I predict Lisa Madigan will decide not to run, because of the complications of sharing power with her father, leaving Daley as Quinn’s challenger.
* The Question: If you had to guess today, do you think Lisa Madigan will run for governor in 2014? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
There’s an unofficial club in state government whose robust membership may surprise many taxpayers, especially given the ongoing challenges of growing debt, pension obligations and budget cuts.
The “club” has 6,215 members, about 8 percent of the state’s workforce, each of whom earned more than $100,000 last year.
Those employees earned about 17 percent of the total $4.5 billion payroll, according to an analysis of state records in 2012 provided by the state comptroller’s office. The analysis did not include employees of state universities.
More than $780.6 million was paid to those 6,215 state employees. The group includes doctors, judges, nurses, police officers, investment managers and the state’s chief executive, Gov. Pat Quinn, to name a few.
It’s a growing club, with 1,131 new members in 2012. Nearly 2,000 additional state employees made $100,000 or more in 2012 than in 2010, when six-figure earners accounted for 5.5 percent of employees and 12.5 percent of the state’s total payroll. There were 75,918 people employed by the state last year, about 4.5 percent fewer than 2011.
More than one-third of Illinois State Police employees earned more than $100,000 last year.
There were 1,052 employees — nearly 35 percent of the department — that earned over $100,000. This group earned more than $125.8 million in 2012, which accounted for 47 percent of the department’s payroll.
The agency has the highest percentage of $100,000-plus workers of any large state department, except for judges and Supreme Court justices.
The average state police salary for all ranks and experience levels was $87,725.05 in 2012. A first-year trooper’s base salary is $57,708 after completing the training academy and a six-month probation period. About 6 percent of those ranked trooper, first class received more than $100,000 because of overtime earnings.
* This makes sense, considering who lives in the suburbs…
DuPage County has the largest percentage of its state employee population earning more than $100,000. Nearly 13 percent of the state workers living in DuPage are members of the club. Will and McHenry are two other collar counties surrounding Chicago where at least 10 percent of its resident state workers made more than $100,000. […]
The 16 most southern counties in Illinois have 7,022 state employees, but 348 of them — less than 5 percent — make more than $100,000.
State Museum director Bonnie Styles made $137,928 in 2012. That’s about $20,000 less than the head of Peoria’s Lakeview Museum, Jim Richerson, made in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012.
* Related and a roundup…
* General Assembly’s FY2014 Budget Shows Slight Deficit: The legislature’s budget authorizes General Funds spending of $35.699 billion for the year that begins on July 1, 2013, the bond documents show. General Funds revenues are projected at $35.610 billion, resulting in an operating deficit of $89 million.
* Quinn zigzags on pension reform not helpful, lawmakers say: Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said she was surprised that anyone would criticize the governor’s leadership role on the pension issue “with a straight face.” “That is a ludicrous excuse from individuals who, instead of deflecting blame, should be focused on their jobs and sending the governor a bill,” Anderson said. “I know it’s a tough political vote to take for many, but it’s past time that they act for the greater good of Illinois and stop making excuses.”
* It’s official: Tenaska coal plant is kaput: In the release, Dave Fiorelli, Tenaska president of development, said the company is turning away from coal-fired projects. “The current market is in need of natural gas-fueled and renewable electric generating facilities,” he said.
* Hinz: Why it’s long past time to fix state’s tax system
* How Neil Bluhm’s bet on Rivers Casino has paid off: “We’d prefer there to be no new competition and cannibalization, but if it’s going to be so, it should be fair,” Mr. Bluhm says. He wants the state to lower tax rates on casino owners and allow existing facilities to add more gambling positions.
* IDOT refines Circle Interchange plans: The Circle accommodates more than 400,000 vehicles daily, including about 33,000 trucks, according to IDOT. The outmoded design contributes to sudden lane changes and weaving patterns that cause an average of three crashes each day at the congested junction, traffic data show.
* The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis - It’s long been suspected that ratings agencies like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s helped trigger the meltdown. A new trove of embarrassing documents shows how they did it
* Rep. Bost is coming up on 20 years in the House, so this move would make sense, both from a pension and a career standpoint…
When asked Wednesday if he was thinking about running against U.S. Rep. William Enyart of Belleville in the 2014 election, state Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro said, “I’m not saying no. But I’m not really making any announcement that I am yet.” […]
Bost said he has not yet put together a formal committee.
“I’m working with some friends and talking with some people about some options that might be avail-able,” Bost said. “You know you’ve got to at least look. So, that’s where I’m at right now.”
Bost, 52, was born and still lives in Murphysboro. He served in the Marine Corps from 1979 to 1982 and has been in the Illinois House since January 1995.
The best indication that Bost is leaning toward a congressional bid is that his name has all but dropped from contention for House Republican Leader.
The results showed that in the 10th District former Rep. Robert Dold, a Republican, led Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider 44 percent to 39 percent, with 17 percent of survey respondents undecided. The survey had a margin of error of 4.9 points.
For the 12th District, the results showed Republican state Rep. Mike Bost leads Democratic Rep. Bill Enyart 33 percent to 27 percent, with 40 percent undecided. The margin of error was 3.3 points.
Minority House Leader Tom Cross is looking at a 2014 bid for Attorney General. The decision is a big one. If Cross runs for AG, he’ll need to walk away from his House leadership position. A statement from his political office this weekend said much depends on a Democrat - Attorney General Lisa Madigan and whether or not she will run for re-election in 2014.
“[Cross] has been asked to consider running for Attorney General by Republican Leaders from across the state and he is listening to what they have to say and will evaluate his options should Lisa Madigan decide not to seek re-election,” an email from political director Kevin Artl said. “But right now, he is devoting his time and energy towards recruiting candidates and raising funds in preparation for the 2014 House Republican campaign program.” […]
Saturday, IR contributor Chris Robling suggested Urbana native Erika Harold run for AG. Other persons whose names have been circulated for the spot are State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Westchester) and Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.
* Right now, anyway, Rep. Durkin is running for HGOP Leader. His main opponent is Rep. Tim Schmitz, another suburbanite. Rep. Rich Brauer is also reportedly interested. I’ll have more for subscribers later this week.
State Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, is hoping the organization of downstate Republican Illinois House members he leads can help improve the party’s fortunes.
After election to his second two-year term in the House last fall, Rosenthal was elected chairman of the 29-member Downstate GOP Caucus.
In addition to being a voice for those mostly outside metropolitan Chicago (at least one Cook County representative, Tom Morrison of Palatine, is a member), the group this year created a political action committee. It’s called Downstate GOP, and it raised about $40,000 in a spring event at Poe’s Catering on the Hill, which is owned by Lance Poe, son of Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield.
Another event will be hosted in August by Rep. Charles Meier, R-Okawville.
“The reason for it is to help support our downstate candidates,” Rosenthal said. “All the races take a lot of money and a lot of support.”
Keep your eye on that guy. He’s becoming a major player.
* Years ago, I posted a photo of our infamous commenter “Bill.” Actually, it was just the back of his head because Bill wanted to remain anonymous.
Well, Oswego Willy was in Springfield last week and I asked him to pose for a similar pic. He’s wearing a t-shirt that he had made of Rep. Ann Williams’ biting retort to freshman Rep. Scott Drury’s tired refrain about how he’s a former federal prosecutor…
We had a great time. He ended up coming to my house for a couple of late night beers and he got to meet Oscar the Puppy. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the two of them, but I had a blast.
A former campaign consultant and college friend is suing former congressional candidate Jason Plummer, R-Fairview Heights, claiming he has failed to pay her for her services.
Franny Decker, doing business as Decker Consulting Services, has named Plummer and his campaign committee, Plummer for Congress, as defendants in her lawsuit, claiming they owe her $51,700.
“Plaintiff has, on several occasions, requested defendants to pay for said services, or provide some basis of why the claimed amounts are not owed, but defendants have refused to pay plaintiff the sum due and owing for services rendered,” the suit filed in Madison County Circuit Court alleges.
The suit alleges that Decker and her business were hired to raise funds for Plummer’s run for the U.S. Congress in 2012.
“Plaintiff and defendant Jason Plummer were acquainted from their time in College Republicans at the University of Illinois,” the suit states. […]
“Plaintiff was an effective fund-raiser for defendants and greatly exceeded the stated financial goal to be raised from PACs,” the suit claims.
She was to be paid a monthly retainer, along with a commission on all PAC funds received. She also was supposed to receive certain expenses, costs and late fees.
I think a lot of people believed that if Bill Daley ran for governor his campaign would be as bland and vanilla as his public persona has been over the decades.
Instead, he’s turned into the most fiery candidate in the race so far. Daley is even “out-angering” wealthy Republican financier Bruce Rauner, who has tried to position himself as the “We’re not gonna take it any more!” choice for 2014.
He’s attacked Gov. Pat Quinn’s pathetic leadership, slammed the General Assembly for its ridiculous inaction and has made it clear that he’s not afraid to go on the attack against the Madigan family by releasing unflattering poll results earlier this week which showed that the House speaker could harm his daughter’s potential gubernatorial bid.
Daley has been selectively releasing responses to a poll taken in April for his campaign — back when few thought he would actually run. All of the responses released so far have dealt with Attorney General Lisa Madigan and her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan. None of the numbers released so far have showed any actual Daley strength.
For instance, Attorney General Madigan has a 54 percent favorable rating, according to a poll conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research for Daley’s campaign, and she leads Republican Treasurer Dan Rutherford 50-34 in an initial head-to-head matchup.
But after voters hear a statement about possible “major conflicts of interest” if both Madigan’s are at the top of two branches of government, that support falls and she moves into a 41-41 tie with Rutherford. 53 percent say it’s a “serious concern” that a Governor and a Speaker Madigan “will put too much power in one family’s hands and break the system of checks and balances that is supposed to keep power in government separated.” Another 17 percent say it’s “somewhat of a concern,” putting the total number at 70 percent.
According to the poll, 23 percent say they “like Lisa,” but would have a “hard time” voting for her if her father continues as House speaker. Another 26 percent said they wouldn’t vote for her regardless. That means a total of 49 percent are in the reticent/refusal category. I’ll post the Daley polling memo at the blog later this morning.
The day after releasing those numbers, Daley’s campaign leaked yet another result which won’t go over well with the Madigan clan.
“If Lisa Madigan ran for governor,” respondents were asked, “do you think her father Mike Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, should: Retire and not run for reelection as speaker; Run for reelection as speaker but commit to resign from office and retire if Lisa Madigan is elected governor; Continue to serve as speaker even if Lisa Madigan is elected governor?
According to the campaign, the poll found that 42 percent of likely general election voters said Speaker Madigan should retire if Lisa runs for governor. Another 22 percent said he should commit to resign if Lisa is elected. Twenty-five percent said he ought to continue to serve as speaker even if Lisa is elected governor. Twelve percent were undecided or refused to respond.
These poll numbers aren’t designed to run Attorney General Madigan out of the race. She undoubtedly has her own polling data and has done some focus groups. She’s fully aware that she’ll be subjected to endless misogynistic “daddy” attacks, and that every deal her father has ever cut will be run through the filter of her candidacy.
Instead, the idea here is to frame the debate before the debate even begins. So far, there has been no real response from Team Lisa. The speaker’s people bristle at every mention of a “conflict of interest” regarding her potential governorship and their constant refrain is to challenge reporters to define the term. The reporters don’t seem to feel the need to do that because voters appear to already pretty much get it in their guts. This is an easy story to write and an easy story to understand, so the stories will continue unless she comes up with an effective response.
So far, the overriding media theme is that she’ll either be completely controlled by her father or that the two of them will collude to rule the state unchecked. That’s a tough mindset to break, as the polling clearly shows.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan spent her political career crusading for equal rights for gays and lesbians but now faces an ill-timed and potentially damaging backlash within that voting bloc for the role her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, played in the collapse of same-sex marriage legislation.
That assessment by a top supporter of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act comes at a troubling time for the three-term attorney general as she considers a primary campaign for governor in a 2014 race where gays and lesbians could account for up to 10 percent of the vote.
Rick Garcia is the person featured in the story. He has somewhat limited influence in the gay political community these days after years atop it.
“Up until last month, there might have been a slight edge within the [LGBT] community for Lisa, frankly, because people really, really like her. But because there wasn’t a vote and people are blaming the speaker, there’s some residual that hurts her. It’s not huge, but I think Gov. Quinn has the edge there, speaking now, early June,” Garcia said.
* On a related note, AG Madigan sat down for an interview with Windy City Times. An excerpt…
WCT: Obviously, there has been a lot of anger over this, even at supportive representatives. Do you think that anger is fair, and how do you feel that some of that has been directed as you as the daughter of Speaker Madigan?
Lisa Madigan: I think anger is understandable. Everybody who was working toward passage of this bill was certainly disappointed, upset that it did not have the votes to pass at the end of session. So, I can understand anger. I think the useful way to channel that anger is into working harder and assuring ourselves that we do get commitments from representatives that we will vote for this bill when it is called. I don’t think that anger for anger’s sake is useful at the end of the day. But, again, I understand that there are a lot of people who are very disappointed, myself included, that the votes weren’t there to pass it at the end of session.
WCT: Do you have any plans for Pride?
Lisa Madigan: We always go to the parade, so we’ll be out at the parade.
It should be interesting to see the reaction she gets. That was a pretty darned softball interview by WCT, so positions may not be so hard.
Is this another indication Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan plans to run for governor?
◆ Dem femme data: Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon showed up at a Dem pre-slating meeting at the Hotel Allegro Thursday to pitch her desire to run for Madigan’s job.
Simon has made no bones about this, and is even broadly hinting to potential contributors that she has some sort of inside track on AG Madigan’s thinking. I’m not so sure about that, but whatever.
Syverson said details of the training and application processes are unclear and ultimately will be determined by the Illinois State Police. It could take three to four months before there’s solid information on registration and training classes.
“My guess is, with the state police who oppose this and a governor who opposes this, they’re going to do things to try to put rules in place that will make it more difficult” to get a license, he said. “And that means we may have to come back with more legislation.”
First, of course, it has to become law, but I don’t disagree with Syverson’s analysis.
* Meanwhile, we’ve been talking here for a while now about the likely prospects of Gov. Pat Quinn using the concealed carry bill to boost his Democratic primary bid. The Tribune has an article about the same topic…
Legislative leaders in both parties expect a scenario to unfold over the next couple of weeks that allows Quinn to save face and lawmakers to stick to what they voted for: The governor will veto or make changes to the bill and lawmakers then will override him and put the law on the books.
“I think he’s going to veto or amendatorily veto the bill, requiring us to come back in the session to act on that veto,” said Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago.
In addition, the gun bill’s sponsor said House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday went over the process for how to handle a Quinn veto or rewrite. “There was talk brought up that the speaker had heard that the governor is expected to file an amendatory veto or a veto,” said Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg.
Lawmakers are being told to prepare to come back to Springfield on July 8. The significance of that date? It’s the day before Quinn’s suggested deadline for lawmakers to come up with a solution for the state’s heavily underfunded pension funds. It’s also the day before the federal court order to invalidate the state’s ban on concealed carry is scheduled to take effect. […]
As the governor tries to figure out what to do on the gun bill, he has a couple of other options that are less confrontational. Quinn could negotiate small and technical changes with lawmakers and try to get them to go along. He also could sign it and ask legislators to pass a follow-up bill that would address minor changes, a move that does not risk putting the entire bill in jeopardy.
Keep in mind that “less confrontational” would mean “less publicity.”
* Related…
* Senate Dems Call For Gov. Quinn’s Verdict On Gun Bill: “If you intend to issue a veto or amendatory veto, we ask that you do it quickly. The General Assembly will need time to respond. Every day we get closer to the federal court’s July 9 deadline. Time is of the essence,” the letter said. “We urge you to act on this legislation now. The last thing we need is a public safety and constitutional crisis.”
* It’s summer, it’s Friday and I woke up late, scanned the news stories for a long while and decided that my decision last night to take today off was the right one.
But before I close comments, have a look at this op-ed by Marc Joffe, the principal consultant at Public Sector Credit Solutions…
The ratio of debt to gross state product of Illinois is about 6 percent, and it has ratings in the single A range; Ontario, Canada, with a similar population and similar-sized economy, has a debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio of 39 percent and ratings in the double A range. Something doesn’t quite add up.
* The story about Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Jim Allen’s racist, sexist, etc. e-mail about Erika Harold has gone national. From a press release…
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement in response to comments made by Jim Allen, Chairman of the Montgomery County, Illinois, Republican Party:
“The astonishingly offensive views expressed by Chairman Allen have absolutely no place among the leaders of our party at any level. His behavior is inexcusable and must not be tolerated. He should apologize to Erika Harold and resign immediately.”
Illinois Review has learned that Montgomery County GOP chairman Jim Allen has resigned his position following a controversial email he sent regarding GOP candidate Erika Harold.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Resignation confirmed. From IL GOP Chairman Jack Dorgan…
Today, I accepted the resignation of Jim Allen as Montgomery County Chairman. These types of offensive and inappropriate remarks have no place in our Republican Party.
“I was encouraged by the fact that [House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton] agreed to have a conference committee,” said Quinn, who met with legislative leaders Wednesday morning.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the members of the Legislature understand that this is not going away. If on the 9th of July they haven’t done their job, they’re really letting the people of Illinois down.”
It’s a tall order, considering members of the 10-member, bipartisan committee will be starting fresh on a compromise never reached during the Legislature’s regular session that ended with Madigan’s savings-focused plan being trounced in the Senate and his refusal to call Cullerton’s rival, union-backed plan.
Let’s see… the end of January’s lame duck session was a hard deadline. The end of spring session was probably also a hard deadline for Quinn. Maybe even before spring break. It’s just too nice of a day today to bother looking up the links.
Legislative leaders named the members to the committee. For the most part, the appointees reflect the views of those who appointed them. House Speaker Michael Madigan named Chicago Rep. Arthur Turner, Riverside Rep. Michael Zalewski and Northbrook Democrat Elaine Nekritz, who has been a key player in pension talks thus far. “I think it has the potential to be different because we’re just in a different position than we’ve been in throughout this long journey, this arduous journey,” Nekritz said. “We’re a lot further down the road than we have been in the past, and I think that there is a … desire to come together to get a compromise. I can say that from the House’s perspective, and I believe that to be true of the Senate, as well.” House Minority Leader Tom Cross tapped Naperville Rep. Darlene Senger and Quincy Rep. Jil Tracy.
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno chose Palatine Sen. Matt Murphy and Bloomington Sen. Bill Brady. Senate President John Cullerton appointed Evanston Sen. Daniel Biss, Chicago Sen. Kwame Raoul and Aurora Sen. Linda Holmes. Biss, who sponsored Senate Bill 1, is the only choice that stands out as not sharing similar views on the issue as the leader who appointed him.
However, Biss acknowledged today that compromise is needed, calling SB 1 “dead” and “gone.” “I think everything has to be on the table. I think we need to walk into this with the openness and flexibility that comes with not having bright red lines and not having nonstarters,” Biss said. [Emphasis added.]
Hopefully, the train is finally starting to move faster than one mile a year.
Cullerton, who had been at loggerheads with Madigan over competing pension proposals, gave a backhanded compliment to the speaker — a longtime friend and colleague — for agreeing to form the conference committee after initially dismissing it out of hand on Friday.
“Now we have a conference committee that the speaker’s agreed to do rather than just insist that we keep on voting on his bill, and that’s a very positive step,” Cullerton said, adding that the process opens the door to “new ideas.”
In an exclusive interview in his expansive Springfield office, House Speaker Michael Madigan also seemed to indicate that this might be the time for compromise.
“We both resolve that there must be a bill. That is a significant first step. Having done that, now we move to where the compromises will occur, what kind of concessions can be taken from each side,” said Madigan.
* I asked Jay Levine at CBS2 to post the full interview with Madigan. He did. Many thanks. Have a look…
“The initial reaction [in the legislature] when Quinn suggested it was kind of eye-roll, ‘are-you-kidding’ sort of thing,” said Kent Redfield, an emeritus political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield. “But then, I think the reason it got done was that people looked at it and said, ‘If we do this, then it looks like we’re doing something. And we can present it as we came to town and we did something.’ It’s very symbolic. I think that it is basically a way to buy time and to play to the external audiences, which are editorial boards, average citizens and the bond [rating] houses.” Illinois’ credit rating was downgraded twice in the first week of June after lawmakers failed to pass pension changes in the regular session.
Cullerton says he thinks the committee is a step in the right direction, but will it be the final push needed to pass a comprehensive pension fix?
CULLERTON: “No, not the fact that we have a conference committee. That was the governor’s request and just another way of getting to a vote for a bill.”
* It also takes about two weeks to do an actuarial analysis. So, if they want to vote on a bill and know what they’ll be getting, they’ll need to wrap things up in less than a week. Doubtful, to say the least…
Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, a conference committee member and the leading House Democrat on pension matters, cautioned that if any agreement is reached, it could take weeks to run the numbers on potential savings to the state.
“Part of reaching a compromise is knowing what (a proposal) does,” Nekritz said. “I would hesitate to go to (Madigan) and say, ‘This is the deal but I don’t really know what it saves, I have a guess.’ And I don’t want to go to the people of the state of Illinois and say that. So, it’ll take some time.”
* And here’s where we finally get to the question. From WBEZ…
The pension crisis in Illinois is dire. Politicians routinely use strong language when they talk about it. Consider the following:
“We all look like idiots.” - Rep. Daniel Biss, D-Skokie.
“Finances in the state of Illinois are a train wreck.” - Dick Ingram of the Teachers Retirement System
“It’s a catastrophic failure of leadership.” - Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont […]
All this talk has us wondering: Are there any adjectives left we can use to describe how bad this pension situation is that we aren’t already desensitized to? Any fear-inspiring idioms or cliches left out?
That’s where you come in. Fill out the Mad Lib-inspired form below to tell us how you’re feeling about the Illinois pension crisis. We’ll do a dramatic reading of some of your responses on-air.
* I touched up one of their Mad Libs for our purposes…
Without a compromise, I’m __(emotion)___ that Illinois will be worse off than a __(noun)__ in a __(location)__. If lawmakers don’t agree on a plan by July 8th, then I will __(verb)__.
* The Question: Fill in the blanks? And please, please, please keep it super-clean. Thanks!
* Will County Auditor Duffy Blackburn is kicking off his campaign for comptroller. The Democrat eventually hopes to challenge incumbent Judy Baar Topinka…
Blackburn, who is in his second term as Will County Auditor, plans to jump in with the help of U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, who is to serve as a co-chair on his campaign.
Blackburn, 35, of Joliet plans to officially announce on Thursday.
“I’m running for State Comptroller because I saw the need for a professional accounting watchdog to lead the state’s accounting office instead of a career politician,” Blackburn said in a statement released to the Sun-Times. “Illinois needs an accountant to manage its checkbook, clean up operations, and advocate fresh ideas for solving our state’s continuous financial problems—not pass the blame on to others. I look forward to traveling the state to discuss with voters how we can solve our financial crisis and move Illinois forward.”
For her part, Topinka is definitely in for another run.
* Blackburn’s campaign was eager last night to let y’all have the first look at his announcement video. I forgot about it earlier this morning. Oops. But here it is…
Illinois’ one-dollar-per-pack cigarette tax increase that took effect a year ago this month is expected to fall $130 million short of initial estimates, meaning it won’t raise quite as much as projected for school capital projects because of the way the funding formula is set up.
The increase, which hiked the state’s 98-cents-per-pack tax to $1.98 last June, is expected to bring in about $212 million in additional revenue for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
That’s well short of the $350 million in additional revenue originally projected, according to a monthly report released at the end of May by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
A decline in sales that typically follows a significant tax increase is partially why the revenue is falling short, the report states.
Significant stockpiling of cigarettes with older tax stamps is another reason for the shortfall.
OfficeMax Inc. is asking the state of Illinois for tax breaks to keep the company’s headquarters in-state after the office supply chain’s merger with Office Depot Inc. is complete.
OfficeMax CEO Ravi Saligram and state Sen. Tom Cullerton made their pitch yesterday during a hearing on the state’s pension crisis. Cullerton is a Democrat from west suburban Villa Park sponsoring legislation to provide incentives if the company keeps at least 2,000 full-time jobs at its headquarters and other non-retail locations.
Naperville-based OfficeMax and Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot in February announced plans to merge. The companies are trying to decide where to locate their combined headquarters.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration on July 1 will start paying the wage rate that was promised to thousands of unionized government workers in 2011 and 2012, although Illinois lawmakers didn’t approve extra funding for back wages owed, officials said Wednesday.
Employees in six state agencies will get raises of at least 7.25 percent going forward, starting with the new fiscal year, according to an email sent to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ 35,000 members and obtained by The Associated Press.
That includes a 2 percent raise owed in the current contract and the 5.25 percent increase offered in 2011 and 2012 that Quinn reneged on. There will also be some back-money paid, but for the most part, only that which a court ordered set aside in 2012 or leftover funds from this budget year that Quinn officials have promised to put toward the overdue wages.
Not all employees will get what they’re owed for the past two years because lawmakers didn’t act on a supplemental appropriation to cover the $140 million to $160 million price tag, AFSCME director Henry Bayer said in the email.
Bruce Rauner reacts on Facebook…
* In other news…
The state agency charged with investigating child abuse claims continues to flounder when it comes to meeting deadlines for initiating and completing investigations, a new audit notes.
In a report released Wednesday, Illinois Auditor General Bill Holland said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services saw a significant jump in the number of abuse cases that weren’t determined to be unfounded or credible within a required 60-day timeframe.
The audit found that 884 of nearly 65,000 allegations missed the deadline, compared to 115 of 63,000 the previous year. It was the biggest backlog since 2006, when more than 1,000 cases missed the deadline.
Bookkeeping is sloppy at the Illinois Department of Transportation, where contracts have been hastily awarded for “emergencies” such as trash collection and overtime claims have gone unchecked, according to a state audit released Wednesday.
Other problems in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 included shoddy inventory records and duplicated payments to vendors, according to the Illinois auditor general’s report, which said some problems have festered since 1994.
IDOT officials said they agreed with the findings and promised to improve. The department is led by Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider, who took over in late 2011. She was preceded by Gary Hannig.
In March, Gov. Pat Quinn issued an executive order to eliminate or consolidate 75 government panels after the Better Government Association highlighted the waste and perks that accompany many taxpayer-supported boards and commissions.
The aim: trim the bureaucracy and save money.
But on the final day of the just-completed Illinois General Assembly session, the state Senate quietly blocked Quinn’s order, claiming he didn’t have the authority to eliminate 37 — or nearly half — of those panels.
Quinn’s press secretary said the governor was “surprised” by the Senate’s action, which she called “disappointing.”
A spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said his boss is committed to streamlining the numbed of boards and commissions, but it needs to be done through legislation. In other words, it’s the legislature’s call, not the governor’s.
So one night the princess went to sleep, as she had on all the other nights, atop those 28 mattresses and 28 feather beds.
Yet so sensitive was she that she felt something bothering her. She just couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned. She could feel a bothersome itch right in the middle of her back.
The servants ran to help and removed the 28 mattresses and the 28 feather beds, but found nothing.
“Wait!” said Princess Lisa. “What’s this?”
There, at the bottom of the pile, on the ground, was a tiny, dry, little pea.
She had felt it through all the mattresses and all the feather beds representing the years of her father’s reign. She placed it in her flawless palm, and like magic, it opened. Inside was a mysterious note with many numbers. The servants ran to inform Mike of Madiganistan.
“This is nothing,” said the terrible Mike. “All it says is that the peasants owe $100 billion in unfunded state pension liabilities. Don’t worry, they’ll pay and they’ll like it. Go to sleep, honey.”
So the servants reassembled the bed, the 28 mattresses and the 28 feather beds, and soon Princess Lisa was fast asleep.
And the next morning, after a night of uneasy dreams, she felt as if she’d been transformed.
All was right with the world. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the peasants were shrieking their piteous cries of woe. The princess climbed down for breakfast with her father.
And just before a servant brought her a silver bowl of Lucky Charms, she asked Mike of Madiganistan a question:
Darin LaHood, State Senator (R-Peoria) and Dan Rutherford for Illinois Treasurer campaign staffer, may be looking to fill the seat of his former boss.
Appointed to serve the 37th District in the Illinois Senate in February of 2011, he was elected to a four year term in the senate on November 6, 2012. He may have his sights set on running for State Treasurer.
Two other perspective GOP nominees, Bob Schillerstrom, former DuPage Chairman and Bob Grogan, DuPage County Auditor.
* Bruce Rauner was in Springfield yesterday spreading the word about his gubernatorial candidacy. But he stuck closely to his script and wouldn’t offer up any real details. For instance, here’s Rauner on limiting the power of public employee unions…
Asked by a reporter if he was saying government unions should be eliminated in Illinois, Rauner said, “We need to modify their power.” Asked how, he said, “I won’t go into it today. We’ve got a detailed plan.”
“We should put vouchers into our worst school districts so parents can get out of those broken systems and go elsewhere for their kids’ education,” he said. He didn’t say, when asked, if such vouchers would be allowed to pay for education at parochial schools.
“We’ll get to that plan later,” he said.
He also apparently didn’t say if Chicago kids would be offered vouchers to attend school in Winnetka.
Rauner said he thinks for a Republican to win for governor, a candidate would need 25 percent of the vote in Cook County, and he said he has a “very specific plan” to get support there.
“I built businesses in Cook County,” he said. “I’m known in the African-American community in Cook County and the Latino community in Cook County because my wife and I have funded many, many of their charter schools in their communities, and … we’ve been doing that for 25 years. … They know it’s not about politics. They know it’s because I care passionately about quality education for everybody.”
Asked if term limits would require a constitutional amendment, he said, “or a referendum; we’ve got a plan.”
* He said something odd to a Springfield TV reporter yesterday. Rauner said the problem with the pension reform conference committee is that the public employee unions are “not at the table.” But why bring the unions to the table if you want to break them? Usually, you only bring somebody to the table if you want to negotiate. So, I don’t get it. Watch…
* Meanwhile, Rauner said something in Rockford that kinda/sorta reminded me of the parody movie “The Campaign”…
“Rockford is a core, one of the most important communities in Illinois. How Rockford goes is how the state goes.”
* Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Jim Allen fired off a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and disgustingly hateful e-mail to conservative blogger and GOP activist Doug Ibendahl this week. Allen supports Congressman Rodney Davis against Erika Harold in the Republican primary. Harold, who is black, lost out to Davis last year when county party chairmen picked retired Congressman Tim Johnson’s ballot replacement. Ibendahl backs Harold and he posted Chairman Allen’s e-mail on his blog. I’ve edited one word by blocking out a letter…
From: Jim Allen
Sent: 06/18/13 10:59 PM
To: dibendahl@mail.com
Subject: 13th Congressional District reply
Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Sh*tcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm that needs to meet their quota for minority hires.
The truth is Nancy Pelosi and the DEMOCRAT party want this seat. So they called RINO Timmy Johnson to be their pack mule and get little queen to run.
Ann Callis gets a free ride through a primary and Rodney Davis has a battle.
The little queen touts her abstinence and she won the crown because she got bullied in school,,,boohoo..kids are cruel, life sucks and you move on..Now, miss queen is being used like a street walker and her pimps are the DEMOCRAT PARTY and RINO REPUBLICANS…These pimps want something they can’t get,,, the seat held by a conservative REPUBLICAN Rodney Davis and Nancy Pelosi can’t stand it..
Little Queenie and Nancy Pelosi have so much in common but the one thing that stands out the most.. both are FORMER QUEENS, their crowns are tarnished and time has run out on the both of them..
And the Republican Party wonders why they have problems with women and minorities?
Sheesh.
They have far too many yahoos like this clown in power.
* Davis pulled Chairman Allen’s name off a list of supporters on his campaign website. And Allen apologized. From the Champaign News-Gazette…
“The words in the commentary I wrote were completely wrong,” said Jim Allen, the Republican Party chairman in Montgomery County. “I apologize to Erika Harold, her staff and her supporters.”
With that, Allen hung up.
OK, not a bad apology, but have the stones to at least answer a question before hanging up on the reporter.
“Mr. Allen’s comments are misguided and wrong and certainly do not reflect the views of Congressman Davis or his campaign. Our hope is that supporters for all of the candidates conduct themselves in a positive manner and focus on the issues facing our country as the campaign moves forward,” said Andrew Flach, a spokesman for the Republican congressman.
* Congressman Davis said on a conference call with reporters this morning that Allen should resign his party position.
Davis said Allen made “inane and asinine comments,” but said he hasn’t yet talked to him about the e-mail.
