Sheila Simon Will Not Seek Re-Election As Lieutenant Governor
CHICAGO, IL- Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon has announced that she will explore other opportunities to serve the people of Illinois and not run for reelection to the office of Lieutenant Governor.
“Serving as Lieutenant Governor has given me an opportunity to advocate on important issues that affect our state but it is time for me to do even more,” Simon said. “I want to serve the people of Illinois in a role where I can have an even greater impact.”
Sheila Simon has a long history of public service. Simon began her career working for Land of Lincoln legal assistance, helping working families who could not afford an attorney. As an Assistant States Attorney in Jackson County, Simon prosecuted domestic violence cases. Simon worked with a team at Southern Illinois University to open the University’s domestic violence clinic.
As Lieutenant Governor, Simon has expanded pro-bono services to domestic violence victims, increased access to higher education, and fought for the strongest government transparency legislation in 40 years. Simon informed the Governor of her decision in December.
“My career has been dedicated to advocating for the people of Illinois. I look forward to continuing that service,” said Lieutenant Governor Simon.
There’s no doubt that this was worked out with Gov. Pat Quinn in advance.
* The Question: Do you think Simon should run for attorney general if Lisa Madigan runs for governor, run for comptroller against Judy Baar Topinka, or run for treasurer in an open-seat contest? Make sure to explain your answer, please.
* Alternate Question: Who should Quinn pick as his running mate?
The spiritual leader of Roman Catholics in the state capital Tuesday urged the Illinois Senate to vote down legislation authorizing gay marriage and offered pastoral help for gays and lesbians to “live a life of chastity.”
“As the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, I strenuously object to this legislation and hope our elected officials will see the value marriage contributes to the common good of our society,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who testified against the same-sex marriage legislation. […]
“The Catholic Church has great love and compassion for those who experience same-sex attraction and offers pastoral help for people dealing with this condition to help them live a life of chastity,” Paprocki said in a written statement issued late Tuesday afternoon.
“This is a separate issue, however, from the definition of marriage as a natural institution between a man and a woman committed to an exclusive and life-long relationship open to the potential to bring new life into the world,” he said.
Discuss. But remember that “separation of church and state” doesn’t mean that churches have to be silent on public policy issues. Some of y’all are often unclear on that concept.
The 2014 governor’s race in Illinois could be anybody’s game, according to the results of a new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIU Carbondale.
A statewide survey of 600 registered voters from Jan. 27 to Feb. 8 shows Democrats leaning toward Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in a hypothetical primary race with Gov. Pat Quinn and former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. Republicans, meanwhile, are more undecided, with Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford taking a slight lead over other possible contenders, such as state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, and U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, a Republican representing the state’s 18th congressional district.
Institute director David Yepsen said the poll, which has 4 percent margin of error, is a good snapshot of the potential races that will be heating up later this year.
The overall poll has a 4 percent margin of error. But the Democratic and Republican primary head-to-heads have much higher MoE’s. From the pollster…
The Democratic subsample of 310 respondents has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points, and the Republican subsample of 186 respondents has a margin of error of 7.2 percentage points.
Of Republicans, 53.2 percent said they are undecided, 10.2 percent like State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, and 9.7 would vote for Senator Bill Brady. Congressman Aaron Schock won 9.1 percent while former Congressman Joe Walsh got 5.9 percent and state Senator Kirk Dillard 3.2 percent.
Among Democrats, 31.9 percent would vote for Madigan while 22.9 percent would vote again for Quinn and 11.9 would pick Daley. Even in this camp 28.4 percent was undecided.
Republican Bruce Rauner’s name was tested, but nobody picked him. That’ll change with $50 million, however.
Those polled gave Quinn poor remarks for the work he has done, with only 32.8 percent giving the governor positive job-performance ratings. The poll showed 51.3 percent disapproving of the governor’s job performance.
Those findings represent a sizable slide for Quinn since the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s polling unit last was in the field. Last summer, 42.2 percent of those surveyed carried a positive view of the governor’s job performance while 49 percent disapproved.
That question was asked of the entire universe, so it’s far more valid. But last year’s poll on Quinn’s job performance was somewhat of an outlier, since most other polls have shown far worse job performance numbers.
Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) had a message for Sandra Fluke during a campaign stop on Saturday: You’re 31 years old, “go get a job.”
Prefacing his comments as a “rant,” Walsh called the Georgetown Law School graduate’s speech at the Democratic National Convention “embarrassing.”
“Think about this, a 31, 32-year-old-law student who has been a student for life, gets up there in front of a national audience and tells the American people, ‘I want America to pay for my contraceptives.’ You’re kidding me. Go get a job. Go get a job, Sandra Fluke,” he said to applause at a diner in Addison, Ill.
* And, now, Walsh wants to modify his child support obligations to 20 percent of his current income, which would be nothing since he currently has no job…
But an attorney for Walsh’s ex-wife said that the former congressman is behind on child support payments that were dictated under a previous court order and that Walsh’s ex-wife was taken by surprise by a Feb. 1 court filing that asks “to terminate child support obligation,” saying Walsh “is without sufficient income or assets with which to continue to pay his support obligation.”
“This is the first communication we’ve received from the congressman; she had no information prior to receiving this filing in the mail that he was going to seek,” said Jack Coladarci, an attorney for Walsh’s ex-wife. “He did not pay January and he has not paid February support… You still have to keep paying until the judge says you can stop.”
Walsh’s court filing states: “Joe’s employment has been terminated through no voluntary act of his own and he is without sufficient income or assets with which to continue to pay his support obligation. Due to a substantial change in circumstances, Joe requests that his child support obligation be terminated based on his present income and circumstances.”
But Walsh insists he’s not trying to get out of paying anything.
He said the key part of the filing comes at the end; when it asks that the court “modify Joe’s child support obligation to a sum equal to 20 percent of his net income until the minor child graduates from high school in 2013.”
Asked why the motion was titled “motion to terminate child support,” Walsh’s lawyer, Janet Boyle, characterized the title to the motion, which Walsh signed, as misleading.
“It probably should have been a motion to modify, that’s probably what I would have captioned it. My office used a word that is getting turned around here,” Boyle said. “That’s what we’re asking for, a modification, whether that’s modified to zero or some other number has yet to be seen.”
Here are the facts: My three kids are 25, 22, and 18-years-old. My youngest son will be emancipated in May of this year when he graduates from high school. Two weeks ago, I did what every other father who is paying child support is supposed to do — by law — when their employment situation changes — I modified my support agreement. With my Congressional term ending on January 3, and with my ex-wife having been paid in full through my term in Congress, by law, I filed a modification of my support payments for my remaining unemancipated child for these next four months. This modification called for me to pay my ex-wife 20% of my net income during these four months, which is my responsibility by law.
This is what the law requires me to do, and I’ve met that obligation. I’ve only been out of Congress for a month, and I expect to be employed again very soon. Regardless, I will continue with my child support payments by law until my son Patrick is emancipated.
This action was not done surreptitiously or with any malice towards my ex-wife. I did exactly what the law required me to do. Nothing was covered-up. Nothing was hidden.
Ms. Korecki of the Sun-Times posted her story to the newspaper’s website at the exact same time that she sent an e-mail to my attorney asking for comment. She claims falsely in her e-mail that my voicemail was full. That is not true.
* Whatever the case, the guy needs to go get a job. Any job. I’ll bet Burger King is hiring.
I mean, think about this, a 51, 52-year-old former congressman gets up there in front of a national audience and tells the American people, “I’m meeting my obligations.” You’re kidding me. Go get a job. Go get a job, Joe Walsh.
* Rahm Emanuel had been trying to claim that this deal would serve as a road map for future pension talks with all unions. Maybe not…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday touted a pension reform deal forged with Chicago Police sergeants as a “roadmap” for other unions to follow, but the divide-and-conquer strategy didn’t work with the Fraternal Order of Police.
In fact, it started a civil war within the ranks of Chicago Police officers.
FOP President Mike Shields, who has demanded a 12 percent pay raise over two years, accused the sergeants association of being “in bed with the city more than any other union in the history” of labor.
Shields branded sergeants association president Jim Ade “the biggest sell-out in the history of sell-outs” for agreeing to: raise the retirement age for sergeants to 53; increase employee pension contributions from 9-to-12 percent by 2015 and scale it back to 10 percent when funding levels reach 80 percent; eliminate cost-of-living increases every other year; limit C.O.L.A. in intervening years to 2.5 percent with simple interest and raise health care contributions for new retirees to 2 percent of annuities.
Sergeants also would get a 9 percent pay raise spread over four years while maintaining the $1,800-a-year uniform allowance and $3,220 in annual duty availability pay that supplements their income.
The city and union also have agreed to seek state legislation that would allow Emanuel to increase funding for the sergeants pension fund over a seven-year period. That would give the city more time and, if the economy turns around, reduce the amount of new revenue needed to meet union leaders half-way.
Also, there’s no doubt that any such deal would be challenged in court as unconstitutional.
The platform 1.2 million uninsured Illinoisans can use under ObamaCare to purchase health insurance has won federal approval, sources confirmed Tuesday.
The development, while expected, will be announced at a Wednesday press conference in Chicago by Gov. Pat Quinn and Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the federal Health and Human Services Department.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will appear in Chicago today to kick off the rebranding of health insurance exchanges as “marketplaces” for health coverage.
A key part of President Barack Obama’s health reform law, the state-level exchanges are intended to be online sites where consumers and small businesses can shop and compare health insurance plans.
With less than eight months to go before the sites are set to go live on Oct. 1 for open enrollment, state and federal officials are mounting a final public relations push to maximize participation in the exchanges. Having more customers will mean the marketplaces will function more effectively, experts say.
Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to set up exchanges, according to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Kaiser Family Foundation. State officials estimate that about 486,000 people will obtain insurance through the Illinois exchange.
For the first year, Illinois’ exchange will be jointly run by the federal government, though state officials say it will shift to state control in 2015.
* As I told you the other day, the heat is really on UNO right now. Their $35 million construction grant was deleted from the mini capital bill approved by the General Assembly this month because of all the bad publicity. After dismissing questions about conflicts of interest as no big deal, the politically connected group is now apparently trying to get this matter behind them so they can eventually get that state cash…
The No. 2 executive of the United Neighborhood Organization quit Tuesday, eight days after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the politically influential charter school operator paid state grant money to companies owned by two of his brothers.
Miguel d’Escoto, who was UNO’s senior vice president of operations, resigned “by mutual agreement” in a letter submitted Tuesday evening, said the group’s CEO, Juan Rangel. […]
Rangel said UNO’s contracting process “followed the law.”
“However, we want to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest,” said Rangel, who was a co-chairman of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2011 campaign.
D’Escoto was paid $200,000 a year by UNO and had worked for it for six years, public records show. He previously was a city transportation commissioner in the administration of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
D’Escoto’s brothers were paid with state funds under a $98 million grant UNO got to build new schools. The Sun-Times reported Feb. 4 that UNO’s contractors under the grant included d’Escoto Inc. — owned by former UNO board member Federico “Fred” d’Escoto — and Reflection Window Co., owned by Rodrigo d’Escoto.
Rangel said Sunday UNO would stop doing business with d’Escoto Inc. until after the organization completes an internal review of its contracting process.
As a side note, a South Side school construction project is not up and running yet because it had to follow the state’s bidding laws. UNO didn’t have to do that, and some African-American legislators aren’t too pleased.
The day before Chicago Public Schools is set to release the list of schools in danger of closing, a group of parents asked the CPS Inspector General of Chicago Public Schools to investigate the district’s closing process.
Parents 4 Teachers, which has strong ties to the Chicago Teachers Union, filed a complaint alleging conflict of interest, saying the district is motivated to close schools not by a budget deficit but by a desire to expand charter schools.
The letter dated Feb. 12 cited ties between the independent commission appointed by CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett to research school closings, and the Civil Consulting Alliance, which has ties to charter-school boosters. It also pointed to a $478,000 grant to CPS from the charter-supporting Walton Family Foundation to pay for breakout sessions at school closing hearings.
“They share the same offices,” Erica Clark of Parents 4 Teachers said of the commission. “They are advised by organizations that are in business to promote charters.
“These are clear conflicts of interest that have to stop,” she said.
Clark and her group also allege that CPS has misled the public into believing that school closings will help bridge a deep budget gap.
* A whole host of groups that claim they are non-partisan really aren’t. John Tillman at the Illinois Policy Institute recently penned a memo to Republican leaders about how they should behave now that the Democrats have veto-proof majorities. It’s a decidedly partisan memo, but Tillman claims he did it as a private citizen, not as a member of the tax exempt Institute.
Bipartisanship should only be attractive to the GOP when the Democrats are adopting elements of GOP policies, not when the GOP signs onto Democrat policies that move our state in the wrong direction and gives them the political cover they seek (and thus makes it harder to beat them at election time). […]
The [Republican legislative] caucuses must re-define what having a seat at the table means. It does not mean that you negotiate with those in power for how to pass bad legislation made marginally better. Instead, it means setting up new “tables” all across the state. Once you have laid out your principle-centered agenda and specific policies, begin a road show traveling all across the state, district-by-district, civic group-by-civic group, those who support, those who oppose, seats held by Rs and seats held by Ds, and make your case over and over again for two straight years.
In other words, forget about governing and focus on politics. Leave Springfield and go purely political. Don’t try to modify Democratic proposals to make them better, which could be quite good for the state. Instead, refuse to participate in governance.
Politically speaking, I’m not sure how traveling the state with a mobile policy road show will do all that much to win votes. And, frankly, the Institute’s recommendations could be a no-go as well. The Senate Republicans unveiled a vague “road map” to budget cuts a couple of years ago and the Senate Democrats beat SGOP candidates over the head with it for weeks last fall. It turned out that Illinoisans actually hated imaginary budget cuts more than they hated real tax hikes - at least in those targeted districts.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Simon To Make Major Political Announcement
CHICAGO, IL- Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon will make a major political announcement ahead of Wednesday’s United Negro College Fund Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
What: Political Announcement
Who: Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon
When: Wednesday, February 13
10:15 AM
Where: Hyatt Regency Chicago
Acapulco Room
151 E. Wacker Dr
Chicago
Some of us have been hearing for several days that Simon will run for another statewide job next time around, including possibly comptroller if Lisa Madigan runs for reelection. If she doesn’t run for reelection, Simon could run for attorney general. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
ComEd is at it again!
Senate bill 9 is not about infrastructure; it’s not about modernization; and has very little to do with actual energy. It’s about money. Your money. The money ComEd was supposed to give back to you.
ComEd is back in Springfield, pushing legislation – Senate Bill 9 – even though the bill doesn’t even have language attached to it.
It’s a shell game – and if you blink you’ll lose track of it.
ComEd wants SB9 to kill the money they owe you in rate cuts.
They complain about the Illinois Commerce Commission’s order to delay the so-called “grid modernization program”. They do not tell you that the ICC is merely following the law…the very same law ComEd pushed through the General Assembly in 2011.
ComEd is worried about their bottomline – their parent company, Exelon, is cutting their own annual dividend 40%.
Don’t be fooled by ComEd’s shell game – call your legislator, urge them to Vote NO! on SB9
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA), also known as the Smart Grid law, directed ComEd to invest $2.6 billion over 10 years to modernize the power system in Northern Illinois. ComEd began work immediately and invested $165 million in this program, creating over 700 jobs in 2012. However, the smart meter installation has been delayed and the grid modernization program has been jeopardized due to an Illinois Commerce Commission ruling that impacts ComEd’s ability to fund the work.
SB 9 is designed to resolve these issues to get the smart grid program and the resulting benefits – shorter and fewer outages, giving customers greater control over energy usage and costs, and creating 2,000 jobs – back on track. The legislation would clarify the existing Smart Grid law to be consistent with the original legislative intent and with HR 1157 and SR 821.
The bill supports the advancement of a modern, reliable electric grid, which is critical to our region attracting new businesses and keeping Illinois competitive.
Members of the General Assembly: Vote YES on SB 9.
* Still Few Gains In Illinois Pension Talks: One suggestion: extend the temporary income tax increase, set to expire in 2015, and earmark that revenue towards paying the pension obligations.
* Welcome to the New Federal Supermax - The recently acquired “Gitmo North” doesn’t jibe with the government’s stated goal of reducing solitary confinement.
*There’s no sense tipping one’s hand so early, but I think there’s little doubt that she wants to move up the ladder…
While Gov. Pat Quinn has publically committed to a 2014 run for re-election, his running mate has yet to say if she’s willing to take the plunge with him.
That was true again Friday.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon evaded questions about another run with Quinn during an interview regarding a group she is leading to discuss firearms issues.
“I think I’ll choose to keep the focus on the firearms working group,” Simon told the Chicago Sun-Times when asked if she was up for a second tour as Quinn’s running mate. […]
On Friday, Simon did not shoot down the possibility of going after the attorney general’s slot if Madigan were to run against Quinn.
“When we’re ready to talk about it, we’ll let you know,” she said.
Keep in mind that she was appointed to the ticket in 2010. She didn’t have to run for that office on her own, as Jason Plummer did.
* The Question : Your thoughts on what sort of statewide candidate Simon would be if she decides to run for something else?
I am sick and tired of the fair-weather Democrats. They date us, take us to the prom, marry us, and then divorce us right after the honeymoon. I am sick and tired of the so-called friends who commend us when they’re running for election, but condemn us after they’ve won. I am sick and tired of the politicians who stand with us behind closed doors, but kick us to the curb in front of the cameras. I’m here to tell you that’s bullshit and we’re not gonna take it anymore.
Many of you know some of the people I’m talking about. Mayor Michael Nutter in Philadelphia. Governor Pat Quinn in Illinois. We’ve come to expect union-busting, anti-worker tactics from ultra-conservatives like Scott Walker and John Kasich. But now, everybody’s on the bandwagon.
Look at Nutter. AFSCME members in Philadelphia haven’t had a contract in four years, and Sister Baylor knows it. What does the mayor do? He goes to the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Supreme Court to get a legal decision that would let him shove his contract down our throats. He’s no different from Governor Snyder in Michigan, who went to his state’s Supreme Court to get legal cover for cutting school employees’ pay. Different political parties, same political games.
Look at Governor Quinn. He has waged a relentless war on state employees – slashing pensions, driving down incomes and wiping out jobs. Last year he took the unprecedented step of terminating our contract. He is the first and only Illinois governor, Republican or Democrat, to take such a blatantly aggressive action.
I have had enough of these turncoats, and it’s time to make them pay.
“Bellicose rhetoric is not going to address Illinois’ financial challenges,” Anderson added in an emailed statement. “The governor respects the collective bargaining process and the right to organize. He’s been a lifelong ally of the labor community, leading the state’s largest capital construction program in history to put thousands of workers back on the job. He has long championed increasing the minimum wage and protecting workers’ rights.
“Governor Quinn inherited massive financial challenges from decades of mismanagement by previous governors and legislatures. He did not create these challenges, but he is committed to addressing them,” the statement read. “In these difficult economic times, trade unions have made concessions. Auto unions have made concessions. And the union of government employees will have to understand the importance of making concessions to acknowledge the fact that the current path of credit downgrades and debt is unsustainable.”
* James Warren has a long piece on Gov. Pat Quinn in this month’s Chicago Magazine. You really should read the whole thing. The most newsworthy section…
Quinn further suggests that [Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s] entry into the arena could bring surprises of a negative sort for a politician he has alternately praised and chided. He also claims that Mike Madigan, her father, told him: “If she runs, I have to leave.” (A Madigan spokesman responds: “I never heard that discussion or anything along those lines. I would doubt that it ever happened.”)
“He simply doesn’t get the credit deserved for smart, progressive moves in some areas, like getting juveniles out of adult correctional facilities, trying to deinstitutionalize care for the mentally ill, and having the state now well positioned to implement Obamacare,” says one Democratic state senator.
Notice that the Senator offering up praise wouldn’t go on the record.
A onetime Illinois Department of Transportation employee has been chosen by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to replace Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th).
Natashia Holmes was one of dozens of candidates who applied to fill the job vacated when Jackson resigned last month.
Holmes could not be reached for comment. An IDOT co-worker said she no longer works there. […]
The mayor’s search was hampered by his determination to steer clear of anyone with ties to the two powerhouse political dynasties that have controlled 7th Ward politics for decades.
Former Ald. William Beavers (7th) is now a county commissioner awaiting trial on federal corruption charges. Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Il.) signed a plea agreement last week on charges of misusing campaign funds.
* In case you don’t get that furniture reference, this is from a month ago…
Sandi Jackson assured her faithful supporters that she was still large and in charge as she signed off as the 7th Ward alderman Tuesday night. […]
“From an insider’s point of view, Mayor Rahm may say he wants to have interviews. The people he will interview will be the people I am suggesting,” Jackson told the gathering made up mostly of precinct workers. “They are interviewing people in the community, but they do that to calm people down. People want to have their input. But for the most part, they turn that matter over to the alderman.” […]
Jackson also noted that all of the furnishings for her ward office at 71st and Exchange were bought with campaign dollars.
“That means the city does not own any of the furniture that you are currently sitting on, any of the furniture that is in the campaign office, any of the furniture that is in the aldermanic office. I bought every item personally, and if the mayor upholds my wishes [to appoint her chief of staff Keiana Barrett], everything in that office will stay the same. Keiana will inherit everything,” Jackson said.
In 2010, aldermen grudgingly created the post of legislative inspector general — with little authority or resources — to escape the scrutiny of pests like Joe Ferguson, who has his hands full exposing breaches in the executive branch.
Now aldermen are upset that their watchdog, Faisal Khan, had the audacity to ask them to turn over two years worth of time sheets for full- and part-time workers. It sounds to us like he’s doing his job, or trying to. Aldermen have been known to pad their payrolls with friends and relatives, some of whom were paid to do nothing.
In the last 25 years, the city’s Board of Ethics has found zero cases of wrongdoing by aldermen. In that same period, 20 of them were convicted of felonies. [Emphasis added.]
Facing mounting criticism for paying insiders with state construction grant money, the leader of the United Neighborhood Organization said Sunday the charter school network would at least temporarily stop doing business with a brother of UNO’s No. 2 executive.
UNO CEO Juan Rangel said the group will not work with d’Escoto Inc. — owned by a brother of Miguel d’Escoto, UNO’s senior vice president of operations — until after completing an internal review of its contracting practices.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Feb. 4 that d’Escoto Inc. and other companies with close ties to UNO were paid millions of dollars to help build schools under a $98 million grant approved in 2009 by lawmakers in Springfield and Gov. Pat Quinn.
D’Escoto Inc., owned by Federico “Fred” d’Escoto, has been paid more than $1.5 million so far to serve as the “owner’s representative” for the construction of the UNO schools built with the state money, records show. Miguel d’Escoto’s son also works for d’Escoto Inc.
Public documents show Fred d’Escoto was UNO’s board secretary until stepping down at some point in 2010. The group’s first payment of state grant money to d’Escoto Inc. was made Aug. 31, 2010, according to UNO records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
* There’s no bill number yet, so we can’t look at the fine print. But this is from a press release…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy today announced the introduction of statewide gun safety legislation that increases minimum sentencing for the most serious gun crimes and requires offenders to serve at least 85 percent of the imposed sentences. […]
According to a recent University of Chicago Crime Lab analysis, the average sentence for a crime committed with a gun was slightly longer than two years, but offenders only served approximately one year in prison. After implementing a similar mandatory minimum law in New York, offenders began serving their full sentences while the murder rate and prison population fell by double digits. […]
The proposed legislation would have the following impacts:
· Increase the penalty for felons who carry guns, from two years to three years, with subsequent offenses requiring a minimum of five years.
· Increase the minimum sentence for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon when the offender does not possess a valid FOID card and the gun is in their possession and loaded, from one year minimum to three years minimum.
· Add these specific gun crimes to the list of serious crimes that are subject to Truth in Sentences guidelines, requiring that offenders serve at least 85% of their sentence.
Until legislation is passed, the State’s Attorney has issued a directive to all Assistant State’s Attorneys to pursue the maximum possible sentence on gun crimes.
* I’m told that Gov. Pat Quinn will drop by today’s pension reform summit, which was called by organized labor. He won’t attend the whole event, but he has sent a couple of people in his stead, Gary Hannig and Jerry Stermer. The governor’s office stresses that Quinn and his staff have met with the unions “numerous times” over the past year.
Senate President John Cullerton is sending people today as well, but Speaker Madigan is not. House GOP Leader Tom Cross will attend today…
Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross will be available for questions from the media after the “We Are One Illinois” Pension Summit this afternoon. The Summit is being held at 1 p.m. at the Illinois AFL-CIO offices in Burr Ridge, 999 McClintock Drive, Suite 100. Cross will be available outside those offices immediately following the meeting.
* In related news, Finke had a very good piece over the weekend on pension reform…
“Of principle concern to the Commission is the accumulation of large unfunded accrued liabilities resulting for the most part from the inadequacy of government contributions in prior years to meet increases in costs due to the upward trend in salary rates and large additions to the membership of the funds.”
That could have come from any number of studies in recent years about funding problems facing public employee pension plans in Illinois. But it didn’t. That warning was part of a report by the Illinois Public Employees Pension Laws Commission to Gov. William Stratton … in 1959.
“Then, during the Thompson administration, they came up with this proposal that they felt they really don’t need to contribute even this 100 percent of payout because there’s been good years of investment return,” Goldstein said. “Because of that, they proposed they would only pay 60 percent of the payout.
The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club said Edgar’s approach “was structurally flawed from the beginning.” Not only was the payment plan backloaded, it wasn’t based on actuarial requirements. Consequently, pension debt continued to balloon.
Lawmakers have stalled on fixing this mess. They didn’t even meet for more than a few hours the entire month of January. February doesn’t look much better: The House meets for only nine days; the Senate is in Springfield only eight days. But the members rack up pension credit regardless of whether they’re in Springfield.
“I was very surprised at the large staffs available to state legislators,” he commented. “I don’t need that many people to run my office, and I don’t think anyone else does, either. I have my own secretary, and she’s very good at her job, but I don’t need a private secretary. My secretary could handle the workload from two or three senators. If legislators just hired the staff they needed instead of using their entire staffing budgets, we could probably run the state government with 25 to 30 percent fewer taxpayer dollars.”
This, by the way, is the same person who said recently that he was overwhelmed with e-mails…
“All of my time is now being spent responding to emails on social issues,” he said.
Senate secretaries also serve as clerks for committees on which their members chair. In the House, they have a separate staff for that job.
And considering the huge number of calls that members have been receiving on pensions and guns lately, I’m not so sure that one secretary can handle three Senators. Heck, even Speaker Madigan’s line is constantly busy.
The state’s largest employee union is urging its members to be prepared for the possibility of a strike.
With the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union at odds with Gov. Pat Quinn over a new bargaining agreement, government workers received a letter this week outlining steps they can take in the event a strike is authorized.
“The most important thing you can do to prepare for a strike is to begin to put some money aside now out of each pay check,” the letter notes. “Do not make any major purchases until the possibility of a strike has passed.” […]
In the letter, AFSCME said it is already working with “key financial institutions” to offer workers short-term loans if needed in the event of a work stoppage.
The union offers other advice as well.
“Schedule any predictable medical appointments right now,” the letter notes. “You may also want to talk with your doctor about lengthening any maintenance drug prescriptions so you don’t have to purchase drugs while on strike.”
* Here’s AFSCME’s memo. Click the images for larger versions…
* Robin Kelly has been making a lot of political hay over the gun issue, but she’s now taking some flak for not doing something that pretty much nobody else did in the previous decade…
But is Kelly, a former state rep, as pure on the gun issue as she’s trumpeting?
Records show that when Kelly was chief of staff to then-Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, more than $7 million in pension money was invested with Alliant Tech Systems, the world’s largest ammunition manufacturer, which supplies Wal-Mart and Cabela’s with ammunition as well as a small investment into Smith & Wesson, a top gun manufacturer.
The investment is a drop in the bucket when considering the billions of dollars in Illinois pension funds, and Kelly’s campaign says she was far removed from making such a decision. […]
Another opponent, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who changed her position on an assault weapons ban — now supporting one — asked why Kelly, who claims to have played a major role in directing policy under Giannoulias, didn’t urge against investing in weapons manufacturers when she was in a position to do so.
“Robin Kelly was the senior-most staffer in an office and . . . didn’t lift a finger to stop the state from sending millions of dollars to gun and ammunition manufacturers,” Hutchinson said. “She has repeatedly claimed to be an advocate for regular families and a fighter on guns . . . but she sent our tax dollars to the very gun manufacturers she says she’s been fighting for years.”
The Illinois State Board of Investment manages the investment of pension assets for the General Assembly, and the state treasurer is an ex-officio member of the board.
The irony of Hutchinson’s attack is more than just a little obvious.
A Mike Bloomberg-funded super PAC is about to surpass $1 million in ads in a House special primary election in Illinois, lambasting former Democratic Rep. Debbie Halvorson over her high marks from the National Rifle Association.
In a new spot out Monday, the group laces into Halvorson for her A+ rating from the NRA and her opposition to an assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004 and which some gun-control advocates are looking to restore.
* Meanwhile, I doubt that this endorsement will make a huge difference, but I guess one never knows…
Robin Kelly, candidate for Illinois’ second Congressional district, was endorsed by Congressmen Bobby Rush and Danny Davis at a press conference this afternoon.
“Our communities are facing an epidemic of gun violence, and we need more members of Congress who can be trusted to fight for common sense gun control measures. Robin Kelly is a woman of integrity and conviction, and President Obama, Congressman Davis and I need her as our partner in ending gun violence,” said Congressman Bobby Rush.
“Robin Kelly has the kind of pragmatism that you need to get results in Washington, while never compromising her beliefs like many do. If we are going to stop the NRA in their tracks, and make our communities safe again, Robin Kelly is the right woman for the job,” said Congressman Danny Davis.
* And the Tribune’s endorsement probably won’t have much sway, either…
Of the 16 Democrats on the ballot, Robin Kelly, 56, of Matteson is best suited for the job. The Tribune endorses her in the Democratic primary.
Kelly worked for the village of Matteson, served two terms in the Illinois House, oversaw the office of former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and served as an administrative chief for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. In each role, Kelly brought integrity and pragmatism.
She is not a show-boater. She won’t dazzle you with ebullience. She doesn’t grandstand. She just works hard.
In the Illinois House, she was the chief sponsor of a bill that encourages businesses to grow and expand. That program, known as the EDGE tax credit, is one of the state’s most popular tools to give small- and medium-sized businesses incentives to stay in Illinois. She was the chief sponsor of legislation that cracked down on illegal firearm sales, and she worked on economic development issues, including construction of a third airport.
The Tribune relentlessly attacked Giannoulias for months over the way he ran his office. I guess that war is now passé since he lost to Mark Kirk.
Gov. Pat Quinn used the phrase “our Illinois” almost 30 times in one form or another last week during his annual State of the State address.
“In our Illinois, everyone should have access to decent health care,” Quinn said.
“In our Illinois, working people find good jobs, not just for today but for tomorrow.”
“In our Illinois, we find a way to get hard things done.”
In our Illinois, Quinn said, we are a “community of shared values.”
While the phrase was mainly a rhetorical device for a constitutionally mandated annual speech, it’s important to point out that Illinois isn’t really “one” and doesn’t have all that many “shared values.”
“Our Illinois” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
Imagine trying to govern a state so diverse that it included both Boston and Richmond, Va. Waukegan is about 40 miles north of Chicago at the same latitude as Boston. Cairo, at the southern tip of Illinois, sits at the same latitude as Richmond.
While the Chicago area’s similarities to Bostonian liberalism might be obvious, our state’s history has more in common with Richmond than you might think.
For the first few decades of the 19th century, a state-owned salt works in Saline County in southern Illinois used slave labor and produced almost a third of state government’s revenue. Fights over whether Illinois should become a slave state dominated the General Assembly for years.
These days, southern Illinois politicians closely resemble Kentuckians, or southern Virginians, for that matter.
But our diversity and differences go much further than that.
In Chicago, we have unimaginable wealth next door to some of the worst poverty in the nation.
We have the third-largest city in the nation, substantial suburban sprawl, numerous river- and energy-dependent regions and a vast portion consisting of rural counties with few people in them.
We have Chicago wards that voted almost unanimously for Barack Obama last year, and dozens of downstate counties that almost always vote straight Republican since Abraham Lincoln joined the party.
We have more black residents than any “free” state except New York. And we have some counties that are so “white” that I know some black legislators and lobbyists who are afraid to stop for gas on their way to and from Springfield.
Our industrial capacity is almost unparalleled, yet we grow more corn than any state except Iowa.
Our Republican Party is almost hopelessly divided and nonexistent in Cook County. We have Chicago-area Republicans who openly supported former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and now back Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
We have many downstate residents who believe Chicago is by far the biggest problem in Illinois, and the state would be much better off the city wasn’t part of Illinois.
Many of our southern Illinois Democrats make many suburban Republicans look downright liberal.
Barack Obama won most of those typically Republican suburban counties last year, but he lost Madison County, near St. Louis, even though every other countywide Democratic candidate won there.
Our liberal Democrats are among the most “progressive” in the nation. But there are so many Democratic factions in some Chicago wards that you almost need a passport to cross the street.
The Nov. 6 election produced supermajorities in the Legislature for the Democrats, but those are majorities in party name only. In a year when southern Democrats are pushing hard for a concealed-carry law, the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary election revolves largely around gun control.
So, while I often get frustrated with the way Pat Quinn governs — and for very good reasons — it’s always important to keep in mind that this state is nearly ungovernable, particularly in these times when people are so sharply divided by just about everything. Consensus among such cultural, ethnic and political diversity is almost impossible to achieve.
None of this means that governing is impossible, however, and this column isn’t meant to excuse any of Quinn’s many shortcomings.
But the next time you think that solving Illinois’ serious problems ought to be easy, remember that nothing has been easy in Illinois for many years.
