* I’m a huge, committed believer in the right to protest and to peacefully assemble. But these self-described “anarchists” who cause trouble at demonstrations throughout the country have got to be stopped. So, welcome to Chicago, morons…
Several thousand protesters spent five hours peacefully chanting, singing and marching against war. At the end, nearly 40 young veterans dramatically took their military medals and hurled them toward McCormick Place, where world leaders met behind closed doors.
It was supposed to end there — at Michigan and Cermak.
But a “Black Bloc” of about 100 anarchists wanted something else. The group, which chanted “What do we want? Dead cops!” as it left Grant Park at 2 p.m., surged to the front of the protest crowd and tried to break through the imposing line of Chicago cops in riot gear blocking its path.
Then, in a scene Chicagoans feared ever since the city learned it would host the NATO Summit, the two sides violently clashed on live TV, with police nightsticks flailing and protesters unleashing a volley of sticks, bottles and at least one rock.
The battle at Michigan and Cermak flared and then slowed, and then flared again in bursts between 5 and 6:30 p.m. By then, much of the Black Bloc had slipped away, leaving behind a scene of bloodied protesters and four injured cops, including one stabbed in the leg.
* It would help, though, if the city understood what they were dealing with in advance…
Prosecutors say the three men charged Saturday with plotting to attack President Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home, police stations and squad cars were anarchists and “members of the ‘Black Bloc’ group.”
But a black bloc isn’t an organization. Rather, it’s a tactic for marches.
Participants wear black clothes, bandanas, masks and anything else to conceal their identities from police.
Black blocs first drew the attention of mainstream America in 1999 during demonstrations against the World Trade Organization in Seattle. A black bloc went on the offensive, bashing windows of many businesses in downtown Seattle including Starbucks, Gap and other businesses with a global reach.
Black bloc vandals also damaged property during the 2010 G-20 meeting in Toronto.
Black bloc participants say they conceal their identities for fear of reprisals from police, who often infiltrate black blocs during demonstrations to identify those committing crimes.
The Black Bloc was also believed to be involved in another incident that took place during the march, an Associated Press report indicated that police and protesters clashed during the middle of the parade. The protesters, dressed in black, allegedly surged toward police and threw objects at officers. Police fought back with batons.
Those protesters ran away, but reconvened with the main crowd near the parade’s end at Cermak and Michigan Avenue and are believed to be part of the later clash with police, who beefed up security around that area — and officers showed up in full riot gear.
When police surged forward a second time — shouting “move” and using their clubs as barricades to shove protesters — many at the front of the crowd could not move fast enough. Several fell to the ground and were trampled by other protesters also being shoved back by police.
As reporters and protesters in the center of the melee screamed “There’s nowhere to go — stop!” the police line stopped just in time to prevent a disaster.
A good rule of thumb is that when reporters feel their safety has been threatened, you’re gonna see harsh coverage. The Sun-Times article was quite balanced, considering.
As someone who walked the entire parade route with the NATO protestors, from the Petrillo Band Shell to the corner of Michigan and Cermak, I can tell you there were two groups no one wanted to come in contact with: the police, and the Black Bloc.
From the outset, it was clear that the march’s organizers were not enthusiastic about the appearance of the Black Bloc, a gang of black-clad anarchists who believe that no protest is complete without a punch-up or a broken window. Marshals in orange vests ordered them to move further back in the crowd. They didn’t want the Black Bloc in the vanguard, as the face of the anti-NATO protests.
And yes, they were all dressed in black: black hoodies, black bandannas, black masks, black jeans, black boots. One Black Bloc member even brought along a black dog. Only the police, in their riot helmets and body armor, must have been hotter on that 85-degree day. Seeing themselves as the purest element of protest, the Black Bloc even tried to intimidate peaceful marchers, who they considered insufficiently radical. […]
At the corner of Michigan and Cermak, the march ended with speeches by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, who apologized for their roles in those wars and tossed their medals into the trees behind. After that ceremony ended, the police ordered protestors to “Move West” — toward the Cermak/Chinatown Red Line stop. Almost all the protesters complied. But not the Black Bloc. They’d come for a fight, and they weren’t going to leave without a cut or a bruise they could point to and boast, “Police brutality.” McCormick Place was in sight, beyond a line of mounted police officers.
“NATO is east!” the hardcore Black Bloc shouted. “NATO is east!”
They didn’t put up much of a struggle. Nobody got past the police lines. I hadn’t expected them to triumph in a conflict with the cops. None of them looked very big, very fit, or even very tough.
The Black Bloc didn’t storm McCormick Place, but they got more attention than the thousands and thousands of peaceful protestors surrounding them. That may have been their real mission on Sunday.
Their real mission is fighting with cops and causing trouble. They’re basically just punks who think they’re cool because they dig violence. They’re no different than European soccer hooligans, except their venue of choice is otherwise peaceful protests instead of sporting events.
A tense and often confrontational meeting over gambling expansion last week ended with Gov. Pat Quinn being evasive but not explicitly saying “no” to adding slot machines at horse racing tracks.
That might be the beginning of a reversal on the gambling issue for Quinn, who has adamantly opposed allowing tracks to offer slots.
Installing slots at the horse tracks is viewed as essential to passage of the gambling package that was stymied twice last year, once when Quinn adamantly opposed the concept and never was sent the bill to sign. The plan is to add five casinos, including one in Chicago and the south suburbs, in addition to allowing the tracks to offer slots.
There’s been a push on for months to get Quinn to change his mind. The key here is apparently Quinn’s demand for a ban on campaign contributions from gambling interests.
It’s widely believed that Quinn has opposed slots at tracks and wants the contribution ban at least partly because of heavy Republican contributions by Craig Duchossois in the 2010 campaign, including several to Quinn’s GOP opponent. Duchossois is the son of Arlington International Racecourse chairman Dick Duchossois.
The meeting last week was apparently quite contentious at times.
“I felt like I almost missed Rod,” cracked one participant afterward.
The governor patronizingly attempted to explain to Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), who have a combined legislative tenure of 73 years, how to pass a bill. Quinn doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record of passing bills, so that advice didn’t go down too well.
Quinn also angrily told Lang that he would “crush” the legislator if Lang attempted to move a bill without a campaign contribution ban.
The meeting apparently took place because proponents managed to build a roll call that showed 67 House members supporting gambling expansion. That’s four votes shy of overriding a gubernatorial veto, but it’s enough to perhaps make the governor think he might eventually lose.
At one point during the meeting, Link reportedly became fed up with the direction and tone and tried to get things back on track. If, Link said, the General Assembly agreed to a campaign contribution ban from casinos, racetracks, etc., would Quinn agree to slots at tracks?
The governor’s response, according to multiple sources, was that Gary Hannig would be working with them on that. Hannig is Quinn’s chief legislative liaison.
Link then repeated his question. If the Legislature agreed to a contribution ban would Quinn agree to slots at tracks? The governor angrily repeated that Hannig would be working with them on the issue.
Despite his deliberate evasiveness, people at the meeting did make note of the fact that the governor was no longer saying that he flatly rejected slots at tracks.
Hannig was then reportedly told by Lang not to bring him a draft bill that didn’t contain slots at tracks. A majority just doesn’t exist for gaming expansion without help for tracks. Hannig’s response was that he’d try to deliver something the next day.
Well, that day came and went, and no Hannig draft arrived.
But then the House left town for a few days, so the governor’s office still has some time to come up with a plan, even though Lang appeared to be growing restless last week. He’d rather have a negotiated agreement, but there is a strong sense among participants that Quinn wants to delay this issue until after the Nov. 6 election, so they’d better do something soon, either with him or without him.
The theory is that Quinn wants to pass a budget this month without using gaming revenue. Patching budget holes with gambling money could be seen as unseemly, and Quinn is attempting to revive his public image these days.
A new gaming law could also dent Quinn’s image when he’s attempting to be viewed as the man who saved pensions and Medicaid and got the budget back on track. Simply put, gaming would taint Quinn’s upcoming victory lap.
The second part of the theory is that Quinn will announce big problems with the budget before the fall veto session and use those “unforeseen” problems to justify gambling expansion, including a flip-flop on slots at tracks. The flip-flop would pale in comparison to the problems he could fix with a lot more gambling revenue.
Gambling expansion bills have never become law in the past unless all four legislative leaders and the governor were working together. This one probably won’t be any different.
* Here are a few stories about the Senate Democrats’ budget proposal, which they unveiled Friday afternoon…
* State Senate Dems set budget goal higher than House’s: Illinois Senate Democrats on Friday outlined a budget plan that spends less than Gov. Pat Quinn wanted, but more than the House declared earlier that it is prepared to spend next year. The Senate plan would keep education spending at the same level as this year, but does assume the state will have to close facilities and cut jobs next year. Democrats declined to offer specifics of those reductions.
* Senate Democrats’ spending plan offers deeper cuts than Quinn proposed: However, a top Senate Republican was not convinced the Democrats’ math was correct, saying the amount of cuts to the state’s Medicaid program isn’t large enough and assumes new revenue from a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase.
The Senate Democrats’ proposal would draw money from areas of the state’s budget outside of the General Revenue Fund. In addition to the money being set aside to pay down the backlog, Senate Democrats are calling for more than $400 million be taken from special funds to pay overdue bills. Democrats say the fund sweeps they are proposing would be a one-time move to pay off old bills and would leave enough money in the funds to ensure that they are operational for their original purposes.
Fund sweeps works by taking unspent money in dedicated funds — such as the Cycle Rider Safety Training Fund, which is supposed to support classes on motorcycle safety — and using it for general spending. The Senate Democrats would use about $400 million in fund sweeps to pay down some of the state’s $8.5 billion overdue bills.
“There’s $8 billion sitting in multiple piggy banks, 500 piggy banks, at one time. We’re hoarding money in these little banks,” state Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, said at a news conference Friday.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently gave the state the green light to sweep these funds, as long as they’re not federal money. Gov. Pat Quinn, however, has only supported borrowing money from the funds. The SDems want to take the cash.
* The Question: Do you support one-time sweeps of these special state funds or just borrowing from them? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* The Sunlight Foundation just released its new analysis detailing the grade level at which members of Congress speak.
The report uses the Flesch-Kincaid test to conduct the analysis, which awards a higher-grade level for using longer words and more complex sentences. The foundation’s results reveal that the vocabulary and spoken sentence structure of Congressmen has slowly been declining over the course of the nation’s history…
Today’s Congress speaks at about a 10.6 grade level, down from a high of 11.5 in 2005. By comparison, the U.S. Constitution is written at a 17.8 grade level, the Federalist Papers at a 17.1 grade level and the Declaration of Independence at a 15.1 grade level.
* So how do our Congressmen rank? The average Illinoisan member of Congress speaks at an 11.34 grade level- almost a grade above the Congressional average. Here’s a descending list (highest speaking grade level to lowest) of where the analysis had Illinois’ delegation…
Rep. Danny Davis (D) 13.81
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D) 13.49
Sen. Mark Kirk (R) 12.9
Rep. Tim Johnson (R) 12.43
Rep. Jerry Costello (D) 12.38
Rep. Jesse Jackson (D) 11.95
Rep. Mike Quigley (D) 11.79
Rep. Bobby Rush (D) 11.74
Rep. Bobby Schilling (R) 11.72
Rep. Luis Guitierrez (D) 11.63
Rep. Aarron Schock (R) 11.53
Rep. Randy Hultgren (R) 11.44
Rep. Peter Roskam (R) 11.35
Rep. Judy Biggert (R) 11.31
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) 11.23
Rep. Robert Dold (R) 10.43
Sen. Dick Durbin (D) 9.87
Rep. John Shimkus (R) 9.67
Rep. Don Manzullo (R) 9.61
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R) 8.99
Rep. Joe Walsh (R) 8.9
* Some other findings…
Controlling for other factors, it is generally the most moderate members of both parties who speak at the highest grade levels, and the most extreme members who speak at the lowest grade levels. This pattern is most pronounced among freshmen and sophomore members.
Prior to 2005, Republicans on average spoke at a slightly higher grade level than Democrats. Since then, Democrats have spoken on average at a slightly higher grade level than Republicans.
Some of the decline in grade level since 2005 is because junior members speak at a lower grade level than senior members, and some of it is because senior members have simplified their speech patterns over time.
On average, the more words individual members speak on the floors of Congress, the simpler their speech tends to be.
The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to redistricting in Illinois despite complaints from the League of Women Voters of Illinois that the new congressional and legislative lines are unconstitutional.
The high court on Monday turned away the lawsuit that complained the new congressional and legislative maps are unconstitutional because they assign voters to districts based on their political views and voting histories. A federal court threw out the group’s lawsuit last year.
* I’ve known Rodney Davis for quite a long while. He’s a decent, hard-working young man and he’s now the Republican candidate in the 13th Congressional District…
Davis was chosen Saturday morning by the 14 Republican chairs of the 13th district to replace U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, on the November ballot. McLean County Republican Party Chair John Parrott said the leaders felt Davis, a former aide to U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, has done well with fundraising.
“He has helped the party out by raising a considerable amount of money to help the party,” Parrott said. “He has worked and gotten a lot of experience working with Congressman Shimkus, and they felt he has the qualifications to hit the ground running and serve in the 13th Congressional District.”
* The final vote was unanimous, but it apparently took three ballots…
Champaign County Republican Party Chairman Habeeb Habeeb declined to say how the vote went but said it took three ballots and that he proudly stuck with Harold through all three as did McLean County Republican Party Chairman John Parrott.
Despite their differences, local party officials appear to be united behind Davis…
Macon County Chairman Bruce Pillsbury would not reveal which candidate he voted for but said all the chairmen now stand behind Davis.
“He has done an excellent job of representing the state party over the years,” Pillsbury said. “He’s well-versed with the issues that we’re concerned with here in the state and our 13th Congressional District and very familiar with working with and around Washington also.”
McLean County Chairman John Parrott said he voted for Harold. But he said going forward, the party is united and he looks forward to having Davis meet McLean County voters.
* Party leaders had promised an open and transparent process, and Chairman Parrott said it was…
“This was as open, as fair of a process as I’ve ever been in,” he said. “I think most of them have been very fair, but this has been the most open process that I’ve ever seen.”
Party leaders from counties with territory in the redrawn district met behind closed at a Springfield hotel for two hours Saturday morning and cast multiple ballots before giving Davis the nod. Their votes were weighted based on the number of Republican primary ballots cast in their counties. […]
The chairmen were mum on what gave Davis the edge over the three other finalists.
Secret Backroom Deal Produces Failed Career Politician & Party Insider Congressional Candidate Rodney Davis
First Congressman Tim Johnson rigs the political process by retiring after the March primary to ensure Republican Party insiders chose his successor for IL- 13 instead of Illinois voters. Now after weeks of secret deals, it should come as no surprise that Republican chairmen chose one of their own: Party insider and career political hack Rodney Davis. Despite reports of Davis fundraising impropriety and a record as a failed career politician, Davis will have to convince Illinois families who supported President Obama in 2008 that he’s not part of the problem.
“Illinois voters didn’t have a say in choosing the Republican 13th Congressional candidate, but they will in November when they reject handpicked, party insider and failed career politician Rodney Davis,” said Haley Morris of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Davis may have his reward for serving Republican Party insiders as a career political hack and failed candidate, but at what price? Illinois families deserve better than secret backroom deals that devalue the core of our democratic process and a handpicked candidate who represents everything wrong with Washington’s culture of special privileges. There’s no doubt that Davis will be a loyal vote for Congressional Republicans’ out of touch agenda that protects tax breaks for billionaires and corporate outsourcers, but cuts Medicare so seniors have to pay $6,000 more for the same care.”
Then again, we saw no such press release when the Democrats pulled a similar stunt for Bill Lipinski’s kid.
[Gill] also said that Davis is also a former executive director of the Illinois Republican Party and has been involved in some of the party’s recent questionable fundraising practices to skirt Illinois’ new campaign finance limits.
* And rather than run from his past as a career political operative, Davis is embracing it…
Davis said even though his experience working for Shimkus has largely been in the district, that experience would make for a smooth transition to Washington.
“I’m not going to be in awe of the process, in awe of the city. I’m going to have a pretty small learning curve when I get out there. I want to be effective from day one,” Davis said.
Davis added that the new 13th Congressional District has much of the Central Illinois territory that is presently in the 19th district that Shimkus serves.
“It can be a competitive district, but it’s a district I am very familiar with,” Davis said. “Mr. Shimkus used to represent many of these counties. My career has taken me into many of these counties where I’ve gotten to know the local leaders and the residents.”
“In a seat that favors Republicans, the Democrats are also faced with the daunting task of backing a flawed candidate in David Gill as he attempts his fourth run for a congressional seat. The odds against David Gill are only magnified as the Democrats’ agenda of spending, taxing and borrowing continues to hurt Illinois families.”
Another week, another series of demonstrations against cuts to state spending.
Actually, it’s not demonstrations against all cuts in spending, just state spending that benefits the demonstrators.
One of those was organized by the Service Employees International Union so seniors and people with disabilities could protest cuts to Medicaid programs. They wanted no reductions in Medicaid. Gov. PAT QUINN has proposed about $1.4 billion in cuts to Medicaid programs to help close a $2.7 billion deficit.
To their credit, the group proposed alternative funding, something usually missing from these protests. To their discredit, the alternative included “fair tax legislation that would cause the wealthy to pay their fair share.”
That’s code for a graduated income tax. A graduated income tax is not allowed by the state constitution. It would have to be amended for that to happen.
A graduated income tax amendment will probably never appear on the ballot, but more specifically, the deadline to get such an amendment on the ballot this year is past. It will be another two years before the opportunity comes around again
The problem is the $2.7 billion Medicaid problem exists right now and must be dealt with right now. Not sure that dangling a pain-free solution in front of people that has no prospect of happening does anything to help resolve the issue. [Emphasis added.]
After leading several popular ‘80s cult bands in and around his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas, Chuck Mead landed on Nashville’s Lower Broadway where he co-founded the famed ‘90s Alternative Country quintet BR549. The band’s seven albums, three Grammy nominations and the Country Music Association Award for Best Overseas Touring Act would build an indelible bridge between authentic American Roots music and millions of fans worldwide. With BR on hiatus, Chuck formed The Hillbilly All-Stars featuring members of The Mavericks, co-produced popular tribute albums to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, guest-lectured at Vanderbilt University, and became a staff writer at one of Nashville’s top song publishers. In 2009, he released his acclaimed solo debut album, Journeyman’s Wager, and toured clubs, concert halls and international Rock, Country and Rockabilly festivals with his band The Grassy Knoll Boys.
Friday, May 18, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While our opponents have been telling legislators the fiction that coal plant closures were “simply speculation,” Tenaska has been using facts to warn of what’s to come.
The Chicago Tribune yesterday focused on some of those facts for its lead business story:
“Residential electricity prices are expected to spike by more than 10 percent beginning in 2015, with consumers paying between $150 and $330 a year more than this year, as coal plants, the least expensive producers of electricity, continue to close.”
But aren’t closing coal plants “merely speculation” as Taylorville opponents have claimed? Not according to the Tribune:
“The closings of 319 coal-fueled generating units totaling 42,895 megawatts, about 13 percent of the nation’s coal fleet, have been announced nationwide since January 2010, according to the Sierra Club.”
—–
Independent Study Finds Taylorville Project Now Saves Ratepayers With Below Market Pricing
Earlier this week, independent analyst Pace Global used US Department of Energy data to analyze Tenaska’s new “Power Block First” approach and found that because the market has tightened, the Taylorville Energy Center will actually SAVE consumers $437.7 million over 20 years, including more than $250 million in the first five years.
* The Crosstown Classic begins today. They’ll play three games at Ricketts Stadium… um… I mean, Cub Park. With the Flubs’ owners all over the news, I thought fans of both teams might like a little trash-talking opportunity.
So, rather than a question, let’s go at each others’ throats in comments. Civility is out the window today (this is baseball, not politics). But keep your language clean.
Cardinals fans will get an opportunity next month when their club hosts the White Sox.
* A reform group reacts to a proposal that would lift campaign contributions for all candidates in a race when unlimited independent expenditures reach at least $250,000 in statewide races or $100,000 in other races…
Rey López-Calderón, executive director of the Chicago-based political reform group Common Cause, called the current bill “disgusting”.
“It’s an evisceration of the original bill,” López-Calderón said.
“This allows rich people and billionaires to game the system. There are so many ways you can get around it [campaign spending laws] now,” he added. “We’re trying to take the money out of politics.”
You wanna take money out of politics? OK, then go to government financing. Otherwise, campaign caps won’t do it. And, as I’ve said before, candidates ought to have the right to defend themselves when Big Money starts spending tons of cash against them.
That Currie’s plan is moving forward so easily is a troubling indication of lawmakers’ commitment to protections that went into effect only a little more than a year ago. Those protections emerged after years of study and debate, including hearings by the state House and Senate and a report by a wide-ranging task force set up by then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. What could possibly be the hurry in dismantling them so quickly?
True, one might argue that removing caps now would help protect a candidate gearing up for the November election. But one could just as easily wonder about the degree to which PACs will emerge in Illinois legislative or municipal races over the next five months and whether they will actually have an impact so quickly in a given race.
And the degree to which they do or do not can be one factor in the longer-term, expansive study that needs to be undertaken on this issue. In a letter to the state House Wednesday, the CHANGE Illinois! coalition noted that the legislation establishing Illinois’ campaign funding limits created a task force specifically “to evaluate this kind of proposal.” That panel, the coalition said and we agree, “is the logical place to begin a discussion of how court decisions impact the limits system and how best to respond,”
The simple fact is that the reformers don’t have an alternative plan, so they’re trying to delay this one.
toilet seat at Chicago apt needed be replaced because the hinges had deteriorated (age & water calcium). I bought a new seat in Spfld (sales tax cheaper outside of Chicago) & took it to Chicago. This is my Facebook & I’ve decided to post what my life is really like, not what some expect to hear. Putting on the new toilet seat I need to tell you that when cleaning around the bowl to be sure & take off your neck tie; if not it will definitely end up in the bowl water when you lean over.
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka on Thursday said she supports a proposed cigarette tax increase for Medicaid provided that it is tied to significant spending cuts and approval of a gaming expansion bill that includes a Chicago casino and slot machines at horse racing tracks.
The proposal offered by the state fiscal officer represents a compromise in the ongoing state budget and Medicaid negotiations.
“I am not inclined to support any tax or fee increases, but can back the cigarette tax provided that critical spending cuts are made and much-needed support of the horse racing industry is passed,” Topinka said. “Our biggest problem in this state is spending, and that has to be addressed. But the reality is that increased revenue also has to be a part of balancing the budget, and this compromise accomplishes that as well.”
The Governor and members of the General Assembly have been at odds over the proposed tax and gaming expansion. Republican legislators have opposed the cigarette tax, saying the state should focus solely on spending. At the same time, Gov. Pat Quinn has said he will not support gaming expansion legislation.
But given an estimated state bill backlog of $8.5 billion and the urgent need to pass Medicaid reform legislation, Topinka emphasized the importance of finding common ground.
“This is a common sense fiscal solution,” Topinka said. “And most importantly, it will provide important spending cuts and revenue enhancements to help put the state back on track to fiscal stability.”
That statement makes her the first Republican to back the tax hike. But she may not end up being the only one. From the Tribune editorial page…
On Medicaid, lawmakers sound like they’re close to a $2.7 billion deal to resuscitate the ailing health care program for the poor. The cornerstone: $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion in cuts, including limits on prescription drugs and certain surgeries. The deal being discussed late Thursday would be relatively good news for hospitals and nursing homes: A proposed 8 percent rate cut has been whittled to 3 percent — $240 million — with protections for safety-net hospitals that treat a disproportionate share of Medicaid patients and for critical-access hospitals that serve large rural areas.
Republicans are signaling that they can live with a $1-a-pack cigarette tax as part of a deal that includes significant spending cuts. That would raise about $700 million, leveraging federal funds. It’s a reasonable way to spare more Medicaid cuts, and higher cigarette prices would encourage thousands of people to quit or never start smoking.
Also in the mix is a state waiver that could add 100,000 patients to Cook County’s Medicaid rolls. This provision would mean a windfall of federal reimbursements for the county’s cash-strapped health care system, but it wouldn’t cost the state a penny it isn’t already paying to care for those patients. It’s win-win.
All of this is in flux, but the lawmakers we’ve talked to hope that the Medicaid reform bills will be filed in the Illinois House on Monday and come to a vote as early as Tuesday. That’s an ambitious schedule for a Legislature content to kick this reform down the road too many times in the past.
* I had a story in yesterday’s Capitol Fax that detailed, among several other things, how Gov. Pat Quinn didn’t explicitly say “No” when asked about slots at tracks during a meeting earlier this week. That was seen as a slight sign of progress because Quinn has always been a “No.” The Post-Dispatch followed up…
Are “slots at the tracks” back in play in Illinois?
The on-again, off-again proposal to allow Illinois horseracing tracks to host slot machines may be under discussion in state budget negotiations. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has been a hardcore opponent of the idea, and he still hasn’t endorsed it. But during one closed-door meeting with legislative leaders this week, he reportedly declined to reiterate his earlier entrenched opposition.
Capitol Fax, a Springfield political newsletter, reported on the meeting [yesterday] morning, citing unnamed sources. We asked the Administration to knock it down, and they wouldn’t. In an emailed response, Quinn’s office called the slots proposal a “distraction”—but didn’t reiterate the flat-out opposition (and veto threat) that Quinn has previously expressed on the issue.
We asked a second time if Quinn is still completely opposed, and got the same non-answer.
* The Daily Herald also got the same non-response from Quinn’s office and then interviewed some of the players, including the two sponsors…
State Sen. Terry Link said Thursday that he expects any effort to expand gambling in Illinois will include slot machines at Arlington Park.
Link, a Waukegan Democrat and top gambling-expansion supporter, said allowing for slot machines at Illinois race tracks is the only way to get lawmakers to approve a gambling expansion package that also likely would include new casinos, including in Lake County and in Chicago. […]
Slots at the racetracks have been a sticking point, though. The idea of a subsidy paid from casinos to the horse racing industry has been discussed seriously but mostly dismissed by Arlington Park.
Track officials say the state can’t be trusted to transfer the money. A subsidy that’s already supposed to be going from the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines to the horse racing industry is being held up by the state.
Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, did not rule out lawmakers trying to move gambling legislation that already exists, instead of coming up with a new plan. A proposal that included slot machines at Arlington Park, new casinos and some of the ethical safeguards Quinn has asked for was rejected by the House late last year but could come up again.
The governor’s office was not pleased at all with my story and spent some time trying to figure out just who I talked to and then called around and made some accusations regarding revealing info about private meetings.
Whatever.
The story’s impact is yet to be determined. Opponents think it could cause Quinn to back off any support of slots at tracks. Proponents think it could help. I don’t really care either way. It was a good piece.
* Related…
* Bill Black: More gaming can help state out of money crisis
A federal appeals court is backing Gov. Pat Quinn over pay raises his administration canceled for thousands of union workers.
A U.S. District Court dismissed an effort by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to force the administration to pay the raises. The Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld that ruling.
The appeals court ruled the 11th Amendment prevents the union from prevailing because ruling in AFSME’s favor would force the state to spend money.
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Originally the 11th Amendment only forbade actions by non-citizens against a defendant state. But Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1, 10 S.Ct. 504, 33 L.Ed. 842 (1890) extended the doctrine of such sovereign immunity, holding that the 11th Amendment barred suit even by citizens of that defendant state. All private parties were subject to the amendment, although other states and the federal government could still bring actions against a state.
AFSCME’s suit contended the state violated both its union contracts and the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. The union sought a court ruling that would force the state to pay the raises. […]
The equal protection claim made by the union requires it to “plausibly allege that no reasonably conceivable set of facts supports the pay freeze as a rational instrument of cost savings,” the appeals cout added.
“Instituting cost-savings measures is unquestionably a legitimate governmental interest, particularly for a government in such dire straits,” the court said.
“The governor has a moral obligation, and under the union contract and an arbitrator’s order, a legal one, to rescind his illegal pay freeze and make employees whole,” AFSCME said in a written statement. “It is regrettable that he has provoked litigation instead of complying with the contract and the law. We … will consider further steps as we pursue the case now pending in state court as well.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** I didn’t see this New York Times report which cuts through the spin…
The president and general counsel of the Ending Spending Political Action Fund, Brian Baker, said through a spokesman that the plan was submitted to a group that included him and two of Mr. Ricketts’s sons at a meeting in Chicago last week. “I was surprised and troubled by what I saw,” he said. “It was not what we asked for.”
But on Wednesday, when Mr. Baker was asked in an interview whether Mr. Ricketts had rejected the advertising proposal, he said only that no decisions had been made.
The Ricketts family is close, friends say, but politically divided. Two of his sons, Pete and Todd, attended the meeting in Chicago last week to review the advertising proposal, which was titled, “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama.” His daughter, Laura, is one of the top contributors to Mr. Obama’s re-election bid and is a member of the campaign’s national finance committee. His other son, Tom, is the general chairman of the Chicago Cubs and said he was not politically active.
Those two sons are Cub shareholders.
*** UPDATE 2 *** With thanks to a commenter, this is also from the NYT article and is very damning evidence…
A page in the proposal about potential staff members for the effort says, “With your preliminary approval at the New York meeting, we have discussed this plan in highly confidential terms with the following proposed team members,” who, it says, are “ready to jump into action upon plan approval.”
Associates of Mr. Ricketts acknowledged that upon seeing a commercial Mr. Davis produced in 2008 for Mr. McCain featuring Mr. Wright, which Mr. McCain rejected, Mr. Ricketts said. “If the nation had seen that ad, they’d never have elected Barack Obama.” The quote was highlighted in the proposal.
The Ricketts family needs to explain this. Now.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Yesterday’s New York Times report revelation that Joe Ricketts and his family were briefed on a campaign battle plan to make people “hate” President Obama this year created a furious reaction from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been working with the team on a stadium remodeling plan. His aides sent out this e-mail yesterday…
The Mayor was livid when he read that the Ricketts were going to launch a $10 million campaign against President Obama – with the type of racially motivated ads that are insulting to the President and the Presidential Campaign.
He is also livid with their blatant hypocrisy.
The Ricketts have tried to contact the Mayor but he’s said that he does not want to talk with them today, tomorrow or anytime soon.
* Tom Ricketts, the Cub Chairman, issued this statement…
As chairman of the Chicago Cubs, I repudiate any return to racially divisive issues in this year’s presidential campaign or in any setting—like my father has.
My focus is on one of the great American pastimes, baseball. And our team and every other Major League Baseball team are great examples of people of diverse backgrounds working together towards a common goal. I shall have no further comment on this or any other election year political issue. My full-time focus is on making the Chicago Cubs a World Series champion preserving Wrigley Field and making the Chicago Cubs a great corporate citizen.
* Joe Ricketts’ guy at his Super PAC also weighed in…
The political consulting firm that drafted the proposed ad campaign against Obama, Strategic Perception Inc., said the Ricketts family never approved it and “nothing has happened on it since the presentation.”
Brian Baker, president of the Super PAC Ending Spending Action Fund, which is heavily funded by Joe Ricketts, issued a statement today saying the attack ad against Obama won’t go forward.
“Joe Ricketts is a registered independent, a fiscal conservative, and an outspoken critic of the Obama Administration, but he is neither the author nor the funder of the so-called “Ricketts Plan” to defeat Mr. Obama,” Baker said. “It reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects and it was never a plan to be accepted but only a suggestion for a direction to take.”
The threat to resurrect the Wright controversy that Obama thought he put to rest during the 2008 campaign is poorly-timed for Joe Ricketts’ four children, who now run the trust that their parents set up and the kids used to buy the team. While Joe Ricketts has described himself in public forums as a Cubs owner, and there’s a YouTube video of him talking about the process of buying the team, a family spokesman says he has separated himself from the operation.
The Cubs were hoping for a vote on a state borrowing plan to bankroll the Wrigley renovation using tax-exempt bonds during the final two weeks of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session, paving the way for construction to begin in October. The team needs the mayor’s support, because the bonds would be retired by new advertising, sponsorship and concession revenues at Wrigley and a variation of the financing scheme that Emanuel once called a “non-starter” — forfeiting 35 years’ worth of amusement tax growth.
Before the Joe Ricketts controversy erupted this week, talks with Emanuel were continuing with a “sense of urgency” to accommodate the Cubs construction timetable, City Hall sources said.
Asked Thursday whether the proposed attack on Obama would derail a deal, Emanuel said, “I’ll have some conversations on that later — comments, rather.”
But later, City Hall sources said they still expect a Wrigley deal to get done because it’s a job creator and because Emanuel is all about “putting points on the board,” as the mayor likes to put it. The controversy could slow down the team’s accelerated construction timetable and empower the mayor to drive a harder bargain, however.
Ricketts founded T.D. Ameritrade and built the financial empire that enabled his family to acquire the Cubs for about $900 million. According to materials leaked to the New York Times, he also was looking to spend $10 million on a series of racially charged attack ads aimed at President Obama, in hopes of “Ending His Spending.”
God Bless America, where everyone has a right to express their views according to their means. There’s nothing wrong with opposing excessive government spending, although it seems an odd stance for someone seeking a hefty government handout.
It looks even worse when the person you’re negotiating with to get those millions was chief of staff for the president on whom you’re planning a hit job.
And in Chicago, a city of 2.7 million where the U.S. Census Bureau says 20 percent of people live in poverty, should the wealthy folks who own Wrigley Field really top the priority list?
Probably not, but eventually they will. This scandal will fade. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will start taking the Ricketts’ phone calls again – although I wouldn’t want to be the first one to get through.
This might push back the Cubs’ timetable for renovating the crumbling, musty ballpark. But when it gets down to it, even if Mitt Romney himself owned the Cubs, no Chicago mayor would deny him if he threatened to move the team.
Besides, Joe Ricketts isn’t running the Cubs, and doesn’t really care about baseball – Tom Ricketts is the chairman of the team. And the Cubs aren’t asking for all that much, relatively speaking.
* The following letter to the editor appeared in the State Journal-Register the other day…
This is in response to State Capitol Bureau reporter Doug Finke. He needs to understand the difference between a “perk” and an “earned benefit.”
A perk would be like getting air travel miles for using a credit card, getting free meals and hotel rooms at a Las Vegas casino for gambling in said casino, etc.
I hired on with the state of Illinois in 1985. I took almost an $800 per month cut in salary for this job. The reason I did this was for the state benefits, which at that time included a decent retirement and medical benefits.
This was promised to me and all state employees employed at that time. This was never a perk.
In case you do not know this, you have to be employed by the state for a minimum of 20 years to receive these benefits. Maybe for you at The State Journal-Register benefits are a perk. State employees had to put up with all the political garbage in order to earn a moderate retirement, which, by the way, ranks 48 out of 50 states, to earn the benefit of paid insurance.
How would you feel if, after 20-plus years, The State Journal-Register decided not to honor any of its commitments to you? Or how would you feel if the SJ-R took a percentage of your pay toward your retirement benefits and used it at their whim? Private-sector management would be up on charges for what our government has done to state employees.
— Keith Pierce, Springfield
Yeah, because people who work for newspapers know absolutely nothing about massive layoffs, elimination of retirement plans, reductions in health insurance benefits to almost nothing, major stock losses after parent corporate bankruptcies and annual pay cuts.
Sheesh, Mr. Pierce, try working for a newspaper and see how comfortable you feel about your future. Trust me, most of the reporters I know who’ve moved over to government aren’t all that upset about pension reform.
* That being said, I have a lot of very good friends who work for the state. Almost all of them are conscientious employees who generally confide that the people who do the most complaining (and take the least action) about the Statehouse are the ones who do the least work. I also have an uncle who’s a retired state employee. He was furious when he first heard about the health insurance premium changes, but he calmed down after the situation was explained to him.
* The Question: How would you rate the legislative performance of rank and file state employees so far this year? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Whenever people say they’ll never buy another (fill in the blank) if taxes or fees are increased on that good or service, it’s probably not a good bet to believe them. Yes, it happens sometimes, but Illinois hiked tolls and barely saw any impact…
There were about 4 million fewer passenger vehicle transactions January through March as a result of tolls nearly doubling on Jan. 1. In the first quarter of 2011, 169 million passenger transactions occurred compared to 165 million this year, a 2.4 percent drop, the agency reported.
But mainly because of the toll hike, revenues increased from $157 million in the first three months of 2011 to $223.8 million in 2012.
The decline in traffic was less sharp than expected, officials said, noting planners had projected a 5.9 percent decrease in passenger transactions.
* In other transportation-related news, a proposal by state Sen. Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) to extend the length of yellow lights by one second is apparently dead because it’s still stalled in the House Rules Committee…
[House Speaker Michael Madigan], as well as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others in the city, have opposed the plan citing safety concerns over extending yellow lights.
Duffy said that stance was “concerning,” and that studies have shown extending yellow lights have sharply decreased the amount of accidents at intersections. He said their opposition was simply about money being generated by tickets.
“This is safety versus revenue issue, which isn’t something that should be occurring,” Duffy said.
Drivers who get caught speeding more than 31 mph over the limit on the highway or 25 mph over in urban areas wouldn’t be eligible for court supervision under a plan now awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s review.
State Rep. Sidney Mathias, a Buffalo Grove Republican, sponsored the plan following reports that a girl last year was killed in a car accident by a driver who received court supervision for speeding seven times without his license being taken away.
The Illinois House approved the plan by a 92-11 vote Wednesday.
Now, drivers are eligible for supervision unless they’re going more than 40 mph over the limit. With court supervision, a violation is removed from a driver’s record if he or she does not have another violation within a set time.
Discuss.
* Related…
* Cops: Rock throwers damage nearly dozen cars on Stevenson: In at least the third such incident in about a week, rocks rained down on motorists between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday near the Pulaski exit in the Archer Heights neighborhood, according to Illinois State police. At least 11 motorists reported cracked windshields and other damage to their vehicles, authorities said.
If proposed Medicaid cuts become a reality, more than 10 percent of the state’s nursing home employees could be out of work, the head of a state nursing home organization said Wednesday.
Pat Comstock, executive director of Health Care Council of Illinois, said a further reduction in the Medicaid rate Illinois pays to health care providers could be a crippling blow to nursing homes, and could result in the loss of 13,000 jobs. To help close the state’s $2.7 billion Medicaid funding gap, Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed a reform package that includes about an 8 percent reduction in the rate paid to providers.
“The effect is, facilities will close,” Comstock said. “We’re concerned a disproportionate share of those may be in Southern Illinois.
“… It is easy, when you’re focusing on budget numbers, to only focus on those numbers and not the people behind those numbers.”
The state’s Medicaid liability has increased from $4.5 billion in Fiscal Year to $10.9 billion in FY12, but the nursing home Medicaid liability has only increased from $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion in the same timeframe, according to HCCI. With that in mind, Comstock said she believes the state should work on tightening its eligibility requirements and cracking down on fraud before going after hospitals and nursing homes.
“We think the state should get its act together on that before it starts making cuts to providers,” Comstock said.
The problem is that there is a $2.7 billion Medicaid hole. You can crack down on fraud, limit eligibility and slash services and you still can’t get to $2.7 billion without making some very draconian cuts. As the governor says, everybody gets a haircut. The providers almost surely won’t be exempt.
A new study warns that state government’s costs could actually rise if Illinois reduces Medicaid funding for home care services in order to balance next year’s budget.
The Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group said that people who receive home care services could be forced into nursing homes or other institutions if Medicaid funding for home care is reduced.
“It is cheaper for the state to pay for home-based services than to pay for more expensive institutional-based services,” Lisa Hardcastle, president of the Illinois HomeCare and Hospice Council in a statement. “This study shows states that invested in home care programs achieved savings for taxpayers while states that cut home care suffered from increases in long-term care costs.”
The real problem with cutting Medicaid is making sure that one cut doesn’t mean that costs will rise in another part of the program. The home care folks make a very persuasive case that they ought to be exempt. But you can only cut nursing homes and hospitals so much and there is a finite amount of money.
* Related…
* Illinois Senate President talks Medicaid (VIDEO)
* Republicans blame Quinn for child-care funding shortfall: “We appropriated that money, the governor shorted another line and used your money to fund that line,” House Minority Leader Tom Cross said to child-care providers watching the vote from the House gallery. “He used you, and we’re going to take care of it. But we can’t let that go on anymore.” Some Republicans accused Quinn of intentionally underfunding the program so there would be a reason to ask for more money. They said that the move erodes trust as they are working with the governor on the budget for next fiscal year.
* Two polls show that despite all the media hype and rampant doom and gloom forecasts, Chicago-area residents support hosting the NATO summit this weekend. First up, Tribune…
A total of 59 percent of voters in the six-county metropolitan area and 58 percent of city voters agreed that hosting NATO would improve Chicago’s international standing, the poll found. About 3 out of 10 surveyed disagreed. […]
More than 6 in 10 polled said that regardless of whether they agreed with the protesters’ varied messages, they had a right to protest. The survey of 1,180 regional voters, including 700 in Chicago, was conducted May 2-10. It had an error margin of 2.9 percentage points overall, and 3.7 percentage points in the city.
The poll also found that 61 percent of Chicago-area residents thought that the protesters “should be protesting” NATO.
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
ComEd is excited to announce the winners of our “Powerful Design” contest, in which Chicago-area architecture students were invited to created design concepts for a new training facility on Chicago’s South Side.
The winning design, Seed of Light, was submitted by Daniel Caven and Andrea Zuniga from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).
Each member of the winning team will receive a paid summer internship at Design Organization, the Chicago architecture firm selected by ComEd to direct and manage design implementation. The winning team also received a $1,500 cash prize.
ComEd will build the 62,000 square foot LEED-certified building, as well as a 240,000-square-foot outdoor training center, as a direct result of the historic Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act enacted last fall. The construction of the training facility and the jobs it will bring also will give a welcome boost to the local economy. The facility will showcase Smart Grid technologies and will train a new generation of utility workers by providing them with the skills needed to modernize our electric grid.
The “Powerful Design” contest and the new training facility offer unique opportunities for the workforce of tomorrow. Both are great examples of how ComEd is transforming the way it serves its customers and Powers Lives. A video of the May 1st press conference announcing the winners can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XJcT_P9VU. For more information on the contest and to see the student designs, please visit: http://www.comed.com/powerfuldesign
* It’s more than a little ironic that the Ricketts family wants President Obama’s former chief of staff to provide them with a subsidy for their wreck of a ballpark while the family and its patriarch schemes to spend a fortune to defeat Obama via some pretty nasty political advertising…
A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.
Timed to upend the Democratic National Convention in September, the plan would “do exactly what John McCain would not let us do,” the strategists wrote.
The plan, which is awaiting approval, calls for running commercials linking Mr. Obama to incendiary comments by his former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons made him a highly charged figure in the 2008 campaign.
“The world is about to see Jeremiah Wright and understand his influence on Barack Obama for the first time in a big, attention-arresting way,” says the proposal, which was overseen by Fred Davis and commissioned by Joe Ricketts, the founder of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.
The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”
The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”
A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained by The New York Times through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.”
The proposal was presented last week in Chicago to associates and family members of Mr. Ricketts, who is also the patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs.
I’ll give them the fact that highlighting Jeremiah Wright might’ve worked better in 2008, but Obama’s been president for three years now. How is an obscure, defanged preacher who’s been shunned by Obama for years going to hurt the president much now?
The plan is for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., to be “jolted.” The advertising campaign would include television ads, outdoor advertisements and huge aerial banners flying over the convention site for four hours one afternoon.
The strategists grappled with the quandary of running against Mr. Obama that other Republicans have cited this year: “How to inflame their questions on his character and competency, while allowing themselves to still somewhat ‘like’ the man becomes the challenge.”
Lamenting that voters “still aren’t ready to hate this president,” the document concludes that the campaign should “explain how forces out of Obama’s control, that shaped the man, have made him completely the wrong choice as president in these days and times.”
Illinois’ campaign contribution limits would be eliminated if independent groups spent heavily in state races under legislation advanced by an Illinois House committee on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 3722 would remove contribution limits if another person or political action committee were to spend certain amounts of money for or against a particular candidate in the race. If an independent group spent $250,000 or more on a statewide race or $100,000 or more in other races, the caps, a reform measure passed after then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested, would be lifted.
The removal of the caps would apply to all candidates in the race.
But a top official with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform suggested the Currie bill would “carve out a new legal loophole.” David Morrison, the group’s deputy director, said the Currie legislation would provide a road map for a manipulative candidate who wished to get rid of the limits. A third-party group that supports a governor candidate, for example, could put together enough money to remove all limits intentionally and time the move for maximum benefit, Morrison said.
Morrison urged for a task force to study what’s best rather than rushing through a response as lawmakers hurtle toward a May 31 adjournment deadline. But Democrats sent the bill to the full House on a 4-3 party-line vote in committee.
In a case brought by the abortion rights group Personal PAC, U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen ruled that the organization could create its own independent-expenditure PAC and take unlimited contributions.
Aspen found that previous rulings by theU.S. Supreme Courtand the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago “prohibit governments from enforcing limiting contributions to independent-expenditure-only PACs.”
Illinois’ first-ever campaign donation limitation law placed a ceiling of $10,000 on individual donations; $20,000 on corporate, labor or political party donations; and $50,000 from a PAC or a candidate’s campaign bankroll. The law also prohibited groups from having more than one political action committee.
* I totally agree that candidates should have the right to defend themselves if somebody starts dropping unlimited amounts of money into their races. The reformers don’t really have a response to this, so they suggest a delay. But a delay means nothing will be done before November. And the Ricketts story shows the sort of bigtime cash that’s gonna be dumped into races everywhere.
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois workers need a jobs plan. Unemployment in the state stands at 9 percent, and the effects of the recession have made it more difficult for families to make ends meet. Unemployment and underemployment translate into less revenue for the state and less spending in our communities.
The single largest job-creation plan in decades is now before the General Assembly. At a time of tough choices, it requires no new taxes and no cuts to government programs.
SB 1849 is a gaming compromise that would create more than 20,000 jobs and bring in $200 million in new annual revenue to Illinois. It would be an economic shot in the arm for our state, and we can’t afford to pass it up.
The job creation boost SB 1849 would provide is why major voices from Illinois’ organized labor community support this gaming solution. Supporters include Illinois AFL‐CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, IBEW Local 134, SEIU Local 1, and UNITE HERE Local 1.
These labor groups and over 80 members of the Illinois Revenue & Jobs Alliance know this bill would be a “win” for the state of Illinois and its residents. Legislators ought to act now and pass SB 1849 – and start putting workers back on the job.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
We know the Tenaska Tax would be poison for our state’s business climate – but did you know it’s also a massive residential rate hike?
A new report by longtime Illinois consumer champion Martin Cohen details how the Tenaska Tax will hit Illinois families for 30 years.
The report also looks at how the Tenaska Tax adds to the other two coal plant rate hikes already approved by Springfield:
What about Tenaska’s “new” proposal? If Tenaska defers building the coal portion of their project, these costs don’t go away, they’re simply delayed. Tenaska is just putting off answering the tough questions about the pollution and exorbitant cost of the coal part of the plant, kicking that decision down the road.
Isn’t that the approach that created the pension funding crisis?
* How would you rate the pension reform proponents’ legislative performance so far this year? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Government employees unions have vowed to sue if legislators and Quinn reduce their pension benefits. The Illinois Judges Association, which represents 1,250 active and retired judges, indicates it may file a lawsuit too.
Association President Carol Pope, a 4th District Appellate Court judge based in Springfield, wrote in a recent newsletter that her organization would explore “what contractual and constitutional challenges are viable along with the estimated cost of litigation.” She cited Senate Bill 1313, now on Quinn’s desk, which ends the virtually free health care enjoyed by state and university retirees, General Assembly members and … judges.
The judges aren’t happy. They face the possibility of actually having to pay for all or part of their health care premiums. So they’re considering their legal options.
Take a moment to digest that: If the judges sue the state, they get to rule on their own suit.
Wonder which way they’ll rule? Wonder whether their sympathies lie with taxpayers or with themselves? We’ll see, won’t we.
Jorgensen v. Blagojevich may provide a glimpse. The judges sued former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Legislature in 2003 after he stripped their automatic 3 percent cost-of-living pay increases from the budget, saying Illinois taxpayers couldn’t afford them.
So the judges went to court, and some of the judges got to rule:
A circuit court ruled in favor of the judges.
And the Illinois Supreme Court, which heard the case on an expedited schedule (of course it did!), ruled in favor of the judges.
Fast-forward to 2012: Illinois judges remain among the top-paid in the nation. They earn generous pension benefits and, thanks to the Jorgensen case, get their guaranteed 3 percent cost-of-living increases every year.
If the judges file suit to preserve free retiree health care for themselves, will they again rule in their own favor?
Only on constitutional grounds, of course.
* In other pension-related news, Gov. Pat Quinn has launched a new website. From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today announced SaveOurState.Illinois.gov, a new resource to empower the people of Illinois to help restore fiscal stability to our state. This new online tool provides helpful background on the state’s Medicaid and pension challenges, details about the governor’s proposed solutions, and the latest media reports on these issues. In addition, SaveOurState.Illinois.gov helps citizens take action by directing them to contact information for their local legislators.
Governor Quinn has laid out a bold plan to rescue our public pension and Medicaid systems. The Governor’s plan will stabilize these two programs, restore fiscal stability to Illinois and strengthen our economic growth. We must be able to provide funding for core government services – things like educating our children, ensuring public safety and access to basic human services. Every dollar we spend on pensions and Medicaid is a dollar we don’t spend on grants, community programs and initiatives that many of us depend upon.
We need you to tell your State Representatives and Senators that we must take immediate action to stabilize and restructure these two systems.
Yeah, that’ll work.
* And speaking of Medicaid, the Senate Democrats have a nifty little online tool to help you see how difficult it is to make cuts in the program. Go check it out and report back.
* Meanwhile, the We Are One union coalition has a new TV ad. I moved it from another post to here because it fit better. Rate it…
* TV ad coverage and more info…
* Press Release: Union coalition launches campaign for fair solution on pensions
* Mautino: State working on pension, budget, sustainability of DNR: Mautino late Monday said he was not ready to discuss exact details of the plan but indicated, if approved, proposed measures should help to keep the state park system “limping along” through 2013 and to avoid annual park-closure discussions. He said after fiscal year 2013, funding mechanisms proposed in committee should kick in and help stabilize the DNR. One proposal he did reveal was a way to support state parks through license plate fees instead of the state incurring the expense of constructing toll booths and hiring park sticker sellers. Though he did not reveal all details, a goal, he said, would be to allow people withIllinoisplates into the parks without restriction and to request that people with out-of-state plates report to park offices for permission or registration. It would be impossible to station fee-takers at parks with dozens of entry points, such asHennepin Canal State Parkway.
* Roll-your-own smokes may face tax hikes: Politicians in at least 12 other states have taken up the roll-your-own tax issue, and a handful have put new laws on the books reflecting Illinois’ concerns.
* Press Release: AFP-IL converges on Springfield to demand pension reform: On Wednesday, the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, America’s largest organization advocating for economic freedom, will join Illinois taxpayers in delivering “leftovers” to Illinois’ legislative leaders to make the point they are tired of receiving the funding leftovers from the General Assembly and to demand pension reform.
* More potholes in Illinois’ future?: Money meant for maintaining state highways could be paying for some of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s day-to-day expenses. Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget diverts almost $250 million from the state’s road fund, fueled by the state’s motor fuel tax and vehicle license fees, to pay IDOT’s health-care, workers’ compensation, and building rent and maintenance costs, according to Transportation for Illinois Coalition, which pushes for an up-to-date transportation infrastructure in Illinois.
* Subscribers were told about this proposal back on Monday…
A House panel is scheduled to discuss a plan today that could divert more than a billion dollars from local governments to help plug a hole in the state’s underfunded teacher retirement system.
The legislation, introduced by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, is just one piece of an emerging proposal designed to fully fund the state’s pensions within 30 years. Other elements that remain under negotiation include raising the retirement age to 67 and requiring state workers, university employees and school district personnel to pay more toward their pensions.
Madigan’s plan calls for tapping into a 2.5 percent tax on corporations, called the personal property replacement tax. The tax is collected by the state and the distributed to local governments.
Under one of Madigan’s options, $1.4 billion that currently is earmarked for all forms of local governments, from tiny library districts to cities, would instead be diverted to teacher pensions.
The Illinois Municipal League, which lobbies on behalf of local governments, is calling the idea “Armageddon.”
“This is absolutely financially disastrous,” said Joe McCoy, municipal league legislative director.
If the measure passes, it would blow multimillion-dollar holes in the budgets of the city of Springfield and the Springfield School District and hit other local government budgets in varying degrees.
Madigan is suggesting the state use corporate personal property replacement taxes to bolster pension funding. Receipts from the tax currently support schools and other local government bodies.
Madigan has introduced three amendments to House Bill 3637. One would divert about $536 million, another would divert $982 million, and the third would divert $1.4 billion. The tax brings in $1.4 billion for local governments.
The measure appears to be intended to make a point. Madigan maintains that the state’s obligation to teacher pensions isn’t sustainable, and that other ways need to be found to fund them. Implicitly threatening to cut off such a huge revenue stream to local governments could ultimately press legislators to start talking about other solutions.
“It’s one approach you could take,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown. “It’s an argument that might draw others into the discussion.
“We’re open to compromise,” he added. “We just can’t afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Real or not, the proposal has got local government advocates forming ranks. The proposal “would be crippling to local governments!” declares a statement on the Illinois Municipal League website.
* Speaking of the CTU, the latest Tribune poll has some interesting results…
The poll found 62 percent approve of Emanuel’s effort to keep students in school longer each day, compared to 32 percent who oppose it. Support was even greater among parents of Chicago Public Schools students, at 66 percent. […]
Perhaps somewhat surprising was the support the teachers union garnered over Emanuel. On the question of who voters sided with in the more comprehensive debate over improving the city’s public school system, the union scored a better than 2-1 ratio over the mayor, who has had a testy relationship with the union’s leadership.
Among all respondents, 40 percent sided with the union, compared to 17 percent who backed Emanuel. Thirty-six percent said they supported neither. Among public school parents, 48 percent sided with the teachers union and 18 percent sided with the mayor. Thirty percent said they sided with neither.
The support for the union may reflect concerns that Emanuel has moved too aggressively against teachers in his first year in office, overtly attempting to portray the teachers union as the obstacle to comprehensive school reform. It could mean that parents worry about how a strike might disrupt their daily routines, or it could underscore the city’s long tradition of support for organized labor.
* Meanwhile, Illinois Action for Children has a big Statehouse rally of at least a thousand people planned for today at 11 o’clock. They’ll be protesting a threat to delay state payments to child care providers. SEIU protested against the threat yesterday.
According to Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Democrat from Chicago, Senate Bill 2450 would restore $73.6 million to pay providers to the end of the Fiscal Year 2012. The subsidies are used to cover child care for low-income families. The bill also calls for $151 million to pay down FY12 Medicaid bills. The money would come from unspent federal funds. “These are jobs, these are mostly single parents who really need to get to get to the workplace, and they need consistent, stable child care, and its our obligation to provide it to them. We under-appropriated last year to them, so this is an emergency supplemental, and we need to push it through so women can get to work and their children [can] have child care services,” said Feigenholtz, who expects the bill to pass Wednesday in the House. A delay in payments would affect up to 40,000 child-care providers and 85,000 low-income families. Feigenholtz said she and other lawmakers have been flooded with calls from providers and parents.
* We got a lot of hostile comments yesterday about our poll asking readers to rate AFSCME’s legislative performance to date. Here’s just one…
You ought to be ashamed of yourself for posting such a ridiculous question. Blaming the employees of the state for something the legislature and Governor has done is irresponsible
* For whatever reason, many of you believed my question was somehow an attack on AFSCME. That’s just really stupid. It was a neutrally worded question, for crying out loud. We rate politicians all the time. AFSCME is a major Statehouse player, to say the least. They’re fair game. Plus, they’re big boys and girls. They can handle it. I received not one complaint from the union yesterday, off the record or on.
* Frankly, I was surprised at the poll’s results. Almost 39 percent of you gave AFSCME an “F.” I gave the union a “B.” How state workers would so completely turn on their own union which got them almost all the benefits they’re now whining about potentially losing is just beyond me. I’ve come to the conclusion that some of y’all are spoiled rotten brats.
* But I found the comment I posted above particularly interesting. It concludes…
Im sure your buddy Richey boy will ban me like the chicken thing he is
I will have to teach you about DOS attacks someday…somethung every big tough internet tough guy needs to know
