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Hastings circulating petitions for SoS and AG as Ald. Burnett declares he’s not circulating

Wednesday, Sep 20, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Michael Hastings is a Democratic state Senator from Tinley Park. I’ve altered the image to take out his address, but a buddy sent this to me today and it’s already going around…

“I have a lot of petitions out,” Hastings said today, confirming that he’s also passing petitions for attorney general.

“I don’t intend to run against Jesse White, I’ll tell you that right now,” he said, adding that he’s only circulating petitions because he’s heard the same rumors we talked about yesterday, that secretary of state petitions are being circulated for Ald. Walter Burnett, who is Secretary White’s guy, and that White would drop out late in the game and Burnett would be ready to go. Secretary White’s office flatly denied those rumors.

* So, I got ahold of Ald. Burnett. “I’m not passing petitions,” he said.

“Mr. White is not playing no games. He’s running. I’m not,” Burnett said. “Mr. White is running and I’m supporting him and if somebody is trying to do that they’re trying to manipulate something.”

“I haven’t seen the petition,” he continued. “I don’t even know if there really are petitions. The ‘alleged petitions,’ I have nothing to do with them.”

* Anyway, back to Sen. Hastings. He’s an attorney and complained today that “We don’t have any suburban representation,” on the statewide slate. He sounded very interested in running for AG.

…Adding… There’s some speculation that because White isn’t on the party slate’s petitions that this somehow means he isn’t actually running. Lisa Madigan also opted out of the slate petitions (when all incumbent candidates appear on the same petition), and people are putting two and two together and coming up with five. But the White people claim they always do their own petitions. Also, White hired Rocco Claps as his new political director a couple weeks ago or so. Everyone probably needs to take a breath here. And while I can understand Hastings not wanting to take any chances, I don’t think the secretary is amused, from what I’ve been hearing.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Durkin says he doesn’t think Illinois “needs to give away the store” to snag Amazon

Wednesday, Sep 20, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

House Republican leader Jim Durkin on Tuesday said Illinois should pursue Amazon’s second headquarters, but he doesn’t “think we need to give away the store like Wisconsin just did” for Foxconn.

Durkin was asked about Illinois’ efforts to land the giant company during an appearance before the City Club of Chicago. He said he plans to meet with Gov. Bruce Rauner in the coming days and that “we need to be competitive” in pursuing the company. […]

“We’ll do whatever we can,” Durkin said. “I do know that the competition is very heavy, and any time you start talking about incentives it brings out some of the worst in people down in Springfield.”

He said other states might overpromise incentives on which they can’t deliver. And in the end, he said, it’s lawmakers who have to approve any incentives.

The governor was asked about Durkin’s comments today and he chuckled and said he didn’t know what “giving away the store” means exactly. But he also said that he would work on a package that provides “every possible resource we can” to present the company with a “very attractive, very competitive option.”

*** UPDATE *** Ameya Pawar…

“It’s one thing to attract corporations like Amazon to Illinois because of our transportation infrastructure, our access to fresh water, because we have great colleges and universities, and because of the wealth of art and culture our state has to offer. But it’s another thing entirely to give away billions of dollars in tax incentives while places like Cairo and East St. Louis are fighting to keep their communities from closing.

“When was the last time you saw Governor Rauner lead a delegation to Cairo to assess the potential for economic development there? It’s embarrassing that we are willing to sit by while Cairo is on the verge of closure, when all they’re asking for is investments to save their community.

“If state and local leaders have the political will to offer Amazon special incentives to open a second headquarters here, where is the political will to bring investments to the many communities across our state who are struggling to survive? I propose that we match every incentive dollar we offer to Amazon with a new dollar dedicated to infrastructure and economic development, to public education, or to affordable housing in underserved communities.

If we have the money to give away billions of dollars in tax revenue to Amazon, then why don’t we have the money to invest in communities to save them from closing? And finally, we ask small businesses to pay their fair share in taxes even as they risk closure from the impacts of online retailers like Amazon, who are leading in job automation. Yet when small businesses ask for help, we tell them we live in a capitalist society.

“We cannot allow politicians to continue to put the profits of major corporations over the well-being of working class families and small businesses in our state, who have been forgotten and ignored for too long. It’s time we take our state back from the wealthy and corporate interests who care more about their own self-interest than improving the lives of people struggling to get ahead. It’s time we invest in communities that need it most to keep our communities from closing.”

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Protected: *** UPDATED x1 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Legislative candidate announcements

Wednesday, Sep 20, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Illinois economy “stuck in neutral”

Wednesday, Sep 20, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I’ve tried to point out over the past several weeks, Illinois’ economy has been sliding downward for months. With all the other stuff going on, I neglected to post this press release the other day…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate increased +0.2 percentage points to 5.0 percent in August and nonfarm payrolls decreased by -3,700 jobs over-the-month, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and released by IDES. July job growth was revised down to show an increase of +600 jobs rather than the preliminary estimate of +2,100 jobs.

August’s monthly payroll drop kept over-the-year job growth well below the national average. While Illinois job growth has had its ups and downs since the beginning of the year, the 3-month trend shows average monthly gains of 1,100 jobs per month from June to August, while the six-month trend shows a -100 per month average job loss from March to August.

“The Illinois economy is stuck in neutral with hardly any growth over the past several months,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “As a result, this has caused the state to experience a rising unemployment rate over the past three months.”

“Illinois is working tirelessly to highlight our strongest assets – our strategic location and dedicated workforce – to bring more opportunity, competition and good paying jobs to our state,” said Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Sean McCarthy. “We need to couple that with lasting reforms and incentives to attract businesses and quality jobs in Illinois.”

In August, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+6,600); Education and Health Services (+3,400); and Construction (+2,000). The largest payroll declines were in the following sectors: Leisure and Hospitality (-9,900); Professional and Business Services (-3,300); and Manufacturing (-3,000).

Over-the-year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +23,600 jobs with the largest gains in these industry sectors in August: Professional and Business Services (+15,300); Financial Activities (+9,100); and Education and Health Services (+9,000). Industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines include: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-5,800); Government (-3,100); and Construction (-3,000). The +0.4 percent over-the-year gain in Illinois is about one-fourth as strong as the +1.4 percent gain posted by the nation in August.

The state’s unemployment rate is +0.6 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for August 2017, which increased to 4.4 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate is down -0.8 percentage points from a year ago when it was 5.8 percent. At 5.0 percent, the Illinois jobless rate stands -0.7 percentage points lower than January 2017.

The number of unemployed workers increased +4.8 percent from the prior month to 323,100, down -14.2 percent over the same month for the prior year. This was the third consecutive over-the-month gain in the number of unemployed persons. The labor force decreased -0.4 percent over-the-month and declined by -1.4 percent in August over the prior year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.

* Despite the fact that construction is one of the bright spots, a capital bill would still help…

IS THERE A CAPITAL BILL IN THE WORKS? Rauner: “I can say, I certainly hope so. I’ve advocated for a capital bill … since day one in office … I’ve encouraged conversations to occur. I believe conversations are occurring.”

What sources tell us: The legislative leaders’ discussion involved talk of a possible $3 billion to $5 billion capital bill that would involve a public-private partnership. We’re still unclear on the funding as parties are denying a gas tax would become part of it. And sources were jittery about whether this thing would even get off the ground.

Subscribers know more.

*** UPDATE *** This is really weird. Either Natasha and I and others are being told something wrong, or, well, I dunno, but I still believe there’s a plan and there’s been no denial yet of that…

.@SenBillBrady spox denies he introduced capital bill of any kind, claims it wasn't even discussed. Several sources say otherwise. https://t.co/1bu2JUrWPx

— Mark Maxwell (@WCIA3Mark) September 20, 2017

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