* I’m gonna take advantage of Monday’s state holiday to decompress and get away from this stuff for a while. I’ll talk at you on Tuesday. Goose Creek Symphony will play us out…
And don’t go buyin’ no one’s answers,
If your question was for free
* Remember the other day when we talked about how Gov. Rauner’s Turnaround Illinois campaign fund broke the contribution caps for House Republican Leader Jim Durkin by spending over $100,000 on a radio ad for Durkin even though he has no Democratic opponent?
Well, that act has now opened the floodgates…
It begins: Citizens for Durkin, which now has no contribution limits, gets $2 million from Ken Griffin. https://t.co/2jX3yIld9y
* AFSCME’s “favorite” Rauner administration attorney is departing, but be careful what you wish for. His replacement is currently in charge of union negotiations…
General Counsel Jason Barclay will leave the Administration at the end of October for a new position. As part of the Governor’s succession planning, Dennis Murashko will be named General Counsel to the Governor. He is currently serving as the Governor’s Deputy General Counsel and is responsible for a wide portfolio of issues, including pension reform, litigation matters, and union negotiations.
Prior to assuming his role in the Administration, Dennis was an appellate attorney with the law firm of Jones Day. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich on the Tenth Circuit. Before law school, Dennis worked as an actuarial consultant and helped companies analyze and evaluate their pension obligations.
Dennis earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Maryville University of St. Louis and his law degree magna cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law. He lives in Schaumburg with his wife and four children.
No comments on this one because it’s just about quitting time.
Joint Statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security
The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.
Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government. The USIC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess that it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion. This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process.
Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so. DHS is providing several services to state and local election officials to assist in their cybersecurity. These services include cyber “hygiene” scans of Internet-facing systems, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats. DHS has convened an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group with experts across all levels of government to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks potentially affecting election infrastructure and the elections process. Secretary Johnson and DHS officials are working directly with the National Association of Secretaries of State to offer assistance, share information, and provide additional resources to state and local officials.
* As we’ve discussed before, the Illinois Department of Human Services wants to cap the hours care-givers are paid to provide in-home assistance to cut down on overtime costs…
The department implemented the policy in May in response to a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that said home care workers must earn time-and-a-half overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per week. But the Rauner administration put the policy on hold in August just as a union representing 25,000 home care workers was readying to file a class-action lawsuit challenging it.
The administration is now seeking to implement the policy through the General Assembly’s bipartisan House and Senate committee in charge of approving such rules. The Thursday hearing in Springfield followed one held Monday in Chicago.
The department’s proposed rules would require clients in the home services program to hire enough personal assistants to cover the hours of care they need each week without requiring overtime. Any personal assistant who works more than 40 hours in a week would be required to submit written justification to the department for approval, and anyone who works unapproved overtime three times would be barred from being paid through the program. […]
The federal Labor Department sent a letter to the state noting its “significant concerns” with the proposal. Among those concerns, according to the letter, is the lack of a “robust exceptions policy,” which could result in workers providing off-the-clock care in violation of federal law.
“Without an appropriate exceptions policy, it is likely that either employees who care for vulnerable individuals will feel that they have no choice but to work uncompensated hours … or consumers will be left without adequate assistance,” the letter states. “Neither outcome is acceptable or necessary.”
Vivian Anderson, who oversees the program for DHS, is quoted in the article as saying the agency’s proposal is “pretty close to perfect.” This is the same person who SEIU claims fell asleep during a recent hearing on the issue. But, if it’s so perfect, there was probably no need to pay attention.
* The US appellate court in Chicago has basically just decided to keep in-precinct election day voter registration alive during this election cycle. The court put off briefing until November 10th, which is after election day, so its stay of a lower court’s ruling that halted the practice will remain in place. From the court…
ORDER re: 1. Plaintiffs-appellees’ statement on consolidating and expediting cases. 2. Defendants-appellants’ statement opposing an expedited appeal. 3. Cook County clerk David Orr’s statement supporting consolidating appeals and opposing expedited briefing. The requests to consolidate are GRANTED, and these cases are CONSOLIDATED for purposes of briefing and disposition. The request to expedite is DENIED. The briefing schedule is as follows: The appellants shall file their openings briefs and required short appendices on or before November 10, 2016. The appellees shall file their consolidated brief on or before December 12, 2016. The appellants shall file their consolidated reply briefs, if any, or or before December 27, 2016. Counsel for appellants are encouraged to avoid unnecessary duplication by filing a joint brief or a joint appendix or by adopting parts of a co-appellant’s brief. EAH [15] [6788829] [16-3547, 16-3597] (CR)
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today alerted Illinois voters that a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit restores Illinois voters’ legal right to register to vote and cast their ballot at the same time in the general election on Nov. 8.
The Court’s ruling puts on hold an earlier federal district court ruling finding that the law allowing Election Day voter registration was unconstitutional and blocking the widely used practice. As a result of the Court of Appeals decision, election day voter registration can resume. Election day voter registration went into effect in Illinois in early 2015.
“Election day registration allows all voters the opportunity to participate in our elections,” Madigan said.
As a result of the Court’s ruling, the election day registration law will be restored. Under the law, counties with a population of 100,000 or more must provide voters with the option of registering to vote and casting their ballots at the same time at polling places on election day. Counties with a population of 100,000 or less and that keep voter records electronically must also provide voters with the option of registering to vote and casting their ballots at the same time at polling places on election day. Smaller counties that do not maintain voter records electronically must offer election day registration at the county’s main election office or at polling places in the county’s larger municipalities.
Attorney General Madigan also reminded voters that if they are registering to vote on election day, they should be prepared to show two forms of identification. The most common forms of identification include a driver’s license or a utility bill, at least one of which must show your current address. If your voter registration is active and current, you do not need to show identification to cast your vote.
Looks like the ILGOP is making hay statewide with the Kankakee voter fraud issue (I’m a Springfield resident). The following message was left on my phone at about 4pm Thursday.
Hello, this is Illinois Republican Party chairman Tim Schneider calling Republicans with an important voter alert (Siren sound plays).
We’re beginning to see news reports of the Chicago Democratic machine offering money for votes in places like Kankakee County. Let me be clear: Vote buying is illegal. It’s a felony, and we’re going to make sure that anyone who is caught gets prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But we need your help. If you see something, say something. If you see offers of money for votes, please call our voter fraud hotline at 1-844-4-IL-FRAUD.
Don’t let the Democrats steal this election, get out and vote now and help stop voter fraud (Siren sound plays again).
Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party, 312-201-9000.
Glenn Poshard, a former state senator, U.S. congressman and gubernatorial candidate, was the keynote speaker at the Fayette County Democratic Central Committee chicken dinner on Saturday night at the American Legion Home in Vandalia. Poshard has been asked by the Democratic County Chairmen’s Association to help with its “Get Out the Vote” drive, visiting 48 counties in Illinois.
Poshard said his message during those stops is “what it means to be a Democrat, the values that we always stood for.”
Former Illinois gubernatorial candidate Glenn Poshard called on Democrats at their annual Country Jamboree to not stay silent in the face of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s “buffoonery.”
“Donald Trump is the epitome of the philosophy of their party,” Mr. Poshard said. “What a shameful act that is, in this democracy, to stand up and tell the American people, ‘I’m smart for avoiding taxes when I am bragging about being a billionaire.’”
Mr. Poshard was the guest speaker at the Rock Island County Democrats Annual Country Jamboree Thursday evening at the American Legion, 829 16th Ave.. […]
Mr. Poshard told attendees that it was important for them to remember the party’s five core values: balance the budget; equal educational opportunities for all; stand up for unions; equal justice before the law; and protect the most vulnerable among us.
Teachers from the UNO Charter School Network, one of Chicago’s largest charter school systems, voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of a strike if workers and management don’t reach an agreement before Oct. 19.
The vote was nearly unanimous, with 531 of 532 members of UNO’s unionized workforce voting, and 96 percent of those ballots cast in favor of striking if workers can’t come to a fair agreement with management by Oct. 19, the day set for a walkout by UEU, the United Educators of UNO, according to spokeswoman Erica Stewart, a fifth-grade teacher at the Sandra Cisneros UCSN campus in Brighton Park and a member of the bargaining team.
The strike would be the first in U.S. history of a charter school or charter network. […]
The union is looking for a slightly longer summer than the current five weeks off. It wants six weeks and two days.
It also is asking management to cap class sizes at 32 students.
A representative for the UNO Charter School Network could not immediately be reached for comment. But Richard Rodriguez, the CEO of UCSN, has been posting weekly updates in English and Spanish for parents and the public.
“It is UCSN’s position that there is no need for a strike, as teachers received their salary raises for this current school year in August 2016, and UCSN continues to negotiate in good faith on these and any/all pending matters,” Rodriguez wrote in the two most recent letters.
The vote this week does not mean a strike at UNO schools will definitely happen. If it does, it won’t happen at the same time as the Chicago Teachers Union, which is threatening to go on strike Oct. 11. UNO schools already have a fall break scheduled next week.
The afternoon event will be at the Stony Island Arts Bank, an arts and cultural center founded by Gates, at 6760 S. Stony Island Ave, Chicago.
The price tiers start at $1,000 for an individual donation to $12,700 in a pledged contribution or a promise to raise that much from other people. Top givers and raisers get a VIP reception and a photo.
The proceeds go to the Illinois Coordinated Victory Fund 2016, a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party of Illinois and Tammy for Illinois.
* Speaking of DPI, the state party has started its vote by mail program this week with a letter from Secretary of State Jesse White, a form and a postage-paid return envelope…
* Except the form is far too wide to fit in the envelope, because the envelope has glue strips inside that make it much smaller than it appears from the outside. The internal glue strips are highlighted for you here along with the form…
* So, the potential voter could very well wind up tossing the whole thing in the trash rather than deal with jamming the form into the too-small envelope. Or, since they’ve already filled out the form by then, maybe they’ll just fold it again themselves, which makes the return envelope a lot thicker…
* Yeah, it’s a little thing, but little things can matter a lot and the Democrats’ coordinated campaign has had real problems with this sort of stuff in the past.
The financial state of our State is grim. Instead of a responsible and comprehensive budget, we have received a stop-gap spending plan that’s not nearly enough to make it through this year, let alone address the key needs of our State. The Land of Lincoln and its citizens are suffering.
It doesn’t matter if you’re downstate or in Chicago, a student or a social service worker; we all have something in common: Not having a budget is not a laughing matter. Springfield has stopped listening to Illinois citizens. We must make enough noise that they won’t have a choice but to hear us.
Notice anything missing from that highlighted (by me) list? Business owners. Notice anything else missing? Turnaround Agenda items.
Our state is facing a financial crisis like never before and we, the people of Illinois, deserve better!
Because of your inaction, 14,000 teens are without access to afterschool programs, 25,000 seniors are at risk of losing services, 15,000 fewer women will have access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, 1,000 at-risk families are in jeopardy of losing child development services, and 136,000 college students are unsure whether they can afford to stay in school, not to mention the thousands of jobs and businesses at risk of being lost or worse, leaving the state.
Illinois has been the laughingstock of the nation for a while now. But these numbers are no joke. This is not a laughing matter.
We need to put the Land of Lincoln back on sound financial footing.
OK, they do talk about the business climate a tiny bit, but it’s almost an afterthought.
* They then allow people to choose an occupation or position in a pull-down menu…
A choice of being a union member, but not of a business person? Interesting.
* Just for snicks, I chose “community leader” and this message was automatically provided….
What impacts one group in our community ends up impacting all of us. Without social services who is going to guide the at-risk teenager? Who is going to care for the veteran with PTSD? Who is going to assist with elderly parents with Alzheimer’s? When any one of these groups is ignored, there are ripples of uncertainty and instability throughout our community. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a student just starting out, or a retiree expecting to live out their life with a pension, we expect our legislators to ensure that the pieces are in place for our communities to be safe and secure. If one’s not laughing, no one is laughing.
* And check out their Twitter page. They have tweets about child homelessness increasing, cuts to higher education, MAP grants, the Elgin Latino Treatment Center cutting employees and services, and one tweet about manufacturing job losses. Heck, they even retweeted Emily Miller from Voices for Illinois Children.
J.B. Pritzker had more bounce in his step than usual at the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center’s annual Momentum Awards dinner tonight.
And why not? He was fresh off a rare two-fer, in which two of his venture investments were sold, including Viv, Dag Kittlaus’ follow-up to Siri, and sports-TV graphics provider SportVision. Viv, which Pritzker Group Venture Capital backed last year, was a relatively quick score. Sportvision was one of Pritzker’s earliest venture deals from his first fund, raised in 2000. Terms weren’t disclosed for either deal, but Pritzker didn’t look disappointed.
* Illinois Issues has a good explainer article about the state’s severe budget problems. You should read the whole thing, but here’s an excerpt…
Given the state’s level of debt, Illinois’ fiscal house was clearly already aflame before the impasse. But when it comes to what elected officials will ultimately have to ask of taxpayers, not having a budget for a year and a half will be like throwing gas on that fire.
“We are spending so much more money than we have available that we’re going to make the solution that much harder. We’re digging the hole that much deeper,” [Laurence Msall, who is president of the fiscal watchdog group the Civic Federation] says.
He says that taxpayers will end up forking over more and getting less in terms of services for it. And the longer there’s no solution, the bigger the tax increases and cuts will need to be to fix it.
“Unless we’re going to get rid of higher education in large parts at the state, close major universities or stop providing health insurance to new (public) employees, there’s not going to be enough cutting that can be done to balance the state’s budget,” he says.
A woman who lived with a Decatur drug dealer ended up losing big time when she took a judicial gamble on winning back the proceeds of a $50,000 lottery ticket.
The state of Illinois had initially seized the money as the ill-gotten gains of a ticket bought with drug money. But then a Macon County judge later ruled against the state and awarded the lottery cash to the woman, Tykisha Lofton.
Now, in a decision filed Sept. 27, the three-judge Fourth District Appeals Court ruled unanimously to reverse that decision and said the lottery winnings deserve to be kept by the state, where they will be shared among local and state law enforcement agencies.
The appeals court said the state was right in its initial suspicion the ticket had mostly likely been bought with the proceeds of drug sales, and that meant Lofton, who said she had lived with the drug dealer for many years, was out of luck. […]
But the Macon County judge had not bought her story and ruled that Norwood had purchased the ticket “more likely than not with drug money.” However, the judge said extending state forfeiture laws to grab the proceeds from a lottery ticket was going too far.
The judge used examples such as establishing a dry cleaning business with drug money or a drug dealer paying to put himself through medical school and then going to work as a doctor. “Is that money (a doctor’s salary or the profits of a legitimate business) then forfeitable?” wrote the judge. “At some point the connection has to stop.” He then ruled in Lofton’s favor.
The head of the city ethics agency has warned Chicago aldermen and other elected officials that if they accept the Cubs’ offer to buy coveted playoff tickets at face value, they must attend personally and have their presence announced publicly.
The warning came in an advisory memo this week from Steven Berlin, executive director of the Chicago Board of Ethics, as news stories revealed about 70 percent of the city’s 50 aldermen, 85 percent of Chicago state and federal officials, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner had taken advantage.
As a result, some aldermen who were planning to give the tickets away have contacted the team to say they won’t be purchasing them, said team spokesman Julian Green, without providing specifics. In addition, the Cubs will display the names of public officials who did accept the offer on a digital board at the park, he said.
Green said the team had asked the ethics board for an opinion on offering the tickets to public officials, as it has for more than a decade, before extending the offer.
Berlin replied that the ticket “offer itself is not prohibited,” but comes with a “critical caveat”: Elected officials and city employees accepting the offer must attend the game “in his or her official capacity — not as a private Cub fan.”
“It could be construed as a prohibited gift to the city official if they are not announced or if they give away or resell all tickets they purchased at this special price,” Berlin wrote.
“Every city official who purchases tickets [must] be advised at the time of purchase that the Cubs will announce their presence on the Jumbotron or via the PA system at some point during the game.”
Berlin further wrote that the Board of Ethics “will consider any actions inconsistent with this advice as potential violations of the ordinance, which could result in an investigation and public finding of a violation — most definitely a result to be avoided.”
Berlin noted that he had already engaged in “extensive conversations” with Mike Lufrano, vice-president of community relations with the Cubs. But, after reading the Sun-Times story, “It was “not clear that the Cubs had followed our advice given on Sept. 30.”
I don’t really blame the politicos for taking up the team’s offer. Hey, it’s playoff baseball. And it’s not without precedent.
But these tickets are so difficult to come by unless you’re already a season ticket holder that I assume public outrage will surely result. Crime is rising, as are taxes (a buddy of mine says his city water/sewer bill alone is rising by $1600 a year) and the teachers are threatening a strike. Plus, this national campaign has everyone going a little insane.
In the past, the electeds would just ignore the public outcry, figuring it would pass. And it always did. We’ll see what happens this time.
When the Emanuel administration reached a $2 million settlement in May in a whistleblower case brought by two Chicago police officers, the deal was widely seen as a way for the mayor to avoid the embarrassment of testifying about the Police Department’s code of silence, Jamie Kalven writes for the Intercept, an investigative journalism website.
What the administration really avoided was a public airing of evidence that, in the words of a federal judge, “purports to show extraordinarily serious retaliatory misconduct by officers at nearly all levels of the CPD hierarchy.”
Kalven tells the story of one of those officers, Shannon Spalding, in a four-part, 20,000-word series. The individual defendants in the case denied the allegations of Spalding and Daniel Echeverria. As part of the settlement, the city also did not admit any wrongdoing.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump swiped at vulnerable GOP Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.) on Thursday night, saying it’s Kirk’s fault that he’s facing a loss in his reelection fight since he didn’t get on board with the nominee.
Speaking at a town hall event in Sandown, N.H., Trump was asked about the Republican hold-outs who have refused to support him; earlier that day, 30 former GOP lawmakers announced their steadfast opposition to his candidacy. […]
“I guess there’s a gentleman in Illinois who’s not doing very well,” Trump said, referencing Kirk. “He was actually taking out ads against me. I said, are you sure he’s a Republican? Maybe he’s a Democrat. He’s not doing well but hey, that’s his problem. He wasn’t for me and that’s for political reasons.” […]
Still, Trump predicted Republicans would maintain their slim majority in the Senate, and took credit for a coattails effect he claimed would ensure the GOP maintains power in the upper chamber.
“If you look at what’s going on — the other day I saw very interesting — the announcer said Donald Trump is having a very positive effect on the Republicans,” Trump said. “The Republicans are going to hold. They’re doing terrifically well, far better than anyone thought, and we’re going to win some states that never in a million years people thought we’d do well.”
Yeah, well, his coattails aren’t so great in Illinois as a whole.
GS Strategy Group surveyed 600 likely voters, statewide, in Illinois. The survey was conducted October 4-5, 2016. The margin of error for the survey was +/- 4.0% at the 95% confidence level.
United States Senate Ballot
Our findings indicate a much tighter battle in the race for United States Senate than the most recently released numbers from our opponent. As has been the case for over a year, the race remains a statistical tie and inside the margin of error. While Congresswoman Duckworth maintains a lead over Senator Kirk, he is well within striking distance of her. Duckworth’s inability to capitalize on the Democratic strength in the Presidential ballot underscores voter apprehension toward her candidacy and provides a path to victory for Senator Kirk.
Key Highlights
* Race remains a statistical tie – consistent with nearly every other public poll.
* Kirk is outperforming Trump by a net of 13 points.
* Duckworth continues to significantly underperform the top of the ticket.
According to the poll, Hillary Clinton is winning Illinois 50-33, while Kirk is trailing 41-37.
* Normally, candidates wouldn’t release a poll showing them trailing in October by four points. But with the new Paul Simon Institute poll showing Duckworth ahead by 14 points, the Kirk campaign needs to stop people from assuming this thing is a complete lost cause.
Also, according to the Kirk campaign, the NRSC is running TV ads in the Chicago, Rockford, Springfield and Peoria media markets. They claim those ads show the national folks haven’t given up hope.
Illinois Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger warned Thursday that continued cash flow problems may once again force a delay in the state making its contribution into the government worker pension systems.
Munger said the state is entering a particularly precarious financial period because tax receipts historically drop in October and November, meaning there is less money on hand to pay bills. While some expenses such as debt payments and those covered by court order automatically go out the door, there is more flexibility when it comes to making the pension payment.
That’s because by law, the state’s contribution into the five employee pension systems must be made on a yearly basis. However, Illinois usually chops those up into smaller monthly installments to make the cost more manageable. That means if a payment is skipped, it must be made up by July 2017. […]
Munger pushed back a $560 million pension payment in October 2015, citing similar financial pressures. The payment eventually was made in April, when state coffers were flush with money from yearly income tax payments.
An independent congressional candidate is finally throwing in the towel.
David Gill had been suing for a spot on the ballot in the 13th District, despite failing to submit the required number of valid signatures for an independent candidate. Gill won an initial court ruling after arguing the state’s rules were unfair and burdensome but that decision was overturned on appeal. And two attempts to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court have been rejected.
Comptroller Munger, who was appointed to the office after the death of Republican incumbent Judy Baar Topinka, recently upped the ante on the pay issue.
Earlier this year, Munger decided to make legislators wait in the same line as state vendors who face serious delays in payment for services rendered. That has resulted in paycheck delays that have stressed some legislators’ family budgets and forced them to take out loans (Republican state Rep. Chad Hays) or second mortgages (Democratic state Sen. Scott Bennett).
Now Munger, who is running for the office in the November election, is escalating the paycheck debate in a way sure to draw legislators’ further resentment.
Munger last week proposed what she called “no budget, no pay” legislation that she said will ensure members of the Illinois House and Senate meet their constitutional obligations by passing a balanced budget.
In other words, if legislators don’t pass a real balanced budget they won’t be paid — ever. Further, Munger said that her proposal would block retroactive pay, meaning that the longer there’s no balanced budget, the less lawmakers would make.
Of course, Munger’s proposal has no chance of becoming law because it requires the targets of the bill to pass it. But Munger still scores points by pointing out the failure of the General Assembly to pass full-year budgets two years in a row.
Politicizing the law as a means of garnering votes sets the stage for injustice.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the case of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the daughter of Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.
When it comes to spinning an effective political web, both she and he know what they’re doing. It’s a different matter, of course, when it comes to effective public policy. But in Illinois, who cares?
So it will be no surprise if Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s latest gambit into generating favorable headlines doesn’t prompt state legislators to act with alacrity on the question of abolishing the statute of limitations on more than 20 crimes involving the sexual abuse of children.
Who, after all, supports accused child molesters? No one.
Gov. Bruce Rauner addressed the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday, outlining his plans for next year’s state budget. The poindexters whipped out their calculators.
117th District: Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, did a better job for his district before he joined House Speaker Michael Madigan’s leadership team. Bradley may bring home more bacon serving in leadership. But he also is stuck voting for the speaker’s agenda, and that often conflicts with the values of his district. Example: Bradley voted for a budget that was $7 billion out of balance. Is that how homeowners of his district run their households?
This week, she filed a brief asking First District Appellate Court in Chicago to deny the Spring Valley Democrat’s request to delay the state Board of Elections’ inquiry into his campaign spending.
In his request for delay, Mautino, whose campaign spending is under federal criminal investigation, cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
In her brief to the court, the attorney general said she recognized the elections board’s administrative proceedings put Mautino in a less than ideal situation, but he would not suffer irreparable harm. That’s because he could still invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during the proceedings, she said.
“Therefore, he can choose not to take any action that would jeopardize a possible defense to any possible future criminal charges,” she wrote. “And while a negative inference may be drawn in the proceedings from Mautino’s invocation of his right to remain silent, the state board must prove its case against (him).”
In the elections board’s hearing, Madigan said, Mautino can still mount a “vigorous defense through cross-examination and other means.”
The state, she said, wanted a speedy resolution of the proceedings because of its interest in regulating the election process and ensuring political committees observe the rules.
Share your political memorabilia with the UIS History Harvest at the Old State Capitol
WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Department of History is inviting members of the public to bring and share any and all political memorabilia during a History Harvest at the Old State Capitol. Students will photograph, scan and record the stories behind the items in an effort to document the way that people in central Illinois have participated in elections.
WHEN: Saturday, October 22, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Old State Capitol, 1 SW Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, IL
DETAILS: UIS students are asking people to share campaign literature, brochures, letters, photographs, diaries, buttons and bumper stickers related to the democratic process. Digital copies of the items made during the event will be included in an online exhibit and catalog. Participants will also have an opportunity to tell the ‘harvesters’ the stories behind the objects.
History Harvest offers the opportunity to “put yourself in the historical record.” By collecting information on the memories of the local electorate, the project will provide a unique insight into how ordinary citizens in central Illinois have participated in and remembered the democratic process. Items from both the recent and distant past are welcome.
Students from UIS Assistant Professor of History Devin Hunter’s undergraduate public history class and UIS Assistant Professor of History Kenneth Owen’s graduate history and digital media class will lead the effort to digitize items for the online digital exhibit. Illinois State Historian Dr. Samuel Wheeler will be on site between 11 am and 1 pm. Students will also display items from the Nelson O. Howarth Papers (Springfield Mayor, 1955-1959 and 1963-1971) and the Kozeliski Campaign Button Collection, courtesy of the UIS Archives and Special Collections.
* I’ve been hoping they’d do an album like this for years. They’re just too old to be rock stars. I loved the “Stripped” album because it was a grownup departure from their usual stadium rock nonsense. Keep it simple, keep it basic and keep it bluesy…
Those who like their Rolling Stones music raw and unfiltered may get their wish Dec. 2 when a new studio album, “Blue and Lonesome,” will be released. […]
Produced by Don Was, who has been working with the band for more than two decades, the 12 blues covers were recorded in a rapid-fire three-day session in London last December. “Blue and Lonesome” includes songs associated with Howlin’ Wolf (“Commit a Crime”), Jimmy Reed (“Little Rain”) and Magic Sam (“All of Your Love”). Eric Clapton adds guitar to two songs: Johnny Taylor’s “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing” and Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You Baby.”
The Stones — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood — plus sidemen Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards) and Matt Clifford (keyboards) approached the sessions as more of a live recording and avoided overdubs, according to a statement released by the band.
With a few exceptions, they dug a layer or two deeper than the obvious Chicago blues classics on these tracks, reflecting their roots as fledgling blues appreciators who listened obsessively to albums released on Chess, Vee-Jay and other labels imported from overseas in the early ‘60s. As Was said in a statement, for the Stones, the blues is “the fountainhead of everything they do.” That hadn’t always been reflected in their post-‘70s recordings, but it appears they’re doubling down on that commitment now.
Current state law allows the owners of properties that become vacant unexpectedly to ask tax officials for a break on their bill — as long as they are doing everything possible to find a new tenant for the store or office.
But there are troubled properties that have received the break for decades — when, in some cases, the owners should be paying the property’s tax bill in full, Martwick said.
If the measure authored by Martwick is passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner, government agencies that collect property taxes — like the city of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Education — would have an incentive to investigate the claims of property owners asking for the vacancy deduction, Martwick said.
If officials determine that claim was false or fraudulent, they could force those owners to pay back three times what they owe as punishment, according to the measure. […]
“I’ve been a broker since 1981 and I’ve never done business with a landlord who does not want their building rented,” said Rich Kahan, a principal at commercial real estate brokerage KB Real Estate. “The law provides some relief. You don’t always get it, sometimes you do. At end of day, you make zero income on any empty space.” […]
“Chicago needs to start imposing penalty taxes on property that sits vacant for more than a year in hot areas — the number of commercial spaces that just sit empty due to landlord greed or indifference could be reduced significantly,” [Michael VanDam, an East Village resident in West Town] commented on Neighborhood Square.
On the other hand, what happens to those landlords when the economy turns downward again? I’d bet that’s why the original law was enacted.
Lost amid Donald Trump’s hot takes on life in Chicago during last week’s presidential debate, Hillary Clinton made a statement that could sound overly optimistic to many people here in the city of her birth.
“We also have to recognize, in addition to the challenges that we face with policing, there are so many good, brave police officers who equally want reform,” she said.
“We also have to recognize, in addition to the challenges that we face with policing, there are so many good, brave police officers who equally want reform,” she said.
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Many good and brave officers? No doubt.
You have to be very brave to even show up for work at the Chicago Police Department, especially these days. Let’s also put aside the alleged “Ferguson effect” and assume the vast majority still do the job as well as they can.
But all these officers who Clinton says “want reform”?
If they’re really out there, it’s been hard to hear them in the debate that’s roiled politics here since last November, when the dashcam video of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s death in a hail of 16 CPD bullets became public.
A Hinsdale South High School student who allegedly threatened to “shoot up” the Darien school has been charged with several crimes after police found firearms, explosives and a Nazi uniform in his residence, DuPage County prosecutors said Wednesday at a juvenile detention hearing.
Prosecutors said the youth, 16, had promised a “Southocaust” and on Monday had made a specific threat against a fellow student on social media. That brought police to his house, where they found the guns and explosives in his bedroom, prosecutors said.
The youth has been charged with eight felonies and was ordered to be held in a juvenile facility by Judge Michael Wolfe.
How the teenager acquired the cache of weapons is still under investigation.
“We were very disturbed. It’s very shocking. We have great kids. We have great families. This is a great place to live, a great place to send your kids to school,” said Bruce Law, Superintendent of Hinsdale School District 86.
Despite the discovery of the Nazi uniform, police said there’s no indication of a racial motive or an indication of any accomplice. Police said the suspect’s parents were not aware of the weapons cache.
Police also said they searched the student’s locker and found no other weapons or devices.
Nuckolls said police found a flare gun that had been converted to a working gun, as well as a shotgun, a sawed-off rifle, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, knives, ski masks and brass knuckles. His bedroom also contained Nazi posters and flags, a World War II German soldier’s uniform, a Soviet flag and paper targets.
Police said they found an incendiary device in the boy’s closet that contained black powder, razor blades and ball bearings. In addition, Nuckols said the boy had PVC pipe and other materials commonly used in building pipe bombs. […]
The teen’s attorney said the boy’s mother was unaware of her son’s threats and of the materials found in his room. The mother asked Judge Michael Wolfe to release the teen to her with an electronic monitoring device.
“In the interest of the protection of others, in light that the family had no idea what was going on under their own roof, the minor will be detained,” Wolfe said.
The University of Iowa has signed an articulation agreement with the Illinois Community College Board that will provide a seamless transition for eligible students who want to continue their education at the UI.
The agreement sets a minimum number of semester hours in communications, humanities, math and science and a minimum GPA. Students who meet those standards and earn an Associate of Arts degree at Illinois Community College will be admitted to the UI as a junior and will have met all freshman and sophomore level general education requirements, with the exception of a Diversity and Inclusion requirement and the World Language requirement needed for each college.
“This is an exciting new partnership that will benefit thousands of Illinois community college graduates who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UI,” says P. Barry Butler, executive vice president and provost at the UI. “At the core of this agreement is the completion of an Associate of Arts degree, which will help increase degree completion rates at both the community college and the University of Iowa.”
* Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn was not pleased in a system-wide e-mail…
Earlier this summer, The University of Iowa announced on its website that it had just inked a new master articulation agreement with … wait for It … the Illinois Community College Board. In the words of P. Barry Butler, executive vice president and provost at Iowa, “[t]his is an exciting new partnership that will benefit thousands of Illinois community college graduates who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UI.”
I get it. A lot of Illinois kids — in Chicagoland, as well as where I grew up, in the western part of our state — head off to Iowa City for their baccalaureate degrees. No doubt these agreements improve accessibility and make for easier transitions in those cases.
But in the wake of record drops in enrollment at numerous of our state’s public institutions of higher education, as well as recent national press (most notably, coverage in The New York Times) that highlighted Illinois’ role as one of the country’s largest exporters of post-secondary students, one might reasonably wonder why this was on the “to do” list right now for the ICCB.
I know we have the Illinois Articulation Initiative that provides us something akin to UI’s special agreement, and I guess I should begrudgingly give Iowa credit for going after this … assuming the impetus for this came from their side.
But as this news has made the rounds across SIU over the last day or so, it has caused any number of our folks to wonder aloud about timing and how something like this happens as Illinois’ universities find themselves struggling through their greatest operational and financial distress of the last 50 years.
Republicans have spent nearly $2 million in television advertising to help a state lawmaker win a Chicago-area legislative district — the most spent on air time for any legislative candidate in the nation.
A new report by the Center for Public Integrity released Thursday shows the Chicago-area contest has helped makeIllinois the state with the most money spent on TV ads for legislative candidates across the country this election cycle. Nearly $14 million has been spent on legislative races in Illinois since Jan. 1, 2015, a staggering amount that reflects the struggle between wealthy Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic leaders amid an epic budget stalemate. Democrats are trying to strengthen their control of the Legislature while Rauner is trying to give his party greater influence. […]
The Illinois race with most money spent on ads pits GOP Rep. Michael McAuliffe, a 20-year veteran of the House, against Democrat Merry Marwig, a political newcomer on leave from her job at a Chicago software company. […]
Even so, the amount they’re spending is remarkable. In 2012, for example, the Republicans’ two major party committees spent just over $2 million combined on all races from July 1 through Sept. 30. […]
Marwig has spent about $187,690 on television ads so far, according to figures from the Center for Public Integrity.
And there’s still more than a month to go before election day, so expect much more like this.
Also, at this pace, state Rep. McAuliffe could wind up outspending US Sen. Mark Kirk on Chicago TV. Let that sink in for a minute.
Munger just got $5 million, so why is she giving $3 million away? And why would they blow the contribution caps in Leader Durkin’s race when he doesn’t even have an opponent?
* Scott Kennedy’s explanation could apply to both developments, although I’m told by one top Munger person that it doesn’t apply to her. We’ll see.
Kennedy’s theory is that the Republicans could be using Munger’s and Durkin’s no longer contribution capped committees as entryways to move huge amounts of fresh, non-Rauner cash into legislative races. Campaign committees can contribute unlimited amounts to state parties, and state parties can contribute unlimited amounts to candidates in general elections, so I suppose it’s possible that Rauner doesn’t want his personal campaign committee’s name on every single dollar going into the system…
Another very likely possibility is that [Munger’s] campaign committee is being used as an entryway to get unlimited contributions into the system where that money can then move freely around to be spent on other races. I discussed the need for entryways in my previous post. The House Dems have had a number of large donors, particularly in labor and legal, who are willing to contribute more than the maximum amount so they’ve had to break up those contributions into the amounts permitted by contribution limits and then contribute those amounts to as many Democratic affiliated committees as necessary to get all the money in the system. In a general election candidate committees can make unlimited transfers to party committees and party committees can make unlimited transfers to candidate committees so once that money is in the system the candidate committees with surplus funds can either transfer those funds to their fellow candidates up to the limited amount or they can make unlimited transfers to their party committee where the funds can then be redistributed in unlimited amounts to other candidates in need.
However in this case the contribution limits are off for the Comptroller’s race because of the $260,000 loan Munger received from her husband. Munger (and Mendoza) can accept contributions in unlimited amounts and if they so choose they can then make unlimited transfers to the party committee who can then spend or transfer unlimited amounts on other candidates, such as targeted general assembly races.
Prior to last week the Governor had been almost single-handedly funding the Republican legislative effort. The only other significant pool of money was in the Independent Expenditure committee Liberty Principles PAC which had raised $5 million since June, $2.5 million from Governor Rauner personally, $1.5 million from Richard Uihlein and $1 million from Ken Griffin. However the funds in the IE committee are somewhat walled off, independent expenditure committees are not allowed to transfer funds to candidate or party committees so if these donors wanted to use their money to help legislative candidates they could only do so by making expenditures independently. But now that the contribution limits have been lifted in the Comptroller’s race they can make direct unlimited contributions to Munger who can then transfer that money to the party as needed and it can be put to use elsewhere.
Just because Munger transferred $3 million to the State Party today doesn’t mean she won’t get additional financial support later to supplement her campaign budget, she may still very well spend $5.5 million on her fall effort if additional contributions are received. Also, it’s unlikely that this is our last unexpected development before the election. Stay tuned.
The Republican comptroller also defended recent moves within her campaign finance fund, which have brought allegations from challenger Mendoza that she is gaming the system.
Late last month, Munger got a $260,000 loan from her attorney husband, which lifted contribution limits in the race. That cleared the way for $5 million in donations from hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin and frequent conservative GOP donor Richard Uihlein, key Rauner allies. Since then, Munger’s campaign transferred $3 million to the Illinois Republican Party, which can now distribute that money to various candidates as the GOP tries to cut into the Democratic supermajorities held by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton.
Mendoza called it “blatant money laundering” in a Twitter post. Munger said she was just taking advantage of campaign financial rules Democrats put in place in 2009 that Mendoza voted for while in the House.
“We are really just taking advantage of the law that she passed,” Munger said. “Everything I’ve done is completely transparent, and it’s certainly legal.”
* All of the following stories have been posted online since just yesterday. Let’s start with the Naperville Sun…
Residents should call 911 if they see someone dressed as a clown behaving suspiciously, according to a community alert posted on the DuPage County sheriff’s office Facebook page.
“The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the recent ‘clown sightings’ occurring locally in our parks, on the paths and trails, and even on our roadways,” according to the alert, which features a photo of clown shoes and the sheriff’s office seal.
It warns residents not to confront any clowns and, “always maintain a safe distance.”
The creepy clown phenomenon that has recently swept the nation hit Lake County Tuesday as police departments in Round Lake, North Chicago and Waukegan reported clown threats made on social media and in person at one Waukegan school during lunch recess, prompting that school to briefly be put on lockdown.
Carpentersville police and School District 300 officials issued statements Tuesday calling clown-related reports a prank and aiming to assure residents there have been no credible threats or known local sightings of red-nosed creeps.
Closer to home, a “performance artist” was detained by UIC police—but not arrested or charged—after joining the trend, or making a pointedly meta commentary about the trend, or… something.
Social media was all a-twitter Monday evening with the reported sighting of a creepy clown in Worth.
The Chicago Ridge Neighborhood Watch Facebook group posted a photo from a member’s daughter, who took a picture of the joker’s backside near 111th Street and Harlem Avenue, across the street from the Worth Police Department. […]
Sightings of people dressed as creepy, menacing clowns have been reported in 26 states, according to the Boston Globe. […]
Earlier Monday, the @IllinoisClown account tweeted that he was in Shorewood, heading for Plainfield.
ATTORNEY GENERAL MADIGAN & U.S. ATTORNEY JAMES LEWIS MEET WITH KANKAKEE COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE TO ENSURE FAIR, OPEN & LEGAL ELECTION IN KANKAKEE COUNTY
Chicago – Attorney General Lisa Madigan, U.S. Attorney James A. Lewis for the Central District of Illinois and officials with the Illinois State Board of Elections today met with Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jamie Boyd and an official from the Kankakee County Clerk’s office to ensure a fair, open and legal election this fall that allows all residents to vote equally without obstacles or intimidation by law enforcement officials or offers in exchange for votes, all of which are prohibited by law.
“We are committed to ensuring that we hold a fair, open and legal election and that all voters’ rights are protected,” Madigan said.
“The voting process is central to our democratic system,” Lewis said. “We came to Kankakee County today and had a good discussion with the State’s Attorney and other officials intended to ensure that each and every person can vote fairly and properly.”
They discussed complaints, including allegations of some minority voters being subject to unnecessary requirements and misinformation about their ability to cast their vote, law enforcement officials intimidating voters and questioning people who drove them to vote, and offers in exchange for casting ballots.
Voters and county election officials are reminded that current law allows for voters to register to vote and cast their ballot at the same time during both the early voting process and on General Election Day following a Tuesday ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
I’ll let you know if the local state’s attorney sends anything out.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Republican Party blasted this out today…
Media Advisory: ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider Holds Press Conference to Discuss Vote Fraud Investigation in Kankakee County
Schneider To Announce Launch of Voter Fraud Hotline
When: 2:45 p.m.
Where: 55 W. Monroe, Suite 940
Yesterday, the Kankakee County State’s attorney announced an unprecedented investigation into voter fraud following reports of individuals from Chicago offering gifts in exchange for votes for Rep. Kate Cloonen and Hillary Clinton.
Here’s what we know so far:
The State’s Attorney’s office began the investigation after the clerk’s office “reported three complaints from people who said they were offered bribes for votes.”
Several applications filed with the election authority appear to be fraudulently executed.
Kate Cloonen and Mike Madigan’s political team have lashed out at the Republican Party and personally attacked the State’s Attorney himself in order to distract from the allegations that Democratic candidates are benefiting from election fraud.
Chicago’s practice of appointing a school board violates the rights of all city taxpayers to elect who taxes them, disproportionately affecting minority voters, and has left the district in worse financial shape since 1995, when it was placed under mayoral control.
That’s according to former Gov. Pat Quinn and a handful of active Chicago Public Schools families and Local School Council members who plan to sue the city’s school board and the state Board of Education on Wednesday in state and federal court.
The group wants a judge to order elections to replace the mayor’s appointees on Chicago’s Board of Education, Quinn said by telephone Tuesday.
“Looks like gadfly Pat Quinn has latched on to his next failed endeavor. Coming from a governor who could have fixed the most racially discriminatory education funding formula in the nation but didn’t, and who failed miserably to address chronic education underfunding despite pushing through record tax increases, this is another absurd waste of energy and taxpayer dollars,” Claypool said.
At 40 years old, Landus Jackson walked out of Vienna Correctional Center on Tuesday morning wearing street clothes and a smile after spending the majority of his 30s behind bars — about 8 1/2 years total for drug- and gun-related offenses in Alexander County.
The first thing he did was wrap his arms around his 16-year-old daughter and then his father and cousin, who were there to greet him and take him home. But before the family headed out toward Mound City, with plans to get breakfast along the way, there was a brief ceremony for Jackson as state officials granted him his cosmetology license.
Though cameras and a celebration do not typically greet former inmates returning to society, Illinois Department of Corrections officials considered this a special occasion because Jackson, thanks to new regulatory changes aimed at reducing barriers to employment, has the distinction of being the first to leave a state prison with a professional license in hand.
“I just want to say this is a testimony, and I’m a witness that God is good,” Jackson said after state prison officials handed him that license. “… I want to thank Ms. Moyers as well. She’s been real good to me, real good.” […]
DOC Director John Baldwin, also in a statement, said he was “extremely proud” of this step taken by regulators.
“Everyone deserves a second chance and that is exactly what Landus is getting today — a fair shot at finding employment that will increase his odds of not returning to IDOC custody.”
* From the Kankakee Daily Journal’s story on fraud and voter suppression allegations flying in that county…
Late last week, Kankakee County Clerk Bruce Clark said potential voters were being brought to the clerk’s office to vote early.
“Whoever it is should not be doing this,” he said. “People should be allowed to come in here and vote without being harassed.”
If Clerk Clark thinks bringing people to the polls to vote early is somehow fraudulent activity or “harassment,” then he needs to go back to election school.
Effective immediately no “I voted” stickers will be issued to voters. This will end the practice of vote purchasers using the stickers as proof of voting.
That’s an all too common scam. They “buy” the stickers to avoid directly paying people to vote.
A “race to the bottom” in state workers’ compensation laws has the Labor Department calling for “exploration” of federal oversight and federal minimum benefits.
“Working people are at great risk of falling into poverty,” the agency says in a new report on changes in state workers’ comp laws. Those changes have resulted in “the failure of state workers’ compensation systems to provide [injured workers] with adequate benefits.”
In the last decade, the report notes, states across the country have enacted new laws, policies and procedures “which have limited benefits, reduced the likelihood of successful application for workers’ compensation benefits, and/or discouraged injured workers from applying for benefits.”
The report was prompted by a letter last fall from 10 prominent Democratic lawmakers, who urged Labor Department action to protect injured workers in the wake of a ProPublica/NPR series on changes in workers’ comp laws in 33 states.
The ProPublica/NPR stories featured injured workers who lost their homes, were denied surgeries or were even denied prosthetic devices recommended by their doctors.
That’s not a bad idea. Some states (like Indiana) have gone overboard with their lousy treatment of injured workers in an attempt to attract employers. Even Greg Baise at the IMA admits this.
We were fans of Rep. Michelle Mussman and her “Mom on a Mission” slogan when she first ran for office in 2010. Now it seems she’s a mom on a mission to bankrupt the state. After running for office promising to whip Springfield into shape, she has voted for phony, unbalanced budgets, including House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spending plan in May that spent $7 billion more than the state would collect in revenue. Voters: You’ve been duped. Republican Jillian Rose Bernas of Schaumburg would be a proper check on state spending and would promote policies to attract to Illinois more businesses and jobs — maybe even bring back residents who’ve fled to other states. Bernas is endorsed.
* NBC 5 interviewed Comptroller Leslie Munger and she unveiled a new line of attack against her Democratic opponent Susana Mendoza…
Munger noted that her opponent has gotten substantial donations from unions and special interests. Additionally, the comptroller claimed Mendoza has received contributions from companies that she gave contracts to during her time as Chicago city clerk.
“She is getting donations and funding from organizations who she owes or does business with to benefit them,” Munger said. “So there’s definitely a pay-to play, quid pro quo-thing going on there.”
The Mendoza responded to the claims Tuesday afternoon, placing the onus on Munger for shattering the race’s fundraising limits.
“Susana has been in full legal compliance with both city and state limits,” Mendoza campaign manager Lauren Peters said in a statement. “It was Comptroller Munger who broke the cap so she could receive unlimited funds, including just receiving $5 million from two billionaire donors who are close friends of Governor Rauner, one of which has a contract with the state. The only quid pro quo here is that if Munger is re-elected, the comptroller’s office will continue to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the governor’s office, not the independent fiscal watchdog Illinois taxpayers need.”
Think that’ll be an effective TV ad? Remember, Munger now has $5 million to play with. She can probably afford to run two messaging tracks (positive and negative) at the same time.
* Wordslinger posted a wicked rant on this topic yesterday that deserves front-paging…
=Ask us your questions on our plans to create jobs and grow the economy.=
OK.
–How do you plan to reverse the three-year slide in Illinois farm incomes?
–What actions will you take to prevent abundant and cheaper natural gas from replacing Illinois coal?
–How will you reverse technological advances in coal-mining to save Illinois jobs?
–Same question as above, when it comes to direct jobs and related service jobs being lost in the financial services sector on LaSalle Street?
–How do you intend to raise the world-wide price of oil (and gasoline) to make Illinois fracking profitable?
–Will you devalue the Illinois dollar to make Illinois exports more attractive?
–Do you intend to re-negotiate Illinois trade agreements with foreign nations?
–What’s the plan to combat the growing state teacher shortage with more enticing salaries and benefits for prospects? You know, like you do in the private sector when you have a labor shortage?
–How are you going to save Sears?
– What is the state plan to revitalize Illinois’ buggy-whip industry?
Obviously, I kid. The governor can’t do any of those things, nor can he reverse the global trend in manufacturing, despite all the mumbo-jumbo he continually spouts.
Here are some real questions:
–What scholarship should we read to fully understand your theory of centrally planned, state direction of “the economy?” Marx? Lenin? Mao? Goldberg?
–Where’s your capital plan? For infrastructure? For technology? How are you going to pay for it? Is that not a fundamental purpose of state government? What are you waiting for — you’ve been in office nearly two years.
–What is the GOMB whiz kids’ projections on job and economic growth if the State of Illinois was on a reasonable timetable for paying its record backlog of bills (set on your watch), pumping those billions directly into the state economy?
–Do you have any plans for job assistance for the thousands who have been tossed out of work due to your refusal for political reasons to honor contracts or fund higher ed at levels you, yourself, recommended in your proposed budgets? How much have those layoffs cost the state, fiscally and economically, in unemployment insurance costs and lost economic activity?
–Do you believe in the sanctity of contracts? For realsies?
–What is your master plan for Illinois universities and community colleges? For the social safety net? By your actions, you’re certainly up to something, but you’re just not being square with us peasants.
I’ll hang up and listen to your usual scattered-brain non-sequiturs…. I mean, “answers.”
Ouch.
* For the record, however, Word and I disagree somewhat about this topic. I believe there are several ways to retain businesses and encourage them to expand here rather than elsewhere. Obviously, I think the governor’s ideas go way too far and are mostly unrealistic given the political realities, but I do believe there’s plenty of room for compromise if anyone would freaking listen to each other.
* Related…
* Equal sweetener plant closing: Eighty-nine workers at Manteno’s Merisant plant — which produces Equal, the artificial sweetener — were told Monday the location will be closing its doors in mid-December and moving to a southeastern state… Of the company’s 89 Manteno employees, 70 were involved in production. A production worker earned between $16 to $24 per hour. The company, one of the mainstays of the Diversatech campus, operated three shifts, five days per week. Overtime work was not uncommon.
* From the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s latest poll…
· While term limits for legislators aren’t on the November ballot, they are on the hearts of voters. There are over 80 percent who favor a constitutional amendment limiting the number of terms a state representative or state senator can serve. There are 17 percent opposed. Gov. Bruce Rauner is pressing lawmakers to act.
· Recently, the state Supreme Court ruled that an amendment establishing an independent commission to draw legislative district lines was unconstitutional. However, 72 percent of likely voters support that idea, while 18 percent are opposed.
The Simon Institute has been polling on this question since 2010 and the support for redistricting reform this year is at a record high.
“The massive support for these… measures is evidence of just how upset Illinois voters are with the way things are done in Springfield,” said David Yepsen, the director of the Institute.
* Historical trendlines…
* The actual questions…
* A proposal to limit state legislators to a total of eight years of service, whether in the House of Representatives, the State Senate, or a combination of the two. Would you favor or oppose this proposal? [In 2010, 2011, 2012 the question was this “limit state representatives to five consecutive two-year terms and state senators to three consecutive four-year terms.” In year after it was worded the same - “a proposal to limit state legislators to a total of eight years of service, whether in the House of Representatives, the State Senate, or a combination of the two.”]
* Other people have proposed a constitutional amendment that would have legislative district maps created and recommended by a commission that is independent of the elected representatives. Would you favor or oppose this proposal?
Likely voters in Illinois overwhelmingly support a proposed state constitutional amendment requiring gas taxes be spent only on road projects, according to a poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale… The sample of 865 likely voters was taken Sept. 27 – Oct. 2 and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
· There are 80 percent of likely voters who support what’s been dubbed the “lockbox” amendment requiring that gas taxes, tolls and license fees be dedicated to roads, bridges and other transportation projects. Only 13 percent oppose it, and the rest are undecided.
Supporters argue state policy makers have sometimes shifted these dollars to non-transportation projects over the years, taking dollars from needed infrastructure projects. Opponents contend leaders need to have flexibility in the way they manage state finances and meet all the priorities they face.
Support is strongest downstate, where 87 percent support the measure. Seventy-eight percent support the measure in the Chicagoland suburbs and 73 percent in Chicago.
A lot of newspaper editorial boards have come out against the proposal (the SJ-R is the latest). I also don’t think it’s great policy, but I can see why this makes sense to voters who are frustrated with the General Assembly’s ability to do anything right.
* “On the ballot in November is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would make sure that funds from the gasoline tax, tolls, license fees, and other transportation levies can only be spent on roads, bridges, and other transportation-related projects. If that question were on the ballot today, would you vote for or against it?”…
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Two new ads explain why Illinois needs to support the Safe Roads Amendment this November as a commonsense approach to protecting taxpayers’ investment in a stronger transportation system.
Citizens to Protect Transportation Funding – a coalition of business, labor and construction groups – today announced it has rolled out the new spots as part of its aggressive statewide public education campaign for a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot to prevent transportation funds from being spent on anything but transportation.
A 60-second radio ad and 60-second animated ad explain the Safe Roads Amendment – what it is, how it works and why it’s needed.
The radio ad, titled “Common Sense,” explains that years of decisions to spend road money on non-road purposes has helped create a dire situation for the state’s network of roads and bridges. The constitutional amendment is an easy way to start to address the backlog of disrepair.
“With the Safe Roads Amendment, we can fix our roads without raising taxes,” the narrator says in the ad, now running in the St. Louis market and to run statewide in the final three weeks of the campaign.
The animated ad, titled “Spread the Word,” takes a closer look at the bipartisan push to address transportation needs through the amendment.
“Your vote will create a lockbox for transportation money, so that gas taxes, car registrations and other transportation fees we already pay can only be spent on transportation,” the narrator says in the video intended to educate and advocate for the amendment online.
These ads follow the 30-second TV spot titled “When,” running on stations around the state.
Same-day voter registration in Illinois is back for now after a federal appeals court on Tuesday stayed a judge’s order that blocked the practice for the Nov. 8 election.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked attorneys to file briefs by Thursday on why the case should face an expedited appeal.
On Sept. 29, U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan declined to reconsider his ruling that the same-day registration option benefited Democratic strongholds, like Chicago, and disadvantaged rural regions that may favor Republican candidates. The state law that created Election Day registration applied only to counties of 100,000 people or more with electronic poll books.
The attorney general’s office on Sept. 30 filed a motion for a stay of the lower court ruling, pending appeal. A judge on Tuesday granted that motion, while also giving the defendants until Thursday to provide a statement about why they believe the appeals should be expedited, according to court records. […]
In its motion for stay, the attorney general’s office argued the legislation doesn’t deny equal protection or infringe on anyone’s right to vote.
“On the contrary, it enhances the right to vote by making it possible for people to register at the polling place on Election Day,” the attorney general’s office said in its motion.
The attorney general’s office also argued that the statute is constitutional and that it doesn’t deny anyone the ability to register or vote.
*** UPDATE *** Common Cause Illinois…
Common Cause Illinois and other members of the Just Democracy Illinois coalition applaud the appellate judge for halting a lower court judge’s decision, which would have stopped all Election Day voter registration in polling places. Illinoisans will continue to be able to register to vote at polling places on Election Day for the upcoming election.
“Common sense has prevailed as Election Day registration is restored in polling places across Illinois,” said Brian Gladstein, Executive Director of Common Cause Illinois. “To remove this option so close to an election would have caused irreparable harm, especially in under-registered communities. More than 110,000 people registered to vote on Election Day last March, and now Illinoisans will continue to have access to their elections.”
The challenge to Election Day Registration was a troubling tactic to limit voter turnout during a crucial election year. While this decision allows voters to register on November 8th, the appellate court will still need to decide the merits of the case at a later date.
* The background is here. From a press release. All emphasis is in the original document…
Below is a statement from community leaders Gary Ciaccio, Mike Smith and former State Representative Lisa Dugan in response to allegations made by the Kankakee State’s Attorney’s Office on Tuesday:
“Since last Thursday, we have noticed illegal and unethical conduct by the Kankakee county state’s attorney, Kankakee county clerk and the Kankakee county sheriff’s offices. We took steps to ensure information was given to the Illinois Attorney General, the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Department of Justice regarding the actions of these local officials. We know many legally registered voters have been turned away from voting over the last few days. Since early voting for the 2016 general election began just a few short days ago, there have been numerous reports and eyewitness accounts of harassment and intimidation by local government officials of residents trying to participate in the democratic process of voting.
“We condemn attempts by anyone to engage in voter fraud, but we also will not tolerate attempts at voter intimidation aimed toward depriving local residents of their ability to vote. Everyone has a right to vote and no one should be subjected to intimidation. Our state and national constitutions exist for our protection as a people: to be protected from an overreaching government and to be protected from having our freedoms and our liberties taken from us.
“Again, we have ensured information was brought to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice to investigate these inexcusable incidents of intimidation and harassment against voters.”
From the Office of Jamie Boyd, Kankakee County State’s Attorney
Date: October 4, 2016
For Immediate Release:
Re: Election Fraud
The Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into voter fraud. This unprecedented action was taken in response to reports of individuals from Chicago offering gifts to potential voters in exchange for a vote for Kate Cloonen, Hillary Clinton and others. Our office takes seriously the obligation to protect the rights of citizens to vote for the candidate of their choice, and to do so without undue influence from special interest groups. The investigation will also focus on the authenticity of vote by mail requests. Several applications have been filed with the election authority that appear to be fraudulently executed. These documents were also filed by people who are not voters in Kankakee County.
As a result of the information we currently have, and in an effort to end the ongoing practices aimed at illegally gaining a victory for specific candidates changes have been made to the processes. Effective immediately no “I voted” stickers will be issued to voters. This will end the practice of vote purchasers using the stickers as proof of voting. A register has been created to keep track of all individuals dropping off “vote by mail” applications so that contact information is available if questions arise regarding any applications.
Local police departments have been advised of the ongoing investigation, and are prepared to assist in the event of continued questionable activity. The Kankakee County Clerk will continue to vigilantly enforce the electioneering rules during the early voting and grace period voting in an effort to insure the integrity of the election process.
We are asking the public to contact our office with any information they are aware of regarding these or other questionable activities during this election season. We are especially hopeful that if someone is offered any gift in exchange for voting that our office will be notified immediately so that we may prosecute the offenders.
Cloonen has won her last two general election races by an average of about 100 votes each. So, this is huge.
“These reports of voter fraud in Kankakee are incredibly disturbing. Fair and honest elections are the bedrock of our democracy. It is truly deplorable when people try to corrupt our system in this manner. I call on Kate Cloonen to denounce these actions and confirm to the public that no one affiliated with her campaign had any knowledge or involvement with these alleged crimes.”
Twelve other Illinoisans made the list, four of them from the Pritzker family:
• Sam Zell, 117th, $4.7 billion, founder of Equity Group Investments
• J.B. Pritzker, 190th, $3.4 billion, co-founder and managing partner of Pritzer Group, a private investment firm
• Neil Bluhm, 204th, $3.2 billion, real estate and casino investor and a co-founder and chairman of Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming
• Thomas Pritzker, 214th, $3.1 billion, executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels
• Ty Warner, 274th, $2.5 billion, founder and CEO of Ty, a Westmont-based company that produces and distributes Beanie Babies and other plush toys
• Gigi Pritzker, 290th, $2.4 billion, co-founder and CEO of OddLot Entertainment, a film production and financing company
• Patrick Ryan, 290th, $2.4 billion, chairman and CEO of Ryan Specialty Group, a wholesale brokerage and specialty insurance firm in Chicago
• Mark Walter, 290th, $2.4 billion, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, a global investment and advisory financial services firm headquartered in Chicago and New York
• Joe Mansueto, 321st, $2.2 billion, chairman and CEO of Morningstar, a Chicago-based investment research and management firm
• Joseph Grendys, 335th, $2.1 billion, CEO of Koch Foods, a poultry processing company headquartered in Park Ridge
So, Griffin’s $3 million contribution to Comptroller Leslie Munger’s campaign last week is equal to 0.04 percent of his net worth.
To put that into perspective, if your net worth (what is owned minus what is owed) is $100,000, your equivalent contribution to Munger would be $40.
Duckworth Supports $60 Billion Spending Increase For Free Community College
At the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Debate yesterday, Rep. Duckworth said she wants free community college but could not answer how much it would cost when asked by editorial board members.
Well, we found out how much it would cost: $60 billion dollars.
“Rep. Duckworth has advocated for a new entitlement program without even knowing the cost of it, so we helped her with the research. Duckworth’s plan would cost taxpayers $60 billion,” said Kirk For Senate campaign manager Kevin Artl. “As Senator Kirk said yesterday that while he wants to spend less, tax less and borrow less, Rep. Duckworth wants to spend more, tax more and borrow more, and that is the most important contrast for voters heading into November.”
Kirk, a retired Navy intelligence officer, said he wants the U.S. to create a safe haven for Syrian refugees in Jordan, with the help of the Jordanian government.
Duckworth said the idea “doesn’t even make sense” and would require “a massive increase in U.S. forces.”
“We can’t just be a nation that continually sends troops to war,” she said.
…Adding… Duckworth actually disclosed the cost in a press release at the end of yesterday’s debate…
Rapid Response #9: Tammy Duckworth Would Pay For Tuition-Free Community College By Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes
Today, Kirk Called Tuition-Free Community College For Deserving Students An “Entitlement”
CHICAGO —Tammy Duckworth has proposed how she would pay for her plan to make college more affordable: by closing a tax loophole that allows unlimited write-offs for executive bonuses, by closing the Carried Interest loophole, and by enacting the Buffet Rule to ensure millionaires pay their fair share. She would use the revenue to fully pay for the $60 billion cost of tuition-free community college for deserving students, in addition to making student loans more affordable and strengthening Pell grants.
Republican Mark Kirk on the other hand, today called tuition-free community college an “entitlement.” Tammy Duckworth considers it an investment in our future.
The Chicago Board of Education was desperate for cash. Two Wall Street players were willing to lend it — at a price.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Chicago-based Nuveen Asset Management have made realized and paper profits exceeding $110 million on purchases this year of $763 million in Chicago Public Schools bonds. The school system needed the money to replenish its dwindling coffers before the new school year and to build and repair facilities.
The school system’s bonds are a favorite for John Miller, Nuveen’s co-head of fixed income, who said the firm bought when the market feared a default, a concern he called overblown. “At the end of day, this school system is critically important to Chicago — to the whole country really,” he said.
“We took a period of market risk on behalf of our client when they needed it most and the market has recognized their improved financial position,” a J.P. Morgan spokeswoman said. […]
Prices of outstanding Chicago school bonds were hit in 2013 and 2015 after defaults by Detroit and Puerto Rico. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner called for a state takeover of the school system and for a potential bankruptcy filing over the past year and prices fell below 75 cents on the dollar.
Nuveen determined that the default risk was far lower than that implied by the bond prices.
Smart move by Nuveen and Morgan. They figured out what others missed: The governor was just jaw-boning and that his ideas wouldn’t actually be put into place. They wound up making out like bandits.
* Meanwhile, this is from an SEIU Healthcare union media advisory…
Taxpayers to Rauner: Yes or No — Will you stand up to banks on near $1 billion payout on toxic swap deals?
Coalition demands that governor call on bank CEOs to extend deadline on ‘toxic’ interest rate swap deals
SPRINGFIELD—College professors, students, home healthcare workers, child care providers and others will call on Gov. Rauner to save taxpayers a near $1 billion payout to big Wall Street banks, money that instead could fund vital social services and education programs now being slashed by the Rauner administration.
The coalition will make the demand during an 11 a.m. press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the Blue room at the State Capitol Building, 301 S. 2nd St. Several Wall Street banks hold documents called Letters of Credit on toxic interest rate swap loans. The letters of credit expire on Nov. 27, triggering an immediate payout of hundreds of millions of dollars in addition to additional fees and penalties unless the banks extend the letters of credit.
Wanna guess who initiated those “toxic” swaps? Rod Blagojevich, SEIU’s bestest pal. Somehow, that isn’t mentioned in the release.
* But Blagojevich’s involvement is highlighted by the governor’s office today…
Rauner Takes Steps to Reduce Risks from Blagojevich-Quinn Inherited Financial Deals
Administration Spent Last Year Working to Reduce Taxpayers Financial Risk
SPRINGFIELD – Over the past several months, the Rauner Administration has taken steps to reduce the state’s financial risk on interest rate swaps and letters of credit. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) recently completed renegotiations with all the banks that hold the State’s swaps to reduce the state’s financial risk.
“Governor Rauner inherited these swaps and letters of credit, which have been hanging over the heads of Illinois taxpayers for years,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “The Rauner Administration has successfully negotiated better terms for Illinois’ taxpayers, which have reduced our financial exposure and increased our ability to direct the state’s limited resources to education and social services.”
The new terms are more favorable to the state and reduce the state’s financial risk. Under the new terms, the State is less likely to have the swaps terminated and owe a payout to the banks because the credit rating thresholds that allow the banks to terminate have been lowered. These new terms are better for the State than the terms agreed to by the Quinn administration in 2013 and the Blagojevich administration in 2003.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget has made negotiating with the providers of letters of credit a priority with the goal to renew or replace them prior to the expiration date of November 27, 2016. […]
In October of 2003, the Blagojevich Administration negotiated five separate, interest rates exchange agreements totaling $600 million. At the time they cost the state 4.16% in interest and fees, they now cost Illinois 6.79% in interest and fees.
The payouts the State would owe to banks now if all the swaps were terminated is approximately $150 million. If the letters of credit are not renewed or replaced, there would be additional obligations on the State.
But few things stay secret for long in politics, and after checking with political insiders, I was pointed to the Civic Committee, which ran a somewhat similar public reform campaign a couple of years ago using the name Illinois Is Broke.
I’m told the new campaign likely will cost at least $1 million, with ads running on the Chicago Tribune’s website and other media outlets statewide.
“We created this campaign to give Illinois citizens, no matter their politics, the opportunity to visibly demonstrate their concerns and frustrations over the failed leadership in our state,” committee President Ty Fahner says in a statement. “Our hope is that this campaign will be loud enough that they will have no choice but to hear us and act on a responsible, bipartisan budget. There is nothing laughable about doing nothing anymore.”
In a follow-up interview, Fahner said the group intentionally is not taking a position on whether the budget stalemate is more the fault of Gov. Bruce Rauner, who wants concessions on worker compensation and other labor issues before approving a tax hike, or House Speaker Mike Madigan, who says the budget should not be held “hostage.”
“We’re not giving them (that) advice,” Fahner said. “But they can’t solve problems if they don’t talk,” something that Rauner and Democratic leaders have rarely done since early summer.
Yeah, all they need to do is talk it out. Right. That’ll work. You’ve got a Randian governor hellbent on hobbling if not outright destroying the Democratic Party’s biggest sources of support (labor, trial lawyers) and a formerly centrist House Speaker who has moved significantly to the left since his primary challenge last spring (remember his CTU campaign signs?).
The governor is spending tens of millions of dollars to further tarnish Madigan in legislative campaigns, and one of Rauner’s allies is about to debut a “documentary” about the man. Madigan, for his part, is unloading on Rauner, comparing him to Donald Trump and using Rauner wherever he can to tarnish Republican candidates.
This war will end when those two guys want it to end, and not a minute before.
They should’ve just given me that million dollars. I could’ve gotten them the same results.
* More data from that Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll…
Democrat Hillary Clinton leads Republican Donald Trump by an overwhelming 53 percent to 28 percent margin among likely voters in the 2016 race for president in Illinois, according to a new poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Libertarian Gary Johnson garnered 5 percent and the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, received 2 percent support. Nine percent said they remained undecided at this point.
The poll was conducted in the week after the first debate starting on Tuesday, September 27 and ending on Sunday, October 2. The sample included 1,000 registered voters, 865 of whom said they were likely voters. The likely voter sample has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
The poll also showed:
*Republican Senator Mark Kirk trailing his challenger, Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth. This race showed Duckworth with a lead of 48 percent to Kirk’s 34 percent among likely voters. The Libertarian candidate, Kent McMillen, received the support of 3 percent of the respondents while 2 percent said they would vote for the Green Party candidate, Scott Summers, and 10 percent remained undecided. […]
The poll showed Clinton winning by 67 percent to Trump’s 19 percent in the City of Chicago where Democratic candidates usually do well while Trump is more competitive downstate where the candidates are essentially tied (Trump 40 percent to Clinton’s 39 percent). Suburban Cook and the collar counties are where the balance of power resides in Illinois and Clinton is winning there by about 30 percentage points (Clinton 56 percent to Trump 25 percent).
In the U.S. Senate race, the geographic breakdown is 61 percent for Duckworth in the city of Chicago to 26 percent for Kirk. In suburban Cook and the collar counties, 51 percent plan to vote for Duckworth compared to 31 percent for Kirk. Downstate Kirk is winning with 44 percent compared to Duckworth’s 36 percent.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE 1 *** This Duckworth poll and all the other polls we’ve seen lately explain this move…
NEWS: The @dscc cancels $2.9M in spending from Oct. 17 to Oct. 24 in three states: Florida, Wisconsin and Illinois. https://t.co/BIM7lfllT2
* More from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s recent poll…
In the race for state Comptroller, incumbent Leslie Munger is running to retain the seat she was appointed to by Governor Rauner upon the death of Judy Baar Topinka. She is being challenged by Democrat Susana Mendoza. Mendoza is leading by a 40 percent to 32 percent margin among likely voters. There is a large 22 percent of the voters who remain undecided. […]
Mendoza is leading in the City of Chicago at 52 percent compared to Munger’s 23 percent. Downstate the incumbent, Munger, is leading by 43 percent compared to Mendoza’s 28 percent. The balance of power is held in the Cook county suburbs and collar counties where Mendoza is leading by 42 percent to Munger’s 28 percent.
* That collar county result seems odd to me. Just keep in mind that subsets have much higher margins of error than do the full statewide results…
I’ve seen a couple of other private polls on this race that I wasn’t allowed to share, but they were both pretty close to the state’s generic partisan ballot. This one isn’t far off, either. And it’s why Munger’s TV ad campaign is absolutely crucial.
* The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute has a new poll out. Let’s start with approval ratings for the governor and the two chamber leaders…
The advertising in many of the 2016 legislative campaigns in Illinois has focused largely on three people who are not on the ballot, that is, Governor Bruce Rauner, Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, and Senate President John Cullerton. The poll asked whether the respondents approved or disapproved of the job each was doing.
The results for Rauner show that his job approval ratings are underwater with 40 percent somewhat approving or strongly approving and 55 percent somewhat disapproving or strongly disapproving of the job he is doing.
However, the governor is more popular downstate where he is somewhat closer to positive territory with 45 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving of the job he is doing. In the suburban areas, Rauner is in negative territory with 55 percent disapproving and 39 percent approving.
The Governor’s biggest problem is in the City of Chicago where his disapproval outnumbers starkly overtake his approval (62 percent to 34 percent).
Speaker Madigan’s overall job approval ratings are also in negative territory with 63 percent somewhat disapproving or strongly disapproving and 26 percent somewhat approving or strongly approving.
Madigan’s best job approval ratings are in the City of Chicago where the ratings are 32 percent approve and 56 percent disapprove. His suburban Cook and collar county job approval ratings are 28 percent approve to 59 percent disapprove. Downstate yields the harshest assessment of the Speaker’s tenure with 73 percent disapproving and 20 percent approving.
In the recent negative ads wars, Senate President John Cullerton has not been the lightning rod that the Speaker has. There are 41 percent who disapprove or strongly disapprove of Cullerton’s performance while 26 percent approve and 29 percent aren’t sure.
* Notice the intensity of “strongly disapprove” on Gov. Rauner…
* Now compare that same intensity to Speaker Madigan’s ratings…
Yikes.
* And here’s Cullerton…
* OK, now on to Rauner by region…
* Compare that to Madigan by region…
Keep in mind that Madigan has a bunch of Downstate races where he has incumbents and some much-ballyhooed challengers.
Oof.
* Methodology…
The margin of error for the entire sample of 1,000 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for likely voters (n=865) is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. This means that if we conducted the survey 100 times, in 95 of those instances, the population proportion would be within plus or minus the reported margin for error for each subsample. For subsamples, the margin of error increases as the sample size goes down. The margin of error was not adjusted for design effects.
Live telephone interviews were conducted by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas using the random digit dialing method. The telephone sample was provided to Customer Research International by Scientific Telephone Samples. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters and quotas based on area code and sex (<60% female). Interviewers asked to speak to the youngest registered voter at home at the time of the call. Cell phone interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample. A Spanish language version of the questionnaire and a Spanish-speaking interviewer were made available.
Field work was conducted from September 27-October 2. No auto-dial or “robo” polling is included. Customer Research International reports no Illinois political clients. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the Institute’s endowment fund. The data were not weighted in any way. Crosstabs for the referenced questions will be on the Institute’s polling web site, simonpoll.org.
More results in a bit.
…Adding… Some folks in comments are completely missing the point. Yes, Madigan doesn’t have to run statewide. No duh. But he has become the major “issue” in House campaigns throughout the state. If the House Democrats had a presidential or other statewide type polling as badly as Madigan is, they’d be running away from that person as fast as humanly possible in order to avoid being dragged down by him/her. But the Dems can’t run away from Madigan because that’s where they get their money.
Same goes for the Republicans, by the way. Not many viable House Republican candidates/incumbents are cheering on Gov. Rauner. He’s definitely a drag. He’s just not as big of a drag yet as Madigan.
