Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Yesterday was quarterly filing deadline day. I told subscribers about some of the major players this morning, but let’s take a look at some down-ballot statewide contests. Here’s our old pal Jason Helland, Republican candidate for secretary of state…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $60,746.85
Total Receipts: $1,005.00
Subtotal: $61,751.85
Total Expenditures: $9,707.04
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $52,044.81

He raised a thousand bucks and didn’t even spend $10K. He received another $7K in in-kinds from the state party for consulting work. And of that $9,700 in reported expenditures, $6,584 went to himself for things like mileage.

* Secretary of State Jesse White…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $1,114,318.75
Total Receipts: $263,080.24
Subtotal: $1,377,398.99
Total Expenditures: $696,231.93
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $681,167.06

White doesn’t appear on Illinois Election Data’s list of “grandfathered” committees…

Prior to June 1998 surplus campaign funds could be converted to personal use so long as they paid taxes on that income. Cash on hand as of June 30, 1998 would be grandfathered in, surplus campaign funds could be converted to personal use (subject to tax) up to the balance as of 6/30/98.

White closed the committee he had back then at the end of 1998.

* Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $174,592.81
Total Receipts: $2,826,577.90
Subtotal: $3,001,170.71
Total Expenditures: $2,933,706.77
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $67,463.94

Harold spent $330K on digital advertising in the fourth quarter and over $2.3 million on TV.

* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $653,311.16
Total Receipts: $5,162,089.81
Subtotal: $5,815,400.97
Total Expenditures: $5,497,153.49
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $318,247.48

Raoul spent close to $5 million on advertising, paid $65K to P2 Consulting and spent $15K on election-day phone calls.

* Republican comptroller candidate Darlene Senger…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $48,134.28
Total Receipts: $16,225.00
Subtotal: $64,359.28
Total Expenditures: $59,296.54
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $5,062.74

Expenditures included $18K for a poll in October.

* Comptroller Susana Mendoza…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $1,696,696.52
Total Receipts: $353,874.47
Subtotal: $2,050,570.99
Total Expenditures: $1,937,498.55
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $113,072.44

Expenditures include her transfer of $500K to her mayoral committee. She spent almost $1.3 million on advertising.

* Republican treasurer candidate Jim Dodge…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $4,333.99
Total Receipts: $14,895.00
Subtotal: $19,228.99
Total Expenditures: $15,710.29
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $3,518.70

Dodge owes himself over $32K.

* Treasurer Michael Frerichs…

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period: $1,333,004.12
Total Receipts: $411,150.00
Subtotal: $1,744,154.12
Total Expenditures: $0.00
Funds available at the close of the reporting period: $1,744,154.12

He spent nothing? Didn’t he have an ad?

…Adding… I’m told the Frerichs filing will be amended “shortly.”

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Protected: *** UPDATED x2 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - New House GOP leaders and Senate Dem chairs

Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

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“The Original Soda Taxer”

Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Have a look…

Gery Chico hits Susana Mendoza on television. "The Original Soda Taxer" he calls this commercial: https://t.co/u6dYov5qu1

— Tahman Bradley (@tahmanbradley) January 16, 2019

From the spot…

In Springfield, Susana Mendoza voted to hit working families with a massive new soda tax.

The ad claims she increased soda taxes by 600 percent.

* Coincidentally, we talked about this same bill from 2009 earlier today. It was part of the Video Gaming Act which funded the capital program. From the statute…

Beginning September 1, 2009, each month the Department shall pay into the Capital Projects Fund an amount that is equal to an amount estimated by the Department to represent 80% of the net revenue realized for the preceding month from the sale of candy, grooming and hygiene products, and soft drinks that had been taxed at a rate of 1% prior to August 1, 2009 but that is now taxed at 6.25%. […]

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, beginning August 1, 2009, “soft drinks” mean non-alcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners. “Soft drinks” do not include beverages that contain milk or milk products, soy, rice or similar milk substitutes, or greater than 50% of vegetable or fruit juice by volume.

By the way, an increase of 1 to 6.25 is actually a 525 percent increase, not 600. But whatevs.

* The legislation also increased the tax rate on candy. Here’s one of my all-time favorite legislative definitions…

For purposes of this Section, “candy” means a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces. “Candy” does not include any preparation that contains flour or requires refrigeration.

* Now, to the point. I’d wager that most people don’t remember these two tax hikes or never even heard about them when they passed.

Why? Because it was an agreed bill. Democrats and Republicans worked together on the drafting and both sides put votes on the legislation and almost nobody voted against it. The Retail Merchants Association also had a hand in crafting the bill and other business groups strongly supported doing an infrastructure program.

Without significant opposition, those tax hikes quickly faded from view.

The difference between now and then, however, is the prevalence of social media. It’s much easier for a small group of anti-taxers to spread their gospel than it was ten years ago.

…Adding… Rebecca Evans at the Susana Mendoza campaign…

“Gery Chico, Ed Burke’s endorsed candidate, is misrepresenting the facts in a desperate attempt to distract voters from his relationship with Ed Burke, whom he lobbied in City Hall. Susana voted for a bipartisan economic stimulus bill, a capitol bill that created 10s of thousands of jobs, putting people to work as the recession was ravaging Illinois. Toni Preckwinkle is the only candidate in this race who proposed a regressive soda tax.”

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More on the step increases

Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

On his first full day in office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker tried to further distance his nascent administration from his predecessor’s, moving to enact certain pay increases state workers say they’re owed and didn’t receive under Republican Bruce Rauner.

In Rauner’s first weeks in office, he signed an executive order aimed at absolving state workers who don’t want to join a union from paying fees that support collective bargaining. That move led to a U.S. Supreme Court case that was seen as a blow to organized labor.

The Pritzker administration said Tuesday it would grant regular pay increases to workers that they haven’t received since 2015. And an executive order he signed prohibits the state from asking applicants about salary history, a practice that can hold down pay for women.

* Amanda Vinicky…

“With multiple unions representing workers across many agencies, it will take several weeks to provide an accurate picture of both cost and timing of the restoration,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said. “However, the governor firmly believes that workers who have served the state without step increases should be brought to their current step level as expeditiously as possible.” […]

Pritzker’s move Tuesday is prospective, meaning that state employees eligible for what are known as “step raises” will be paid more (“at their appropriate step for purposes of pay” is how Pritzker’s office describes it) going forward.

Still unresolved is back pay for step increases missed the past few years.

* NBC 5…

The move raised questions from critics about how the state will afford it. […]

It is estimated it will impact 15,000 AFSCME workers and cost about $415 million.

* Illinois Public Radio…

The state has estimated paying for the step increases could cost up to $500 million.

Lost in all of this is that the $500 million number includes missed step increases from prior years. And it’s the high-ball number. It could be less. From a recent report by Gov. Rauner’s budget office…

The state estimates a potential liability range of $170 million to $500 million. The highest estimate of liability has been included for this report.

* Tina Sfondeles…

AFSCME says there is no added payroll for step increases in a typical budget year because of attrition. But the union now has thousands who were paid at a lower rate for the past four years. The union applauded Pritzker’s announcement and said it hopes employees see a bump in their pay “right away.”

And as for a contract for the state’s largest government worker union, both AFSCME and Pritzker’s administration said talks will begin soon. AFSCME plans to meet with its state bargaining committee — which includes delegates from 75 local unions — at the end of January. When Rauner took office in January 2015, talks didn’t begin until late February, the union said.

So, if AFSCME is correct, Rauner’s 2015 move to stop step increases will cost the state a bundle over the long-term, but it would have barely been felt (if at all) in the short-term because of natural attrition. Wonderful.

…Adding… From comments…

Pritzker is not “giving” AFSCME employees anything. This was negotiated for, agreed to, unlawfully withheld by Rauner, fought for in arbitration, appealed and won by AFSCME, appealed by Rauner, denied by the Supreme Court, and finally not implemented despite ILRB order by the state.