* I’ll post flood/levee/court updates as warranted. In the meantime, here’s an e-mail from a reader…
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank you for posting so much information about Cairo. I’m in Cairo still. I own a home here. The most frustrating part of this ordeal is the lack of information coming from our city leaders. If not for my 21-year-old daughter hearing info from friends, we’d know nothing.
This morning I spoke with George Bell, the owner of Bell Monument in Cairo, and he said that is the most frustrating thing for him, too. He has records dating back 70 years in his office & he doesn’t know how high we are supposed to move everything. Same with me. I spent the past few days moving everything I could, from my basement & garage. Then stacked everything on tables & beds on the first floor. Sadly, a St. Louis news station interviewed someone who said if the Cairo levee fails the entire town will be under 15-20 feet of water. If that’s true, I’ve been wasting my time. Or, do I need to move valuables to my second floor? I don’t know.
George & I wish the city would hold a town hall meeting at City Hall to inform those of us still here. George contacted Marty, in charge of emergency services… but nothing is planned.
I rented a motel in Sikeston, Missouri for 5 days for my kids, but I’m a single mom & want to try to save what we have. That’s why I’m still here. My sons are on their way from Peoria to help with sandbagging.
I got off topic:) I’m writing to say thank you for covering Cairo & not doing what most news stations are: portraying Cairo as poor & black. We are more than that, but even if it was true… it still should be saved.
If you have pull with the Corps of Engineers, please tell them to blast the Birds Point levee ASAP!:D
Our homes are important. They are filled with memories & it’s where our children return for holidays and when they need to be with family.
My advice to her was to get the heck outta there. Whatever happens, best of luck to her, all of Cairo and all of southern Illinois as everybody deals with this devastating flood.
* Federal Judge Stephen Limbaugh has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers can blow the Misssouri fuseplug levee and relieve flooding pressure on Cairo…
Limbaugh wrote that he found that the Corps is committed to implementing the plan only as essential to provide protection to all citizens. He wrote “this Court finds that no aspect of the Corps’ response to these historic floods suggests arbitrary or capricious decision-making is occurring.”
The Corps plans to decide this weekend whether to blow up the Birds Point levee, depending on the level of the water on the river. It will detonate explosives in the levee if the Cairo river reaches 61 feet. At 8 a.m. CDT (1300 GMT) on Friday, it was at 59 feet and forecast to rise to 60.5 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office just told me they are prepared in case Missouri decides to appeal Judge Limbaugh’s ruling.
While good news, the situation is really precarious all over that region. I’ll have more in a while.
Notice is hereby given that Plaintiffs State of Missouri ex rel. Chris Koster, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from the judgment entered in this action denying a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the 29th day of April, 2011.
From the Illinois AG’s office…
We will be ready to respond very quickly to oppose Missouri’s attempt to overturn the District Court’s decision.
From Gov. Pat Quinn’s office…
“My hope is that this decision will be upheld as it proceeds through the judicial process.”
*** UPDATE 2 - 12:36 pm *** I’m hearing reports of sand boils in several locations starting late last night. A huge one was in Cairo. These are not good things. Wikipedia…
Sand boils or Sand Volcanoes occur when water under pressure wells up through a bed of sand. The water looks like it is “boiling” up from the bed of sand, hence the name.
Sand boils can be a mechanism contributing to levee failure during floods. This effect is caused by a difference in pressure on two sides of a levee or dike, most likely during a flood. This process can result in piping, whereby the removal of soil particles results in a pipe through the embankment. The creation of the pipe will quickly pick up pace and will eventually result in failure of the embankment.
A sand boil is difficult to stop. The most effective method is by creating a body of water above the boil to create enough pressure to slow the flow of water. A slower flow will not be able to move soil particles. The body of water is often created with sandbags forming a ring around the boil.
*** UPDATE 3 - 12:39 pm*** I’m told by several people on the ground that the Department of Natural Resources is doing an outstanding job. “DNR has saved a lot of towns down here,” said one area pol, who added that DNR’s crews are working their tails off.
The Department of Corrections is being praised for sending out their inmate crews. The State Police are also being praised.
There’s a real problem, however, with the regional director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The regional guy is from Chicago and I’m told by three different people down there that he can’t even pronounce many of the town names in his area, much less know where they are or what to do. Also, IEMA pulled out of Olive Branch last night in order to head to higher ground. DNR stayed put and fought.
*** UPDATE 4 - 12:45 pm*** Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is heading to Cairo with Sen. Dick Durbin as I write this. From a press release…
Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will join with U.S. Senator Dick Durbin in Cairo today to tour the most vulnerable areas of the town. After a brief driving tour, they will arrive at the intersection of 15th Street and Cedar Street, where they will take a walking tour and meet with local officials. A media availability will then be held at 12th Street and Commercial Avenue. Following the media availability, Lt. Governor Simon will join with Alexander County Sheriff Timothy Brown to help sandbag along the river.
*** UPDATE 5 - 1:05 pm*** I’m getting some photos taken from Sen. Durbin’s helicopter. I’ll be posting them over the next several minutes. Here is Grand Tower…
* 1:37 pm - They just landed, so ground-level pics will be coming soon, I hope.
* Here are a couple of Cairo sinkholes…
* A sinkhole closeup…
* Another angle…
* I’m told there are between 6 and 7 of these sandboils downtown.
*** UPDATE 6 - 2:05 pm*** Jim Pogue, spokesman for the Memphis District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was on AgriTalk today and had some dire things to say about the levee system. Listen…
“We don’t want things to happen in an uncontrolled fashion,” Pogue said. “If we had an uncontrolled levee failure, potentially much worse damage could occur.”
If a particular levee north of the Missouri floodway were to breach, the river could flow over “literally millions of acres.” Several communities are in that area. A large section of the boot heel of Missouri and northeastern Arkansas could flood as well, he warned.
*** UPDATE 7 - 2:40 pm *** I had heard earlier today that the Illinois Retail Merchants Association had really stepped forward to help with the flood-fighting efforts, so I called Dave Vite, who runs IRMA.
Vite said his member retailers have sent “truckloads” of supplies to the region in the past three days. Kroger and WalMart have supplied bottled water, for instance. Sears and Home Depot have sent other supplies, like gloves, life vests and lots more. “They ask, we try to find something to fill a need,” Vite said.
Vite said he wasn’t one to brag about his association all that much, but did say “When the chips are down our industry always steps up and comes up with the things that people really need.”
*** UPDATE 8 - 2:45 pm *** This is a cellphone video, so the quality isn’t very good, but here is Sen. Durbin talking to the media about Missouri’s decision to appeal Judge Limbaugh’s ruling. “If this is going to turn out to be a battle of the lawyers on both sides of the river, a lot of innocent people could be harmed,” Durbin said. Watch…
*** UPDATE 9 - 2:50 pm *** Here’s another video of Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, Sen. Gary Forby and Rep. Brandon Phelps. Rep. Phelps said he hoped Missouri would “back off” the appeal and said “every hour is critical.”Watch…
*** UPDATE 10 - 3:18 pm *** IEMA responds…
Rich – I saw the item on the blog regarding IEMA’s response to the flooding in Alexander County. I wanted to let you know what the actual situation is down there.
There are actually 10 emergency management personnel on the ground in Alexander County (two IEMA personnel and eight personnel from local emergency management agencies outside the affected region working with us on the response). They continue to work closely with the other state agencies on the scene, local emergency management and local officials, the Army Corps of Engineers and the American Red Cross on response efforts. The only thing that was relocated was our mobile command vehicle, which was moved to higher ground early this morning because the water was rising and the equipment could be threatened. That equipment is still being used for the response in Alexander County.
* This Cairo levee photo was taken two days ago…
From the photog…
Facing south from the top of the levee at 8th Street. Ohio River is almost to the top. Top=64 feet… so about 58 feet.
* Imagine, if it’s at all possible, that you’re a poor, black resident of Cairo, Illinois. The floodwaters are almost to the top of your local levee. The attorney general in the next state over is suing to prevent the federal government from blowing a key fuseplug levee to keep your town from drowning. And the federal judge presiding over the decision to save your home is Rush Limbaugh’s cousin.
Not exactly optimum.
I figure I’d be feeling more than a little scared, helpless and forelorn right now if I lived in Cairo. I’d also probably want a little encouragement from the state’s top dog while forces beyond my control were conspiring against me.
But Gov. Pat Quinn didn’t visit Cairo yesterday. He flew over the town in his helicopter. His staff says there was no place to land. Sen. Dick Durbin is reportedly choppering into Cairo today, but Quinn’s people says he won’t be going. He went to southern Illinois yesterday, they said. The governor has no scheduled events on today’s public schedule.
Quinn appeared in Marion, a few minutes from the town’s airport, to discuss the flooding yesterday. During his appearance, he was asked what towns he intended to visit. Quinn compared himself to General George Marshall, who was Army Chief of Staff during World War ll. Watch…
Marshall was not a front line guy. True. But he was chief of staff. Quinn has a chief of staff and agency directors to handle the micromanagement. In my opinion, he ought to be out there showing some support for his constituents.
Judge Stephen Limbaugh took the motion under advisement just after 7 p.m. Thursday, and Koster says the judge has a tough call to make.
“It’s a hard set of facts and there are a lot of interests that have to be weighed on both sides of the state line and throughout the federal justice system, said Koster. I think the judge took in the information. I think he’s got a very difficult decision that he has to make overnight.”
For its part, Corps lawyers countered they have “unreviewable discretion” when it comes to implementing the floodway plan that “could” result in the blasting of that levee.
They also stressed the blasting option does not come into play unless and until the river overtops the levee at its lowest points, or 60.5 feet.
Federal Judge Stephen Limbaugh told the court he’s not sure if he even has the authority to rule on the motion under current case law.
* Lots of Downstaters have been furious since last November when Gov. Pat Quinn won just three Downstate counties yet managed to hold on to his job. Here’s why…
After several quiet weeks, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday fired another salvo in his border war against Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.
Responding to a dire financial report issued earlier this week by Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Walker’s office distributed a news release again touting Wisconsin as a more business friendly state than Illinois.
“Our state will continue to make the hard decisions to create a fiscal environment that encourages job creation,” Walker, a Republican, said in a prepared statement. “Job creators coming to Wisconsin can know that our state is open for business.”
Topinka’s report noted that Illinois is on track to end the fiscal year with $8 billion in unpaid bills. Walker said Wisconsin is trying to shrink his state’s deficit.
“Businesses make plans based not just on what’s happening today, but on what they see happening in the future. The contrast between Wisconsin’s trend line and Illinois’ could not be greater,” Walker note
Yeah. Wisconsin’s trendline is civil unrest and massive numbers of legislative recall elections. Nicely done. At least our most recent problems aren’t man-made.
Suburban lawmakers and mayors Friday ripped Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to take tax money away from communities unless lawmakers let him borrow cash to pay state bills, with one senator calling the tactic “blackmail.”
“(He) is trying to basically blackmail mayors … by saying ‘Hey, I’m going to withhold your money if you don’t beat up your local legislator to go along with my latest borrowing scheme,” said Sen. Ron Sandack, a Downers Grove Republican. […]
“It is unconscionable to say that we’re not going to pay units of local government their money,” said Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican. “He wants to punish local governments who in most cases have made budget cuts that Pat Quinn could only dream of.”
Dillard is among the Senate Republicans who have advanced a host of budget cutting proposals in recent months that included cutting back on what communities get from the state. The GOP says, though, that those cuts are options, and not ever Republican backs every choice.
However, Speaker Madigan’s spokesman said this afternoon that the Speaker has always tried to help the governor balance the budget and would continue to do so. Whatever that means.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Remember last year when Gov. Pat Quinn tried to gin up support for his tax hike by threatening to cut education spending? It didn’t work. In fact, it backfired.
Gov. Pat Quinn wants to stop nearly $100 million in monthly payments to Chicago, the suburbs and other Illinois towns if lawmakers won’t let him borrow billions of dollars to pay overdue bills, according to a confidential memo the Tribune obtained Thursday.
The idea drew immediate blowback from local leaders worried about balancing their own budgets in a sluggish economy. […]
The proposal, outlined in the memo and quietly distributed to top legislators, represents a pressure tactic by the Democratic governor. He hopes mayors from Zion to Cairo will squeeze their town’s lawmakers to help get him the loan he wants.
But the General Assembly’s leadership has been highly skeptical of Quinn’s other recent plans for big borrowing. They also might not be keen on a plan that would punish communities back home and potentially result in a flood of phone calls and chanting protesters outside their district offices.
The Illinois Municipal League cranked up its defensive posture early this year to Cuban Missile Crisis levels in response to plans by the Senate Republicans and others to cut their revenue sharing. So, they’re already fully prepared to leap to a response. Also, I seriously doubt that Mayor-Elect Emanuel will just let this one slide.
The tone in the committee room changed once DHS said it would cut more in the community services it provides, and close down two state schools in Jacksonville — the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. […]
“I don’t know who is more vulnerable in Illinois, tell me who they are,” said State Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Highland, in a heated discussion during a committee meeting. “Bring in your AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) employees and have them stand before us, and tell us that they are more vulnerable than the people at these facilities.”
DHS Secretary Michelle Saddler said the workload for employees has doubled due to layoffs, and that DHS employees have received pay raises that total up to $47 million.
Republicans are blaming the proposed cuts on AFSCME’s contract, which calls for almost $50 milllion in raises at DHS. But they know full well that the contract cannot legally be reopened without AFSCME’s consent. And DHS’ proposed budget cut for next year is $388 million. That dwarfs the pay raises.
Human service programs are one of the biggest areas in the budget. You can’t make deep budget cuts without cutting human services…
“The problem here is 80 percent of the budget goes for Medicaid, human services, education and paying the (state’s) debt, so those are the only areas in which the budget can be cut,” Nowlan said.
8:15 p.m. - Our contact at the AG’s office has this to say…
Proceedings have ended. The court heard closing arguments from all counsel, and asked questions as he saw fit.
The court took the matter under advisement, and did not indicate a set time for ruling, but there are no further in-court proceedings set at this time.
An earlier update suggested the office expected a ruling, which was apparently not the best phrasing choice on my part. I guess Cairo will have to wait in a holding pattern for now and hope waters do not rise overnight.
6:32 p.m. - Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office says US District Court judge Steve Limbaugh intends to make a ruling in the case presented before the Court regarding whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may proceed with demolishing part of a levee to relieve flood waters in southern Illinois.
From the email…
The court heard from 9 witnesses: MO put on 4; the DOJ put on 4 from ACOE; and our IDNR witness.
We’ll keep you posted as soon as new developments make their way out of the Cape Girardeau courtroom.
* 3:48 pm - Four unions at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale have have announced they will file an intent to strike notice…
The unions that filed are the Faculty Association, Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, the Association of Civil Service Employees and Graduate Assistants United. The notice does not mean the unions are going on strike. Rather it is a procedure that must be completed for the Labor Act before any action can be taken. […]
Natasha Zaretsky, history professor and union member, said in an opening statement that the intent came about because of the administration imposing terms on the faculty, staff and graduate assistants without fair negotiations. She said “it drives a wedge between us that divides and demoralizes the campus community.”
She said the notices were filed to get the “Board of Trustees bargaining teams back at the table and negotiating in good faith” and “to encourage our employer to bring fair and reasonable proposals so we can reach acceptable agreements and conclude the negotiations for new multi-year contracts.”
Chancellor Rita Cheng said notices were sent out to faculty unions on Friday and Monday expressing a desire to return to the bargaining table. She said that possible dates were also sent out for times to return to the table. Cheng said it was made clear that the one-year contract put forth by the administration was only intended to cover the remaining months this year and was in no way a long term contract. She said she hopes “all parties can get back to bargaining in good faith.”
The two sides have been negotiating new union contracts upon the expiration of previous agreements that were overseen by an interim provost and temporary chancellor in 2006. This year’s talks have brought a federal mediator to the campus and been the subject of demonstrations throughout the process. Students and faculty members even demonstrated outside of Shryock Auditorium during Chancellor Rita Cheng’s installment ceremony earlier this month.
A previous report in the campus newspaper, the Daily Egyptian, said some of the unions have considered filing litigation against the university for imposing one-year employment terms on three of the unions without their approval. Randy Hughes, president of the tenured faculty union, would not say if today’s announcement concerns those threats but said such action remains under consideration.
Unions have been resistant to the university’s implementation of furlough days and talks of having to distribute lay-off notices as enrollment and financial support from the state has declined over the last six years. A representative from SIU President Glenn Poshard’s office has said the SIU system’s state allocation is now at levels not seen since fiscal year 1999.
Poshard has been consistent in publicly supporting Cheng’s performance since she became the Carbondale campus’ sixth chancellor in ten years last summer.
The administration has mostly brushed off claims made by union leaders that the university has exaggerated its declining fiscal condition. Just this month the unions claimed the administration is plotting to eliminate bargaining rights and discontinue tenure positions. Cheng has declined to comment on these claims in the local press but said any concerns over language in the one-year terms can be discussed for a future agreement.
* Greg Hinz follows up with Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka about her projection yesterday that the state would have $8 billion in unpaid bills at the end of this fiscal year...
According to the comptroller, the amount of outstanding bills she won’t have the money to pay will hit the $8-billion-plus mark at the end of fiscal 2011 on June 30 — almost exactly the level of a year ago.
“You would have thought the single biggest increase in income taxes we’ve ever had would have paid the backlog of bills,” said Ms. Topinka, referring to the two-thirds hike in the individual income tax that took effect on Jan. 1. “It hasn’t happened. How do you explain that to the public?”
It’s a good question, and one that implies that all those Democrats who run Springfield are spending like mad.
As we’ve discussed time and time again, the tax hike was designed to all but eliminate the structural deficit. The unpaid bills were supposed to be paid off with a big loan, the payments for which were actually included in the tax hike.
Also, the tax hike took effect January 1, but employers didn’t adjust their payroll programs until early March. We know this because income tax receipts spiked way up in March. So, the state will have just four months of additional tax hike revenues. That new money will not reduce the overdue bill backlog. It was never designed to do that.
That being said, Topinka is right that this will be extremely difficult to explain to voters. Heck, it’s difficult to explain to legislators and reporters. “You raised my taxes and still can’t pay your past-due bills? What the heck?”
* Missouri’s House Speaker Steve Tilley was asked this week whether he’d rather see Missouri farmland flooded or see Cairo under water. As you already know by now, the Army Corps of Engineers is planning to blow up a “fuseplug” levee in Missouri to relieve flooding pressure on Cairo.
“Cairo,” Tilley replied without hesitation as reporters laughed. “I’ve been there. Trust me. Cairo.”
“Have you been to Cairo?” Tilley asked a reporter, who said he had. “OK, then you know what I’m saying then.”
Cairo is mostly poor and black. Apparently, there are a few nice (white owned) homes in that federal floodway zone. I’ve tried to give Missouri the benefit of the doubt here, but Speaker Tilley pretty much showed what this is all about.
* State Sen. Gary Forby is not amused. From a press release…
“During a time when people are being asked to evacuate their homes and leave behind their belongings, it absolutely blows my mind that that type of dialogue is being thrown around by the Missouri Speaker. Not only is it in poor taste, but it absolutely disgusting that Speaker Tilley would joke about putting the lives of Cairo residents at risk by choosing farmland over a community.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Tilley has apologized. From an e-mailed press release…
In a recent interview I was asked about a proposal that would blow-up a dam in Missouri and impact on Mississippi County and Cairo Illinois. As the Speaker of the Missouri House I came to the defense of Missouri, but in doing so I said some inappropriate and hurtful comments about the community of Cairo. I first want to apologize for my insensitive remark and personally apologize to anyone that I offended.
My commitment to the residents and farmers of southeast Missouri should not have led me to insult another community and for that I am sincerely regretful.
That’s actually a pretty decent apology for a politician.
…Adding… Maybe the reporters who laughed so hard at Tilley’s jokes should apologize themselves. Sheesh, what a mess.
*** UPDATE 3 *** My former intern Barton Lorimor went to Gov. Quinn’s press conference in southern Illinois today. Here is the Q&A from that event, including the governor speaking about Missouri’s lawsuit to try and stop the Corps of Engineers from blowing the fuseplug levee. Watch…
*** UPDATE 4 *** Rep. John Bradley told reporters today “We need to consider suing Missouri for putting Illinois lives at stake.” Watch…
*** UPDATE 5 *** The hearing on Missouri’s lawsuit to stop the levee being blown is still ongoing as of 3:40 this afternoon. However, we do have some new news. Kentucky has filed a motion to intervene in the case. Kentucky is standing with Illinois and against Missouri. From the motion…
Moreover, residents of and property in Hickman, Kentucky and Fulton County, Kentucky, (which sits on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River) will be at substantial risk of harm if the Corps’ Operations Plan is not implemented.
*** UPDATE 6 *** I just got off the phone with Rep. John Bradley. I asked him if anything was lacking so far in the state’s response. He said tons of people from all walks of life are helping sandbag throughout southern Illinois and they’re often working in septic water. Injuries happen, he said, so the state needs to quickly make sure these volunteers get tetanus shots.
Rep. Bradley, by the way, said that the Big Muddy river rose four feet overnight and he’s heading home as quickly as he can. At the end of the conversation, however, he said the road was closed because of the flooding and wasn’t sure he would make it. Best of luck to him - and to everybody down there.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Also, in case you missed the update below, here are Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s court filings from today.
…Adding more… Gov. Pat Quinn calls up more National Guard troops…
Governor Pat Quinn today activated an additional 200 Illinois National Guard troops, bringing the total to more than 320 Guard personnel engaged in the state’s efforts to protect citizens and critical facilities from rapidly-rising flood waters. Governor Quinn also commended private companies for donating needed supplies to the flood response.
The Governor made the announcements after he and Lt. Governor Sheila Simon attended a situational briefing at the state’s Unified Area Command in Marion.
“We’re dealing with very serious flooding throughout southern Illinois,” said Governor Quinn. “I’ve committed all available state resources to help protect threatened communities and will continue to provide personnel and other assets until the threat has passed.”
The additional 200 Illinois Guardsmen from southern Illinois National Guard companies will perform route reconnaissance, levee surveillance and maintenance and evacuation support in Gallatin and Alexander counties. More than 120 troops were deployed earlier this week to support the flood effort.
* The Sun-Times editorializes today about the high cost of state pensions. It proposes two changes for current state employees…
Two good places to start: Raising the amount employees contribute toward their pensions and/or raising the retirement age. Workers closest to retirement should be exempt.
The unions consider both efforts wrong, unfair and unconstitutional. They are intent on fighting to the bitter end. But these changes are less onerous and fairer than those proposed by [House Republican Leader Tom Cross]. And, at the negotiating table, the unions would have a mediating influence on the final product.
Something has got to give, and now is the time for all sides, particularly Gov. Quinn, to make it happen. [Emphasis added]
* The Questions: Should current state employees be forced to contribute more to the pension fund? Should retirement ages be raised for current state employees? Take polls 1 and 2 and then explain both your answers in comments, please. Thanks.
* There’s more to making Illinois business friendly than handing out tax subsidies or even reforming things like the workers’ compensation system. For instance…
Thousands of Illinois businesses are waiting for the state to pay long-overdue tax refunds, and there’s no sign the wait will end anytime soon.
The state owes money to roughly 36,000 businesses that overpaid their income taxes, going back to 2008. The backlog totals about $850 million, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said Wednesday. […]
At Peters Machine Inc. in Decatur, President Jerry Nelson said he continues to wait for about $15,000 dating to the 2008 tax year.
“I’ve tried to get answers, but no one seems to be in a position to let me know what’s going to happen,” Nelson told Lee Enterprises newspapers.
Getting businesses the money they’re legally owed can only help the economy as a whole. Whether they get this done by borrowing or cuts or whatever, the General Assembly and the governor shouldn’t stop until they figure out how to pay what we owe.
* Meanwhile, Greg Baise of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association says Gov. Pat Quinn needs to be much more involved with passing workers’ comp reform…
The key is Gov. Pat Quinn, who has been somewhat involved but needs to step it up if a deal is to be reached, Mr. Baise continued.
Mr. Baise conceded that some business leaders are insisting on a stronger deal than he might agree to. But they, too, listen to Caterpillar, he said, referring to the stir the Peoria-based manufacturer raised a few weeks ago when it seemed to suggest it would move out of Illinois unless the state improved its business climate.
As a matter of practical politics, a bill needs to pass in the next couple of weeks, before the Legislature turns to the volatile subjects of remap and the budget, Mr. Baise said.
“If the governor moves forward at all on causation, we can say Illinois is changing its pattern,” he said. Given Caterpillar, the weak economy and other pressures to act, “If we can’t get this one done now, I don’t see how we ever get it done.”
Illinois’ recent income tax increase cannot be temporary, as is currently written in the law, if the state wants to avoid deep cuts to social services, according to one budget expert.
“I think it’s disingenuous for [lawmakers] to have claimed that this is a four-year tax increase that is set to expire. They did the right thing by raising revenue. They did the wrong thing by making it temporary,” said Ralph Martire, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a think tank focused on budget policy. “I think one of the most disingenuous pieces of public policy that has been perpetuated on voters and taxpayers for decades now is that they can have public services and never have to pay for them. At some point, you need adequate sustainable revenue raised in a responsible way.”
The governor has said that he wants to ensure the tax hike is temporary, and you won’t find many others who think it should be made permanent. The problem is that nobody in power is willing to do what it takes to make this happen. We’re in for another big budget crisis down the line if incredibly tough decisions aren’t made now.
* Topinka: State will be $8 billion in hole: Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration agreed with Topinka’s calculation. Quinn’s budget office issued a statement, saying Illinois continues to face “serious fiscal challenges due to many years of budget mismanagement.” But the administration firmly stated that borrowing money at low-interest rates to help pay down a mounting backlog of overdue bills is “paramount to stabilizing the budget.”
* IDS Drug Assistance Program cuts draw fire: Agreeing with advocates’ criticism of cuts in the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program announced by the Illinois Department of Public Health, an influential state lawmaker said April 22 she’ll find “excesses” in other parts of the IDPH budget to reverse the cuts.
* Insurance switch could cost Illinois, opponent says
There are some counties which changed sides between 2006 and 2010 although all of them, except Jackson County, changed from the Democratic to the Republican columns. If you track the vote for a longer period of time, especially if all four of the statewide governor’s races reviewed here are included, you can identify a lot more variation and the record of change across many of these counties is quite evident. Those are counties where the candidates and their supporters must focus particular attention and commit special resources. Those are the counties where a strategic infusion of staff time and campaign resources, particularly media and money, can make a crucial difference. They are the marginal counties which will be the battleground counties in races of the future.
(T)here have been indications for years that the southern half of Illinois is fundamentally shifting away from its Democratic roots. To one scholar, it’s a state-level echo of the shift that the southern half of America has already undergone, as the economic appeal of Democrats’ pro-labor policies has been displaced by what the Republicans are selling: God, guns, anti-abortion activism and other cultural issues.
“I think it’s part of a larger trend. It has to do with southern politics nationally. We are catching up with the South,’’ says John Jackson, a political scientist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
In a recent paper, Jackson used electoral data to show that “Illinois clearly suffers from an intense regionalism … especially polarized along the geographical fault lines dividing the rural and small town areas from the cities and the suburban areas.’’ The ongoing Republicanization of southern Illinois, he wrote, is one of the starker indications of that fissure.
You can also find a good history of this floodway by clicking here.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* I received this e-mail from the attorney general’s office late yesterday afternoon and was out of the office and didn’t see it until last night. Madigan will intervene today in a lawsuit brought by the Missouri attorney general to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from blowing a Missouri “fuse plug” levee and flooding some farmland in that state in order to save the town of Cairo. The levee was specifically designed to be blown in case other areas needed to be saved…
Hey Rich, here’s the latest:
We will seek tomorrow to intervene in the Missouri governor’s lawsuit to ensure that the people of Illinois are represented in court. Attorney General Madigan intends to do anything she can to defeat Missouri’s motion so as to allow the Army Corps to do whatever possible to protect the people in Illinois who’re in the path of this potential disaster.
I followed up last night and asked for more details…
We’re intervening in the suit on the side of the Army Corps, asking the court not to stop the Army Corps from proceeding with its plans to deal with the rising water and arguing that:
(1) The relief that Missouri wants, if granted, threatens to injure Illinois residents and property.
(2) We will provide detailed information on the extent of the threat to Illinois residents so that the court hears directly from us and has the information to consider.
(3) And, more specifically, we’re arguing that any delay in the Army Corps implementing its operations plan to alleviate flooding conditions will immediately put the health and safety of the nearly 3000 residents of Cairo at serious risk.
I’ll post Madigan’s filing as soon as I receive it, which will be mid-morning or so.
* State Rep. Brandon Phelps represents Cairo and issued a press release yesterday…
“What is most important here is the issue of farmland versus lives, and I find it very troubling that the Missouri governor believes Missouri farmland is more valuable than the lives of Illinois residents. The farmland in question is also designated by the United States federal government for exactly this purpose, and it is up to them to make the decision, not the governor of Missouri.”
Rush Limbaugh’s cousin, US District Court judge Steve Limbaugh will preside over today’s hearing, which is scheduled for 1:30. Rep. Phelps joked that if he was a betting man he’d wager that Limbaugh probably won’t rule in Illinois’ favor.
* Gov. Pat Quinn will be in Marion today at 12:30 to discuss the situation. It’s a certainty that he’ll be asked about the Missouri lawsuit, so I’ll post audio or video as soon as I get it.
Missouri State Rep. Steve Hodges, D-East Prairie, who represents farmers in the flood plain… said there may be just a few farms there, but those farms would be wiped out.
“People down there can’t get flood insurance because they’re in the flood plain,” he said. “They don’t allow people to build new homes down there; you can put up farm equipment but you can’t build inside the spillway. If the explosion takes place, they’re going to lose expensive homes that they’re going to have to bite the bullet (on) … It would be catastrophic.”
So, they built houses even though they weren’t supposed to, and even though it’s impossible to get flood insurance because those structures are within a legally designated federal flood-control spillway - and now they complain? The area is officially known as the “Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway.” What part of that was so difficult to understand? As mentioned above, the levee was specifically designed to be blown up…
The plan required modification to the frontline levee which includes raising 12,500 feet of the upper fuseplug and 7,500 feet of the lower fuseplug and installing horizontal polyethylene pipe in three crevasse locations. These crevasse locations are designated as Inflow, Inflow/Outflow No. 1 and Inflow/Outflow No. 2. In addition to the modifications to the frontline levee, all materials, including the blasting agent which will be pumped into the pipes in the levee, and equipment necessary to place the floodway into operation have been acquired by the Memphis District.
* Missouri’s congressional delegation has also weighed in…
But the corps has encountered a tidal wave of opposition from Missouri lawmakers — including U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt, a Republican, and Claire McCaskill, a Democrat — who joined U.S. Rep. JoAnn Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, in urging President Barack Obama to direct the corps to consider alternatives to the levee-busting plan.
While Missouri lawmakers were up in arms about a possible Birds Point detonation, their llinois counterparts were more circumspect — saying that they would rely on the expertise and judgment of corps officials in making the call.
“I am in regular contact with Corps of Engineers officials as they assess all pertinent information regarding the best course of action to deal with flood conditions in Cairo,” said U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, whose congressional district extends to Cairo. […]
“My thoughts are with all affected families and individuals, particularly those in Cairo, Brookport and Grand Tower who are being asked to evacuate their homes,” said [US Sen. Dick Durbin] in a statement. “I will continue to work closely with federal, state and local officials to ensure that every resource is made available to communities along the Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and other affected areas.” […]
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, said he wanted to make sure that flooded communities get the help they need. “My staff and I are following the flood situation closely and will continue to work with other state and federal agencies to ensure affected communities get the support and relief they need throughout this rainy season,” Kirk said in a statement to the Beacon.
We hope any judge who hears Missouri’s case pays far more attention to engineers than to lawyers or politicians. Any decision on whether to breach the levee or leave it intact will invite the possibility of widespread suffering, either in Illinois or in Missouri.
* A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the potentially flooded area in Missouri.
Farther south, the mayor of Metropolis said flooding along the Ohio had forced a dozen families to move to a church shelter and closed down a casino that employs 600 people. With Harrah’s Casino closed since Monday, city revenue would be affected, Mayor Billy McDaniel said.
* And reports yesterday morning that the Army Corps of Engineers would wait until the weekend to decide what to do aren’t complete accurate, according to this story…
Reached at noon on Wednesday, Jim Pogue, the Corps’ Public Affairs Specialist for the Memphis District, said the wait-until-the-weekend claim “is not really correct. Let me tell you where we are.
“The equipment barges are headed north.
“The next decision point will take place this afternoon. That decision point is: do we continue to wait and watch or do we go ahead and prepare the levee for possible detonation? It will be this afternoon before any more decisions are made.
“Right now, we’re moving forward prudently and cautiously and making sure we’re in the right place on this fluid timeline. (That way) if we have to take the next steps, we’re ready to do it.”
When will the barges (which contain equipment and explosives that will be needed if the levee is blown) reach the target area?
“They’ll be pushing up to this general area. The intention is to pre-position in the area and wait – that should be sometime tonight.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was becoming increasingly likely the corps would have to “operate the plan,” another way of saying detonating explosives at the fuse plugs of the system to relieve the swollen river
Former Gov. Jim Thompson will represent the Illinois State Police in a lawsuit challenging whether the state of Illinois can release the names of 1.3 million Illinoisans who hold state firearm owner’s identification cards.
Thompson and Matthew Carter of the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn LLC were appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Motions naming the two men were filed Tuesday in Peoria County Circuit Court; however, they probably wouldn’t appear in town until a May 18 status hearing.
Last month, Chief Peoria County Circuit Judge Michael Brandt allowed a temporary restraining order blocking the names’ release. The Illinois State Rifle Association and the Illinois State Police are expected to argue that any release of information will have a “chilling effect on the Second Amendment.”
“It’s not infringing on their right to bear arms. It has a chilling effect to reveal the names of FOID card owners,” Thompson said. “It will make people more hesitant to exercise their Second Amendment rights if they knew their identities would be revealed.”
Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association said the choice of Thompson is a smart one for Madigan. Noting how controversial the issue is among gun owners, he argued that if Thompson prevails nobody can accuse her of not giving opponents every chance to win.
“She has an issue that is a real political problem for her and now she’s got the best attorney to get her out of it,” he said.
Chris Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, said he didn’t believe that Madigan was looking for a political out, but agreed it was a smart move.
“She has proven time and again that she’s very savvy … and she didn’t just stumble into this,” he said.
Thompson will have an even keel who won’t go out of his way to bash the AG. Smart move.
* In related news, the SJ-R editorial board weighed in on that Guns Save Life guy who created a stir by using a Holocaust symbol to slam AG Madigan’s FOIA decision and then going off the rails when relatively mild criticism was proffered. The SJ-R noted that it sharply criticized the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals when they put up a display near the Statehouse for its national “Holocaust on Your Plate” push, and applied the same standard to this situation…
“Given the opinions of those on the political left in our society, frankly, I think a lot of people in our society would like to see gun owners either imprisoned or exterminated,” Guns Save Life president John Boch told Schoenburg.
Exterminated?
This kind of language and symbolism is beyond inappropriate. Co-opting the Holocaust for any cause other than genocide conveys a basic lack of understanding of its true horrors, not to mention its fundamental cause. […]
Or as ADL President Abraham Foxman said regarding PETA’s infamous 2003 effort, “Rather than deepen our revulsion against what the Nazis did to the Jews, the project will undermine the struggle to understand the Holocaust and to find ways to make sure such catastrophes never happen again.”
That struggle may continue forever. So should our prohibition on using the Holocaust as a marketing tool.
* Chicago Catholic priest Michael Pfleger has been an institution in state and local politics for decades, so his suspension by Cardinal George is news for this venue…
Cardinal Francis George suspended Rev. Michael Pfleger from his ministry at St. Sabina Catholic Church and barred him from performing Catholic sacraments over public statements Pfleger made about a possible reassignment.
In a letter from George to Pfleger released to the media on Wednesday, the Cardinal said Pfleger’s public remarks that he would leave the Catholic Church rather than accept a position outside of St. Sabina led to his decision.
“If that is truly your attitude, you have already left the Catholic Church and are therefore not able to pastor a Catholic parish,” George wrote.
* The Cardinal released the letter (read it here) to the media before Pfleger got it “to avoid misrepresentation and manipulation on anyone’s part,” he wrote. That didn’t sit well at St. Sabina…
Associate Minister Kimberly Lymore declined to comment on the letter’s contents but claimed media members received the letter before Father Pfleger did.
“That’s a lack of respect,” she said. “He was ambushed. He’s spent the last 36 years in this archdiocese, given his life to this community, to the church. To be treated like this is unfair.”
During the flap over his possible assignment to Leo, Pfleger appeared on the “Smiley & West” public radio program that he had been banned from speaking at events in the archdiocese and blamed pressure from conservative Catholics and the National Rifle Association for his most recent clash with George.
“I want to try to stay in the Catholic Church,” Pfleger said. “If they say ‘You either take this principalship of (Leo High) or pastorship there or leave,’ then I’ll have to look outside the church. I believe my calling is to be a pastor. I believe my calling is to be a voice for justice. I believe my calling is to preach the Gospel. In or out of the church, I’m going to continue to do that.”
In a later interview with the Tribune, Pfleger clarified that he feels called to preach and push for social justice in a Catholic context. He said he loves the Catholic Church and prefers to stay there, but he would not go to Leo full time.
“I’ve always said I could not do something that I don’t feel called or equipped to do,” he told the Tribune. “A full-time position at Leo is not something I’m equipped to do. I think Leo has made it clear they don’t see any need for me to come there. For both sides, it would be a lose-lose.”
Pfleger has gained national attention for his protests on everything from gun violence to drug paraphernalia to Jerry Springer’s television show, and he has often appeared with major civil rights leaders.
Pfleger, who is white and runs a largely black parish, also has made racial equality a large part of his mission. He often wears African-style robes during services, and a mural of a black Jesus is behind the altar. Both his adopted sons are black.
It has long appeared he has had a strained relationship with the Chicago Archdiocese, which opposed his decision to adopt children.
On March 11, 2011, Fr. Pfleger met with Cardinal George where he was asked to take over as president of Leo High School.
On March 19, 2011, Fr. Pfleger sent a letter to Cardinal George saying that he was neither qualified nor experienced being president of a high school but that he was willing to help Leo High School in any way that he could
According to Lymore, there has been no further communication between Pfleger and George since that exchange, despite requests from the church’s cabinet and leadership team.
“[Pfleger] spent the last 36 years in this Archdiocese, given his life to this community to the church, and to be treated like this is unfair; to be given a letter and then he doesn’t even want to — the cardinal doesn’t want to discuss it with him — that’s not fair,” said Lymore.
