Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Saying we should “respect” those who waited and “persevered” to cast their ballot, Gov. Pat Quinn said “it’s clear that we do not have enough votes to win the election.”

Quinn said he was appointing his chief of staff to be a liaison to the Rauner transition team.

The governor said he would work to pass the minimum wage in the closing days of his administration. “That’s a good thing to be fighting for. So I’ll see you soon.” He took no questions.

…Adding… As of 3:39 pm, the governor has yet to call Bruce Rauner to congratulate him and offer to help with the transition. Also, notice that Quinn never once mentioned Rauner’s name or, as a commenter pointed out, congratulated Rauner on his win.

…Adding More… Raw audio…

Click to listen

…Adding Some More… Bruce Rauner…

“I thank Governor Quinn for his many years of service to Illinois and appreciate his commitment to making this a smooth transition. I look forward to getting to work to make Illinois the most compassionate and competitive state in the nation.”

* Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois…

The people of Illinois have spoken, giving Bruce Rauner the chance to lead. As do all Illinoisans, we hope that as Bruce Rauner turns to governing he will recognize that he serves everyone in the state, including LGBT individuals and their families, and the clear majority of Illinoisans who support LGBT equality.

As Mr. Rauner wraps up his political campaign, Equality Illinois will be ready to work with him to advance equal treatment and social justice for all in the Land of Lincoln.

Equality Illinois also congratulates Governor Pat Quinn on running a campaign and an administration that embraced all Illinoisans.

Under Pat Quinn’s leadership, we advanced protections for students from bullying and violence in schools, we made history by recognizing marriage equality, and countless people got a job, a home, insurance, a mortgage, a business opportunity because of anti-discrimination vigilance by the Quinn administration. We made great strides toward fairness and equal treatment for all. We thank Governor Quinn for his years of service.

* Mayor Emanuel…

“Governor Quinn has been a great partner to the City of Chicago. I would like to thank him for the work he has done on behalf of our residents, and I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him as we fight to raise the minimum wage over the next two months. I would also like to congratulate Governor-elect Bruce Rauner. We must work together on behalf of all Chicagoans and put progress ahead of politics to move Chicago and Illinois forward.”

* Video…

Click to view

* Christine Radogno, Illinois Senate Republican Leader…

“On behalf of the Senate Republican caucus we wish our heartiest congratulations to Governor-elect Bruce Rauner. We look forward to working with Bruce and his administration to return Illinois to greatness. We will also offer our full support during this time of transition. We extend our appreciation to Governor Quinn for his years of service to the people of Illinois.”

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Karmeier “cautiously optimistic” about victory

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a press release…

The Karmeier Retention Campaign Manager, Ron Deedrick offered the following statement on November 5, after the unofficial retention numbers came in on Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier’s successful bid.

“Justice Karmeier has been retained and he is thankful for the voters of the Fifth Judicial District for sending him back to Springfield to be their southern Illinois voice at the state Supreme Court,” Deedrick said. “The numbers are close, but the 60 percent threshold has been achieved and we are cautiously optimistic that the numbers may continue to edge up.”

Last I heard they were at 60.4 or something.

…Adding… BND…

The unofficial totals of the 37 counties compiled by the News-Democrat show 225,825 ballots were cast to retain Karmeier with 146,754 against retention. That’s 60.6 percent of voters approving retention for Karmeier. He was required to get 60 percent of the vote. […]

But that may not be the end of the fight, Deedrick said. He expects recounts and legal challenges to the results.

In the month before the election, Karmeier faced an anti-retention campaign, with lawyers from the Korein Tillery law firm donating $1.2 million. Korein Tillery won a $10 billion verdict, including $1.77 billion in legal fees, against cigarette maker Phillip Morris in a Madison County class action lawsuit. That case is currently under appeal.

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UPDATE: $580 MILLION EXELON RATE HIKE?? Do They Really Need a Bailout After Making Nearly $1 BILLION In The Last 90 Days?

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

“Chicago-based Exelon’s profit rose 26 percent in the third quarter…The country’s largest owner of nuclear power plants, Exelon reported net income of $993 million…”[Chicago Tribune, October 29, 2014 – emphasis added]

Just this past week, a Crain’s analysis revealed that contrary to their claims, Exelon may not be in dire straits after all:

“The analysis…raises questions about whether the state effectively will be asked to compel ratepayers to subsidize a profitable enterprise.” [Crain’s, October 27, 2014 – emphasis added]

Illinois’ businesses and citizens are still struggling. The last thing we need is a massive rate increase to bail out Exelon nuclear plants built during the Nixon administration and already paid for several times by ratepayers.

Even ComEd, Exelon’s own sister company, doesn’t agree with subsidized generation at above-market prices:

“ComEd has long believed that competitive markets will work in the best interests of our customers…so we are concerned about the negative impact on our customers from a requirement that would force utilities to buy subsidized generation at above-market prices.” [Crain’s Chicago Business, November 20, 2013]

Just Say No To Exelon’s $580 Million Rate Hike!!

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Rauner announces transition team

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a press release…

Governor-elect Bruce Rauner today announced Lieutenant Governor-elect Evelyn Sanguinetti as chair of his gubernatorial transition and also announced the senior leadership team.

“I am committed to assembling a diverse and talented team to drive results for our state and bring back Illinois,” Bruce Rauner said. “There is no one better prepared to help me achieve our administration’s goals than Evelyn. She has been my partner throughout this campaign and will continue that role as we prepare to take office.”

Senior Members of Transition Team

- Evelyn Sanguinetti, Chairwoman
- Mike Zolnierowicz, Transition Director
- Chip Englander, Senior Advisor
- Nancy Kimme, Transition Advisor
- Mike Schrimpf, Communications Director

“I look forward to working with the Governor-elect to build an administration that reflects our state’s diversity and is prepared to lead on Day One,” Evelyn Sanguinetti said.

The transition committee is also committed to disclosing and capping all contributions to the effort. More details about the transition will be announced in the near future.

Kimme is the only person on that committee with extensive state government experience.

…Adding… I was on the phone when I posted this so I was a bit distracted. Mike Z, Chip and Schrimpf are top notch staffers. They’ll be able to handle their roles. The object is to recruit the best and the brightest people they can to advise the candidate in the coming weeks. They should be able to do that, as long as they listen to Nancy.

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*** UPDATED x2 - Quinn to address the media *** “Let’s make the will of the people the law of the land”

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* How many times have we heard Gov. Pat Quinn repeat that line?

Google returned 8,900 results.

I can somewhat understand why Gov. Quinn didn’t concede last night. His campaign repeatedly pleaded with voters to stand in line for hours. Some folks waited until 3 o’clock this morning to vote. I can see why he wouldn’t publicly walk away while people who are loyal to him are sacrificing time away from their loved ones.

* But, it’s now Wednesday afternoon, and Quinn is trailing by five percentage points with 99.5 percent of the precincts reporting. Maybe he closes the gap by a little, but the “will of the people” is obvious.

Governor, you and your opponent tore this state in half with a hundred million dollars in negative advertising. It’s time you helped heal those divisions that you helped create. It’s time to pick up the phone, call Bruce Rauner and concede. I have his number if you need it.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From the governor’s office…

GOVERNOR’S PUBLIC SCHEDULE
**Wednesday, November 5, 2014**

CHICAGO – Governor Pat Quinn will address the media.

WHEN: 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: James R. Thompson Center
15th Floor – Blue Room
100 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, 60601

*** UPDATE 2 *** WGN says they will live stream the event. Click here.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Manar totals

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x1 - Madigan: No evidence of call *** Looking forward

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* There’s no public schedule for Bruce Rauner today…

Late last night, Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said nothing was scheduled for today.

“Focus now on transition and governing. Won’t rush that,” he said in an email.

* Tribune…

Rauner’s transition to governor actually began months before Election Day, said one campaign insider who was not authorized to speak publicly, with a closely held assemblage of veterans from previous Illinois Republican governors and GOP insiders. Their work included shaping the potential personnel in a Rauner cabinet. […]

Earlier this week, Rauner said part of his immediate work was to “assemble a superstar ‘A’ team to turn the government around.”

“This matters so much to me, I’m just on a mission. I’m going right to work,” he said.

* Bernie…

Rauner’s administration will likely bring a full roster of new department directors, and Rauner’s past tough talk about “government union bosses” certainly raises questions about how any negotiations with state workers will go. […]

Rauner may well reach an accommodation with Madigan over time, said former Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican who backed Rauner. […]

Madigan wouldn’t speak to me for four months after I was elected,” Edgar told reporters in Springfield on Monday. “We finally reached an accord. … He knew I was the governor. I wasn’t leaving. … I think once he realized he could trust my word, that I wasn’t going to change my mind every day,” they were able to work together.

“He would still take me to the mat a few times, and I would take him right back,” Edgar said. “But again, I think we worked out a mutual respect and we were able to get things done.”

* From Rauner’s speech last night…

Just a few minutes ago, I placed two very important phone calls. I called Speaker Madigan. I called President Cullerton and I said to them: This is an opportunity for us to work together.

This is an opportunity to work together on a bipartisan basis, to solve the problems, the challenges facing families in Illinois.

I thought that was an important moment, even though the mention of Madigan’s name prompted loud boos from the audience. Rauner made it clear, I thought, that he was going to try and unify the state.

* But then I read the Sun-Times…

A Madigan spokesman, however, said he was “not aware of any call.”

I called that spokesman this morning and he made it clear that he didn’t want to make too big of a deal about it. He hadn’t asked Madigan about the call and Madigan had made no mention of it. He has another call into the Speaker and he has promised to ask if Rauner did, indeed, talk to him.

As far as Cullerton goes, a member of Rauner’s staff reached out to a member of Cullerton’s staff last night, but the two men haven’t yet spoken, I was told.

* Either way, Rauner did his best to say something positive last night, to show he was ready to move forward, even if it was only symbolic.

*** UPDATE *** Madigan’s spokesman said “We don’t see anything that suggested Rauner called Madigan last night or today.”

OK, I’m changing my mind on this. That’s not a good way to kick off a relationship with the Speaker.

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* In your opinion, who (or what) were the three biggest losers yesterday and why?

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Once again, it’s the economy, stupid

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I have my own take on the minimum wage issue for subscribers, but I like this one, too…

The lesson of Tuesday’s minimum wage votes is that Democrats can do more on the minimum wage, not that they can help themselves politically by talking about it more. Just because a proposal is popular does not mean it can be a keystone in your economic agenda. As Kevin Drum of Mother Jones has noted, Democrats have an economic agenda that is heavily attuned to the poor; it’s much less clear what they would do for the middle class.

Many policies that help the poor are favored by the middle class. But if politicians want to win the votes of the middle class, they have to campaign on issues that affect them directly. Minimum wage increases do not serve that political end.

* So, yeah, the minimum wage hike referendum passed with almost 67 percent of the vote, but the candidate most associated with that referendum, Pat Quinn, lost by five points.

Quinn simply did not have an economic message that resonated strongly enough with the middle class.

* Here’s a striking result: 2010 exit polling showed that 26 percent of respondents belonged to union households. That number rose to 32 percent in 2014 exit polling. So, unions did a good job of getting their folks to the polls.

However, Bill Brady won 31 percent of union households in 2010. Bruce Rauner won 41 percent of union households this year.

* Or check out this one: In 2010, Brady got 39 percent of the vote from those who made less than $100K a year. This year, Rauner took 46 percent of that group.

* In 2010, 49 percent of those who said they were worried about economic conditions sided with Bill Brady. This year, it was 54 percent for Rauner.

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And the winner is…

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* US Sen. Mark Kirk’s 2010 win proved that a pro-choice moderate could win a GOP primary and go on to win a general election. Kirk deployed several of his staff members to the Rauner campaign and they not only helped keep the messaging on track (Lance Trover, Rich Goldberg), but put together what turned out to be one heck of a field operation (Mike Z). Trover and Z are actually Topinka people, and her 2010 comeback was as important as Kirk’s win, so she shares in this as well.

From Kirk’s statement last night…

“For the first time in a long time, I am optimistic about the future of Illinois,” Kirk said. “In a show of unity, I will host Governor-Elect Rauner, Mayor Emanuel and Senator Durbin to lunch so we can immediately begin to work in coordination for our great state.”

So, other than people who actually won their own races yesterday, Kirk is my “biggest winner” of 2014. And he’ll need a strong gubernatorial ally to help fend off the right wing and the Democrats in 2016, if he decides to run again.

The RGA comes in a close second, in my book. Former RGA staff were crucial to Rauner, and the huge RGA checks didn’t hurt, either.

* Your own thoughts on biggest winners? Let’s focus on the positive here, please.

68 Comments

Madigan declares victory

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told subscribers earlier today, Bruce Rauner funded two campaigns, his own and the House Republican effort. He went one for two. Despite all the cash, all the outside help (including from Dan Proft’s Super PAC), it appears that Speaker Madigan did not lose a single seat. From Illinois Public Radio…

With Bruce Rauner’s win, Illinois Republicans have something to celebrate. But they failed to make gains in the General Assembly, which could have big repercussions for Rauner down the line. […]

Rauner had tried to help Republicans make dents in Democrats’ power hold on the General Assembly — contributing money to races, and to the state party.

It didn’t work.

House Republicans failed to gain even a single seat. Which means House Speaker Michael Madigan will continue to preside over a bare minimum super-majority.

Democrats in the Senate lost one member — incumbent Mike Jacobs, of the Quad Cities. But they still have 39 of the Senate’s 59 seats.

* Tribune last night…

The suburban battlegrounds featured Democratic Rep. Katherine Cloonen of Kankakee in a tight race against Republican Glenn Nixon of Bourbonnais; Democratic Rep. Carol Sente of Vernon Hills who was holding a strong lead when Republican Leslie Munger of Lincolnshire conceded Tuesday night; and Democratic Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood held off Republican Mark Neerhof of Lake Forest, who conceded.

In Lake County, Democratic freshman Rep. Sam Yingling of Grayslake appeared to beat Republican Rod Drobinski of Wauconda, who conceded.

In DuPage County, freshman Democratic Rep. Deb Conroy of Villa Park was leading Heidi Holan of Glen Ellyn, and Democratic Rep. Martin Moylan of Des Plaines was leading Republican Mel Thillens of Park Ridge. […]

In western Illinois, Democratic Rep. Mike Smiddy of Hillsdale faced Republican Jim Wozniak of East Moline. In central Illinois, Democratic Rep. Sue Scherer of Decatur faced Republican Mike Bell of Edinburg.

The only one kinda-sorta race in doubt right now appears to be Cloonen. But the HDems are confident they have enough provisionals to win it.

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Undervote? What undervote?

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Lots of folks thought there would a huge under-vote in the governor’s race. It was just so nasty, so mean, so devoid of heart and spirit. People would just skip over it.

But, guess what? With 99.5 percent of the votes counted, more people voted in the governor’s race than in any other statewide contest…

US Senate - 3,439,117

Governor - 3,464,622

AG - 3,442,333

SOS - 3,454,120

Comptroller - 3,423,838

Treasurer - 3,370,406

Thoughts?

27 Comments

Some congressional take-aways

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Man, was this ever a thumping…

U.S. House District 12
100% of precincts reporting

Bost 106,435 (52.7%)

Enyart 84,136 (41.6%)

Bradshaw 11,47% (5.7%)

Eleven points?

Sheesh.

* And so was this…

U.S. House District 17
100% of precincts reporting

Bustos 108,228 (55.2%)

Schilling 88,004 (44.8%)

* Lots of mixed messages this year. Bustos wins, but her own state Sen. Mike Jacobs loses. And yet Rep. Mike Smiddy, who represents half of Jacobs’ district, wins.

I think what we can take away is that the candidate mattered this year much more than the party, or the incumbency factor or even the district (Smiddy’s district leans Republican) or etc. Enyart, Schilling and Jacobs just all got out-worked, out-thought, out-messaged, out-everything.

* One more…

U.S. House District 10
100% of precincts reporting

Dold 93,036 (51.8%)

Schneider 86,572 (48.2%)

Schneider’s campaign trumpeted his Democratic Party affiliation - in a Republican year.

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Morning after thoughts?

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* What’s on your mind after this historic election year?

…Adding… This Daily Herald chart may help you put things into perspective…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Good morning!

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Love it, hate it, indifferent to it, it’s a new morning, campers…

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