* As we’ve discussed before, the Illinois Policy Institute’s legal arm is attempting to overturn Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, in which the US Supreme Court upheld government union “fair share” fees for those who didn’t want to pay full union membership dues.
Seventh Circuit US Appellate panel, led by Judge Richard Posner, today shot down the group’s attempt with some pretty basic logic…
Of course, only the Supreme Court has the power, if it so chooses, to overrule Abood. Janus and Trygg acknowledge that they therefore cannot prevail either in the district court or in our court—that their case must travel through both lower courts —district court and court of appeals — before they can seek review by the Supreme Court. […]
Janus’s claim was also properly dismissed, though on a different ground: that he failed to state a valid claim because, as we said earlier, neither the district court nor this court can overrule Abood, and it is Abood that stands in the way of his claim.
The judgment of the district court dismissing the complaint is therefore
AFFIRMED.
I assume this will be appealed. The opinion is here. A press release touting the victory is here.
…Adding… Press release…
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Mark Mix released the following statement regarding the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to affirm the judgement of the district court in Janus v. AFSCME.
“The court’s ruling is no surprise but simply allows the next step forward in the journey to end forced unionism for public employees across the country. No one should be forced to pay a union dues or fees just for the privilege of working for their own government and this decision means the case can now move up to the United States Supreme Court.”
* What I thought was a mild case of the sneezes/sniffles turned into a bit more than that this morning. I’m going back to bed. The House is in town today, but the Senate is not. Follow along in real time with ScribbleLive…
* OK, let’s try this again, shall we? I published and then removed a post about an Illinois Supreme Court action today. I thought it was a different case, but I checked with AFSCME and the attorney general’s office too late. There are actually two AFSCME cases out there and the one the Supremes acted on today is the case to halt payroll for state workers appealed by the attorney general and NOT the case about whether the governor can impose his terms on AFSCME. Sorry about that. Too many lawsuits!
SUPREME COURT OF ILLINOIS COURT CONVENED AT 10:30 A.M., MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017 THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE:
CIVIL DOCKET
No. 121984 - The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, Council 31, et al., appellees, v. Bruce Rauner, Governor of the State of Illinois, et al., etc. (People State of Illinois, appellant).
Motion by appellant for direct appeal to this Court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 302(b). Motion denied.
Order entered by the Court.
Again, this is the case that Attorney General Lisa Madigan tried to directly appeal from St. Clair County regarding paying state employees without an appropriation. So, it’s back to the appellate level for her.
*** UPDATE *** AFSCME…
Today the Illinois Supreme Court denied the Attorney General’s motion for direct appeal of a Circuit Court Order that ensures state employee payroll continues even in the absence of an enacted state budget. AFSCME and other unions that represent state workers secured that order and opposed the motion for direct appeal.
We believe the standard appeals process should be followed. Dissolving the order would only worsen the uncertainty that the lack of a budget is inflicting on our state. Despite all the chaos caused by Governor Rauner, the people of Illinois have been able to rely on state workers to be there, providing important public services.
In the absence of a budget, the order ensuring state workers are paid is only a temporary measure keeping Illinois from spiraling further downward. It’s past time for Governor Rauner to stop holding the budget hostage in pursuit of his own ideological agenda. He should do his job and work constructively with the General Assembly toward a budget plan that is balanced and fair.
Bills for consultants and technology contracts for computer software have helped deplete a fund created for the relief of providers of health care services through Illinois’ financially stressed Medicaid program, State Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced Monday.
Doctors and other health care providers around Illinois are waiting six months to a year or more to get paid because the state has not had a balanced budget in more than two years. This fund, as its name suggests, is designed to send relief to health care providers, Comptroller Mendoza said.
“Where are this administration’s priorities?” Comptroller Mendoza said. “These funds are supposed to be for critical healthcare services. There is a time and a place for technology upgrades, but our state is in the midst of the biggest financial crisis in its history and we simply cannot put consultants and new computers ahead of vulnerable people.”
The state’s Medicaid backlog now sits at approximately $3.5 billion, a major component of the overall bill backlog that now approaches $13 billion. Because those bills are paid late, taxpayers also must pay an additional $2 million a month of late payment interest penalties.
In just over two years, Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration has spent an estimated $112 million in Healthcare Provider Relief Funds on various consulting and management fees and contracts for computer software instead of direct payments to providers according to the reports filed with the Office of the Illinois Comptroller.
A single consulting firm – Deloitte Consulting LLP – has received $27.6 million in consulting fees from the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund between January 2015 and March 2017. The fees are associated with technology initiatives at the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and are part of over $350 million spent by DHFS overall on consulting and software costs since Governor Rauner took office. Whether those initiatives had successful outcomes has not yet been fully established.
The new report comes on the heels of findings indicating the Rauner Administration has budgeted nearly $100 million in additional funding for its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program, an initiative overseen by the Governor’s newly created Department of Innovation Technology, which is directed to receive $1.3 billion in funding in FY2018 according to budget documents.
Comptroller Mendoza has put the brakes on $27 million in a fund being used for ERP spending pending answers from the administration on the program’s costs, progress and results to date.
Comptroller Mendoza announced the findings of her staff’s research at a speech at the City Club of Chicago. She noted her commitment to upgrading technology in government, citing her performance as City Clerk of Chicago, where she shifted more than 1.3 million Chicago City Vehicle Sticker customers from a seasonal sales program to year-round sales, bringing in more revenue for the city at lower cost to taxpayers and eliminating long lines for drivers.
“I didn’t get a blank check for technology upgrades from the City Council,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “I needed to provide transparency, accountability, and results and so should the Governor. The days of the Comptroller’s office handing out blank checks for the Governor’s pet projects are over. I am going to be the check and balance the Constitution designed this office to be.”
Mendoza also claimed at the City Club today that “days before I took office, my predecessor transferred $71 million from the General Revenue Fund… into funds used to pay, in part, the ERP.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the governor’s office…
Comptroller Mendoza will do anything to distract from the fact that she used taxpayer dollars to buy herself an SUV while cutting funding to human services.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Oof…
Susana Mendoza coins new term: "Rauneritis, or the inability to accept responsibility for any problems created"
That’s resulted in multiple attacks from Rauner over how Mendoza has prioritized payments during the impasse. Rauner first raised concerns over how much money the comptroller was setting aside for so-called hardship payments to social service providers within the Department of Aging. Those are payments that get rushed to businesses on the verge of closing or missing payroll because the state is so far behind in paying its bills. The Rauner administration said Mendoza cut that fund to $7 million a month from $20 million a month under Munger, putting groups that care for the elderly at risk.
Mendoza shot back that Rauner was cherry-picking issues in an effort to make her look bad, saying there was simply less money to go around as the state is coming out of a time of year where tax receipts are historically low so there is not as much cash on hand. Mendoza said she has requested help from the governor’s office on identifying groups who need expedited payments but instead received a letter from the administration noting it was Mendoza’s duty to decide how spending is prioritized.
* The Rauner administration just put out this press release…
The Rauner Administration today called on Comptroller Susana Mendoza to reverse her disturbing decision to cut payments to social service organizations serving our state’s most vulnerable residents.
“Hardship payments” are high-priority payments that executive branch agencies routinely send to the Office of the Comptroller to ensure services to our most vulnerable continue. At the Department on Aging, for example, these hardship payments are a lifeline for Community Care Program providers serving elderly populations. As reported today by the Chicago Tribune, while former Comptroller Leslie Munger had allowed the Department on Aging to pay $20 million in hardship payments every month, Comptroller Mendoza has reduced that allotment to $7 million, jeopardizing services.
In a letter to Comptroller Mendoza’s office, Department on Aging Director Jean Bohnoff wrote, “We once again urge the Comptroller to reverse the recent reductions in hardship allotments and increase them to at least $20 million per month to help us avert a crisis in all regions of the State by doing what we can to keep our provider network afloat.”
* From that letter to the comptroller…
In conversations with my staff, you informed us that hardship request would only be considered for those providers who could supply both a letter from their bank stating that they no longer had access to credit and a separate letter stating what the hardship request would be used for. Considering that none of the Department’s providers have been paid for services to non-Medicaid clients for all of FY2017, and many of them are struggling to get by on the meager hardship payments that have been released, I feel that this request would be unduly burdensome when they are losing staff and having to withhold payments to their staff, their vendors, and even the State in the form of payroll and other taxes. Furthermore, the decision to only pay “non-current” vouchers may force many smaller providers, who have been increasingly turning to the Department for help, to close their doors and stop serving some of the State’s most vulnerable citizens. That, in turn, would end up with many seniors being forced to leave their homes prematurely and enter nursing homes, imposing an even greater cost on the State.
Indicative of the plight of these small to medium providers is the letter that you recently received from one of our largest providers—Community Care Systems, Inc. That letter laid out their request for $4.8 million in on-going monthly hardship assistance in order for them to continue to operate in all areas of the State and meet their payroll needs. With such a large provider struggling to meet current payrolls, just think about how smaller providers are struggling more with multiple missed payrolls.
* The governor’s office is right that they requested money for Community Care Systems, Inc. What they don’t mention above is that an earlier letter sent by the same state agency director [click here] claimed the organization could go out of business if it wasn’t paid immediately. That letter was sent on February 28th - three weeks ago. It’s still in business.
The goal is to now extend that [anti-Madigan] branding to Mendoza, said a Republican operative who dismissed the notion that infighting between the two offices could reflect badly on both the comptroller and the governor given the delicate nature of running a state that’s gone without a full budget since July 2015.
“As opposed to when Munger was there, there is more chaos that can be blamed on (Mendoza), because these things weren’t happening prior to her coming into office,” the operative said. “I think people are very smart and astute and they know it’s not a coincidence that the person Madigan recruited for the office is pulling the strings. That’s a very believable argument for people, whether it’s true or not.” [Emphasis added.]
If they weren’t playing these obvious games, it would be a whole lot easier to pile on Mendoza. Just sayin…
Tensions are escalating at Chicago State University, where sources tell the Chicago Crusader that Gov. Bruce Rauner is getting pushback from some officials as he seeks to make former CPS chief, Paul Vallas, president of the university. […]
Sources told the Crusader that on March 3, Rauner’s Education Secretary, Beth Purvis, called a meeting with Board of Trustees chairman Marshall Hatch and Tony Anderson. Anderson is board chairman of Perspectives Charter Schools and serves on Rauner’s newly-created eight-member advisory council at CSU.
Rauner was not at the meeting, but sources told the Crusader that Purvis told Hatch and Anderson that Rauner wanted Vallas to be the president to replace Thomas Calhoun, who abruptly resigned last September under mysterious circumstances.
Sources told the Crusader that if Rauner’s request isn’t met, he will not secure additional funding to help solve the school’s financial woes and withdraw his support. The Board of Trustees would also risk losing Vallas—an important member who gained praise when he served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 1995 to 2001. At a time when CPS was financially bankrupt, Vallas was credited with keeping the school system afloat and boosting academic achievement among the district’s minority students. […]
Sources said Rauner’s plan to get Vallas as president did not sit well with Hatch, who has served on the Board of Trustees since 2015. Another board member, Nikki M. Zollar, who has served on the board since 2013, said she said “no” when she was called about Rauner’s request.
“First, any notion of threatening future state funding is entirely false. Second, the Governor’s Office has been in regular communications with CSU leaders about potential university leadership candidates, including Paul Vallas, to work towards a turnaround of this university in crisis.”
Purvis acknowledged the meeting with Hatch, Anderson and Vallas but denied putting pressure on the two board members to get the votes needed for Vallas to be president.
“There was a conversation about how do we bring the urgency so we can bring more resources to the university,” she said. “There was absolutely no threat.” […]
“I don’t understand his purpose,” Zollar said. “I was shocked that he was going to be on the board. And I was even more shocked that the governor wanted him to be the chairman of the board.
“Paul himself have said in many meetings, ‘I want to be the president of the university.’ I do think he has all good intentions, but I wouldn’t be able to support the idea of Mr. Vallas being the president of CSU because he doesn’t have the requisite background in higher education.
We are running out of ways to emphasize how dire the opioid overdose crisis has become. In 2015, United States drug overdose deaths exceeded 50,000; 30,000 involved opioids. There were more deaths from opioid overdose than not only from motor vehicle accidents, but also than from HIV/AIDS at the peak of the epidemic in 1995.
The role of surgeons is important for 2 reasons. First, we are likely to encounter many patients on chronic opioids. Older estimates suggest 5% of the general population use opioids chronically. Cron et al found that patients seeing surgeons may have significantly higher rates of use, with 21% of general surgery patients at the University of Michigan Medical Center using opioids at home prior to surgery.
Second, emerging evidence suggests that surgeons are unwittingly enablers of addiction, abuse, and overdosage. Waljee et al5 cite administrative data suggesting that 3% to 10% of opioid-naive patients who receive narcotic prescriptions for low-risk surgery continue to take narcotics up to a year later. Moreover, the vast majority of prescription opiate abusers receive the drugs they use through diversion, most often from family members who have excess pills. And, as Hill et al document, surgeons frequently supply a large excess of pills, with 72% of narcotics prescribed for 5 outpatient procedures going unused. One hundred seventeen of 127 patients they tracked had excess pills; three-quarters retained the pills instead of disposing them. Cauley et al also found, in data from the National Inpatient Sample, that rates of postoperative opioid overdosage among patients undergoing inpatient surgery doubled over the last decade. Surgeons are proving to likely be a significant source of the opioid supply fueling the current epidemic.
In 2010, however, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency issued regulations permitting electronic prescribing for controlled substances.11 Such systems have numerous advantages: they prevent duplicate and forged prescriptions by using 2-factor authentication; reduce dosing errors; cross-reference prescription monitoring program databases; and simplify the prescription process for doctors and patients. Electronic prescribing would make it far easier for surgeons to write smaller prescriptions that meet the needs of 80% of patients, or even 50%, knowing they could remotely order an additional supply if a patient needed it.
The technology is widely available, but few doctors use it. Although 81% of pharmacies are enabled to receive computerized opioid prescriptions; more than 90% of physicians have electronic medical record systems; and most can be enabled for controlled substances—only 8% of physicians are in practices that have enabled that capability and use it.
Doing so is clearly feasible. In March, 2016, New York promulgated stringent opioid prescription requirements, including mandatory use of electronic prescriptions. By then, half of the state’s doctors were already prescribing controlled substances electronically.
* Related…
* Opioid epidemic: Another drug war failure: Pot, in fact, appears to be saving lives. A 2014 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that states allowing medical marijuana had 25 percent fewer deaths from prescription drug overdoses than states forbidding it… Crackdowns have other unhealthy side effects. “When the police shut down a local pill mill, they rarely identify the users and help them get treatment, and heroin and fentanyl dealers are quick to move in to exploit the new business opportunity,” writes New York University professor Mark A.R. Kleiman in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs. “In 2014, deaths from overdosing on prescription opioids fell, but deaths from fentanyl overdoses almost doubled.”
We have a system that listens to billionaires and machine politicians.
That’s not only a jab at Gov. Rauner and Speaker Madigan, but also at Democrats like JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy.
* If you saw the update below, you know that the Illinois Republican Party called Biss “the North Shore branch of the Madigan machine,” this morning. The party also claimed that Biss is a “willing Mike Madigan accomplice who would give the Governor’s office back to the Chicago machine.”
Biss talked about Madigan several times during his Facebook Live event, and had this to say to someone who asked how the state could be rid of the longtime House Speaker…
I’ve been clear for a long time that Madigan’s been in for too long.
He added that he introduced legislation years ago to limit leader terms, before it became so popular.
* He also said that this fight was about lots more than a personality conflict and said…
The problems we face in Illinois are not about a person, they’re about a broken system.
Overall, I thought Biss was more animated and less professorial than I’ve seen him before. He also talked about making the wealthy pay their fair share and promised to protect important social programs. And he called on the governor to speak out against President Trump on things like immigration, whom he said should be resisted “at every turn.”
The administration of Gov. Bruce Rauner is asking the state Supreme Court to rule on whether it can impose its contract terms on the union representing some 38,000 state employees.
In a filing late Friday afternoon, the administration is asking the state’s high court to immediately consider the case, rather than wait for the 4th District Appellate Court to rule first, a process the administration said could take months.
“The delay of waiting for the Fourth Circuit adjudication will impose enormous costs,” the administration said in its filing.
Those costs, it said, include $30 million to $40 million a month in expenses to the state just from being unable to impose health insurance cost savings on members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Rauner’s general counsel Dennis Murashko said in a statement the state and union went through 67 days of negotiations before the state presented its last, best and final offer.
Instead of wasting more time and money in the courts, Governor Rauner should simply do his job and negotiate with our union. State workers are willing to do their part, but Bruce Rauner is so blinded by his anti-union animosity that he refuses to compromise.
Contrary to the misleading statements from the governor’s office, no other union has accepted Rauner’s extreme demands that would hike health costs by 100%, freeze wages for four years and remove safeguards against irresponsible privatization schemes.
Finding that AFSCME has a “reasonable likelihood” of prevailing on appeal, the 4th District Appellate Court blocked Rauner from rushing to impose those demands. Since the governor continues to choose confrontation over compromise, we are prepared to make our case before the Supreme Court.
* This morning, the governor’s office sent over a somewhat odd response to AFSCME. Here’s Eleni Demertzis…
We are delighted that AFSCME is ready to resolve the impasse issue in the Supreme Court and hope the Court does so without delay.
Huh?
* I sent it over to AFSCME’s spokesman for comment…
No clue what she’s talking about. We said instead of wasting time and money in the courts, Governor Rauner should do his job and negotiate with our union.
*** UPDATE *** More from AFSCME…
Typical of its tendency to misinform, the governor’s office is making claims it knows are untrue about AFSCME’s statement on Friday regarding our appeal of the Illinois Labor Relations Board ruling. That statement is below. To clarify the last sentence, we are prepared to make our case before the Supreme Court that normal judicial procedures should be followed, with the Appellate Court review proceeding as scheduled.
* Nonprofit Vote and the US Elections Project have released a new study of the impact of same day voter registration (SDR). Here’s the Illinois data…
The newest adopters of SDR, Connecticut and Illinois, were among the top four turnout increase states between 2012 and 2016 – 4.1% points and 4.0% points respectively. New adopters should continue to see the participation benefits as research suggests states implementing SDR should over time expect a turnout increase closer to 5-7% points. […]
Wisconsin was the only SDR state with a large drop in voter turnout – 3.1% points, its lowest presidential turnout since 2000. This may be associated with recent implementation of a restrictive voter ID law.
According to the study, Illinois’ voter turnout last November as a percentage of all eligible voting-age population was 63.4 percent, putting us 23rd in the nation. That’s a big jump up from 30th in the nation four years earlier, before Illinois had a full SDR program up and running.
Chicago Police Officer Kevin W. Graham once picketed with the Fraternal Order of Police carrying a sign that called for ending the residency requirement for Chicago cops: “If the city wants to save money, lift residency requirement,” it read.
In 2013, he and his wife sold their split-level house in Edgebrook on the city’s Northwest Side — and bought a more expensive four-bedroom house in Lincolnshire, about 25 miles outside the city limits in Lake County. […]
Records also show Graham’s wife was registered to vote from the Lincolnshire address and that Graham was registered from a 900-square-foot basement apartment in West Town, a near West Side Chicago neighborhood. Two cars Graham owns aren’t registered to either address, but to the 19th District police station where he works. […]
The Grahams claim a homestead exemption on the property tax bill for the Lincolnshire house. […]
Graham said he moved out of basement apartment after it flooded “about a year ago” and now lives in a Lake View condominium owned by his sister. He admits he voted using the West Town address five months ago, but told poll workers he had moved before they gave him a ballot.
Ken Griffin of Citadel again leads Illinois in Forbes’ yearly list of the world’s billionaires.
The list includes 16 people from Illinois, down by one from 17 on last year’s list. […]
Five Pritzkers are among the 16 in Illinois on this year’s list: J.B., Thomas, Gigi, Jennifer and Nicholas Pritzker II.
Griffin, CEO of the Chicago hedge fund firm, had a net worth of $8 billion as of Feb. 17, according to Forbes, up from $7.5 billion on last year’s list. He is 166th overall on the world list.
Second in Illinois is Sam Zell, with a net worth of $5 billion. Third is J.B. Pritzker, at $3.4 billion.
Griffin and Zell are active Bruce Rauner supporters. Jennifer Pritzker is also a Republican.
A man who launched an ill-fated primary election challenge of Michael J. Madigan, arguably the most powerful politician in Illinois, has again lost to the Speaker of the State House of Representatives, after a federal judge tossed out his lawsuit alleging Madigan and his political allies violated his constitutional rights by conspiring to smear his name and undercut his campaign.
On March 14, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly sided with Madigan and other defendants accused in the lawsuit, saying plaintiff Jason Gonzales presented no evidence that Madigan and his allies used the power of the state or their positions to violate any of Gonzales’ rights.
“Gonzales argues … that, due to Madigan’s lengthy service in the Illinois House of Representatives, his ‘authority as a private person and the authority he derives from his position are indistinguishable,’” Kennelly wrote. “Gonzales cites no case law to support this proposition. The Seventh Circuit has repeatedly stated that ‘[t]he mere assertion that one is a state officer does not necessarily mean that one acts under color of state law.’
“Gonzales must allege facts permitting a plausible inference that Madigan engaged in conduct made possible by his official authority under state law that contributed to the alleged constitutional violations. Gonzales has not done so in his complaint in its current form.”
Kennelly dismissed the complaint without prejudice, for now, giving Gonzales until March 29 to refile a lawsuit “that contains at least one viable claim.”
You may have heard about a recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll which found that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s job disapproval ratings have almost doubled in the past two years, from 31 percent in March of 2015 to 58 percent this month. According to the poll, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s current disapproval rating is 61 percent, about the same as his 63 percent disapproval rating last October. Rauner’s disapproval rating last October was 55 percent.
During this long governmental impasse, Speaker Madigan has championed the cause of unions and working people against the governor’s attempts to take rights and benefits away from them. But the Democrat is actually underwater with union members. According to the Simon poll, 55 percent of respondents who said they belong to a union disapprove of Madigan’s job performance, including 38 percent who strongly disapprove. Just 34 percent of union members approve of his job performance, while only 12 percent strongly approve. All this pain and they still don’t like him.
But union members dislike the governor far more. The poll found that 72 percent of union members disapprove of Rauner’s job performance, and half of union members strongly disapprove. Only 24 percent approve. On Rauner, anyway, the union message has gotten out.
At the very beginning of this impasse almost two years ago, a top Madigan operative told me the plan was to drag Rauner down to the same polling levels as the House Speaker. They’re very nearly there.
Gov. Rauner is polling horribly everywhere. Fifty-eight percent of suburbanites and 56 percent of downstaters disapprove of his job performance. Another 62 percent of moderates, 60 percent of independents, 47 percent of born-again Christians, 55 percent of men, 61 percent of women, 56 percent of seniors, 54 percent of whites, 56 percent of those making over $100,000 a year and 55 percent of non-union members all disapprove of his job performance.
The same day, JB Pritzker announced he was forming an exploratory committee to run for governor, the Illinois Republican Party made a wildly unsubstantiated claim that the Democrat was “at the center of Blagojevich’s criminal scheme to sell Illinois’ Senate seat.” Like it or not, this is our future.
Barring a dramatic turnaround in his approval ratings, Gov. Rauner’s only sure path to reelection is to make his opponent look even uglier than he does - and he looks pretty darned ugly right now. But he’s also got a very expensive ugly stick with which he can bludgeon the other side. He’s already deposited $50 million into his campaign bank account and there’s plenty more cash where that came from. So, 2018 will not only likely be the most expensive gubernatorial race in history, it’ll be the meanest, because now that the governor has opened the door to these sorts of crazy attacks, the other side will undoubtedly respond in-kind.
Rauner has spent tens of millions of dollars muddying up Speaker Madigan’s image and he’ll definitely use this “issue” against whoever his opponent will be. Campaigns are usually referendums on the incumbent, so Rauner will attempt to make Madigan and whoever his alleged puppet gubernatorial candidate is the incumbents while positioning himself as the outsider trying to change things for the better. For the past two years, the whole plan has been to equate “Democrat” with “Madigan” in voters’ minds. And it’s had some success.
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“When is a Democrat going to run a campaign for that 61 percent?” a Democratic operative asked me last week, referring to the obvious opportunity to capitalize on Madigan’s 61 percent disapproval rating. To the operative, this is a no-brainer. Run a campaign that criticizes both Rauner and Madigan. After all, even more Democrats disapprove of Madigan’s job performance (47 percent) than approve (40 percent), while 27 percent of Democrats strongly disapprove and only a tiny 9 percent strongly approve.
So far, announced Democratic candidate Chris Kennedy has seemed to go out of his way to avoid directly criticizing Madigan. Even Ameya Pawar, the progressive Democratic candidate, hasn’t really launched on the guy. Pritzker hasn’t granted any serious interviews and hasn’t issued any substantive policy statements, so we don’t know yet where he’ll stand.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has not done much of anything to equate “Republican” with “Rauner” in voters’ minds. Rauner’s numbers were almost as bad last October as they are now, but the Democrats barely mentioned him in their campaigns. It’s probably time to start thinking about that.
In 2013, Pat Quinn was judged to be the second-most-vulnerable governor in America by FiveThirtyEight, with a net job-approval rating of -24 percentage points. Rick Scott of Florida was third at -20. Scott won reelection by just one percent of the vote against a weak opponent; Quinn, of course, lost by a substantial margin. Today, Rauner sits at -22 points—in the parlance of the month, on the bubble.
Tomorrow morning at 10 am CT, I’ll be sharing some exciting news on Facebook Live. Because you and I have been on this journey together for so long, it would mean a lot to me if you could tune in.
We just wrapped up yet another week of legislative session in Springfield and, frustratingly, there is still no budget in sight. The longer this stalemate continues, the more people get hurt and the more our state’s fiscal situation deteriorates.
It’s time to be honest about why we’re in this mess — and to take bold new action to solve these problems.
I’ll be speaking to these issues, taking your questions — and sharing some exciting news — tomorrow at 10 am CT on Facebook Live.
Be sure you don’t miss this — head on over to our Facebook Live post and select “Get Reminder.” Then, tune in on Facebook at 10 am CT tomorrow and join the conversation in the comment section.
More soon,
Daniel
From what I’m hearing, he’s jumping into the governor’s race.
Democratic state senator from Evanston who put together ads last fall attempting to link Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to President Donald Trump has told leading Democrats he will formally launch his campaign for governor on Monday, sources said. […]
Biss did not return calls for comment. But sources said that on Sunday he informed top Democratic officials and current and potential rivals in the March 2018 primary of his plans to run for governor. If he does so, Biss would be giving up his state Senate seat, which is up for election next year. […]
Madigan’s personal campaign fund gave $500,000 to the Biss super PAC. It also got money from longtime Democratic donors — including $3 million from money manager Michael Sacks and $1.25 million from media mogul Fred Eychaner — as well as from organized labor.
Other donors to the Biss PAC included Chicago businessman Chris Kennedy, who already has announced his candidacy for governor, and Chicago entrepreneur and investor J.B. Pritzker, who last week formed an exploratory committee for a run for governor.
“Don’t let his exterior fool you, Daniel Biss is the North Shore branch of the Madigan machine. Biss has taken over $260,000 in Madigan money, supported Madigan for Speaker and voted for billions in unbalanced Madigan spending. Last fall, Biss proved his loyalty to Speaker Madigan once and for all by running a Madigan political front group that spent millions leading up to the Election.
“Daniel Biss is a willing Mike Madigan accomplice who would give the Governor’s office back to the Chicago machine.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Daniel Biss has transformed into another member of Mike Madigan’s machine.
Financial records reveal that Biss has taken over $260,000 in tainted Madigan money.
In exchange, Biss supported Madigan for Speaker.
As a state representative, Biss voted for every enacted Madigan budget, adding billions in debt.
Biss even supported Madigan’s $7 billion out-of-whack budget proposal in the Senate last year. That spending proposal was the most unbalanced in Illinois history.
Biss is so loyal to Madigan that he was tapped to run Madigan’s political front group – LIFT.
We can’t afford a Mike Madigan accomplice in the Governor’s office.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Ameya Pawar…
“Senator Biss is a good friend and I welcome him to the race for governor. As I’ve been touring the state and meeting with people in my own campaign for governor, I’ve said that if we expect our government to be a force for good we have to elect people who believe in the role of government to ensure a more fair, just and equal society. We need good people like Senator Biss to join in the conversation about changing the direction of our state and addressing the real and immediate issues we face in Illinois.”
The Rauner Administration has filed a direct appeal to the State Supreme Court in AFSCME’s case to block the administration from implementing its last, best and final offer. The following statement is attributable to General Counsel Dennis Murashko:
“After 67 days of negotiation, the Administration presented AFSCME with a contract that reflects our last, best, and final offer. This is as far as we can go, and it is time to implement it. Every day we don’t costs our taxpayers more than $2 million, which is why we are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to resolve this case quickly. The taxpayers deserve a contract substantially similar to the one ratified by 20 other unions and includes earning overtime after 40 hours, implementing merit pay, and using volunteers.”
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME Council 31…
Instead of wasting more time and money in the courts, Governor Rauner should simply do his job and negotiate with our union. State workers are willing to do their part, but Bruce Rauner is so blinded by his anti-union animosity that he refuses to compromise.
Contrary to the misleading statements from the governor’s office, no other union has accepted Rauner’s extreme demands that would hike health costs by 100%, freeze wages for four years and remove safeguards against irresponsible privatization schemes.
Finding that AFSCME has a “reasonable likelihood” of prevailing on appeal, the 4th District Appellate Court blocked Rauner from rushing to impose those demands. Since the governor continues to choose confrontation over compromise, we are prepared to make our case before the Supreme Court.
* As we’ve discussed before, the Wells Center, a drug abuse treatment center in Jacksonville, was on the verge of shutting down and the governor’s office was blaming the comptroller.
Press release…
At a special Board meeting last night, the Board of Directors of Wells Center voted to postpone closing the Center. This decision was reached after the Executive Director reported to the Board that Comptroller Mendoza had visited Wells Center and agreed to work with the Center to see that payments are received in a timelier manner.
This action also allows Wells Center to continue looking at other solutions that will help the agency maintain stability for the long term. These solutions could include working with other organizations to merge with or even acquire the Center.
The Board of Directors are very excited to be able to take this vote. Substance abuse treatment and prevention services are very much needed in our community and this is an opportunity to not only keep these valuable services but to improve them and ensure these services will be available in our community for a long time.
Illinois voters are deeply divided over how to handle the state’s budget impasse. Given three options for addressing the deficit, 45 percent favor cutting waste and inefficiency as the only way to handle the problem, while 11 percent favor a tax increase. However, 35 percent agreed with the statement that the state budget crisis will require both budget cuts and an increase in revenue. When the 35 percent who chose this option are added to the 11 percent who say they favor a tax increase, the result is 46 percent total who favor both raising taxes and cutting spending while 45 percent believe that cutting waste and inefficiency is sufficient.
This is one of the major findings of a recent statewide poll of registered voters taken March 4th-11th sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were via cell phones.
The increasing revenue option was favored by 13 percent in both Chicago and suburban Cook and the five Collar Counties while only 7 percent of downstate voters favored it. Forty three percent of Chicago voters thought a combination of both increased revenue and service cuts would be required, compared with 32 percent of suburban voters and 33 percent of downstate respondents who chose this option. Fifty percent of downstate voters chose the “cut waste and inefficiency” option, followed by 47 percent of suburban voters and only 34 percent of Chicago voters who chose this answer.
In terms of party identification, 18 percent of Democrats said increased revenue was the key; 7 percent of independents and 4 percent of Republicans chose this solution. In contrast, 60 percent of Republicans thought eliminating waste and inefficiency was the answer, while 45 percent of independents and 34 percent of Democrats took this choice. The combination of both increased revenue and cuts in services was the solution to the impasse according to 38 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of independents, and 29 percent of Republicans.
“The voters of Illinois are apparently as conflicted and divided over what to do about the budget impasse as their legislators and the governor are”, said John Jackson, one of the designers of the poll.
“When the voters are deeply divided, particularly in policy areas where the divisions are close, the office holders are given more leeway to fashion workable solutions to problems like the budget impasse, and then explain them and sell them to the voters, which is an obligation of leadership in a representative democracy,” Jackson continued.
Despite the growing number of Illinoisans who have come to the conclusion that the state’s budget crisis can only be managed by a blend of tax increases and program cuts, that forces legislators to vote for a pair of negatives; voting for tax increases while voting to cut programs people want and need.
The voters were asked about specific areas where there could be budget cuts in state service in areas ranging across education, welfare and a wide range of other state government services such as the state police, prisons, and parks and environmental regulation. Not a single governmental function was targeted by a majority of the voters as places they would support cuts in the agencies’ budgets.
In the case of K-12 education, fully 82 percent of the respondents were opposed to cutting budgets, and only 15 percent supported. The only function which came close to majority support for cuts was pension systems for public workers where 45 percent favored cuts and 49 percent opposed.
In “programs for poor people,” only 21 percent favored cuts, while 72 percent opposed cuts in those areas. Possible cuts to the state’s universities were opposed by 67 percent and supported by only 30 percent—both providing somewhat unexpected high levels of opposition to places where cuts have already been deep.
The respondents were then asked about a series of specific ways that the state might raise additional revenue. The results showed that naturally some proposals were more popular than others. The most popular proposals had well over majority support.
The single most popular proposal was applying a surcharge of 3 percent on income above one million dollars per year: 78 percent approved; 19 percent disapproved, and 3 percent had no opinion or were undecided. This is a measure which has been championed for several years by House Speaker Mike Madigan. Illinois voters overwhelmingly supported an advisory referendum on the millionaire’s tax proposal in 2014, but House lawmakers narrowly rejected two attempts to place the amendment on the ballot in 2015 and 2016.
The next most popular revenue proposal was amending the constitution to allow a graduated income tax, which 72 percent supported, with 24 percent opposed and 4 percent undecided.
In that same vein, 55 percent favored applying the state income tax only to retirement income above $100,000 per year; 39 percent opposed, and 5 percent were undecided.
Another proposal, which is a part of the current debate over raising revenue, is the possibility of expanding gambling in Illinois. This plan was a part of the “grand bargain,” which had been advocated by Senate President John Cullerton and by Republican Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, which passed the Senate in late February before the bargain fell apart. Gambling expansion was approved by 55 percent and disapproved by 41 percent of respondents, with 4 percent undecided.
Other revenue plans garnered less than majority support. Raising the income tax to 4.99 percent was approved by 35 percent and opposed by 61 percent, with 4 percent undecided. Applying the income tax to all retirement funds was favored by only 23 percent; with 72 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided.
The respondents were asked about expanding the sales tax base “to cover services like home repairs and landscaping.” This proposal was supported by 36 percent and opposed by 60 percent, with 4 percent undecided. But asked if they favored this addition to the sales tax if the overall tax rate was reduced by half a percent, 57.1 percent favored, 39.4 percent opposed, and 3.5 percent said they did not know.
Finally, the poll asked if the gasoline tax should be raised in order to fund improvements to state highways, roads, and bridges: 42 percent favored, 56 percent opposed, and only 2 percent were undecided.
“It’s a perfect storm. There is divided government in Springfield, no clear voter support for a solution, no taste for cuts to specific areas of the budget, and tremendous amounts of campaign cash already gearing up for the 2018 election,” said Delio Calzolari, associate director of the Institute.
* According to the poll, 67 percent opposed cuts to higher education, 70 percent opposed cuts to public safety programs, 63 percent opposed cuts to natural resource programs, 72 percent opposed cuts to programs for the poor, 86 percent opposed cuts to programs for people with mental and physical disabilities and 49 percent opposed cuts to public pension benefits (45 percent favored).
As far as revenues go, 72 percent opposed taxing retirement income, but 68 percent favored that particular tax if the first $100K is exempted.
* Kim Geiger was at the lawmaker paycheck lawsuit hearing yesterday and filed this report…
After listening to arguments from both sides, [Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia] said lawmakers are “in control of their own future” and that court was not the proper place to solve the dispute.
“I think there are serious problems with the legislators coming here to make a claim,” Garcia said, noting that the problem could be solved “by simply passing a budget.”
Garcia said from the bench that he was granting a motion for summary judgment, a move to throw the case out of court. But he returned to the courtroom moments later to allow the lawmakers’ lawyer to advance a new argument based on a stopgap spending plan that was approved last June. Garcia then said he would hear additional arguments. The lawyers for the two sides agreed to return to court March 23. […]
The lawmakers’ lawyer had tried to argue that the comptroller was operating outside her authority by delaying the payments. The judge said the legislature had abdicated its authority by failing to enact a budget.
“To the extent that the legislature has avoided making the very hard decisions in passing a budget, it has delegated that sort of discretion to the comptroller,” Garcia said. “Someone’s got to make these decisions.”
I’m not sure that the judge has read the papers, beyond maybe the Tribune editorial page. And, heck, even that page recently blamed the governor for the lack of progress.
Also, subscribers know more about a specific legal argument made by the judge yesterday.
* The state’s EDGE tax credit program for expanding or relocating businesses is expiring at the end of April, so some replacements are being mulled. Here’s Greg Hinz…
One measure pushed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce would both rein in and expand the program.
Sponsored by Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Chicago, the measure would cap credits at $50 million a year statewide and limit them to five years for any given project, down from 10 years now.
But instead of employers negotiating a cut in their income-tax liability, they’d get a cut worth 10 percent of wages of newly hired or retained slots. That credit would rise by half if the jobs were located in high-poverty, high-unemployment communities. And the credit would be made permanent, rather than having to be renewed every five years. […]
An alternative version offered by Sens. Pam Althoff, R-Crystal Lake, and Melissa Bush, D-Grayslake, would limit the credits to net new hires and allow them to be collected over a 10-year period—15 years in the case of facilities located in poor communities.
* The Althoff bill renames the program to THRIVE. WAND TV…
A House committee heard from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on their support for the Transforming, Helping and Reviving Illinois’ Versatile Economy program, or THRIVE. According to Sean McCarthy, Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, This program is an update to the Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE program.
Under THRIVE businesses would still be given a tax credit incentive for job creation. THRIVE would also change the Illinois tax withholding for jobs creation from 100 percent under EDGE to half that, at 50 percent.
THRIVE would also allow for businesses of all sizes to be eligible for this tax credit. “The eligibility threshold is modified so small businesses have a greater access to the program.THRIVE provides that any company regardless of the size has easier access to the incentive” said McCarthy. “So for example the current EDGE program you have a requirement of 25 jobs and a capitol investment of $5 million. In THRIVE the eligibility is 10 percent of the global workforce or 50 jobs, whatever is lesser.”
THRIVE would also redefine the “But, for” clause that is current in EDGE. This would end the practice of companies seeking incentive offers from other states, while still requiring businesses to submit a case for why the incentive is needed.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington, questioned the propriety of the state singling out businesses for tax breaks.
“Why should the state of Illinois pick winners and losers? Why not keep tax rates relatively low?” McSweeney asked, while suggesting Illinois get rid of the credit process and create a deduction for a corporation’s portion of its Illinois net income earned as a result of a manufacturing process.
House Majority Leady Barbara Flynn Currie questioned McCarthy on how the state ensures that they’re giving credits to create jobs, not as political favors.
“If we are going to create special incentives, we want to make sure that there was a reason to do it, not just glad-handing,” she said.
The figure represents $1,000.00 for each of the 12.8 million men, women and children who call Illinois home. The backlog is the pile of unpaid bills the state has accumulated by spending more than it takes in as we operate without a budget.
Illinois State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza said this unprecedented failure to meet our financial obligations cannot continue without increasingly troubling consequences for Illinois families.
“Illinois is in the midst of a historic financial meltdown and these numbers tell only a small piece of the story. Our social service agencies, schools and seniors have suffered during the 21 months we’ve waited for executive action on an actual budget. It is long past time for the Governor to fulfill his duty under the Illinois’ Constitution (Article VIII Section 2(a)) to present a balanced budget proposal for the General Assembly to consider. Legislators must rise to the occasion and meet their responsibility as well.”
Earlier today, Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced that Illinois’ bill backlog has reached $1,000 per Illinoisan.
Here’s what hypocrite Mendoza failed to mention when lashing out at those trying to fix the mess – she helped cause it.
“Illinois’ debt is a tragedy that Susana Mendoza helped create. During the decade she served Mike Madigan in Springfield, Mendoza voted for every single enacted Madigan budget, adding billions in debt. She even supported Madigan and Blagojevich’s numerous schemes to underfund the pension system, adding tens of billions more in debt.”
“If Mendoza is looking for reasons why Illinois is in bad fiscal shape, she should look in the mirror.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
The backlog was about $4.6 billion when Gov. Rauner took office. The overall problem is shared, but this specific bill backlog is on Rauner and the 99th and 100th General Assemblies…
As Comptroller, Susana Mendoza is seeing firsthand the devastation she caused during her ten years in Springfield voting for Speaker Madigan’s tax hikes, borrowing and pension holidays. We are hopeful that she will stop trying to shift blame and start working with all parties to do things differently and clean up the mess she has made.
Again, the bill backlog has skyrocketed since Bruce Rauner became governor. This particular problem is on him and the GA, not the comptroller.
Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman was doing what any red-blooded baseball fan would have done when a foul ball came his way in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday night.
But when he lunged for the ball and deflected it from Cubs outfielder Moises Alou, his big night at the ballpark turned into a nightmare. […]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said he might have to put Bartman in the witness-protection program and joked that if the 26-year-old fan ever committed a crime, he would have no hope of a pardon from the governor’s office.
“You’ve got to be looking out for your team,” Blagojevich said.
Count Mayor Rahm Emanuel as one of the proud Northwestern University alums delighting in the team’s historic Cinderella dance into the second round of their first-ever NCAA tournament.
But the mayor who has a reputation for being ruthless in politics is showing no mercy for the Vanderbilt star whose mistake made it possible: sharpshooter Matthew Fisher-Davis.
“The guy on Vanderbilt needs a witness-protection program,” Emanuel said during a taping Friday for the WLS-AM radio program “Connected to Chicago,” to be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday. “How do you foul a guy when you’re up? I don’t get it. He must have had a brain freeze.”
After almost singlehandedly shooting his team back into the game, Fisher-Davis committed an intentional foul against Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh in the mistaken belief that Vandy was down by one point, rather than up.
When McIntosh proceeded to nail his free-throws, the Wildcats’ improbable victory was sealed.
Aping Blagojevich might not be the brightest thing he’s ever done. Plus, leave the poor kid alone.
It’s March Madness, but only one statewide Illinois elected official posted a bracket of picks for the NCAA tournament.
If you guessed Comptroller Susana Mendoza, you’d be correct. Perhaps the Chicago Democrat is continuing her attempt to follow in the footsteps of the late Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who was known for being the “fun” statewide official.
How’d the new comptroller do on Day One? Mendoza correctly picked #12 seed Middle Tennessee upending #5 seed Minnesota, though her other first-day upset special of #12 University of North Carolina-Wilmington did not upend #5 Virginia.
She’s also got home-state team Northwestern losing in the second round to top-seeded Gonzaga, so no pandering there. Her finals? Arizona-North Carolina, with the Tar Heels as champs.
* A House committee took testimony yesterday about the impact of the US House’s Obamacare replacement bill on the state’s Medicaid fund…
Illinois Health and Hospital Association spokesman David Gross testified that Illinois would lose at least $38 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the act’s 10-year lifespan. The association arrived at this figure by taking Illinois’ share of the nation’s Medicaid beneficiaries and multiplying it by the $880 billion in reductions estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office under the Republican plan. Gross said the cuts would jeopardize patient care.
Democratic Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago, who chairs the appropriations committee for human services, said one in four Illinois citizens receives Medicaid benefits and could be affected.
Illinois currently devotes $10 billion in state funds each year to Medicaid, or about one-quarter of the general fund. The federal government matches that amount.
Harris said lawmakers would need to find ways to fill the $4 billion-a-year hole.
Officials pointed to two aspects of the GOP plan that would hurt the state’s Medicaid system. One provision would cap how much the federal government reimburses states, which is different from the current system. States that exceed the cap would be responsible for shouldering the additional costs, something that could prove challenging for cash-strapped Illinois.
The proposal also would freeze Medicaid expansion in 2020. People enrolled before then would be allowed to stay in the program but only if they never leave the program. Anyone who loses coverage starting in 2020 couldn’t re-enroll.
“We know from the data that this is really an end to the expansion, that people circulate off the Medicaid program. And this is not a gentle slope. This is a cliff for the Medicaid program,” said Roberta Rakove, senior vice president for government and public affairs at Sinai Health System.
Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said Thursday that lawmakers also should focus on problems with the Affordable Care Act put in place under Barack Obama when he was president. He cited one portion of the congressional report that said the Republican health care proposal would reduce federal costs and lower the deficit.
Keep in mind, however, that at the moment this thing is “just a bill.” There’s a very long way to go.
The Democratic primary race for Illinois Governor is starting to take shape. But, the race is still fluid, even with a candidate with high name recognition in the field. In a three-way matchup between Kurt Summers, J.B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy, Kennedy leads with 44 percent of the vote. But 34 percent of the electorate is undecided and 41 percent are weak supporters of the candidates.
When voters hear more about the potential candidates for Governor, 21 percent of the vote shifts to Summers, who has a compelling background that includes his roots in Chicago, his competence as a financial manager, and his advocacy for underserved communities.
Descriptions of Candidates for Governor
J.B. Pritzker is a successful businessman with a focus on growing the tech community in Chicago, and an active philanthropist. His family foundation focuses on improving the lives of at-risk children, he established the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago, and serves as chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Pritzker knows how to grow the economy and attract jobs to Chicago, he founded the largest technology venture in the Midwest and created 1871, Chicago’s digital startup center. He has raised millions of dollars for Hillary Clinton and will have the resources to compete with Rauner.
Kurt Summers serves as the Chicago City Treasurer and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. With a strong support system, he worked his way through college and earned his MBA from Harvard University. He left a successful career on Wall Street to come back home to help save his grandfather’s small business. Later, he served as Chief of Staff to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, where he helped eliminate Cook County’s budget deficit of 487 million dollars. As City Treasurer, he has generated 100 million dollars in new revenue that is being re-invested in underserved communities to grow the economy. Summers believes economic opportunity and job creation are the solution to violence, and he has stood up against predatory lending to protect small business owners. Summers has the financial know-how to eliminate Illinois’ deficit, and would be our first African American Governor.
Chris Kennedy is a successful businessman and the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy. He was the President of the Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, and launched a nonprofit that provides fresh food options at lower cost to underserved communities. Kennedy has been an active member of the Chicago community for three decades, serving on numerous boards with other business leaders and charitable foundations. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and will make college affordability a top priority. Kennedy worked to bring almost 5000 companies to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and he will use this experience to help bring more companies and good paying jobs to Illinois.
After hearing positive information on all three candidates, Summers moves into a strong second place position, Pritzker sees minimal growth, and Kennedy’s vote share is flat.
Looks like Pritzker’s bio isn’t all that compelling, at least, not the way it’s portrayed in this poll. And Kennedy’s one-point drop is well within the margin of error. That name is golden.
Summers particularly resonates with important segments of the electorate – Chicago voters, liberals, African Americans, and younger voters. After positive information, Summers is essentially tied with Kennedy in Chicago (35 to 37 percent) and among African Americans (38 to 36 percent), and he leads Kennedy with voters under 50 (42 to 30 percent).
Summers has a unique background with both financial experience and roots in the community, appeal with key voting blocs, and overall the potential to shake up this race. With the primary just a year away, it’s anyone’s race to win.
The memo reflects some key findings from a statewide survey of 500 likely 2018 Democratic primary voters conducted March 2-6, 2017. It carries a margin of error of 4.38 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Chris Kennedy is now using the poll in a fundraising e-mail…
Since we announced our campaign for governor six weeks ago, your support has given us the momentum we need to beat Bruce Rauner and put Illinois on a better path. We are building a movement to change Illinois and restore the American Dream in our state in a single generation.
There are already early signs that we are making progress in our campaign. A new poll out today shows Chris leading the Democratic primary for Illinois governor with 44% of the vote - a 4:1 lead over our closest potential primary opponent.
While it is still early in the race, we need your continued support to keep our momentum strong.
* The House and the Senate aren’t in today, but we have a sponsor, so, here’s the post. Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
