* That’s gonna be it for me. I haven’t had a break since my little medical issue, so I’m outta here for a couple of weeks.
I hope everyone has a great holiday. Get some rest, have some fun and try to disconnect from politics for a while. It’ll still be there when you get back.
* We do have some business to take care of before we shut down. Previous winner Oswego Willy summed it up best, I think, in the nominations for The 2015 Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter…
What has been really great about Capitol Fax having a long history is that even the commenters have a history too. I know I’ve seen commenters evolve, grow, and find a stride from their first appearances on the scene and now where we all find ourselves. Sometimes circumstances and talent meet and things align for a commenter to shine, and show their versatility, as well as knowledge and passion, and still can make us laugh with a witty insightfulness that just stands out.
I nominate for Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter VanillaMan.
His song parodies are in tune with what’s happening and his choices of tunes add variety and nostalgia while being wrapped in a snark and playfulness that you can’t help but enjoy.
Song parodies are one thing, adding to the discussion with substance and thoughtfulness is another. This year, VanillaMan has often added unmatchable framing to a Post, and his comments have made the Posts stronger because his comment hit home what we should take from the posting.
In the years of VanillaMan’s commenting, this, by far, has been his strongest… in parody and fact… making VanillaMan’s complete package the best found around this blog in 2015.
I have always read what VanillaMan has had to say, I’ve sung along with all the parodies, smiled at his snark, pondered his thoughts to think about my own takes too. This year, VanillaMan has found a stride, with all the pistons firing, VanillaMan this year is more than worthy, and definitely deserving of the 2015 Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter.
I couldn’t agree more. The man has been on fire.
* Second place is a tie. “Walker,” a former legislator who has insights based on personal experiences that others don’t have….
It’s hard to pick among the prominent commenters. I like them all,but I think walker deserves the award. I appreciate his brevity, insight and good will to all, even those he disagrees with.
And the always helpful RNUG…
In the year of pension and budget discussions, most of us waited patiently for RNUG to read and attempt to translate the obtuse language used by our beloved government.
Yep.
* Honorable mention goes to MrJM…
He’s succinct, on point, and often amusingly caustic. Nobody says more while saying less.
* And Honeybear gets our Rookie of the Year Award, which I just made up…
I like Honeybear, too, for the aforementioned passion and for bringing a viewpoint that is uniquely both “inside” and “outside” of politics.
Of course, without the namesake for this award, the comment section wouldn’t be nearly as smart. So, many, many thanks to Wordslinger.
* As is our tradition, we close out the year with three songs from long ago. Hardrock, Coco and Joe…
* I usually run my weekly syndicated newspaper column on Monday, but I won’t be around Monday and Crain’s already has it posted, so…
One of the realities of Illinois legislative politics is that our state’s system tends to discourage competition.
Byzantine ballot access laws, a highly partisan legislative district map-drawing process, heavily concentrated populations of partisan voters in Chicago (Democrats) and in the collar counties and Downstate (Republicans) along with often tireless work by incumbents and political parties at the state and local levels to “discourage” opposition all combine to help tamp down the number of competitive races.
The net result is that Illinois has some of the fewest numbers of challenged state legislative races in the country - just 39 percent in 2014, which put us in the bottom fifth of the nation. By contrast, nearby Michigan saw a 100 percent challenge rate in the 2014 general election, and the rates in both California and Minnesota were above 90 percent.
That’s simply unheard of here.
The state’s 2014 rate may be higher next year. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vast personal cash reserves and his access to his many wealthy friends means the Republican Party can widen the playing field. The Democrats are also looking at doing the same thing, fielding candidates in districts that they have previously avoided (GOP Rep. Bill Mitchell, for instance, has a pretty decent general election opponent for the first time in a long while).
While that’s good for politics, is it good for government?
It almost assuredly is a good thing in the long run. Far too many people think they own their districts. Competition is good.
But in the here and now, these campaigns are just one more headache to deal with in the ongoing governmental impasse. Legislators who aren’t accustomed to challenges may not be all that willing to take the tough votes necessary if the leaders ever come to a deal.
Indeed, we could see a tail wagging the dog scenario. For instance, as a member of House Democratic leadership, Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion) has taken a ton of votes that his conservative southern Illinois constituents probably wouldn’t love, including a vote for the 2011 income tax hike.
But Bradley is now a Tier One target. And unless we see a massive political truce with pledges to not use tough votes against incumbents (as we did in the old days under Republican governors Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan) it’s probably safe to assume that Bradley and many, many others aren’t going to want to be a part of any tax hike solution.
The Illinois Republican Party compounded the problem the other day by blasting Bradley and Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) for standing with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (whom the Republicans now refer to as “#TaxHikeMike”) against taxpayers.
The Republican Party accuses Madigan, and by extension Bradley and Phelps and others, of publicly favoring a return to the 5 percent state income tax. They conveniently “forget” that Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he will raise taxes once he gets his “Turnaround Agenda” passed.
And it’s not just the general election that’s complicating matters. Look at what happened not long ago when conservative activist Dan Proft examined GOP Rep. David Harris’ nominating petitions to see if he could kick the Arlington Heights legislator off the ballot. Proft pointed out that Harris had “previously voiced support for tax increases.”
Harris, in turn, noted Gov. Rauner’s support for hiking taxes to balance the budget, but the message was clear: Proft controls a big pot of campaign money and Republicans need to beware of crossing him.
The ILGOP’s “#TaxHikeMike” assault could even play out in Speaker Madigan’s own legislative district.
Madigan’s Democratic primary opponent Jason Gonzales has a campaign message that appears specifically designed to attract money from wealthy people who are fed up with the Speaker’s longtime dominance. Some Democrats (and Republicans) are speculating that forces allied with Gov. Rauner could spend millions of dollars on that one race alone.
Blanketed network TV ads with a solid message can move voters, especially with that kind of money behind them.
Madigan is a notoriously cautious politician. So, whether or not his enemies pull the trigger on a massive campaign assault, he’ll deploy enough foot soldiers to cover his district many times over.
Chicago and Cook County voters (and Madigan represents both kinds) are already up in arms about property and sales tax increases, so we can also probably expect Madigan to be at least reluctant to raise taxes before the March 15th primary.
What I’m saying here is that if you think a solution to this impasse has looked next to impossible for the past several months, the situation may have gotten substantially worse since the candidate filing period ended.
I’m Dreaming of a Functional Government - Irving Berlin, humbly enhanced by VanillaMan
Our government is frozen, it’s the worst we’ve seen
The Governor believes Turnaround is not extreme
Thanks to judges, civil servants get pay
Thanks to judges, we survive another day
He says he’s a petulant rascal and soon
We will happily sing his pro-business tune
But it’s December the 24th
And our state is irreversibly off course …
I’m dreaming of a functioning government,
just like the ones we used to know
When a governor listened, infrastructures christened
and we weren’t hostages in this show
I’m dreaming of a functioning government,
Without the bullying and threats
May we all stop this dysfunctioning regrets
Before we all face injunctioning requests
I’m dreaming of a competent governor,
just like those Old Jims long ago
When they worked with the Assembly
and compromised so reasonably
And everyone went along with the flow
I’m dreaming of a compromising Speaker,
just like back home in Chicago
When he kept our state together
while governors perp walked whether
They were a Ryan or Blago
I’m dreaming of a bright future,
for our glorious and prosperous state
May it once again be merry and bright,
and survive all this political hate.
I’m dreaming of state reimbursements,
that makes Moody’s and Fitch glow
May our leaders remove their heads out from below,
Hug one another and eat crow.
VMan has been so on it this year.
* And this one is from a reader via e-mail…
What State is This? (sung to “What Child is This”)
What state is this?
In such mean distress
With Bruce the omnipotent leading?
With bills unpaid
And with nerves all frayed
He won’t stop
Until Madigan’s pleading.
CHORUS
This, this is Bruce our king,
Whom AFSCME loathes and Goldberg sings.
This, this is Illinois,
The state, the kingdom of Rauner.
No budget ’til my agenda’s passed
The short term pain I’m not feeling.
Poor people suffer
And businesses shutter
But it’s Madigan’s fault that you’re
reeling.
With a mere flick of a couple certain special wrists, the Democrats can be $20 million behind yet again.
Either way, this money stockpiling is all quite something to watch, so thanks to our good friend Scott Kennedy for putting these numbers together.
* Also, of course he’s not involving himself directly in Democratic primaries. One contribution from Rauner would destroy his favored candidate in any Dem primary. He’s got Illinois GO for that task…
Rauner says he's staying out of Democratic primaries (including Madigan's) and wouldn't use his PAC for that
A veterans facility on Oak Park Avenue that will house veterans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is scheduled to open in January 2017, at least six months later than originally planned after being caught in the budget crossfire between Rauner and the Democrats who control the General Assembly.
At Casa Central in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, Amanda McMillen, deputy director of children and youth services, said she hasn’t stopped smiling since learning that the social service agency was one of 23 area charities picked to receive proceeds from [basketball legend Michael Jordan’s] settlement with the Jewel-Osco and Dominick’s grocery chains. […]
Understandably, that’s all an afterthought to the busy staff at Casa Central, where some programs have been shuttered since Gov. Bruce Rauner imposed budget cuts last spring. Its early learning academy had to stop accepting new children under 5 because of cuts. A computer lab for low-income children and adults in the community has been closed except for use by students in the after-school program.
Jordan’s donation won’t resurrect those programs. That’s still on the state of Illinois, as it should be. But his money will go a long way to boosting kids’ programs at Casa Central, where administrators are still determining how to allocate the funds. There were two conditions to the donation, La Luz said in response to questions about it. The amount must remain confidential and the money must be earmarked for kids.
There is no shortage of kids’ programs among Casa Central’s seven buildings, including three that take up nearly a city block on North California Avenue. La Luz said the center is one of the largest Hispanic social-service agencies in the Midwest and serves 19,000 to 20,000 children and adult residents a year.
It provides transitional apartment-style housing and social services for homeless families, offers vocational training for entry-level jobs and houses a senior-care center visited daily by 80 to 90 older adults. But staff members pride themselves in providing a second a home to neighborhood kids, administrators said.
Friday, Dec 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois credit unions and their employees place a special focus on giving back to the communities they serve. GCS Credit Union, with its main branch in Granite City and seven additional branches in the metro east, encourages employee participation in its community outreach activities throughout the year. In an ongoing effort to support the local community, GCS employees may wear jeans on Fridays and Saturdays in exchange for a donation of $15 or more. Each branch location then selects a charity with special meaning to their employees to benefit from the donations. This holiday season, GCS employees donated to seven local charities with the proceeds from Jeans Day:
Granite City: Good Samaritan House
O’Fallon: O’Fallon Food Pantry
Lee Avenue: Catholic Children’s Home
Collinsville: Collinsville Meals on Wheels
Edwardsville: Chosen to Shine
Pontoon: Granite City School District
Madison: Community Care Center
As you can imagine, these donations are particularly appreciated during the holiday season.
Founded in 1941, GCS Credit Union now serves over 42,000 members at eight conveniently located branches across Southwestern Illinois. The credit union difference means giving back to member shareholders…and the communities they serve.
Happy Holidays from GCS Credit Union and the Illinois Credit Union League!
* The 2015 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Illinois Congresscritter goes to Rodney Davis…
(H)e has been able to win 2 straight times with the DCCC targeting him and in 14 it was not even close. He is a moderate Republican who votes his district and works his district. Without JBT around, he also was the first (and I believe only so far) Republican to criticize the Governor’s attack on public sector unions.
* And the 2015 Mike McClain Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statehouse Insider goes to John Lowder…
John is most knowledgeable of the process and inner dealing of statehouse policy and Budget development and strategy. He is always willing to share his insights. Has made the transformation from staff to contract lobbying with ease with great respect for the actors on both sides of the aisle as well as the press. He’ll be around for a long time.
Congrats to both!
* Today’s category is our last…
* The 2015 Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter
For too long, unions have dictated public policy in this state. They’ve told politicians what to approve or reject. No questions asked.
Lincolnshire asked questions. It is offering employees an option. A choice. Unions are free to make their case to workers that they should join the union. Why is that so scary?
“Our goal is not to bust unions,” Lincolnshire Mayor Elizabeth Brandt says. “Want to join? No problem. Want to pay dues? No problem. But this (right-to-work zone) says, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. That empowers the worker.”
It’s fascinating how unions talk about empowering workers, but don’t want them to have the power to join or not.
The unions? They like mandates.
Lincolnshire likes freedom.
I wonder how the Tribune owners would react if the government ordered the company to provide free advertising to anyone who wanted it.
* What these folks either fail to understand or don’t want to admit is that unions are required by federal law to represent every employee in their bargaining units, whether the employees pay union dues or not.
So, people can withhold dues and then legally demand all sorts of union services, like grievance procedures. The freeloaders are entitled to be provided the same wages, benefits and working condition protections earned for them by the very unions that they refuse to help pay for.
And if you’re OK with the government ordering that sort of thing, you’re not a small government person. That’s some Big Brother stuff right there, man.
* Somewhat related…
* Labor board upholds ruling to dismiss AFSCME’s unfair labor charge against Rauner administration: “I find insufficient evidence that CMS made a threat of reprisal,” she wrote. “The available evidence is that the ‘answer’ set forth in the FAQ’s regarding health insurance for employees on strike was accurately reflective of a long standing policy. An employer stating the potential negative impact to pay and benefits (including health insurance) that accompany a strike is not, in and of itself, evidence of coercive conduct.”
* The only “news” to come out of yesterday’s leaders’ meeting was that House Speaker Michael Madigan was a no-show…
Republican leaders Sen. Christine Radogno and Rep. Jim Durkin described Thursday’s meeting as productive but took turns noting Madigan’s absence.
“I thought it was a good conversation. But the fact is we’re not going to move this along unless we all are fully participating and actively involved in these negotiations,” Durkin said. He said he didn’t get an explanation of what Madigan’s scheduling conflict was.
“We covered quite a bit in there, despite having the speaker not be at the meeting,” Radogno said. […]
Brown defended Madigan’s absence, saying the speaker has been “fully involved” in budget discussions. He said the governor was notified in advance that Madigan would not be able to attend the meeting, but Brown couldn’t say when the notification occurred.
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s news service also focused on the absence…
Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, said he doesn’t believe Madigan’s absence on Thursday was intended as disrespect for the governor or the other leaders.
“I’ve been told by others that this time of year is typically when the speaker goes out of town, and it’s familial and not unusual for him to be away at this time,” said Sandack, who leads the Republicans in debate on the House floor. “Obviously, I wish he was there, and I’d prefer a full meeting of the leaders.”
It’s also quite possible that MJM missed the meeting because his daughter Tiffy had a baby the day before. Those Madigan guys are a pretty sealed-lip bunch when it comes to the boss’ private life, so either he was in Palm Springs or with his daughter and new grandson Theodore Maxwell Madigan Matyas.
It’s not like they were going to solve the world’s problems yesterday, but no matter why he missed the meeting the Speaker yet again managed to make himself the story - and not in a good way.
Radogno and Durkin said the day’s topics included the governor’s requests for legislative action on term limits and redistricting, changes to the workers compensation system, funding the state’s pension systems and, to some degree, the school aid formula.
Cullerton’s spokeswoman late Thursday afternoon released a statement saying, “The senate president was encouraged by the addition of school funding reform to the meeting agenda.”
Durkin called the discussion on Thursday “robust” and he said the discussion of the five reforms was “healthy.”
Radogno too said the leaders are getting more clarity about the issues in their meetings.
“Staffs are getting together, which I always think is a good thing to try to actually put pen to paper and refine the issues. I would say there’s progress on some of those issues,” Radogno said.
The governor may take questions after his 9 o’clock event this morning at the DeVry University Advantage Academy High School in Chicago.
*** UPDATE *** The governor comments…
Rauner "disappointed" Madigan missed Thurs, says Speaker's not a fan of all leader meetings, didn't want them before pic.twitter.com/1E64ulu2wq
In his speech last week before the City Club of Chicago, House Speaker Michael Madigan offered what I consider the strongest hint to date of the depth of philosophical differences driving the budget impasse. Invoking Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Madigan explained that he sees government’s role as to “work always to create jobs, to raise wages, to raise the standard of living.” He has stated often that he believes Rauner’s efforts to reform workers’ compensation and remove prevailing wage requirements will do the opposite for middle-class families.
Madigan offers no acknowledgement that policies put in place over the 12 years preceding Rauner’s arrival might have had anything to do with creating today’s fiscal mess — or that today’s fiscal mess might hurt the middle class by driving jobs away.
Rauner, meanwhile, takes the opposite view on government’s role in the economy. It’s government’s interference that hobbles entrepreneurs, drives up taxes and drives factories to states that don’t value unions over job creators. In Rauner’s view, if government keeps its hands off the private sector, jobs will proliferate, taxes will go down and the middle class will be better off.
Rauner, however, offers no acknowledgment that he governs a state that elected both him and super-majorities of Democrats in its House and Senate. He has not mentioned the fact that far more voters statewide supported a tax on millionaires and an immediate increase in the minimum wage than voted for him.
Three of Speaker Michael Madigan’s campaign funds on Thursday reported collecting $445,400 in campaign contributions.
Nearly all of the money came from labor unions or trial lawyers that historically have backed Madigan and Democrats against Republicans and business interests.
All told, four Madigan campaign funds have reported taking in more than $5.87 million since Jan. 1.
State House Candidate Taking on Rauner-Ally Dunkin
The Illinois AFL-CIO Executive Board voted on Thursday to endorse Juliana Stratton for State Representative in the Democratic Primary Election for the 5th District. Stratton is taking on incumbent Ken Dunkin, who has sided with Gov. Bruce Rauner, casting controversial votes against the interests of working families.
Stratton has a strong background in community involvement and public policy, serving with organizations including as director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at University of Illinois-Chicago, Cook County Justice for Children (CCJC), and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. She also managed the criminal and juvenile justice reform agenda for the Office of the Cook County Board President.
She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul in 1992 and her undergraduate degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign prior to that.
“She is a very strong candidate and an impressive person,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan. “She will be a very powerful voice for the people of the 5th District.”
Her opponent is long-time incumbent Dunkin, who has not hidden his alliance with Rauner, whose anti-worker proposals are not moving in the General Assembly. On several occasions, Dunkin’s vote would have made the difference on issues including child care eligibility, funding for services for seniors and the disabled and an arbitration mechanism to keep state services functioning in the event of bargaining impasse.
“There needs to a change in the 5th District,” Carrigan said. “The voters will know that there is a person in this race that cares about her community and not political alliances. As she has been all of her life, she will be their voice.”
There are nearly 16,000 members of union families in the 5th House District.
The state budget impasse could put more young people out on the streets this winter.
Corey Stewart became homeless when he was 18, after his mother died and he found himself struggling to pay rent for the family’s apartment on Chicago’s South Side. “I worked for a temp agency,” he says. “I had my steel-toe boots and I was working, but I just couldn’t swing it — that was too much money. I wasn’t going to school because too much was going on.” And his father, who had never been in his life, was nowhere to be found.
Like many Illinois teens who find themselves without a place to sleep, Stewart began staying at other people’s homes. “I was … trying to pay rent on other people’s cribs, and that didn’t work out,” he says. Other times, he slept on the streets.
“If I weren’t mentally stable, … I probably would have lost it,” he recalls. “I probably would be doing some time in jail or something like that. … It’s harsh out there. You’ve got to worry about bullets. The police. You know what I’m saying? The weather. There’s a lot of stuff you’ve got to worry about. … It ain’t no walk in the park.”
The fallout from the state’s current budget crisis could leave more young people like Stewart on the streets this winter.
Stewart, who is now 22, was staying recently at Ujima Village, a 24-bed shelter in Chicago’s Grand Crossing area for homeless people who are 18 to 24 years old. It’s where he went for a bed to sleep; dinner and breakfast; a place to shower; and advice on getting his life back on track. “The staff here, they cool,” he says. “I get along with them and … the program at Ujima is very informational. They give you information on a lot of things, and I take heed to it.”
But Unity Parenting & Counseling Inc., the nonprofit group that runs Ujima Village, hasn’t been getting state funding for the past half-year, because of the standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic leaders of the Illinois General Assembly. Like other nonprofits around the state that help homeless youths, Unity is uncertain how long it can continue providing the same level of services.
A. Anne Holcomb, supportive services supervisor for Unity Parenting & Counseling Inc., was once homeless herself.
“We almost had to close,” says A. Anne Holcomb, supportive services supervisor for Unity. “We actually had informed staff in August that we had no more funding as of September 1. … We tried to find other places for the youth to go in that event. But the reality is most of the emergency shelters are state-funded. And the transitional housing programs are too. So there wasn’t really any other place that was secure. We couldn’t find an option. … We only have 374 youth beds in the city.”
* When people have talked about the all too real long-term, permanent damage that’s being caused by this “short-term pain for long-term gain” impasse, these kids are just some of the folks who are in real danger.
As one commenter said this week, social service providers may go under and others may eventually take their place, but what about the permanent damage caused to those who can’t be served in the interim?
* AARP IL commissioned a Precision Research poll of Illinoisans 50 and over. Click here to read it all. They’re not happy campers…
1. As you think about your finances, how anxious do you feel about having enough money to live comfortably through your retirement years? Are you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?
N= 1000
Very anxious 23.5%
Somewhat anxious 33.8%
Not very anxious 17.4%
Not anxious at all 22.3%
Not sure/ Don’t know [DO NOT READ] 2.0%
Refused [DO NOT READ] 1.0%
2. Now, thinking about the state and local taxes you pay, not including federal taxes, how strongly do you agree or disagree that you get the services you need in return for the taxes you pay? Would you… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?
N= 1000
Strongly agree 8.4%
Somewhat agree 30.6%
Somewhat disagree 21.7%
Strongly disagree 35.0%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 3.8%
Refused [DO NOT READ] 0.5%
3. How aware are you that the Illinois state government is now five months past its deadline to have a budget in place? Would you say you are… [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]?
N= 1000
Very Aware 80.9%
Somewhat aware 12.3%
Not too aware 2.8%
Not at all aware 3.4%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 0.4%
Refused [DO NOT READ] 0.1%
4. I’m going to read you a list of issues. After I read each one, please tell me if you would describe that issue as a major problem, a minor problem, or not a problem at all in the State of Illinois. Do you think (INSERT ITEM) is a major problem, a minor problem, or not a problem at all? (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-C)
a. Cuts in state funding for essential services that allow seniors to stay in their homes and communities as they age
N= 1000
Major problem 69.2%
Minor problem 19.7%
Not a problem at all 5.8%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 5.0%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.2%
b. Lack of cooperation among Illinois elected officials
N= 1000
Major problem 87.2%
Minor problem 7.4%
Not a problem at all 2.6%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.8%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.1%
c. The amount of state and local taxes residents have to pay
N= 1000
Major problem 66.3%
Minor problem 24.2%
Not a problem at all 7.3%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.0%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.3%
They are worried about state cuts, but they also don’t want higher state taxes.
* And they really, really, REALLY don’t want legislators to tax their retirement income…
Thinking ahead to your retirement, if your retirement income were to be taxed, how much of an impact would that have on your ability to prepare for a secure retirement? Would you say it would be a [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]
N= 457 Major impact 71.6%
Minor impact 21.2%
No impact 4.4%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.7%
Refused (DO NOT READ) -
16. If lawmakers decide to tax retirement income, would you consider [READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY] (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-F)
N= 902
A. Moving to another state where there are tax friendly laws for retirees 59.6%
B. Moving to another location in Illinois 21.1%
C. Returning to the workforce 33.0%
D. Reducing your household spending 69.2%
E. Reducing spending on services such as hair salons, or lawn services 53.2%
F. Something else (specify) _____________________________ 12.6%
Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who supports the following? Would you be…[READ EACH ANSWER CATEGORY]? (RANDOMIZE ITEMS A-E)
a. Taxing retirement income
N= 1000
More likely 6.5% Less likely 84.3%
Would not make a difference 6.8%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.3%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.2%
b. Increasing individual income taxes
N= 1000
More likely 10.5% Less likely 74.2%
Would not make a difference 11.9%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.9%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.5%
c. Taxing services that are not currently taxed such as salons or lawn service
N= 1000
More likely 17.9%
Less likely 52.7%
Would not make a difference 24.9%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 4.3%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.2%
d. Increasing corporate taxes
N= 1000
More likely 41.0%
Less likely 36.7%
Would not make a difference 16.3%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 5.6%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.3%
e. Increasing property taxes
N= 1000
More likely 5.8% Less likely 83.6%
Would not make a difference 8.3%
Not sure (DO NOT READ) 2.1%
Refused (DO NOT READ) 0.2%
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
You get anywhere near 80 percent and the issue is guaranteed to move votes.
And now you know why one of newly appointed Democratic state Rep. Andrew Skoog’s first acts after being sworn in was signing on as a co-sponsor of Rep. Dave McSweeney’s anti retirement tax resolution.
…Adding… Right on cue comes the press release from a Tier 1 Senate target…
State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) filed Senate Resolution 1325 today to stand up against taxing the retirement income of Illinois’ retirees.
Former Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider of Deerfield, trying to regain his 10th District House seat, has been facing several ups and downs in his campaign for the March 15 primary nomination against Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering.
Already, former congressman, federal judge and White House counsel Abner Mikva has withdrawn his support for Schneider and moved to Rotering’s camp. So has former U.S. Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson III. In addition, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a member of the House Democratic leadership team, has pulled her endorsement of Schneider.
Schneider still has the backing of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, as well as seven of the 10 Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. And on Wednesday, his campaign announced it had been endorsed by the politically active Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council.
Schneider and Rotering are vying for the nomination to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Dold of Kenilworth in the North Shore district. Dold won the seat in 2010, was ousted by Schneider in 2012, then defeated Schneider in 2014.
“Voters are ready for a strong, progressive leader with a principled track record of getting things done,” Rotering said in a statement, noting that the backing of Mikva and Stevenson came as a result of Schneider opposing the Iran nuclear deal backed by President Barack Obama.
Mikva and Stevenson’s withdrawal means almost next to nothing. I mean, how many Democratic primary voters are going to take their endorsements to heart? Schakowsky is different because in a Democratic primary she might carry a little bit of weight, particularly with liberals.
Rotering has done a very good job of publicizing her town’s efforts to enact an assault weapons ban ahead of a state deadline. That district is ground zero for gun control support, particularly in a Dem primary.
But independent-minded, somewhat hawkish Jewish voters are very influential in that district, so Schneider opposing the Iran nuke deal probably isn’t fatal and perhaps just the opposite. Then again, this is a primary race, not a general.
Schneider has the name rec and will have the money. Rotering is a fresh face and has a proven ability to get her name out there.
I was wondering if I can ask you for some advice? Almost two years ago I met with [redacted] to discuss a change to the way Illinois collects property that that would generate almost $30 billion in additional one-time revenues over time without increasing taxes. [Redacted] thought it was a really good idea and placed me in touch with [redacted]. I spoke with [redacted] and he also thought it was a very good idea. Needless to say, nothing ever happened. Do you have any suggestion as to how I might bring this idea to the attention of people with real authority? I am an attorney now involved in business and I think this idea would really help the State of Illinois.
Any suggestion you might offer would be greatly appreciated.
* I told him to send me the info…
Illinois collects property taxes in arrears. In 2015 Illinois collected 2014 property taxes and in 2016 Illinois will collect 2015 property taxes. At the end of the world, Illinois will still be behind one year in the collection of property taxes.
Based upon 2014 figures, Illinois can generate at least $27.7 billion[1] in additional property tax revenues over time if it could collect the prior year taxes and collect taxes in the current year to fund 2016 appropriations.
When real estate is sold in Illinois, the buyer and seller prorate property taxes. The seller gives a credit to the buyer for the unpaid taxes and the buyer agrees to assume liability for unpaid taxes. Property tax prorations cover both the prior tax year, if still unpaid, and the current tax year. Even when property is sold after the second installment of taxes has been paid, none of the current year taxes have been collected.
By transitioning the Illinois property tax system when property is sold, funds paid by the seller to the buyer for prior year and current year property taxes would be paid by the seller to the state to retire the prior year and outstanding current year property tax liability. After the closing, the new buyer will then pay its taxes in advance as is the practice is most sates. No property owner would pay more in property taxes as a result of the transition even though at least one additional year of property tax revenue would be collected.
In other words, rather than prorating property taxes between the buyer and seller, the seller would pay what would otherwise be the prorated amounts to the state and discharge the tax liability. No one would pay more in taxes, tax revenues would just be collected faster without any detriment to the current property owners. By implementing this change, approximately $27.7 billion of Illinois unfunded pension liabilities would be addressed over time in current dollars. The $27.7 billion in property taxes could be paid into the State of Illinois teachers’ pension system or the City of Chicago teachers’ pension system for property located in Chicago.
I note that Illinois is one of thirteen states that collect property taxes in arrears; other states include Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
[1] $27,706,994,500 in property taxes were extended in 2014 according to the Illinois Department of Revenue, 2014 Property Tax Statistics, Table 1.
The realtors would probably hate this idea because it would drive up the cost of some home sales, and it probably wouldn’t raise a huge amount of money every year, but it would give locals a boost.
This weekend, a 24-year-old woman from McHenry County will be among the graduates at Lewis University, but she won’t be getting a diploma, which she needs to enroll in air traffic controller training in March, according to her father.
Even though she has met all the requirements for a diploma, it’s being held up because Illinois hasn’t paid the $2,500 it owes for her Monetary Award Program grant due to the ongoing state budget impasse.
“The state needs to realize that there’s families like us that are living paycheck to paycheck,” said her father, Dan. “Our savings are very little money. Our tax bills are rising.”
Dan said the family might use its savings to pay the $2,500 so his daughter can get her diploma, but they had previously set that money aside for property taxes.
I suppose I can somewhat understand why Lewis University is doing this, but why punish this student for the state’s ineptitude?
Searching the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2015 End of Year Discipline Report, we have put together a list of the 25 school districts that most often use out-of-school suspensions and expulsions. To avoid penalizing large districts that generally have more suspensions and expulsions due to high enrollment, we found the suspension and expulsion rates by dividing the number of incidents by district enrollment from the ISBE’s 2014-2015 Illinois Report Card.
Suspension rate: 55.7%
Number of suspensions: 3,405
Enrollment: 6,116
4) Venice CUSD 3
Suspension rate: 57%
Number of suspensions: 69
Enrollment 121
3) Pekin CSD 303
Suspension rate: 57.6%
Number of suspensions: 1,169
Enrollment: 2,030
2) Madison CUSD 12
Suspension rate: 65.5%
Number of suspensions: 508
Enrollment: 775
1) Cahokia CUSD 187
Suspension rate: 72.1%
Number of suspensions: 2,533
Enrollment: 3,512
That’s just mind-boggling.
While it would be fascinating to see an explanation of why they feel they have to use so many suspensions and if they’re over-using the punishments and whether there are any specific student demographic trends, anyone who wants to be a full-time, year-round teacher in those schools, please raise your hands.
Even though much of Illinois government is operating without a budget, the state is still looking to spend money. Right now, on Illinois’ procurement website, there are dozens of notices. Reporter Kurt Erickson returns to State of the State for a procurement primer. […]
ERICKSON: “A couple of years ago, I just made it a point to start looking at all the different state websites, and I made a list of all these things I wanted to check out. And at the time, the state was putting a lot more things online, whether it’s meeting notices or the General Assembly. I came in at a time when that was all on paper. So when they started putting it up online, I just tried to make it sort of like a cop walks a beat. I’d go to each website and check in and see what was going on. The procurement website started to yield a lot of stories that nobody else was doing. So it made me look like I was getting big scoops when I was just reporting on something that was already out there.”
ERICKSON: “I’ve also learned a lot in checking out the procurement code. The state Department of Corrections makes hot dogs for all the inmates. And they ran out of hot dog spice, or wiener spice, as I called it. And they had to go out and try to find some in an emergency purchase. And in their explanation of why they had to go around the bidding process, they said if the hot dogs don’t taste right, the inmates could think they’re being poisoned, and it could cause a riot. And I thought that was really interesting that, here you’ve got this hot dog spices that are avoiding a potential riot. I don’t know if it would really get that bad, but that’s how they explained it.” […]
MACKEY: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen procured? Or that the state had to put out a bid for?”
ERICKSON: “The most interesting one I saw — crazy, I don’t know — but the one that caught my eye was the flavored and colored condoms that the Department of Public Health was trying to purchase. And again, I learn things from these (notices): The reason they were trying to have colored and flavored condoms was because maybe it would promote more usage of this to combat STDs. In the end … after we did stories about it, they’re now just bidding out plain, regular old condoms.”
It’s Thursday, Dec. 17, the day Gov. Bruce Rauner will host a third meeting in as many weeks with legislative leaders regarding the budget impasse.
The 2 p.m. meeting will be held at the governor’s office in the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. Democratic Senate President John Cullerton and Republican House and Senate leaders Jim Durkin and Christine Radogno are confirmed attendees, according to their offices. A spokesman for Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan did not return a call asking whether the House leader would be there.
The spate of meetings started after pressure from good government groups who criticized a lack of progress on a spending plan as the state is in its sixth month without a complete budget. Before the meetings began on Dec. 1, Rauner and the four leaders hadn’t been in the same room since May.
The closed-door gathering isn’t expected to bring about an agreement any time soon, however.
Madigan’s spokesman told me yesterday that as far as he knew the Speaker would attend.
I’ll post a ScribbleLive thingy here if warranted.
*** UPDATE *** Well, that does it then…
Speaker Madigan spokesman Steve Brown says speaker wasn't able to make the governors meeting today.
* The 2015 Emily Miller Golden Horseshoe Award for Best “Do-Gooder” Lobbyist was an easy pick…
Josh Evans, Vice President of Government Relations at IARF. He is a tireless champion for community-based, health reform and has the most extensive knowledge of rules, procedures, and policies out of anyone I have ever known. Josh knows that if we don’t hold government accountable for serving its most vulnerable citizens, we will be taken back to living in a Dickensian era. Community providers are lucky to have him fighting in their corner.
Agreed.
* Now, on to today’s categories…
* Best Statewide Officeholder
* Best Illinois Congresscritter
As always, do your very best to nominate in both categories and make sure to explain your vote, or it won’t count. Thanks!
*** UPDATE *** Oops! I already did the statewide award. I guess I’m still tired from yesterday’s trip. Sorry!
Let’s try this one instead…
* The Mike McClain Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statehouse Insider
A normally friendly forum for Mayor Rahm Emanuel turned hostile Wednesday when student protesters chanting “16 shots” interrupted a ceremony called to jump-start a “citywide strategy” aimed at providing expanded opportunities for “every child and young man of color” in Chicago.
Emanuel announced creation of a “My Brother’s Keeper Cabinet” at Urban Prep Academies, 6201 S. Stewart. It’s a charter school that boasts of sending 100 percent of its African-American male graduates to college.
That’s a point of pride with Emanuel, who regularly attends Urban Prep’s “tie ceremony” celebrating the accomplishment and gets a warm reception.
But these are not normal times for the mayor.
He’s fending off demands for his resignation and fighting to restore public trust damaged by his decision to keep the Laquan McDonald shooting video under wraps for more than a year and wait until a week after the April 7 mayoral runoff to settle the case for $5 million, before the McDonald family had even filed a lawsuit.
Emanuel greeted by ‘16 shots’ chant about Laquan McDonald at Urban Prep event
Mayor Rahm Emanuel re-emerged publicly Wednesday, and the reception he got illustrates the challenge he faces governing the city day to day while responding to the still-developing fallout from the Laquan McDonald shooting and how his administration handled it.
The mayor spoke at what’s normally a friendly venue for him, the Urban Prep campus in Englewood, a school he often cites as a success story for its high percentage of students who attend college. But after Emanuel made brief remarks, the principal prepared to lead the crowd reciting the school’s creed when students instead started a chant of “16 shots!”
The students waited politely until he departed, but then Urban Prep students expressed their continuing anger about the McDonald case and the issues it highlights.
“16 Shots! 16 Shots!” they chanted.
Emphasis added.
The city’s media has turned almost completely hostile to the mayor.
* Blogging will be light the rest of the day because of my City Club thing. So, talk amongst yourselves. But, please, be nice to each other. It’s the holidays.
There isn’t a more respected contract lobbyist in the capitol than Dave Sullivan. He’s the best around. He’s pragmatic and bipartisan. He’s legitimately nice and helpful. And he takes on hard issues and clients — having FOP and Local 150 right now is a handful, and Sullivan does it with aplomb.
And…
Nancy Kimme for best contract lobbyist.
It is a rarity to find someone with Nancy’s level of experience in both the political and governmental sides of the business who commands so much respect from both sides of the aisle - and not just from staff but elected officials. Her sphere of influence reaches out not just under the Dome but throughout Illinois and includes Washington DC insiders and electeds. Nancy’s knowledge of state government, professionalism, and likability are why people trust her to get the job done and a solid indicator as to why she has accumulated such a broad portfolio in just one year as a lobbyist.
I know them both, I respect them both, it’s only fitting that they share this award.
* The 2015 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best In-House Lobbyist also had a crowd favorite…
Emily Miller with Voices for Illinois Children. Emily has elevated the public debate about the impact the budget has on health and human services across Illinois. She’s frequently quoted on this blog and she lead efforts among colleagues to bring national media attention to Illinois’ budget issues at hearings both in Springfield and Chicago.
She’s been a fearless advocate for social services, in a system that is often ripe with advocates that are scared to challenge leadership of all stripes.
Yep.
* I decided a few weeks ago (long before she won today’s award) to change the name of today’s category to the Emily Miller Award for Best “Do-Gooder” Lobbyist.
Have at it and make sure to explain your vote. Thanks!
Republican activists have sought to encourage GOP lawmakers to sign onto the bill, ostensibly to encourage Republican outreach to African-Americans but also to try to take advantage of a rare show of weakness by Emanuel.
Republican Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton added herself as a co-sponsor. Signing on Tuesday was Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove, the House Republican floor leader and a key ally of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a friend of Emanuel.
Rauner’s office had no comment on the measure, but even House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs, an attorney, questioned whether a recall bill — if passed and signed into law — could affect Emanuel in his current term.
“I don’t think that the constitutional law can apply to a sitting mayor,” said Durkin, who has taken no position on the bill. “I’m not giving any advice (to members) one way or the other.”
Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said that while she supports “empowering voters,” she remains cautious. “Establishing the process for the recall of elected officials can set off a lot of alarm bells. If not done properly, it could put us on a dangerous path,” she said.
Like most of the severely disabled residents at the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center in southern Illinois, Todd Clementz stuck to a routine: Deaf, blind and requiring constant supervision, he passed his days with meals, therapy and an evening bath.
But in late March, Clementz’s routine was disrupted when a worker at the state hospital gave him an unscheduled shower, during which the 46-year-old man choked to death. A jury in a coroner’s inquest last month ruled his death a homicide. […]
Tom Hatley, a state police investigator, testified at the coroner’s inquest that the mental health technician who gave Clementz the shower told him that Clementz had missed his regularly scheduled bath “because he was exhibiting a behavior.”
Other workers testified that the forced shower was meant to help keep Clementz from going to sleep earlier than scheduled.
Within minutes, Clementz began choking on the cold water being sprayed from a hand-held shower wand, the trooper testified. His lips turned blue as he became unconscious and went into cardiac arrest. An autopsy determined Clementz died from choking on cold water as well as regurgitated food.
“This gentleman was waterboarded,” said Tony Pauluski, executive director of The ARC of Illinois, an advocacy group that wants the state to close all of its developmental centers by 2020.
Hatley said several co-workers of the technician — who is at least 6 feet tall and about 250 pounds — said he had previously given forced showers to discipline uncooperative residents. The trooper said he wasn’t able to independently corroborate those accounts.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, wants to raise income taxes to close the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit, but he’s not getting support for the idea from local legislative candidates. […]
“I absolutely do not agree with increasing the income tax to 5 percent,” said Andy Skoog, a La Salle Democrat, who was named Thursday to fill out the remainder of longtime legislator Frank Mautino’s term. “People are struggling now. If you put a tax increase on them, you’ll take them over the edge.”
Skoog is the only Democratic candidate in District 76 in the 2016 election. […]
Skoog said he would target corporate tax loopholes and work in a bipartisan way to go through the budget line by line. At the same time, he said, he would seek to protect funding for middle-class families, the elderly, children and veterans.
Skoog, who is now La Salle County’s circuit clerk, said he would use his years of experience as a small-business owner to root out wasteful spending.
I’m sure his years as a small-business owner will translate so well into balancing a government budget.
Right.
But that’s one less vote for a tax hike.
Positions are going to harden fast, folks. Rep. Skoog isn’t going to be the only one to do this - and it will likely be at the urging of Madigan’s own staff.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner recently said this about his fight for his Turnaround Agenda and the resulting impasse…
“We’ll take short-term pain for big long-term gain.”
* But as several commenters have been saying recently, the impasse is creating long-term, perhaps irreversible pain. Service providers, for example, are in real danger of going under, never to return. And then there is higher education…
As Illinois makes its way through the sixth month of the fiscal year without a budget, state universities continue to look for ways to keep the bills paid. […]
Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn wasn’t available for comment on Tuesday, but he’s been quoted as saying the lack of state funding is creating a problem of crisis proportions.
“It will take us years to dig out … if the state doesn’t fulfill its commitment,” Dunn told KFVS-TV.
“We’re going to have to figure out a means to pay back about $200 million in operations and about $46 million or so in student aid and grants and contracts we typically have from the state,” Dunn said.
In a meeting on July 24, 2012, Chicago Police Officer Allyson Bogdalek broke down and cried as she admitted to prosecutors the obvious: She had lied under oath in the case of a man accused of robbing a Back of the Yards liquor store and shooting the owner in the leg.
The victim of the shooting had picked the suspect, Ranceallen Hankerson, out of a lineup. But Officer Bogdalek lied on the stand during an April 13, 2011, hearing when she denied that the victim had been shown photographs of possible suspects prior to Hankerson’s arrest. In fact, the victim had been shown photos, and he had failed to pick Hankerson out—evidence that would have proven beneficial to the defense.
Prosecutors opened an investigation, and recommend indicting Bogdalek for perjury and other felonies, according to Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office files provided to Salon. In February 2014, however, the process came to a screeching halt: State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez overruled her subordinates and instructed them that no charges would be filed. The case, which until now has escaped much public notice, provides evidence to back charges that Alvarez, currently under fire for her handling of the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, protects officers accused of misconduct. […]
In a statement released to Salon, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office blamed judges and juries, saying that they decided not to prosecute Bogdalek because it is simply too hard to win convictions against police officers.
The officer admitted committing perjury and yet they doubted they could get a conviction?
Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo told aldermen it was “very disturbing” to rank-and-file officers that the mayor said during a high-profile speech to the City Council this month that the city needs to deal with the “code of silence” in which Chicago police protect each other when they engage in misconduct.
“We have kids, we have bills, we have families,” Angelo said. “And to think, in 2015, with all the cameras that are around and all the videotaping that’s going on, that a police officer’s going to risk his livelihood for his family is ridiculous. And to think we have a population of people that say ‘Oh, it’s not a big thing. We do it every day.’ We don’t do that. This is not 1950.”
But when Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno, 1st, asked Angelo to state for the record that a code of silence doesn’t exist in the Police Department, Angelo hedged. “There is not an answer I could give you that would be a blanket statement that someone out there is not doing something they should not be doing,” Angelo said. “I can’t say that.”
* Meanwhile, the Second City Cop blog has an interesting post about some of Mayor Emanuel’s recent promotions. The blog also points to this story…
Could Rahm Emanuel be headed to the witness stand?
Attorneys representing two police officers who said they faced retaliation for trying to reveal corruption, say they will call the mayor to testify about a so-called “code of silence” in the Chicago Police Department.
The mayor’s office said it will oppose any such effort, but lawyers for the two officers say he is key to their case, because he has publicly acknowledged that officers sometimes cover for each other.
“We now have an admission from the highest, within the City of Chicago, that the code of silence exists,” says attorney Christopher Smith. […]
“I am looking for a new leader for the Chicago Police Department, to address the problem at the very heart of the policing profession,” Emanuel told the City Council last Wednesday. “The problem is sometimes referred to as the thin blue line. The problem is other times referred to as the code of silence, and its tendency to ignore it. It is a tendency to deny it. It is a tendency in some cases to cover up the bad actions of colleagues.”
The face of the protests so far has been 16-year-old Lamon Reccord. His staring contests with officers have featured on cable news channels and in the world’s most widely read English-language news site, the Daily Mail.
According to his LinkedIn networking profile, Reccord began helping Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s challenger Kimberly Foxx in September — well before the release of the police video of McDonald being shot.
Reccord also has worked as an intern for a nonprofit group called Chicago Votes. The organization’s former executive director is Foxx’s campaign manager, and one of its longtime board members is the campaign’s spokeswoman.
He should be commended for getting involved in civic life even before he’s old enough to vote, at an age when many peers appear more interested in video games.
But Reccord’s recent trajectory makes me wonder if the protesters include many newly converted critics of the local political powerhouses or largely the same players who couldn’t unseat Emanuel in last spring’s unprecedented runoff election.
Other protesters who’ve been widely quoted by media include hardened veterans of the battles with Emanuel over school closings and a minister who got just 7 percent of the vote to finish fourth in a six-way aldermanic race earlier this year.
Is this an expanding movement that can generate waves of voters for anti-establishment candidates? Or are the protesters mostly people who already were firmly against the mayor and Alvarez, even before the McDonald video exploded into public view?
Lincolnshire officials approved a controversial right-to-work ordinance that’s been called illegal by Attorney General Lisa Madigan without first getting an opinion from their own attorney, village emails indicate.
When Village Manager Brad Burke specifically asked Mayor Elizabeth Brandt and the trustees in late November if they wanted an opinion on the proposal from attorney Adam Simon, nearly everyone declined. The strongest response came from Brandt, who had brought the plan to the board.
“I had already expressed that I did not want an opinion from Adam … and do not want to over react to a threat of litigation,” Brandt wrote in a Nov. 30 email to Burke.
Brandt also said she thought Madigan’s opinion on the right-to-work issue “was weak.” […]
When reached via email Tuesday, Brandt noted the Liberty Justice Center — a group associated with the Illinois Policy Institute — will provide free legal counsel if the ordinance is challenged.
The AFL-CIO of Illinois will go to court over a Chicago suburb’s new ordinance that would bar private employers from requiring workers to join unions or pay dues, setting up a challenge to a key aspect of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s business-friendly agenda. […]
“The city of Lincolnshire was notified that the vote was illegal, they moved forward with adopting the ordinance anyway, so we’ll move forward to take legal action,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan.
Rauner’s spokesman, Lance Trover, declined to comment.
Long-time [Lincolnshire] board member Tom McDonough said the concept is misunderstood by its opponents.
“The underpinning issue is, it helps union members organize,” McDonough said after the meeting. “There is a theory that it’s a first step toward weakening a union, and that is not the case.”
Tuesday, Dec 15, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit Unions find numerous ways to support their communities each holiday season. This year, Cornerstone Credit Union and Credit Union 1 are helping to ensure that everyone’s needs are met – from their own members and employees, to animals in need at local shelters.
Cornerstone Credit Union, with locations in Freeport, Sterling, and South Beloit identifies ways to best assist the communities they serve throughout the holidays. With donations they collect, the credit union puts together Thanksgiving food baskets for credit union members in need. Employees nominate members they feel would most benefit from receiving this gift.
Additionally, Cornerstone Credit Union displays a food bin where members and employees can donate to the Salvation Army to assist with their collection efforts during the holiday season. The credit union also coordinates donations to Toys for Tots, and their Helping Hands Committee provides a monetary donation to an employee who has recently experienced an unexpected life hardship.
In addition to serving their members and local families in need, credit unions also assist local animal shelters during the winter months. For example, Credit Union 1 in Springfield is currently holding a donation drive for Friends of Sangamon County Animal Control.
Credit union employees and their members are proud to be making a difference in their communities this holiday season!
* A new era of openness by Chicago government? Hardly. Just ask Phil Kadner…
Before Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times on a Chicago street leading to federal investigations, the firing of the police superintendent, murder charges being filed against a police officer and calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign, a squad car that had been tailing McDonald radioed for a Taser-equipped patrol car to respond to the scene.
I thought all patrolmen in Chicago were equipped with Tasers. In researching this column, I found a Chicago Tribune article from March 2010 that stated Chicago was purchasing 380 new Tasers to add to the 280 in use so there would be one for each of the department’s 281 beats. “The ’stun guns’ will go in every squad car to give front-line beat officers a more effective way to protect themselves and calm a disturbance,” the story said. […]
After several days of e-mail exchanges and multiple phone calls to the mayor’s office and Chicago Police News Affairs, I was finally informed that the percentage of sworn officers that are Taser-certified is 21.5 percent. […]
There are many critics of Taser use by law enforcement and the recently released video showing a suspect in a lock-up being repeatedly zapped with a Taser by Chicago police. The suspect who was dragged out of his cell eventually died following a reaction to an antipsychotic drug, although an autopsy showed he had 50 bruises and scrapes from the top of his head to his lower legs. That video has created another Chicago Police Department scandal.
So I’m not going to suggest that Tasers would solve every problem involving the abuse and misuse of force.
But Tasers do offer an alternative to the deadly use of force, meaning a police officer may not have to discharge his sidearm when confronting a suspect. Chicago police encounter people using illegal drugs, drunks and individuals who are mentally ill on a regular basis. They may not heed calls to stop, put their hands in the air and lay down on the ground. That’s apparently what happened with McDonald, who kept on walking with a folding knife at his side as he was surrounded by police, including some who had drawn their guns.
Great points about Tasers, and very worthy of discussion here. But why does it take so long to get basic information like that?
Forty-five years ago this month, Illinois voters ratified a new Constitution to replace the state’s century-old predecessor. The framers of the new document saw it as a step into the 20th century for the state from the horse-and-buggy era of the 1870 Constitution.
As Illinois staggers into an unprecedented sixth month without an enacted budget and faces massive bill backlogs and pension debt, now might be an appropriate time to ask how well the 1970 charter has withstood the test of time. Has its promises of streamlined government operations, clear delineations of responsibility and greater ethical behavior been achieved? In retrospect, what obvious mistakes did its authors make? What problems did they overlook or fail to foresee?
As one who covered the Sixth Constitutional Convention as his first major assignment for the Chicago Sun-Times, your columnist admits to a certain bias in favor of the delegates’ handiwork. But on balance, I’d submit the 1970 charter has served Illinoisans well in most regards.
Consider these 1970 updates to the 1870 Constitution.
A Chicago businessman convicted of pocketing nearly $3 million in state grant funds was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after a federal prosecutor declared that Illinois government corruption “seems to be the norm anymore, rather than the exception.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Mills imposed the sentence — short of the eight years the government requested — on Leon Dingle Jr. for his role in a six-year fraud involving Illinois Department of Public Health funds. He also was ordered to pay $2.9 million in restitution.
After a sentencing hearing lasting more than two hours, Mills ordered Dingle’s wife, Karin, to spend three years in prison for her role in the scheme. Leon Dingle, 78, was convicted last December of 17 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering. Karin Dingle, 76, was convicted on six counts. […]
Mills took into consideration 55 letters of support for Leon Dingle, including from U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat and uncle of a co-defendant in the case, and Alphonso Jackson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush. The judge noted that Dingle became wealthy by investing in a cable television company and spent years in health care and doing charitable work.
“Dr. Dingle has done a lot of good in his life,” Mills said. “But this is a very serious offense involving a staggering amount of money that went on for several years. It’s not an aberration or something that occurred once or twice.”
The governor and four legislative leaders will meet again Thursday at the Thompson Center in Chicago as they continue talks during the budget impasse. Two weeks ago, they met at the Capitol in Springfield, making public speeches beforehand. Last week, they met in Chicago behind closed doors.
* From the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois…
Top Rauner Administration health officials said on Monday that the fiscal year 2017 state budget is taking shape and that they are seeking “partnerships” with community human services providers to help reshape Illinois’ health care landscape.
At the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association annual conference in Schaumburg on Monday Department of Human Services Secretary James Dimas, as part of a panel discussion, told a packed-room of non-profit behavioral healthcare providers that his department’s FY 2017 budget proposal gets delivered to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday.
In December, the state entered its six-month without a FY 2016 budget.
During his speech to the assembled local behavioral healthcare non-profit leaders, Dimas criticized the “across-the-board” budget cuts approach on human services in the FY 2016 fiscal plan and suggested that FY 2017 plan will include “hard choices” to establish priorities.
In his remarks to conference attendees Dimas also recognized that DHS’ elimination of grants totaling $27 million for psychiatric care in the current budget has caused hardship for both behavioral healthcare providers and communities but pledged a new funding model to deliver care, but declined to disclose any details.
“Psychiatric care is a core service to help individuals working to recover from mental illness, and it needs to be funded,” said CBHA CEO Marvin Lindsey, following the panel presentation. “From Cairo to Rockford, 86% of Illinois community behavioral health providers have cut psychiatric care for low-income individuals who need treatment.”
Lindsey, who assumed his post in July, noted that the frozen $27 million is part of $288 million in broader behavioral healthcare funding for both community mental health and substance abuse treatment funding that has been blocked.
“Financial starvation is no longer a viable option if the state intends to maintain its commitment to those vulnerable Illinois citizens who need mental health care and drug treatment,” Lindsey said. “The budget stalemate is engulfing more community behavioral health care agencies and is pushing them towards a financial sinkhole.”
Following on Dimas’ presentation, DHS’ new mental health division director Diana Knaebe told non-profit leaders that the Rauner Administration’s plan to reshape the delivery of human services required “partnerships” between the state and community mental health providers, citing the new state law, House Bill 1, to fight the state’s heroin epidemic, as one area of “partnership.”
Health and Family Services director Felicia Norwood hit a high-note by hailing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for providing a stable stream of behavioral health care funding and extending health care to an additional 620,000 Illinois residents through increased Medicaid enrollment. Norwood acknowledged, however, that the state’s healthcare infrastructure is “fragile.”
“The ongoing budge dispute has financially starved local behavioral healthcare providers,” Lindsey said. “A prolonged delay will only aggravate the state’s fraying health care system and infrastructure.”
* When it comes to gaming the electoral system, nobody does it “better” than judges…
A hearing officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday laid out the procedure for how he will review challenges to the candidacies of three St. Clair County judges.
The three circuit judges — John Baricevic, Robert Haida and Robert LeChien — have filed paperwork to retire in December 2016, but also are seeking to run as candidates in the November 2016 regular election. Normally, circuit judges are up for a retention vote every six years, where they’re required to get “yes” votes from at least 60 percent of voters. By running as candidates in a regular election, the three would need to receive only a simple majority of votes over any challenger. […]
After Monday’s conference, Cook said the tactic being employed by the three judges should be prohibited, because it will lead to other judges doing the same.
“The whole retention process will be avoided,” Cook said.
* There was a clear crowd favorite for the 2015 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Agency Director…
For all of the reasons already posted and then some, I nominate Nadine O’Leary for the director award. She has kept the trains running and most of the staff from abandoning ship en masse despite the crazy that was the leadership at ALPLM and HPA. Thanks to her efforts the Library has even been able to expand its reach and offer new programs. Not bad, to say the least, when your bosses want you gone and never heard from again.
* This next one is probably gonna create a bit of a stir, particularly since he runs the shop, but the 2015 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Legislative Liaison goes to Richard Goldberg for nominations like this one…
People sometimes forget the old adage in our field that “business is business” - nobody epitomizes this more than Richard Goldberg which is why I nominate him for best liaison. He is smart, savvy, irreverent, indefatigable, versatile and immensely skilled. Just ask Democrats (or Republicans for that matter) who have encountered him in a committee meeting or in small group discussion or on the floor - like him or not he has the confidence of the staff and the Gov and serves a useful function - something his detractors often misunderstood from the beginning. Madigan has Lou Lang - the Governor has Richard Goldberg.
Business is business folks - or to quote the Godfather “it’s not personal Sonny it’s strictly business” or something like that.. Goldberg is a terrific person but he’s serious and effective in his work - that is why I nominate him for this award.
Congrats to our winners!
* Moving right along…
* Best Contract Lobbyist
* Best In-House Lobbyist
As always, explain your nominations or they won’t count. Thanks!
Meanwhile, back in Springfield: Democrats who largely set this disaster in motion with laws and policies that ruined CPS finances now hold the power to rescue the district. The cost? Reach a compromise with the state’s Republican governor. He seeks to reform governing and labor policies that have dunned taxpayers and strangled job growth in Illinois.
Gov. Bruce Rauner is ready to deal. He’s ready to help the schools. But there’s got to be some give and take, not take it or leave it, from Democratic leaders.
The strategy of House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton is to … hope that Rauner eventually caves to public pressure for a budget. But if those teachers get fired, or if the school system capsizes under debt, it won’t be a freshman governor who gets the blame. It will be Democrats, starting with those longtime leaders in Springfield and Mayor Rahm Emanuel in City Hall.
Teachers sent a loud and clear message Monday. Negotiations now should kick into higher gear. Claypool has cut central office jobs, and can — should — cut more. CPS should push to close struggling or half-empty schools. Teachers should pick up their share of pension contributions — the 7 percent that CPS can no longer afford. We understand that Springfield may contribute more to the system, but only in return for the kinds of reforms Rauner advocates.
Um, OK, when the stuff hits the fan is the governor really gonna say “I’d love to stop the city school shutdown, but I want remap reform first. And cuts to workers’ comp coverage. And a gutting of local collective bargaining rights.”
Yeah, that’ll work. You’re content with allowing the largest school system in the state to “capsize” over remap reform? Go with that.
Not saying that the governor will get all the blame here. There will definitely be an infinite amount of blame to go around. I’m just saying Rauner can’t avoid blame, except for on one floor of a certain ivory tower on Michigan Ave.
Also, notice how once again the Tribune doesn’t mention any specifics about the governor’s proposed reforms? That would destroy the narrative, of course.
* So, as a reminder, this is one of the governor’s demands which has actually been put into bill form…
Prohibited subjects of bargaining.
(a) A public employer and a labor organization may not bargain over, and no collective bargaining agreement entered into, renewed, or extended on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly may include, provisions related to the following prohibited subjects of collective bargaining:
(1) Employee pensions, including the impact or implementation of changes to employee pensions, including the Employee Consideration Pension Transition Program as set forth in Section 30 of the Personnel Code.
(2) Wages, including any form of compensation including salaries, overtime compensation, vacations, holidays, and any fringe benefits, including the impact or implementation of changes to the same; except nothing in this Section 7.6 will prohibit the employer from electing to bargain collectively over employer-provided health insurance.
(3) Hours of work, including work schedules, shift schedules, overtime hours, compensatory time, and lunch periods, including the impact or implementation of changes to the same.
(4) Matters of employee tenure, including the impact of employee tenure or time in service on the employer’s exercise of authority including, but not limited to, any consideration the employer must give to the tenure of employees adversely affected by the employer’s exercise of management’s right to conduct a layoff.
* None of the proponents on the village board spoke in favor, yet they passed it anyway. Telling…
Lincolnshire has become the first town in the Chicago area to establish itself as a right-to-work zone, a move critics have assailed as anti-union. […]
To create the zone, the village board approved an ordinance preventing local employers from requiring workers to pay union dues with payroll deductions. […]
Trustee Mara Grujanac cast the lone dissenting vote after saying the policy didn’t belong in Lincolnshire. None of the five trustees who voted for the plan commented. […]
“This isn’t about unions,” said [Ted Dabrowski, vice president and spokesman for the Illinois Policy Institute], whose group created a model ordinance Lincolnshire officials used to draft their own. “It’s about individual freedoms. It’s also about the right to not join a union.”
Lincolnshire is not by any means a union town. With the exception of some of those working in the village’s corporate center and hotels, most of its 25,000 workers don’t belong to a union.
“It gives workers the choice to decide whether a union serves their interests. If it does they’re free to support it. But if it doesn’t they don’t have to have money coming out of their paycheck,” said Jacob Huebert, Illinois Policy Insitute.
The Illinois Policy Institute says these so-called right-to-work laws promote job growth. Their model is the one Lincolnshire used to draft their ordinance. Twenty five states including Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan already have right-to-work laws on their books. […]
(T)here is a question of legality surrounding and it will likely be challenged in federal court. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is among those who say that local municipalities are not able to legally approve right-to-work laws.
*** UPDATE *** From Oswego Willy in comments…
Of all the towns, cities, counties to pass this, also so cowardly with not a soul speaking for it…
Gee, if I’m going to frame my opponent as a Bruce Rauner “Raunerite” and gin up Unions, including trade unions, wouldn’t a great way to do that is have your opponent’s hometown as the “test case” for RTW “zones”.
The next move by Mendoza?
That’s easy;
“Ask Lesile Munger about Right to Work passed in her hometown. Ask her if she approves?”
Geez Louise, the Labor Movement now has a question that has to be answered. Can’t skirt your hometown.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Munger campaign…
Comptroller Munger is focused on addressing the unprecedented challenges created by the ongoing budget impasse. She has not had the time to wade into Village Board matters in her hometown.
Still, it is fascinating that Clerk Mendoza would take up this argument. As a City of Chicago elected official, she might want to spend more time addressing the many challenges facing her hometown and constituents. To get the conversation started, we offer the questions below:
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza support Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget, which included more than $755 million in new fees and taxes on Chicago residents?
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza agree with the City Council and Mayor Emanuel passing the largest property tax increase in the city’s history?
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza side with the Chicago Teachers Union in its vote to strike?
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza support the Chicago Teachers Union in its effort to impose new taxes on banks and financial institutions to close a half-billion budget gap at Chicago Public Schools?
Should Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown step down given the ongoing FBI investigation into her dealings?
As Chicago City Clerk, Susana Mendoza is responsible for keeping City Council minutes and ensuring that city government is transparent in its dealings. Why didn’t she tell the public after the Council voted on a $5 million settlement with Laquan McDonald’s family?
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza believe Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez should resign?
Does Chicago City Clerk Mendoza support recently-introduced legislation that would allow Chicago to recall the Mayor?
Thank you for signing up to attend Christmas with Rich Miller this Wednesday, December 16. Like last year, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois will be on hand before and after the luncheon to collect wrapped toys for children. The toys should target ages 3-5. Individuals can also donate gift cards from places where children’s toys are sold.
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois early childhood programs have been in existence for more than 40 years, providing high quality, diverse and culturally sensitive services for children and families in some of Chicago’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. LSSI’s mission is to create a stimulating learning environment that promotes social competency and school readiness for preschool age children who are academically and economically at risk.
Please consider donating to them on Wednesday.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Tweed Thornton
Executive Director
City Club of Chicago
If you weren’t able to score tickets (they sold out pretty fast) or can’t (or won’t) otherwise attend, then please consider donating to LSSI. They do such great work. Click here to give. Thanks!
* I’m having some trouble with my e-mail delivery service today (Constant Contact). Luckily, the password is the same as last week. So, click here and read today’s edition online. Sorry about that. I’m working on it.
*** UPDATE *** It’s finally working. You should receive your e-mail soon. Sorry about that!
