* If you have HBO, then you absolutely must watch Martin Scorsese’s new documentary on George Harrison, Living in the Material World.
The film builds on itself to give us an incredibly moving, beautiful and spiritual ending. In that way, Scorsese completely captures - and mirrors - George’s life. Harrison once referred to his religion as “a mystical energy encased in a sound structure,” but he might as well have been talking about himself.
From: cms.iisnews@illinois.gov
Subject: Press Release - CORR Doss Kuykendall at Large
Date: October 7, 2011 11:56:31 AM CDT
CHICAGO – October 7, 2011 – The Illinois Department of Corrections inmate at large is Doss Kuykendall who was incarcerated for burglary. He is housed at East Moline CC, a low level minimum security/work camp facility. Kuykendall is 43 years old, 5 ft. 8 inches tall- 190 pounds- with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen with a beard and long hair, but he may have altered his appearance.
The fugitive was taken into custody around 11 Friday morning by members of the Illinois Department of Corrections, Albany Police, and the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department. The investigation into his escape continues.
Corrections sent another press release at 12:30 this afternoon announcing the capture.
* I’ve avoided this fight because, well, I’m not sure why. I just did. But here’s the latest salvo via press release…
Statement of Brady Campaign Acting President Dennis Henigan on Illinois Representative Joe Walsh’s October 3 letter responding to Henigan’s recent statement:
“Rep. Walsh recently argued that concealed carry of loaded guns should be legalized in Illinois because the Second Amendment is ‘the last line of defense between us and our government.’ When I suggested he ought to explain why his words should not be read as a thinly veiled justification for violence against government officials, the Congressman responded to me with a letter that is nothing but an exercise in misdirection and obfuscation. The letter is a dutiful repetition of gun lobby talking points, but not once does it explain, or even refer to, Walsh’s earlier statement that guns are ‘the last line of defense between us and our government.’
Rather than defend his earlier statement, Walsh’s letter raises new, and equally troubling, questions. He says that the Second Amendment was written because ‘Americans should be able [to] defend themselves from tyranny no matter what form it takes on.’ He then says that ‘Americans and especially Illinoisans are subject to a new form of tyranny — a big government bent on slowly dismantling our rights to own and carry a firearm.’
Again, Mr. Walsh, what are you saying here? That if Illinois does not allow the carrying of loaded, concealed guns in public, the Second Amendment justifies resistance by force of arms? Are you asserting a right of gun owners to threaten or engage in violent acts against government officials if the Illinois legislature does not agree that people should be free to carry loaded guns into restaurants, coffee shops and movie theaters in your state?
Discuss if you want.
* Five years ago, Walmart’s attempt to open a store in Chicago created such a public uproar that the resulting backlash led to a ton of incumbent aldermen being tossed out on their tails in the next election. Nowadays, Walmart is widely praised for providing much-needed services…
But since the company opened two SmallMarts — a “Walmart Express” store on Chicago’s south side in July and a “Neighborhood Market” on the western edge of Downtown last week — uproar over its alleged poor labor practices and detrimental effect on small businesses has largely dissipated, say Chicago leaders we spoke to.
“The debate about not letting in Walmart is kind of over,” said Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a state legislature who represents the tony Hyde Park section of Chicago. “We need groceries in food deserts, and Walmart has fresh fruits and veggies.” […]
“The truth is that an overwhelming majority of Chicagoans wanted more affordable grocery options all along, a fact made clear as thousands of local residents — most of whom have never publicly voiced their opinion — show their support for Walmart by shopping our stores every day,” said Walmart spokesman Steve Restivo.
All true. It helped, though, that organized labor was able to cut a deal with the company which raised wages, albeit not to the level the unions really wanted.
* Broomfield, Colorado’s mayor is named Pat Quinn, and his opponent’s last name is Madigan. I kid you not…
All seven men running for a Broomfield office this year participated in Thursday’s event… Mayoral incumbent Pat Quinn and challenger Paul Madigan also participated.
Weird.
…Adding… Nice catch by a commenter…
I don’t know anything about them but there is also a national law firm with this interesting name: Quinn Emanuel
I’m guessing it’s time to change the slogan for the White Sox. I don’t think you can hire somebody like Robin Ventura as manager and say you’re “All In.”
Bringing in Terry Francona would have been an “All In” move. You could have made the case for Davey Martinez or Ryne Sandberg, who have paid their dues in the dugout. […]
If you’re a longtime Sox fan like me, you remember the Sox hired Don Kessinger as a first-time manager in 1979. We heard the same description as we did about Mr. Ventura: classy player, great guy, played baseball the right way. The former shortstop was fired in mid-season after compiling a 46-60 record.
Hopefully, Mr. Ventura will have a better run than Mr. Kessinger.
As for the new slogan, perhaps something involving patience might be in order. One piece of advice for the Sox: Please stay away from any Batman and Robin references.
* The Question: What should be the new White Sox slogan?
* WBEZ aired a really good story on Mike Kasper this morning. Kasper, as most of you know, is a Statehouse and Chicago lobbyist. But he’s also a bigtime Democratic lawyer. He handled the House impeachment process of Rod Blagojevich, defended Rahm Emanuel in his residency lawsuit, is the lead lawyer defending the Democrats’ new district maps, defends favored Dems during the petitioning process and helps knock unfavored Dems and Republicans off the ballot. He even does some personal legal work for members…
Kasper worked for [Rep. Monique Davis] in the 2008 election, when he tried to get her opponent disqualified from the race. Campaign finance reports indicate Kasper did not charge for that work, and Mike Madigan’s campaign picked up the tab for miscellaneous costs.
Kasper also worked pro bono for Davis a couple years ago, when she was sued for overdue rent on her Chicago office.
“Mr. Kasper is an excellent attorney,” Davis said. “He’s a very down-to-earth individual. I think he’s the kind of person that anyone could trust.”
Campaign legal work only occasionally shows up on campaign finance forms. So some politicians are accepting free legal services from a lawyer who’s also a lobbyist, without disclosing what’s essentially a gift. The director of the state board of elections said that’s because these legal expenses fall into a “gray area” of the law.
Since Kasper probably wrote that law, there’s most likely a good reason why it’s a “gray area.”
…Adding… Good points from commenter Willie Stark…
So, anyone who volunteers on a campaign should have to therefore report an in-kind in at least that amount for hours they spend in their volunteer activities. Is that what we mean to do? If not, how does disadvantaging a particular class of worker (lawyer) square with the freedom of association implicit in the first amendment’s freedom of assembly?
It doesn’t seem so black and white to me that those who in their professional lives bill at an hourly rate should have to also bill and report for their personal political activities, but maybe others can show how it is.
* There’s been a long Statehouse tradition of the best - and most favored - legislative staffers leaving after several years of service and becoming lobbyists. Kasper was House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief legal counsel before moving up. One of Kasper’s lobbying partners is Courtney Nottage, ex-Senate President Emil Jones’ former chief of staff and his top campaign guy. Another is David Dring, who flacked for House GOP Leader Tom Cross. The firm’s lead lobster is Jim Fletcher. From his bio…
Mr. Fletcher has more than 30 years of experience in state government affairs. His governmental experience includes service as Deputy Governor of Illinois, Parliamentarian of the Illinois House of Representatives, Parliamentarian of the Illinois Senate, General Counsel and Executive Director of the Illinois Educational Facilities Authority, and Executive Director of the State of Illinois Liaison Commission of Higher Education.
Fletcher was a partner at Winston & Strawn before Jim Thompson left office and joined the firm. He’s a Statehouse legend and a walking history book. He’s also one of the most pleasant people you’ll ever meet. Fletcher’s firm even touts this New York Times quote on its website…
“clout heavy lobbyists”
Yep. And they are far from alone. Carter Hendren, Pate Philip’s former chief of staff and Jim Edgar’s first gubernatorial campaign manager is also a lobbyist. Hendren wields enormous backstage power in Republican circles. Tom Cullen, who ran Speaker Madigan’s campaign apparatus and took the House back from the Republicans in 1996, has a lobbying list as long as both your arms and is still very active in House Democratic campaigns.
You could say that these guys (and they are almost all men) are the premium oil which makes the engine run. Their clients also provide a handy fundraising asset for their former employers. It’s almost a perfectly privatized political synergy.
But all have been meticulously trained over the years to dot their i’s and cross their t’s. These are not the sort of people who are likely to be caught up in a scandal (yeah, there was that MSI thing with the Senate Repubs, but it was a long time ago). They most certainly have a definite “in” with their former employers, which is why they’re hired. Yet, they don’t always pass their bills. Not even clout can pass a bad bill.
* The governor toured Downstate Illinois yesterday to pump up public support for his veto of the ComEd/Ameren “Smart Grid” bill. He didn’t focus much on the Smart Grid, however…
Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday urged lawmakers not to override his veto of legislation that proponents say will modernize the state’s energy infrastructure through rate hikes and a more streamlined regulatory process.
With Ameren Illinois’ corporate headquarters in Peoria serving as a backdrop, Quinn said, “This is a fight” during the first of four public downstate stops to push back against any attempt to override his Sept. 12 veto of SB1652.
Proponents say the legislation institutes modest rate increases to build a better, “smart grid” system for power distribution.
“We have to make sure to get the word out for those who represent the people of central Illinois that if they override the veto, they are voting for an automatic rate increase for Ameren and for Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison,” Quinn added. “That is not good.”
Gov. Pat Quinn visited City Hall Thursday afternoon to stand with metro-east mayors in an effort to protect consumers from what he called potentially massive electric rate hikes.
Quinn said that he vetoed a bill earlier this year that he said gives unprecedented advantages to Ameren and other state utilities to raising rates at a time when consumers are struggling to make ends meet.
“It was a bad bill,” Quinn said. “It was bad for consumers, it was bad for businesses and it was bad for government. It was bad for the people of Illinois.”
Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday replaced the head of the independent Illinois Power Agency, which has saved consumers an estimated $1.6 billion on electric rates since 2009, with a retired 35-year veteran of Commonwealth Edison.
Quinn’s appointment of Arlene Juracek, which must be confirmed by the Illinois Senate, drew fire from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.
“We have concerns about this appointment,'’ said Paul Gaynor, a spokesman for Madigan.
Gaynor said Juracek played a key role in an electricity auction in 2006 that caused some consumers’ rates to jump two to three times and ultimately resulted in a settlement of about $1 billion repaid to consumers, as well as the creation of the power agency to purchase electricity at the cheapest rates available.
House Speaker Michael Madigan has tried through legislation to have the IPA removed from Quinn’s oversight and moved to the Illinois Ethics Commission, but Quinn vetoed the plan. This issue could be resurrected in the coming veto session.
You should really go read the whole thing. This is a curious appointment, to say the least. The governor’s office claims their hands are tied by state law to the point where only a tiny number of people are qualified for the job, but putting a retired ComEd exec in charge of negotiating power prices with her former employer is more than a bit odd - especially when she still owns Exelon stock.
Nobody believes that Gov. Quinn has all of a sudden sold his soul to ComEd. If that happened, the ground would be getting mighty cold from Hell freezing over. The question here is about his judgement. And, as I pointed out to subscribers this morning, just imagine the uproar if Rod Blagojevich had hired a ComEd retiree to negotiate rates with her old boss.
Commonwealth Edison Co. has extolled the support of Illinois businesses in its bid to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the electricity rate hike bill. But while several companies that stand to benefit if the bill becomes law are pushing for the override, the largest commercial power users in the state are firmly against it and support the veto.
They are represented by a consortium of two dozen companies that calls itself the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers and includes huge Illinois employers like Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc., North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories Inc., Chicago-based steelmaker A. Finkl & Sons Co. and Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland Co.
Greg Webb, ADM’s vice-president for state governmental relations, stood beside Mr. Quinn on Thursday as the governor was in Decatur as part of his barnstorming tour of Downstate to build support for sustaining his veto of the measure, SB1652.
“ADM, like other employers in Illinois, relies on competitively priced, reliably delivered electricity in order to operate,” Mr. Webb said. “SB1652, unfortunately, does not deliver on either of those counts. Its reliability provisions are not strong enough, and its rate provisions could very well lead to Illinois businesses paying higher rates than in neighboring states without commensurate benefits.”
“When I met with the media as our season ended, I identified one person at the very top of my managerial list,” general manager Ken Williams said in a statement. “I wanted someone who met very specific criteria centered around his leadership abilities. Robin Ventura was that man. His baseball knowledge and expertise, his professionalism, his familiarity with the White Sox and Chicago and his outstanding character make him absolutely the right person to lead our clubhouse and this organization into the seasons ahead.”
Ventura replaces Ozzie Guillen, who left the Sox for the Florida Marlins.
“When I rejoined the White Sox this June, I said this was my baseball home and that part of me never left the White Sox organization,” Ventura said in a statement. “My family and I are thrilled to be returning to Chicago. Managing a Major League Baseball team is a tremendous honor. It’s also an opportunity and a challenge.
I’ve checked Ventura’s bio and this appears to be his first ever coaching job.
Discuss.
…Adding… He may be a rookie manager, but he does have some fire in his belly. Trouble is, he ain’t much of a fighter. Remember this one?…
* Democrat Debbie Halvorson went on the offensive against Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. during a media appearance this morning. She blasted Jackson in her opening statement for being against the president’s proposed jobs bill…
“The current congressman is against the jobs bill. How can you be against the jobs bill when unemployment in Illinois is worse than the unemployment nationwide.”
* But Halvorson really let Jackson have it during the question and answer session with reporters…
“This president is gonna need help. We can’t have a congressman out there who is bashing his president, who is talking against his jobs bill, who votes against things that are important to him. The people of the 2nd Congressional District elect their congressman who’s gonna go to DC to support the president… It’s ridiculous…”
Keep in mind that this is an overwhelmingly Democratic district. This is all about winning the primary. The general won’t mean much unless a third party candidate gets into the race.
* “He’s got distractions,” Halvorson said of Jackson, noting that he’d been named to a list of the most corrupt members of Congress and was being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.
After bringing up a point about where Jackson actually lives, she was asked by a reporter if she was suggesting that he didn’t live in Chicago…
“I will tell you, I’m not suggesting. He lives in Washington, DC, he raises his family in Washington, DC. He does not come home.”
Later, she even claimed the same about his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson…
“Rumor has it that she lives in DC, too.”
* Before last night’s presser, Congressman Jackson sent out a statement touting his job creation history…
“During the past 16 years, I have maintained a narrow focus on bringing jobs to the Southland. I’ve secured more than $900 million in federal investments in the 2nd Congressional District — more than any other congressman in the state during that period.”
But Halvorson dismissed Jackson’s claim…
“I don’t see a job that came from any of it. But it’s been doled out to the party leadership or maybe the mayors to gain that loyalty.”
* Halvorson was also asked about her past support from the NRA…
“You know what, guns don’t kill, criminals do. What we need to recognize is the fact that we need to protect people from the criminals who get the guns no matter what.”
* In other news, Abdon Pallasch is live-tweeting the Cook County Democratic Central Committee’s slating session. There’s some interesting news about Ald. Sandi Jackson attempting to derail the slating of State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. First, her husband tries to derail a new district map backed by a Latino congressman, and now she goes after a Latina countywide official. Weird.
BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can watch the ScribbleLive doohickey…
A day after state Rep. David Harris announced he wouldn’t be making a bid in the 8th District Republican primary, after all, a senior Republican operative tells us that DuPage Superintendent of Education Darlene Ruscitti is making phone calls to Republican delegates about running in the new 8th Congressional district.
The field is clear, I’m hearing, so she’ll be up against either Tammy Duckworth or Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Former Springfield Ald. Bill Clutter is no longer a candidate for state Senate.
Being a candidate for more than two months, Clutter said today, “totally diverted me from my business” as well as his work the Innocence Project, which seeks to reverse wrongful convictions.
Clutter, 53, who has an investigations and process server business, had been running for the Democratic nomination in the new 48th Senate District. He’s now endorsing the other Democrat in the race, Macoupin County Board Chairman Andy Manar of Bunker Hill.
“I think he’ll make a strong candidate to win the seat for the Democrats,” Clutter said of Manar, who is also chief of staff to Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago.
* House Republican Leader Tom Cross unveiled his economic plan in Chicago yesterday. As I’ve already told you, Cross has held some Downstate press conferences to tout the plan…
Cross cited lowering the fee for incorporating a new business to $100 from $750, extending existing enterprise zones, making permanent the research and development tax credit, raising the ceiling on estate tax liability, and allowing firms to carry losses into later tax years.
But Cross did not mention his proposed repeal of January’s corporate income tax increase, which was largely pushed through by Democrats.
“We’d go further if we were in charge,” Cross, of Oswego, later told reporters. Asked if Democrats had shown any willingness to discuss repealing or cutting the corporate tax, Cross said: “None at all. None at all.”
But Democratic Senate President John Cullerton has expressed an interest in looking into reducing the corporate rate, which jumped to 7 percent from 4.8 percent, in light of threats from several high-profile businesses to leave the state. […]
Cullerton has spoken on several occasions of lowering the corporate income tax rate in exchange for eliminating tax loopholes in a revenue-neutral fashion, said John Patterson, a Cullerton spokesman.
* Meanwhile, Laurence Msall, the President of The Civic Federation, is one of the media’s favorite go-to guys about our state’s budget and its pension problems. This is from his official bio…
As DCCA’s chief legislative liaison, Msall presented and successfully secured the passage of over 50 legislative initiatives including the tax and financial incentives used to retain the Sears merchandising group in Illinois, the creation of the State of Illinois tourism promotion program, the Illinois Enterprise Zone program, and reform of the State’s tax increment financing program.
So, Illinois TIFs were “reformed,” eh? Huh. OK. Did anyone tell the Chicago Reader?
* Msall helped pass a whole lot of business tax breaks that are now biting us in the rear. For instance, Sears…
In 1989 the state of Illinois needed to come up with a plan to keep Sears from moving out of state.
They came up with tax incentives. One of them was a property tax break program called an Economic Development Area (EDA) which took the money away from the D300 schools.
The EDA is set to expire in 2013. Sears is asking for a 15 year extension, which was then added as an amendment to SB 540
This Bill is set to be voted on October 25th, 2011.
* Most of the powers that be support this Sears EDA legislation. But as I’ve told you before, the local school district is hotly opposed…
“This is unusual in a way, for our part, to take a political side, but we are at a point right now where we are desperate,” Superintendent Michael Bregy said. “And because of what happened in the past with the Sears EDA being placed onto a bill and, at the 11th hour, almost being passed without any knowledge of our school district, we have taken a very vocal position in the issue because we have not been asked to be at the table.”
Bregy made those comments at a school board meeting earlier [last] month during which the board approved a contract with attorney Scott Nemanich of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to act as governmental relations counsel to the district. […]
“It’s not that anybody is against Sears. Our own parents in our district work at Sears. We’re not drawing a line in the sand against Sears,” Bregy said.
But a volunteer-based group, Advance 300 that’s affiliated with the district’s lobbying push sure looks like it’s “drawing a line in the sand against Sears.” From its website…
If the Sears EDA is extended, D300 will lose at least $14 million per year for the next 15 years that it should be getting in property taxes from the Sears property in Hoffman Estates. If we do not get that money the district, and our kids’ futures, will be devastated.
Tomorrow starts our call a ireesponsible lawmaker and invite them to our OCtober 13th Rally Day. Monday’s lucky invitee is Sen. Dan Kotkowski. Sen. Kotkowski’s bill - Seante Bill 540 is the bill that was amended to include the extension of the Sears EDA. While Sen. Kotkowski told D300 administrators that he would pull the amendment, he instead filed a motion for concurrence that could actually expedite the passage of the bill once the veto session starts on October 25th. Call the “Honorable” Senator today and ask him to join us at the October 13th Rally at Westfield so that he can explain to us why it’s better to pay greedy corporations than educate 21,000 kids!
Apparently, they need a lot more education money in that district because the group has a real problem with spelling errors.
* By the way, Ohio thinks it has an in with Sears. This is from the Columbus Dispatch…
In May, one week after initial reports about a possible Sears move, it was disclosed that the Sears chairman, billionaire hedge-fund manager Eddie Lampert, had bought a large stake in the Columbus-based discount retailer Big Lots. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the 1.3 million shares of Big Lots that Lampert acquired early this year were valued at $56.5 million.
The prospect of Sears becoming a central Ohio company could make “a lot of sense,” Columbus retail consultant Chris Boring said.
“Central Ohio is a hotbed for retail executives and retail consultants, especially with Ohio State graduating thousands of business graduates every year,” Boring said. “I think this would be a very fertile territory for Sears in terms of labor. The success of central Ohio’s other retailers speaks to that.”
* In other news, one can only wonder if this Supreme Court ruling will prompt the mayor to ask the General Assembly to change state law this fall or next spring…
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Chicago can’t collect amusement taxes from websites where tickets are resold.
In a victory for StubHub Inc., an online market for ticket resellers, the state’s high court said the city overstepped its home-rule powers when it required “agents” of ticket resellers to collect taxes owed on any markup over the face value of a ticket.
The city was seeking taxes, penalties and interest dating back to 2000 from StubHub and its parent company, San Jose-based eBay Inc., which acquired the San Francisco-based Internet firm for $307 million in 2007. […]
The circuit court bumped the case back to the Illinois Supreme Court, which ruled in an opinion issued Thursday that the state Legislature wanted “to allow Internet auction-listing services to opt out of any obligation regarding local tax collection. That is a policy decision this court is ill-advised to ignore.”
* Related…
* Quinn says he’s working on incentives for Ford: It’s not the first time Ford has received incentives to increase its workforce in Illinois. Since 2007, it has received at least $6.2 million in training funds and grants from the Large Business Development Assistance Program, according to the Illinois Corporate Accountability website.
* Navistar cutting about 130 jobs in Fort Wayne: Navistar International Corp. is planning to lay off about 130 workers from its Fort Wayne operations by the end of the year as it continues consolidation to a new headquarters in suburban Chicago.
* Quinn says he’ll detail gambling objections this month
* The FBI specifically warns against using its crime stats to make up silly rankings. From the agency’s website…
Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities—news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation—use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction. Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents. […]
For example, one city may report more crime than a comparable one, not because there is more crime, but rather because its law enforcement agency, through proactive efforts, identifies more offenses. Attitudes of the citizens toward crime and their crime reporting practices, especially concerning minor offenses, also have an impact on the volume of crimes known to police.
* There are other factors that play into this as well. Chicago isn’t ranked at all for violent crimes because of the way it collects data on forcible rape…
The data collection methodology for the offense of forcible rape used by Chicago, Illinois, does not comply with national Uniform Crime Reporting Program guidelines. Consequently, its figures for forcible rape and violent crime (of which forcible rape is a part) are not published in this table.
* But, sure enough, Forbes went ahead and did it anyway and ranked Springfield, IL as the third most violent city in the nation, after Detroit and Memphis…
The Springfield, Ill., metropolitan area ranks third on our list with 855 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2010. The Illinois state capital confounds analysts who try to interpret its relatively high crime rate. The unemployment rate was lower than the national average at 7% as of July so the economy wouldn’t seem to play a major role in crime. The area’s relatively young population – 66% of the city is under the age of 44 – may be a factor, as younger areas generally have higher rates of crime.
* Forbes used the FBI’s metropolitan statistical area breakdowns for its study. I went through the FBI’s list of crimes by Illinois cities and pulled out the worst of the bunch…
* But, of course, since there’s a ranking available by a national media outlet, we’re seeing lots of local coverage here…
* Local officials did their best to convince people that Forbes relied on faulty data…
Springfield Police Chief Robert Williams and Mayor Mike Houston expressed disbelief Tuesday at statistics that suggest greater Springfield is the third most-violent metropolitan area in the U.S. – behind only Detroit and Memphis. […]
Williams suggested the city’s ranking is due to Springfield being scrupulous about reporting crimes.
“I don’t want to point fingers at anyone else,” Williams said. “But I’ll tell you that we have a very strict interpretation as to how we report our crimes.
“We continue each year to compare apples to apples, and we see a downward trend,” he said. “I respectfully dispute those statistics, as well as the methodology.”
Unfortunately for Springfield, these lists have a way of taking on eternal life. Rockford, for all its image-building effort, will forever be dogged by finishing dead last — No. 300 — in Money magazine’s “most livable cities” lists in 1993 and 1996. (Rockford was rated the 10th most dangerous city in this week’s Forbes list.)
Again, we’re not in denial that Springfield should strive to be a safer place with less violent crime.
But Springfield as the third most dangerous city in America? Figuratively speaking, those are fighting words.
* I asked the Illinois Department of Employment Security to total up seasonally adjusted job growth and declines from January through August, the latest month available. I did this because we’re starting to see questions crop up here and there about whether the income tax hike is hurting Illinois’ economy. There are good arguments that the tax hike will definitely hurt us, and we’ll get into those in another post today, but as you can plainly see, the biggest net job losses since the January tax hike have been in government…
* Here are the monthly job growth/decline figures…
Both the U.S. and Illinois unemployment rates declined in January, February and March. The U.S. rate began to increase in April.
In May, the Illinois unemployment rate followed suit and began to increase.
In July and August, the stagnant national economy finally pushed the Illinois unemployment rate up at a steeper pace than the national average.
Latest revised estimates for Q1 2011 U.S. Gross Domestic Product shows a meager annual rate of 0.4 percent; 2011Q2 was 1.3 percent. These rates indicate that the U.S. will share the fate of most of the world’s largest economies - a period of slower growth.
Housing remains the national economy’s albatross. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, in the second quarter, residential investment — money spent on building, adding to and maintaining homes — accounted for just 2.2 percent of GDP. That’s the lowest level since 1945. If residential investment were to rebound to its average share of the economy from 1950 to 2000 of 4.7 percent, GDP would be 2.5 percent higher than it is now.
* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn talked to reporters yesterday for the first time since his trip to China. Raw audio…
“The revenues are going pretty well for Illinois in the major areas of revenue that the state receives. There won’t be much of a difference between the expenditures this fiscal year and the revenues that we derive. We may actually have more revenues than expenditures… We just have to get strong economic recovery as the very best way to deal with the budget deficit of the state.”
* The governor is absolutely right about how an economic recovery will help erase the budget problem. You cannot contract your way out of this mess. Just the opposite.
And he’s right that state revenues are doing well so far this fiscal year. Revenues are coming in pretty well. The problem isn’t now, however, the problem is the near future. The Commission on Governmental Forecasting and Accountability’s latest report urges lots of caution…
Caution Urged Despite Early Performance
While the economic sources have met the Commission’s expectations to date, the forward view of revenues should be tempered with the realization that some clouds on the horizon will serve to stymie a repeat of similar growth. […]
In addition, second half revenue performance would not escape if the current economic “soft patch” continues to be accompanied by stubbornly high unemployment. Looking ahead, continued economic malaise would jeopardize even modest revenues expectations well into FY 2013.
In other words, it’s no time to be spending more money. On the other hand, considering the economy, it’s not a good time to be cutting back, either. If this state had its act together, we could better respond to problems like these. We don’t, so we can’t. We’re essentially victims of our own irresponsibility.
* Related…
* Quinn would consider keeping prison open: But Quinn said the money to keep the prison open must come from re-allocation, and that he won’t borrow cash. The General Assembly would have to agree to re-allocate the money.
* Testimony begins today in Bill Cellini’s corruption trial. I’ll post some stories in the ScribbleLive program while we await the beginning. BlackBerry users click here, everybody else can just stay on this page and watch…
State Sen. Suzi Schmidt will stay in office and seek re-election, she announced today, despite a recent controversy over her 911 call to request special treatment in a marital dispute.
“I believe I can and will continue to serve the citizens of Lake County with the same dedication and energy I’ve had for the past 25 years, and the issues in my personal life will not prohibit me from doing the job they elected me to do,” she said. “I am continuing to circulate petitions to run for re-election in 2012, and I hope I continue to earn the support of the citizens of the 31st District.”
Schmidt, a Republican from Lake Villa, again apologized for her “wrong” behavior,” and said she has begun counseling “to help in resolving the issues in my personal life.”
On Sept. 26, Schmidt called Lake County Sheriff’s police, identified herself as the former county board chairman, and asked them to “ignore” her husband if he called during a marital dispute, adding that he might be afraid of her because of her “connections.”
*** UPDATE *** From Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno…
“After a period of reflection, Sen. Schmidt has announced her decision to continue to serve the constituents of the 31st District. Most importantly, she has clearly accepted responsibility for her inappropriate behavior in dealing with a very difficult personal situation. She has acknowledged that her actions were wrong and has asked for the forgiveness of her constituents. She assures me she is taking the appropriate measures to continue to address these issues while maintaining her focus on the needs of the district.”
* 4:01 pm - The jury is empaneled and opening statements are about to begin. BlackBerry users click here, but everybody else can kick back and watch the live feed…
Abbott Laboratories chief Miles White had a pointed message for the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Illinois House when he met with them recently: “We have options.”
The statement, confirmed by reliable sources, was an unmistakable reference to the fact that the huge biotech firm owns a ton of property in southern Wisconsin, property that it could use to expand, rather than adding to its Illinois workforce.
Mr. White’s message was the latest sign that business is getting serious about its drive to get the Illinois General Assembly to reform the state’s crumbling employee pension plans, preferably in the fall veto session. And, in fact, the biz guys may be as close to winning as they’ve ever been. […]
They’re prepared to spend $1 million on media ads and have stepped up direct contacts with state workers and teachers covered by the Illinois pension funds, going around union leaders.
* React from the Illinois Federation of Teachers…
The millionaires group has received a million dollars worth of free media over the past couple of years each time they say they’re going to spend $1 million on media ads. It’s the equivalent of rock star millionaires getting all that free swag.
The IFT is right. The biz guys have threatened to run that million dollar ad buy in the past, and it never materialized.
* Abbott Labs has also contributed $75,000 to legislators since the middle of September.
And I’m hearing there’s some polling being done on the issue.
* From a press release…
In a speech at the City Club of Chicago this afternoon, Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross announced that he filed a bill today that will help give more accountability to taxpayers by reconstituting the City of Chicago and Cook County pension boards. The bill, which will be sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) in the Senate, will also require pension boards statewide to refer any suspected fraud to the local authorities.
“Recent media reports have unveiled abuses in the Chicago Pension Funds that were not reported to the proper authorities for punishment or investigation. We believe these matters should have and still should be reported to law enforcement. We mandate that in our bill,” said Cross. “We also believe the pension boards in the City of Chicago and Cook County need a fresh start—that’s why we are seeking reconstitution.”
As you already know, Leader Cross has sponsored another bill which prevents union leaders from drawing pensions years after they were on the city payroll. The pensions weren’t based on their city salaries, but on their union wages.
But while Cross’ bill applies to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, which is not directly funded by the state, it doesn’t include a provision for the Teachers Retirement System, which covers Downstate and suburban teachers and has a union leader provisions as the city pension laws…
[”Teacher” is defined as] Any officer or employee of a statewide teacher organization or officer of a national teacher organization who is certified under the law governing certification of teachers, provided: (i) the individual had previously established creditable service under this Article, (ii) the individual files with the system an irrevocable election to become a member, and (iii) the individual does not receive credit for such service under any other Article of this Code;
Asked why Cross left out the TRS, a spokesperson replied…
We were just dealing with the City of Chicago which was the reported problem.
I’m sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the Illinois Education Association has backed so many Republican legislative candidates over the years.
Following his recent failed bid for governor, Republican Adam Andrzejewski is making pension reform his next mission.
Andrzejewski says he doesn’t have any specific proposals, but he stresses that the pension system is bloated because not enough state workers are paying into the system and union leaders are raking in big bucks at the expense of rank and file state workers.
Not enough state workers are paying into the system? Unless they’re on contract, they’re all paying in, aren’t they?
…Adding… Andrzejewski just called to say he was misquoted. What he said was that a majority of teachers aren’t paying enough into the pension fund. That’s still not accurate, of course, since those teachers negotiated with their districts to pick up their share of the pension payments. If you made those teachers pay their share again, they’d just negotiate to retrieve their foregone wage hikes.
Wednesday, Oct 5, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Grid modernization will provide more value to consumers than it costs. Here are the facts.
• Grid modernization will require about a $3 per month increase on the average customer’s bill.
• But that cost will be more than offset by benefits in real and quantifiable ways.
Three ways consumers will save:
1. Utilities will become more efficient through modernization. The savings are passed on to consumers. This alone will offset the entire $3 rate increase.
2. Outages have costs. Consumers will reap tangible savings with fewer outages. This equates to about $1 per month, per customer, in value.
3. When consumers have smart meters they can better manage their usage and reduce their energy budget.
Specific reliability enhancements are in the law with financial penalties for utilities that fail to deliver.
• Outage frequency will be cut by 20% over 10 years, resulting in 700,000 fewer outages per year.
• Outage duration will be cut by 15% over 10 years through Smart Grid technologies that allow faster response to outages.
For more information on all the benefits of grid modernization through SB 1652, visit www.SmartEnergyIL.com.
* Debbie Halvorson will announce tomorrow that she’s challenging Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. in the Democratic primary. From a press release…
“Our families are facing serious challenges, and they need a serious Member of Congress who can get things done. Our neighbors don’t need rhetoric, they need results, and I’ve delivered actual results for nearly twenty years. I’m running to bring real representation, real leadership, and real results back to our district.”
* Mike Boland didn’t just lose his “top staffer,” the kid was basically Boland’s only staffer…
Mike Boland’s top staffer has resigned from his congressional campaign citing “strategic differences.”
Auston McLain, Mr. Boland’s campaign manager, who left the campaign Monday, said Tuesday, “Mike and I continue to be great friends. He did not wish to see me go, and there is not an ounce of harsh feelings on either side.”
Mr. Boland, a former state representative, is one of six Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for U.S. Congress in the 17th Congressional District in the 2012 elections. The others are Greg Aguilar, Cheri Bustos, Eric Reyes, state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, and Freeport Mayor George Gaulrapp. […]
Mr. Boland confirmed Tuesday that Mr. McLain’s resignation was “friendly” and “amicable.”
Boland has good name recognition in the district, but he’ll need more than that. This latest move means we can cue the increased speculation that Boland ends up running for state Senate against fellow Democrat and longtime enemy Mike Jacobs.
A Quad City candidate for Congress says he did nothing wrong when he solicited campaign donations via e-mail from teachers at Blackhawk College last month, even though he is on the Board of Trustees at the school.
In a memo obtained by News 8, a union representative for faculty named Joan Eastlund wrote to members about the e-mail blast, saying ‘’as a trustee, Mike Boland will be in the position to vote directly on the retention, tenure and promotion of faculty members. This presents a clear conflct of interest.'’
The union asks that Boland recuse himself from voting on all personnel hiring, promotions, and firings. […]
Boland says five thousand e-mails were sent in the blast for contributions, those received at Blackhawk College just a small portion of the group.
‘’It’s copied after Obama, what he did in 2008. Getting those massive small donations'’, Boland said. ‘’It’s obviously political'’.
* In other news, former Democratic state Rep. Jay Hoffman released poll results of 400 likely voters taken August 10-15 which he says show he has a good shot against Republican incumbent Tim Johnson. From a press release…
The generic ballot question showed this district to be a tossup with 43% favoring a Democratic candidate and 43% favoring a Republican.
The initial trial heat, prior to providing respondents with any information about either candidate, showed Johnson leading Hoffman 44% to 33%, which can be attributed to his higher name recognition. However as respondents learned more about each candidate Hoffman gained considerably and moved ahead of Johnson. […]
Respondents were read a bio of each candidate’s accomplishments followed by a series of likely criticisms and when the respondents were then asked their preference between Jay Hoffman and Tim Johnson the respondents preferred Hoffman 43% to 42%. Respondents were specifically told about Hoffman’s former ties to Rod Blagojevich as well as his vote for a temporary income tax increase. For Congressman Johnson the respondents were told about his support for President Bush’s budgets and fiscal policies as well as his votes in favor of corporate and business interests.
The Hoffman campaign refused to release the exact wording of the negative pushes. That’s usually the case. But just keep in mind that polls can be gamed that way.
A spokesman for Johnson discounted the poll’s findings.
“I think you have to take into account who did the polling and what they were asking,” Johnson spokesman Phil Bloomer said. “Tim voted against Bush’s budgets for several years. This is not something new for him to vote against these budgets just since President Obama has been in office.”
Asked if Johnson’s campaign has done any polling, Bloomer said, “Not that I’m aware of.”
* Johnson’s new district includes several college campuses, including UIUC, ISU and UIS. So this can’t hurt…
About two years after he first called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, now appears to be gaining the support of his constituents. […]
Johnson said he doesn’t believe his constituents “are one iota safer because we’re losing thousands of American men and women, and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Libya and Iraq.”
“I have consistently voted in appropriation after appropriation and bill after bill to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya,” he said. It was at that point and during other statements about defense spending that Johnson received his only sustained applause during the meeting.
Johnson also suggested gradually raising the retirement age to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and said he was willing to look at revenue measures, not just budget cuts, to reduce the federal deficit.
* Other stuff…
* Kinzinger campaign kickoff Saturday in Ottawa: “The exact district won’t be known until we hear the court ruling (on the new state redistricting map). If the Democrats’ map upholds, he’ll run in the 16th. If it’s the Republican map, it’ll be the 11th,” said Kinzinger’s Press Secretary Brook Hougeson.
Sears executives have visited potential new headquarters sites in Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, but say they remain open to negotiating with Illinois officials to keep the retailer’s headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
The Sears leaders visited potential sites, toured offices and met with municipal, business, state and economic development officials in Austin and in Columbus, sources said Wednesday.
Sears officials expect to make a decision by the end of the year.
* If the union’s contract is ratified, Illinois will get some good job news…
The UAW and Ford reached a tentative agreement on a new contract that will mean 2,000 new jobs in the Chicago area, including 1,100 new jobs and a new shift at the company’s Chicago assembly plant next year if workers approve the deal, the union and Illinois politicians said Tuesday.
Ford now employs roughly 2,700 workers in Chicago at the Torrence Avenue plant, which produces the Lincoln MKS, Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer on two shifts. It also employs 900 workers at its Chicago Heights stamping plant.
Ford plans to add 1,100 workers at the Chicago assembly plant next year and an additional 900 workers at the stamping plant and assembly plant within the next four years.
Both Gov. Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel said (separately) yesterday that they’d been working with Ford to help facilitate the new jobs.
*** UPDATE *** The Sun-Times reports that Mayor Emanuel’s agreement to cut the head tax in half was behind Ford’s decision to expand employment…
The $4-a-month employee head tax despised by Chicago businesses would be cut in half, depriving the city of $23 million in annual revenue, under a surprise ordinance proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday.
Emanuel campaigned on a promised to phase out the head tax over four years by lopping off $1 from it each year.
But he opted to do it twice as fast — and eliminate the tax entirely by July 2014 — because the deal that nailed down as many as 2,000 new jobs at a Far South Side Ford plant was contingent on the phase out.
“This was a significant piece of helping us secure the 1,200 jobs at the Ford plant and what they’re gonna add also to the stamping plant across the street. It’s another 700” jobs, the mayor said.
International expansion aside, CME’s Duffy again raised the possibility that the CME could relocate its headquarters to another state to escape Illinois’ “outrageous” and “inappropriate” taxes.
Illinois raised taxes earlier this year, and several other states are wooing CME with proposals that Duffy called “viable.”
Duffy said he is working with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, state legislators and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to find a solution that would keep CME in the city, but said he has a “fiduciary duty” to do what is best for shareholders.
A deal to keep CME Group Inc. from bolting the state could be reached as early as the start of the legislature’s veto session this month, Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday.
An agreement aimed at reducing the corporate income tax liability for the company, which is the parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, would require approval of the General Assembly, Quinn said.
Too many inmates and too few guards have led to dangerous conditions at the state’s second oldest prison, according to a report issued Tuesday.
The report by the John Howard Association said the Menard Correctional Center in Chester has had an “alarming” number of staff and inmate assaults this year, primarily because the prison has the worst inmate-to-staff ratio of all of Illinois’ maximum-security facilities.
The Chicago-based prison watchdog group said there have been 14 staff assaults since Jan. 1, including one in the prison library that sent a correctional officer to a St. Louis hospital with facial fractures.
“Inadequate security not only jeopardizes the physical safety of inmates and staff, but it also undermines rehabilitation efforts and creates a psychologically damaging environment for everyone who lives and works behind the prison wall,” the report noted.
* Over the last year and a half, Menard was on full or partial lockdown roughly half of the time.
* The average inmate at Menard spends roughly 21 to 22 hours a day locked in cells idle, with little or no activity or opportunity for normal social and human interaction.
(1) The Illinois Governor and General Assembly must reduce the prison population through sentencing reform, enacting a safe replacement for Meritorious Good Time, and providing Menard and other DOC facilities with the funding and staffing needed to meet the population’s basic physical and mental health needs. If such actions are not taken, it is all but inevitable that this issue will end up being litigated in the courts.
(2) The practice of using prolonged segregation to discipline mentally ill inmates should be abandoned at Menard and all DOC facilities. […]
(3) Further inquiry should be undertaken by Menard’s administration and the DOC to determine whether excessive use of force and abuse of inmates may be a systemic problem at Menard, given the unusually high number of reports JHA received from inmates of abuse by correctional staff.
Officials in Lincoln expect a full house at a public hearing Oct. 26 on Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close Logan Correctional Center.
The hearing will begin at 5 p.m. in the chapel at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln.
“We really need to pack the place and show our support for the prison,” Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder said. […]
To oppose the closure, a coalition of Logan County business, labor and economic development groups has formed, the Lincoln City Council has sent a letter to Quinn, and more than 1,800 people have signed petitions in Lincoln.
That isn’t very many signatures, considering the economic impact of closing that facility. Lincoln has a history of dealing with state closures, so you’d think they’d be more organized.
* Just a few days before Gov. Pat Quinn won his election last year, Public Policy Polling found his job approval rating was 32 percent and his disapproval was 54 percent. In March, after the income tax hike passed, We Ask America pegged Quinn’s approval rating at 30.6 percent and his disapproval at 60.7 percent.
A FOX Chicago News/We Ask America survey found only 29.6 percent of registered voters approved Quinn’s job performance; 60 percent disapproved.
Even the governor’s own party appears to be deserting him. Among self-described Democrats: 46%percent approved, 42 percent disapproved. […]
Fewer than half of voters in the Governor’s home town of Chicago are happy: 49 percent approve, 39 percent disapprove. In suburban Cook County, 32 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove. In the suburban collar counties surrounding Chicago, 27 percent approve, 61 percent disapprove. Among registered voters Downstate, a mere 19 percent approve, 70 percent disapprove.
African-American registered voters are Quinn’s strongest supporters, with 52 percent approving while 40 percent disapprove. Among Hispanic voters, 30 percent approve, 54 percemt disapprove. Among white voters, 25 percent approve, 63 percent disapprove.
There is little difference between male and female voters. Among women, 31 percent approve, 55 percent disapprove. Among men, 29 percent approve, 65 percent disapprove.
Man, those Downstate and collar numbers are just downright horrible. And his suburban Cook and Chicago numbers are far worse than the president’s. But it has always been thus with Pat Quinn. He managed to win last year by turning his opponent into a bigger ogre than he was. Overwhelming disapproval doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the General Assembly, however. Going up against him is no great risk. Then again, their overall approval rating is probably lower than his.
