* From the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association…
Crisis Position
That’s how IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn describes the current state of affairs. IDOT will send notices out to contractors tomorrow. No more destructive work will be allowed starting tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22. If there is no budget authority by June 30 there will be a “complete shutdown.” All engineering will stop. State let local projects will stop. Locally let projects will have to decide if they will continue — their MFT dollars will go through July. There will also be a shutdown of rail, transit, and airport projects. All shutdowns will commence on Thursday, June 30 if the stopgap budget is not passed.
IDOT will award contracts from the June 10 letting if there is a budget. At this point, IDOT does not intend to rebid if there is no budget. IDOT will not advertise the July letting until July 1. If there is no budget, IDOT plans to consult with industry as to whether or not they should even go through with that letting. Lapse spending (from the end of the fiscal year) will be paid.
The Tollway program will be impacted on IDOT jobs such as 290/390 interchange, Cumberland Flyover, and on the Kennedy add-lanes.
An IRTBA official says this information was gleaned from a meeting with IDOT today. He said he was “told I could release immediately…no embargo. Notices going out tomorrow to contractors.”
I’ve asked the Rauner administration for comment.
…Adding… From IDOT…
“We have started to inform our industry partners that all of our projects in both construction and engineering phases will be shutting down starting June 30 due to the majority party in the legislature’s failure to pass a balanced budget. The conversation about how individual projects will wind down is continuing.
“The stopgap proposal is a fiscally responsible solution proposed by the Republican leaders that can be voted on today. There will be no interruption in our projects and programs if the General Assembly returns to Springfield and passes HB 6585/SB 3435.”
…Adding More… Text from a pal who represents the industry…
Blankenhorn is making calls telling people about shut down all projects, 25k jobs gone. He called me & I could tell he was running through his list
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Will he ever answer this simple question?
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you go to about the 7:20 mark in this audio, you’ll hear a Springfield reporter (Bruce Rushton) ask Gov. Rauner today why we haven’t seen, “a solid budget proposal out of you for a year and a half.”
The reporter made the mistake of throwing in some stuff about the Turnaround Agenda, so Rauner said he disagreed with much of what the reporter said and focused solely on the “non-budget” angle.
* At the 8:45 mark, the reporter cuts Rauner off and rightly points out: “We’ve heard that before. It’s your issue now. Why have you not produced a budget that is balanced that includes realistic proposals for revenues and cuts? Why not?”
Rauner said he’d like to answer the question “if you would not interrupt.” And then he went right back to his standard lines about how “every reform we’re advocating has bipartisan support. We can’t just raise taxes and think we will solve the problem.”
* And on and on the governor went until the 11:45 mark when the reporter spoke up yet again, saying “We’ve heard this same campaign speech for a year and a half. Why have you not put forth a balanced budget?”
Rauner interrupted the reporter before he could even get his question out. “So… So… OK. Somebody else. Yes.”
And that was the end of that.
* The answer is actually pretty simple. State law prohibits governors from proposing a budget with revenues not yet in statute, so he put forth two budgets with billions of dollars in holes because he doesn’t want to wear the jacket for massive spending cuts. He also didn’t want to follow Pat Quinn’s example by proposing two budgets at the same time, a “non-recommended” budget with huge cuts and a “recommended” budget with new revenues.
It’s a politically understandable predicament. But, of course, he doesn’t want to admit to a lack of courage. And he’s apparently prepared to filibuster to the end of time to avoid answering the question.
…Adding… From a reporter pal…
The guv was redirected from Rushton by Lance, whose voice is not on the audio. Lance called, “Move on! Move on!”
The guv next called on WAND’s Ed Cross, whose question was something like, “Isn’t the Chamber of Commerce a special interest?”
Raw audio…
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* A new Anzalone Liszt Grove Research poll taken June 9-14 of 601 likely voters found that 60 percent rated Gov. Rauner’s job performance as negative, with “Not so good” at 21 percent and “Poor” at 39 percent. Just 33 percent said he was either doing a “Good” (26 percent) or “Excellent” (7 percent) job.
…Adding… It should be noted that this is not a “traditional” way of asking about approval ratings. But there are different ways of asking the question.
50 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Gov. Rauner, including 35 percent who had a very unfavorable opinion. Just 35 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Rauner, with a mere 11 percent saying they had a very favorable opinion of him.
By contrast, President Obama’s fave/unfave numbers were 63/34.
* The poll also had some bad news for ComEd and Exelon’s energy proposal and for legislators who vote for it as-is. The wording of the polls seems more professional than the one released earlier this month by Exelon, but they are quite negative. Still, as an issue test, they’re interesting. But the sample size for the competitive legislative district over-sample is probably too small to rely on here.
Click here for the full results. Click here for the summary. Click here for the press release.
* After all the push questions, they found that 81 percent oppose the Exelon bill’s “demand charge.” No surprise, considering the loaded questions, but that’s actually the same result as before the final question was asked. But check this out…
Which of the following reasons do you think a legislator in Springfield is most likely to support this law?
They think it will benefit average utility customers 13%
They think it will be good for the environment 8%
Total Positive Reason 21%
They think it will be good for big corporations 21%
They took campaign cash from a big utility company 41%
Total Negative Reason 63%
[vol] Don’t know/Refused 17%
Which of the following reasons do you think Bruce Rauner is most likely to support this law?
He thinks it will benefit average utility customers 14%
He thinks it will be good for the environment 6%
Total Positive Reason 19%
He thinks it will be good for big corporations 31%
He took campaign cash from big utility companies 28%
Total Negative Reason 59%
[vol] Don’t know/Refused 21%
The people have a low impression of everybody.
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Contradictory messaging
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Charles Thomas…
The governor said he remains focused on getting the Democratic leaders back to Springfield to vote on two bills - one for education funding, and another for essential services. It’s the only way, he says, to avoid near-term chaos.
“Speaker Madigan and the supermajority, I believe they wanted to create a crisis. I believe that they’d like to force a tax hike without any reforms,” Rauner said.
* Paris Schutz…
“The supermajority is trying to create a crisis, and my sense is, they would like to force a bailout of Chicago Public Schools,” [Gov. Rauner] said. “The other issue is, Speaker Madigan would like to put pressure to force a tax hike at some point without doing any reforms. And creating a crisis now, where government services melt down, where people are yelling and upset, can create the leverage and the push that he has on that side.”
* Tribune editorial…
Rauner believes a majority of rank-and-file Democrats agree with what is left of his so-called turnaround agenda. The changes he seeks are not radical. They are not union-busting. They are not out of line with what other states are doing. Democrats support him, privately. But they don’t have the guts to call out their leadership and get behind the Republican governor whom Madigan loves to describe as “extreme.”
Let’s be clear: One side is being extreme. It’s the side that is in power. It’s the side that could call its members back to Springfield to fix this. It’s the side that could cut a deal and send it to the governor’s desk within days. It’s the side that claims to represent the interests of the middle class but is doing so, apparently, from political fundraisers at local country clubs with a shrimp skewer in one hand and a cocktail in the other.
If you don’t like Rauner and you blame him for the state’s mess, well, we’ve got some bad news for you. He’s not going anywhere. He’s in this to fix Illinois.
* Tribune article…
“It could certainly happen,” Rauner said of Democrats gaining seats this fall. “The speaker’s senior staff told me they think that this could be a Democratic tidal wave year in Illinois and that they’ll pick up three or four seats” from House Republicans.
“The speaker will move from the most powerful politician in this state to the dictator of the state,” the governor said of such a result, adding later, “I feel very bad for the people of Illinois.”
If Madigan picks up seats, Rauner said, “Then they’ll be in a position where there probably ain’t going to be much in the way of reforms and … they’ll be able to jam through whatever it is their particular goal is.”
* So, to sum up…
1) The Democratic supermajority is currently all-powerful and is attempting to create a crisis to bail out Chicago schools and force through a tax hike;
2) According to the governor, a majority of Democrats actually support the governor’s Turnaround Agenda;
3) If the House Democrats pick up seats, well, then they’ll finally “be able to jam through whatever it is their particular goal is.”
…Adding… One more, thanks to a commenter…
1) Madigan is all powerful;
2) Madigan’s members “don’t have the guts” to call him out;
3) Madigan is afraid of his own members.
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* More from that fascinating and very insightful Tribune interview of Gov. Bruce Rauner…
But Rauner saved his sharpest school-related criticism for Emanuel, a one-time vacation friend and business associate, for having “caved” to the CTU during the last strike and saying the mayor would do so if the union walked out again.
“It takes someone with a unique background to stand up to the threat of a strike, and win. And win. You’ve got to have the children and the students be able to go somewhere safe and a learning environment, and he’s not willing to do that,” Rauner said.
“So the teachers union gets to dictate terms. This is going on all over Illinois and around America. And if you can’t take a strike and come out the other side and win, the union is the dictator. They dictate the terms,” he said.
He’s only talking here about teachers unions, but one can’t help wonder if he feels the same about AFSCME.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot about this. Rauner also had a message for AFSCME…
The re-election pledge came as Rauner accused the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the state’s largest employees’ union, of trying to wait out his term before working toward a new contract.
“The union wants nothing. They just want to delay. They want to delay (contract talks) for another two-and-a-half years and hope that I’m gone, but I’m going to run again, so, you know,” said Rauner, who is seeking a state labor board ruling stating that contract talks are at an impasse.
* Related…
* Chicago teachers to turn furlough day into ‘fight back’ day with June 22 Loop protests
* Chicago Teachers Union plans protests for Wednesday
* Schools out, protests in: Teachers promise Loop marches
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* House Speaker Michael Madigan…
“The bipartisan working groups of legislators will meet three times this week, continuing their efforts to achieve a compromise on the state budget. Governor Rauner has been supportive of these groups’ efforts, and I agree with his recent comments that until there is a compromise budget, lawmakers should not be brought back to Springfield.”
“The working groups’ efforts should be allowed to move forward, continue their progress toward compromise, and work to end the budget impasse as soon as possible. ”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the ILGOP…
“It’s become painfully obvious that Mike Madigan’s declaration that the House will remain ‘in continuous session’ and meet each Wednesday was a lie. Madigan is hiding behind the working groups because he is afraid that rank-and-file Democrats actually want to compromise and work with their Republican colleagues. If Madigan were interested in getting a deal done before the election, he would call legislators back to session immediately. Instead, he has decided that holding school children, government operations and prisons hostage is okay if it means he can force a massive tax increase and a bailout of CPS with no reform. Madigan has driven Illinois into the ground for three decades – it appears he is content to do that for yet another year.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
*** UPDATE 2 *** Finke…
After learning the House canceled Wednesday’s session, Rauner said lawmakers are shirking their duties.
“They’ll come back if we demand, if we the people of Illinois, demand they come back,” Rauner told an audience in Bloomington Tuesday. “They should be doing their jobs. They should be there today, tomorrow, Thursday working this out.”
Rauner has said the House should be in session more than once a week in June. He has also threatened to call special sessions to force lawmakers to return but has not said anything about that option recently.
Rauner repeated his contention that Democrats don’t want to pass a budget before July 1, which is the start of the new fiscal year. He also said Madigan wants to keep schools in limbo with no budget.
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