soccer Academy High School on the Southwest Side.
Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), a major Quinn campaign fund-raiser, had urged the governor to restore the funding, believed to be the largest government subsidy nationwide for a charter operator.
So far, the state has given UNO $83 million of the promised $98 million.
UNO also gets tens of millions of dollars a year from the Chicago Public Schools, which it relies on to run its schools and repay money it has borrowed.
The SEC sent a June 26 letter to the state’s economic development agency asking for documents, meeting summaries and other communications related to the grants. The Tribune obtained that letter through an open records request.
Rangel, a co-chairman of Emanuel’s 2011 campaign, took some responsibility in May for the financial troubles at UNO as he stepped down as board chairman. He said he had failed to exercise the proper oversight during a time UNO experienced rapid growth. Rangel, however, remains the organization’s CEO, a $275,000-a-year job.
* Bruce Rauner had this to say on Joe Walsh’s radio show about how he would deal with Speaker Madigan if elected governor…
I can do things no career politician would think about doing. I can run the government like a business, challenge the government unions and their power, transform their deal through contract negotiations, and stand up to Madigan, because I know where his special interest groups are, and I can go after them. [Emphasis added.]
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Tressa Feher and Lauren Peters have been together for six years. They have been through a lot in that time, including Tressa’s 2011 surgery and treatment for breast cancer. Last year, they bought a house together, and they are expecting their first child in November.
“It has been an incredibly exciting year for us,” Lauren says.
Tress and Lauren are like any other couple, and they want the same things other couples want. Most of all, they want the freedom to make a lifelong commitment to each other. They want the security of knowing they can always protect each other.
But Illinois denies them the freedom to marry. “We’ve talked about going to Iowa or Minnesota since DOMA was overturned, but Illinois is our home,” Tressa says.
This isn’t just about the legal protections marriage affords. It’s about dignity. It’s about equality before the law. It’s about fairness.
It is time for the Illinois House of Representatives to get on the right side of history and pass SB10. It’s time to stop excluding same-sex couples from marriage. Illinois families can’t wait.
