Dorgan has his work cut out for him. As party chair, he will be asked to raise money, recruit candidates and deliver a message to both the Republican base and key groups like women and minorities who now strongly back Democrats. No wonder even some in the G-O-P call the state party chair the “worst job in Illinois.” But Dorgan takes exception ton those who say the party is broken.
DORGAN “Well the party’s not broke. We’ve had some growing pains right now. We’re ready. We’re united and we;re going to move forward and show people there is a two party system.”
Rich Williamson of Kenilworth, Republican National Committeeman from Illinois and co-chairman of the selection effort, said Dorgan was elected on the first ballot. Asked if the vote was unanimous, he just repeated that the weighted vote of central committee members went Dorgan’s way on the first try.
Another candidate for the chairmanship, former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-McHenry, made it clear to the committee in his speech that he did not expect to be picked. But he also warned against picking someone who would be seen by grassroots Republicans and tea party members as an insider. He said after the speech that he thought Dorgan was in that unacceptable category.
“He’s a lobbyist,” Walsh said. “He’s somebody who can play both sides of the aisle. That is not what the Republican Party needs. That would just devastate grassroots supporters in the state.”
Dorgan has long been involved in Republican politics, beginning as an aide to the late Rep. Roger McAuliffe, who long held the designation as the only Republican legislator from Chicago. Dorgan also served as deputy chief of staff to former House Speaker Lee Daniels and as an aide to Gov. Jim Thompson and director of the Liquor Control Commission under Gov. Jim Edgar.
But Dorgan also has close ties to Illinois’ ruling Democrats. He founded a lobbying practice with James McPike, a former majority leader for House Speaker Michael Madigan, who doubles as Illinois Democratic Party chairman.
The firm’s clients include Ameren, AT&T, Fairmount Park race track, the Illinois Hospital Association and the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, a group formerly headed by Bill Cellini, who is now serving prison time after being convicted of federal corruption charges.
* The Question: Despite the obvious structural handicaps inherent with the IL GOP, do you think Dorgan will do a good job as state party chairman? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford kept his plans for pension reform and the state’s income tax rate close to the vest Sunday, but he did make one vow Springfield residents should like.
Rutherford, a Republican from Chenoa, said during a stop in Springfield to announce his gubernatorial candidacy that he would live at the Executive Mansion if elected the next governor of Illinois.
Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan all lived outside the mansion at one time or the other. It makes no difference. You can be a good governor and not live at that mansion.
As for the state’s pension crisis, he said there were elements of the dueling reform plans passed in the House and Senate this spring that he liked, but he declined to say if he supported one over the other.
Rutherford also did not rule out extending the state’s income tax increase, which is scheduled to expire at the end of 2014.
“Let’s put (the income tax rate hike) on the table and negotiate the whole thing out,” Rutherford said. “What they did two years ago was a bad deal. I’ve learned you don’t agree to one thing until the rest of it comes along. They raised taxes and didn’t fix the problem.”
Rutherford opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions, he said.
He ought to say where he is on pensions. And that’s an interesting comment on the income tax, although I’m not really sure what it means…
“Put it on the table. When I take that oath of office in January 2015, that income tax increase is going to have to be on the table for discussion and debate,” Rutherford says. “And I will tell you what, I will not sign any income tax increase that doesn’t fix the problem of Illinois.”
And the failure to approve the gay marriage bill hurts Republicans far more than it hurts Democrats. The GOPs wanted it resolved so they could move forward and ignore the issue. It ain’t, so they can’t.
The son of pizza shop owners, Rutherford said he worked his way through college and graduated without debt. After he was elected to the Illinois House in 1993, Rutherford kept a private sector job with ServiceMaster, which operates brands like Terminix and TruGreen.
“I learned to work with people,” he said. “I worked with people of different religions, different skin colors, different customs and different cultures.”
The dual themes — hard work and an embrace of diversity — were apparent throughout the campaign event.
In introducing Rutherford, Steve Kim, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2010, said “no one” would work harder as governor.
Kim joked that a friend once asked if Rutherford was Korean because “he’s on Korean radio all the time.” As Kim spoke, Rutherford, who is single and has no children, stood behind the lectern, flanked by relatives and a multicultural array of friends.
“You go to Chinatown and you’re going to think he’s a movie star,” Kim said. “His picture is in every bank, it’s in every beauty salon, it’s in every restaurant.”
* And he has a message that some commenters here can probably relate to…
Rutherford said Sunday he has a track record of reaching out to people and communities “with different colors and ethnicities … and also with other beliefs.” He said the Republican Party and other GOP candidates need to do the same.
“My party’s not been that good at it,” he said. “You don’t have to be with someone 100 percent of the time to be a good Republican. I understand that there are people that have a different position on the social issues than some, and they are still good Republicans.”
Rutherford, a Pontiac native, said his experience in the private and public sectors make him qualified and so far, he is the only Republican who’s already won a statewide office who will run. He was elected treasurer in 2010 and served as a state representative and state senator for years. Before entering politics he was an executive with Service Master Co, based in suburban Downers Grove.
“I do have government experience, but I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’m the only Republican that has won statewide that is looking to run for governor. I’m the guy to win.”
For reasons we don’t pretend to know, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton on Friday struck yet another of their serial blows at Illinois taxpayers and the insolvent state government we’re all obliged to finance.
If you live here, this minuet of failure will cost you. Because with their inability to agree on pension reform, Madigan and Cullerton are dooming all the people of Illinois to more of the same: employers who look elsewhere, a jobless rate among America’s highest, runaway public debts that taxpayers do have to pay.
Hey, Tribsters, you could’ve had a very strong pension reform bill weeks ago. But you editorialized against it.
The Tribune and its big business pals like Ty Fahner figured they could roll Senate President John Cullerton, so they killed his bill that included all the pension reforms they ever could’ve wanted. Their problem? The bill also included Cullerton’s reforms, which wouldn’t kick in unless and until the Madigan language was struck down by the courts.
But, no. That wasn’t good enough. It had to be their way or the highway. All or nothing. Cullerton absolutely had to cave. So, a very reasonable compromise died. And now the Trib wants to blame everybody else.
* The Sun-Times also editorialized against Cullerton’s combo compromise and now wails its disappointment…
What a bunch of losers.
And we, the people of Illinois, will pay the price.
Our flailing statesmen in Springfield struck out again Friday, but not before whipping a wicked foul ball into the stands.
The Illinois General Assembly failed to pass a desperately needed bill to rein in public employee pension costs. So what if the state goes bust?
Um, Sun-Times, “statesmen” look for compromises to end gridlock. Cullerton did exactly that and you rebuked him.
Gov. Pat Quinn, who has beaten the drum for pension reform since taking office in 2009, lashed out at the state Legislature’s two Democratic leaders for engaging in a “game” that failed this spring to solve the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis.
“The people of Illinois want the General Assembly to put comprehensive pension reform on my desk,” Quinn said in a prepared statement after the Illinois House adjourned for the summer. “They do not want legislative leaders to play a $17 million-a-day game with the future of our state, our children and our economy.”
Quinn mocked efforts by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) for entertaining a legislative bid by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to secure a two-year break from making pension payments to the Chicago teachers retirement fund.
“There is something wrong in Illinois when the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate could join together to propose a pension holiday for Chicago, yet they could not send a comprehensive pension reform bill to my desk,” the governor said.
Yes, there’s something very wrong in Illinois. We have a governor who can’t govern.
* Harmon says special session to fix pension mess not likely: “We’ve been taken hostage before. It doesn’t ever work out terribly well,” said Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), a member of Senate President John Cullerton’s (D-Chicago) leadership team.
* Madigan: ‘This is a session where we have not enjoyed a great deal of success’
* Pension quagmire deepens — for lawmakers and taxpayers: What I do know is this: It now till take supermajority 60 percent vote of the General Assembly to pass any pension plan that will take effect before July 1, 2014 — the same General Assembly that last week couldn’t pass any pension bill through either House by a simple majority. And the elections clock is ticking.
* The petulance of a weekend Windy City Times editorial about the failure of the gay marriage bill rivals that of the worst Tribune efforts on pensions. Let’s take a look at their goofier points…
[Rep. Greg Harris] made promises he could not keep. In politics, that can be a reason to step down. Harris, who has dedicated his career to LGBT and AIDS issues, deserves the chance to prove his strategy right. If he wins, we all win, and that is all that matters. But if he does not succeed in passing this in the veto session this fall, he should not run for re-election in 2014. To be clear, this is not a call for Harris to resign, but he will have lost the trust of the people he made commitments to, and it is very difficult to lead once that trust is gone.
In addition, Harris should step down now as chief sponsor of this legislation. He has proven he is tone deaf to the wishes of both the grassroots and leadership of this community. They almost all called for a vote “no matter what.” Instead, Harris chose to give cover to his political colleagues, rather than follow through on his own on-the-record promise to call for a vote by May 31.
Why did a vote matter now? Because for months, no hard count has been possible on who really was for or against this bill. This limbo caused confusion and depleted valuable resources lobbying dozens more representatives than necessary.
Harris said he has promises from certain reps they will vote for the bill this fall, but we have seen how political promises pan out.
What’s not clear is if it would have failed if the legislators had been forced to be on record. Several legislators said they believe some of their colleagues would have changed to “yes”—and indeed in other cities and states this has been the case. With four openly gay and lesbian representatives in the Illinois House as their colleagues, they have a much greater understanding of this battle.
Harris has said from Day One that he wouldn’t call the bill until he had the votes. Period. End of story.
Not to mention that calling a bill without enough votes to pass usually does a lot more harm than good. Just because a handful of political amateurs demand a vote so they can have a little closure doesn’t mean it should be done. This line of attack is completely absurd, particularly since the roll call was so far from passage by Friday that no last-minute switches would’ve helped. Instead, if history is any guide, the vote would’ve gone backwards. And that would’ve hurt far more.
Also, Rep. Harris is by far the most committed and able sponsor that marriage proponents will ever hope to get. Demanding that he give up sponsorship is unbelievably short-sighted. And demanding that he not run for reelection if he doesn’t pass the bill is just plain stupid and self-defeating.
The biggest difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is the Democrats don’t allow their radical activist base to dictate strategy or tactics. This editorial, and the sentiment behind it, will undoubtedly be ignored.
* And blaming Harris ignores a whole lot of other problems. For instance…
Mounting pressure from the Chicago archdiocese and the African American Clergy Coalition is believed be partially responsible for the sudden lack of votes needed to pass the bill. Bishop Larry Trotter put out a statement which reads in part”
“Pastor James Meeks, Bishop Lance Davis and I are so proud of the God fearing Black Caucus members who withstood the pressure of the LGBT forces and allowed God’s word concerning marriage to remain between one man and one woman in Illinois,”
Before adjourning Friday night, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan did sign an extension, which now has August 31 as the deadline to pass the bill. If Governor Pat Quinn were to call a special summer session, the bill could be voted on then, otherwise it may have to wait until the fall.
* Related…
* Gay marriage bill fails to go to vote in Illinois House: Harris said efforts weren’t helped by Quinn’s repeated demands to call the bill in recent weeks. Quinn insisted there were enough votes to pass the bill, a situation Harris noted could peel votes off if lawmakers felt their “yes” wasn’t needed to get the measure over the top.
* Same-sex marriage sponsor vows to press ahead after blowback for not seeking House vote
* One of the greatest things about last week’s passage of a concealed carry bill is that I won’t have to deal with all the um, shall we say, ultra intense commenters who only post here on that topic. I think I’ve banned more people for life on this topic than all other subjects combined.
…Adding…Some of our newbie visitors are more than a little unclear on the concept. I am a FOID card holder and a gun owner. I plan to apply for a concealed carry permit. I did not personally or publicly oppose the concealed carry bill. I deleted and/or banned so many people on this topic because so many folks were rabid know-nothings.
Of course, that assumes the governor will sign the bill into law. He most certainly doesn’t want ownership of this bill and he’s never been a pro-gunner. His reelection strategy can be summed up in two words: Cook County. Large, veto-proof majorities don’t always sway him, either. He vetoed the most recent ComEd bill despite its super-majority passage, for instance.
* And keep in mind that the governor made a ban on large gun magazines a top priority for the final week of session. It failed in the Senate. The governor wasn’t happy…
Governor Pat Quinn released the following statement on the Illinois Senate’s failure to pass House Bill 1346, a bill that would prohibit the sale of high capacity ammunition magazines in Illinois.
“I met with the families of Newtown, Conn., as did many lawmakers, and we have seen the devastation that high capacity ammunition magazines have done to families across our nation.
“Today lawmakers had the opportunity to minimize the chance of this unthinkable violence happening in Illinois.
“I am very disappointed that members did not pass common sense legislation that would have no impact on hunting.
“I will continue to fight for limits on high capacity ammunition magazines in our state.”
Might we see one of those “Rewrite to Do Right” moves that helped make Rod Blagojevich so unpopular with the General Assembly? Time will tell.
* The Illinois State Rifle Association’s president is still laying low about the concealed carry particulars…
The bottom line up front is that anyone who feels that the war has now been won is sorely mistaken. The government of Illinois is not any less anti-gun today than it was at this time last year. Passage of this concealed carry bill has not transformed Illinois into Texas by any stretch of the imagination. While the concealed carry bill has left gun owners feeling lukewarm, the gun control movement is boiling mad. You can expect the gun controllers and their friends in the legislature’s anti-gun caucus to come back at us with a vengeance. You better believe that the gun-grabbers will make sure that the road to concealed carry implementation a rocky one. You better believe that the gun controllers will redouble their efforts to make private firearm ownership too expensive and too impractical for the average citizen.
As I write this letter to you, the ISRA’s team of attorneys and legislative analysts are pouring over the concealed carry bill to evaluate both the obvious and the more subtle ramifications contained in the bill’s language. I will not speak to the details of the bill until that analysis is complete. However, it is important that you understand that the bill affects all gun owners - whether they decide to apply for concealed carry or not. There is no illusion that this legislative solution to the court order was arrived at in an atmosphere of trust. Therefore, at this juncture, we are not entirely sure whether the concealed carry bill is an honest effort to enhance your security, or a gun control Trojan Horse that endangers your right to keep and bear arms. When we have a better understanding of the bill and its implications, I will issue further communication with you.
Cheering the bill on would only aggravate the governor even further, so at least they have the sense to withhold their jubilation.
* Before we get to the thud of a session ending, how about we start the week of hostile recriminations on a positive note?
Oscar the Puppy graduated from training school over the weekend. My mom asked if he matriculated with honors. “Of course,” I told her. “He’s a Miller”…
* We have a couple of must-watch videos regarding the failure of the Illinois House to call the gay marriage bill. First up. Rep. Greg Harris explains why the bill wasn’t called. The speech was interrupted a few times by protesters favoring his bill. Watch…
When I became Senate President I took an oath to uphold the constitution and I made a promise to make the Senate an open chamber where member legislation gets a fair hearing. Anyone following the issue of pension reform can confirm that I have honored those commitments this session.
I personally have worked to craft reform proposals that might satisfy the constitution and while achieving considerable savings. To date the Senate has worked to pass five different pieces of legislation designed to reform our systems within the confines of the constitution. Not one of these plans was brought to the House floor for a vote.
My preference for adhering to the plain language of the constitution hasn’t prevented me from working with other leaders who interpret the pension clause differently. That’s been evidenced by the fact that I refused to block votes on opposing pension plans.
I crafted a compromise plan that would have made unilateral cuts the law while including a default constitutional savings plan. I then voted for a second plan and sponsored a third plan to impose unilateral cuts pension benefits.
As Senate President, I could have buried those proposals to satisfy my personal political philosophy. That is not why I am Senate President and that is not how I lead.
The Senate has spoken repeatedly and consistently on pension reform. Still, this issue is not resolved. I am committed to staying at the table until a comprehensive solution is passed into law. I invite Governor Quinn, Speaker Madigan and all leaders of the General Assembly to continue with me.
Emphasis added for obvious reasons. But notice that there was no demand that Speaker Madigan call the Senate’s pension bill for a vote.
The state House Friday voted 89-28 to approve a compromise gun deal that preserves local gun laws, including Chicago and Cook County’s bans on assault weapons, and keeps gun owners from carrying their loaded weapons on public trains and buses.
But it hands gun owners a potent new right that would end the state’s last-in-the-nation prohibition on concealed carry and, in the eyes of gun-rights advocates, put a dent in the state’s crime rates. […]
The House’s action came after the Senate voted 45-12, with one voting present.
Quinn has kept his intentions about concealed-carry close to the vest. On Friday, as the legislation took a fast-track path through the Senate and House, his administration expressed neutrality toward the bill.
Asked whether he’d sign it, spokeswoman Brooke Anderson would say only, “The governor will review the bill once it reaches his desk.”
* Rep. Elaine Nekritz may have shown the way forward today on stalled pension reform legislation. From the Daily Herald…
Nekrtiz said that given the Illinois Senate’s strong rejection of her [pension] proposal Thursday, she’d be open to an idea proposed by Senate President John Cullerton that would have lawmakers approve two competing plans. That would, in theory, let the courts strike one down plan and let the other stand.
Showing the immense legal complexities of the debate, Nekritz said she’d only go along if the two plans were approved in separate legislation, not in one bill.
“That’s something that I think we should consider,” she said.
I’m not sure how they could pass both bills as separate entities because it would be a legal nightmare, unless one was held up with a parliamentary hold while the other moved through the courts. That’s a scenario I told subscribers about weeks ago.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rep. Nekritz’s spokesperson told me that the parliamentary hold idea (making a motion to reconsider and then keeping it on until it has to be lifted as a backup) is exactly what Nekritz was referring to when she talked to the Daily Herald.
*** UPDATE 2 *** They may need to get something done quick or trouble could be afoot. Reuters…
Moody’s Investors Service warned the state of Illinois that its credit rating could fall further if the legislature fails to fix the state’s huge public pension problem.
“Our view is that failure to enact pension reforms could drive the state’s general obligation bond rating lower from A2, which is already the lowest level for a U.S. state,” said Moody’s analyst Ted Hampton.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The obvious problem with the idea is that the court case on the first bill could end up lasting longer than the 98th General Assembly. If that happened, then the parliamentary hold would expire, along with the bill. So, it may very well be a no-go with the Senate Democrats.
* Today is gonna be very busy for everybody. I’ll post updates on the front page when I can, but you should really make sure to follow our live blog closely. Most of the action will be there. I’ll be updating on the live blog as well. Click here now.
From what I hear, most if not all of the members of the State Central Committee have already made up their mind as to who they are going to vote for tomorrow for the Republican Party Chairman. They’ve been lobbied for weeks by certain candidates, all the usual political deals have been cut, and it sounds like tomorrow’s silly, closed door process of a five minute speech followed by 20 minutes of questioning in private executive session is just for show.
I haven’t lobbied or spoken with any members of the SCC. My intention was to drive to Springfield tomorrow and tell them what the Republican Party needed if it wanted to avoid permanent extinction in Illinois. My message was going to be brief and clear — the next Party Chair had better be a reform conservative. Someone who can rally and energize the Party base of conservatives and independents behind our core principles of freedom, limited government, and individual responsibility and then develop a well financed plan to passionately take that message out to the rest of the voters in the State. Seems pretty simple to me. What the Party can’t do is pick another establishment insider who doesn’t know or care about its core voters.
Yeah. That’s somebody who would’ve been a great chairman. Don’t bother to do any legwork, just show up and pontificate.
Besides, there’s no way he was gonna give up his new radio gig for that party post.
*** UPDATE *** An e-mail from Joe Walsh…
your objectivity continues to amaze.
I never said i didn’t try to become chair — I said i wasnt going to lobby individual members of the SCC. My intention is to go down there tomorrow and make my case.
And…how do you know I wouldnt give up my radio gig if picked as party chair? Nobody would know that but me…
come on rich…do a little better
I doubt you can be state party chairman and host a radio show. But maybe I’m wrong.
* The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board opines again today about pension reform, demanding that the Senate pass the House’s bill…
Nearly seven years after the first warning that state pension funds are hurtling toward insolvency, the Illinois Senate took a few minutes Thursday to raise the likelihood of that doomsday. With their vote to kill this year’s best pension reform bill, the senators deserve to spend the summer trying to explain why they spiked a plan projected to save taxpayers $187 billion-with-a-b — and to eliminate unfunded pension obligations of nearly $100 billion.
Thursday night’s show of failure, orchestrated by Senate President John Cullerton, could be reversed Friday. That would require Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan, his fellow Chicago Democrat, to end a nasty spitting match.
* The SJ-R’s editorial board wants Speaker Madigan to call the Senate’s union-backed bill for a vote and forget about those three separate pension bills, which could be used to test the issue’s constitutionality…
The House has approved Madigan’s plan and sent it to the Senate, which has not voted on it. And the Senate has approved the Cullerton-backed plan and sent it to the House, which, you guessed it, has not voted on it. It’s gridlock, but there’s still time for lawmakers to find common ground.
Even after all the back and forth, Cullerton’s SB 2404 still appears to be the stronger legislation. The projected savings are significant. The plan has the backing of state workers and retirees who are being asked to share in the pain of pension reform. It is constitutionally sound, and it doesn’t potentially thrust added Social Security costs onto schools and other retirement systems already at a breaking point.
Forget about approving all or part of Madigan’s plan so it can be tested in a potentially lengthy court challenge. Pass the Cullerton plan now for the best, fairest and most logical shot at pension reform today.
* The Question: What should they do?…
1 - Should the Senate try again to pass the House pension reform bill?
2 - Should the Senate pass one or more of the three pension bills that the House passed earlier to test their constitutionality?
3 - Should the House call the Senate’s pension bill for a vote?
4 - Should both chambers find another way to reform pensions?
Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* A loud anti-fracking protester was physically escorted out of the House gallery after this vote yesterday…
The Illinois House passed legislation Thursday evening that would regulate horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the state in a 108 to 9 vote.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, the final hurdle for the bill before it reaches Gov. Pat Quinn, who urged the Senate to send the bill to his desk “as soon as possible.”
The Illinois House approved a plan Thursday to give as much as $35 million in state and local tax breaks to help a Delaware-based company build a fertilizer plant in central Illinois.
The incentives are part of a massive 11th-hour package of economic development plans that include an expansion of the McCormick Place exhibition hall in Chicago to include a hotel and a new basketball arena for DePaul University. It also includes incentives aimed at developing a new third Chicago-area airport in Peotone.
The measure was sent to the Senate on a vote of 81-35.
The legislation approved Thursday — SB20 — allows the Illinois Department of Transportation to enter into a public-private partnership to develop the South Suburban Airport in Peotone. […]
The measure also authorizes financing for a new 10,000-seat basketball arena for DePaul University near Chicago’s McCormick Place. The facility also would be used as a hall for conventions and trade shows.
* Much of the budget is done, but some bills are awaiting action…
The House still needs to vote on budgets for K-12 and higher education. Better-than-expected tax revenues are allowing the legislature to avoid cuts proposed in the governor’s March budget next year for general state aid, transportation, bilingual and early childhood education. The legislature’s higher education budget also avoids a 5 percent cut the governor called for, as well.
The K-12 funding is included in Senate Bill 2555. The higher education funding is included in Senate Bill 2556.
The Senate plans to take up two budget bills tomorrow as well:
* House Bill 214 is general services spending, the General Assembly’s budget and the constitutional officers’ budgets.
* HB 215 is public safety and transportation spending, Illinois Department of Corrections budget, capital construction spending for the next fiscal year and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources budget. Both have been approved by the House.
Quinn and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are backing a spending bill to cover the back wages, but as of [yesterday], the bill is sitting in the House, still on second reading. It could not pass in its current from before tomorrow’s adjournment deadline. However, the measure could be drafted into a different bill and still make it through by the end of the day [today]. “There is strong bipartisan support in the General Assembly for HB 212, the supplemental appropriation to pay wages owed to caregivers, correctional officers and other state employees dating back nearly two years,” said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 31. “Public servants shouldn’t have to wait a day longer for the wages they earned, and Illinois taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay another penny of interest or legal costs incurred by the state’s continued failure to fulfill its responsibility to its employees.” The raises were not paid to workers in 2011 because Quinn said that lawmakers did not approve the funding for them.
* Gaming hasn’t popped yet. Negotiators met until very late last night without resolution…
A plan to expand gambling in Illinois is still being negotiated and it’s unclear if lawmakers will take it up, with just hours left in the session to deal with other major issues.
Friday, May 31, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As Congress considers comprehensive tax reform, 96 million credit union members across the country, including nearly 3 million in Illinois, urge all lawmakers to keep credit unions tax exempt. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions owned by their members, not by stockholders out to make money for someone else. All of the money that a credit union generates stays with the credit union to the benefit of its members - to the tune of $6 billion each year. In fact, for every $1 of their tax exemption, credit unions return $10 to consumers through lower fees on services, lower rates on loans and higher rates on deposits. And, when there is a credit union in the marketplace, bank customers benefit too – almost $2 billion a year. Put together, this $8 billion benefit greatly outweighs the $500 million that the Joint Committee on Taxation says the tax status costs the government. It’s a great return on investment and good public policy. But if credit unions are taxed, these benefits go away. That’s not what we need in tax reform. Taxing credit unions will eliminate real financial choice. Don’t touch the credit union tax exemption! Learn more about this effort today - http://www.donttaxmycreditunion.org/!
Friday, May 31, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Renewables Save Hundreds of Millions for Ratepayers
The Illinois Power Agency recently issued its 2013 report on the costs and benefits of renewable energy in Illinois. It found “a savings of $176.85 million” in total payments for electricity generation in both 2011 and 2012.
SB 103 Would Save Ratepayers $281 Million MORE Between 2014-2017
According to an analysis verified by the ICC, SB 103’s unified competitive procurement approach would save Illinois ratepayers an additional $281 million between 2014 and 2017.
87% of Illinois Voters Support Renewables
A Clean Energy Trust/Zogby poll of 700 likely voters earlier this month found 86.7% of likely Illinois voters support “policies to bring renewable energy to Illinois.” 77% support SB 103.
Unintended Conflict Has Broken Down the Law
As reported in the Chicago Tribune (“Energy Fund Lacks Power”, May 13, 2013) and Crain’s Chicago Business(“A Mighty Wind Problem”, April 8, 2013), the RPS law has broken down because of an unforeseen conflict with the municipal aggregation tidal wave.
A No-Cost Fix
SB 103 contains a simple solution to resolve this problem that preserves rate caps and increases efficiency.
* We talked yesterday about the We Are One report on the Teachers Retirement System actuarial analysis of SB 1, the House’s pension reform plan. The union report claimed that Speaker Madigan’s reform plan would force teachers into Social Security, which would greatly drive up costs. The reason is that benefits would be less than the teachers would actually be paying into the system.
Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Madigan’s pension point-person, didn’t deny this and issued a statement…
Simple answer is it’s an issue that’s not immediate — probably 10-12 years down the road — and could be addressed later. It shouldn’t stand in the way of a real solution like SB 1.
* I checked with TRS this morning and they said SB1 is short $6-7 billion in payments between now and 2045. But that cost estimate is based only on the assumption that the money would be baked into the 32-year plan right away.
So, delaying this for 10-12 (or even 15, according to TRS) years from now will increase that $6-7 billion cost considerably. The more they delay, the higher the cost. Just like we got into this mess in the first place.
* And the TRS estimate doesn’t include the cost of fixing the exact same problem with the “Tier 2″ plan that passed in 2010. I asked TRS for those numbers, but they don’t have them yet.
Now, $6-7 billion is pretty small compared to the $100 billion unfunded liability problem, even with the added interest of waiting at least a decade. But if the House bill passes, the state would be essentially saving money now that it’ll have to pay in the future by slashing estimates of the benefits it will need to pay.
Forby said an “absolute pre-emption” provision that wipes out all local gun regulations — even those unrelated to concealed carry — has been dropped despite objections from pro-gun lawmakers.
Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, who also was involved in negotiations, said municipalities could keep current gun ordinances, such as Chicago’s assault-weapons ban and Cook County’s firearm and ammunition tax, but would be prohibited from enacting ordinances that could potentially deter a person’s Second Amendment rights.
Municipalities also would have a window of time to enact ordinances if they hadn’t done so already, he said.
Despite strong objections from Senate Democrats, people will be able to bring their guns into bars or restaurants, depending on how much of their sales come from alcohol. But business owners could still post signs prohibiting weapons if they wish.
Chicago’s firearm registration ordinance appears to have been preempted as well.
But the revised version also would toughen penalties for carrying a firearm while drunk.
The bill would prohibit guns from being carried in places like CTA and Metra buses and trains, casinos, government buildings, stadiums and several other locations that were banned in previous incarnations, he said.
The proposal would require the Illinois State Police to review applications for concealed carry permits, but local law enforcement could object if they believed an applicant was a public danger. Those objections could be appealed to an independent board.
Passage depends upon keeping the Senate’s liberals on the roll call. So far so good, but nothing is ever easy or guaranteed. As of last night, the plan was to start the bill in the Senate. We’ll see.
A veteran Illinois GOP insider and Springfield lobbyist appears to have moved to the front of the pack in the competition to fill out the term of resigned state Republican Chairman Pat Brady.
Multiple high-level Republican sources tell me that Jack Dorgan, a Rosemont village trustee, is close to securing the votes he’ll need from fellow members of the Illinois Republican Committee when that panel meets on Saturday to elect a new chairman to serve until April 2014.
Mr. Dorgan, 53, declined almost all comment to me, saying only in a phone conversation that he’s interested in the job and is “excited about the opportunity to remind the voters that Illinois is a two-party state.” But he has a long, long record, one that has both made him friends and enemies in the party. […]
I predict a lively meeting on Saturday, with much to discuss. But Mr. Dorgan has friends, with sources suggesting that U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., will back him.
Dorgan, who is also a Rosemont Village Trustee, does not yet have the needed 50 percent-plus-one majority votes from the panel, but he’s closer than the remaining seven candidates, a knowledgeable source told the Sun-Times. Attorney Mark Shaw, businessman Jim Nalepa, Angel Garcia, Don Tracy, Lori Yokoyama and Joe Walsh are others still on list.
– Other developments: Cook County Commissioner Tim Schneider, who was once rumored to be the front-runner, has withdrawn his name from contention.
– Former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh is the only candidate not to provide a resume yet and is not actively calling people asking for support. (It’s thought that a party leadership role would threaten Walsh’s new radio gig).
– Each candidate will have five minutes to address the public before the committee goes into private session with the candidates.
I’ve known Dorgan for years, and I still don’t understand why he wants the worst job in Illinois. He thinks he can do some good. But, man, is he ever in for some tough times if he wins.
* Gay marriage proponents have known for months that they had big problems with the House Black Caucus. The proponents have several Statehouse lobbyists on the payroll, including two affiliated with the House Republicans who have produced just two votes so far. But until yesterday, they had just one black lobbyist, and he’s a former Senate Democratic staffer.
Yesterday afternoon, a day before the scheduled end of session, two former African-American House members were finally put on the lobbying payroll…
Veteran lobbyists Paul Williams and Coy Pugh, both African-Americans and ex-Democratic lawmakers from Chicago, have been hired by advocates backing the marriage equality bid to persuade House Black Caucus hold outs to vote for the bill sponsored by State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago).
I’m not sure what two guys can do in a day and a half. I talked to one of them yesterday, and he’s not sure what he can do, either. This sort of stuff takes time. And it’s truly amazing to me that it took the proponents this long to realize what they were missing at the Capitol.
There is a lot of finger-pointing going on right now about what should’ve happened. Maybe the Senate shouldn’t have passed the bill in February, before the votes were lined up in the House. But that sort of stuff is easy to see in hindsight. The lack of House-affiliated African-American lobsters, however, should never have been overlooked.
Even so, there’s no guarantee that the bill will fail today. If it’s not called for a vote, the recriminations will no doubt begin in earnest. Speaker Madigan will undoubtedly be in for some blame. But the proponents will also need to reexamine what they did.
* Meanwhile, competing Statehouse rallies are planned for today. From the Illinois Family Institute…
Lawmakers will be in Springfield one more day before they adjourn for the summer. Homosexual activists are pushing hard for a vote on SB 10, the same-sex “marriage” bill. They are planning a rally at the State House tomorrow at 11 a.m.
We need you to join us to make a strong showing for natural marriage. If you are at all able to join us tomorrow morning at the Illinois State Capitol, please do so. We will meet in the Rotunda at 10 a.m.
* And this is from Lambda Legal, ACLU of Illinois and Equality Illinois…
URGENT: Meet at the Equality Illinois office (3318 N Halsted) in Chicago tomorrow (Friday) morning at 7:30 for free buses to our marriage equality rally in Springfield!
Just a few hours ago, we emailed with an urgent message to call Speaker Madigan and ask him to schedule a vote on the marriage bill now.
Hundreds of calls have come into Springfield, but no vote has been scheduled. So here’s what’s next:
We need you to join us for an urgent rally at the State House in Springfield tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Together, we’ll show the Speaker — and all our representatives — that we want a vote taken on the marriage equality bill before the House adjourns at the end of the day tomorrow.
As advocates and observers continue to wonder when the marriage legislation will come up for vote, and as House lawmakers remain in session to deliberate other bills, proponents of the marriage equality measure are calling Madigan’s Capitol and district offices to demand a vote before it’s too late. […]
Many of those callers were reportedly told by Madigan aides the bill will be considered on Friday; however, when pressed, Madigan Press Secretary Steve Brown denied the alleged messaging, noting, “The people who answer the phones don’t say things like that.”
Brown is right. They don’t tell people that sort of thing on the phone in Madigan’s office. First, the people who answer the phones wouldn’t know, and secondly they’d probably lose their jobs if they did say stuff like that.
There were tons of Statehouse rumors yesterday and it was almost impossible to keep up with them. Most of them were false.
* I’m told by the proponents that CNN is considering doing a live feed from the House during the debate, if it happens. There will be lots of attention on Illinois today. A press conference yesterday which announced basically nothing was mobbed by reporters.
* Things are also heating up on the Republican side of the equation. From Illinois Review…
Last night U.S. Senator Mark Kirk was on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight with Carol Marin. One of the topics covered was the resignation of Party Chairman Pat Brady. The discussion went like this: (see video below at 4:26 minutes)
Carol Marin: Has this [same-sex marriage] become sort of a fire line of this, “Who’s a conservative and who’s not?”
Sen. Kirk: Actually, I didn’t want the Republican Party to be run by the top anti-gay bigot in the state.
Marin: When you say the top Republican bigot, you mean Jim Oberweis?
Kirk: No
Marin: Who do you mean?
Kirk refused to answer and moved the discussion to Apple and immigration.
