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* Click here for the back story. From a press release…
Bruce Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign today called on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to denounce the Democratic Governors Association’s sexist smear campaign targeting Rauner running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti.
“Pat Quinn should immediately call on his allies and supporters to end their sexist smear campaign against Evelyn Sanguinetti,” Rauner campaign spokeswoman Leili Doerr said. “Born into a family of immigrants with little means, Evelyn has combined talent, hard work and self-determination to achieve great things for herself and give back to the local community. She is the living embodiment of the American dream. She deserves better than a Quinn-led sexist political smear campaign.”
Evelyn’s been beating the odds her entire life. Evelyn’s father legally immigrated to the United States from Ecuador, and her mother entered the country as a Cuban refugee. Her parents were still teenagers when she was born in Miami, Florida, and Evelyn grew up with Spanish as her first language. She earned a scholarship to college and received a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University. She soon moved to Chicago to attend The John Marshall Law School, fell in love with Illinois and plans to never leave. Following law school, Evelyn worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office under Jim Ryan before transitioning to private practice. She currently serves as a member of city council in Wheaton.
I’ve asked the Quinn campaign and the DGA for comment.
…Adding… I’ve asked the Rauner campaign to explain what, exactly were the sexist words in the DGA’s press release. So far, I haven’t heard back. Here is the full press release…
BREAKING: GOP Candidate for Co-Governor Claims “Magical” Powers
If Money Can’t Buy Billionaire Bruce The Election, Maybe Magic? Right-Wing Ticket More Out Of Touch Than Anyone Thought
Just when you thought a ticket led by a billionaire who brags about being in the top .01 percent of Americans, has nine fancy homes, and has proposed to cut income for people working full-time on the minimum wage, couldn’t get any more out of touch – in stepped Bruce Rauner’s running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti.
A day after saying she would functionally serve as co-governor if elected, Sanguinetti revealed today that she believes she possesses “magical powers” that will help the right-wing ticket win in November.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday:
“At an event earlier this month hosted by the Palatine Township Republican Organization, Sanguinetti talked about her passion for serving Republican women and a woman’s ‘magical’ and ‘special powers.’
‘No offense to the guys, but to let them know that something special happens when we (women) promote our candidates because when we knock on doors, something magical happens…they let us in! And this is where we use our special powers to disarm, right, and talk about our candidates,’ said Sanguinetti, a Wheaton Republican. ‘So that’s my first passion is serving Republican women and letting them know how they can get out and really get out that vote.’”
As reported on Tuesday, Sanguinetti views her role not as the #2 to Billionaire Bruce, but rather as someone who will ‘make decisions in his stead.’
Read about the “magical” comments here.
And about Rauner’s role as co-governor to Sanguinetti here.
###
That’s far less harsh than any Kass column on Lisa Madigan, IMHO.
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Roskam fails to move up
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* He lost on the first ballot…
Rep. Peter Roskam on Thursday failed in his bid to become majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives.
House members chose Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.
Scalise will succeed Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was elected majority leader on Friday. McCarthy was filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., who relinquished his leadership post after being defeated earlier this month the primary.
* Roskam’s fellow Illinois Republicans were not all on board…
Mr. Roskam’s defeat could leave him out of leadership entirely, since the whip names his own deputy. There has been talk that another Illinois Republican, Peoria’s Aaron Schock, might get the spot. Mr. Schock had been expected to vote for Mr. Scalise.
At least two other Illinois Republicans were rumored to back Mr. Scalise: Springfield’s John Shimkus, who is Mr. Scalise’s Washngton apartment-mate, and Joliet’s Adam Kinzinger, who is tight with Mr. Schock.
Apartment-mate over fellow Illinoisan. Brilliant.
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Good for the goose…
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Bruce Rauner’s Facebook page on May 2, 2013…
Governor Scott Walker took on the powerful protectors of the status quo in Madison and reformed Wisconsin. It was great to see him today at the Kane County Republican Advisory Council. Click “LIKE” if you think Illinois needs bold leadership too.
* From today…
Newly released documents show prosecutors are alleging Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of a nationwide “criminal scheme” to illegally coordinate with outside conservative groups.
The documents were filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the probe by the conservative group Wisconsin Club for Growth. They were ordered publicly released Thursday by a federal appeals court judge after prosecutors and the Wisconsin Club for Growth did not object.
One of the filings from prosecutors outlines previously unknown details about the investigation that began in 2012 as Walker was facing a recall election.
Prosecutors say Walker, his chief of staff and others who worked for him were discussing illegal coordination with a number of national groups and prominent figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove.
* Illinois Freedom PAC is attempting to push the connection between Rauner and Walker…
Rauner “Role Model” Scott Walker Participated in “Criminal Scheme” Prosecutors Allege
Chicago, IL – Prosecutors allege in court documents released today that Bruce Rauner’s “role model,” Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, was at the center of a nationwide “criminal scheme” to circumvent state campaign finance and election laws.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Scott Walker sent an email in 2011 to Karl Rove telling him that Walker campaign adviser and Wisconsin Club for Growth spokesman R.J. Johnson would lead the coordination efforts now under investigation.
“These serious allegations of criminal behavior against Bruce Rauner’s ‘role model’ Scott Walker should worry every Illinois voter. We can’t trust Bruce Rauner when he chooses his role models so poorly,” said Neal Waltmire, Communications Director for Illinois Freedom PAC.
Meh.
* As long as we’ve fired up the Way-Back Machine…
In 2006, when Quinn was the incumbent lieutenant governor and allegations of scandal were swirling around the administration of his running mate Blagojevich, Quinn’s failure to say or do anything about it was widely reported. “In all my interactions with him I’ve found him to be an honest person,” Quinn purred of Blagojevich at one point during the campaign.
At another he refused to criticize Blagojevich, saying “the governor speaks for himself. If I see anyone in state government that’s doing something illegal, I’m duty-bound to report that to the proper authority, and I would do that without blinking an eye.”
“He’s [Blagojevich] always been a person who’s honest and one of integrity,” Quinn told reporters. “I have confidence the governor does the right thing all the time.”
Rauner has tied Quinn to Blagojevich before. Click here for just one example. So, I suppose turnabout is fair play. Still…
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* As pretty much everyone knows, Paul Vallas loves to talk. But the Quinn campaign is refusing to allow him to talk about his favorite subject. From that Dan Mihalopoulos piece I quoted earlier today…
[A] spokeswoman for the Quinn-Vallas campaign declined repeated requests for an interview about his time in New Orleans, Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Mihalopoulos went even further on the Sun-Times website…
“Vallas now in his return to IL politics as a Lieutenant Governor candidate has been, from the perspective of a lot of us in the media, as very subdued, almost shackled by the campaign. We don’t see a lot of him, he’s even taken another job in the private sector as we’ve reported, and on this issue I called the press secretary for Quinn’s campaign and she said that they wouldn’t want Vallas talking about charter schools or really giving any interview on that topic.”
Audio…
* Meanwhile, remember our funny little story the other day about how Republican lieutenant governor nominee Evelyn Sanguinetti kept saying of Bruce Rauner, “I will be able to make decisions in his stead”?
Well, this is the Rauner campaign’s explanation…
“What Evelyn meant is that she and Bruce will be totally in sync that she could walk into any meeting and clearly represent his views on any given issue,” Schrimpf said.
Ah. Ok. That explains everything.
* And speaking of Sanguinetti…
What’s the secret to securing votes and campaign success? “Magical” women. At least that’s what Bruce Rauner’s running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti believes.
At an event earlier this month hosted by the Palatine Township Republican Organization, Sanguinetti talked about her passion for serving Republican women and a woman’s “magical” and “special powers.”
Her full quote…
“I have two passions in life. One of my passions is serving Republican women. I’m one of the vice presidents for the Illinois Federation of Republican Women. I don’t know if I have any sisters out there and my mission is to empower women. No offense to the guys, but to let them know that something special happens when we promote our candidates because when we knock on doors, something magical happens. What happens? What happens when we knock on doors as women? They let us in! And this is where we use our special powers to disarm, right, and talk about our candidates. So that’s my first passion.”
Audio…
* From a DGA press release headline…
BREAKING: GOP Candidate for Co-Governor Claims “Magical” Powers
If Money Can’t Buy Billionaire Bruce The Election, Maybe Magic? Right-Wing Ticket More Out Of Touch Than Anyone Thought
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* Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has changed some race ratings, including one Illinois congressional campaign…
Rep. Cheri Bustos (D, IL-17) — Leans Democratic to Likely Democratic:
Bustos won a tough race against former Rep. Bobby Schilling (R) in 2012, and Schilling is running again. However, conversations with partisans on both sides of the race suggest that other contests in Illinois are looking more competitive, such as Democratic-held IL-10 and IL-12 and Republican-held IL-13.
Bustos has more than triple the cash on hand of Schilling and, in recently announced multi-district ad buys, both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee — the parties’ House campaign arms — ignored this district (although House Majority PAC, a kind of unaffiliated shadow DCCC, did make some future ad buys in markets here).
It’s worth noting that the only district Republicans hold that matches President Obama’s 57% performance here is the open CA-31, where we favor a Democratic takeover. Obama did worse in every other Republican-held district.
Discuss.
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* All emphasis added. From a June 5, 2014 Chicago Tribune editorial…
State election officials say the campaign to change how Illinois draws its legislative maps came up way short of the signatures needed to get its measure on the November ballot. Yes for Independent Maps says it can prove otherwise.
It’s a steep hill to climb. Why is the State Board of Elections determined to block the path?
Could it be because this is a campaign to take power from the politicians and give it to the people? […]
The campaign challenged the review, saying it was hurried and uneven. Some examiners were quick to discard signatures that weren’t clear matches, they said; some were less picky. Individual examiners’ invalidation rates ranged from 17 percent to 86 percent.
* From a June 17, 2014 Tribune editorial, “Illinois elections board is rushing to kill a people power amendment”…
Elections board employees examined a random sample of 5 percent of the signatures and announced that only 46 percent of them were valid. If accurate, that projects — projects — to the campaign being short of the 298,400 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
But the organizers say their own checks show a much higher validation rate.
Should we take the word of the elections board examiners as gospel? One examiner disqualified 86 percent of the signatures he or she checked. Another examiner disqualified only 17 percent.
* From a June 19, 2014 Tribune editorial…
Why are you so sure the fault lies with the people across Illinois who collected the signatures and not the people in your agency who counted them?
Individual state examiners’ results were all over the map. One threw out 86 percent of the signatures he or she checked; another threw out a mere 16 percent. Isn’t this a red flag?
* As I explained to subscribers yesterday, this is clearly not a “red flag.” And any sane, rational person without a not so hidden agenda would easily understand this.
If you click here and download the spreadsheet provided to media outlets, including the Tribune, you’ll see a very easy explanation for those two examples that the Tribune keeps harping on.
Examiners looked at 25,000 petition entries, selected at random via computer. They struck 13,807 as invalid, for a failure rate of 55 percent.
* If you can’t download the spreadsheet, here are the numbers. The first column is the examiner number, the second is the total number of petition entries examined by each examiner, the third column is the total valid petition entries by that examiner and the fourth is total invalid entries found by each examiner…
Examiner 1 1714 738 976
Examiner 2 1358 644 714
Examiner 3 1358 757 601
Examiner 4 1283 557 726
Examiner 5 1220 475 745
Examiner 6 1184 527 657
Examiner 7 1084 466 618
Examiner 8 980 350 630
Examiner 9 979 380 599
Examiner 10 960 439 521
Examiner 11 923 371 552
Examiner 12 920 291 629
Examiner 13 920 414 506
Examiner 14 895 357 538
Examiner 15 867 403 464
Examiner 16 757 468 289
Examiner 17 730 355 375
Examiner 18 721 363 358
Examiner 19 701 366 335
Examiner 20 637 292 345
Examiner 21 596 305 291
Examiner 22 577 230 347
Examiner 23 568 227 341
Examiner 24 557 315 242
Examiner 25 528 273 255
Examiner 26 405 205 200
Examiner 27 354 272 82
Examiner 28 301 117 184
Examiner 29 219 139 80
Examiner 30 217 67 150
Examiner 31 183 26 157
Examiner 32 154 82 72
Examiner 33 132 75 57
Examiner 34 105 47 58
Examiner 35 104 64 40
Examiner 36 92 76 16
Examiner 37 91 35 56
Examiner 38 1 0 1
Toss out Examiner 38 because s/he only looked at one petition entry. You get an average of 676 entries examined and a median of 711.
* Now, onto the Trib’s goofiness. The Board of Elections staffer who “disqualified only 17 percent” (or 16 percent, depending on which day you read the Trib) examined just 92 petition entries. The staffer who “disqualified 86 percent” looked at just 183 entries. Both of those people looked at far, far less petition entries than the average or median.
Statistics seems like a difficult topic, but let’s put it in a political way to make it easy to understand in our world. If you have 37 people making phone calls for a poll, would you publish only the results from two workers who made 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent of the total phone calls?
Of course you wouldn’t. What matters is the overall number, not cherry-picked results from a couple of people who looked at a tiny amount of petition entries.
Those two examiners darkly singled out by the Tribune were the most serious deviations, but deviations are naturally expected among all examiners, particularly considering they weren’t just matching up signatures, but also looking to see if people were registered to vote (subscribers know more about that and I’ll get into it in due time here).
Different randomly selected stacks are just gonna have different results. Plain and simple. Not all circulators were equal. Not all regions covered were equally managed (and some regions were checked in bunches on certain days). Not all signers were honest. You’re just naturally gonna see differences when looking at any individual samples, and particularly so when you single out some of the tiniest samples.
And, heck, even if there is a real problem with those two, toss them out and the remap folks are still a very, very long way from making it onto the ballot.
* The bottom line here is that the Tribune, out of either ignorance or malice, has repeatedly used an easily disprovable statistic to claim that the Illinois State Board of Elections has corruptly stacked the deck against the remap reformers. It needs to stop.
*** UPDATE *** OneMan in comments…
Doing some quick math in the spreadsheet and eliminating any examiner above #30 due to their small sample size, one sort of interesting thing comes up…
I show a average failure rate of 53.38% roughly with a standard deviation of 9.5% so using a normal distribution.
+2 Stddevs is 72.24% -2 stddevs is 34%
We have one examiner who fails below -2STDEV but none that are +2 Over…
So all in all it seems to pass statistical muster, a touch over half are over the average failure rate.
If a was the pro folks I would take a look at Examiner 12 a touch and see if I could get examiner 30 to be cloned, but all in, it is statistically clean.
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Wanna have lunch?
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m speaking tomorrow at the Union League Club in Chicago. The Chicago Area Public Affairs Group (CAPAG) is hosting. The lunch event runs from noon to 1:30. CAPAG members’ price is $35. It’s $45 for non-members and $30 for sponsors. Click here for more info and click here to register.
I hope to see you there.
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Differences and simularities on education
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico looks at education policy differences in gubernatorial elections. Illinois…
The Land of Lincoln has a Democratic incumbent, Gov. Pat Quinn - but he is not well liked by the teachers unions, to put it mildly. How has he angered them? Let us count the ways: He cut teacher retirement benefits when he signed a pension reform bill. (Unions are suing [http://huff.to/1il8Zba] to overturn it.) He approved a Chicago plan to reduce benefits for public-sector workers. And he tapped Paul Vallas, an education reformer who has clashed with unions in several states, to be his running mate [ http://bit.ly/1njKDMF].
- Quinn does have one thing going for him with Big Labor: He’s not Bruce Rauner. The Republican challenger is even more widely disliked in union halls. Rauner supports vouchers, ardently backs charter schools and has called for merit pay, which many teachers oppose. His education philosophy, in a nutshell [http://bit.ly/1iezoHU]: “More control for parents, not union bosses.” There’s also this: Rauner has taken to calling the sitting governor “Quinnochio,” as in liar [http://cbsloc.al/1nPujVJ].
- The Illinois Education Association’s PAC has interviewed both candidates and the board will issue its endorsement in the coming weeks. Observers expect the union to set aside its grudge and make a significant push for Quinn, who has rolled out some proposals educators like, such as a call for $50 million in new spending for need-based college scholarships. The governor could certainly use the help: Rauner has spent millions of his own money on the race and just landed a $2.5 million donation from hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin. That’s the biggest single political contribution to a candidate in state history. Polls have Rauner ahead, but with a big chunk of voters undecided.
* But Quinn’s running mate has ideas that are very similar to Rauner’s, Dan Mihalopoulos notes…
Effective or not, what Vallas did during the many years between leaving CPS and returning home to run for Illinois lieutenant governor seems very much in line with what Rauner says he would love to see more of here. […]
After leading “one of the country’s largest experiments with school privatization” in Philadelphia, she writes, Vallas arrived in New Orleans in 2007 to become the head of the state-run Recovery School District. […]
In New Orleans, Vallas clearly “hoped to turn nearly all of the schools into charters as quickly as possible,” and the city “became a destination for young, aspiring and ambitious charter schools leaders from across the country who were far less likely to hire veteran teachers.”
He also was a boon to a controversial program Rauner has lauded called Teach For America. It’s a national corps of college graduates and other professionals who agree to try teaching in public schools for a couple of years.
“Vallas helped triple the number of Teach For America recruits working in the New Orleans region between 2007 and 2010,” according to Carr.
Discuss.
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Polling the obvious
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reboot Illinois has more poll results…
“As you may know, in 2011 Illinois lawmakers passed a temporary income tax hike that raised our tax rate to five percent. That increase expires this year, and if lawmakers do nothing, the rate will drop to 3.75 percent. We’d like to know what you think would be the responsible thing for lawmakers to do…let the rate drop, or keep it at the current rate.”
So, of course 65 percent of respondents are gonna say let it expire. I’m surprised it’s that low, considering the way Reboot worded the question…
When divided by region of the state, the poll showed the majority of voters in Chicago, suburban Cook County, the collar counties and downstate all favor letting the tax rate fall. In Chicago, 56 percent of respondents want the income tax to decline as scheduled. The number rises along with respondents’ distance from Chicago: 64 percent in suburban Cook County, 67 percent in the collar counties and 71 percent downstate.
* Another question…
“Illinois is facing a multi-billion dollar debt and payment backlog. Which of the following options do you think is the best way to fix that problem?”
55 percent said “cut spending,” 11 percent said “more gambling” 7 percent said “raise taxes” and 14 percent said “all of the above.”
Again, no surprise considering how the question was worded.
* Another question…
“Finally, if the state cuts spending, which of the following programs do you think should be cut first?”
Just 11 percent said education or public safety should be first. 32 percent said natural resource programs should be the first to cut. Only nine percent said assistance to the poor should be cut. Less than 2 percent said assistance to the elderly should be the first area cut. And 36 percent said “public worker retirement income” ought to be the first to go.
So other than pension income, respondents generally wanted to protect the most high-dollar state costs - education, public safety, assistance to the poor and elderly (think: Medicaid), and want to cut natural resource programs, which don’t amount to a hill of beans.
But there has clearly been a shift against public retirees if their income is number one on the public’s hit list. Beware out there.
Still, it’s kind of a silly way to word a question, but whatever.
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“No-party consent” is the law of the land
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the state’s eavesdropping law in March, many rejoiced. The overly harsh felony punishment for recording clearly public conversations and events was clearly being abused by law enforcement to harass individuals who were only attempting to protect themselves.
But with the Court’s action, we’ve gone from a crazily strict “all-party consent” statute to an insane “no-party consent” situation.
Not only can I now secretly record a private conversation with you without your knowledge, I can legally record a conversation between you and someone else without either of you knowing what I’m doing.
In other words, if I had wanted to (and I didn’t… I’m just sayin’) I could’ve recorded secret legislative party caucus meetings during the spring session and there was legally nothing that anybody could’ve done about it. Again, I wouldn’t do such a thing, but I could’ve if I had wanted to.
* I meant to write about that during the last couple weeks of session to spur some action, but it just fell through the cracks, as did the legislation designed to restore some common sense protections into the law. But various disagreements between law enforcement and privacy rights activists and between the House and the Senate killed the bill.
Illinois Public Radio has more…
Ed Yohnka, with the Illinois Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, says he wishes the court hadn’t struck down the entire law, but sees this as an opportunity for a clean slate. Yohnka says the ACLU wants…
“The continuation of all-party consent, which people in Illinois have really grown accustomed to, but also a bill that would recognize the evolving and changing dynamics of modern technology,” he said. […]
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) says truly private conversations ought to still be protected. Raoul is the architect of new legislation to replace the old law.
“Right now we have a gaping hole in terms of our public policy as to how we protect such conversations,” he said. “There’s nothing in state law that protects the invasion of such privacy.”
The measure passed the Senate on the last day of the legislature’s spring session, but did not get a vote in the House. Raoul says he thinks the measure has a good chance of passing during the fall veto session.
I’m not so sure about that. I plan to write more about this for subscribers in the coming days, but there are some very real disagreements between the two chambers over how to proceed. And until those are resolved, we’re gonna continue to have no-party consent in Illinois.
By the way, there are clear constitutional protections which cover law enforcement’s behavior. They don’t have carte blanche, but private citizens do.
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* Bruce Rushton has a very long and informative piece on the blowup over the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Go read the whole thing…
Steven Beckett pleads naive.
When he drew up a bill to divorce the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the University of Illinois law professor who chairs an ALPLM advisory board says he had no idea that he was an architect of uproar. The bill would give Beckett’s advisory panel control of the institution, including the power to hire and fire the executive director, who now serves at the pleasure of the governor.
It wasn’t a power grab, Beckett insists.
Both Beckett and members of his advisory board say the current governance structure makes no sense, and the result has been battles between boards and bureaucrats. While boards bicker, the directors of the IHPA and ALPLM have been fighting over who has the power to run the institution.
With power at stake and House Speaker Michael Madigan front and center, it’s not surprising that cynics would say that this is just another politics-as-usual gambit. Naysayers have pointed out that the speaker, who has sponsored Beckett’s bill, is a friend of ALPLM director Eileen Mackevich, who is a frequent companion of Stanley Balzekas, Jr., who owns the Chicago building where the speaker has an office.
“Half of me goes, ‘Boy, that was stupid, Beckett – you should have anticipated that this will become all about the speaker and Illinois politics,’” Beckett said shortly after the legislative session ended with his plan stalled in the Senate. “ ‘Now this idea that you had is in this big murk. It advanced nothing.’”
On the other hand, the future of Springfield’s biggest tourist draw is now on the radar screen of most everyone who matters in the General Assembly, which Beckett points out isn’t necessarily a bad thing. His plan landed, or crashed, just one week before adjournment, a seemingly out-of-nowhere bill sponsored by Madigan, a man accustomed to getting his way. Except this time he didn’t. And the bill wasn’t out of nowhere.
Again, go read the whole thing.
And if that’s not enough reading, the FOIA’d documents used in the article are here and here so you can do your own sleuthing.
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Lisa Radogno
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
[This post has been bumped up from last night to this morning for visibility purposes.]
* It’s just impossible to imagine the stunning, overwhelming pain of suddenly and almost inexplicably losing one’s grown daughter. A statement from Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno’s office…
It is with heavy heart that we inform you of the sudden death of Lisa Radogno, 31, this evening due to a massive pulmonary embolism.
Lisa is the daughter of Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno and her husband, Nunzio. Lisa served as an Executive Assistant in the Washington, DC office of United States Senator Mark Kirk.
The family appreciates all the kind expressions of sympathy.
Arrangements are pending.
Lisa was involved in an accident this spring, but was doing well until today. As a man with his own grown daughter, I just can’t fathom what the Radogno family must be going through.
…Adding… From a press release…
U.S. Senator Mark Kirk is deeply saddened by the passing of beloved staffer Lisa Radogno. Lisa, 31, served the people of Illinois as a member of the Kirk team since 2008.
“I regret to mourn the passing of my Washington, D.C., executive assistant Lisa Radogno, who died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism. Lisa was the most vibrant member of my team and an ardent Chicago White Sox fan. Her role here in my office and in our hearts is irreplaceable.”
* From Senate President John Cullerton…
“I’m saddened to hear that my friend and fellow leader has suffered an unimaginable loss.
“This is a tragic reminder that beyond our titles and positions, we are all mothers or fathers, sons or daughters.
“As a father of five, the mere thought of losing a child is unbearable.
“So my deepest sympathies and thoughts are with Christine and her family as they grieve the loss of Lisa Radogno.”
* Bruce Rauner…
“Diana and I extend our deepest condolences to Christine and Nunzio on the passing of their daughter Lisa. No parent should ever have to endure such a loss. Our thoughts are with the entire Radogno family and with everyone whose lives were enriched by knowing Lisa.
* Tim Schneider, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party…
“On behalf of the entire Illinois Republican Party, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Lisa Radogno during this difficult time.”
* Gov. Pat Quinn…
“There are no words in the English language to comfort a parent who loses a child.
“My deepest and most heartfelt condolences go out to Leader Christine Radogno and her family during this extremely difficult time.
“It is my hope that Lisa’s purposeful life and the cherished memories that Christine, Nunzio and their daughters have of her will help relieve some of the pain in the days ahead.”
* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
“I am stunned and deeply saddened by the news over Lisa Radogno’s passing. She was a remarkable young woman taken away from us too soon. My prayers go out to my dear friend, Christine Radogno and her husband, Nunzio, who loved and were so proud of their daughter.”
* Sen. Kirk on the Senate floor today…
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The Hynes tradition continues for Emanuel
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel today appointed Michael Rendina to be the City’s new Director of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs (LCGA), a key office that serves as liaison with elected officials, government agencies and community organizations at the at the local, state and federal levels.
“Mike’s career as a fierce advocate for Chicagoans and his relationships in Springfield and City Council make him the perfect addition to our team,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I have had the pleasure of working with Mike for the past three years, and can’t think of a better person to lead our legislative and labor relations team as we continue our work to promote Chicago priorities.”
Rendina has served as the Chief Officer of Public and External Affairs at Chicago Public Schools for the past three years. Prior to his government service, he served in various roles on candidate and issue campaigns in Illinois and nationally. He was raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and earned his bachelor’s degree in International Economics and Politics from George Washington University in Washington D.C., where he also received his M.A. in Political Management. He lives in Lakeview with his wife and two children.
Sean Rapelyea has been promoted to Deputy Director of LCGA, filling the role of Micheal Ruemmler who recently left city government to serve as Campaign Manager for Mayor Emanuel’s reelection campaign. Rapelyea, who has served as a key liaison to the City Council since Mayor Emanuel took office, will now oversee the implementation of the Mayor’s legislative agenda, serve as point of contact for the appointed boards and commissions, and continue to work with City Council members as their liaison to City departments and sister agencies. Rapelyea grew up in the Baltimore, MD area and currently lives in Hyde Park.
Rendina replaces Matt Hynes, Dan Hynes’ brother. Rendina ran Hynes’ 2010 Democratic primary campaign against Pat Quinn. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him.
Hynes and Ruemmler both did good jobs for the mayor, passing huge pieces of legislation in Springfield. Yeah, there were mistakes, but there are always mistakes.
* Hynes, by the way, sat down for a recent interview with the Sun-Times…
Q: What did you learn from your father that helped you do this job?
A: I learned a lot about how to treat people and listen to what they have to say. If you can’t use what they suggest, let them understand why you’re doing something differently. He had a very good style that I’ve always tried to incorporate. To do this job, you don’t always have to be a jerk. You don’t have to be a tyrant. You can be professional and work with people in a way that makes people want to work with you. You get better results that way.
Q: That’s a style that’s a lot different from Rahm Emanuel’s cartoon image anyway.
A: Yeah, but his style is so collaborative. People do not give him credit for how he really is. He’s very accessible, open to other ideas. He always wants to get people to a mutual agreement. That’s why it’s fun to work for him. It makes my job a lot easier.
Um, OK, if you say so.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Local Government Distributive Fund doles out state income tax money to local governments on a per capita basis. The Daily Herald found, of course, wealthy suburbs whose residents pay a lot of income taxes, don’t get much of that back…
In 2012, each town got $87.85 per person, according to state revenue department records. For residents living in unincorporated areas, the county received those funds, state officials explained.
This state’s income tax redistribution policy means some suburban areas like parts of Aurora got back more than 25 percent of what residents paid in income taxes, while other areas like Oak Brook and Barrington received less than 2 percent of the income taxes workers there paid.
* The Question: Do you support keeping the LGDF based on population or switching to a formula based on a fixed percent of what local residents pay in income taxes, or getting rid of the LGDF? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
free polls
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* Illinois Review has the list of recently reserved TV ad buys by the National Republican Congressional Committee…
IL-10: $800,000 (Chicago broadcast and cable) against Brad Schneider
IL-12 $720,000 (St. Louis broadcast) against William Enyart ($720,000)
IL-13: $720,000 (St. Louis broadcast) for Rodney Davis
No ads have yet been reserved for Bobby Schilling or Darlene Senger.
*** UPDATE *** DCCC reservations via RollCall…
Illinois’ 10th District: $800,000 on Chicago broadcast and cable from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27 to defend Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider.
Illinois’ 12th District: $940,000 on St. Louis broadcast from Sept. 12 to Sept. 29, and another $940,000 from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4 on St. Louis broadcast to defend Democratic Rep. Bill Enyart.
Illinois’ 13th District: $940,000 on St. Louis broadcast from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4 and $670,000 on Champaign broadcast and cable from Sept. 30 to Oct. 20 against GOP Rep. Rodney Davis. Davis will face former judge Ann Callis in November.
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* AP…
Illinois lawmakers will decide Monday whether to subpoena a former official in Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration to answer questions about the Democrat’s anti-violence program.
State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) is co-chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission and a member of the subcommittee that will meet Monday. He says the panel will vote on whether to compel Barbara Shaw to answer questions about the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.
“Why did this thing go from zero to 50 overnight?” said Barickman. “The governor’s office has tried to throw this person under the bus. I think she needs to come forward and explain herself to us.”
* Sun-Times…
“It’s likely if she’s subpoenaed, she would testify,” Shaw’s lawyer, John Theis, told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Early & Often politics portal. […]
Jane Stricklin, executive director of the Legislative Audit Commission, told the Chicago Sun-Times that she contacted Shaw and learned she didn’t feel comfortable voluntarily testifying in front of the commission. The panel held a contentious May 28 hearing on the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative audit performed by Auditor General William Holland.
“What she told me was that she did want to be cooperative,” Stricklin said. “But after seeing and hearing the hearing on May 28 and thinking more about it, she did not think she could voluntarily appear.”
Theis declined to say what insights into the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative his client is prepared to offer the audit panel if she is subpoenaed.
“The best thing to say at this point is she wouldn’t want to comment on the substance of her testimony,” he said. “She has a lot of information about how it was done and what was done, and lots of it will show that the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, at least at the Violence Prevention Authority, they were making substantial efforts to make sure everything was done the right way.”
So, apparently, she won’t be taking the 5th. Away we go…
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Mo’ money
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After that $2.5 million contribution by Ken Griffin to Bruce Rauner, this one almost looks small…
Illinois Freedom PAC is the union-funded group which tried to keep Rauner from winning the GOP primary.
* By the way, the Tribune employees who created the above Twitter feed have a great little techie blog that the nerds definitely should be reading.
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Poll: Topinka over Simon 48-37
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yet another We Ask America result…
“Republican Judy Baar Topinka leads by 11 points, but the underlying numbers in the crosstabs show significant strength for her re-election. Her lead among Independents is not surprising, but 21 percent of the poll respondents who said they considered themselves to be Democrats also support Topinka,” says We Ask America COO Gregg Durham. “Her 26.71 percent in the city of Chicago is especially strong. Still, the 11-point spread puts Democrat Sheila Simon smack dab in the middle of the hunt. But if Topinka continues to make headway in those key demographics, Simon will run out of real estate to use in catching up.”
JBT leads among indies 50-30. She leads among women 46-36. Simone has an ever so slight one-point advantage in Democratic suburban Cook, and JBT leads Downstate 56-31.
…Adding… The only real difference between this poll and other recent polls I’ve seen or been told about is in the suburban Cook result. My April WAA poll had JBT ahead 48-34 in suburban Cook. Other recent polling apparently shows similar results.
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Poll: Cross leads Frerichs 42-35
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Another We Ask America poll…
The poll, which has a margin of error of 3.07 percentage points, [surveyed] 1,021 likely voters […]
“Both the Comptroller’s and Treasurer’s offices don’t garner much earned media, and neither of the candidates for treasurer are that well known by the electorate, although Cross certainly has held a position that gives him wider state coverage,” says We Ask America Chief Operating Officer Gregg Durham. “That helps to explain his stronger-than-expected support among Democrats. Bottom line: We think it will be Labor Day or later until a clear picture will emerge in this race.” […]
Cross had support from 23 percent of Democrats while only 13 percent of Republicans crossed party lines for Frerichs.
Despite being from downstate Champaign, Frerichs trailed far west-suburban Cross among downstate respondents 46-32. But, should the pattern of this poll continue, Frerichs could offset any downstate losses with his strong showing in Chicago, where he led Cross 50-24.
Cross spent some bucks to win his contested GOP primary, so that’s playing into this as well as the likely Republican-friendly cycle itself. Cross leads among independents 42-24.
Cross also leads among women 39-35.
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14 months of revenue for a 12-month budget
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I missed this Phil Rogers story from the other day. Wow…
Ten months after the biggest realignment in CPS history, the stage is set for a cataclysmic budget debacle, which could top $1 billion.
“It’s completely nuts,” says Chicago Teachers Union vice president Jesse Sharkey. “And unless we do something about it, we’re going to be facing a billion dollar budget crisis.”
At issue is a board plan to take 14 months of revenue for the coming 12 month school fiscal year, essentially borrowing money from the 2015-2016 school budget. School board president David Vitale did not dispute the number.
“It does allow us to avoid laying off thousands of teachers,” Vitale said. “It will lead to a serious problem a year from now, but the alternative is not very pretty, and it’s our judgment that we should do everything we can to maintain the quality we can for our kids.”
The CTU says it sees a more sinister motive for the budget sleight of hand.
“They don’t want to do it during a mayoral election,” said Sharkey. “So they’re kicking it to the following year.”
Man, oh, man.
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Derrick Smith and MJM
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I talk to a lot of folks at the Statehouse on a daily basis and I have never once heard anyone say this…
Well, another state legislator is heading to prison. You won’t hear much outrage in Springfield. Or dismay for that matter.
In the grand scheme of things, the conviction of state Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago, on bribery charges is picayune. You’ll hear it whispered around the statehouse: “He ‘only’ took $7,000.”
Come to think of it, I have heard it said, but in sardonic derision, as in “If you’re going to take a bribe, why only $7,000?” In other words, it’s the usual dark humor of if you’re on the take, make sure to get enough cash to pay your legal bills.
* Back to the column at hand…
A few years back, some Springfield wag printed up bumper stickers that said, “My Governor is a Bigger Crook than Your Governor.” This kind of cynicism has metastases through the electorate leaving political tumors of apathy, inevitability and suspicion.
There is no greater exploiter of this political cynicism than House Speaker Mike Madigan. Despite Smith’s indictment, Madigan threw his support behind his reelection this year. Madigan’s spokesman told the Chicago Tribune, the speaker supports Democratic incumbents and believes in “innocent until proven guilty.”
Well, some of the time.
I watched Madigan vote to impeach Blagojevich before he was ever brought to trial on corruption charges. When we hope for statesmanship in Springfield, we all too often end up with raw politics.
Good point.
And the “raw politics” aspect has played out pretty well for Madigan at the Statehouse. Black Caucus members, particularly in the Senate (where MJM is not loved at all), approvingly noted the Speaker’s defense of Smith in the March Democratic primary. Madigan stuck his neck way out for an embattled African-American and they were impressed.
Even so, supporting Smith in the 2014 Democratic primary will rightly dog MJM for a very long time to come.
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Banjo-free caption contest!
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Revered commenter OneMan sent along this Tweet and suggested I add a difficulty factor: No Banjo references.
Have at it…
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