* WTTW is again hosting a gubernatorial candidates forum tonight at 7. This time, it’s the Republicans. But once again, it’s not gonna be on the Intertubewhatsis, so I’m again asking commenters to live blog it for the rest of us.
The union had obtained a court injunction against layoffs last year, but that injunction was about to expire and the arbitrator pushed for a mediated resolution. The union then pushed to broaden the scope of the proceedings.
According to the union, the mediated resolution will “protect the vast majority of AFSCME members from layoffs through June 30, 2011.” According to the document, there will be no layoff notices - including temporary layoffs - beyond those already issued until June of next year. Layoff notices at the Department of Corrections will be “rescinded.”
That leaves about 200 layoff notices or so still out there. The governor had wanted to lay off 2.600 workers, and the administration had already sent out about 600 layoff notices.
It will also prevent any facility closures through June 30, 2011 that haven’t already been announced.
In exchange, the union has agreed to “defer” 1 point of the 2 point wage hike scheduled for July 1 of this year and 1 point of the two point pay raise scheduled for January 1, 2011 until June 1, 2011. Union members will also be “encouraged” to participate in a “voluntary furlough program.”
The union claims it “has not ceded its right” to prevent the facility closures already announced.
Union members will also receive “greatly expanded vacancy and recall rights” for the “limited number” of workers who could still be laid off. The agreement also gives the union the ability to “identify and eliminate personal service and vendor contracts and restore bargaining unit work.”
*** 9:11 pm *** I was out of the office and didn’t see this in my e-mail until now. From the governor’s office…
“The Quinn Administration is pleased to have reached this positive agreement with AFSCME, which will result in a cost savings to taxpayers of over $200 million.
Through the collective bargaining process, the State and AFSCME worked together to settle differences, save money and achieve a constructive relationship going forward. The combination of employee furlough days, decreased pay increases and avoiding costly litigation will help to ease the State’s budgetary woes.
The Quinn Administration has long believed that employee furloughs are preferable to imposing deep employee lay-offs and is grateful that AFSCME agreed to this approach. The State of Illinois is facing unprecedented financial troubles. But this agreement is an example of how we can work together to resolve problems, improve the State’s financial health and position Illinois for better days ahead.”
* Some members of the Statehouse press corps gave House GOP Leader Tom Cross a hard time today about the poll Andy McKenna ordered done for the state party back when he was chairman. Cross was unveiling a new campaign reform plan at the event, and he was asked about the irony of the situation. Background on the poll controversy is here. Coverage of Cross’ reform proposal is here. And here’s the video of the Blue Room exchange…
We also have video of Leader Cross talking about his campaign finance reform idea. Click here.
Cross’ presser was about limiting the amount of money that legislative leaders could put into campaigns. The Democratic leaders get a lot of grief in this state, but Larry points to a “whip count” of congressional members on where they stand on passing the US Senate-approved health care bill…
Where do Illinois Members of Congress stand on passing the Senate Bill?
Bean, Melissa IL-8 “not made a decision yet”
Costello IL-12 Waiting for leadership
Davis, Danny IL – 7 supports HCR but “hasn’t received marching orders from leadership”
Gutierrez, Luis IL – 4 “Waiting to see what leadership does”
Quigley IL – 5 Waiting for leadership to propose
Schakowsky IL – 9 Waiting to see final bill, no opinion on Senate bill
Apparently, it’s not just state politicians who defer and/or hide behind their leaders.
* Yesterday, I wondered aloud why some legal fees weren’t reported by candidates. The lawyers were instrumental in kicking some candidates’ opponents off the ballot. It turns out that since the candidates themselves were not challenging petitions and ballot status, and since those candidates weren’t paying for the challenges, the fees don’t have to be reported. So, there you have it. It may be a loophole worth looking into, however.
During last night’s WTTW debate, Democratic gubernatorial challenger Dan Hynes said that, when Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to raise the state income tax “failed” during the spring legislative session, he “had no plan B.” It’s a fair point. But I would have liked to hear Quinn or moderator Carol Marin ask Hynes what his own “plan B” would look like if he wins the primary and his proposal to pass a progressive income tax subsequently fails.
Hynes will need a three-fifths vote in both chambers to get that plan on the ballot. The odds are against it. What will he do if it tanks? I’ll be sending that question off to the Hynes campaign this afternoon. I’ll let you know what they say.
* Speaking of Hynes, he unveiled more endorsements today from state legislators. Gov. Quinn has racked up a huge legislative endorsement list, so it’s slim pickings. From a press release…
State Senator William Delgado
State Senator Ed Maloney
State Senator Martin Sandoval
State Senator Maggie Crotty
State Representative LaShawn Ford
State Representative Jack Franks
State Representative Bob Rita
Gov. Pat Quinn’s politics amount to “Hail Mary passes and gimmicks,” says State Sen. Marty Sandoval. […]
“The question I ask myself: Are Illinoisians better off today?” Sandoval said. “Very similar to our Chicago sports teams - we can’t quite get a touchdown - we’re tired of the Hail Mary passes and gimmicks.” […]
State Rep Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, took a harsher tone in criticizing the Governor.
“We all know he’s the accidental governor, but he is the incompetent governor as well,” he said.
Make sure to click on the “Illinois’ worst political web sites” link in the middle of that story. Lt. governor candidate Mike Boland’s comes up first. I had forgotten how bad it really was. Yeesh.
Proft, by the way, has just filed A-1’s totaling $88K, including $25K from a member of the Pritzker family. Where was that cash earlier?
* Speaking of money, as I told subscribers this morning, Pat Quinn’s campaign just took out a second $100,000 loan from Ald. Ed Burke. Also, Cook County Board President candidate Terry O’Brien reported a $130K loan from a family member this morning. Kirk Dillard got another loan from Ron Gidwitz. This one was for $50.000.
* Rep. Julie Hamos has an endorsement ad on broadcast and cable. Rate it…
* Related…
* Campaign cash disclosure lacking in Senate race: Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias raised $521,340 and Chicago attorney Jacob Meister raised $53,511 as the Senate candidates campaigned in the last three months of 2009, but the public won’t likely know who gave the money until after the Feb. 2 primary.
* Democratic US Senate candidate Cheryle Jackson claims in an e-mail that she’s going on TV tomorrow with a new ad. Rate it…
* House Republican Leader Tom Cross was asked today about a subscriber story I ran this morning about how the HGOPs are paying for a robocall blasting a House Democratic candidate in the Quad Cities area. My intern Barton Lorimor was there and we have video of Cross’ non-response…
* A video of GOP state Rep. Beth Coulson is making the rounds. Coulson is running for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District. But she was asked in 2000 if she was supporting fellow Republican George W. Bush or any Republican candidates. Coulson refused to commit, including on Mark Kirk’s congressional bid. “I have to wait and see where they are on some of the issues that are important to me.” The full video is here, but I excerpted the best part. Watch…
* A new ad from Cook County Board President candidate Terry O’Brien goes after Toni Preckwinkle and Dorothy Brown. Rate it…
In the flier, [state Sen. Randy Hultgren] alleges that [Ethan Hastert] is “employed by the same law firm that lobbies on behalf of foreign mining companies with deplorable human rights records and a history of human trafficking.”
Hastert is an attorney with the law firm of Mayer Brown in Chicago, which does represent several mining interests around the world. The firm is also a major donor to Hastert’s campaign.
But Hastert campaign spokesman Andrew Nelms said the candidate has “never had anything to do with human trafficking,” which he called “reprehensible.”
In an automated call to voters on Monday, Hultgren apologized for “discussing some questionable clients of my opponent’s law firm.”
Calling it the “most absurd campaign piece he has ever seen,” state House District 59 candidate Elliott Hartstein said his Democratic primary opponent is using “distortions” in two direct mail campaign pieces sent in recent days.
Hartstein, who is currently Buffalo Grove village president, said state Rep. Carol Sente claims he tried to take away free speech rights for people attending zoning hearings.
The ad uses quotes from 2005 newspaper stories about Hartstein’s visit to Springfield to lobby for a bill that focused on zoning hearing rules. It concludes by stating, “For Elliott Hartstein, sometimes the First Amendment is just a suggestion, not a right.”
He’s also upset by another piece warning voters of his support for a tax increase to bolster the state’s budget.
“She was appointed by party leaders and her political godfather, Mike Madigan, who is bankrolling a good portion of her campaign,” Hartstein said Monday. “They should be ashamed of themselves for their current tactics in the primary races.”
* 10th state House District Democratic candidate Jonathan Goldman is having no luck with a FOIA request to DCFS. They have some explaining to do. From a press release…
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has failed one of the first tests of a new law that went into effect Jan. 1of this year that requires state agencies to respond within five business days to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
On Jan. 8, Jonathan Goldman, a Democratic candidate for state representative in the 10th District, filed a request to DCFS concerning State Rep. Annazette Collin’s employment as a social worker with the agency. He specifically asked for information about her hiring date, salary and who authorized her hiring.
“My curiosity was piqued when I saw that Ms. Collins, who is already employed by the State as a legislator, making $76,732 in 2008, had landed another job with the state during a time of record unemployment when the state has laid off thousands of workers,” said Goldman. “I made a simple FOIA request 18 days ago and still haven’t heard from DCFS.”
When five business days had passed with no response, Goldman contacted DCFS on Jan. 15 to inquire about his request and was told he would receive a letter requesting an extension from the agency in the mail. He still hasn’t received correspondence of any kind from the department.
What’s the point in having a new FOIA law if the Quinn administration won’t follow it? It’s like déjà vu all over again. Sheesh.
* One of Peter LaBarbera’s websites is currently attempting to out a suburban county candidate for having adulterous affairs. No link. Try to avoid the Google. It’s really disgusting. LaBarbera has stooped to a new low.
* Usually about this time in a campaign cycle, I sternly warn commenters to avoid posting bumper sticker slogans in comments.
“Vote for X! She’s the best!” goofiness really has no place here. The same goes for “Vote against Z! He’s no good!” crud.
We’ll be deleting as many of those comments as possible in the coming days, so be warned: Your bumper sticker won’t stick here.
This time, though, I’ve decided to give our warning a little twist, so…
* The Question: Can you come up with a bumper sticker slogan for your favorite candidate and/or against your most despised candidate? If so, have fun while it lasts. Snark is heavily encouraged, of course.
The winner will get an invite to a special private party I’m probably throwing this Saturday night in Chicago. If you can’t come, or if you don’t want to divulge your identity, no biggie. At least you will have won. I say “probably” because I’m so busy this week that I may be too tired to do the party, which I host the Saturday before every state election. I’ll decide by tomorrow. If I don’t do it, I’ll buy you a pop or something more adult-oriented.
…Adding… People are getting so into the spirit of things that I thought I’d create an actual bumper sticker just for fun…
* These Tribune poll results are why it was such a big mistake for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan to say he’d be open to leasing the tollway system…
Politicians who hope to gain traction with voters by urging that the Illinois Tollway be leased to a private company might want to rethink their strategy.
By overwhelming numbers, Republican and Democratic voters alike oppose privatization of the tollway system and believe it would lead to higher tolls, according to a Tribune/WGN-TV poll.
The statewide poll of likely primary voters, conducted Jan. 16 to 20, shows Democrats opposing privatization 72 percent to 14 percent, with 13 percent undecided. Republicans oppose the idea 65 percent to 16 percent, with 19 percent undecided.
Why? Among Democrats, 71 percent say tolls are certain to increase if the tollway is leased to a private company; 68 percent of Republicans feel the same way.
[Ryan] said, if elected, he’d consider leasing the Illinois tollway system to a private operator. And he said that on the same day that rates were increased on parking meters leased by Chicago to a private operator in one of the most politically unpopular deals in recent city history.
“I want to consider and will consider every innovative approach possible to address our budget problems,” said Jim Ryan, (R) candidate for governor.
The former attorney general–who the Tribune poll suggested is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor– says leasing the suburban tollway system to a private operator might be the key to bailing out Illinois from its $13 billion budget hole.
“I’m willing to put everything on the table and take a look at it,” said Ryan.
Tollway users, however, have seen what happened when the Skyway was leased: Rates went up. And everybody has seen what happened to the price of Chicago parking meters when they were leased to a private company.
It could bring in big bucks, but it’s a killer issue. The Tribune didn’t post its crosstabs, so we don’t know how this breaks down by region, but I’d bet that the suburbs don’t love it.
The revenue generated by these video games is for a specific purpose. It will go to help pay off the bonds for the state’s long-needed and often neglected capital construction plan. Video gaming makes up 25 percent of the revenue to pay those bonds and we’re worried that if revenues fall short, other taxes may be raised.
Video gambling is already going on illegally. The state is legalizing the activity and taking its share.
We believe there are social costs to gambling but also think that government should only go so far to protect us from ourselves. People who are susceptible to addictive behaviors will find an outlet.
It’s time to take advantage of new legal sources of revenue.
Common sense on an editorial page. Who woulda thunk it?
The village’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 Monday to recommend approval of a law that would limit campaign signs to 6 square feet per side in residential areas and 9 square feet per side in all other areas of the village.
Only one political sign per candidate or issue would be allowed on any lot, with the exception of corner lots, which are allowed two signs. […]
Opposing candidates would be restricted from placing signs within 10 feet of each other, and signs would not be allowed to be displayed more than 60 days before an election.
Violators would have their signs removed and could be fined up to $50 per violation.
[Oops. Misread the darned story. But it’s still a goofy idea.] OK, for starters, that one sign limit is just goofy. What if the husband and wife are on different sides of a campaign? I can tell you from my own experience growing up, that happens a lot.
And candidates can’t place signs within 10 feet of each other? Who’s gonna get the fine? Both? So, what if a candidate complies with this rule and puts up a sign, then another candidate violates the rule and places the sign right next to it? This also happens all the time. Which one gets dinged?
Silliness.
* Related…
* Referendum to seek voter input about wind turbines in McLean, Livingston counties: Ballots in White Oak Township in McLean County will carry three referendum questions concerning the White Oak Energy Center. The advisory propositions seek input on whether a moratorium should be issued through Dec. 31, 2013, on issuing special-use permits for new wind turbines near Carlock. A second question asks voters if a requirement that new township road agreements should be finalized before extensions of special-use permits are granted for wind turbines in the township. The third question asks whether measures should be taken to protect the property values of White Oak Township residents before permits are extended.
* I told subscribers about this new poll already, but Public Policy Polling just posted the results on its blog, so here you go…
A primary loss for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is looking more and more possible. He trails Dan Hynes 41-40 in our poll of the race.
Hynes’ slight advantage is due largely to a 45-38 lead with African Americans, suggesting that a controversial ad featuring former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington making disparaging comments about Quinn may be working to Hynes’ advantage. The two candidates are tied among white voters with Quinn holding a 44-36 lead with Hispanics.
Quinn’s approval rating even among Democratic primary voters is just 38%, with an equal 38% disapproving of his job performance. 35% of voters view Hynes favorably to 25% unfavorably.
This race could still go either way but the momentum is in Hynes’ favor given his huge deficit in polling just a month ago.
The Republican race is even more up for grabs with five candidates polling within eight points of each other. Kirk Dillard is at 19%, followed by Andy McKenna with 17%, Bill Brady with 16%, Jim Ryan at 13%, and Adam Andrzejewski at 11%. Of the remaining candidates only Dan Proft with 7% is not in double digits.
At this point it seems the momentum is with Dillard, McKenna, and Brady with Ryan suffering from whatever the reverse of momentum is but on the Republican side it is definitely anyone’s game.
A week out from the primary there are still ten plausible match ups for the general election with five Republicans and two Democrats in serious contention- it’s not too often you see this kind of pile up so late in the game.
Important note: This is not the poll that Fox Chicago had last night. I’m choosing not to post that poll until I can find out more about it.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Dillard’s campaign manger is the first to issue a press release…
“With just one week to go until the Primary Election, today’s poll from Public Policy Polling (on Capitol Fax) shows that the Dillard campaign continues to gain momentum from voters across the state. It’s clear that Illinois Republicans are supporting Dillard’s plan to create jobs, balance our State’s budget, and clean up corruption in Springfield.
“It’s too bad Andy McKenna has decided to make this a negative campaign against his fellow Republicans. As former Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Andy said that he would unite the party around the issues that mattered. Andy also said that he would be an ethical leader. Clearly, that is not what he has done in this race, as it has been found that he unethically used party resources to bolster his run for governor while party chairman. That’s just more of the same kind of leadership Illinois is suffering from.
“Public Policy Polling is a highly reputable and accurate firm with a great track record in 2008 and most recently, the Massachusetts Senate race. The Wall Street Journal cites Public Policy Polling was one of the most accurate pollsters of the 2008 election cycle.”
* As I told subscribers this morning, Andy McKenna has a new ad whacking Kirk Dillard over Dillard’s appearance in a Barack Obama campaign ad. Rate it…
* Meanwhile, the State Journal-Register got ahold of the complete internal Illinois Republican Party report on McKenna’s use of party funds to finance a poll…
An internal state Republican Party ethics inquiry found that Andy McKenna — former state Republican chairman and now a candidate for governor — “compounded one ethical misstep with another” by commissioning a poll including his own name using party money, and then not telling committee members that the poll could benefit him.
The four-page report, obtained by The State Journal-Register, was submitted by the ethics committee of the Illinois Republican Party.
The report adds background to a joint news release that was issued Jan. 8 by McKenna’s campaign and current party chairman Pat Brady. That statement said McKenna “had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the Party’s by-laws and he sincerely apologizes for having done so.”
The internal report said McKenna never told the Republican State Central Committee the poll was being commissioned, that his name was included in the poll or that “information in the poll could benefit him personally.”
* Decision on Verizon’s sale of lines expected in spring
Verizon has proposed selling rural land lines in 14 states, including Illinois, to Connecticut-based Frontier so Verizon can concentrate on wireless communications and urban areas.
In Williamsville, for instance, the Union Pacific Railroad’s tracks cut across Main Street, which brings traffic from Interstate 55 into the village. More and faster trains could increase emergency response times, endanger pedestrians and possibly jeopardize buildings along the tracks, Village President Tom Yokley said.
Conducted by researcher Andrew Sum at Northeastern University in Boston, the study concludes that youth of all racial and socio-economic backgrounds increasingly do not work, but finds that the problem is particularly severe among minorities.
Part-Time Drivers Can Now Be Sent Home After 2 Hours If Snow Doesn’t Fall
* Daley won’t criticize, awaits reports on CPS credit card use
Four days after South Side residents disrupted a Plan Commission meeting to demand Finney’s ouster, Daley agreed to investigate their claims of deplorable living conditions at properties owned by Finney’s Woodlawn Redevelopment Corporation.
With the most recent installation of cameras at 24 Green Line stations, CTA officials say the system now has 1,657 cameras at 73 rail stations. By summer, there should be at least one at every CTA station.
A homeowner who paid a $5,000 tax bill last year, for example, would have a first installment of $2,750 this year — $250 more than under the old law. But proponents point out that the change won’t hike the total taxes property owners will pay over the course of the year and could result in lower tax payments on the second installments of their bills.
The city has gotten a federal stimulus grant to pay for half of the cost up to $1.8 million, said Mayor Ken Nelson. He said the city could request bids and then not accept any of them, and there is no hurry because the grant deadline is lenient.
Organizer Sherril West said former Republican congressional candidate John Morris helped with the booking. Morris was an unsuccessful GOP candidate for the 18th Congressional District in 2008.[…]
The event will be used as a fundraiser for Washington’s community center, and tickets will cost up to $100 to see the speech and $200 for the banquet and speech. The group also hopes to set up a scholarship fund.
Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau officials will announce details Wednesday of a new deal to expand a softball and baseball tournament series this summer.
Democrats like Steve Beckett and Barb Wysocki are working with Republicans like Al Nudo to put in place a process for drawing county board district maps on a non-partisan basis. That means drawing lines that are compact and contiguous, not spread hither and yon to jam Republicans here and Democrats there.
Of the 900 systems in the world that utilize the type of technology proposed for Champaign-Urbana, only one is active in the United States – a 3,500-population New York community.
Maryville has joined a growing number of communities, among them Glen Carbon, in making the switch to the non-regulated arm of Ameren Corporation’s energy operations, represented by Ameren Energy Marketing.
For the third time since 2007, voters in Lansing and Lynwood are being asked to approve a tax increase to help keep Sunnybrook School District 171 running. The district has already cut all extracurricular activities, and officials say a failed referendum will bring even more cuts.
Due to falling property tax revenues and weakened state funding, administrators in DuPage High School District 88 will begin planning $3.2 million in budget reductions for the 2010-11 school year.
The borrowing comes on top of more than $6 million in budget reductions - including layoffs and program cuts - that district officials are contemplating for the 2010-11 school year.
The district’s overall budget is $52.1 million, but that includes capital expenses and other costs. The smaller $30.1 million operating budget pays for most of the services people who use the district are familiar with, such as soccer programs, lifeguards at Magic Waters and maintenance at neighborhood parks.
Pradel told the crowd gathered for a Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the city has not been immune to economic troubles. It faced an $11 million budget deficit going into the current fiscal year and what was once a $14.1 million hole in the coming budget.
Just weeks ago, the city eliminated 49 employee positions - 22 that were filled and 27 that were vacant.
* Layoffs threatened at CWLP unless unions OK concessions
Ward 3 Ald. Frank Kunz asked for a breakdown of how the potential layoffs would affect each of the utilty’s departments, such as the water fund and electric fund, but Renfrow couldn’t provide it to aldermen during the budget workshop.
December sales dropped to 168 sales in St. Clair County and 179 in Madison County according to numbers reported Monday by the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois in Belleville and the Greater Association of Realtors in Glen Carbon.
Home sales locally before December had been above 200 each month for most of the year. For the year, St. Clair saw sales fall slightly from 2,478 in 2008 to 2,430 last year. In Madison County, annual sales dropped for 2,734 in 2008 to 2,698 last year.
* WTTW’s Chicago Tonight program is airing a live Democratic gubernatorial debate tonight at 7 o’clock. It won’t be simulcast on the Intertubes, so I won’t get a chance to watch.
Those of you who live in “the Chicagoland area,” as the locals say, would be doing the rest of us a big favor if you live-blogged the debate in comments. Thanks much and have fun.
Gov. Pat Quinn and state Comptroller Dan Hynes traded charges of incompetence tonight in a televised debate with a week to go in their tight race for the Democratic primary for governor. […]
Hynes contended [the Harold Washington ad] showed Washington firing Quinn for “incompetence and mismanagement”, adding “that’s what we got” from Quinn’s first year as governor. […]
Quinn hit Hynes again over the comptroller’s limited role in overseeing cemeteries, saying he “completely dropped the ball” on the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal in which cemetery workers are accused of digging up bodies and re-selling graves.
“He was incompetent,” Quinn said.
* 7:55 pm - And it’s over. Check the comments for a great live-blog. We definitely need to do this again. Excellent job, campers.
If you’re just coming back to the site, now’s your chance to tell us what you thought.
I found it odd that when the candidates were asked to name one thing they liked about each other, Quinn went after Hynes again. Not exactly the high road.
Ford Motor Co. plans to add 1,200 jobs when it begins making the Explorer sport-utility vehicle at its Far South Side factory on Torrence Avenue later this year, Crain’s has learned.
Gov. Pat Quinn is due to join Ford executives when they announce the Explorer production at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the plant near 130th Street. Plans to bring the Explorer from Louisville, Ky., to the under-utilized Chicago plant were first reported by Crain’s nearly a year ago. The move was helped by recent tax credits approved by Mr. Quinn.
Adding the Explorer probably will mean bringing a second shift back to the Torrence Avenue plant, which has been down to one shift for the past year. The factory now employs about 1,400 workers.
The company and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn are scheduled to make the announcement on Tuesday at the factory.
Quinn told reporters in Chicago on Monday that an unspecified company would be announcing 1,200 new jobs in Illinois.
The person briefed on the announcement says some of the workers will be from Ford’s pool of employees laid off at other factories. The person did not want to be identified because the announcement has not been made.
At Ford, the current truck-based Explorer, which provided billions in profits for the company as the top-selling SUV for a decade in the 1990s, will change fundamentally when its revamped version debuts by the end of the year. The new Explorer, which hasn’t been publicly unveiled, will be designed on the same underpinnings as a Ford car.
The news of hiring at Ford comes only days before the company will report its fourth-quarter earnings. Some Wall Street analysts now expect that the Dearborn, Mich., company could be profitable in the quarter and report a full-year profit, including special items, when earnings are released Thursday. Ford lost $30 billion between 2006 and 2008.
Monday, Jan 25, 2010 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
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* Alexi Giannoulias has responded to David Hoffman’s new TV ad by hitting back. Rate it…
*** UPDATE *** Hoffman responds…
“Mr. Giannoulias’ new ad attempts to take David Hoffman to task for daring to question his work record. True to Mr. Giannoulias’ form, his ad does not address the well documented facts of his relationship with Tony Rezko. They are well-sourced. They are well-reported. They are true. These are questions Mr. Giannoulias continues to dodge. Mr. Giannoulias also fails to mention in his ad that not one newspaper in Illinois has determined him fit for the Senate.
“Mr. Giannoulias also misrepresents the facts saying the Tribune called out David on a misstatement. David, in fact, took it upon himself to clarify after making a minor error. Imagine a public official who believes they should be held accountable to the voters for their public statements and actions - a lesson that is lost on Mr. Giannoulias, who has yet to apologize for his mismanagement of the Bright Start Fund and purposely misleading the investors regarding the amount of the losses.”
* Meanwhile, the respected Public Policy Polling firm is releasing a new survey that shows Giannoulias ahead and Hoffman in second place…
According to a yet-to-be-released survey from Public Policy Polling, Giannoulias has the support of 32 percent of Democratic primary voters — just 2 percentage points shy of the 34 percent he received in a similar poll released Sunday by the Chicago Tribune and WGN.
Former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman (D) scored 20 percent in the PPP poll, while former Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Robinson Jackson scored 18 percent. About 27 percent of respondents reported they were undecided in the automated poll of 400 likely Democratic voters conducted Jan. 22-25.
Kirk holds an even more commanding lead in the GOP primary field with 42 percent. His chief competition, real estate developer Patrick Hughes (R), had 9 percent of support in the poll and 39 percent were undecided. These results were also similar to the Chicago Tribune poll, but Hughes scored better by about 20 points in his own poll that he released today from a relatively unknown polling firm.
Let’s compare PPP’s poll to the Tribune results, which are in parentheses…
Not a huge difference at all, but Hoffman can probably better use these numbers to his advantage. Whether it means anything is debatable, at best.
…Adding… It should be noted that this PPP poll is much more current than the Trib poll, which was taken Jan. 16-20. Some of those Trib numbers are nine days old.
* In another campaign, 10th CD Republican hopeful Beth Coulson is up on cable TV with a new ad. Rate it…
I expected better.
From a Coulson press release…
Earlier in January, Coulson’s radio ads started airing on radio stations throughout the Chicagoland area, touting her experience as a leader in the 10th Congressional district in bringing lower property taxes and small business tax credits, as well as the endorsements from leaders like former Gov. Jim Edgar. Starting Sunday, Coulson’s media campaign hit television with a district-wide cable buy focusing on her ability to bring fiscal conservatism to Washington.
* Dawn Clark Netsch is endorsing Dan Hynes this afternoon. From a press release…
“Dan Hynes has been a straight shooter and independent voice from the very beginning. For years, he’s been signaling that our state’s finances are on the wrong track,” said Netsch. “Hynes is a competent manager who doesn’t stick his head in the sand. He has credibility when it comes to the state budget and our fiscal mess. He’s the candidate who has the skills needed to help us recover from this dire situation.”
Should be fun to see how the liberal icon responds to the Harold Washington ad.
Axelrod refused to comment on the devastating advertisement State Comptroller Dan Hynes is running against Gov. Quinn quoting former Mayor Harold Washington criticizing Quinn. Axelrod was a master campaign ad maker. But with Quinn standing off to his side Monday morning, Axelrod declined to weigh in.
The two were at an event for Misericordia Home.
* Legal fees allegedly aren’t showing up on campaign reports. From a press release…
CHICAGO—Independent Democratic candidates for State Rep. Joe Laiacona and Rudy Lozano Jr. filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections today, citing numerous violations of state election law related to the pre-election reports filed last week by Democratic incumbents Rep. Daniel Burke (D-23), Rep. Deborah Mell (D-40), Rep. Carol Sente (D-59) and Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-21).
Despite the fact that each of the incumbents was engaged in a time-consuming ballot access challenge, they all failed to report any expenditures or in-kind donations for attorney fees or staff costs.
“In November last year, I objected to my opponent’s petition on the grounds that she was not a registered voter,” said Laiacona. “We were both represented by attorneys. The fees I paid my attorney are reported. Mell’s report does not include any attorney’s fees.”
Lozano said, “We filed eight times the minimum number of signatures required. Burke never had a prayer of knocking us off the ballot but that wasn’t their goal. They wanted to cost us a bunch of
money and divert us from campaigning. Burke’s report hides this essential information from the voters.” […]
Illinois law requires the complaint case to be heard immediately and the State Board of Elections to make a decision in a week.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan promised “deep cuts” in state government if he’s elected during a meeting with The Register-Mail Tuesday.
The former Illinois Attorney General says the state was on the verge of bankruptcy, but raising taxes isn’t the way to pull the state out of the hole.
Ryan said the solution is to cut the fat out of state government. “These cuts are going to be painful,” he said. “But for the last 10 years the state has spent more than it has brought in.”
He made a commitment that cuts would not hurt the most vulnerable members of society. “I’m going to go out of my way to protect the poor, the disabled and the elderly,” he said.
I really wish newspapers wouldn’t let candidates so easily get away with statements like that.
* Quote of the day goes to Republican gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard, even though he was quoted last week…
“I’m not the Senate GOP leader today because I’ve always thought like a governor and not a myopic legislator,” Dillard said. “I’ve always thought globally.”
To those who know him, the bombastic quote sums up Dillard perfectly, displaying an ego and ambition that dates back to his days working as a top aide to Republican Govs. James Thompson and Jim Edgar.
[Birkett] says he was weighing his political future in June when he asked McKenna, then the state GOP chair, for results of a rumored poll.
Birkett says McKenna told him he didn’t have any poll information, something that Birkett says “was a flat-out lie”.
A few weeks later, McKenna resigned as party chair and went on to enter the governor’s race.
Birkett accuses McKenna of putting personal interests ahead of party when he included his own name in the poll without the permission of the republican state central committee.
Birkett made a video about the subject as well. Watch…
MARCH 2009: A Zogby poll shows that Birkett was leading the early field for Governor (Birkett 39, Brady 8, Whitley 5).
APRIL 2009: State party takes extensive $28,000 poll, using nearly half of all party funds. Just this month, McKenna admitted breaking party ethics rules by submitting his name in the poll for both Governor and Senator. Birkett was far ahead of McKenna in the poll.
JUNE 16, 2009: Birkett meets with McKenna at his Dad’s business, Schwarz Supply Source, Morton Grove. At the meeting, Birkett asks whether McKenna has any poll #s relating to him. McKenna says no.
* Democratic comptroller candidate Rep. David Miller has been accusing his top primary opponent of botching the Bright Start program…
Both Giannoulias and Kelly are facing questions about Bright Start as they campaign statewide for U.S. Senate and state treasurer, respectively. Krishnamoorthi is now running for comptroller, tiptoeing through the Bright Start minefield as well.
His opponent, state Rep. David Miller (D-Lynwood), reminds audiences that Krishnamoorthi oversaw Bright Start when he worked at the treasurer’s office.
Miller, his opponent, questions the timing of Krishnamoorthi’s departure.
“The question for me is, Was he asked to leave, or did he bail at a time when things got hot?” Miller said. “I believe he got pushed out.”
Krishnamoorthi dismissed the allegation: “It is absurd to suggest that I left because of Bright Start.”
Miller also accused Krishnamoorthi of downplaying his role in the Bright Start debacle when he is talking to voters.
“He doesn’t take personal responsibility,” Miller said. “He tries to explain it away as being a part of the downturn in the economy. He talks about transparency and accountability in his speeches, but he’s shown a lack of both. This was his baby.”
*** UPDATE *** With a hat tip to Progress Illinois, here are a couple more new TV ads. Raja Krishnamoorthi…
* A few weeks ago, a buddy of mine in the Pat Quinn campaign explained why he believed Dan Hynes was making no progress against Quinn. “Voters don’t view Pat as the incumbent,” he said.
Now that the race has dramatically changed, I think voters have taken a different view and actually see Quinn as an incumbent. That’s the background for my latest syndicated newspaper column…
With the primary election just around the corner, just about everybody I know has asked me who I think will win the various races.
I try to avoid making win/loss predictions, and this campaign season is a prime example for why everybody should just sit back and wait to see what the voters do.
For instance, a month or so ago, Comptroller Dan Hynes looked to most longtime political observers - including me - like he was toast. Stick a fork in him. Sayonara, dude. Pretty much everybody had given up on him.
Hynes had spent millions of dollars and hadn’t closed the gap between himself and Gov. Quinn. His message at the time - that Quinn’s tax increase proposals were bad for the middle class - just wasn’t working. He trailed Quinn in every poll by anywhere from 20 to 30 percentage points.
Then, of course, Quinn’s administration was hit with a scandal that has not stopped reverberating. His Department of Corrections director secretly let loose hundreds of violent prison inmates before their scheduled release dates in order to save a few bucks. Quinn first said he knew about it, then said he didn’t know about it, then blamed it all on his director, whom the governor has since adamantly and repeatedly refused to fire.
Because Quinn wouldn’t fire the guy, Quinn effectively took ownership of the scandal for himself. If he had fired the director, Quinn could’ve blamed everything on an underling and moved forward with some media-friendly prison reforms. But since Quinn refused to budge, Quinn was the one who got the blame - because blame always moves upwards if no actions are taken. And when some of those early released prisoners committed violent crimes after they were given their “Get out of Jail Free” cards, that blame became intense.
Until that point, I don’t think most voters viewed Quinn as a standard incumbent. He basically fell into the job when Rod Blagojevich was arrested, impeached and removed from office. So, I think, people were more than willing to cut Quinn as much slack as possible. That’s a big reason why Hynes’ early attacks didn’t work. Quinn wasn’t viewed as culpable for the state’s many problems (he inherited the budget deficit disaster from Blagojevich and George Ryan, after all), and people gave him points for trying, even if they disagreed with him (like when he proposed that big tax hike).
But the combined bungles of the early release plan and Quinn’s refusal to hold anyone truly accountable has, in my mind, convinced folks that he is now an incumbent just like every other incumbent. And that’s a dangerous place to be in a year shaping up as toxic for incumbents.
So it’s no surprise at all that Quinn’s own polling showed last week that he was leading Hynes by just a few points and was fading fast. Suddenly, Hynes is a contender.
Hynes began running a new TV ad late last week that featured the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington explaining on video why he fired Quinn from a top job in the 1980s. The video is certainly dramatic, but it’s also right on topic. Washington basically says in the video that Quinn was an incompetent showboater. It’s almost as if Washington is speaking this week, not 20-odd years ago.
It’s not easy to defeat a sitting governor in a party primary. The governor controls so many of the party’s strings, so much of the money and can command so much media attention for every little thing he does that it’s tough for an opponent to compete. Add in the super-early Feb. 2 primary date this year - which has shortened the campaign season by six or seven weeks - and it’s just about impossible.
So, while I will follow my tradition and not make a prediction about who will win this race, I will say this: The Hynes campaign has done just about everything right since the first of the year and Quinn has done just about everything wrong since mid-December. If Hynes doesn’t win, it was never in the cards.
* That same Quinnster buddy and I had what you might call an “intense conversation” over the weekend about the Quinn campaign’s use of Bobby Rush to defend against the Harold Washington ad. Eric Zorn is not happy, either…
In a new [Internet video] the Pat Quinn campaign features U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush expressing his indignation about last week’s bombshell commercial from the Dan Hynes campaign:
“And here’s Dan Hynes, who hasn’t done anything in public life that’s notable,” says Rush. “This is an act of a desperate man who is in a desperate situation and is running a desperate campaign.”
Not only is Hynes actually in a statistical dead heat with Quinn in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race and far from desperate, but… Bobby Rush? The guy who played a whole deckful of race cards a little more than a year ago to be sure that no one derailed the appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate?
* Zorn also checked to see if Dan Hynes “slagged” Barack Obama during the 2004 US Senate primary. He found one instance. Here’s a linked Sun-Times article from 2004…
Hynes opened Wednesday’s debate by attacking Obama, his former ally:
“When George Ryan was leading our state into a fiscal ditch, I took him on,” Hynes said. “I often stood alone. That’s what leaders do. Barack Obama chose a different course. He stayed silent. He didn’t do anything.”
Obama said it was Hynes who sat “on the sidelines” as Obama fought Ryan in Springfield.
“Dan mentioned earlier about George Ryan’s budget… I’ve actually passed laws that helped to provide tax relief for working families. Twenty thousand children have health care this year that didn’t have it last year because of a law I passed. On all of these issues, I’ve actually delivered.”
Hynes staffers were seen passing out anti-Obama literature that did not bear the Hynes campaign logo.
* I wrote over the weekend that if one of Hynes’ African-American or white liberal backers spoke up in anger about the Harold Washington ad, I’d be a whole lot more impressed. Last night, the Quinn campaign sent me a link to a blog written by a Chicago public school teacher…
But then Hynes ran an ad using the dead Harold against Quinn, who supported Harold but was fired from his job as Washington’s budget chief. My stomach turned. And when I early voted at the local library yesterday, I skipped the governor’s line.
Not exactly what I had in mind, but I give the Quinnsters big points for trying.
* David Hoffman has finally aired his long-promised attack ad. The spot whacks Alexi Giannoulias on Tony Rezko and touts Hoffman’s newspaper endorsements. Rate it…
Um, the Giannoulias family bank didn’t “let” Rezko bounce a half-million dollars in checks. The bank didn’t honor the checks and the casinos got quite upset about it.
* Erick Erickson, the top dog over at RedState, is dreaming…
Conservatives across the country are seriously considering a last minute air-drop of support into Illinois for Pat Hughes. The thinking goes that the last minute effort to help Scott Brown put him over the finish line and the same could be done in these last eleven days before the Illinois GOP primary. […]
He is not polling well against Kirk right now, but then he has significantly lower name identification. All the polling suggests Kirk’s support is very week and once people find out about Hughes, they break overwhelmingly for Hughes.
Scott Brown was a pretty well-known commodity by the last week and was either leading or coming very close to it by this point in the MA Senate campaign. And even if Hughes’ new poll is right - and that’s seriously doubtful considering that nobody even knows who his pollster is - he’s still trailing by 20 points. That’s a lot to overcome in a week - and that assumes the incoming cash is immediate. The Trib poll is probably more accurate anyway.
* Republican Lt. Governor candidate Jason Plummer, who has raised $731,000 this month alone in cash and (mostly) loans, has a new TV ad. Rate it…
In 2003, Madigan sponsored legislation sending $3.5 million in state money to the city of Chicago for “all costs associated with road, water, sewer and lighting improvements on 76th Street and South Kostner Avenue.”
That legislative language directed money to a privately owned stretch of pavement that leads to the properties of two Madigan clients in his Southwest Side district.
Madigan’s response in the story…
Madigan’s written statement said he sponsored the road improvement at the request of a nearby condominium building, which he described as the principal beneficiary of the project.
“That’s just not true,” said Daphne Brownlee, president of the Ford City Condominium Association. “We became aware of it for the first time when it was being done and we were very surprised.”
Brownlee, who said she was on the condo board at the time of the roadwork, also challenged Madigan’s statement that her complex was the primary beneficiary, because its main entrance is on another road.
But late last week, Madigan’s press secretary issued a statement. All emphasis is in the original…
The problem for the Tribune, however, is that they talked to the wrong condo association. The Tribune reporters spoke to the Ford City Condominium Association. But the condo association that requested the roadwork was the “Courtyard in Ford City Condominium Association,” a nearby complex located on 76th Street—the street that was the beneficiary of the roadwork. Thus, the Tribune did not prove the Speaker’s assertion false; it missed the boat altogether while leading its readers to believe that it had caught the Speaker in a contradiction.
What is most pathetic about the Tribune’s reporting is that Ms. Brownlee told the Tribune reporters that they had the wrong condo association, but they did nothing to correct the error. She explained that her condo complex was not even located on 76th Street and would not benefit from that roadwork. One might expect a reporter to take these statements as evidence that he was not talking to the correct source. Instead, he took the statements as evidence that his thesis was correct, and the Speaker was wrong:
Brownlee … also challenged Madigan’s statement that her complex was the primary beneficiary, because its main entrance is on another road.
Did it ever occur to the Tribune reporters, upon learning that Ms. Brownlee’s condo complex was not even located near the roadwork, that maybe they were speaking with the wrong association? Why did they ignore Ms. Brownlee’s warning to them on this point? And why didn’t they simply return to the Speaker, with whom they had an open dialogue, and provide him the opportunity to clarify matters? One phone call, and the issue could have been cleared up.
Instead, the Tribune published a piece on this Ford City road project that might have made for nice “gotcha” journalism but which, unfortunately, was completely false and misleading. This leaves only one question:
Will the Tribune admit its mistake and issue a retraction?
* Meanwhile, Rod Blagojevich praised the Tribune in a press release…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich [Sunday] praised the Chicago Tribune for its expose on Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and the apparent conflicts of interest between his job as a powerful polician and the clients he represents in his law practice.
“If this isn’t corrupt I don’t know what is,” said the former governor on his WLS radio show this afternoon. “Finally the Chicago Tribune has done something about this.”
“I hate to tell you I told you so I told you so,” said the former governor the show.
Blagojevich says he doubts Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Michael Madigan’s daughter, will do an investigation.
“Madigan & Getzendanner has become a go-to firm in Chicago’s lucrative field of commercial property tax appeals,” Chicago Tribune, the paper wrote. “In 2008 it represented 45 of the 150 most valuable downtown buildings, based on values set by the last complete city reassessment in 2006, according to public records. That’s more than twice what the closest rival represented.”
“Hey Mike Madigan why don’t you call me on this show,” Blagojevich said on the radio. “Why don’t you disclose who your clients are. We have a right to know.”
Madigan never called.
But others did. The lines lit up.
“If Madigan has his way he’s gonna make Illinois his personal feifdom,” said Jerry from University of Illinois.
As governor, Blagojevich rewrote HB824 which called for lawmakers to disclose their clients. The bill died after that.
