* This was not unexpected. After great effort, she helped shepherd through the education funding reform bill, so her work is mostly done. Not to mention that the governor’s office is not a pleasant place to work…
Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis will be leaving the Office of the Governor on Friday, Sept. 15. Dr. Purvis will be joining a national nonprofit organization where she will oversee educational philanthropy.
“Beth has been a tireless advocate for Illinois children and families,” Gov. Rauner said. “We are deeply grateful for her efforts.”
Dr. Purvis co-chaired the governor’s education transition subcommittee, where she first announced the state’s goal of ensuring Illinois children, regardless of zip code, have access to high-quality programs from cradle-to-career.
During the past two-and-a-half years, Dr. Purvis worked with leadership of the 17 state agencies that oversee educational programing, chaired the P20 Council, co-chaired the Early Learning Council and chaired the Illinois School Funding Commission in order to deliver on the governor’s promise of a “children first” administration.
“It has been a privilege for me to work with Governor Rauner and his team,” Dr. Purvis said. “I am proud of what we have accomplished and know that his administration will continue to ensure that Illinois children have access to high quality programs that will prepare them to be engaged community members with meaningful and rewarding careers.”
Emily Bastedo, who has served on the governor’s legal team and as the First Lady’s chief of staff, recently was promoted to senior adviser to the governor and will assume oversight of the governor’s education policy team. An attorney, Bastedo has been a member of the governor’s senior team for the past two years and has worked closely with Dr. Purvis in preparation for this transition.
Bastedo is good people and served on the Elmhurst school board for four years.
*** UPDATE *** From the two GOP leaders…
The following is a statement from Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) on Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis’ announcement that she will be leaving on Sept 15.
“Beth Purvis has been an education pioneer whose leadership and commitment to our students have helped put Illinois at the forefront of school funding. I wish her great success in the next chapter of a career that will leave a positive impact in Illinois for generations to come.”
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement on the departure of Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis:
“Dr. Purvis played a critical role in fixing our state’s broken school funding formula. She worked collaboratively to reform several education initiatives and increase state funding for PK-12 to record levels. She will be greatly missed by all and I wish her nothing but the best in her next endeavor.”
* And this is from Gov. Rauner’s former chief of staff Richard Goldberg…
The students, parents and teachers of Illinois owe Dr. Purvis a great deal for her outstanding leadership in bringing historic bipartisan education reforms to fruition. It never would’ve happened without her dedication and commitment to the children of Illinois.
This past week, my dad was on WCPT 820 Progressive Talk Radio’s The Ben Joravsky Show. He told Ben that in order to fix gun violence, address poverty, and figure out school funding, Illinois deserves a governor who cares.
As governor, my dad will fix our broken government so that it does what government should do — which is to work for people, not against them.
Thank you,
Clare Kennedy
* The accompanying photo…
He’s definitely not the most photogenic Kennedy.
* Meanwhile, Daniel Biss has shut down access to his Dank Meme Stash…
* Biss’ Dank Meme Stash began as a group that encourged Biss supporters to share “dank” memes about their guy. However, once Biss dropped Carlos Ramirez-Rosa from his ticket, the meme stash turned on him…
* And people are sharing the fact that they can’t access the page. Here’s one of several…
…Adding…
This Facebook group is independent and not a part of the the Biss' campaign.
Gubernatorial Candidate Tio Hardiman Keynote Speaker for 9/11 Ceremony in Campaign, IL
Dear Members of the Media,
Gubernatorial Candidate Tio Hardiman has been invited by the American Legion Post 559 Commander to be the keynote speaker for the 9/11 Ceremony on Monday, September 11, 2017 at 3:00 p.m at the American Legion, 704 N. Hickory St., in Campaign, IL .
One typo is a simple mistake. Two? Not so much. I do, however, think I’d like to live in a town called Campaign.
* And the “candidate” who no longer is?…
His website is offline, he has 0 donors & not even so much as a tweet in 3 weeks, but @AlexrPaterakis tells me his campaign is still active. pic.twitter.com/Fx6S6iNUXS
* The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet appeared on Bill Cameron’s “Connected to Chicago” show and kinda got into it with the Tribune’s Ray Long over his paper’s story about JB Pritzker’s $100,000 campaign contribution to Rod Blagojevich three days before Blagojevich announced a $1 million state grant to the Holocaust Museum. The grant was actually dated October 1, weeks before the contribution, and the money wasn’t released until January. An excerpt…
LYNN SWEET: With all due respect, I thought the Tribune story just wasn’t up to the regular, usual Tribune standards of deep context and reporting. The United States Holocaust Museum and the Holocaust Museum in Skokie are very important standalone projects that have been funded by a variety of people in Illinois and the national community. JB Pritzker has been a big donor to the Holocaust Museum and it’s not just this one donation, Ray. He has a track record of many donations.
RAY LONG: Well sure, he does. I don’t disagree with that…
LYNN SWEET: Hold on, hold with me… It is correct to say that JB Pritzker is a major Democratic donor to Blagojevich and a list of Democrats throughout the country. To make the connection that it was a quid pro quo or to give the appearance of that without the larger context, that when you’re talking about the issues of the Holocaust…
You’re talking about something singular in American history, excuse me, singular in world history. You’re taking about a subject that is standalone in importance, the gravity that has been much bigger than anything we have been talking about today. So, I don’t think you tread there.
When you talk about donations to build a museum and make it look like it’s just like any old cronyism deal because the forces that led to the building of that museum in Skokie were big and important and did depend on the philanthropy of a lot of people who are the big givers in the community, and it’s a relatively small community.
And it also, the story also didn’t address that there could’ve been many political motives on Blagojevich’s part to want to do that grant to curry favor with a lot of other big donors besides JB Pritzker who were involved in the project. So I think that story didn’t show the bigger picture, the bigger environment, of big donors, big giving, Blagojevich, the singular importance of the Holocaust Museum, and why Blagojevich on his own might have had motives to want to seem like he was moving the money, $1 million, to…
RAY LONG: Sure but the timing is really… a few days in between…
LYNN SWEET: Oh the timing is so… okay, it’s not conclusive, Ray.
LYNN SWEET: Even if you look at it in more political terms, okay, Blagojevich had every reason if he wanted to curry favors in the Democratic vote-rich northern suburbs. We’re talking… I mean let’s not mince words. You’re talking about Jewish Illinois voters who Blagojevich may have wanted to have courted with the donation. That story doesn’t take into account that there were politics independent of JB for giving that grant. Just as if you look at many grants that have been given by political figures to ethnic groups, religious groups or racial… institutions aligned with racial groups or nonprofits. Without putting this into context, just telling a larger story, is unfortunate because you cannot and should not make an inference. You should make a story based on a little more solid information and a lot more context…
RAY LONG: Let’s, let’s, let’s wait. A little more solid information? C’mon.
LYNN SWEET: No, Ray, I’m sorry, this…
RAY LONG: Ok, fine. You’re sorry. I agree.
LYNN SWEET: …this is a unique, this is a unique institution within…
RAY LONG: I don’t disagree that the Holocaust is an important thing. I don’t disagree that JB Pritzker has made many, many efforts to improve the Holocaust. I do think that a guy giving…
LYNN SWEET: No. The Holocaust Museum. Be careful here.
RAY LONG: …the Holocaust Museum, I agree. I don’t disagree with any of that stuff.
Gov. Bruce Rauner stressed the need to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship at today’s launch of the 49th Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference. The conference, which continues through Tuesday, unites business, education and government leaders in an effort to further trade and investment opportunities between the Midwest states and Japan.
“Japanese companies have been instrumental in creating jobs and driving economic development through the entire state of Illinois,” the governor said. “From Chicago to Shelbyville and Lawrenceville, from Marion to Mattoon, Japanese companies have made a tremendous impact on the economic growth of these towns. I am deeply grateful for the jobs and opportunities provided to the people of Illinois.”
The day began with a private breakfast with U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty. Shortly following, the governor met Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe before the MWJA Conference opening ceremony. This is the second time the governor has attended the conference.
Japan continues to be a high priority for federal direct investment. The governor and members of Illinois’ delegation spent part of the afternoon meeting with the clothing, manufacturer and retail company, Uniqlo. Uniqlo’s Chicago store is one of 630 Japanese businesses throughout Illinois.
“It is not that often that we gather together, but when we do, like for this conference, we unite with an unprecedented strength on economic growth,” Gov. Rauner said while addressing governors in attendance. “We need to send the message that our growth is interdependent.”
The governor said that while Midwest cooperation is necessary for expansion, Illinois is working to maintain its lead by continually working in close contact with Japan regarding foreign investment opportunities. The Illinois foreign trade office in Japan is a testament to Illinois’ commitment to the marketplace, as it’s one of the oldest state trade and investment offices in Japan, dating back 32 years.
So he spent part of his day with a… clothing retailer?
OK, maybe I’m just missing the great importance of this trip so far. Hopefully he’ll be meeting with the folks at Toyota about snagging their new manufacturing plant.
Wanted: Several free market minded reporters to tackle insider politics from the state capitol in Springfield, IL.
We are seeking one reporter for a salary-based position, based in Springfield, IL, as well as a network of freelancers. Applicants should strive to undertake independent, compelling coverage of state politics that breaks from the mainstream, group think mentality that often afflicts the established press corps.
Reporters should specialize in grooming sources to break news from within the ranks of state government as well as possess in-depth knowledge of the financial problems facing the state. Topics of interest include the pension, debt and budget crises facing the state as well as the power wielded by House Speaker Mike Madigan, the longest tenured Speaker of the House in the history of the United States, and the effects his legacy will have on Illinois regarding the state’s financial instability for years to come.
Reporters must be autonomous, hard-working, aggressive, contrarian-minded and willing to go the extra mile to break open story lines from behind the scenes in the state legislature. The ideal candidate will craft multiple, exclusive, investigative pieces on a daily basis meant to give readers a view into “How Illinois became America’s most messed-up state.”
MIKE COFFEY JR., who ran for Springfield mayor in 2011, has joined the field of people wanting to be the Sangamon County Republican Party’s choice for the Illinois House in the 99th District.
“I think I can make a difference,” Coffey, 47, told me. “People are hurting in the 99th District, and … I’ve got the personality to go over and fight for the taxpayers. … We’re looking at one of the poorest economies in Sangamon County in my lifetime, quite possibly in my parents’ lifetime. I think the last budget crisis was detrimental. … This is the first time, I think, that you’ve really had a major downswing in the last few years.”
The 99th House seat is now held by Rep. SARA WOJCICKI JIMENEZ, R-Leland Grove, who announced recently she will not run for a new two-year term in 2018. The 99th is within Sangamon County, and ROSEMARIE LONG, who chairs the county GOP, said the party would review applications before deciding who to back.
Coffey, who helps run his family’s businesses, Saputo’s restaurant in downtown Springfield and Papa Frank’s on the west side, didn’t say if he would have voted — as Jimenez did — for a budget this summer that ended a two-year impasse and also raised the individual income-tax rate from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent. Jimenez was among Republicans who joined Democrats in voting for the budget bills, and later to override Gov. BRUCE RAUNER’s vetoes of the plan.
“I think Sara’s a very nice person,” Coffey said, but “without having all the information, I can’t determine if she made the right or wrong decision. I think she believes she made the right decision for the 99th District, and that’s all you can do. … These decisions are very difficult.” […]
And he said Illinois is now “at the maximum tax level,” and going forward, he would not be for raising taxes. He said the state does need to seek additional revenue, perhaps via casinos in Chicago and elsewhere.
Ah, yes, the ol’ magic revenues line.
Anyway, since he’s a Republican, I kinda doubt we’ll see an ILGOP press release denouncing him as “Mike Madigan’s favorite restaurant owner,” even though it could actually be true. But if he does win the seat, imagine how weird it’ll be when Speaker Madigan shows up for dinner.
More than two months after lawmakers put an end to the state’s historic budget impasse by voting to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a new spending plan, his administration has started to move forward with key provisions of the proposal he continues to criticize.
On Friday, the governor’s office said it would begin to sign contracts with nonprofit groups who are waiting on more than $70 million that was set aside in the budget to pay for autism, epilepsy and immigration programs, among others. The full amount won’t be paid, his office said, but the money is likely to be welcome for agencies that went without regular funding during the budget stalemate. […]
(A) spokesman for Rauner said some of those programs would see their budgets reduced from the levels set by the legislature. Spokesman Jason Schaumburg said autism, epilepsy and immigration services would get 5 percent less than what lawmakers budgeted, while a program that pays for the burial of low-income people would be cut by about a third.
Among the groups waiting on funding is The Autism Program of Illinois, which has twice laid off its staff and shut down in the last few years. The most recent closure took place at the end of June, and the organization hasn’t reopened since. It was set to receive $4 million under the budget, according to Russ Bonanno, former director of the program. Despite Rauner’s move Friday, the state’s budget war has already done damage and left Bonanno skeptical the state will come through.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, is also — suddenly — one of the most important figures in Chicago. His Thursday announcement that Seattle-based Amazon is searching for a North American location in which to establish a second headquarters puts this city in the running for an extraordinary prize.
The powerhouse digital retailer plans to invest $5 billion to create a massive office complex that in time could employ 50,000 people. These would be great-paying tech, white-collar and other positions in such vast numbers they could transform the economy and identity of whichever city Amazon chooses. As one commentator noted, the nearest comparison might be the competition to choose an Olympic host city — except Amazon’s jobs won’t disappear after three weeks.
Amazon could pick Dallas, Boston, Toronto or elsewhere, including Chicago. We’ve got lots of reasons why Amazon should pick Chicago. But we also know why Bezos might steer clear of Illinois: Springfield dysfunction, with its decades of fiscal mismanagement and the vast public debts that now fall on employers and all other taxpayers.
Can Illinois improve its reputation in time to snag all those jobs? House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, we’ve suggested that you step down from leadership and, like former Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, make way for fresh leadership. Gentlemen, your combined 86 years in the legislature have left Chicago and Illinois weakened for this competition. Show Amazon and others in the most convincing way possible that this state’s future holds more promise.
* Meanwhile, Neil Steinberg penned a tongue in cheek letter to Amazon’s top guy…
The New York Times immediately worked up a shaggy dog analysis of all the metropolitan areas in the country, dismissing Chicago based on the grim finances of the state. Which are real enough, but also rather like skipping Paris on your spring vacation because of France’s high unemployment rate.
The Times cooked their figures and came up with . . . Denver.
Have you been to Denver? It’s Cleveland, with mountains.
Finding a city based on a list of criteria evokes the classic blind men and the elephant tale, where one guy feels the trunk and declares it like a rope, another finds its side as very wall-like, another a tree. Nothing like the magnificent beast itself. Which is what Chicago is — a magnificent beast. There is more to life than tax rates and profit margins. A guy who paid $250 million for a newspaper in 2013 — the going rate today is $1 — must know that.
Sure, you can take the train to the airport from downtown Chicago for $2.25. But that isn’t the main allure. The main allure is you’re here, and your people are living their lives here. We’re a place that instills significance to whoever arrives and grabs for it. Chicago brought the world the blues, and helped birth jazz. Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama all showed up nobodies and thrived here. What did Denver give the world besides a crunchy omelet?
But that’s the catch: Amazon says it’s looking for a metro area that can support up to 50,000 jobs, most of them tech-oriented. That eliminates all but a handful of cities. Although the San Francisco area has the largest concentration of tech workers, at more than 300,000, it’s too close to Seattle to give the company the benefits of geographic diversity. Besides, the labor market there is even more expensive and more cutthroat than the one in its hometown.
Outside San Francisco, only Washington, New York, Toronto, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago have bigger pools of tech talent than Seattle, according to research by real estate firm CBRE. Only four metro areas produce more than 10,000 tech graduates a year: New York, Washington, L.A. and Chicago.
Given that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become very familiar with the nation’s capital since he bought the Washington Post, I wouldn’t count out Washington. It has the biggest collection of talent outside the Bay Area and is a primary connection point for internet traffic.
Yet Chicago remains a strong candidate. It has as many tech workers as Seattle, although that’s lost on most outsiders because Chicago’s economy is dispersed across so many industries. One potential drawback, however, is a relatively small pool of software talent, which is Amazon’s primary focus. Chicago has about 44,000 software developers and programmers, about equal to Boston, Atlanta and Toronto. New York has 143,000, while Washington is about equal to Seattle’s software base of 72,000. The Bay Area has about 143,000.
Governor Bruce Rauner arrived in Tokyo where he will start the first international trade mission of his administration. Shortly after his arrival, the governor attended the welcome reception at the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference.
“We are excited to welcome the governor to the MWJA Conference,” said MWJA Executive Director Marie Gaudette. “It’s a great honor that Japan is the destination for his first overseas trade mission and our Midwest U.S.-Japan forum provides a critical foundation for engaging with senior executives of the Japanese business community.”
Following the reception, the governor met with Hiroyuki Ishige, Chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to discuss further trade and investment opportunities. JETRO is a government-related organization which connects overseas companies with Japan in hopes of making Japan the most business-friendly country in the world.
The governor is leading the foreign trade mission with an Illinois delegation of industry and business development leaders from all across Illinois from Sept. 9 -17. The delegation will meet with business, government and education leaders in Japan and China.
“Foreign direct investment and growing exports in Illinois are vital to the prosperity of our businesses, citizens and overall health of our economy,” the governor said. “There is considerable competition among U.S. states to attract foreign investment and trade and Illinois must aggressively market itself.”
Illlinois is home to 630 Japanese companies employing more than 49,000 Illinois residents.
“Illinois is the largest exporting state in the Midwest and the 5th largest exporting state in the U.S.,” Gov. Rauner said. “Illinois depends on world markets and last year our exports totaled more than $60 billion, which supported thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of workers.”
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Rauner said he’s making his first international trip now because Illinois can’t afford to wait anymore.
“Frankly, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to travel around the world when we haven’t been able to get a balanced budget and reforms so that we can keep the budget balanced,” he said. “Now we have a budget, it’s not balanced, we didn’t get reforms, but I can’t afford to wait any longer. We have got to bring businesses here.”
Mark Peterson, President & CEO, Intersect Illinois; Erik Brejla, Assistant Deputy Director, Regional Economic Development, Illinois Department of Commerce;
Kelly Nicholl, Chief Marketing Officer, Intersect Illinois; Jason Anderson, Economic Development Director, City of Rochelle; Paul J. Borek, Executive Director, DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation; Inga Carus, CEO & President, Carus Corporation; Jonathon Hallberg, Executive Director, Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation; Sheila Owens, Vice President of Economic Development & Business Development, ComEd; Edward Seidel, Vice President of Economic Development and Innovation, University of Illinois System.
Carus Corporation is headquartered in Peru. Add in Rochelle and DeKalb and there are bunch of folks from that general area on the trip. Not sure what that means yet.
Either way, the governor is gone for the rest of the week so things should calm down a bit here.
* By the way, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is also in Tokyo…
Oh look, it’s BFFs Bruce Rauner and Scott Walker hanging out in Japan!
Will voters remember the many flubs of the summer of 2017? Or will they focus on the fact that [Gov. Bruce Rauner] has railed against a popular state target, Mike Madigan, the longest-serving state House speaker in U.S. history?
“It’s unlikely that we’ve seen the end of the turmoil. It does appear now that the daily bloodletting has subsided, and I think he was able to do that by firing the majority of the [Illinois Policy Institute] staff and moving their political people out,” said a source with close knowledge of the administration. […]
“The real question is what is the public not seeing behind the scenes? How much turmoil still exists there?” the source said, adding that internal tension can become a big factor when the governor has to deal with important issues, like whether he’ll sign HB40, a measure removing a “trigger provision” that would make abortions illegal in Illinois should Roe v. Wade be overturned.
While sources say some of the new staffers urged the governor to veto the Illinois Trust Act, the governor didn’t abide. “What that means is that he understands that the advice and counsel and strategy that the team he fired had offered always served him best, and he has retreated to the very same advice and counsel of those that he fired,” the source said. […]
“He now has a period of stability ahead of him. He can use it to propose cuts that are much easier to justify in the next budget. He’s in a position to propose tax relief,” the source said. “That is achievable. And he can still rail against an unpopular speaker and blame Madigan and the legislators for overriding his veto and for continuing to perpetuate the problem.”
Michael Bloomberg’s presence — and money — will not be leaving Cook County any time soon.
The billionaire former mayor of New York City has already spent $5 million on ads supporting the Cook County sweetened beverage tax — and he’s prepared to spend “whatever it takes” to support those who voted for it, according to Howard Wolfson, a Democratic political strategist and top Bloomberg adviser.
Though the primary election for seats on the Cook County Board of Commissioners is not until March, Bloomberg and his money are here for the duration, Wolfson said.
“He is in this fight to ensure not a single person who voted for this tax is defeated. Period,” Wolfson told the Chicago Sun-Times.
For Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr., D-Chicago, of 684 questioned, 53 percent said they were less likely to re-elect him, the poll found. For Commissioner John Daley, of 700 questioned, nearly 67 percent said they wouldn’t vote to re-elect. For Commissioner Stanley Moore, nearly 65 percent, of 712 questioned said they would not support his re-election. And for Commissioner Deborah Sims, of 718 questioned, 54.5 percent said they were less likely to re-elect.
One new commissioner has been appointed since the November vote. Commissioner Dennis Deer replaced Robert Steele, who died in June. The poll asked whether voters would support Deer should he choose to support the tax, if the board chooses to take up the matter once again. Of 780 questioned, 58 percent said they wouldn’t vote to re-elect Deer if he chose to support the tax.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was back out defending her controversial beverage tax Friday for the second time in as many days, saying she’s not surprised opponents have formed a political action committee to try to defeat it.
A multimillion-dollar ad war already has been going on for weeks. Preckwinkle said the recent formation of Citizens for a More Affordable Cook County to back County Board candidates who oppose the tax was to be expected given the deep-pocketed beverage industry’s fight to overturn it.
“What’s happened in American politics is that it used to be individual contributions and corporate contributions, and now a lot of the action is in political action committees,” she said. “So it doesn’t surprise me. You know, Big Soda has been spending a fortune to attack our sweetened beverage tax, not only last fall around budget time, but starting in the spring as we were moving toward implementation.”
“These folks have a very problematic product and they know it, and they’re spending a lot of money to promote consumption. I think it’s disgraceful,” Preckwinkle added.
Lost in much of the hoopla over the process of passing school funding reform through the Illinois General Assembly is the fact that this is a pretty darned good and far-reaching bill.
While this legislation is far from perfect and doesn’t provide an immediate fix, it finally puts the state on a path to equitable school funding based on the concept of actual local need. It’s a complicated process and may have to be adjusted and it will require lots more money from the state, but it sure beats the heck out of dumping money year after year into a dysfunctional formula that benefited the rich and trapped the poor.
And in times of state fiscal strife, the new formula protects state funding for the neediest districts at the expense of wealthier districts. It’s tough to argue with that concept.
The local mandate relief is minor, but still somewhat significant. Most local school district mandate waivers are approved by the General Assembly, but that often takes time. This legislation would give the four legislative leaders extraordinary power to expedite those waivers. If at least three of the four leaders aren’t thrilled with a request, it will go through the usual legislative process. Otherwise, the waivers will be automatically granted.
Physical education requirements would be rolled back from five days per week to three, and more students who play sports can be exempted from PE. Drivers’ education can be outsourced to private companies, which is the norm in many other states.
One of the realities exposed by this debate is the number of school districts that have built up gigantic cash reserves. The new law will allow local voters to reduce their districts’ educational property tax levy by up to 10 percent, but only if the levy isn’t lowered below what’s considered to be 110 percent of “adequacy.” The political bar is also pretty high. Ten percent of all registered voters in a school district would have to sign a petition to get the measure on the ballot.
The new income tax credit for donations to private school scholarship programs is expected to be a boon for some schools. But it could also eventually turn out to be a bane. Whenever you take government money, you have to follow the government’s rules. If this tax credit program is renewed in five years when it’s due to sunset, you can probably bet that eligibility requirements will be tightened to protect kids who aren’t being properly served by the private and parochial school systems right now.
Also, when ultraconservative legislators like Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) and far-left groups like the Chicago Teachers Union are vocally opposing a bill, you know you may be on the right track.
Rep. Ives has been allied with the far-right Illinois Policy Institute against the education funding reform bill from the start. Opponents of the evidenced-based model have privately railed against it as “redistributionist.” And they’re right because it is specifically designed to do just that while holding all schools harmless unless the state can’t meet its funding goals.
Despite the new law’s income tax credit for private school tuition programs, the Institute and its allies were the biggest losers. The Policy Institute’s takeover of the governor’s office resulted in a massively unpopular amendatory veto that Gov. Rauner had to eventually abandon or risk being overridden again.
Like the Institute, the Chicago Teachers Union has been harping about the evils of Tax Increment Financing Districts for years. But all those TIF opponents got in the end was a legislative study commission. Maybe something will come of it, but those commissions tend to produce studies that wind up collecting dust on somebody’s forgotten book shelf. Only this time, it’ll probably be online dust, if that’s possible.
The CTU may have tipped its hand about its true intentions during its briefing of House Democrats a day before that chamber voted, by the way.
While public schools have been hurt by all the new charter schools, CTU President Karen Lewis told legislators that Catholic schools have been “decimated” by the charters. The city’s Catholic school system once rivaled the size of the public system, Lewis explained, but they’ve been forced to close a ton of schools and this scholarship program would help revive its moribund system.
So, by attempting to kill the education funding reform bill, which pumped hundreds of millions of new dollars into the Chicago Public Schools, the city’s only teachers union might have hoped to finally kill off its main private, nonunion competitor.
[Bumped up from Friday to Monday and comments opened.]
* A friend of mine is participating in one of those “ecumenical” petition drives in the suburbs where volunteers circulate for any candidate who submits petitions. He sent me this tonight…
I have received no press release from the Drury campaign announcing his running mate and nothing is posted on his Twitter page. I’ve sent the campaign an e-mail asking for more info and will let you know what they say.
We intended to make the announcement last week, but felt it was inappropriate to get in the way of the self-destruction of other campaigns. We, instead, focused on getting petition signatures - one of the only gubernatorial campaigns organized enough to do so. We will provide more in the coming days.
–Jesse Brooks
*** UPDATE 2 *** Official announcement…
IN SELECTING RUNNING-MATE, DRURY ESCHEWS INSIDERS
HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS – Scott Drury, Democratic candidate for governor, has named Alex Hirsch as his pick for lieutenant governor. An Illinois native, millennial and supporter of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary, Hirsch has been a long-time, trusted advisor to Drury, both formally and informally. Hirsch shares Drury’s vision of an Illinois that puts the public’s interest ahead of self-interest and whose government is defined by trust, not corruption. Hirsch knows that unless the Democratic Party in Illinois stops taking advantage of its base and using its most loyal supporters as pawns for political gain, it is in serious jeopardy of losing younger voters and moving towards extinction. Hirsch is committed to reducing Illinois’ debt; balancing its budget without the major increase being proposed by the other Democratic candidates; and ensuring that Illinois’ public schools are properly funded, its public universities are more affordable and its natural resources are protected.
According to Drury’s campaign, it was important to find a trustworthy running-mate with political courage – someone not scared to do what’s right and who is not tied to the Democratic Machine.
“Alex is a welcome addition to our campaign,” said Drury. “Beyond his thoughtfulness and intelligence, Alex is an independent thinker with common sense, traits sorely missing in Illinois politics. Moreover, Alex is prepared to wage the epic battle needed to return Illinois government to its rightful owners – the people of our great state.”
“I am excited to join the only campaign with a proven commitment to ending the failed status quo in Illinois,” said Hirsch. “For too long, our state has been associated with doom and gloom. We are going to rebuild Illinois into a state people are proud of and people can trust.”
This morning, members of Personal PAC, Men4Choice and other allies of women’s reproductive health care challenged Governor Rauner for flip-flopping on his support to protect access to abortion services in Illinois while he leads a closed-door, invite-only roundtable discussion on women’s health.
Protesters urged Rauner to sign HB40 legislation that would ensure abortion remains legal in Illinois even if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. The bill also would ensure that Medicaid and state employees’ health insurance policies provide coverage for abortion care.
“When it comes to HB40, Illinoisans have not forgotten what Rauner promised voters on the campaign trail,” said Terry Cosgrove, President and CEO of Personal PAC. “Hosting a closed-door roundtable discussion lets Rauner give the impression he is listening to constituents’ viewpoints, but how closely is he actually listening if he is willing to turn around and veto life-saving legislation that he once promised to support?”
Rauner has vowed to veto HB40 despite promising to support such legislation on Personal PAC’s candidate survey during his 2014 campaign: “My highest priority in this area will be to ensure effective administration of the laws regarding access to contraception and provide that access regardless of income. I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees’ health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income. I would support a legislative effort to reverse that law.”
In August, Personal PAC and Men4Choice launched the “Call BS” campaign designed to engage men to call out anti-choice politicians and policies. The campaign employs creative content to depict an alternate reality in which male reproductive health is under attack, posing the question: “Men don’t have to put up with this BS – why should women?” In addition to social media engagement strategies, the campaign is organizing men to attend phone banks, canvass for women’s health issues and help raise funds for pro-choice candidates.
“Governor Rauner promised the voters of Illinois during the 2014 campaign that he would protect women’s access to reproductive health care services, including abortion; now it’s become politically expedient for him to do an about face on that promise, which is BS and we’re calling him out on that today,” said Oren Jacobson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Men4Choice.
Each year, thousands of women travel to Illinois to access safe reproductive health care unavailable in their home state. Even so, 92 percent of Illinois counties do not have abortion providers.
* JB Pritzker also arrived at the Thompson Center today…
Thank you to everyone who signed one of the 4,000 postcards urging @GovRauner to do his job & sign #HB40 into law to protect Illinois women! pic.twitter.com/hvREHD9iaq
* Chris Kennedy was on the Ben Joravsky Show yesterday. Click here for raw audio. Here are a few bits, starting with a question about petition circulating time and his running mate..
CK: We have about 2,000 volunteers around the state, there are about 6,000 donors. But aside from the donors, the 2,000 volunteers are like peppering the office, ready to go. You know can we go out this weekend. So believe me, whatever pressure you think you can put on me during this radio show is not anything like what I’m getting day to day in the office. I think we’ll probably spend an extra day or two on vetting and a couple other issues now and try to do a great job.
Ben: Are there people who’ve turned you down?
CK: I wouldn’t describe it like that. I’d say a relationship is not exactly like a marriage in the traditional sense where one person asks another. It’s more of a partnership that needs to be created, almost like a merger. And that needs to be two willing parties that see in each other something hopeful, and not just synergies in a corporate sort of sense, but in the capacity to create something great for the state and that’s a complicated deal.
I think it’s really difficult to be in the arena in politics today, and we ought to cut them a little bit of slack on the enormous pressures that they’re under and the timing, and the fact that they are up against an enormous spender that twists and perverts the natural cycle, and I think as a result of that, people feel they need to make a bigger bet and do something they ordinarily wouldn’t do, and I think that’s what occurred in that relationship. I think you need to have grace under pressure in a situation like this. And I think in states, I can’t remember, fortunately I haven’t looked into it here, there’s this concept of a no-fault divorce, and unfortunately in politics there’s no such thing. You’re going to see it play out for a couple more days, it’s messy, but I think we should all have a little bit of sympathy for their families for what they’re going through as this plays out on the front-page of the paper and the newspapers, and websites and blogs…
* When alluding to an opponent with a lot of money, were you referring to Pritzker, Rauner or both?…
Yeah, well, that’s a good question. I’d say for Democrats the immediate threat is JB Pritzker’s enormous spending. Never before have we had all these mailers and the television ads. Maybe that’s the kind of America people want, and there’s going to be a choice, they can embrace that. Cardinal Cupich said the other day, they interviewed him in one of the papers, I think both the Tribune and the Sun-Times. And they were interesting interviews I thought. And he said, “In a democracy, we get the government we deserve”, and I think he meant that in the nicest possible way, but we’re going to have that choice and we deserve whatever we get after this election. Everybody knows what the choice is.
* On the school funding bill’s private school tuition tax credit…
In my mind, that’s just a clear violation of the state constitution, and, so, then you have to say, well, is it worth it? Did we get enough goodies that we’re willing to live with a violation of the constitution? And I don’t know if that’s ever worth it. I don’t know if that’s ever worth it. The truth is once you abandon the constitution, you abandon the rule of law. Once you abandon the rule of law, you descend into the rule of the jungle. And you abandon this notion, well the Golden Rule I suppose, that do onto others as you’d like them to do onto you, and replace it with Rauner’s Golden Rule which is “He who has the gold makes the rules”, and that’s what has occurred in this funding bill. We’ve allowed the state now to sponsor private, church-run schools. That’s a violation of the constitution.
SECTION 3. PUBLIC FUNDS FOR SECTARIAN PURPOSES FORBIDDEN
Neither the General Assembly nor any county, city, town, township, school district, or other public corporation, shall ever make any appropriation or pay from any public fund whatever, anything in aid of any church or sectarian purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other literary or scientific institution, controlled by any church or sectarian denomination whatever; nor shall any grant or donation of land, money, or other personal property ever be made by the State, or any such public corporation, to any church, or for any sectarian purpose.
Members of the Service Employees International Union Illinois have sued the state of Illinois for failing to make good on pay raises required under the new state budget.
The union and Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration are in the midst of a year’s long negotiation for a contract to replace the one that expired June 30, 2015.
At issue in the lawsuit filed Wednesday is a 48-cent-per-hour raise for home health workers lawmakers wrote into the budget enacted over Rauner’s July veto. The provision gave the state one month from the July 5 to increase the wage rates for those workers, who the union claims total about 28,000.
Rauner spokesman Jason Schaumburg said in an email that wage negotiations should be part of the collective bargaining contract process between the administration and SEIU. The union and the administration are in the midst of a yearslong negotiation for a contract to replace the one that expired June 30, 2015.
“The state and unions like SEIU are required to engage in collective bargaining about wages and wage increases under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act,” Schaumburg said. “Under that same statute, the agreements the state and the union reach over wage increases take precedence over any conflicting law.”
Terri Harkin, union vice president, called the administration’s argument “disingenuous.”
“The law is clear: the state is required to implement statutory minimum labor standards — such as minimum wage,” Harkin said in a statement. “The state is then required to bargain with the union for any increases above the minimum standard by statute. Neither the Labor Act nor the SEIU collective bargaining agreement presents an obstacle to the immediate implementation of the raise required by the statute.”
Personal assistants shall be paid at a rate negotiated between the State and an exclusive representative of personal assistants under a collective bargaining agreement.
Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the hourly wage paid to personal assistants and individual maintenance home health workers shall be increased by $0.48 per hour.
More than two months after the Illinois General Assembly finally approved a state budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner is moving ahead with a plan to begin cutting into the $15 billion backlog of bills.
The state will issue bonds to pay off bills with double-digit interest penalties, saving hundreds of millions of dollars this year. […]
Rauner, a Republican, says he’s looking for programs to cut in order to pay off the bonds.
Democrats, like Rep. Greg Harris from Chicago, say they worry Rauner will target human service providers like he did during the budget stalemate.
“All his traditional targets — the epilepsy foundation, autism, teen reach, after-school programming, violence prevention — have not gotten contracts yet,” Harris said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Those “targets” go back to when he cut autism funding on World Autism Day.
* And Rep. Harris doesn’t believe these are even necessary cuts…
“The legislature-passed budget did not account for the increase in debt service costs to cover the bill backlog bond issuance,” the Rauner statement said. “The governor’s office is identifying several hundred million dollars in possible spending reductions to address this budgetary shortfall. The governor also would like the General Assembly to return to Springfield this fall to work with him to balance the budget and enact structural reforms that could save much more.”
Rep. Greg Harris, a key budget negotiator for House Democrats, said Rauner’s read of the budget legislation is incorrect. He said $350 million was set aside to help pay for the borrowing.
The budget gives the state the authority to issue up to $6 billion in general obligation bonds that must be issued by the end of the calendar year. The money raised must be used to pay down expenses that were incurred during the two-year budget stalemate that ended in July. That’s when lawmakers overrode Rauner’s veto of the budget, enacting it. […]
“His delay has cost us over $120 million in interest that could have been spent on actual services to the people of Illinois. But instead, he has essentially thrown it into the middle of the plaza at the Thompson Center and lit it on fire,” Harris said.
For over a month, Cook County residents have been subjected to the absurd soda tax that Chicago Democrats have imposed on them.
J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly avoided taking any position that would benefit residents who have been paying the price for Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Machine’s money grab.
Similar taxes have been viewed as a cautionary tale, resulting in layoffs and reduced sales for small businesses.
When taxes like this have failed elsewhere, why do Toni Preckwinkle and her fellow Democrats continue to support them, especially when confronted with overwhelming disapproval from their constituents?
We know J.B. Pritzker opposes bipartisan legislation in Springfield to repeal the Soda Tax, he says “local governments should be given deference to make decisions over their own jurisdictions,” but where does Pritzker stand on the pending Cook County Board of Commissioners plan to repeal the soda tax?
So far, he’s been MIA and for good reason. The Cook County Democrats recently endorsed Pritzker, and his tacit approval of their disastrous soda tax is the price of their support.
Clearly, Pritzker and the Cook County Democratic Machine have no intention of standing up for taxpayers, especially when there is money to be made.
5 More days for Pritzker to take action.
* From Galia Slayen at the Pritzker campaign…
“We know it has been a rough few months for the ILGOP, but they should try doing their homework before peddling tired talking points. JB has already said he opposes the soda tax and supports the county repealing the tax. Unlike Bruce Rauner, JB supports progressive taxes that lift up middle class families and those striving to get into the middle class – not regressive taxes.”
And, of course, the governor wanted to impose a state sugary drinks tax earlier this year.
* Meanwhile, yes, there are ads running against the pop tax, but blaming public outrage on those ads ignores the simple fact that the tax is hugely unpopular…
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday said public opposition to the county’s controversial beverage tax is being driven by a repeal campaign orchestrated by Big Soda.
She compared the situation to the tobacco industry, saying there’s been an overall drop in pop consumption as consumers turn to healthier alternatives.
“Big Soda knows that, and they are fighting in the same way the cigarette companies fought against taxation, against public-education campaigns to try to reduce the amount of smoking,” Preckwinkle said.
Her comments came amid a local multimillion-dollar ad war between the beverage industry and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a longtime critic of the negative health effects of consuming sugary drinks.
That battle has ramped up in recent weeks, as each side purchased additional TV commercials in the run-up to Wednesday’s County Board meeting. Commissioners who oppose the tax are expected to formally introduce a repeal ordinance then.
* At one point yesterday, Bloomberg bought out the entire Sun-Times home page for his pro-tax ads…
Marking the first concrete threat to Cook County politicians who support the pop tax, critics of the measure have formed a political-action committee to raise money for challengers in next year’s elections.
The new group — called Citizens for a More Affordable Cook County — quietly filed paperwork to form as a campaign committee with Illinois elections officials last month, records show.
Underscoring the spreading distaste for the sweetened beverage tax, the new PAC has ties to the Democratic Party — the same party that backed the tax itself.
The PAC says it could fund challengers to the eight County Board commissioners who voted for the tax. But in a statement to the Sun-Times on Thursday, the group pointedly avoided saying whether it would back a challenger to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who’s up for a third term in 2018.
Today, Daniel Biss announced Litesa Wallace as his running mate. In a video shared with supporters, Daniel and Litesa discussed their excitement about how their partnership could move Illinois’ middle class and working people forward.
“I’m here now because, 13 years ago, I found myself a single mom with a young son,” said Litesa Wallace. “At the time, I was pursuing a graduate degree so that I could build a better life for us. It was not easy—but if it weren’t for state programs like child care assistance, I wouldn’t have had that chance.
“In the legislature, Daniel and I have fought for childcare assistance, a $15 minimum wage, to expand healthcare, and to make millionaires pay their fair share. And that’s what we’ll fight for in our administration. Like Daniel, like me, there are millions of other regular people in our state who want something better for our children. They are people who try hard, who sometimes fall short, who struggle but keep on fighting—and these are people that deserve to have their government fighting for them. The millionaires and insiders have had their time in Springfield. This campaign is for the rest of us.”
“Litesa Wallace is someone I can trust to fight for the middle class and working people,” said Daniel Biss. “As a single mom and sole breadwinner for her family, she can understand the struggles of the millions of Illinoisans who are trying to get by.
“As a woman of color, she understands that justice and opportunity aren’t equally distributed or readily available to everyone. As a social and economic justice champion in the legislature, she’s a proven fighter for the issues and people that have too often been forgotten by the powers in Springfield.
“This election will determine whether we build the progressive Illinois that we know our state can be. In this election we have a chance to get it right. In choosing my team, that’s what I had in mind. Today I’m announcing my running mate, who wasn’t the original choice but is the right choice.”
Litesa has spent her career fighting for working families like her own. As an educator and psychologist, as a single mother, and as the State Representative for Illinois’ 67th District, Litesa understands the impact that decisions in Springfield have on people across the state.
Litesa began her career as a counselor, working with children and adults experiencing mental health issues as well as child abuse victims, families in crisis, and people with histories of substance abuse. After completing a master’s degree and doctorate at Northern Illinois University while raising a son on her own, Litesa worked as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Litesa’s experiences as a counselor and educator drew her to become more involved in local government. She began volunteering, and working directly with policy-makers on the issues most important to her. Litesa won her first election for the Illinois House of Representatives in 2014, after serving as chief-of-staff to State Representative Charles E. Jefferson. She was re-elected in 2016.
In the House, Litesa has proven herself an ally of working families and an adept policy-maker able to lead her fellow legislators to support causes she believes in. A progressive advocate for economic justice, she has protected Illinois’ most vulnerable populations by expanding access to crucial services such as affordable childcare, healthcare, and SNAP benefits while also working to raise wages and create innovative economic development tools in cities across the state.
Born on the Southside of Chicago and raised in the south suburbs and the daughter of a law enforcement agent and postal worker, Litesa grew up in a union household and was the first member of her family to complete a college degree. Litesa is raising her son in Rockford.
* The state’s new education funding reform law is apparently pretty darned complicated when it comes to charter schools. CPS is now scrambling to figure out whether the city’s 124 public charters are owed as much as $100 million more or just $40 million…
State law requires school systems to give charters a minimum amount of funding, based on an overall per-pupil spending level known as a “per capita tuition charge.” In the 2016 fiscal year, according to a state financial report, the CPS per capita tuition charge was $12,544.
Previous state law required school districts to pay charters at least 75 percent of that per capita charge, multiplied by the number of charter students enrolled. The new law requires charters to receive at least 97 percent of a district’s calculated per capita rate for each enrolled student.
Complicating the issue is that CPS uses a variation of its student-based budgeting model to fund charters. CPS charters receive the same per-student dollar amount as traditional schools. But they also receive additional money to pay for items such as security and central office expenses, and to subsidize the cost of facilities. Finally, charters get a share of several categories worth of state and federal aid dollars.
Charters were already in line to get additional money this year under a series of previously planned increases to the district’s student-based funding rate and the supplemental funding. That increase comes despite a projected enrollment increase of only about 630 students this year.
CPS says in its budget that the funding model gives charters “an equitable share.” But after reviewing the new state law, officials concluded the funding level fell short of what is now required by an amount that has yet to be determined.
* I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails, calls, texts, etc. the last couple of days from subscribers who say they aren’t receiving their Capitol Fax e-mails. I checked with the person who handles my lists and this is his response…
There was a global update to SPAM filters this last weekend. We will probably have more before this is over.
* So, the first thing you need to do is check your spam/junk folders. If you still can’t find it, then your system may be blocking my e-mails, in which case here are the instructions…
If it is not in your JUNK/SPAM folder on your local computer, they are being blocked by your SPAM filter on the server. Your IT dept will need to whitelist the Constant Contact servers per the following link:
Whitelisting “richmiller@capitolfax.com” WILL NOT fix the problem, it has to be the list of servers in the link above.
When you click that link above, scroll down to the instructions labeled “Letter Your Subscriber Sends to their ISP.” Copy and paste those instructions into an e-mail to your IT person.
Chicago is chasing one of the country’s largest corporate headquarters deals in years, joining what is sure to be a fierce competition to land Amazon’s second headquarters.
The city plans to respond to Amazon’s request for proposals for the new 50,000-employee campus, said a spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel “has spoken with (Amazon founder and CEO Jeff) Bezos several times about picking Chicago,” said the spokesman, Grant Klinzman, in an email.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant on Thursday said it plans to invest more than $5 billion to create a second headquarters in another North American city, with buildings potentially totaling more than 8 million square feet and creating 50,000 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. The positions will pay an average of more than $100,000 annually, Amazon said.
Landing Amazon will require tremendous help from the state of Illinois, and the state only recently reauthorized its tax-incentive program for another five years. Like many other things, it took a back seat to the state’s two-year struggle to pass a budget.
The question is whether a state that has massive financial challenges—with billions in unpaid bills and a staggering pension deficit—can compete in what is likely to be an expensive bidding war. […]
In terms of the cost, Hickey and his peers say comparing this to Wisconsin’s $3 billion deal to land a Foxconn plant is a good place to start.
“I expect the bottom-line number would be at least what Foxconn got,” says Mark Sweeney, a principal at McCallum Sweeney Consulting in Greenville, S.C. “We can look at the big deals that have been done for big projects before, but there’s no telling how much. We’re in pretty rarefied air here with a headquarters operation and complex that would rival their headquarters in Seattle.”
* From the Good Jobs First organization, which warns against corporate subsidies…
“Taxpayers should watch their wallets as the trophy deal of the decade attracts politicians to a hyper-sophisticated tax-break auction. We fear that many states and localities will offer to grossly overspend to attract Amazon, even though the business basics–especially a metro area’s executive talent pool–will surely control the company’s decision.
“Public auctions for economic development deals, like those staged in the past by Boeing and Tesla, are the rare exception: nearly all are staged in secret. Based on what we know about Amazon, we expect this one to be a textbook show.
“As we documented last December, Amazon has since 2012 established an internal group with high expertise in seeking economic development incentives. And as we documented in July, it has recently advertised for additional senior staff in that department. Since our December 2016 study, Amazon has continued to receive subsidies valued at at least $115 million (not including four deals of undisclosed value), for a long-term total exceeding $1 billion.
“While we assumed Amazon would apply this expertise for more fulfillment and sortation centers, it now appears the company will also deploy it for a new headquarters deal. In its press release today, we already see the markings of an aggressive messaging strategy to justify massive subsidies.
Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, has used campaign funds to purchase a sport utility vehicle.
The senator hasn’t stopped at an SUV. He also acknowledges using campaign funds to install a new engine in a personally owned Jeep. And he says that he’s spent more than $19,000 on a trailer and truck to use in parades.
Legislators, who are barred from spending campaign funds for personal use, typically lease rather than purchase vehicles. One expert on campaign finance says that the senator’s purchase of a 2017 Ford Expedition XLT for $61,146 last April raises both ethical and political questions.
“Potentially, you’ve got a violation,” said Kent Redfield, a retired University of Illinois Springfield political science professor. “You certainly have the possibility of violations. It’s just sitting there as a temptation to use. It’s probably not great politics. I would assume a competent opponent would read through your campaign reports and make an issue out of it. It certainly seems to be asking for political trouble.”
McCann, who has pondered a run for governor, responded to an interview request via email, saying that he drives so many miles that a leased vehicle, as opposed to one purchased outright, would be cost prohibitive. He said that he has driven more than 500,000 miles since his first campaign in 2009.
Go read the rest. The dude just can’t stay out of the papers on this stuff.
* As you already know, the Sangamon County GOP is backing a primary opponent against McCann. Click here for some background.
McCann responded on Facebook yesterday…
Please read the whole link below.
THEN - remember that the author doesn’t even bring up the fact that the $100,000,000.00 in tax breaks will be paid for out of the General Revenue Fund. That’s right, we have a backlog of bills owed to vendors of over $15 billion. We owe the pensions somewhere around $200 million that the politicians stole. And instead of paying those bills, they reward the wealthy and well-connected with your tax money that IS ALREADY SPOKEN FOR.
The first version of the bill didn’t include that provision. That was the version I voted for (the first version, without the the extra spending). The second version is the one most republicans ended up voting for and our republican governor signed into law as he hugged Rahm Emmanuel.
I am a real republican. Not a Raunerite. That is why the Sangamon GOP and Illinois GOP are primarying me again. They don’t want public servants who listen to their constituents and consciences, they want a #RaunerRubberStamp
* I saw this on TV last night and was impressed enough to ask for a copy from the campaign…
* Script…
I’m Juliana Stratton and I’m so excited to be running for lieutenant governor and to be a part of JB Pritzker’s team.
About two years ago I remember sitting at home and watching the nightly news and I saw what Governor Rauner was doing and I really saw our state heading in the wrong direction and I decided to run for state representative.
I have seen JB in so many different contexts and he is the same. He’s the same in a one-on-one conversation. He’s the same when he’s before a group of people. He is sharing his heart a sense of economic investment and job creation his concern for making sure that children get the best start in ife
I believe that JB is the right person for this job. He has the ideas, he has the leadership capability and he has the values to really invest in our state and making sure we get on the right track.
* The House and Senate just posted the fall veto session calendar. The chambers will return to Springfield October 24-26 and then again November 7-9. Click here and here.
By using a special session to pass education funding reform, the two chambers avoided activating the 15-day clocks on bills vetoed by the governor, which gave everybody a much-needed break from all the session days the past couple of years.
Natalie Phelps Finnie became the first woman to represent Illinois’ 118th district Wednesday, when Democrats appointed her to replace her cousin, Brandon Phelps, who resigned from office last week.
She does have a political pedigree. Her father, David Phelps, served in Springfield and as United States Congressman. […]
When asked if she would support Mike Madigan as speaker of the house, Phelps Finnie described herself as undecided, with tough decisions ahead of her.
“I’m about the people of southern Illinois and anyone who knows me knows that I’m very stubborn, and I’m certainly no one’s yes man,” she said. “I can tell you that for sure.”
(B)ad net migration numbers can be the result of an unusually high number of people leaving, or an unusually low number of people moving in. And in the case of Illinois, it appears to mostly be the second.
In per capita terms, Illinois’ gross out-migration rate ranks just 29th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In other words, Illinois residents are actually less likely to move out than are residents of the median state.
But things don’t look so good when it comes to gross in-migration. Adjusted for population, Illinois attracts fewer newcomers than all but two other states: New York and Michigan.
That means Illinois’ migration problems are mostly about how few people come here, not how many people leave.
* The Daily Line‘s Mike Fourcher was on WGN Radio yesterday talking about how Biss had dumped his running mate…
It makes it very clear that Daniel Biss changed direction in a big way because of a particular interest group, and that’s a terrible narrative. I mean, basically, you’re no longer able to say ‘I’m a man for myself and I stand for my ideas.’
So… people who oppose what essentially amounts to an economic blockade of Israel are members of an “interest group”? And, um, Biss is no longer able to stand up for himself because of who, exactly?
Look, this pick was a terrible idea from the beginning, but if he’d stuck with his choice he would’ve destroyed his candidacy and he probably would’ve never been able to look his mom (the daughter of Holocaust survivors) in the eye ever again. He definitely hurt himself, but there’s still plenty of time to mend fences.
Biss’ endorsements from political figures include U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner, and at least seven Democratic members of the General Assembly.
Questions about a plane ticket to Japan for the girlfriend of the mayor of Bloomington point to just the latest case of questionable spending at city halls in Illinois.
The Edgar County Watchdogs, John Kraft and Kirk Allen, said Bloomington is not the only city where it appears city leaders are misspending city money or misusing city assets.
Kraft said the available facts for the Bloomington case don’t answer all of the questions. Mayor Tari Renner is accused of buying a nearly $1,900 plane ticket for his girlfriend to go to a Sister Cities event in Japan – or at the very least “floating” her airfare on the city’s credit card.
Kraft said that’s against the law, and he thinks Renner knows it. He believes Renner claimed his girlfriend would reimburse the city for the ticket only after he was caught.
“To us it’s more [a question] of the actions that Mayor Renner and some of the City Council members took after it was publicized what happened,” Kraft said.
The two-year Illinois budget stalemate reduced enrollment in the state’s public colleges and universities by more than 72,000 students, eliminated nearly 7,500 jobs, and cost the Illinois economy nearly $1 billion per year, according to a new study released today by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“Illinois public universities and community colleges are a $16.1 billion economic engine that support nearly 124,000 jobs and serve nearly 800,000 students every year,” said study co-author and University of Illinois Professor Robert Bruno. “Faced with a $660 million cut in state support, many institutions exhausted their financial reserves, raised tuition, experienced credit downgrades, cut programs, laid off workers, and reduced in enrollment. Even with most funding now restored, damage has been done that will have a lasting impact on the state’s economy.”
The local economies hardest hit by the impasse were in the Northeast (Chicago and suburbs) and East-Central (home to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) regions of the state. Collectively, these two regions represent nearly 80 percent of all statewide losses in higher education-related jobs and economic output.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job losses included more than 2,300 instructional positions, touching vital fields such as computer science, nursing, education, business, and mathematics.
On average, in-state tuition and fees at Illinois’ public universities rose by 7 percent during the two-year budget stalemate, and grew by as much as 12-14 percent at some institutions. Enrollment declines were experienced in every region of the state, but were most acute in the Northeast and Southern Illinois (home to Eastern Illinois University and the Southern Illinois University System).
Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Tuesday announced their 10-day enrollment figures, indicating that fall 2017 enrollment will be 14,554, a decline of 8.96 percent compared to the fall of 2016.
The largest drop was seen in the incoming freshman class, which has 408 fewer students than fall of 2016, or a 19.19 percent decrease.
* Now that petition filing season has begun, what are your thoughts on which Democratic gubernatorial candidates will not file signatures with the Board of Elections come deadline day?
A man of peace appears to have helped make some peace between the state’s top political adversaries, teaching Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Mike Madigan they needed “to talk to each other and trust each other.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, who quietly became a major player in a rare school funding compromise, says he urged all the politicians involved – Democrat and Republican alike — “to call their better selves and their better angels.”
“I’ve said all along, just because someone is your opponent, doesn’t mean they’re your enemies,” Cupich told the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s a difference between your opponent and your enemy.”
The influential head of Chicago’s Catholic Archdiocese told the Sun-Times on Thursday that he believes the Republican governor and Democratic House speaker in particular did learn a lesson in trust, citing the agreement, which puts new money for education into the state’s poorest and neediest districts but also includes a private school scholarship and tax credit program that some have criticized.
Rauner privately warned his remaining staff of “enemies” — everyone from Democrats, media, bloggers and “people who shouldn’t be our enemies, including people who used to work for this administration.”
But in the earlier conference call to staff, Rauner maintained there was a larger, even more encompassing messaging mission — the need to counter his “enemies.”
“The reality is in addition to the enemies on the other side of the aisle (Democrats), we have enemies in the media and enemies who should be on our side, some of them former members of the administration,” the source recounted Rauner as saying.
There’s plenty of talk in Democratic circles that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first truly big legislative “win” was his last.
Rauner signed a major education funding reform bill into law on Aug. 31. It contained almost nothing he demanded in his initial amendatory veto, and even though it gave Chicago Public Schools more money than the vetoed bill he deemed a “Chicago bailout,” he has his signature on a law that will positively transform education funding for decades to come and he also got a $75 million pilot project to provide income tax credits for private school tuition programs. So, it’s a “win.”
But that’s it. No more. The Democrats want him gone, and they don’t need his help on anything else, so it appears they plan to tread water until after the 2018 election, when strong national headwinds will, they believe, push the incumbent Republican out of office.
And there’s no doubt that the constant warring of the past 21/2 years has ruined the governor’s ability to work with legislative Democrats and even with a significant number of Republicans. They just don’t want to deal with him any longer. It’s no accident that the education funding reform bill was negotiated among the four legislative leaders while Rauner was kept at a safe distance from the talks.
But, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 530 more Illinoisans were employed in June of this year compared to January. The politicians of this state simply have to put their parties and their personal animus aside to deal with this sickening lack of growth.
I’d repeat my request for some workers’ compensation insurance reform, but the two parties don’t seem to be interested in compromise. The Democrats, particularly in the House, say their 2011 reforms need more time to work, and the Republicans are demanding that the Democrats alienate their allies in organized labor.
So, how about something that just about everyone in Springfield loves?
Gov. Bruce Rauner today signed Executive Order 17-05, creating the governor’s Opioid Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force.
The task force will be co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and Dr. Nirav D. Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. The task force will look at strategies to prevent expansion of the opioid crisis, treat and promote the recovery of individuals with opioid-use disorder, and reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths.
We already have an Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council, which works on preparedness and prevention.
* Also from yesterday…
Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, several state agency officials, stakeholders, and advocates today helped release the State of Illinois Opioid Action Plan. A coalition of state agencies has developed a strategic framework that outlines what Illinois needs to do to address the opioid crisis and why it needs to be done.
“The opioid epidemic knows no neighborhood, no color, and no class. It is not confined to alleys in urban settings, nor isolated in rural communities,” Lt. Gov. Sanguinetti said. “Illinois needs a comprehensive opioid strategy that destigmatizes addiction and appropriately aligns resources across state agencies in partnership with community priorities.”
Since 2013, the number of heroin deaths in Illinois has nearly doubled, and the number of prescription opioid deaths has almost quadrupled. Last year, there were 1,889 opioid overdose deaths, an increase of 76 percent from 2013. Recent analyses of death records in Illinois shows that overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids have increased more than any other category of opioids. The largest increase was in the number of deaths involving fentanyl, and drugs similar to fentanyl, which led to a tenfold increase in synthetic opioid overdose deaths between 2013 and 2016.
Earlier today, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an Executive Order creating the Opioid Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. The task force will look at strategies to prevent expansion of the opioid crisis, treat and promote the recovery of individuals with opioid-use disorder, and reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths. The task force will be co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Sanguinetti and Dr. Nirav D. Shah, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“The death toll continues to rise exponentially, and, if left unchecked, estimates show that more than 2,700 people in Illinois will die from opioid overdoses in 2020,” Dr. Shah said. “The opioid crisis is not something that can simply be solved with more treatment, increased prevention, or more arrests. It will take all of us, in all capacities to end the crisis.”
The goal of the plan is to reduce the anticipated number of opioid-related deaths by 33 percent in three years. The plan identifies three areas of focus: prevention, treatment/recovery, and response. To address those three areas of focus, the state has identified six priorities:
• Safer prescribing and dispensing of opioids
• Education and stigma reduction
• Data monitoring and communication
• Increasing access to care
• Supporting justice-involved populations
• Increasing naloxone access and use
…The state will collaborate actively with other key stakeholders, including the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council, to build on the plan’s framework.
Wednesday, Governor Bruce Rauner signed an executive order establishing the Opioid Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force to address the epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse in Illinois.
Aiming to reduce the more than 1900 expected opioid-related deaths in Illinois this year, the Task Force will focus on preventing high risk individuals from developing an addiction, as well as treating overdose cases through training and availability of medications that can help revive patients.
Take a look at some of the coverage from Wednesday’s order signing:
Look, good politics is good governance and we definitely need a better strategy for dealing with the opioid situation. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.
I just hope they aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel in order to score a few points.
* Meanwhile, a joint House and Senate hearing was held yesterday on legalizing and taxing marijuana. It was chock full of 1980s talking points from law enforcement…
Also testifying Wednesday was a panel representing the Illinois States’ Attorneys Association, which is opposed to recreational marijuana legalization.
“I think everyone would agree that government’s most important function is public safety,” DuPage County States’ Attorney Bob Berlin said. “It’s our position that legalizing marijuana does not advance public safety at all. In fact, it moves the ball in the other direction.”
Berlin said marijuana is addictive and can lead to users trying even more dangerous drugs, such as opioids.
But Neill Franklin, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, said in his 34 years as a cop, he’s seen firsthand that prohibition isn’t working and it’s time to legalize marijuana.
You know what leads quite a large number of people to try opioids? Doctor prescriptions. Let’s try living in the real world.
* I’ll let you know if the other candidates respond…
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy is challenging his primary opponents to at least five statewide televised debates beginning in January 2018 and concluding before the Democratic primary on March 20, 2018. Kennedy proposed that a minimum of two of the televised debates take place outside of the Chicago media market.
“Next March, Democrats face an important choice about Illinois’ future. We must make the right choice as a party to defeat Bruce Rauner because Illinois has never been in worse shape than it is today,” Kennedy said. “The primary voters can’t make an informed decision without vigorous issue-oriented debates where each candidate can lay out their vision for our state’s future.”
Representatives for the Kennedy campaign will contact the campaign representatives for his primary opponents to begin negotiations on logistics, format, dates and venues for these debates. Those details will be announced at a later date.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Ouch…
Breaking: Chris Kennedy governor campaign discovers its email password, sends us first release since July 26.
Why wait until January? It should happen now. We’re ready.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Rep. Scott Drury’s campaign…
“By starting the negotiations at 5, Mr. Kennedy actually seeks very few debates. Given the size of Illinois and its diverse population, there should be 10 televised debates, with at least 4 taking place in Central and Southern Illinois.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Pritzker campaign…
“JB looks forward to participating in at least five debates and he’s enjoyed the 15 forums he’s already attended across the state.”
Kennedy, I’m told, has missed 5 of those 15 forums.
* Ameya Pawar’s gubernatorial campaign just reported a $250,000 contribution from Will Hobert, the founder of WH Trading, a high-speeding trading firm which had previously contributed $11K to the campaign. Hobert is also a member of CME’s board of directors. This is not the usual contributor to Pawar’s campaign, so his operation (via spokesman Sam Hobert, who is Will Hobert’s eldest son) released a statement from Will Hobert and his spouse…
We want Ameya Pawar and his “New Deal for Illinois” to be part of this primary process. We want Ameya’s smart and bold stances on campaign finance reform, equitable education funding, universal child care, single-payer healthcare, criminal justice reform, a $15 minimum wage to give working families in Illinois a chance to get ahead.
This election should be about electing the best candidate for all Illinoisans, not just the one who can self-fund or who has the deepest rolodex. If we want our democracy to work for all of us, none of us can sit on the sidelines - there’s just too much at stake.
With this contribution, we hope others will be inspired to support Ameya who shares a compelling vision for a more fair and just Illinois.
We are fortunate enough to be able to make this contribution, but we know writing a check isn’t even enough - we’re lacing up our boots, grabbing a clipboard, gathering our friends and hitting the streets to bring about the change we want to see, alongside Ameya Pawar and 2,800 of his fellow volunteers around the state. Attend an event, ask tough questions, knock on doors, and give as much time and money as you can to Ameya’s grassroots campaign as you can afford. We hope you will join us. - Julie + Will Hobert.
This is by far Pawar’s largest contribution. The next biggest was a $15K check from California investor Kristy Kitzmiller. It brings Pawar’s contribution total up to about $743K.
Even as Gov. Bruce Rauner has worked to quell questions surrounding staffing upheaval in his office, his former general counsel — perhaps the most sensitive position under the governor — is at the center of a brewing controversy.
The attorney, Dennis Murashko, was the subject of a complaint alleging he had misused the powers of his office, sources with direct knowledge of the accusations told POLITICO.
But Murashko also authored a memo to the governor raising the question of whether the administration was properly keeping politics out of the office, sources with knowledge of that memo say. […]
Several sources talked to POLITICO about the nature of the allegations, including that Murashko was accused of using his position to dole out plum duties to someone with whom he had a personal relationship.
Reached by POLITICO, Murashko denounced the series of allegations in strong terms, saying it “has zero truth to it.”
“I’ve never been made aware of any OEIG investigation, nor have I done anything to warrant an investigation or even a complaint about my service in state government,” Murashko said to POLITICO in a statement.
I was sent an unsigned Murashko-related complaint in mid July, but haven’t been able to verify the contents. The letter to the OEIG alleges he used his authority for “retaliation, intimidation, abuse of power and inappropriate office behavior.” It’s quite something, but, again, it was unsigned because the person said he was a state employee “so I do not want to sign this complaint for fear of retaliation.” The letter has been circulating for a while now. I know of at least one other reporter who has had it since July.
There’s speculation from inside that the memo Murashko wrote about politics in the governor’s office might have been drafted to somehow protect himself from the OEIG beef. Then again, that memo was reportedly signed by another attorney in his office, who then reportedly took his name off the memo later, perhaps under pressure.
I’ve reached out to Murashko about the memo and other stuff, including whether he was escorted out of the office a day after his resignation was accepted, but well before he was scheduled to actually resign. I haven’t yet heard back.
After conducting a thorough review of the out-of-balance fiscal year 2018 budget passed by the General Assembly in July, Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced he intends to exercise borrowing authority to issue $6 billion in bonds to pay down a portion of the state’s bill backlog.
“Illinois has been deficit spending for many years, resulting in a huge unpaid bill backlog. The state has been, in effect, borrowing from local service providers, including nonprofits and small businesses, because it takes months for them to get paid,” Gov. Rauner said. “My preferred solution has always been for state government to reform its spending, and for a strong, competitive economy to grow family incomes faster than the cost of government.
“Unfortunately, the General Assembly passed a tax hike and an out-of-balance budget over my veto. Even with a permanent income tax increase costing the average Illinois household more than $1,000 a year, the budget is more than $1 billion out of balance and is still growing the unpaid backlog. We’re choosing to exercise borrowing authority because it’s better to have Wall Street carry our debt than Main Street Illinois.”
A significant portion of the bill backlog is currently subject to late-payment interest penalties at rates of up to 12 percent annually. The governor directed his staff to initiate a bond issuance to refinance this high-cost debt by borrowing from banks at a much lower interest rate, which will result in considerable savings to the state.
The General Obligation Bond Act was amended by the legislature as part of the fiscal year 2018 budget package. It grants the state the authority to issue up to $6 billion in general obligation bonds as Income Tax Proceed Bonds. The Income Tax Proceed Bonds must be issued before Dec. 31, 2017, and must be used to pay for expenses vouchered from general funds or state employees’ group health insurance costs that were incurred before July 1, 2017.
Bonds issued under this authority must be paid within 12 years from the date of the sale and require level principal payments each year. For example, a $6 billion issuance would require 12 annual principal payments of $500 million, plus interest payments depending on the interest rate.
The legislature-passed budget did not account for the increase in debt service costs to cover the bill backlog bond issuance. The governor’s office is identifying several hundred million dollars in possible spending reductions to address this budgetary shortfall. The governor also would like the General Assembly to return to Springfield this fall to work with him to balance the budget and enact structural reforms that could save much more.
“Illinois cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past,” Gov. Rauner said. “We have to work together to truly balance the budget. We must protect residents from further tax hikes while ensuring the most vulnerable receive the services they need. Building upon the success of the recent bipartisan education funding law, we can find common ground for real solutions.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today applauded Gov. Rauner’s decision to finally agree to refinance debt that carried a staggering 12 percent interest rate.
“Gov. Rauner finally made a good decision. It is frustrating to know that his delay likely cost taxpayers $62 million in interest payments,” Frerichs said.
Illinois’ $15 billion bill backlog borrows money from unwilling lenders because it does not pay vendors. These unpaid bills accrue interest rates as high as 12 percent. The interest payments alone equate to $2 million each day.
Gov. Rauner’s decision to refinance current debt is possible because Democrats and Republicans in July came together to override the Governor’s budget veto. In doing so, lawmakers authorized Gov. Rauner to refinance debt incurred prior to July 1, 2017.
“Willing lenders will gladly refinance this debt at interest rates far below 12 percent,” Frerichs said. “This decision is long overdue.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Comptroller Mendoza…
This is a good day for taxpayers. We are pleased to see Governor Rauner has listened to the many voices of Illinois residents and businesses urging him to issue bonds as the General Assembly authorized. This news will come as a relief to businesses around Illinois owed money by the state.
We look forward to working with the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget to move this process along as quickly as possible — especially considering the fact that every delay costs taxpayers at least $2 million a day in additional late payment interest penalties. Refinancing our debt at a much lower interest rate - just like any sensible homeowner with a high mortgage rate would do - will provide payment for services rendered to thousands of people across the state and save Illinois taxpayers billions of dollars over the life of the bonds.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady…
“I believe Governor Rauner is taking responsible action,” Leader Bill Brady said. “Using this tool from the Democrat majority’s budget can get payments out the door to struggling state vendors, save taxpayers’ money and begin a renewed dialogue on how to manage the deficit in the Fiscal Year 18 budget,” Brady said. “The Administration is forced to manage the budget as crafted by the Democrat majority but I am hopeful the Democrat leaders are willing to work collaboratively to try to close the gap on that deficit.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** Sen. Donne Trotter…
Following a press conference Assistant Majority Leader Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) held in Chicago Tuesday urging the governor to use the borrowing authority given to him through Senate Bill 42, the governor’s office announced today it plans to use the tool.
“I’m glad to see the governor is taking the General Assembly’s lead and is using the bonding authority given to him that will help save taxpayers billions over the next 12 years,” Senator Trotter said.
“If only he’d made this decision back in July, instead of vetoing the legislation and forcing an override he could have saved taxpayers millions. As of today, this delay has cost the state approximately $132 million.
This step will finally help pay down the state’s debt and provide a sense of financial stability our state so desperately needs.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** Press release…
“The Chicagoland Chamber fully supports the Governor’s decision to issue $6 billion in bonds to pay back a portion of the state’s bill backlog. For too long, the many Chicagoland businesses to whom the state owes this money have been forced to carry the state’s debt, waiting months, and even years, to be paid. With this act, Governor Rauner is providing much-needed cash flow and stability for these companies and their employees. While we all look forward to a day when Illinois boasts a strong and growing state economy, coupled with real fiscal restraint, that makes the need for this type of borrowing a thing of the past. Today, we see the Governor’s decision to borrow at a lower rate than taxpayers are currently paying as a fiscally responsible first step toward a stronger Illinois,” said Michael Reever, Acting CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
Pritzker Putting Cronies Before Taxpayers with 6 Days Until Soda Tax Repeal Plan
Between Juliana Stratton and Toni Preckwinkle, Pritzker’s Chicago ties to Soda Tax supporters run deep
With 6 more days until the Cook County Board of Commissioners hears a plan to repeal the disastrous Soda Tax, JB Pritzker and his allies continue to ignore the wishes of Cook County voters.
His support of the tax becomes more clear, however, when looking at the ties between his running mate Juliana Stratton and Soda Tax champion Toni Preckwinkle.
In a move that would make Mike Madigan proud, Preckwinkle publicly backed Stratton, her “protege,” to beat fellow Democrat Ken Dunkin to show “any wavering Democrats” that “the kind of prostitution Dunkin engaged with is not going to be rewarded.”
Clearly, having thoughts independent of Madigan and Preckwinkle is grounds to lose your support.
The Soda Tax is just another example of what the ousted Dunkin said of the Madigan Machine: “[Madigan] is the lone wolf out there and the people are suffering.”
Will Pritzker stand up to the Madigan-Preckwinkle alliance, or stay silent while the people suffer?
* Anybody who has paid any attention for the past few years has heard Gov. Bruce Rauner talk about his Swedish grandparents. He particularly idolized his grandfather…
“My best friend growing up was my grandfather on my mom’s side. Swedish immigrant. Didn’t speak much English. Lived in a double wide trailer in a cornfield outside Whitewater, Wisconsin. Dairy farmer. Taught me to milk cows. Taught me about huntin’ and fishin.’ Taught me about hard work and giving back.”
I also idolized my maternal grandfather and spent countless glorious days on his farm. Rauner and I spoke briefly about this shared history a while ago. My paternal grandmother lived in a trailer for a time, so we had that in common, too.
It was of little surprise then that, as he appeared with immigrant activists to sign a controversial law putting limits on policing of the undocumented, Rauner retold his own favorite story of immigrants — the Ericksons from Sweden.
“My grandparents were proud immigrants to the United States of America, here to Illinois in the late 1800s,” Rauner said. “My grandparents did not speak English when they were young.”
Variations of the Erickson story have been staples of Rauner appearances for years. But the key word here is “variations,” because the governor has not always been consistent in the telling.
“He kept on talking about his immigrant grandfather, immigrant from Sweden who could barely speak English, sometimes he would say he didn’t speak English. He also said his grandmother was like that,” said the BGA’s Bob Secter, who authored the piece in partnership with Politfact. “So we went back and looked at the census records to find out about it and they just aren’t immigrants. They were born in Wisconsin.”
In a YouTube compilation on the topic, there was only one time (of several instances in which he discussed his immigrant relatives) that Rauner, when asked by a reporter, clarified that he was speaking about his great-grandparents.
Records from U.S. Censuses taken between 1910 and 1940, the latest year publicly available, clearly show that both of Rauner’s maternal grandparents were born in Wisconsin — Clarence Erickson in 1901 and Viola Erickson (nee Wedin) in 1900. In other words, neither of them were immigrants.
What’s more, the census shows that Viola’s mother — Rauner’s great-grandmother — was also born in Wisconsin. Viola’s father, while born in Sweden, emigrated to the U.S. at age 6 in 1868. As for Clarence, the census describes him as speaking English and having a seventh grade education. In the 1940 count, his profession was listed as “buttermaker.” […]
We have no reason to doubt that Rauner’s grandparents meant the world to him. But the Census plainly refutes his claim that they were immigrants. What’s more, both couldn’t have come to the U.S. in the late 1800s because they weren’t even born until the early 1900s — in Wisconsin, not Sweden. Rauner’s assertion in August that his grandparents immigrated to Illinois is yet another inaccuracy.
Since we don’t have a time machine, we can’t say for certain what language was spoken in the Erickson and Wedin childhood homes. But to the extent that Rauner implies the Ericksons’ facility with English was limited, Census reports refute that notion as well.
Topping all that is the acknowledgement by Rauner himself in his 2014 Tribune interview that his grandparents were not immigrants. Still, he continued to repeat the claim on many occasions.
Census records and Rauner’s own admission show that this statement has no credibility. That is why it earns our lowest possible rating, Pants On Fire.
Frankly, this revelation has disturbed me more than anything else I’ve ever read or learned about Gov. Rauner. To lie about his own grandfather, a man he clearly loved, to score political points is just beyond the pale.
And if he won’t tell the truth about that, how can anybody trust him on anything else?
Consider fall 2006. J.B. Pritzker was raising money to build a Holocaust museum in north suburban Chicago. Gov. Rod Blagojevich was raising money for his re-election campaign.
Each had what the other wanted.
On Oct. 27, Pritzker and his wife gave $100,000 in campaign contributions to Friends of Blagojevich.
Four days later — a week before the election — Blagojevich announced he was giving a $1 million state grant to support construction of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. Pritzker was the museum’s chief fundraiser.
The piece makes a ton of assumptions and rhetorically connects dots that are not actually connected by facts. No witnesses, no sources, nothing. A whole lot of sizzle in a straight news piece which reads like an opinion column.
I mean, of course Rod would want to dole out a Holocaust Museum grant right before an election. That’s what governors do, particularly that governor.
And that particular governor was also well known for connecting campaign contributions to government and/or political favors. I could definitely see him waiting on Pritzker to help his campaign before releasing the grant money, even if he never told Pritzker any such thing.
* The Pritzker campaign was indignant and made some assumptions of its own…
JB Pritzker Proud of His Work with Survivors to Build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Baseless Attack by Chicago Tribune is an Affront to an Institution Teaching Illinoisans to Fight Hate
Chicago, IL – In 2009, JB stood with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and opened the doors to a museum that honors the memory of those killed in the Holocaust and turns powerful lessons of history into positive actions today. It was the culmination of years of work by JB and survivors to make the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center a reality.
Thanks to that hard work, now over 60,000 Illinois kids and teachers come to the museum each year to learn how to fight bigotry and hate. The founding principle of the museum is “Remember the Past, Transform the Future” – an important creed for Americans less than a month after white supremacists descended on Charlottesville.
But in a story out today, the Chicago Tribune tries to reduce the work of JB and Holocaust survivors to a groundless political attack. The story comes as the paper’s pick for governor, Bruce Rauner, has had a horrendous summer and continues to implode. Just yesterday it was reported that Rauner’s former general counsel is the subject of a government ethics complaint.
“JB has nothing but pride for his work with survivors to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “At a time when the phrase ‘Never Forget’ has never felt more relevant, it’s disappointing that the Tribune would try to reduce this museum to be a part of their political agenda.”
One should never connect the editorial stance of a large newspaper to its reporting.
* From the ILGOP…
Pay To Play: Pritzker and Blagojevich Trade $100K Campaign Check for $1 Million State Grant
Tribune report reveals another sad chapter in the extensive Pritzker-Blagojevich relationship
“J.B. Pritzker is just another corrupt insider who tries to buy influence and power. First we learned from FBI wiretap tapes that Pritzker considered buying his way into public office by seeking an appointment to the Treasurer’s office from Rod Blagojevich. Now, we learn Pritzker gave Blagojevich a $100,000 campaign check in return for a $1 million state grant. Illinoisans should be worried about what Pritzker will do if he’s allowed to buy the governor’s office.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
* And again today…
Quid Pro Quo: Since 1996, Pritzker and Blagojevich Bankrolled Each Other’s Political Interests
Pritzker: “I know Rod [Blagojevich] is going to be very helpful.”
“Quid pro quo - that’s the name of the game for J.B. Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich. Since 1996, Pritzker bankrolled Blagojevich’s political campaigns. In return, Blagojevich propped up Pritzker’s failed campaigns and gave him insider access to state government. Illinoisans should be worried about what Pritzker will do if he’s allowed to buy the governor’s office just like he bought influence with Blagojevich.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
Yesterday in yet another bombshell Tribune report on J.B. Pritzker’s close ties to disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, it was revealed that Pritzker and Blagojevich traded campaign cash for state grants.
But Pritzker and Blagojevich are no strangers to helping each other out.
Since 1996, Pritzker bankrolled Blagojevich’s political interests, and in return, Blagojevich and Chicago ward bosses propped up Pritzker’s failed plans to run for office.
While Blagojevich may have failed to elect Pritzker, Pritzker still held up his end of the bargain. Pritzker and his family contributed over $160,000 to Rod Blagojevich’s campaigns.
Slayen also said the grant was “dated as beginning on Oct. 1, 2006, before any contribution was given.” The agreement, however, does not indicate that Oct. 1 was when the grant began — it states only that the funding applies to costs the museum incurred after Oct. 1. In addition, the grant agreement was not signed until January 2007.
This whole story is really about a gubernatorial announcement, not an award. The grant began October 1st, but the money wasn’t disbursed until January.
In a bombshell announcement in the Illinois governors’ race, State Sen. Daniel Biss has dropped Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) as his running mate over the alderman’s stance on policy related to Israel. The announcement comes in the wake of Biss sustaining a high-profile lost endorsement over Rosa’s comments. The removal comes just six days after Rosa joined the ticket.
“Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and I have reached a difficult decision about our ticket. As of today, I’ll be moving forward with a new running mate,” Biss said in a statement. He went to note his personal family history—which includes grandparents who survived the Holocaust and great-grandparents who were killed under the Nazi regime.
The move hinges on Rosa’s stance on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), the pro-Palestinian campaign which advocates for various kinds of boycotts against companies that do business with Israel.
Biss said in his statement that he believes BDS “moves us further away from a peaceful solution” in the region. He said that Rosa initially told him he was also opposed to BDS
“Since we’ve announced his selection, we have been asked about his position on BDS. After much discussion, it’s become clear that Carlos’ position has changed.”
Ramirez-Rosa denied he had changed his position on Israel since being interviewed by Biss, and said he was sorry if the state senator misunderstood.
“I’ve been consistent in my position for several years,” Ramirez-Rosa said. The 35th Ward alderman said a two-state solution is preferable, but the U.S. should use its leverage over Israel and that BDS should be part of the conversation.
Even before Wednesday’s announcement, Ramirez-Rosa’s position on Israel was cited by Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Deerfield as the reason he pulled his endorsement of Biss for governor. […]
Ramirez-Rosa also was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, prompting some in the Democratic Party establishment to question Biss’ choice.
Moreover, some Democrats said privately that Ramirez-Rosa had been working in recent weeks to explore a potential challenge to Democratic U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, including conducting a recent poll. Ramirez-Rosa said he still wants to pursue a progressive agenda at the local level, but that does not mean a run against Gutierrez
Rosa himself would not vow his support for Biss in the Democratic primary.
“I will be supporting the candidate who is most likely to deliver a $15 minimum wage, affordable child care and free college tuition for all,” Rosa said.
How badly this mars the Biss campaign lies squarely with Biss and how he steers his own path forward. Time is on his side. It’s early. If he picks a solid running mate in a matter of days as his campaign promises, he has the potential to re-calibrate and remain relevant and competitive.
But Biss just lost those he was trying to woo by choosing Rosa in the first place. Bernie folks are hopping mad. Just read this compendium of replies. While he can work to win some back through merit, and perhaps others through their own “lesser evil” calculation, the excitement has evaporated. Rosa, however, is now a hero to his supporters.
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America called Biss a coward, then accused him of “abandoning principle and yielding to this sort of pressure and causes us to question the commitments he claims to have towards democracy, solidarity, and the interests of working people and marginalized communities.”
In an interview with DNAinfo, Ramirez-Rosa said Wednesday evening his position had been consistent in favoring BDS at the federal level while opposing it at the state and local level.
“I’m sorry the senator didn’t understand the facts,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
Biss, a state senator from Evanston, said in an interview with DNAinfo on Sept. 1 that he “thought hard” about partnering with Ramirez-Rosa, given his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America.
“Now is not a time to be cautious,” Biss said at the time. […]
Ramirez-Rosa said he would continue working to build a “diverse coalition” to resist Republican President Donald Trump and Gov. Bruce Rauner, but did not answer a question if his removal from the ticket would exacerbate the divide in the Democratic Party.
*Getting ratio’d: Democratic state Sen. Daniel Biss had been courting progressives as he runs for Illinois governor, looking for a different path to the nomination than the one being traveled by establishment candidates like J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. On Wednesday, Biss dumped Chicago Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa as his running mate as the two disagreed over Israel. And boy, did Biss pay the price on Twitter.
The reaction GIFs telling Biss he made the wrong decision included appearances by Adam Sandler (in “Billy Madison”), Julia Roberts (in “Pretty Woman”) and even Yoda. Also weighing in was Matt Christman, one of the hosts of “Chapo Trap House,” a podcast popular among supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
As of 6 p.m., however, no one had used the troll tactic we expected to be in full effect: Biss’ social media ad last year where he juggled flaming sticks.
Biss, as the kids say, got ratio’d (the number of replies to his tweet were dwarfed by the number of favs and retweets).
Richard Goldberg, former chief of staff to Gov. Bruce Rauner, said it was the right decision, calling the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement “at its core … a political manifestation of anti-Semitism.
“Under Governor Rauner’s leadership, Illinois became the first state in America to divest its public pension funds from companies that participate in BDS. This should always be a bipartisan issue and I applaud Congressman Schneider and Senator Biss for making clear to the far-left that BDS has no place in the Democratic Party.”
Biss will have to find another running mate in order to start gathering signatures.
Just after midnight Thursday morning, Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office began transmitting $541 million in General State Aid to schools around the state. These are the funds that were supposed to go out on August 10th and 20th, but were delayed because the Governor vetoed the School Funding Bill.
The next payment of $264 million will go out tomorrow, Friday, to cover the first September payment due Sunday, Sept. 10. That means a total of $805 million will be going out to schools this week.
“I am grateful legislators were able to forge a bipartisan compromise to allow passage of the school funding bill which finally puts the state on a path to equitable school funding,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “The start of the school year should be about kids happy to see their classmates again and resuming the learning process — not worries about whether schools will have to close midyear. Parents, children and teachers can finally have the confidence and peace of mind to know that their schools will not only open on time, but more importantly, stay open for the full academic year.”
* Comptroller Mendoza…
Two months ago today, the General Assembly authorized Governor Bruce Rauner to refinance a portion of Illinois’ $15.4 billion bill backlog.
Two months later, his inaction on this common-sense budget mandate has cost taxpayers at least $120 million. Currently, the state is paying up to 12 percent interest on a large portion of its bill backlog at a cost of $2 million a day in late payment interest penalties.
This simple, bipartisan refinancing provision is no different than when a homeowner swaps out a higher mortgage rate for a lower one, but we have yet to see any movement on it from the Governor’s Office, Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Wednesday.
“Over 12 years, this refinancing plan will save taxpayers between $6 billion and $8 billion, or between $550 million and $650 million annually. Right now, we’re paying $2 million dollars a day for the Governor’s inaction,” she said. “This is money that will never go toward early education, to our public universities, toward job creation, or to our struggling social service providers. Stalling on the bonds is fiscally irresponsible and taxpayers should be outraged.”
By law, the refinancing must be applied to the state’s bill backlog. It will give relief to not only taxpayers, but also thousands of service providers and businesses awaiting payment from the state. Over the past two years without a budget, many entities owed money by the state have had to exhaust their lines of credit, lay off employees, turn away Illinois citizens in need of services and, in some cases, close for good.
Last week, the Comptroller visited the Orthopaedic Institute of Southern Illinois in part because they are owed about $6 million from the Group Health Insurance program that covers public employees, including university employees.
The state’s backlog of bills is about $15 billion. Of that, about $5 billion are bills from group health. Those bills, along with other medical bills, incur some of the highest late interest penalties.
“Three days’ worth of late payment interest penalties could pay off the Group Health Insurance bills owed to the Orthopaedic Institute of Southern Illinois,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “Until Governor Rauner moves to refinance this debt, Illinois is burning money that could be used to pay businesses and providers what they are owed and inject stability into the Illinois economy.”
Champaign County agencies are taking a breath after two years of stalled state funding, but directors are nervous that break won’t last long.
The passing of the state budget on July 6 has given places like the Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services (RACES) in Urbana a solid dollar amount to expect, with RACES expecting $215,000 in annual state funding.
That amount is paired with federal funding, as well as local funds from county taxes. RACES Executive Director Adelaide Aime had an overall sense though that next year’s numbers could be in jeopardy.
“I am not confident that a year from now that the legislature is going to pass another budget,” Aime said. “So we are going to be very cool. But we are not going to lock ourselves in.”
Aime said RACES found itself locked in a difficult cycle while running on partial funding the past two years since a majority of its budget came from the state.
“It was horrible. First (RACES) cut staff hours, and then they had to lay people off,” Aime said. “And then after a whole year with no money, they continued laying people off, and really the agency went down to a skeleton and was only providing a sliver of services.”
Domestic violence shelter Courage Connection went through a similar gutting during the budget impasse. Executive Director Isak Griffith said the biggest pain was losing staff, and they are finding themselves trying to get back to where they were before the budget impasse.
* The Pritzker campaign responds…
A recently released report detailed the destruction done to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) by Bruce Rauner’s 736-day manufactured budget crisis.
ICASA, which administers 29 rape crisis shelters in Illinois, had to put its building at risk by borrowing nearly $1.5 million because of Bruce Rauner’s budget crisis. The two centers highlighted in the report had to lay off staff and provide “a sliver of services” after losing state funding due to the budget crisis.
“Bruce Rauner decimated ICASA and caused irreparable harm to Illinois women and children as a result,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “The damage has been done by this failed governor.”
* Choosing a running mate is the most important decision of any gubernatorial campaign and Sen. Biss blew it. Badly. From a press release…
Statement from Daniel Biss on Lieutenant Governor Selection
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and I have reached a difficult decision about our ticket. As of today, I’ll be moving forward with a new running mate.
Growing up with an Israeli mother, grandparents who survived the Holocaust, and great-grandparents who did not survive, issues related to the safety and security of the Jewish people are deeply personal to me.
I strongly support a two-state solution. I support Israel’s right to exist, and I support Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. I also care deeply about justice for Palestinians, and believe that a vision for the Middle East must include political and economic freedom for Palestinians.
That’s why I oppose the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, or BDS, as I believe it moves us further away from a peaceful solution.
When I asked him in the interview process prior to his selection, Carlos said he too supported a two-state solution and opposed BDS.
Since we’ve announced his selection, we have been asked about his position on BDS. After much discussion, it’s become clear that Carlos’ position has changed. While I respect his right to come to his own conclusions on the issue, it simply wasn’t the understanding we shared when I asked him to join the ticket.
In light of this, we have agreed that I will be moving forward with a new running mate. It was not an easy decision, but it was the right decision.
The values that I was raised with have fueled and shaped my public service. I’m running for governor to create a more fair and just community. That’s why I’m fighting for health care for all, a tax system that calls on the rich to pay their fair share, and good schools for every child in every neighborhood. Carlos and I agree about these issues and I am glad that he will continue fighting for these progressive causes in his role as alderman.
We’ll have news in the coming days about how we move this campaign forward—because we will move forward. The upcoming election is too important, and the future of our state is at stake. Illinois’ middle class and working families are hurting, while the rich and well-connected have a monopoly on power. We have the opportunity, this year, to move our state in the right direction and build a progressive future together. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure that’s exactly what we do.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Bernie Sanders group…
Statement from Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago on Biss Campaign Lt. Governor Reversal
On August 31, we were excited to learn that gubernatorial candidate Sen. Daniel Biss selected progressive Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa as his running mate. It showed his understanding that the Bernie wing of the Democratic Party must be heard in the upcoming gubernatorial primary. Today, we are disappointed and shocked to learn that Sen. Biss has chosen to drop Ald. Ramirez-Rosa from the ticket.
Ald. Ramirez-Rosa was a delegate for Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election and is a leading progressive voice in the Chicago City Council. We are proud of Carlos for the integrity he has shown in standing by his convictions as a strong and unwavering advocate for working families. We believe he was an excellent candidate for Lt. Governor and are saddened that his voice will be missing from Sen. Biss’ campaign.
With Carlos on the ticket, many were encouraged that important issues like Medicare for all, the fight for a $15 minimum wage, affordable childcare and free college tuition would be part of the agenda for Illinois. These issues that resonate deeply with working families and millennials were central to the Bernie Sanders campaign–and are the reason he won 79 of 102 counties, 11 of 18 congressional districts, and almost a million votes in Illinois.
Following is a statement by Carlos Ramirez-Rosa on his departure from Daniel Biss’ ticket:
“While I was honored to be chosen as Senator Daniel Biss’ gubernatorial running mate, it became clear over the past few days that while we share a total commitment to peace, security, and statehood for the Israeli and Palestinian people, and both oppose pursuing BDS at the state level, the difference of opinion we have on the role the BDS movement plays at the federal level would make it impossible to continue moving forward as a ticket.
I was asked to join the ticket to even more strongly advocate for the critical issues facing this state, such as medicare for all, a $15 living wage today, affordable childcare, and free college tuition. While I am no longer part of the ticket, I have every confidence that Senator Biss and I, in our different roles, will continue to be strong advocates for these progressive issues.
I especially want to thank the members and organizational leaders of Reclaim Chicago, Our Revolution IL, and Democratic Socialists of America, and the thousands of activists who have shown their commitment to addressing these critical concerns for their confidence in me, and their continued work on these progressive issues. There is so much work to be done, and I am proud to stand by your side while we continue to build our progressive movement.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** The Democratic Socialists stand up for one of its own members…
