Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The cable industry is asking lawmakers to place a NEW 5% tax on satellite TV service. HB 5440 is not about fairness, equity or parity – it’s a tax increase on the 1.3 million Illinois families and businesses who subscribe to satellite TV. They cannot afford another NEW tax – not now and not in this economy!
HB 5440 Will Hurt Illinois Families and Small Businesses
• Satellite TV subscribers will see their monthly bills go up 5%.
• This tax will impact every bar, restaurant and hotel that subscribes to satellite TV service, which will translate into higher prices, decreased revenues, and fewer jobs.
• Rural Illinois has no choice: In many parts of Illinois, cable refuses to provide TV service to rural communities. Satellite TV is their only option.
HB 5440 Is Not About Parity or Fairness
• Cable’s claim that this discriminatory tax is justified because satellite TV doesn’t pay local franchise fees could not be further from the truth. Cable pays those fees to local towns and cities in exchange for the right to bury cables in the public rights of way—a right that Comcast and Charter value in the tens of billions of dollars in their SEC filings.
• Satellite companies don’t pay franchise fees for one simple reason: We use satellites—unlike cable, we don’t need to dig up streets and sidewalks to deliver our TV service.
• Making satellite subscribers pay franchise fees—or, in this case, an equivalent amount in taxes—would be like taxing the air It’s no different than making airline passengers pay a fee for laying railroad tracks.
* I kidded Tom Cross a little last night about this story, which is too cute not to share…
“We definitely like to have lunch together. We were at Cracker Barrel not too long ago,” [Gov. Pat Quinn] told reporters Wednesday. “I ate carrots, lots of carrots, green beans. And we were eating healthy.”
The same was true for Cross (R-Oswego), as they chatted about pensions, gambling and capital spending at the Cracker Barrel off Weber Road in Bolingbrook off Interstate 55, a location Cross said he chose and the governor readily complied.
“I had turnip greens, pinto beans, fried okra, and I must’ve had green beans. I did have one of their nice biscuits. This was my idea,” Cross told the Sun-Times.
“The governor sat down at the table and said, ‘Excellent. I don’t need a menu,’” Cross said. “We’re just a couple of Cracker Barrel guys.”
Democratic leaders in the Illinois General Assembly are backing legislation that would require some corporations to reveal their income-tax bills.
Senate President John Cullerton and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie will announce their support Tuesday for the measure. Tuesday is the first day of the Legislature’s fall veto session.
The Chicago Democrats want publicly traded corporations to post online the amount of corporate income taxes they paid two years prior to publication. The lawmakers say that would reduce potential competitive disadvantage to businesses that must publicize expenditures.
Officials say two-thirds of corporations pay no income taxes because of deductions, tax breaks and “loopholes.”
* The Question: Should public corporations be required to disclose the amount of Illinois state income taxes they pay? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
…Adding… Just to clear up some confusion in comments, you cannot FOIA this info, it’s not publicly available to anyone and state income taxes are not broken out as a completely separate category in SEC filings.
* I’ve looked over his filings this morning and they’re a complete mess. From the Sun-Times…
Former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is blaming an accounting error for the sudden disappearance of $500,000 from his campaign filings this year without an accompanying explanation of where the money went.
The money, which was left over from the campaign in which Stroger lost re-election to current board president Toni Preckwinkle, was invested in Amalgamated Bank by Friends for Todd H. Stroger for President of the Cook County Board campaign. The money appeared on campaign filings in the first quarter of the year but wasn’t reported in the second quarter, said Jim Tenuto, assistant executive director at the Board of Elections.
A board staffer noticed the discrepancy and sent Stroger a letter asking what happened to the money, “which is something we routinely do,” said Tenuto. “This is not an investigation or an accusation, it was more of an administrative issue,” he said.
Stroger said Monday evening the money was used to pay campaign bills and an accounting error was to blame for the discrepancy.
* OK, if you go back to the end of 2008, Stroger reported $526,747.08 in investments and $465,227.33 in outstanding debt, including $350,000 to himself, which he incurred in 2006.
On August 21st, 2009, Stroger put $500,000 into a couple of CDs.
Stroger entered the 2010 campaign with $152,554.92 in cash on hand, then raised another $294,685.00 during the first half of the year. He spent $341,107.73 and was left with $106,132.19 plus his $500K in investments.
But then he filed an odd amended return for the first six months of 2010. The only expenditures listed in the amended return were for a $500,000 deposit into an Amalgamated Bank of Chicago investment fund on June 30th. But he also shows a receipt of $621,632.19 from Amalgamated Bank of Chicago on the same day.
And that’s pretty much where I gave up. The investments, as noted above, eventually “disappeared” without explanation. They appear to have existed at one time, but it’s gonna take somebody with more time than I have to figure this one out.
* A new coalition says it wants Illinois to remain the only state that doesn’t allow some form of concealed carry law…
“I can’t fathom the idea of going to the mall and just thinking that under that coat over there, or in that purse, there might be a weapon,” said Ald. Ricardo Munoz of the 22nd Ward. “We cannot allow concealed carry to be the law of the land.”
Coalition members cited pressure from the National Rifle Association and gun-rights activists across Illinois for their growing concern. They worry state lawmakers could attempt to push through a law during the legislative veto session that starts this week.
With 36 lame duck legislators, the General Assembly is ripe for last-minute deals between outgoing lawmakers and those willing to trade votes to ensure majorities on other issues, said Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin.
“While we don’t expect that the concealed carry bill will come up, it may because there will be a lot of horse trading going on in the final days of this old General Assembly,” he said. “We need to remind those who have stood with us that they need to stay fast with us and make sure that we oppose concealed carry.”
Suffredin is right that the bill is not expected to come up. But he’s also right that there will be some serious horse trading in the coming weeks. So, from his perspective, this move was probably prudent.
Valinda Rowe, spokeswoman for gun-owner advocacy group Illinois Carry, acknowledged that there is a divide between Illinois’ urban and rural residents on gun control issues. But she said her statewide organization’s constituents come from all walks of life.
“Our members are made up of all different political backgrounds - we have conservatives, we have liberals, we have libertarians, that all support the Second Amendment,” Rowe said. “We’re not talking about mentally ill people or those who are a danger to themselves or others. We’re talking about law-abiding citizens.”
The house bill would require gun owners to obtain concealed carry licenses and take firearm safety courses. It would also prohibit concealed weapons in most government buildings, including schools and libraries. The bill fell six votes short of the required three-fifths majority in a house vote in May.
Try very hard to stay civil in comments, please. I took a quick look at some of the comments on stories in other publications about this development and some were downright bizarre. We don’t want that here.
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The State of Illinois faces another budget crisis and severe cuts are on their way. The currently proposed budget would leave a $200 million shortfall for Illinois students and educations. Outside experts agree that Illinois is falling behind. Illinois already ranks dead last in the nation in the amount of school funding provided by state revenues according to a recent NEA study. The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability finds that states provide an average of 51% of the funds for education. Illinois provides only 30%.
In these harsh economic times for the state, we cannot afford to lose a dime. Still, satellite companies are currently exploiting a corporate tax loophole and taking their profits out of Illinois. House Bill 5440 will close this loophole and ensure everybody pays a fair share to support our students and communities. Twelve other states have successfully closed similar tax loopholes on satellite providers and in turn have worked towards more balanced government budgets.
HB 5440 would generate up to $75 million in additional revenue for the Illinois education fund and provide critical backing for schools, early childhood education, and financial assistance for college students.
The status quo isn’t working. Close the loophole and support our students. Vote YES on HB 5440!
* A friend pointed me to a chart at Daily Kos yesterday which shows presidential results by states ranked most Democratic to least Democratic. Since 1992, Illinois has been in the top eleven of the most Democratic states (ten, if you don’t include the non-state Washington, DC). Click the pic for a larger image…
Our average over the past six elections is ninth. Yet, we had ten years of Republican governors in the time period covered, although there haven’t been any in a decade.
* Former Gov. Jim Edgar was asked about whether he backed the 2012 Republican campaign mantra of “Fire Madigan”…
No, it’s been the governors. I mean, the governor leads. Madigan, I think he’s probably victim to his own success and his own legend. That how powerful he is, so everybody figures he’s responsible for everything. Madigan my first four years as governor just fought me tooth and nail.
I used to have him down for lunch all the time. He’s a real cheap date – just give him an apple, that’s all he wants for lunch. We’d try to keep it from ever getting personal and we’d sit around and try to figure out how can we compromise. That first session when I was governor, when he was going to prove some things to me, we went an extra 30 days and I pretty much got what I wanted. The next year he beat me up a little more but we always knew where the other guy was and we always tried to find out what was the common ground. We also knew if we told the other guy something, he could take it to the bank. I think what happened with Blagojevich and Madigan was he thought Blagojevich lied to him and there’s nothing that upsets Mike Madigan more. It became much more personal and I think everything got ruined by that a little bit.
But Madigan, the last two years I was governor, when he came back after losing the speakership, he told the press, “I tried to fight the governor, I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m going to try to work with the governor and if we can agree I’m going to be his best supporter.” And in the last couple years on most things, especially fiscal things, he was my biggest supporter in the legislature. And I think he was very supportive to George Ryan. But the trouble was, with George, George wanted him to go along with spending. And I asked the speaker one time, I said, you were a fiscal conservative with me, now you’re a big spender. He said, “You know my members. They like to spend money. I’m going to follow the governor. I’m not going to stick my neck out.” So I think the fact that we had governors who kind of took their eyes off the bottom line – for a long time Madigan went along with that as the speaker. I think it was only when he had a complete break with Blagojevich that he began to tighten up on the budget stuff and then it was really too late. Too little, too late.
But again, it goes back to the governor’s got to provide that leadership. The governor is the 800-pound gorilla in Illinois government and if he’s not, then the way this system is designed it doesn’t work very well. And that’s what I think we’ve seen the last 10 years it just hasn’t worked very well.
* This was expected. Holding the special primary on the local primary day will mean less costs to governments. From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today set a special election to fill a vacancy in the 2nd Congressional District seat, which had been held by Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. from 1995 until his resignation last week. The governor’s writs of election (attached) set a special primary to be held on February 26, 2013 to coincide with existing local primary elections. To comply with current state law, the governor’s writs of election also set a general election date of March 19, 2013. However, Governor Quinn is working with the General Assembly to move the general election date to April 9, 2013, the same day as already-scheduled local general elections, which will require a change in statute.
Illinois law currently requires the special election be held within 115 days of the filing of the governor’s writs of election, preventing it from being on the same day as the existing local elections on April 9, 2013.
“This special election will be carried out in a manner that is fair to the electorate and as economical as possible for taxpayers,” Governor Quinn said. “By holding the special primary and general elections on the same days as existing contests, we can save significant taxpayer dollars and ensure the people of the 2nd District can make their voices heard.”
The governor will issue amended writs if the statute is changed to move the special general election to April 9, 2013.
The 2nd Congressional District is comprised of 263 precincts in suburban Cook County, 170 precincts in Chicago, 85 precincts in Kankakee County and 27 precincts in Will County. Approximately 420,000 registered voters reside in the district, of which more than half are in suburban Cook County.
Moving the special general would also be a very good idea.
One example of a state law that needs scrutiny, Chapa LaVia said, is the statute that makes school compulsory at age 7, when most youngsters enter second grade — instead of age 5, when children must start school in most states.
* I told subscribers about this days ago, but it has been mostly ignored by the media. I’m not sure why. Speaker Madigan has kept himself out of gaming expansion talks since 1994, but now he apparently no longer has a conflict of interest. That major development rated just two sentences buried in a recent SJ-R column…
Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said he thinks having House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, more actively involved in the talks will make a difference. Madigan has stayed out of gaming expansion in the past because of clients in his law firm.
Successful gaming expansion requires everybody pulling in the same direction. While this development doesn’t mean that Madigan will be on the same page as everyone else (subscribers know more), it does mean that the most able legislator under the Dome is now involved, and that in and of itself is very important. The AP also buried the item in a recent story…
Quinn told The Associated Press earlier this month he believes a compromise is in the offing. Of major assistance in that scenario, according to House sponsor Rep. Lou Lang, is newly offered assistance of House Speaker Michael Madigan.
For nearly 20 years, the Chicago Democrat has recused himself from negotiations about gambling to avoid a potential conflict of interest with his private law practice, which he said might serve clients interested in casino development. Lang said Madigan no longer has the conflict — something Madigan spokesman Steve Brown confirmed without elaborating — and has orchestrated discussions designed to lead to a deal.
“It’s a very big issue, and the speaker, with good reason, likes to involve himself in the big issues,” said Lang, D-Skokie, “so … perhaps he can be helpful in the process of getting the governor to the table.”
Senate President Pro Tem David Long wryly noted last week that the best tax dollars are another state’s tax dollars, pointing out that Indiana had feasted on gambling profits from residents of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky for two decades now. But that feast is almost at an end.
“Gaming revenue is under assault right now. If you look at what happens when you stand up and take other people’s money, it was a smart way to go about it, and we got Michigan’s, Ohio’s, Illinois’s, and Kentucky’s money, and we weren’t ashamed of taking it,” Long told an Indiana Chamber of Commerce forum last week.
Now Ohio has built four casinos near the Indiana state line and Illinois is poised to add one more near Chicago to draw business from northwest Indiana. That makes it less likely those tax dollars will cross the state line.
* And anti-gambling advocates are still throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the plan to expand gaming…
Anti-gambling advocates say slot machines at places like Arlington Park won’t generate more interest in horse racing.
The machines, they say, will just draw people who want to play slot machines, leaving the racing industry without the renewed enthusiasm it’s looking for.
“If they go ahead with the slots at the tracks, they’re going to put the horsemen out of business,” said Anita Bedell, director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems.
Um, the horsemen favor slots at tracks. It’ll increase purses as it’s done elsewhere.
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent appointment to the Sports Facilities Authority broke the gridlock and allowed Kelly Kraft to be named the new executive director. But the board appointee wasn’t too thrilled with his role…
Quentin Young, a longtime Quinn ally who was placed on the board, praised Quinn for his record, calling him “incorruptible.” But he did not sound as confident that the board spat could be so easily forgotten. “I don’t think it’s good for elected officials to fight the way they did,” he said.
Maybe he should’ve said “No” when Quinn called then.
* Beware stories that make Juan Ochoa into the man with the white hat…
When the Town of Cicero sends out news releases in Spanish, they frequently highlight the contributions of “el Senador Sandoval.”
What they don’t tell Cicero taxpayers is that they are footing the bill for state Sen. Martin Sandoval to translate those words into Spanish. […]
Juan Ochoa, who is challenging Cicero Town President Larry Dominick in the February election, disagrees. Ochoa says Sandoval’s arrangement with Cicero does indeed amount to double-dipping and creates a conflict of interest.
“It’s unethical that he is representing the Town of Cicero [in the Senate] and has a contract with the Town of Cicero,” says Ochoa, who recently moved to Cicero and formerly was chief executive of the government agency that oversees McCormick Place and Navy Pier. “I find it hard to believe there are no other companies that can perform that task, and not as expensively.”
The article goes on to talk about how Sandoval was ironically working with Republicans. Not mentioned is that Ochoa held a fundraiser for Bill Brady in 2010.
Peter Breen is an attorney for the Thomas More Society, who is representing two downstate county clerks who are defending the state’s gay marriage ban against a lawsuit filed by 25 gay couples. Breen believes same-sex marriage proponents are over-stating the significance of the Nov. 6 ballot measures, which he says were in left-leaning states - Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington - and where gay rights advocates outspent opponents on political advertising.
a chunk of chocolate made in the shape of a foot given to him in 2009 by Southern Illinois University Trustee Roger Herrin, whom Quinn appointed to the university’s board in 2011 and tried unsuccessfully to have installed as the board’s chairman last spring.
Foot in mouth? Highly appropriate.
* I couldn’t make it to Serafin’s party this year because of family obligations…
Isn’t that awkward? Sneed hears at a recent holiday bash tossed by PR whiz Thom Serafin, a number of people who want Gov. Pat Quinn’s job mingled with… the governor himself!
Translation: Gov hopefuls like State Sen. Kirk Dillard and State Treasurer Dan Rutherford hung out with Quinn at Serafin’s popular press/pol get together at Butch McGuire’s last week.
…Adding… From Mayor Emanuel’s office…
STATEMENT FROM MAYOR EMANUEL SUPPORTING A MORATORIUM ON CPS FACILITY CLOSURES TO BRING STABILITY TO CHICAGO’S SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
“We know that our city has a significant number of schools that are underutilized, stretching resources thin and not giving every student a quality education. In the past, there has been too much uncertainty around changes to our schools: year after year, Chicago Public Schools did not do an adequate job of engaging communities in these critical decisions, and year after year students, families and communities were left wondering of what was to come. That ends this year. With the Commission CPS CEO Byrd-Bennett has appointed, Chicagoans will be involved in the conversation about any changes to our district this year; and after this year, I have directed CPS to implement a moratorium on CPS facility closures, ending unnecessary disruption to students and parents and bringing stability to our schools.”
Critics have charged the extension only seeks to delay announcing this year’s school closings, making it harder for community groups to launch a united opposition.
Illinois may soon become the most populous U.S. state to grant a form of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, after the nation’s growing Hispanic population boosted the power of Democrats in national and state elections on November 6.
A bipartisan group of Illinois politicians announced on Tuesday they would propose such a law when the legislature convenes on November 27. […]
The measure would expand to undocumented immigrants Illinois’ existing temporary visitor driver’s license, used by legal immigrants. The licenses are “visually distinct” from ordinary licenses, with a purple background and the words “not valid for identification” on the front, explained Lawrence Benito, chief executive of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* The Question: Should Illinois provide drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Half of state legislatures now have veto-proof majorities, up from 13 only four years ago, according to figures compiled for the Associated Press by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
All but three states — Iowa, Kentucky and New Hampshire — have one-party control of their legislatures, the highest mark since 1928. […]
Democrats in California gained their first supermajorities since 1883 in both the Assembly and Senate. Republicans captured total control of the North Carolina Capitol for the first time in more than a century. The GOP set a 147-year high mark in the Tennessee statehouse and won two-thirds majorities in the Missouri Legislature for the first time since the Civil War.
Republicans also gained or expanded supermajorities in places such as Indiana, Oklahoma and Georgia. Democrats gained a supermajority in Illinois and built upon their dominance in places such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts. […]
In Indiana, the new Republican supermajority can now pass bills even if House Democrats repeat the walkouts they’ve held the past two years to protest the consideration of so-called right-to-work laws limiting union powers. In Oklahoma, Republicans are expected to use their huge majorities to move to slash state income taxes after efforts last year fell short.
* One reason for the big Republican gains was the redistricting after the 2010 GOP landslide. Republicans in other states knew what they were doing…
Although a small number of ballots remain to be counted, as of this writing, votes for a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives outweigh votes for Republican candidates. Based on ThinkProgress’ review of all ballots counted so far, 53,952,240 votes were cast for a Democratic candidate for the House and only 53,402,643 were cast for a Republican — meaning that Democratic votes exceed Republican votes by more than half a million.
“It’s designed to be edgy and bring attention to the pension squeeze,” Brooke Anderson, spokeswoman for the governor, said of the video. “It’s designed to provide information about how Illinois found itself in the pension squeeze and what’s at stake.”
State Rep. Darlene Senger, a member of the state House Personnel and Pensions Committee, said the grass-roots campaign will not accomplish anything in the next few days, and the governor did not do voters justice in his method of explaining the problem.
The pension issue is “complicated the way it is and not something I find to be cartoonish,” said Ms. Senger. “It’s a serious business … and to make fun of it or dumb it down … I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
One of the few things former governor and current convict Rod Blagojevich got right was warning that the pension situation was a catastrophe waiting to happen. He said he would “fight like hell” to ensure pension reform.
A few months after he made that declaration, lawmakers voted to skip that year’s pension payment. Blagojevich didn’t put up enough of a fight.
Um, Rod loved that idea. He took all the credit for it.
* But all the talk about Squeezy got me to thinking before the Thanksgiving break about some other goofy, dumbed-down, patronizing and ultimately failed ad campaigns. For instance, who could forget the Andy McKenna “hair” ads?…
* These campaigns all share a single attribute: They oversimplified issues to the point where people wouldn’t take them seriously. The governor’s office says that since people are talking about Squeezy, their mission is accomplished. And, indeed, it has prompted a few editorials about pension reform, but those don’t mean much in all the clutter.
The governor enters the veto session and the lame duck session desperately needing to appear like a serious leader. This just doesn’t help…
* After the election was over, the Cambridge Chronicle reported on the local Henry County results…
In the first election with a two-district map instead of a three-district map, 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans apparently have been elected to the Henry County Board.
The 10th seat in District 2 was captured by a Democrat pulling only five more votes than a Republican. Recounts and absentee ballots received in the 14 days following the election could change the outcome. […]
Those not elected were Republicans Kippy Nelson, 4,031 (only five fewer than Wiley);
* But when all the votes were counted, there was a change…
The official count of ballots from the Nov. 6 election apparently reversed the outcome of one of the results in County Board District 2.
Kippy Nelson, R-Cambridge, a five-vote loser to Thomas Wiley, D-Cambridge, after the unofficial count Election Day, is now a one-vote winner, according to the official count, which gave Ms. Nelson 4,043 votes to 4,042 for Mr. Wiley..
“I looked at him and he looked at me and we said, ‘one vote’,” said Ms. Nelson.
One vote not only changed the election, but the 10-10 county board went to 11-9 Republican.
For an absentee vote to be counted, it must be postmarked no later than election day, Nov. 6. But an absentee ballot from Japan, postmarked Nov. 1, wasn’t received until Monday.
The Democrat Wiley is expected to ask for a recount this week.
* The Tribune editorial page talked to AFSCME Council 31 President Henry Bayer after Gov. Pat Quinn terminated the union’s state contract last week…
Bayer disputes that he has stonewalled during negotiations. He says he has proposed a first-year pay freeze and modest increases after that. He says every contract for nearly the last two decades has included greater employee contributions toward health care. He implies this one probably will, too.
“We don’t have an agreement on the contract yet,” he says. “But to ask employees to go four years without a pay increase and then at the same time pay more for insurance, that’s a lot to ask of people.”
Quinn’s team initially proposed pay cuts but is now seeking a freeze for the life of the contract.
AFSCME members lost promised pay increases last summer because the state didn’t have money to pay them.
Last week, Quinn tried to hike the pressure by refusing to sign an extension of AFSCME’s expired contract. So AFSCME members now are working without a contract. That doesn’t fundamentally change the terms of their wages or work rules, but it infuriated Bayer, who called it “disrespectful to the process.”
This is likely to grow even more intense. And if Quinn ultimately gives away the store, the Legislature could step in. House Speaker Michael Madigan has sponsored a resolution that would cap wage increases for collectively bargained contracts. The Madigan resolution points out that state workers received raises averaging 4.25 percent for each of the last five years, while the consumer price index averaged about 2 percent in that time.
* The Tribune wants Quinn and the legislative leaders to fix the pension mess so AFSCME can see more of the big picture. But Quinn is getting some strong support from an unexpected new ally…
Former Herscher resident and one-time Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski applauded Quinn. He is the founder of For the Good of Illinois Foundation, a government spending watchdog group.
“Taxpayers, families and seniors are tired of the waste, fraud, abuse and bloated pensions that politicians have been feeding on,” he said. “Maybe, this is the first step in protecting the taxpayers of Illinois.
“Only time will tell if the governor is truly serious,” he added, noting another good step for righting the state’s fiscal ship would be “to freeze property taxes for three years, forcing out the waste at the local levels of government.”
[Local AFSCME Council 31 Representative Dino Leone] feels Governor Quinn’s actions are leaving union members with little choice, but to take more action.
“We don’t want to have a strike. In the 40 years we’ve done collective bargaining in the state of Illinois we’ve never had a strike before,” he said.
Leone said Governor Quinn is only creating more uncertainty for public employees who are working in offices that are already short staffed.
“When you have instability in the work place and you have stressed workers because they’re over worked, working many hours with no sleep he’s definitely added a whole new stress level,” Leone said.
Quinn’s move is not expected to immediately affect state services, and union officials are advising workers is to go about their jobs and stay professional.
A memo sent to department heads from the governor’s office outlined that the move means none of the raises that were included in the old contract will be paid. And any workplace grievances that arise will not be acted upon.
* Related…
* Governor Quinn terminates AFSCME contract: “During 11 months of bargaining, the state has extended the contract three times and made significant efforts to compromise,” Quinn budget spokesman Abdon Pallasch said in a statement. “But the government employees union, which has not offered a single proposal to deal with retirement health care, continues to seek millions of dollars in pay hikes the taxpayers can’t afford to give them. It has refused to recognize the extraordinary financial crisis squeezing the state.”
* Considering her history and all the African-American Democrats lining up to run for Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr’s seat, this isn’t much of a surprise…
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson says she’s officially running to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress.
Halvorson launched her campaign Monday, saying she’s received numerous calls from elected officials, community leaders and residents of the 2nd Congressional District urging her to run. In a statement Monday, Halvorson touts her experience in Congress and says that will allow her to get to work without having to go through freshman orientation, if she’s elected.
Halvorson lost to Jackson in the Democratic primary this year. She’d served in Congress before losing the 2010 election in what was the 11th Congressional District before district lines were redrawn.
* The Tribune reports that Cook County Democratic leaders are hoping to slate a candidate for the post. The list is long. I think I told subscribers about everybody on the Tribune list last week except for Todd Stroger…
More primary and general election Democratic votes were cast in the five suburban Cook County townships than in the seven wards in the city located within the congressional district’s boundaries. That could give an edge to a suburban contender, such as state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, an Olympia Fields Democrat in her third year in the General Assembly. […]
Another suburban contender is former NFL linebacker Napoleon Harris, of Flossmoor, who was just elected to the state Senate. Harris may have money — he lent his legislative campaign $227,000 — but his Nov. 6 victory was his first for a public office.
Former state lawmakers Robin Kelly of Matteson and David Miller of Lynwood also could be in the mix. Kelly lost a bid for state treasurer and now works in Cook County government while Miller, a dentist, was defeated in a bid for state comptroller. A Jackson ally, Miller said he was exploring a bid and would make a decision on whether to proceed “shortly.”
In the city, Ald. Will Burns, 4th, moved closer on Friday to saying he was in the race. […]
Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, has previously expressed interest in the contest. Though he has not said he plans to run, he already has the backing of Ald. Carrie Austin, the Democratic committeewoman of the 34th Ward.
Also expressing an interest is state Sen. Donne Trotter, a veteran South Side Democratic lawmaker who made a failed bid for Congress in 2000 against Rep. Bobby Rush. Obama suffered his only election defeat in that same primary race.
Among those interested in the special election who are in the voter-discard pile are former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds. Stroger may have name identification but little campaign cash, while Reynolds had been Jackson’s predecessor in Congress before being convicted in a sex scandal involving a 16-year-old campaign aide.
Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr., who represented now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, also has expressed interest in the job.
Then there are the possible Jackson family candidates.
* Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to announce the special election date today. Money and, probably more importantly, name recognition will be the key here. With the Christmas holiday coming up, there won’t be much opportunity to advertise early, so those with the most well-known names will have a distinct advantage.
It looks like former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who resigned Wednesday, is trying to take any potential heat off of his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) — who is also his campaign manager.
I’m told that Sandi Jackson has hired her own legal representation as her husband’s lawyers try to work out a deal in the ongoing federal probe of his campaign finances.
It doesn’t take too much reading between the lines of Jackson’s resignation letter — unusually poignant — that he is telling the feds to blame him — and leave his wife out of it. In the letter, sent Wednesday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Jackson acknowledged the probe for the first time, said he is cooperating with “the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone.”
* Related…
* Jesse Jackson Jr. resignation could cost taxpayers a lot - $5.1 million is price tag for running primary, general elections to fill seat
* Editorial: Allow Jackson district to make real choice
* Kadner: Suburbs must claim Jesse Jackson Jr.’s district
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of an Illinois law that prohibited people from recording police officers on the job.
The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state’s anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people who tape law enforcement officers.
The law set out a maximum prison term of 15 years.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 2010 against Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to block prosecution of ACLU staff for recording police officers performing their duties in public places, one of the group’s long-standing monitoring missions.
Monday, Nov 26, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Credit unions were first exempted from federal income tax in 1917 because of their unique structure as not-for-profit financial cooperatives. Contrary to what some banks may suggest, credit unions pay property, payroll, and sales taxes. Yet while banks decry the credit union tax exemption, almost one out of three banks elect Subchapter S status under the Internal Revenue Code to avoid federal income taxation. In Illinois, that’s $38 million in diverted tax dollars. These for-profit Sub-S banks also pay dividends and fees — not to customers, but to directors/investors/stockholders who may or may not be depositors — to the tune of $1 billion. This is far in excess of the estimated federal income tax credit unions would pay. In contrast, credit unions return net revenue to their members. The banker argument against the credit union tax exemption is simply disingenuous. If banks really believed that credit unions operate with an unfair competitive advantage, they would restructure their institutions to credit union charters. None would, however, because doing so would expose them to becoming democratically controlled, locally-owned financial cooperatives governed by their very own volunteer members that put people before profits — all the virtues that define the credit union difference.
Jackson had planned on a press conference to announce his resignation but was not able to bring himself to speak about it because of his illness, the source said.
“A plea deal has not happened yet. He couldn’t stop crying so he couldn’t give a press conference. He hasn’t cut a deal yet, but we are trying to get that done,” according to the source close to Jackson.
“First, he is not well. He is up and down. When he’s up he can talk but he breaks down that’s why he couldn’t conduct the press conference.”
News of the resignation on the eve of Thanksgiving, when Congress was not meeting and many Washingtonians were traveling, seemed to take even Jackson staffers by surprise.
His press secretary, Frank Watkins, said Wednesday morning that he didn’t know anything about a possible resignation. Watkins attributed the rumors to press speculation.
Watkins said that, late Tuesday afternoon when he left a movie, he learned from another staffer that Jackson had been planning a conference call with his staff. The call was to be held Wednesday but was canceled and did not take place, according to Watkins, who said he is on vacation.
Watkins refused to name the staffer who alerted him to the conference call.
* 2:05 pm - The Chicago Defender has the letter…
November 21, 2012
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House H-232 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515
Mr. Speaker,
In 1995 when I was first elected to the House of Representatives I came to Washington with a singular purpose - to serve the constituents of the Second District of Illinois. During that time for seventeen years I have traveled on a journey with the citizens of the Second District of Illinois, and with their unwavering support we have worked together to transform what was once an underdeveloped and nearly forgotten South Side of Chicago.
Along this journey we have accomplished much. We have built new train stations, water towers, and emergency rooms. We have brought affordable housing, community centers and healthcare clinics to those who needed it most. In all, nearly a billion dollars worth of infrastructure and community improvement has been made on the South Side of Chicago and thousands of new jobs have been created. We began this journey by promising fresh water for the people of Ford Heights and a new airport that would employ upon completion 300,000 people. Today the people of Ford Heights have fresh water and sitting on the Governor’s desk is 400,000,000 dollar proposal for an airport that will cost the taxpayers nothing and only awaits the Governor’s commitment to build it. And while our journey to strengthen our communities and provide a better future for our children will continue, I know that together we have made the Second District of Illinois a better place.
For seventeen years I have given 100 percent of my time, energy, and life to public service. However, over the past several months, as my health has deteriorated, my ability to serve the constituents of my district has continued to diminish. Against the recommendations of my doctors, I had hoped and tried to return to Washington and continue working on the issues that matter most to the people of the Second District. I know now that will not be possible.
The constituents of the Second District deserve a full-time legislator in Washington, something I cannot be for the foreseeable future. My health issues and treatment regimen have become incompatible with service in the House of Representatives. Therefore, it is with great regret that I hereby resign as a member of the United States House of Representatives, effective today, in order to focus on restoring my health.
During this journey I have made my share of mistakes. I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone. None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right. It has been a profound honor to serve the constituents of Illinois’s Second Congressional District and I thank them for their patience, words of support and prayers during what has been, and what will continue to be a very trying time for me and my family.
I also thank my colleagues and staff for supporting me and the citizens of my district over the past several months. I am proud to have worked alongside each of them over these many years. I know that our work and accomplishments will have a lasting positive impact on our community and our nation.
With optimism and hope I look forward to the day when my treatment is complete and my health improves. I will truly miss serving as a Member of Congress and I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to the people of Chicago, and her Southland for granting me the opportunity to serve them for 17 wonderful years.
Sincerely,
Jesse Jackson, Jr. Member of Congress [Emphasis added]
* 2:12 pm - As Tom Bowen notes on Twitter, this will be Illinois’ fourth special election for Congress/Senate since 2008: JJJ, Obama, Emanuel, Hastert.
* OK, that’s more than enough for one week. I’ve got family coming soon and need to run some errands. Plus, after Squeezy-Contract-Termination-Dave-Vaught-Resigns Week, we all need a break. I’ll be back Monday. Get some rest for Veto Session.
* 5:34 pm - I’ve been working on this for the past couple of hours. Nobody from either side has either been available or has wanted to talk until now. From AFSCME…
QUINN ADMINISTRATION TERMINATES UNION CONTRACT
In an unprecedented step, Governor Pat Quinn’s administration late today terminated state government’s contract with its largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31.
“In 40 years of collective bargaining, Pat Quinn is the first and only Illinois governor to terminate a union contract,” AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer said. “His actions will heighten employee frustration, provoke instability in the workplace and make settling a contract more difficult.”
AFSCME has been in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement for nearly a year. Scheduled to expire last June 30, the previous contract’s terms had since been extended by mutual agreement of the parties. But following a bargaining session with a federal mediator in Springfield today, the Quinn administration rejected a further extension offered by the union.
Terminating the contract has little immediate practical effect, as all existing terms and conditions of employment remain in place under state law. But it signals the Quinn Administration’s lack of respect for the collective bargaining process.
“While AFSCME is committed to reaching a fair agreement, Pat Quinn seems bent on heading in the wrong direction,” AFSCME director Bayer said. “Our union wants constructive engagement but the governor is choosing confrontation instead.”
AFSCME Council 31 represents 40,000 men and women who work for the State of Illinois. AFSCME-represented state employees care for veterans and the disabled, help struggling families, protect children from abuse, maintain safe prisons and much more.
No word yet on what might happen next. Stay tuned.
* 5:47 pm - The Quinn administration’s response via Abdon M. Pallasch. Asst. Budget Director…
After 11 months of bargaining, we informed AFSCME’s leadership Tuesday that there will be no more extensions of their contract that expired in June.
Governor Quinn has cut state spending down to 2008 levels and proposed closing empty or half-empty, very expensive state facilities that are no longer needed. After decades of mismanagement, he state is behind on $8 billion dollars of payments to vendors including social service agencies. And the state’s pension shortfall has risen to $96 billion – the worst of the 50 states.
During 11 months of bargaining, the state has extended the contract three times and made significant efforts to compromise. But the government employees union, which has not offered a single proposal to deal with retirement health care, continues to seek millions of dollars in pay hikes the taxpayers can’t afford to give them. It has refused to recognize the extraordinary financial crisis squeezing the state.
* 5:53 pm - The next bargaining session is not until December 11th.
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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There is no way around this fact: Illinois is in the midst of an education funding crisis. The National Education Law Center gave Illinois a “D” on its 2010 School Funding Fairness Report Card and the National Education Association found that our state ranks last in percentage of revenue for public school. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that per-student spending has decreased by over 11% since 2008 and the proposed state budget leaves another $200 million shortfall for Illinois schools. Our students are at risk of falling further and further behind.
Fortunately, there is potential help on the horizon. By closing tax loopholes exploited by out-of-state businesses, House Bill 5440 would generate up to $75 million in additional revenue for the Illinois education fund, directly supporting our students by providing critical funding support. This funding could mean more than 1,275 additional teachers in Illinois classrooms, over 30,000 college students receiving tuition grants, or nearly 17,800 children attending pre-school or early childhood education programs.
We can’t afford to let Illinois fall further behind. Support our students and Vote YES on HB 5440!
Gov. Pat Quinn said Tuesday that while he wants to make local schools and community colleges responsible for the cost of teachers’ retirements, it isn’t an “essential” part of his immediate plans to cut spending for the state’s troubled pensions systems.
In a meeting with the Daily Herald editorial board, the Democratic governor said he’d like the General Assembly to take up the controversial proposal to shift the state’s share of pension costs to local schools before lawmakers are scheduled to leave Springfield May 31.
But, Quinn said, he’ll focus more in the coming weeks on getting legislators to approve his proposal, announced last week, to have teachers pay more toward their pensions and to raise the retirement age to 67. […]
“We want to deal with that accountability principle, but we’ll do it on a separate track,” Quinn said.
Two of Gov. Pat Quinn’s top media spokespersons, Kelly Kraft and Brooke Anderson, just called to try and clarify the governor’s position on the proposal to shift employer pension costs to schools and universities. […]
But to characterize his comments as backing away from the proposal is “not his position at all,” the spokespeople said.
“In no way shape or form do we want it to get out there that he’s backed away,” I was told. “Nobody here has been talking about that, including the governor.”
“This is something the governor supports. He thinks it should be part of the legislation.”
* November 14th, 2012, Quinn was asked whether the cost-shift was still a major component of his pension reform plan…
“I don’t think we should let one particular segment of a reform bill hold up progress. So, uh, what we want to do is negotiate and figure out a good plan that saves taxpayers money and still maintains and rescues the pension system.”
“It’s not confusing. I favor that (the cost shift),” Quinn said Friday at a separate news conference. “I think it should be done that everybody who is involved in government when they negotiate a contract should have a stake in having to pay for the pensions that are part of the contract.”
Still, as he took questions from reporters, Quinn stopped short of his previous demand that any comprehensive pension plan should gradually shift the cost of pensions for teachers outside Chicago from the state onto local school districts — and local property taxpayers. Suburban Republicans and Democrats have adamantly opposed the cost shift.
Transcript…
REPORTER: Does it include the suburban, Downstate teacher pensions being transferred over to those schools?
QUINN: There’s a number of parts to the pension reform that I laid out that can really deal with this issue that can reduce and eliminate the liability. One of those is a principle of accountability for all of those who are involved in employing public workers. And I’m anxious to continue that discussion and I think, uh, we need to have that with our members of the Legislature. But I think really part of that discussion has to involve the people who pay the taxes, who are citizens of Illinois who are concerned about their kids’ future and their grandkids’ future.
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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We can only imagine the brainstorming sessions with Quinn’s leadership team that resulted in Squeezy and his artistic rendering: an orange snake coiled around the state Capitol, his (or maybe her) forked tongue slithering into an open window ominously. Which ideas ended up on the cutting room floor? Buddy the Bankrupt Bear? The Great Disappearing Dollar, Bill? Puff the Magic Draggin’? What about Peter, Peter Pension Eater?
* The Question: Which other ideas ended up on the cutting room floor?
Virtually every big-name politician in Illinois, with the exception of the two Republican legislative leaders, will gather Tuesday to support an upcoming push to license as many as 250,000 undocumented immigrants to drive in Illinois.
In a nearly unprecedented show of support, Gov. Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar, GOP state comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and state Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) plan to sign on to the immigrant-rights driving initiative and attend Tuesday’s press conference in support of it.
The event, sponsored by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, aims to highlight legislation in the works that would equip undocumented immigrants with three-year temporary driver’s licenses, said Lawrence Benito, chief executive officer and executive director for the group.
The proposal that likely will be voted on sometime during the post-election legislative session that spans from later this month through early January will be a variation from 2007 legislation for undocumented immigrant drivers that narrowly passed the House but failed to get called for a vote in the Senate, he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to be as hard a sell [as 2007], but we’re belts-and-suspenders people. We’ll work until it gets signed into law,” said Benito said. “I do think there will be strong bipartisan support for it based on who’s showing up [Tuesday].”
* Treasurer Dan Rutherford is among the Republicans not scheduled to appear today. More from the Sun-Times…
Not on Tuesday’s lineup of political attendees is House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont).
“This is the closest thing that Springfield sees to the immigration debate. If the Republican Party wants to show good faith in doing outreach to the Latino and immigrant community, this is a bill that would show good faith, that they weren’t Johnny-come-latelys.”
A Cross spokeswoman said she was not certain what Cross’ posture on the legislation would be and noted that the House Republican caucus has not yet met to discuss the initiative.
* The Republicans have paid a lot of lip service to Latinos since election day. But this will be one of the first opportunities in the country to actually court that vote. Edgar and Topinka know what’s what. Others? Maybe not so much. The right wing hates it. But one of the far Right’s Illinois heroes has recently jumped on board…
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran is backing proposed legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, saying it’s an economic imperative for our financially struggling state.
“We need them to be getting to work,” Curran said. “We need them to have driver’s licenses.” […]
Elected sheriff as a Democrat in 2006 and re-elected as a Republican in 2010, Curran initially had a fairly hard-line view. He was the first sheriff in Illinois to request jail officers be given formal deportation powers, and he backed a program that helps identify illegal immigrants arrested in the county.
By early 2010, however, Curran was endorsing national immigration reform and calling for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
A devout Catholic, Curran has said discussions with Catholic leaders prompted the change in attitude.
He quoted the biblical Gospel of Matthew when explaining his position, saying, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadov received the delegation led by Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael J. Madigan, the parliament’s press service told APA. Ogtay Asadov said that the US and Azerbaijan have a strategic partnership: “Currently, the working group on the US-Azerbaijan interparliamentary relations is functioning at the Azerbaijani Parliament. We want such working groups to be established mutually with the various states of the US, including Illinois.”
Michael J. Madigan highly estimated the rapid development of Azerbaijan, direction of oil incomes to new spheres, especially information technologies. The guest said that the development and implementation of special projects by the government of Azerbaijan on information technologies were estimable: “The Illinois State will get benefit from the experience of Azerbaijan in this sphere in the future.”
The sides exchanged view on organizing of mutual visits, interparliamentary cooperation, exchange of experience in the legislation sphere and etc.
Madigan’s spokesman said he was in Turkey last week and this Azerbaijan excursion was a “side trip,” but did not know any details about the visit.
The House of Representatives of Illinois state (USA), will provide the necessary financial support for cooperation of the state finance funds with the Azerbaijani State Fund for Development of Information and Communication Technologies, the House Speaker Michael Madigan said at a meeting with Azerbaijani Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, the ministry report stated.
Appreciating the achievements of Azerbaijan, the speaker spoke about the work implemented in the state of Illinois, including Chicago.
