This is how it’s done
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We’ve seen some pretty lame campaign kickoffs this year. Videos, social media, three-city car tours, etc. This one is the most impressive by far. From a press release…
TOPINKA EMBARKS ON ‘COMMON SENSE EXPRESS’ ANNOUNCEMENT TOUR
Comptroller begins three-day statewide bus tour Sunday
CHICAGO –Judy Baar Topinka will board the “Common Sense Express” Sunday and begin a three-day, nine-stop statewide tour to announce her re-election campaign for Illinois Comptroller.
Topinka will begin her journey surrounded by supporters Sunday morning in Chicago and conclude Tuesday evening in Marion, making stops with her “Common Sense Express” bus throughout the state along the way. Specifically, the Announcement tour will include: Chicago, Rockford, Moline, Peoria, Quincy, Springfield, Edwardsville, Mt. Vernon and Marion.
Topinka will join a rally of local leaders and supporters in each community for a short program, and then be available to media. A mult box will be available to media outlets at each location.
SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2013:
10:30 a.m.: CHICAGO TOPINKA RALLY
Billy Goat Tavern, 1535 W. Madison, Chicago
Program participants include: Cook County Board Commissioner Liz Gorman, Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor
2:30 p.m.: ROCKFORD TOPINKA RALLY
Stone Eagle Tavern, 6445 E. State St., Rockford
Program participants include: Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen, Winnebago GOP Chairman Jim Thompson, State Sen. Dave Syverson
5 p.m.: QUAD CITIES TOPINKA RALLY
Rock Island County GOP HQ, 1721 5th Ave., Suite 100, Moline
Participants include: Rock Island GOP Chairman Mike Steffen, Bobby Schilling
SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013:
9:30 a.m.: PEORIA TOPINKA RALLY
Peoria County GOP HQ, 8835 N. Knoxville Rd., Peoria
Program participants include: Peoria County GOP Chairman Katherine Koyle, State Rep. David Leitch, State Rep. Mike Unes, State Sen. Darin LaHood, U.S. Congressman Aaron Schock
2 p.m.: QUINCY TOPINKA RALLY
Villa Katherine, 532 Gardner Expressway, Quincy
Program participants include: Mayor Kyle Moore
5:30 p.m.: SPRINGFIELD TOPINKA RALLY
Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center, 625 E. St. Joseph St., Springfield
Participants include: Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson, Sangamon County GOP Chairman Rosemarie Long, Governor Jim Edgar
SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013:
10 a.m.: EDWARDSVILLE TOPINKA RALLY
Madison County Courthouse, 155 N. Main St., #120, Edwardsville
Participants include: Madison County Republican Women’s Club Chairman Amy Sholar, Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton, Congressman Rodney Davis
1 p.m.: MT. VERNON TOPINKA RALLY
Papa Z’s Ice Cream Shop, 1812 Broadway, Mt. Vernon
NOTE: Ice cream served as part of “Get the Scoop on Us” kickoff rally
Participants include: State Rep. John Cavaletto, Mt. Vernon Mayor Jane Chelsey, State Sen. Kyle McCarter
5:30 p.m.: MARION TOPINKA RALLY
17th Street BBQ, 2700 17th St., Marion
Participants include: State Rep. Mike Bost, Williamson County GOP Chairman Sue Hamilton, State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld
Two taverns, an ice cream shop and a famous barbeque joint, plus a bunch of other stops along the way. I like it.
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Department of dumb ideas
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I tried restraining myself, but I just gotta say, this is probably the most stupid reaction to the “Statehouse doors” controversy I’ve yet seen. From Rep. Dwight Kay’s website…
Do you think the Illinois State Capitol should have copper doors valued at $670,000? Illinois State Representative Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) thinks they should be sold. Rep. Kay recently introduced legislation to auction off the outlandish doors to the highest bidder and use the revenue to pay unpaid bills or reinvest in education. […]
Rep. Kay’s resolution (HJR48) orders that the new copper doors be removed from the capitol building’s west side entrance to be auctioned off or sold to the highest bidder. Rep. Kay added, “we can have beautiful doors appropriate for the capitol for an amount less than what was spent on copper doors by the administration.”
The resolution actually goes further than that…
RESOLVED, That we urge the Architect of the Capitol to direct the revenue from the sale of the copper doors towards Illinois’ public education system or to pay down unpaid bills;
So, who might be in the market for custom, made-to-fit, copper-plated doors? Maybe scrap dealers. And then we take the few bucks we get, put it toward schools or bills and then spend even more money to put up some doors on the western entrance?
Got it.
Great.
* Meanwhile, from a Chicago Tribune editorial…
The General Assembly “skipped the requirement of justifying why the investment was a higher priority than the needed improvements to our water, roads, public transit and education systems,” says the Civic Federation’s Laurence Msall.
From Msall’s official bio…
Msall was the Senior Advisor for Economic Development for Illinois Governor George H. Ryan. Msall was responsible for the oversight of eleven of the state’s economic development and infrastructure-related agencies including the Departments of Commerce and Community Affairs, Revenue, Transportation, and the state’s housing and other development authorities
Yes,. and there was no waste at all in George Ryan’s Illinois FIRST capital plan. Nope. None. Not even the stained glass windows in a suburban parking garage.
* In other news…
The architect in charge of a $50 million renovation project at the Illinois Capitol is defending his work in the wake of criticism from Gov. Pat Quinn, saying Friday that the governor was “completely out of line.”
J. Richard Alsop III has come under fire for portions of the project Quinn has deemed “excessive,” including three sets of copper-plated doors that cost nearly $700,000, as well as expensive chandeliers and light fixtures of robed maidens. Earlier this week Quinn said Alsop needed to be “reined in” by the board that oversees the architect’s office, a comment Alsop said was “unwarranted.”
“It’s completely unfair,” Alsop said Friday. “We were given a direction. The scope was agreed to long before I got here, money was appropriated long before I got here. We did the best job we could with the resources that we had.” […]
Both Alsop and the board also sought to place some of the responsibility back on Quinn, saying all contracts were vetted and approved by the Capital Development Board, an agency that reports to the governor’s office.
“I think there is a misunderstanding about the way the process works here,” Alsop said after the meeting. “This office isn’t solely responsible for the project that happened in the complex and I think it’s important that people realize that’s the case.”
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Question of the day
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The setup…
As expected, the Illinois Supreme Court Thursday named Justice Rita Garman to become the court’s next chief justice, making her the second woman to head the state’s high court.
The Danville Republican will take over from Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride after his term concludes Oct. 25. Garman will serve as the state’s top jurist for a three-year term.
Garman, who was chosen for the slot by a unanimous vote of the justices, was appointed to the court in 2001 to fill the vacancy left by former Justice Ben Miller, who retired. Garman was elected to a 10-year term on the court in 2002 and retained by voters for a second full term last year.
“I am honored and humbled to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve as chief justice,” Garman said in a prepared statement. “The office has been held by many great jurists, several of whom I have served with and count among my friends.
* A recent photo…
* The Question: At the risk of destroying myself if I ever end up in front of her… Caption?
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What’s at stake
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* An e-mail from NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde about yesterday’s Illinois Supreme Court rulings on the right to carry guns in public…
Rich — here is the dilemma the state is now in.
Both the Federal Court and now the State Supreme Court have said that that there is a right to carry a firearm in public.
So the state passed a law that provides a way to carry a gun in public — get a carry permit. Yet, as of today, no carry permit exists for people to obtain. No state courses have been approved for people to even take to be able to apply for their permit.
So what is the relief? If the Courts say, carry ban unconstitutional, and the State has no way for us to comply with the “relief” of obtaining a carry permit — now what? And a growing amount of thinking is it is legal to carry today with a FOID card.
Now remember that for 90 days we have had FOID carry in 15 counties. No extra training. No extra anything. And I have yet to hear of any problems, road rage incidents, fights over parking spots, shootouts at Starbucks or anything in those 15 counties.
The court said on page 8:
Again, in the “form presently before us, section 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) categorically prohibits the possession and use of an operable firearm for self defense outside the home. In other words, section 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) amounts to a wholesale statutory ban on the exercise of a personal right that is specifically named in and guaranteed by the United States Constitution, as construed by the United States Supreme Court. In no other context would we permit this, and we will not permit it here either.”
So tell me how the state or the Court allows the ban on carry, in effect today, to go on any longer?
He has a point.
* Here is the language for 24-1.6(a)(1)…
Sec. 24-1.6. Aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
(a) A person commits the offense of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon when he or she knowingly:
(1) Carries on or about his or her person or in any vehicle or concealed on or about his or her person except when on his or her land or in his or her abode, legal dwelling, or fixed place of business, or on the land or in the legal dwelling of another person as an invitee with that person’s permission, any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or other firearm
And here’s (a)(3)(A) …
(3) [Or] One of the following factors is present:
(A) the firearm, other than a pistol, revolver, or handgun, possessed was uncased, loaded, and immediately accessible at the time of the offense
* And here’s the response to the rulings from the Second Amendment Foundation…
he Second Amendment Foundation is applauding the Illinois State Supreme Court, which has unanimous ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is not confined to the home and that a state statute regarding aggravated unlawful use of weapons (AUUW) violates the Second Amendment.
In the ruling, written by Justice Robert R. Thomas, the court states, “As the Seventh Circuit correctly noted, neither Heller nor McDonald expressly limits the Second Amendment’s protections to the home. On the contrary, both decisions contain language strongly suggesting if not outright confirming that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms extends beyond the home.”
“This is one more court rejection of claims by anti-gunners that the right to keep and bear arms is somehow confined to the home,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.
The case at issue, Illinois v. Alberto Aguilar, dates back to June 12, 2008, slightly more than two weeks prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller.
The case challenged a section of the law that prohibited carrying firearms outside the home that, according to the court, “…amounts to a wholesale statutory ban on the exercise of a personal right that is specifically named in and guaranteed by the United States Constitution, as construed by the United States Supreme Court. In no other context would we permit this, and we will not permit it here either.”
The court footnotes that the Illinois General Assembly has enacted the state’s Firearm Concealed Carry Act due to SAF’s victory in Moore v. Madigan, which is cited in today’s ruling. The Act amended the state statute to “allow for a limited right to carry certain firearms in public.” The court also noted that “Neither the Firearms Concealed Carry Act nor the amended (state) statute is at issue in this case.”
Still, recognition that the AUUW section violated the Second Amendment is significant, Gottlieb said.
“Here we have a state Supreme Court declaring a section of state law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment,” he said. “That would not have happened without our victories in McDonald and Moore, and it affirms our effort to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”
And yet, yesterday’s Supreme Court decisions received almost no media coverage in Illinois.
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Board responds to “doors” outrage
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
“The decision to renovate the west wing of the Capitol was part of the Illinois Jobs Now! program approved by the General Assembly and the governor in 2009.
While much attention is given to the finishes that restore the building back to its original period of significance, that focus represents a mere fraction of the work being done to restore the Capitol. This renovation was primarily about life safety and making the necessary infrastructure changes needed to stabilize the building for future generations.
The Office of the Architect of the Capitol worked with this Board and Capital Development Board to ensure that all procedural requirements were followed and the fiscal limits of the plan were respected. As a result, we will have a safer and more accessible building that will stand the test of time while appropriately reflecting the greatness of the state.
The Board will continue to ensure that we uphold these standards, review our policies and preserve this national historic landmark on behalf of its occupants, visitors and Illinois taxpayers.”
Office of the Architect of the Capitol Board:
Tim Anderson
Brad Bolin
Scott Kaiser
Tim Mapes
Those signatories are the two House clerks and Senate secretaries, representing both parties. Mapes, of course, is also House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief of staff.
Needless to say, it’s highly doubtful that any of the four would sign on to this statement without an OK from above.
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Quinn asked for slating session
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers yesterday that Gov. Pat Quinn had asked for a state party slating session. It appears this time around, though, that Bill Daley’s campaign will try to deny Quinn the award. The governor will need 60 percent to get the slating, and there are some Democrats who think he might be stopped, but others who say Quinn wouldn’t have asked for the session if he didn’t firmly believe he’d win. If he is denied the slating, that’ll be a huge embarrassment. If he gets it, then I’m not sure it means a whole lot, except to show party members that he’s one of them…
Illinois’ top Democrats will gather for their first formal primary election endorsement session in nearly a decade this month amid expectations they will back Gov. Pat Quinn for re-election against rival Bill Daley.
On Thursday, House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state’s Democratic chairman, announced a slating session for Sept. 22 in Springfield. The race for governor is the only statewide battle being contested by major candidates in the March 18 primary.
Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman, said the decision to call the endorsement session was made after a request by Quinn. That indicates Quinn believes he has enough support among the 38 members of the Democratic State Central Committee to capture the endorsement.
Quinn campaign aides were not available for comment. Tom Bowen, Daley’s campaign manager, said the Democratic challenger would reach out to members of the committee to urge them to support an open primary in which no endorsement is made.
Discuss.
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Budget cutting consequences
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The problems at Cook County’s jail are never-ending, and appear to be getting worse. One reason is the huge influx of the mentally ill, which now account for more than 20 percent of the jail’s inmate population. And a big reason behind that population surge is state budget cuts to mental health budgets. Tribune…
After dipping to 8,900 in 2011, the average annual jail population — primarily inmates awaiting trial — has been on the rise, with the daily count now frequently more than 10,000, the highest totals since a day in 2007. […]
While the jail is overcrowded, detainees no longer sleep on mattresses on the floor, as they did during some other episodes of overcrowding, and the sheriff, whose operation of the jail is monitored by a federal judge, no longer assigns inmates to sleep on bunks in shifts.
The exception is at Cermak Health Services, the county-run hospital on the jail grounds where acutely mentally ill inmates are treated and patients sometimes sleep on mattresses the floor, according to the sheriff’s office. […]
More than 2,000 mentally ill detainees are being held at the jail, and many of them have medical issues as well, said Superintendent Robert Lyles, who runs Division 2, the jail’s largest unit. “When the state hospital and private (mental health) facilities were shut down, it seemed like the jail had to adapt,” he said. “It’s a challenge every day.”
Some mentally ill inmates are kept longer than necessary because no beds are available in state treatment centers when a judge finds them unfit to stand trial, public defenders and others involved in the cases said. Although Gov. Pat Quinn has pledged to boost spending on mental health services next year by $25 million, [Sheriff Tom Dart] and other officials are skeptical.
Go read the whole thing.
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How far can that choice go?
Friday, Sep 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Dispatch-Argus story about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner…
Mr. Rauner has long been involved with the charter school movement in Chicago. If elected to the governor’s office, he said he would push for more competition among schools across Illinois.
“I think we’ve got to create competition and choice to the broken monopoly that’s our system,” he said. “We need charter schools, we need vouchers.” […]
Illinois has a cap of 120 charter schools, with a maximum of 75 allowed in Chicago and 45 for the rest of the state. That cap, Mr. Rauner said, is supported by teachers’ unions and should be lifted. […]
Mr. Rauner said parents should be allowed to choose which public school their children attend.
“We should have vouchers, so that when a school is failing parents can afford to take their child to whatever schools work for them,” he said.
Since he clouted his own kid into Payton Prep after “moving” from Winnetka to Chicago, perhaps he’d be willing to let kids who attend sub-par Chicago schools enroll at Winnetka’s New Trier High School?
Now, that would be a dramatic gesture.
* Also, I have yet to see a study that shows charter schools as a whole are outperforming “regular” public schools in Illinois. I actually like the idea of charter schools if it gives parents real choices and the possibility of opting out of the industrial education model. But, so far, charters in general aren’t doing anything spectacular here except helping to break the teachers’ unions and provide patronage opportunities for the political establishment.
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Bill Daley wants to wait on slating
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told you earlier today that the Democratic Party of Illinois plans to meet later this month to decide whether to slate statewide candidates before the primary. This is from Bill Daley’s campaign manager Tom Bowen…
“The Democratic Party of Illinois should allow its voters to hear more about the candidates for Governor and their choices for Lieutenant Governor before selecting a candidate for endorsement. A vote to not endorse allows this process to play itself out and let the people choose their nominee.”
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* Illinois Review…
Joe Walsh for U.S. Senate 2014? While the title is just a teaser but the former Illinois congressman and current talk show host is talking about it. He spoke to about 60 people Tuesday night for the Chicago Young Republicans monthly business at the Hubbard inn.
Walsh brought up the U.S. Senate race. He said he Is giving “serious consideration” to running against Dick Durbin. Of course, he would have to win the GOP primary first.
On the other hand, last Saturday Walsh told Will County Tea Partiers he was focused on helping other candidates in 2014.
FYI, there are also rampant rumors about a possible Walsh primary bid against Congressman Adam Kinzinger.
*** UPDATE *** IR…
Within minutes of posting that former Congressman Joe Walsh told Chicago Young Republicans he’s “seriously considering” a bid against Dick Durbin in 2014, sources told Illinois Review that Walsh associates are telling people he’s taking a serious look at challenging Congressman Adam Kinzinger, and that Club for Growth is encouraging him.
“We won’t confirm to whom we have or haven’t spoken concerning a primary in the 16th CD,” Club for Growth’s Barney Keller told IR, “but we’re certainly interested in talking to a pro-growth alternative to Kinzinger.”
“Adam Kinzinger is one of the biggest RINOs in the U.S. House,” Keller said, and listed several votes Kinzinger made in the past year that were opposite of the Club’s positions. “He voted for the fiscal cliff, opposed the budget conservative Congress members supported. He was one of only ten Republicans that voted for a bill that was one of Nancy Pelosi’s pet projects for her San Francisco district.”
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Vacation photos
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Before leaving for vacation, we dropped Oscar the Puppy off at a “pet resort.” It was a nice place, very clean. Oscar had a two-room suite and his own flat-screen TV. And the price was more than reasonable, so, I figured, what the heck.
The “resort” owners posted pics of Oscar on their Facebook page. Here he is tearing around the place like he does when he needs to blow off some energy…
He made some new friends and played Frisbee…
Some of the other dogs couldn’t keep up with him, but this one turned out to be his bestest buddy…
And then he got a haircut…
Yikes!!!
Man, that’s short. He looks so different I wouldn’t recognize him on the street.
Oh, well, it’ll grow out.
Here’s a pic I took on our way home…
You might be able to see in his eyes how tired he was. He played very hard. But he’s happy to be home. I’m happy he’s home, too.
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“Convenient” timing on HQ move
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz has an hilarious follow-up to the governor’s announcement that I told you about earlier today…
Just a day after a big Illinois manufacturer announced that it’s moving 400 jobs to Wisconsin from Lake County, Gov. Pat Quinn today tried to even up the public relations score by announcing that a well-known beverage company “is opening” its new U.S. headquarters on the Near West Side.
In fact, the U.S. headquarters of Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. opened here in April 2012 — a year and a half ago.
Mr. Quinn’s office counters that the move and the 80 new jobs Mike’s will have here are real and never had been announced as the company quietly filled out its executive team. So are the up to $1.86 million in payroll tax credits Mike’s will get over the next decade, plus a $25,000 job-training grant.
But the timing of today’s press-release announcement certainly is “convenient,” Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson conceded.
Oh, for crying out loud.
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The final final term?
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Secretary of State Jesse White announced his reelection bid today…
One of the things that sets White apart is the promise he kept when he was asked years ago whether he would use the secretary of state’s office as a stepping stone to run for governor.
“And I said I would run for this office and this office only,” White said. “I’m true to my commitment. I always want my word to be good.”
Um. From 2009…
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is seeking re-election for the last time.
The Democratic state officer said if re-elected to a fourth term in 2010, he will retire in 2014 and pursue only volunteer work.
Obviously, he changed his mind.
* White also admitted to a big mistake today…
White did acknowledge one mistake: his backing of Rep. Derrick Smith. White helped Smith get appointed to the Illinois House in 2011 only to see Smith be charged with bribery by federal authorities less than a year later. White said he “tried to set the record straight” by calling for Smith to step down and backing his challenger, but voters decided to re-elect Smith anyway, even after Smith was kicked out of the Illinois House.
No word yet on whether White will field a primary challenger against Rep. Smith.
* And he got a boost from MRE…
White launched his re-election bid at a downtown hotel where he was introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who noted that White supported his efforts to become mayor. Emanuel said he wasn’t just backing White to return to the favor, but because of their “shared bond” of public service and White’s “commitment to the next generation coming behind us.” White is well known for the youth tumbling team that bears his name.
White will make another campaign stop today in Springfield. A Republican candidate has yet to surface, leading White to quip that “life is good.”
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State Dems to consider slating
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Democratic Party of Illinois Chairman Michael J. Madigan announced Thursday that the party’s state central committee will meet Sunday, September 22 to discuss the slating of statewide candidates for next year’s General Election.
“We plan to have a vital campaign in every region of the state and this meeting will give the candidates an opportunity to convey the strengths they bring to the ticket,” Chairman Madigan said.
The meeting will take place on Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m. in the Governor’s Ballroom at the State House Inn, located at 101 East Adams Street in Springfield. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.
The democratic state central committee is composed of 38 members, one man and one woman elected from each congressional district. Each member will have a weighted vote in selecting the nominee that is equal to the number of Democratic ballots cast in their congressional district in the February 2, 2010 primary election.
DPI hasn’t slated statewide candidates in a primary since Lisa Madigan first ran for attorney general. [ADDING: I was reminded by a commenter that DPI slated Paul Mangieri in 2006 for treasurer. He lost to Alexi Giannoulias.]
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* This story has been getting some play…
It took more than four days for the Illinois Department of Corrections to capture escaped prisoner Jared Carter. The hunt involved more than 100 department employees, as well as helicopters, airplanes, and state police personnel. But there’s one thing that was left out of the search due to Illinois state budget cuts: a prison canine unit.
To help slash his state’s budget, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn nixed five dog-handling jobs in the department last year, according to information obtained by The Quad-City Times. And, without handlers, that meant Gov. Quinn had to lay off the dogs.
Local police dogs were used in the search, which the Department of Corrections says worked out fine.
* But there were some items in Kurt Erickson’s original story unrelated to the search for the escaped prisoner that stood out for me. For instance…
The unit was in place primarily to search cells for drugs and contraband, and to sniff out problems with visitors and vendors.
Without those dogs, the guards have to do the cell and visitor searches on their own, so contraband could get by them.
* And then there’s this…
Along with having no dogs within the agency to search for fugitives, Shaer confirmed that one of the guard towers was not staffed when Carter walked off.
But, he said, Carter’s departure spot could not be viewed from the tower anyway. “The tower being manned was not a factor,” he added.
Oy.
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME’s Anders Lindall in comments…
Due to staff cuts, Tower One at Robinson is closed save for three approximately hourlong periods each day. Contrary to Shaer’s claim, frontline employees at Robinson report that Tower One is located just 200 yards from where the escape occurred and has a direct line of sight over the area.
Perimeter security has also been reduced at Robinson due to lack of staff. A van that used to patrol the facility’s perimeter 24-7 is now in use only from dusk to dawn, and even then not continuously as the van driver also performs other duties.
So at the time of this escape, the tower nearest the site was closed, there was no patrol outside the perimeter - and no canine unit to respond.
All this at a facility more than 200% overcrowded. Built for 600 inmates, Robinson had 1,209 at the department’s last quarterly report to the General Assembly.
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* From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel...
An Illinois lighting company with 400 employees plans to move across the state line to Kenosha — the second manufacturer in a week to say it will leave northern Illinois for Wisconsin.
Kenall Manufacturing plans to relocate its headquarters and factory from Gurnee, Ill., to a 354,000-square-foot facility to be built near I-94 along Highway 158.
The company is getting over a million dollars in incentives…
One aspect of the various government incentives is ready: Kenosha County will provide $1 million from a special economic development fund authorized two years ago, County Executive Jim Kreuser said.
Another $250,000 from the fund was used recently to help woo Hanna Cylinders from Libertyville, Ill., to Kenosha County. That relocation, announced last week, will bring about 100 manufacturing jobs to Pleasant Prairie by the end of the year. Hanna, which makes hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, will occupy a 105,000-square-foot plant in Lakeview Corporate Park.
* But the specific incentives are only part of the bigger picture…
Another key to luring companies such as Kenall to Wisconsin, he believes, is the virtual phasing out of the state corporate tax on income generated by manufacturing production. Enacted in 2011, the legislation will effectively cut the tax on production from 7.9% to 0.4% over the next few years, Battle said.
He said Kenall and other firms consider “the direction and velocity of the state’s business climate” when making location decisions, and that the elimination of almost all of the tax on production earnings “clearly was in our favor.”
* But the Hanna Cylinders move has a bright side…
(A) Chicago-based developer already has eyed the site along Route 176 for an industrial facility.
Bridge Development Partners LLC plans to invest $25 million to $30 million in two buildings with a mix of light assembly, manufacturing and warehousing uses.
The project marks the first speculative construction of its kind in Libertyville in several years.
Although the facility would be built without specific tenants in mind, the site could attract 200 to 300 jobs — a “realistic expectation,” said Mark Christensen, a principal with the commercial real estate firm.
* And this is from a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn and Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. today announced that the premium malt beverage maker is opening its new U.S Headquarters in Illinois, creating 80 jobs. The office, located at Jackson and Jefferson Streets in Chicago’s West Loop, is positioned to tap into the region’s substantial marketing talent and consumer product expertise. The announcement is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to drive Illinois’ economy forward and create jobs.
“Mike’s chose to relocate to Illinois because of the state’s central location, leading education institutions and its progressive business environment,” Governor Quinn said. “The presence of a dynamic company like Mike’s is the kind of business Illinois needs to advance our vision of becoming one of the most exciting and vibrant business corridors in the nation.”
* Related…
* Chicago-area foreclosures down 59% from last August
* In Quest For Lower Taxes, How Far Is Too Far?
* Whole Foods coming to Englewood
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Door quotes
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* House Speaker Michael Madigan’s press secretary Steve Brown reacting to Gov. Pat Quinn’s angry denunciation of the pricey Statehouse renovations…
“It looks like the governor’s a couple days late, possibly jet-lagged from his trip to Japan, because he took his usual Sunday morning press conference cheap shot and did it on a Tuesday afternoon.”
Ouch.
* And not everybody is up in arms about the alleged scandal…
A spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont), whose office is in the newly renovated wing, defended the expenditures and the project, in general.
“At this point in time, any spending on anything can be made to look extravagant,” Radogno spokeswoman Patty Schuh said. “But this is part of a long-term, long-range maintenance and restoration plan for a historical building that has 200,000 people in it every year. The bulk of the project is the beyond-necessary mechanical fixes, ADA access and life-safety and fire code requirements.”
* Meanwhile, there’s more than a little doubt that the governor’s “suspension” of funding for more Statehouse construction actually means anything…
“It’s up to the governor whether to make that money available for bidding and construction purposes,” Blanchette said. “And that’s what he’s doing, is holding up the release of funding for items that have already been placed in the budget by the General Assembly, until such time as things can be carefully examined.”
But no money has actually been appropriated for the north wing yet. So is anything actually being halted?
“No, there’s nothing to stop at this point,” UIS Political Science Professor Kent Redfield said.
Redfield believes this was a purely political move by the governor.
“It’s election season, and the state is having a lot of really bad fiscal problems,” Redfield said. “And so this becomes an issue that you can be against it, and particularly since you can’t have any impact on what’s happened, then it’s a pretty easy thing to take a public stand on it.”
…Adding… I forgot to post this one…
Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who’s also trying to win the Democratic nomination for governor, says Quinn is ultimately responsible.
“The problem with the governor’s action is, he was asleep at the switch when all this funding was approved,” says Daley’s campaign manager, Tom Bowen. “So this action is typical of Gov. Quinn: too little, too late, reacting to a mistake that’s already been made.”
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* 9:57 am - The Illinois Supreme Court has issued two gun-control rulings that are undoubtedly bringing great cheer to the NRA.
In the first, People v. Aguilar, a person was arrested in his own friend’s Chicago yard because he was holding a pistol. The Supremes cited the Heller decision and the 7th US Circuit’s recent landmark public carry decision (Moore v. Madigan) to knock down the arrest as unconstitutional…
if Heller means what it says, and “individual self-defense” is indeed “the central component” of the second amendment right to keep and bear arms (Heller, 554 U.S. at 599), then it would make little sense to restrict that right to the home, as “[c]onfrontations are not limited to the home.” Moore, 702 F.3d at 935-36 […]
Of course, in concluding that the second amendment protects the right to possess and use a firearm for self-defense outside the home, we are in no way saying that such a right is unlimited or is not subject to meaningful regulation. See infra ¶¶ 26-27. That said, we cannot escape the reality that, in this case, we are dealing not with a reasonable regulation but with a comprehensive ban. Again, in the form presently before us, section 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) categorically prohibits the possession and use of an operable firearm for selfdefense outside the home. In other words, section 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) amounts to a wholesale statutory ban on the exercise of a personal right that is specifically named in and guaranteed by the United States Constitution, as construed by the United States Supreme Court. In no other context would we permit this, and we will not permit it here either
However, the defendant in the case was just 17 years old at the time of his arrest and the Supremes decided that the statute regarding age minimums was constitutional…
…for present purposes, we need only express our agreement with the obvious and undeniable conclusion that the possession of handguns by minors is conduct that falls outside the scope of the second amendment’s protection
* The second case, Coram v. Illinois, involved a man who pled guilty to domestic battery in 1992 and paid a $100 fine. At the time, there was no prohibition against Coram possessing a firearm or receiving a FOID card. When he applied for a FOID in 2009, however, he was denied based on a 1996 federal law. The Supremes upheld his right to a FOID card. Read it here.
*** UPDATE *** From John Boch of GunsSaveLife.com in comments…
Our take on the decision: The IL Supreme Court has said today that until and unless the Illinois State Police begin issuing carry licenses, Illinois has a flat prohibition on carry of firearms outside the home and that, ladies and gentlemen, has just been recognized and determined to be in violation of the right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the second amendment to the United States Constitution.
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Dillard numbers
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We discussed this quote from Sen. Kirk Dillard yesterday…
To improve education, Dillard said he would prevent Chicago schools from taking about $1 billion they currently take away from downstate schools.
“A child who lives in poverty in downstate should be equal to one in Chicago,” he said.
Dillard was speaking to the Ford County Republicans when he made those comments. Ford County’s population at the last Census was 14,081.
During the 2012-2013 school year, Chicago Public Schools administrators identified 18,669 CPS students as homeless.
* Meanwhile, David Ormsby has a post about Dillard’s campaign reporting $169,300 in contributions last night…
The lion’s share came in three checks of $52,600 each. The contributors were: Illinois Operating Engineers Local 150, Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, and the Illinois Lunch Pail Republicans PAC.
The $169,300 brings Dillard’s total fundraising from large contributions to $207,300 for the third quarter. Without that large infusion of cash before the third quarter fundraising ends in less than three weeks, Dillard’s campaign would have looked dead-in-the-water by the time campaign finance reporting arrived on October 15.
But…
On September 6, the Lunch Pail reported a $52,600 contribution from the Washington, D.C.-based Engineers Political Education Committee PAC. And three-days later the Pail, which has raised or donated no other money recently, funneled the same amount to Dillard
It looks like the Engineers’ money got laundered.
The Lunchpail Repubicans PAC is all but an arm of Local 150, which has a lot of members involved in road and bridge construction. So maybe we now know why Dillard said recently that he preferred a second gas tax to gaming expansion.
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