* This very “tall” mailer hit the boxes in the last day or so…
…Adding… MrJM in comments…
Seriously. Just gaze upon the list of Rauner’s accomplishments on that mailer:
•”calls for”
•”wants”
•”calls for”
•”promises to” and
•”aims to.”
After a term in office, his sole non-aspirational accomplishment was a veto that lasted two days before being overridden with the help of his own party.
* Some additional background for this post is here. Gov. Rauner was asked several times today about his stance on a gun dealer licensing bill that’s sitting on his desk. He stayed mum. From the Sun-Times…
“I’ve been clear on this issue,” Rauner said after being accused of stalling on the politically sensitive legislation in the midst of an election.
“No, governor, you’re not clear. It’s clear as mud,” a reporter said. “Are you going to sign it or are you not?”
Rauner responded: “A comprehensive solution, that’s what I support.”
Asked if his ambiguous answer could be interpreted as a plan to wait for several in-the-works gun control bills to reach his desk before taking any action, Rauner again dodged.
“A comprehensive solution is what I’m advocating for,” he said.
By my count, Rauner said “comprehensive” five times in two minutes. Check out the video…
“Comprehensive,” said Rauner, includes a ban on bump stock devices that effectively turn semiautomatic firearms into machine guns. It also includes improved school safety, improved efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted criminals and the mentally ill, and more help for police.
But the GOP incumbent wouldn’t say whether that means teachers should be trained to carry firearms in the classroom. Nor would he say whether he’ll block the licensing measure; in previous appearances, he seemed to suggest it would be excessive.
“What I will do is work with the General Assembly to come up with real solutions,” Rauner added, denying that he’s engaged in his own version of a basketball four-corners stall in an effort to offend no one before the primary vote.
Emanuel on Monday again hammered Rauner on the licensing bill, as the mayor has done often since the House passed it. This time, he joined Johnson, gun control advocates and the families of gun violence victims at a news conference at police headquarters to try to pressure the governor to act.
Emanuel nodded to the political pressure facing Rauner, but said the governor has a greater responsibility to look past that and protect Illinois residents.
“When is the right time? Only one person can answer that,” Emanuel said.
“So I would just say the governor may be thinking of his primary election, but we are thinking of the primary responsibility he has for helping us keep our streets safe, whether that’s Downstate, suburban or in the city of Chicago,” he said.
…Adding… The Pritzker campaign says he dodged a total of seven times…
With his primary eight days away, Bruce Rauner is refusing to take action to prevent gun violence, leaving the Gun Dealer Licensing Bill sitting untouched on his desk.
When reporters repeatedly asked about his position on the legislation, Rauner dodged, ducked and dived seven times. After recycling his favorite talking point that he has been “clear on this issue,” a reporter fired back: “clear as mud.”
“Instead of signing the Gun Dealer Licensing Bill immediately, Bruce Rauner is playing politics and putting lives at risk,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Illinoisans deserve better than a leader who would rather wait out his primary than act swiftly to keep families safe.”
…Adding… DGA transcript…
Question: Governor, as we meet here, the Mayor, the Police Superintendent and a bunch of other people are holding a press conference to urge you to sign SB1657, the gun shop bill, and the other legislation the General Assembly passed. As you know there’s been some action in Florida. The Governor there signed a bill that a lot of people thought a few years ago or a few months ago he would never sign. What are you going to do with this legislation?
Rauner: What I will do, and continue to do for many days, is to work with our members of the General Assembly on a bipartisan basis to come up with real solutions together, on a bipartisan basis. And I’m advocating that we try to accomplish four things. One is to ban bump stocks. Number two is to find ways to keep our schools safer - there are many things we can do in that regard. Third we should find ways, better ways, more thoughtful ways, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. Mental illness, unfortunately I believe, has played a major role in a number of these horrible, horrible tragedies. And I believe we should find ways to work together to better support our police officers, our law enforcement officers who put their safety at risk to keep our families safe. I believe we can work together to do those four things.
Question: Since its NCAA time, have you gone to the four-corner offense here? Are you playing stall ball, trying to take the air out of the ball until after the March 20th primary on this issue?
Rauner: I’ve been clear on this issue –
Question: Governor, you’re not clear. As clear as mud. I mean what does that have to do with the bill that’s on your desk. Are you going to sign it or are you not?
Rauner: Comprehensive solution, that’s what I support. A comprehensive solution.
Question: So are you saying you’re waiting for all the legislation to pass through the legislature. All the pending gun bills before you consider any of them.
Rauner: Comprehensive solution is what I’m advocating for.
Question: Governor, you did say the other night apparently that you felt that the feds already sort of handle this gun dealer licensing. Is that where you stand?
Rauner: Well it is true that gun dealers are already federally licensed. That is true.
Question: So that doesn’t need any state intervention as well.
Rauner: Again, I’m going to look at a comprehensive solution.
“Question: Governor, this one seems pretty much like a stand-alone bill that makes a lot of common sense to a lot of people. Why not just sign this one now and work out the details with the other later?
Rauner: Again, comprehensive solution is what I’m advocating.”
* From Chris Kennedy’s appearance on Rick Pearson’s WGN Radio show yesterday…
When we look at revenue options, let’s look at the tax cheats that are operating in Illinois. Let’s look at the people who say they live in another state and continue to have their jobs here and take income in Illnois and don’t pay income tax here.
The state of New York, the state of California started taxing those people. I talked to the fellow who helps collects those taxes in New York just last week and he said it’s billions of dollars in tax revenue that they get in New York from people who visit there and work, take meetings and work. And we should tax those people here.
According to Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois President Carol Portman, the current tax code is pretty good at collecting money from professional athletes when they play in town—that provision sometimes is called the “Michael Jordan” clause, after the former Bulls star—but largely lets visiting accountants, lawyers, consultants and others off the hook unless they exclusively work here or their business is based here.
“States like New York are more aggressive and tax nonresidents spending just a few workdays there,” Portman says.
In fact, some businesspeople abuse the loophole, intentionally maintaining their official residence in a low-tax state while working here most of the time, says the sponsor of the Senate bill, Chicago Democrat Kwame Raoul. Still, “This is a complicated subject. We have to do it the right way,” he says.
The Civic Federation’s Laurence Msall agrees with Portman that Illinois should consider following the lead of New York, which “taxes you on your first day of working there.” Potentially, the state could net tens of millions of dollars a year in revenue by fully collecting such a tax, he adds.
But both Msall and Portman say there would have to be either reciprocity with other states—we’ll exempt your road warriors if you exempt ours—or a provision creating an Illinois tax credit for taxes paid to other states. That would cut down on the income.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) introduced a bill on this topic last May…
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that compensation paid to individuals whose service is performed both within and without this State, but is not otherwise treated as paid in this State under the Act, is paid in this State to the extent that compensation is paid for services performed within this State.
* Gov. Rauner was asked today about the Erika Harold controversy. You’ll recall that three sources told Mary Ann Ahern that Harold said this during a Miss Illinois pageant interview…
One of the questions to Harold that year was: If she, like her mother, was responsible to place a child in foster care and had to choose between a.) A loving gay couple or b.) A heterosexual couple who were known child abusers, which would she chose?
All three sources told NBC 5 she chose the child abusers.
I’ve known Erika Harold for about five years. I’ve found her to be a person of great talent and integrity and good will. And I can’t comment beyond that.
* The governor, who made it clear that he fully supports gay adoption, was then asked if Harold should drop out of the attorney general’s race…
I’ve told you about my view of Erika Harold. I think she’s an outstanding person of great talent and integrity and good will.
Since the news of @ErikaHarold statement that an abusive home would be better 4 kids than a home w/2 same sex parents broke last night, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what those words mean to me, both as a gay parent & as an advocate for LGBTQ youth…
— Rep. Kelly Cassidy (@RepKellyCassidy) March 9, 2018
* A couple of recent Bridget Degnen mailers slamming Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey. As a reminder, Fritchey sent out a mailer during his losing 2009 congressional special election bid announcing that he liked ketchup on hot dogs, and the much-hated Lincoln Park Towing company could have its license taken away by the state soon…
…Adding… Fritchey’s campaign sent me one of his pieces. According to the Ledger, she was a “Senior Public Service Administrator” from 12/2016 through 1/2018…
* The first gubernatorial candidate to promise to get Illinois out of Daylight Savings Time will receive my vote on March 20th. And I don’t care if it’s Bob “Three State Solution” Marshall.
I mean, c’mon, we all lose an hour’s sleep every night right before a primary? It’s inhumane. Think of the children, for crying out loud.
The government needs to stop messing with peoples’ biological clocks. If Arizona can do it, so can we.
Amends the Time Standardization Act. Provides that daylight saving time shall be the year-round standard time of the entire State. Makes other changes. Effective July 1, 2017.
That would have to be amended, of course, unless Andersson also can pass a trailer bill rolling back time to last July 1, and I wish he wouldn’t.
* As you already know, JB Pritzker is airing a TV ad which claims that Chris Kennedy and Sen. Daniel Biss support taxing retirement income, “one of the few things Illinois doesn’t tax right now. The ad goes on to claim that Pritzker is against doing such a thing.
Chris Kennedy: I wouldn’t do that. The average retiree pension is like $18,000 a year. We’re going to go tax people making 18,000 a year? That’s the group we’re going to attack? I don’t think so. I don’t have the heart for that… There’s nothing about me that would lead me to believe that that’s the right thing to do. That’s not where the money is. Those people need that for their basic income and I think that’s a real bad suggestion and I’ve thought so since the beginning of the campaign, despite the lies that JB Pritzker is telling about me in his new ads…
Rick Pearson: I want you to address that issue.
Chris Kennedy: It’s interesting. I came from a family, we’re very competitive, the Kennedy family, particularly my mother who taught us this lesson: It’s better to win than to lose. But she also made it clear it’s better to lose than to cheat. And I think that’s a lesson that the Kennedy family learned that apparently they don’t teach in the Pritzker family. Because Pritzker, when he couldn’t spend his way to victory, that is, tell the truth about himself, he then had to pick an alternative course, which is to lie about others. And that’s what he’s doing now with his television ads and his radio ads. And it’s unfortunate that he’s in that desperate spot.
Going after the guy’s family now, eh? That’ll help.
…Adding… Pritzker’s campaign manager…
I've been around a lot of campaigns…things certainly get heated in the final days. But I'm not sure why Chris Kennedy thinks it's ok to imply that somehow his family is better than JB's…somehow more moral or more virtuous. https://t.co/mUc6UVQUlx
LEACH: If we move to a graduated income tax at some point would that be on the table then? Retirement income?
KENNEDY: I mean, I don’t know what that looks like. I mean, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Christmas, so I don’t know, what…
LEACH: But you want to move to a progressive income tax?
KENNEDY: Absolutely, absolutely.
LEACH: If we do that, under your plan…
KENNEDY: If we means tested, if we means tested, um, retirement income. If you could say OK, people who have more than $250,000 a year household income and have retirement income, could that be part of progressive income tax? I think it could.
So, Kennedy said he’d consider a retirement income tax. The Pritzker ad is not a “lie.” And if Kennedy manages to win the primary, Rauner will undoubtedly blast him with the same sort of ad because 74 percent of Illinoisans oppose such a tax. It’s our state’s political “third rail.” And the same goes for Sen. Daniel Biss, who qualified his own support in a similar manner.
