Today’s quotable
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No question today. Sorry. I was working on my Crain’s column and several other things and forgot. Instead, chew on this…
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* No surprise…
The House voted 62-45 to overturn the “Tobacco 21” veto, but it needed a three-fifths majority of 71 votes to become law. The legislation would have set a minimum age of 21 to buy cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and nicotine-based products such as e-cigarettes and vaping materials.
The bill didn’t have enough House votes to overcome a veto when it was first passed.
* Big surprise…
A veto override vote on a measure that proposed regulations for online car rental programs is on hold.
House Deputy Majority Leader Arthur Turner of Chicago skipped the vote on Rauner’s veto of legislation on so-called peer-to-peer car rental apps. It would subject the rental cars to safety rules and tax collection required for rental car companies .
Turner, who sponsored the measure, hopes he can negotiate a deal and present new legislation in January. Critics said the programs allow people to make extra cash by renting their cars and shouldn’t be required to follow the same rules as companies with large fleets.
That bill received 78 votes in the House when it passed. The car-sharing companies really did a number on it.
* More…
The issue had sparked a massive lobbying campaign on both sides, with substantial campaign cash beginning to flow. Sponsors claimed they had the votes, but I’m told they agreed to talk peace after House Speaker Mike Madigan sent word that he’d prefer not to proceed with an override now. Beyond that, a couple of key lawmakers who favored an override were not able to attend this week’s session, I’m told.
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* Remember this Tribune story from 2011?…
All it took to give nearly two dozen labor leaders from Chicago a windfall worth millions was a few tweaks to a handful of sentences in the state’s lengthy pension code.
The changes became law with no public debate among state legislators and, more importantly, no cost analysis.
Twenty years later, 23 retired union officials from Chicago stand to collect about $56 million from two ailing city pension funds thanks to the changes, a Tribune/WGN-TV investigation found.
Because the law bases the city pensions on the labor leaders’ union salaries, they are reaping retirement benefits that far outstrip the modest salaries they made as city employees. On average, their pensions are nearly three times higher than what the typical retired city worker receives. […]
Pension experts from around the country say they’ve never heard of such a perk for union leaders. They warn that it not only creates opportunities to scam the system but also robs the city of its ability to control pension costs. The city doesn’t set union salaries, the most important ingredient in determining the size of the leaders’ pensions.
What’s more, none of the labor officials retired in the traditional sense. Even as they collected their inflated city pensions, they held on to their high-paying union jobs. A decade ago, those public pension funds were flush, but they’re now in such deep financial trouble that they threaten to burden taxpayers and dues-paying union workers alike.
* The General Assembly quickly passed a law to rein in those pensions, but the Illinois Supreme Court struck it down today…
The State concedes that a statutory right to union service credit was created but argues that the right is not one entitled to constitutional protection because the framers of the constitution did not intend it to be entitled to such protection. In so arguing, the State merely relies upon the general justification for a public pension system, which is to reward past public service, to provide a form of compensation for past public service, and to encourage continued public service.
We find nothing in the case law, in the text of the pension clause, or in the constitutional debates on the clause that would support the State’s argument that the particular benefit conferred here is not entitled to protection. Kanerva held that the text of the pension clause places no limits on the kind of “benefit” that is protected by the clause so long as the benefit is part of the contractual relationship “derived from membership” in the retirement system. The participants at issue here are members of their retirement systems entirely due to their government employment. Each plaintiff was either working in his public job when the option to earn union service credit was added as a benefit or started public employment and joined the retirement system after the benefit was already in place. The benefit was clearly a “benefit” within the meaning of the pension clause, and the State’s argument must therefore be rejected. […]
(W)e hold that the ambiguous statutory framework prior to the amendment of Public Act 97-651 must be construed as allowing the right to use a union salary from a leave of absence under section 8-226(c) or 11-215(c)(3) to calculate the highest average annual salary. The amendments effected by Public Act 97-651 necessarily changed the law and thereby diminished plaintiffs’ retirement system benefits in violation of the pension-protection clause of the Illinois Constitution. […]
Plaintiffs next raise an issue of statutory construction unrelated to the two constitutional issues resolved above. They argue that the circuit court erred in denying their motion for summary judgment with respect to counts X and XI of their complaint, which sought a declaration that the “any pension plan” language of section 8-226(c)(3) of the Pension Code does not apply to defined contribution plans. In that regard, section 8-226(c)(3) provides that an MEABF member may receive service credit for time spent on a leave of absence working for a local labor organization, provided “the participant does not receive credit in any pension plan established by the local labor organization based on his employment by the organization.” […]
Because the term “pension plan” in section 8-226(c)(3) is ambiguous in this respect, it must be liberally construed in favor of the rights of the pensioners so as to apply to a defined benefit plan only and not to defined contribution plans. See Kanerva, 2014 IL 115811, ¶ 55. Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court and hold that the term “receive credit in any pension plan” as used in section 8-226(c)(3) does not include defined contribution plans.
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*** LIVE *** Rauner press conference
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s office…
Gov. Bruce Rauner today asked the Illinois Investment Policy Board (IIPB) to investigate the listing practices of home-sharing company Airbnb to determine if there is a violation of Illinois state law prohibiting investment in companies engaged in boycott, divestment or sanction (BDS) against the Jewish state.
Airbnb Inc., the San Francisco-based online marketplace that its members use to list properties for lodging or other tourism experiences, recently decided to remove all listings in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a development that Rauner called “abhorrent and discriminatory.”
“We find Airbnb’s decision highly disturbing and we are calling on the company to reverse its West Bank decision,” Rauner said. “We are also looking into ways that we can exert pressure on Airbnb to end its prejudicial policy against the Jewish state.”
“We must not — and will not — remain silent when we detect discrimination of the sort being practiced by Airbnb,” Rauner told the IIPB in a letter released today. “An investigation — and the scrutiny that accompanies it — could impact the behavior of investors around the country if Airbnb follows through with a reported potential public stock offering and these concerning policies remain in place.”
Under Rauner, Illinois became the first state in the nation to pass a law aimed at halting discriminatory business practices against Israel. The country is one of the state’s most important business, education and cultural partners.
* He’s holding a press conference right now on this and other things, including the veto session…
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What Is The Credit Union Difference?
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
It’s simple. Credit unions are member-owned, so any earnings are simply returned in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits and lower fees. Credit unions create a fair financial alternative for the taxpayers of Illinois. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that don’t focus on increasing revenue or paying dividends to outside stockholders. Illinois credit unions are focused on the member-owners we serve. Visit www.asmarterchoice.org to learn more about the benefits of credit union membership.
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Bustos elected DCCC chair
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Hill…
Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) was elected chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Thursday, beating out Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) and Denny Heck (D-Wash.).
Bustos won 117 votes, compared to 83 for Heck and 32 for DelBene. […]
Bustos dropped out of the assistant leader race to run for the DCCC position. She is slated to succeed DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), who was elected Wednesday to serve as the next assistant leader.
Bustos currently serves as the co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and was the committee’s recruitment vice chairwoman during the 2016 election cycle.
* Also…
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FEJA Will Make Solar Power Accessible for All
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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The state of Illinois must build on the success of FEJA and continue to expand this new clean energy economy to every corner of Illinois.
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The rest of the story
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the oldest ploys by interest groups here is to trot out a preacher to use race to make their case for them and the Tribune fell for it hook, line and sinker…
Anti-marijuana forces warned Wednesday that legalization will allow white corporate exploitation of minority customers, comparing its effects to those of alcohol and tobacco.
The Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston of New Hope Baptist Church said that legalization will amount to marijuana companies “pimping” blacks and Hispanics.
“Profit is the motive,” he said. Livingston spoke in downtown Chicago with several other members of Healthy and Productive Illinois, a group that opposes legalization and is supported by Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national anti-cannabis organization.
Illinois has already decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, which takes away much of the social justice argument in favor of legalization, said Livingston, who has been active in social justice issues in Chicago.
*Sigh*
* From that same Tribune reporter a few weeks ago…
[Kevin Sabet, head of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization] said decriminalization of marijuana, which took effect in Illinois in 2016, addresses many of the social justice issues.
That sounds familiar.
Look, stopping at decriminalization means the supply and distribution chain will still be run by criminals, some of them violent criminals. We need to dry up these criminals’ revenue source as much as we can in order to get their operations out of neighborhoods.
* The Tribune used some of Rev. Livingston’s more “reasonable” quotes, but conveniently left out his comparison of legalizing marijuana to the use of alcohol “as an instrument of genocide” against Native American people…
I could say that SAM should stop enriching violent criminal networks, but I won’t. That would be as intemperate as yesterday’s press conference. /s
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* Whoa…
…Adding… Hmm…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Tribune…
Burke’s ward office on the Southwest Side also had the same brown paper taped over its front door with three signs that read, “Office closed.” An officer sitting in a squad car parked behind Burke’s ward office said a search warrant was being executed inside but offered no further details. […]
A law enforcement source told the Chicago Tribune that FBI agents raided Burke’s City Hall office and that the search was ongoing. No arrests were made or are imminent, said the source, who had no details on the nature of the investigation.
…Adding… Prudent…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Greg Hinz…
There was no immediate word on what instigated the raids, but Burke’s influence as chairman of the Finance Committee over the city’s workers’ compensation fund could be a focus. Burke has kept outside oversight of its payouts to a minimum—even outside the purview of the city’s inspector general.
Another area of law-enforcement interest could be reflected by a recent surge in payments to the Internal Revenue Service by one of Burke’s campaign finance committees.
According to filings, Friends of Ed Burke paid nearly $150,000 to the IRS during the three months ended in June. That compared with much more modest sums in earlier periods, including two checks issued for $2,154.80 each and a third for $84 in 2017’s second quarter.
The committee also stepped up its payments to the Illinois Department of Revenue, sending more than $10,000 during the three months ended in June.
And…
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House expunges Kifowit’s remarks
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here. The House Democrats filed their own motion to expunge only after the House Republicans filed one of their own. Here’s the AP…
The Illinois House took the rare step Wednesday of erasing from its record a Democratic legislator’s remark suggesting she’d like to infect the water supply of a GOP colleague’s loved ones with “a broth of Legionella.”
* Sun-Times…
Soon after Kifowit read her apology, Breen addressed the controversy, while also urging legislators to act with more “civility” and “decency.”
“Earlier this year, I received a death threat that prompted police protection for my home and family. And my family and I endured a vile, filthy election campaign with $2.5 million spent to falsely connect me to rapists and child molesters. And yesterday, we all listened as a member of this House leveled a heinous death wish on my family.”
Breen said his wife and two adopted sons — ages 2 and 2-months are “the joy of our lives.”
“We know that if the representative had made that statement to me in the parking lot outside or left it on my office phone voicemail, she’d be in custody right now,” Breen said. “But because she made her remarks right here, they were met with applause, instead of handcuffs.”
* Tribune…
“This body, this state, is at a tipping point,” Breen said. “We are faced with two paths. We can continue on our current path of worsening threats, and even violence. Or we can make the difficult decision to take the path up, to civility and decency.”
* Daily Herald…
“There certainly needs to be accountability for the conduct we saw yesterday. Otherwise this sort of despicable behavior will become the new standard of what we allow in this chamber. And it will set the bar for acceptable conduct very low for the people of our state,” Breen said.
“In my four years here, I’ve watched this General Assembly avoid the tough decisions needed to divert our state’s government from the path to fiscal ruin. Now, I wonder whether this General Assembly will have the character to divert our state’s politics from the path of moral and ethical ruin.”
* Illinois News Network…
Republican state Rep. David Harris, who previously served as the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, said Kifowit’s initial comments were inappropriate.
“Sometimes when people get in the heat of a debate they get a little too carried away,” said Harris, R-Arlington Heights. “That doesn’t mean that a resignation is in order.”
Harris said the fact that Kifowit apologized “shows a graciousness on her part.” […]
Kifowit said she wouldn’t resign. Rather, she suggested Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav Shah should resign.
“The person who should resign is director Shah,” Kifowit said.
Kifowit said Shah was responsible for the veteran’s deaths. Shah did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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* Background is here. From One Illinois…
The governor is suing the state attorney general and One Illinois to withhold emails on government appointments from the public.
Although he lost his re-election bid Nov. 6, Gov. Bruce Rauner filed suit a week later to fight a binding opinion issued by Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office that 1,783 emails should be released to One Illinois in a Freedom of Information Act case.
The move was unexpected — at least by One Illinois — in that Rauner could have simply ignored the binding opinion issued by the attorney general’s public access counselor and forced One Illinois to file suit to compel enforcement. Instead, he took the initiative in filing — and in spending government money and resources to keep the emails from the public.
According to legal experts, suits against binding opinions in FOIA cases are likely losers, as the public access counselor has already examined and ruled on the issues. Madigan’s office will handle the litigation and press for release of the emails.
If the suit’s not decided by the time Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker is inaugurated Jan. 14, control of it would pass to his administration and he could simply move to release the emails. The Rauner administration would violate several laws if it tried to destroy the emails before he left office. Professor Emeritus Kent Redfield of the University of Illinois at Springfield speculated that Rauner could seek a restraining order that would extend beyond his term in office, but such rulings are rarely granted in these cases.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
We’re not suing the AG, we can’t just ignore the opinion.
We’re appealing a binding decision made by the Public Access Counselor.
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* Illinois News Network…
It’s now law for police in Illinois to certify in a timely manner complaints of abuse or assault filed by illegal immigrants, who can then use such reports in working toward certain citizenship visas.
Gov. Bruce Rauner had vetoed Senate Bill 34, the Voices of Immigrant Communities Empowering Survivors, or VOICES, Act. The Senate passed it over his veto earlier this month. On Wednesday, the House did the same.
State Rep. Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford, who supported the measure, said it will protect immigrants who are crime victims, regardless of how they entered the country.
“This is not an automatic pathway to citizenship, but what it is is empowering individuals in our community who may be undocumented to come forth and talk about crimes that have happened which only moves or serves to make the rest of us, all of us, safer because we’re able to address the crimes these individuals are victims of,” Wallace said.
Illinois State Police said the measure could cost an extra $425,000 for additional staff to process requests within 90 days. There’s also the potential for more lawsuits against state police, the agency said in a fiscal note. It’s unclear how much it could cost local police agencies.
State Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, said he was concerned that an illegal immigrant could potentially get special visa priority for merely reporting a crime.
“Merely.”
* Illinois Public Radio…
The measure requires Illinois law enforcement to submit the proper paperwork to the feds within 90 days. Whether or not an immigrant crime victim ultimately gets a visa will still be up to those authorities. […]
“It has been layers of difficulty to try to place the protections on people, everyday people, that deserve it,” [Rep. Lisa Hernandez. D-Cicero] said of the legislative effort.
* Tribune…
Rauner vetoed the proposal in August in southern Illinois, as he tried to get rural conservatives who back President Donald Trump behind his re-election.
“That ties the hands of law enforcement,” Rauner said at the time. “It can delay deportations that should otherwise occur.”
* JB Pritzker…
“I applaud the House and Senate for overriding the veto of SB 34 and standing up for immigrant families across the state,” said Governor-elect JB Pritzker. “The VOICES Act is critical legislation that protects immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and other crimes, and I’m proud to see it enacted into law. Illinois is a welcoming state, and I look forward to serving our 1.8 million immigrant residents as your governor.”
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Anecdotes are not data
Thursday, Nov 29, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. From the Illinois News Network…
A report from Oregon shows that workers’ compensation costs are falling in Illinois, but a manufacturing group said employers here have yet to see any savings.
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association heralded a report this week from the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services that ranked Illinois workers’ compensation costs at the 22nd highest in the nation, down from the eighth highest. […]
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s Mark Denzler said while the industry group has seen the Oregon report, the state’s employers haven’t seen the savings.
“We talk to companies on a daily basis who actually pay workers’ comp and write the checks for it and they have not seen significant reductions in workers’ compensation costs,” Denzler said.
Love me some Denzler, but show us actual numbers.
*** UPDATE *** With a hat tip to a commenter, these are the premium rates before they dropped from 8th highest to 22nd highest in the nation. You can plainly see premiums were already going down. From the Illinois Department of Insurance…
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ve known Patty Schuh for something like 28 years. She’s not like a lot of other spokespeople. She doesn’t get up in your grill if she disagrees with you. Instead, she uses reason, even sometimes kindness to make her points. I respect the way she does her job and I also happen to like her as a person.
Patty has worked in this business for something like 33 years and today is her birthday. So, if you see her, wish her well.
Here she is back in the day with her former boss Pate Philip…
I love that pic. But we’re not doing a caption contest. I wouldn’t subject her to that on her birthday.
* The Question: Who are some of your own favorite people in Illinois government? Explain.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Illinois consumers will only be able to use controversial, short-term health insurance plans for about six months at a time now that the state legislature has voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that sets that limit.
Dozens of Illinois consumer advocacy groups had supported the original bill, which took aim at a recent Trump administration change to the rules surrounding short-term plans. Such plans are generally cheaper than traditional health insurance but cover fewer services.
The plans were meant to serve as a stopgap for consumers between health insurance plans. But new federal rules allow them to be used for a year and be renewed for as long as three years. The Trump administration has said the rule change was meant to help more people get affordable coverage.
Consumer advocates, however, sought to limit the use of those plans in Illinois to just six months at a time through the bill.
* Greg Hinz…
Rahm Emanuel soon will leave as Chicago’s mayor, but that isn’t stopping him from quietly pushing through legislation in Springfield to extend the life of four city tax-increment financing districts—including one in the Goose Island area that’s part of the huge proposed Lincoln Yards development.
Approved late yesterday in the Illinois House was a measure adding another 13 years each to the lives of the Bryn Mawr-Broadway, Goose Island, 95th/Western and 71st/Stony Island TIF districts. The Illinois Senate is expected to concur as soon as today, meaning that districts would continue to get to spend much of the growth in property taxes within their borders until 2032 to 2034, depending on the districts.
Each of the four TIFs has accomplished some of what was intended in the past two decades—TIF districts sunset after 23 years, unless their life is extended—but still have more things that the city wants to accomplish, said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, chief sponsor of the legislation. “They’ve completed phase one and two, but still have phases three and four,” Currie said.
The city Department of Planning and Development confirmed that the legislation was introduced at the city’s request and cited a few specifics for each location. But a spokesman yesterday afternoon was unable to say how much money will be involved over the next 13 years.
The bill is here.
* Press release…
More than half a century since the Civil Rights Act became law, workers in the United States continue to earn different wages based on their race.
Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) is fighting for legislation that would prohibit wage discrimination against African-Americans under the Equal Pay Act.
“Governor Rauner ignored the wage gap for African-Americans and decided he wanted to ‘All Lives Matter’ this proposal,” Lightford said. “Today, we made sure that wage equity continues to be a priority in Illinois.”
According to a 2017 Federal Reserve study, black men and women earn persistently lower wages compared to their white counterparts and this wage gap cannot be adequately explained by differences in education, age, job type or location.
That gap appears to be expanding rather than contracting. In 1979, the average lack man in the United States earned about 80 percent compared to the average white man, by 2016 that gap had grown to 70 percent. The same is true for black women, who in 1979 earned about 95 percent compared to white women, but by 2016 earned only 82 percent of wages paid to white women on average.
House Bill 4743 prohibits employers from paying wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the rate paid to an employee who is not African-American for the same or substantially similar work.
Governor Rauner’s veto was overridden in the Senate with a vote of 49-01.
The House had already overridden the veto so it’s now law. The lone Senate “No” vote was Sen. Kyle McCarter.
* Other stuff…
* Our View: Bet on it: Video gaming fuels increase in Illinois gaming revenue
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* Yesterday at the Illinois Policy Institute…
Andrew Hamilton has made millions through an obscure economic development tool that has flown under the radar of Illinois government watchdogs for years.
Recent actions by Gov. Bruce Rauner, the Illinois House of Representatives and Kane County officials suggested that cash flow could soon come to an end. But the Illinois Senate appears to be sitting on its hands – a concerning response to an official under fire for profiting from public influence.
The bill in question is SB2367 and it’s sponsored by Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake). Her original bill as sponsored was dependent upon the passage of two other bills, only one of which actually passed, so Bush apparently lost track of it when the House did a last-minute gut and replace on the final day of the spring session.
Sen. Bush was clearly surprised when I showed her the Illinois Policy Institute story yesterday and told me she had no idea that the bill had been amended in the House and said she would remove her name as its sponsor.
* From the governor’s office…
Dear Senator Cullerton,
It has come to our attention that the bipartisan reforms of the state’s regional economic development authorities contained within SB2367 as amended have not moved from the Senate Assignments committee since July.
As you know, the reforms of the Regional Economic Development authority were passed out of the Illinois House unanimously, with a vote of 108-0 on May 31st; the bill was then placed on the Senate calendar of concurrence on June 7th before being sent to the Senate Committee on Assignments on July 8th.
The reforms contained in this bill were highlighted in a letter our administration sent to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity highlighting the apparent conflicts of interest and lack of transparency contained within the RDA system. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie praised the reforms by noting that: “The regional economic development authorities are not as transparent as they should be, are not as open to the public as they must be.” Adding, “the Governor’s reform proposals are excellent. The idea that there should be no conflict of interest, within these agencies that they should have to report their activities, that people know what kind of financing they’re arranging, I think that makes excellent sense.”
When simple commonsense reforms like these get buried in a Senate committee it gives the appearance of backroom deals cut by insiders in Springfield to stop reforms intended to serve the taxpayer instead of special interests. I believe the public is owed a prompt concurrence vote in the Senate, this week, on these good government reforms. A vote this week will show the public that the Illinois Senate is dedicated to protecting the taxpayer from conflicts of interest, self-dealing, and government waste
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
Governor, State of Illinois
…Adding… The more I think about this, the more it sticks in my craw. If the governor had a properly functioning legislative liaison staff, Sen. Bush would’ve been notified months ago about the amendment and maybe she could’ve either handed off the bill to another sponsor or moved it to the governor’s desk in the first week of the veto session. Instead the governor makes some charge about backroom deals at the end of the last week of veto session.
Typical.
…Adding More… As we’ve already discussed, the governor just met with Senate President Cullerton yesterday. Perhaps he could’ve brought it up then? Or did he only discover the problem when the Illinois Policy Institute wrote its story? And what does that say about him?
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* Sun-Times…
Lawyers for a political rival suing Mike Madigan for allegedly placing “sham” candidates on the ballot will be allowed to inspect the powerful speaker’s Southwest Side offices, a federal judge has ruled.
Attorneys for Jason Gonzales in October requested to “inspect, measure” and photograph the speaker and state Democratic Party chairman’s political offices — a demand Madigan’s lawyers called a violation of the First Amendment and “a political fishing expedition.”
But Gonzales’ legal team contends it’s all part of showing that Madigan’s line between politics and official government business is a “mirage.” […]
The goal is to inspect two of the speaker’s Southwest Side offices — the political offices of Friends of Michael J. Madigan and the 13th Ward Democratic Organization offices — to show their “layout,” attorneys said.
“Your honor, one of the things we’re trying to demonstrate is that the articulated differentiation between the political and state functions between the Speaker and his political operations is really a mirage,” Boulton told Kennelly in October.
His state district office is also in the building, which houses the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture and Ald. Marty Quinn’s city office.
I’ve driven by the place several times, but I’ve never been inside.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* I mean, it’s not even up to the level of round-tabling…
*** UPDATE *** Ruh-roh…
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Ives’ new pension legal theory
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Scott Reeder…
A new legal theory is being pondered by outgoing state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, that she contends would get the state out from under the pension debt.
It goes like this:
The state entered into illegal contracts when it signed up employees for pensions over the last 40 years. While the state constitution says pensions of public employees cannot be diminished, the constitution also mandates that state legislators pass a budget that they believe to be balanced and the constitution also says Illinois cannot take on more debt unless three-fifths of lawmakers agree.
And yet, Ives contends lawmakers have been well aware that the budgets they have passed each year have not adequately covered anticipated pension obligations. Her contention is that this was a deliberate violation of the balanced budget clause of the state constitution and thus its “contract” with pensioners is void. She also says that promising payouts without funding them creates a debt obligation that should have received a super-majority vote of the legislature each year, but didn’t always.
Longtime statehouse observer Charles Wheeler III is quick to note that the state constitution doesn’t require a balanced budget only that lawmakers estimate it to be balanced. The late great state budget director Steve Schnorf, who served under Governors Jim Edgar and George Ryan used to call the practice: “playing make believe.”
I don’t see the Illinois Supreme Court having much of an appetite for taking up Ives’ legal argument. After all, the court unanimously ruled several years ago that the pension benefits cannot be reduced.
But if the case is somehow argued in the federal courts, this legal argument might prevail, especially with the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Discuss.
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* AFSCME Council 31…
Fighting state workers and our union every step of the way—and insisting on using a high-priced outside law firm to do so—Bruce Rauner has already run up a legal tab of more than $6 million.
Now on his way out the door, Rauner hasn’t changed his stripes. Refusing to accept yet another court ruling won by AFSCME—the appellate court decision stating that the Rauner-appointed state labor board erred in finding that the governor and the union had reached impasse in state contract negotiations—on Nov. 27 his administration asked for another 60 days in which to file an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
AFSCME now has an opportunity to respond, after which the justices will consider whether to allow the governor’s late appeal.
Rauner’s ongoing delay tactics and refusal to accept legal findings make clear that he’s never had any intention of bargaining in good faith with state workers.
What’s certain is that Rauner’s $6 million meter counting the public dollars he’s wasted on costly lawyers will keep ticking even higher.
* So, what’s with that $6 million legal tab? Rauner has used outside counsel to fight AFSCME and bargain with other unions instead of using the state’s lawyers. Council 31 has used the FOIA laws to track his spending, which it claims is $6 million and still climbing.
I asked for documentation and they sent me a spreadsheet. Click here.
There are three tabs on that spreadsheet. The union says each tab shows the invoices paid by the Rauner administration to the law firm Laner Muchin. The firm “exclusively represents management in employment-related litigation, labor relations,” etc.
At the bottom of each tab, you’ll see a total amount for the time period…
Jan. 2015-Nov. 2016: $2.82 million
Dec. 2016-Oct. 2017: $1.31 million
Oct. 2017-Sept. 2018: $1.86 million
Not all of these expenses are directly related to AFSCME. Some are about other unions. Anyway, have a look and tell us what pops out at you.
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* JB Pritzker talks about balancing the budget while providing more money for K-12 education…
“We already have a challenge. And I was well aware of it, and I’ve talked about revenue resources and the fact that we have to balance our budget in a real way, and not in ways that, in April you find out you’re short by several billion. So we’re trying to figure that out,” Pritzker said. “You can’t solve all these problems immediately. It’s not like electing a new governor, day one, everything is solved.” […]
Pritkzer on Tuesday talked about trying to “accelerate” [the education funding reform plan, which currently ramps up by $350 million a year over 10 years], saying “we are moving toward a quality education for every child no matter where they live.” […]
He also embraced a contentious plan (Senate Bill 2892) that would require public school teachers be paid a salary of at least $40,000; advocates say it will help address a shortage of teachers, but critics – including Rauner, who vetoed the legislation – believe the expense will put too much strain on districts that already face financial difficulties. […]
Pritzker on Tuesday embraced the plan, saying, “I think the bill that was put forward is the right bill,” and that should the General Assembly fail to override Rauner’s veto, “We’ll be revisiting it in the new administration.”
* Related…
* Pritzker Names Education Advisory Team: These teams serve a purely advisory, unpaid role, although history has shown many transition advisors go on to serve cabinet positions. When Bruce Rauner was elected governor, his six-person education transition team included Tony Smith (then a foundation director), Beth Purvis (then CEO of Chicago International Charter Schools), Al Bowman (then the president emeritus of Illinois State University), and Lazaro Lopez (then an associate superintendent at High School District 214). After Rauner was sworn in, Smith became state superintendent of schools; Purvis became Rauner’s Secretary of Education; Bowman became executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education; and Lopez became chair of the Illinois Community College Board. Purvis has since left the state to work for the Kern Family Foundation, a Wisconsin-based philanthropy that has supported Gov. Scott Walker and legislative candidates who back school vouchers.
* Manar named co-chair of Gov.-elect Pritzker’s transition team for education: This is the second of Pritzker’s transition committees to which Manar has been named, as he and Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe were named earlier this month to Pritzker’s budget committee.
* Former Ottawa, Streator administrator named to Pritzker transition team
* Several area leaders named to Pritzker’s transition teams
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“The Sucker State”
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From my tchotchke collection…
* Nobody really knows for sure how Illinois got that nickname way back in the 19th Century, but Jared Olar took a look at some of the theories. Here’s one…
For this particular question, the earliest explanation is that given by Illinois Gov. Thomas Ford in his 1854 “A History of Illinois.” Ford said the first settlers of southern Illinois came to be called “Suckers” as an analogy to the “suckers” (young sprouts and shoots) of the tobacco plant.
“These poor emigrants from the slave States were jeeringly and derisively called ‘suckers,’ because there were asserted to be a burthen upon the people of wealth; and when they removed to Illinois they were supposed to have stripped themselves off from the parent stem and gone away to perish like the ‘sucker’ of the tobacco plant. This name was given to the Illinoisans at the Galena mines by the Missourians.”
It is probably no accident that both Ford and Chapman mention the mines at Galena – it seems that is where the nickname “Sucker” was first given to Illinoisans. Ford’s explanation appears earlier than Chapman’s explanation, which makes Ford’s explanation more likely – but it cannot be held to be certainly true.
As it happens, it was also by analogy that plant sprouts first came to be called “suckers.” The Online Etymology Dictionary says “sucker” is a Middle English word from the late 1300s meaning a young child who has not yet been weaned. By the 1570s, the word had begun to be applied to plant shoots, since the shoots were like little “children” of the plant. Sucker fish aren’t mentioned in literature until 1753, and it wasn’t until 1836 that the American slang term “sucker,” meaning a fool, someone with childlike naïveté who is easily tricked, first appeared (and no, it was not in reference to Illinoisans).
Whether the nickname derives from reed straws, fish, tobacco sprouts, or fools, the Illinois General Assembly in 1955 voted to adopt “Land of Lincoln” as our state’s official nickname. Today “Prairie State” is still sometimes heard, but “Sucker State” is rare, heard very little outside the circles of Illinois historical study.
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* This controversy was tailor-made for an otherwise routine veto session day with a packed press box. Here’s the Tribune…
A Democratic state lawmaker said she wanted to pump a lethal “broth of Legionella” bacteria into the water system of a Republican colleague’s family, during heated remarks on the Illinois House floor over a bill aimed at helping families of more than a dozen residents at the Downstate Quincy veterans home who died of Legionnaires’.
The bill would raise limits on damages in some state Court of Claims cases from $100,000 to $2 million, which could affect the victims’ families, who allege the state was negligent in the deaths that resulted from outbreaks at the veterans home over the past three years. Gov. Bruce Rauner rewrote the proposal over the summer to reduce such caps on damage awards to $300,000, but lawmakers voted Tuesday to override him.
During the House floor debate over the proposal, Republican state Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard questioned some of the plan’s details, contending the state doesn’t know how much it will cost. Breen, the outgoing House GOP floor leader, noted that multiple tort claims could be paid out for the same incident.
“And, yes, we know the personal injury lawyers are going to make out like bandits, which they tend to do anytime they come to the General Assembly,” Breen said.
The “broth of Legionella” reference is explained here.
* Dave Dahl…
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego), referring to Breen, said, “I’d like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one, so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated, and ultimately die.”
Breen’s mic was not on when he shouted something about “my f—in’ family.”
Kifowit later said her remarks were misinterpreted and that she was making a hypothetical statement: “Imagine if it were your family.”
* Sun-Times…
After Kifowit’s remarks, state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, quickly came to Breen’s defense saying the Oswego Democrat “essentially wished a death on a Republican floor speaker.”
“How dare you. How dare you concoct up some sort of story about brewing up some batch of Legionella and having him feed it to his family. How dare you take the discussion and the debate about a very serious bill that has a huge cost consequence on both sides, both for the victim and the state taxpayers. How dare you take an honest debate about an issue and then wish death on my colleague Peter Breen, his wife and his two adopted kids,” Ives said. […]
Kifowit, herself, sought to clarify her comments — saying she “quite clearly” wanted him to imagine “if it was your family, hypothetically speaking.”
“For the fact of it being misrepresented, I’m going to say that what was said earlier is a mischaracterization of what my words were,” Kifowit said on the House floor. “And for that, for it being misinterpreted, I will apologize. But I will not apologize for what happened to those families. And I will clearly say to all of us, imagine if it was your family.”
* The former Marine just about killed the override with her remarks…
Three Republican lawmakers who had voted in favor of the bill in May — including Breen — switched their votes from yes to no. Four other Republicans who voted yes were either absent for Tuesday’s vote or chose not to vote.
The motion received the bare minimum of 71 votes.
* With thanks to Dave Dahl, here’s the full audio of her remarks…
Rep. Kifowit told me last night that she was “trying to paint a picture” with her words and that she didn’t intend to wish actual harm on Rep. Breen’s family.
Leave the painting to painters.
There’s just no excuse for stuff like this. She should own up to her remarks and fully retract what she said, which is different than what she claims to have said or meant.
* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider…
Today, Illinois Democrats sunk to a new low, when Democratic State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit wished death upon family members/loved ones of her Republican colleague, State Rep. Peter Breen. Kifowit should be ashamed of her remarks. Since Rep. Kifowit has refused to apologize to Rep. Breen, she should resign from office, as these remarks are unfit for someone serving public office.
Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker appointed Rep. Kifowit to his “Serving Illinois’ Heroes Committee” earlier this month. Does the Governor-elect condone Kifowit’s rhetoric? Will he keep her on his committee?
As leading Illinois Democrats, both Governor-elect Pritzker and Speaker Michael Madigan have a duty to speak out against Rep. Kifowit’s extreme rhetoric and tone down out-of-control public discourse. They should do so immediately.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Kifowit…
“I offer my sincere apology to Representative Peter Breen, his family, and all of my House colleagues for my poor choice of words during a serious discussion on our Veterans’ health and safety. I would never wish any harm or mortality on anyone’s family, including the Breen family. As a Marine Corps Veteran, I feel very passionate about what happened in our Quincy Veterans home, which resulted in 13 Veterans and 1 spouse’s deaths, in addition to over 70 individuals being ill. The truth is this did happen to our heroes, and my attempt to illustrate empathy for the families that were affected by the loss of their loved ones was not conveyed properly.
“Lost in my comments yesterday was our obligation to work together on behalf of our Veterans to ensure that the situation in Quincy never happens again. As legislators, we are fallible people, but we are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of caring for the Veteran men and women who have never let us down. We owe them so much more.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to expand access to health care and mental health resources for our Veterans.”
…Adding… Sun-Times…
A Pritzker spokeswoman issued a statement Wednesday saying it was “clear that during the course of an emotional debate over the Legionnaires’ crisis in Quincy Representative Kifowit’s rhetoric went too far and she rightfully apologized.”
The statement continued that Pritzker wanted to “keep the focus on protecting” veterans, and that Pritzker “looks forward to working with” the Serving Illinois’ Heroes Committee “to ensure the administration is ready to serve Veterans on day one in office.”
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