* Lots of copycats these days, but there was only one Waylon…
There weren’t another other way to be
Comments Off  
|
Question of the day
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
llinois Republicans finally may have stumbled on an issue that they can exploit against Gov. Pat Quinn next year: Junking the way in which those squiggles and blobs known as General Assembly districts are drawn.
In recent months an eclectic group that includes Republican business types like Metropolis 2020’s George Ranney and leftish reformers such as Common Cause and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, launched a drive to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2014 general election ballot. Since then, the original group has morphed into a wider coalition known as Yes! for Independent Maps that’s begun to draw a fair amount of publicity.
Unlike term limits, a much hotter issue that’s being pushed by GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner, the concept of taking away remapping legislative districts from the politicians and turning it over to an independent, non-partisan panel draws some backing across the political spectrum. I mean, only your precinct captain brother-in-law really likes the way gerrymandered districts turn out now.
Beyond that, Yes! for Fair Maps shrewdly is not pushing any changes in how congressional districts are drawn. Any move that would elect more Republican congressmen here without undoing GOP-designed horrors in states like Texas and Pennsylvania would die fast among the Illinois Democratic faithful.
Hinz reports that all four Republican gubernatorial candidates support the proposal.
* The Question: Do you think state legislative remap reform will be a game-changing Republican issue with Illinois voters? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
web polls
44 Comments
|
Your Friday moment of Zen
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Twitters…
* The governor is definitely a dog lover…
She’s been dubbed the winner of NBC’s Chicago Fire Top Dog Competition, and now a Spot named Smokey has has been awarded her own day for her winning ways.
Only six months old when she found herself inside a home engulfed by flames, the Labrador/Retriever mix was saved thanks to the efforts of firefighters and a veterinarian, who kept her on oxygen, hand fed her, and provided loving care for three days following her ordeal.
Today four-year-old Smokey, a firehouse dog who is based out of Station 2 in Jacksonville, Illinois, helps those who gave her a helping hand by teaching safety techniques like “stop, drop and roll” to school children and the community.
In recognition of the kind-hearted canine’s contribution to her community,Pat Quinn, the Governor of Illinois, has proclaimed that October 11th will now be known as “Smokey the Dog Day” in the state.
Let’s hope Oscar the Puppy never has to endure such an ordeal.
* But every day at my house is Oscar the Puppy Day. He’s the center of pretty much all that he surveys.
Oscar really loves to chew and chew and chew. So far, he hasn’t chewed any of my furniture, which is a good thing. But give him a hard treat and he’ll chomp on it with a look of calm bliss. It really settles him down…
20 Comments
|
A little ADM sanity
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Most of the Republican gubernatorial candidates’ reactions to the request by ADM for a state tax break have generally lacked substance. Instead, three of the four have focused mainly on attacking Gov Pat Quinn for holding the tax break hostage to a pension deal…
While comfortable ripping the governor for a “lack of leadership,” Rauner acknowledged he didn’t know enough about the Decatur-based agribusiness giant’s tax break request to say whether he would approve it.
“From what I’ve seen of their request, I’d have to understand what the trade-offs are. I haven’t gone deep on it,” Rauner said.
“Corporations are successful because they’re tough and aggressive negotiators and they’re looking out to save every nickel and every penny they can. That’s good management. You don’t blame ADM for that at all,” said Rauner, a wealthy equity investor.
* Bill Brady ignored the fact that ADM has admitted that it currently pays very little state income tax…
“We have to face reality. We can’t be populist in this. The reality is because the governor has raised taxes so high, there are other alternatives (for ADM to relocate) out there,” Brady said in an interview on WGN-AM 720. […]
“You don’t tie ADM to another issue that the governor’s failed on,” Brady said of the pension issue. “We need a governor who will move away from the populist point of view and do the right thing in each instance.”
* Dillard…
“You cannot hold ADM’s future to pension legislation. It just is illogical and it doesn’t fit,” said Kirk Dillard.
* I hadn’t seen Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s take on the tax break, so I reached out to him this week. He called me yesterday and we went over the issue.
It’s clear to me that Rutherford has put some thought into the matter and is not just looking at this from a political angle.
* While Rutherford made it crystal clear that he wants ADM to remain in Illinois, he said passing legislation to create a special tax break just for ADM was the wrong approach.
Rutherford said he wanted broad-based legislation that would make other companies eligible, not just a specific one. This approach, he said, means “you create winners and losers” and is “not a level playing field for Illinois businesses.”
* When I mentioned that ADM was saying it was merely following precedent after special tax break laws were passed for Sears and CME, Rutherford said he didn’t disagree with the company’s logic, adding the obvious fact that he wasn’t governor at that time.
But, he said, when the state gives assistance to companies, “it needs to be all rules known and applicable to everyone.”
Makes sense to me, but, then again, there are always unforeseen circumstances and special emergency cases.
* Meanwhile…
Archer Daniels Midland Co. appears to have expanded its list of potential headquarters well out of the Midwest, to Atlanta.
According to a story posted last night on the website of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a site-selection team from the agricultural giant met two days ago in Atlanta with officials of that city’s corporate recruitment arm, Invest Atlanta, their version of World Business Chicago. (WBC had no immediate response to the reported Atlanta visit.)
The story cited “an individual with direct knowledge of the company’s search process,” and a second person with direct knowledge made sure I saw the story.
When an ADM vice president buys a multimillion-dollar condo in Atlanta, it’s time to worry. Otherwise, maybe not so much.
17 Comments
|
Davis says he could lose over DC gridlock
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the reasons the gay marriage bill didn’t pass last spring was that the House Democratic targets - those who could face significant opposition in the general election - were advised to stay away from the bill.
Running a legislative chamber with an eye always on protecting the more politically vulnerable can generally - not always, but generally - keep things more to the center of the spectrum.
This, obviously, has not been the case in DC, where the fringe has taken over the asylum. And that has freshman GOP Congressman Rodney Davis rightly worried…
Republican Representative Rodney Davis, whose Illinois district voted for his party’s presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, in 2012 by a narrow margin — 48.9 percent to Obama’s 48.6 percent — said he also has been feeling political heat, and has repeatedly told House leaders he stands to lose from it.
“I’ve got now hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent” by groups using the shutdown to attack him in ads, he said in an interview. “So, if you ever want to know what message the Democrats are wanting to test, come to my district. I’m like the guinea pig.”
“I obviously have said the entire time we’ve been in this: the shutdown is not good for me,” Davis said. “The shutdown’s not good for America.”
Americans United for Change, a group that targeted 10 vulnerable Republicans this week for negative commercials, calls it “Rodney Davis’ Tea Party shutdown” in its ad in his district.
There are times when party leaders have no choice but to put their politically vulnerable members at risk. Country (or state) must rise above party. It’s the noble thing to do, which is why Speaker Madigan ought to take off the marriage bill brick.
* But tossing your targets overboard for the radical and delusional pipe dream of ending Obamacare is nothing short of political malpractice…
The Republican Party has been badly damaged in the ongoing government shutdown and debt limit standoff, with a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finding that a majority of Americans blame the GOP for the shutdown, and with the party’s popularity declining to its lowest level.
By a 22-point margin (53 percent to 31 percent), the public blames the Republican Party more for the shutdown than President Barack Obama – a wider margin of blame for the GOP than the party received during the poll during the last shutdown in 1995-96.
Just 24 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion about the GOP, and only 21 percent have a favorable view of the Tea Party, which are both at all-time lows in the history of poll.
Sheesh.
38 Comments
|
It’s all in the numbers
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Quincy Journal points out that Bruce Rauner and his new running mate differ substantially on some social issues…
Rauner said he wanted to put gay marriage on a referendum before the voters and said he supported a woman’s “ability to choose…I believe in some common sense regulations and restrictions so it’s rare and safe, but I support a woman’s ability to decide.”
Sanguinetti, however, differed with the top of the ticket.
“On the issue of life…I must say, my mother chose me and she had me at age15,” she said. “For this reason, I am pro-life. I also believe in marriage with the traditional defintion.”
Sanguinetti added that while she and Rauner “are apart on social issues”, they both recognize that Illinois is broken in many other ways.
* Some see those differences as a problem. I’m not sure why, at least not in the primary. Remember a poll I commissioned a while back?…
The Aug. 13 Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll surveyed 1,102 likely Republican primary voters.
The poll found that 74 percent of Republicans wanted GOP gubernatorial candidates to choose a running mate who was “more conservative” than the candidates themselves. Another 18 percent said ideology made no difference and a mere 7 percent said they wanted a more liberal running mate.
The poll found that 73 percent of Republican women and 75 percent of men wanted a more conservative running mate.
79 percent of seniors, who tend to dominate GOP primaries, wanted a more rightward pick.
77 percent of collar county Republicans, 73 percent of suburban Cook and downstate Republicans and 69 percent of Chicago Republicans wanted the candidates to look to their right when picking their lieutenant governor candidates.
Again, at least in the primary, this move could take some heat off Rauner.
8 Comments
|
Couple of the Week: Brenda and Lee
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Brenda Lee and Lee Edwards of South Shore have been together for a decade. They have built a life together. They cook, go to the movies, and take walks on Lake Michigan. They belong to a prayer circle and watch “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“We have known each other for a long time, and our times together are filled with so much joy and laughter,” says Brenda.
Brenda and Lee are like any other couple, and they want the same things that other couples want. Most of all, they want the freedom to make a lifelong commitment to each other. They want the security of knowing they can always protect each other.
But Illinois denies them the freedom to marry.
“We worry about what will happen to us financially–especially when Brenda retires,” says Lee. “We are not entitled to share any spousal benefits that come with retirement. It is a burden that we should not be forced to face.”
It’s not just about the legal protections marriage affords. It’s about dignity. It’s about equality before the law. It’s about fairness.
It is time for the Illinois House of Representatives to get on the right side of history and pass SB10. It’s time to stop excluding same-sex couples from marriage. Illinois families can’t wait. The time is now.
Watch Brenda’s and Lee’s video…
For more information, visit IllinoisUnites.org.
Comments Off
|
The great divide
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Progress Illinois…
A new study shows that 52,404 new jobs came to downtown Chicago between 2002 and 2011 thanks to economic development investments, yet only one in four of those positions went to city residents.
Suburbanites and people in prosperous Chicago communities like Lakeview and Lincoln Park mostly gained those jobs, and residents in the city’s predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods were largely excluded, the report issued Tuesday by Grassroots Collaborative found.
From 2004 to 2008, the city spent more than $1.2 billion in public, tax increment financing (TIF) funds for these type of downtown, job creation investments, according to the report called, “Downtown Prosperity, Neighborhood Neglect: Chicago’s Black and Latino Workers Left Behind.” […]
From 2002 to 2011, the city added 129,054 new jobs that paid annual salaries of at least $40,000, yet it lost 182,938 jobs that paid less than that figure. During this time period, Chicago’s neighborhoods lost a total of 10,121 jobs.
The full report is here.
* Meanwhile, the rent is too darned high…
Illinois ranks fifth highest in the nation for college tuition and fee rates, according to ISAC figures. It also ranks high among states that provide financial aid to college students, but the money just isn’t going as far as it used to.
Universities are increasing tuition and fees on students as public aid for higher education continues to face cuts as Illinois comes to grips with its various financial troubles.
Poshard said tuition rates at SIU have risen about 6.8 percent in the last decade, below the state average but still making affordability tougher on low- and middle-income students with each passing year. President Abraham Lincoln was said of universities they represent the people’s right to rise, Poshard said.
“The question is whether higher education these days still represents the people’s right to rise?” he added.
27 Comments
|
Quick takes
Friday, Oct 11, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Belleville News-Democrat’s police blotter…
Governor Quinn, 34, of East St. Louis, arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass to land and warrant arrest by East St. Louis police.
Some parents were apparently quite prescient back in 1979.
…Adding… I’m told by a local criminal justice type that Governor Quinn’s full name is Governor Quinn IV. So, some parents were uncannily prescient 100 years ago or so. Wow.
* From DNAInfo…
For the first time in years, Republican candidates for governor are honing in on the city of Chicago and some say the GOP’s Chicago “clubhouse” in Lincoln Park is now a must-stop for any campaign.
The 43rd Ward Republicans already hosted state Sen. Kirk Dillard in mid-September, and this Saturday, the group will host State Treasurer Dan Rutherford for a meeting at 2768 N. Lincoln Ave. […]
Dillard was the first of the candidates to stop by the office on Sept. 14 and had coffee and doughnuts with about 40 attendees before giving an hourlong speech and opening up to unlimited questions, Cleveland said.
Um… He gave an hour-long speech?
Is he Fidel Castro now?
* From an article in the Southern Illinoisan about Bruce Rauner’s new running mate…
Sanguinetti, who moved to Chicago to attend The John Marshall Law School after graduating from Florida International University with a bachelor’s degree in piano performance,
Rep. Dan Burke, the Statehouse’s resident piano player, may have some competition on the horizon.
* And from a Tribune article about the proposed Illiana Corridor…
At one point, [Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Chairman Gerald Bennett] referred to the Illiana as a “highway in nowhereland,” but he later apologized for that comment, saying he meant to say “farmland.”
Arrogant regionalism much?
32 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
 
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS |
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax |
Advertise Here |
Mobile Version |
Contact Rich Miller
|
