Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Updated Posts
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
*** UPDATED x1 - Durkin announces support *** Legislation surfaces to get rid of Tollway board members, clean up ethics and raise caps on state agency director salaries

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told subscribers this was coming on Friday afternoon and again today. From the Daily Herald

State lawmakers could consider legislation in next week’s lameduck session aimed at ending the terms of Illinois tollway directors in the wake of controversy at the agency.

The move could allow Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker to appoint replacements after he is sworn in Jan. 14.

Asked for reaction, a spokeswoman for Pritzker said bills could be introduced next week but did not elaborate on the content.

Five tollway directors have terms ending in May, and sources told the Daily Herald the bills could aim to terminate those appointments, as well as that of Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, immediately.

* As I told subscribers earlier today, that language has now surfaced. From SB1298, Floor Amendment 2

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the term of office of each director of the Authority serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, other than the Governor and the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, is abolished and a vacancy in each office is created on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. The Governor shall appoint directors to the Authority for the vacancies created under this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly by February 28, 2019. Directors whose terms are abolished under this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly shall be eligible for 15 reappointment.

* The Pritzker team summarized the bill this afternoon…

• Ends the tenure of the current members of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. New directors must be appointed by February 28, 2019.
• Requires the Board’s by-laws direct members to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
• Requires that a process to override the Chairman of the Board’s veto be spelled out in the by-laws, and consistent with statute.

* Jordan Abudayyeh, spokeswoman for the transition…

The Governor-elect’s administration is moving swiftly to restore the public’s trust in the integrity of the government, starting with the Illinois Tollway – where too little transparency and unethical behavior is unacceptable. With the construction season around the corner, it’s critical that billions worth of road-building contracts aren’t awarded to political insiders and the Tollway needs a fresh start to move forward with rebuilding Illinois.

* From another Daily Herald story

New Illinois tollway bylaws no longer include a process for the board to overturn a veto by the chairman.

The bylaws also omitted language that previously included “potential conflicts of interest” as something board directors should avoid.

* I also told subscribers about this proposal, which surfaced today. From SB3531, Floor Amendment 3

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for terms beginning after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the annual salary of the director or secretary and assistant director or assistant secretary of each department created under Section 5-15 shall be an amount equal to 15% more than the annual salary of the respective officer in effect as of December 31, 2018. The calculation of the 2018 salary base for this adjustment shall not include any cost of living adjustments, as authorized by Senate Joint Resolution 192 of the 86th General Assembly, for the period beginning July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2019. Beginning July 1, 2019 and each July 1 thereafter, the directors, secretaries, assistant directors, and assistant secretaries shall receive an increase in salary based on a cost of living adjustment as authorized by Senate Joint Resolution 192 of the 86th General Assembly.

* Jordan Abudayyeh…

The past four years have been destructive to Illinois, and it will take talented people to make progress for our state. Many critical positions – including those that protect our safety and security – no longer have competitive salaries, and we are moving to bring them in line with their peers around the country to attract talent.

* Explanation…

• Provides for an immediate 15% raise to agency directors and assistant directors at key agencies, so that the state can attract the talent necessary to turn put Illinois back on track.
• Provides a mechanism by which we can, with the assistance and consent of the legislature, keep compensation competitive and the state on track.
• The bill will not require a new appropriation.

Click here for examples of compensation disparity between selected states.

* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin talked about both bills on Rick Pearson’s radio show yesterday. He supported the concepts, but wanted to see the language before fully committing.

*** UPDATE *** From Leader Durkin’s office…

Leader Durkin will be supporting both legislative requests from Governor-elect Pritzker as a gesture of good faith moving forward into the 101st General Assembly.

  16 Comments      


Stava-Murray says she will file complaints, run against Durbin

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* January 2nd

A freshman Democratic state representative is filing discrimination claims against House Speaker Michael Madigan after she says he sent women lawmakers to coerce her to vote for him as speaker.

Newly-elected Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, said she plans to file discrimination charges against the long-time speaker with the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Illinois Office of Legislative Inspector General.

Even though she’s yet to be sworn in, Stava-Murray says she’d been harassed on three occasions since her election in November, allegedly at the direction of Madigan.

“You can’t harass someone to do something they don’t want to do if they’re sticking up for a federally protected class of people,” meaning victims of harassment, she said Wednesday. […]

Stava-Murray said she sat through hours of calls from veteran Democratic women lawmakers in the days leading up to their gathering and subsequent call to support Madigan for House Speaker, something she says she refuses to do because of his poor handling of sexual assault victim rights under the dome.

“I got calls from legislators continuously telling me that there would be no value if I voted against the speaker, telling me that if I wanted to play the game, I needed to get on the game board that existed,” she said.

The different lawmakers who called her all used uniform language, she said, as if it had been prepared for them, but she wouldn’t disclose their names.

Legislators are elected officials, so their employers are considered to be the voters in their respective districts. That’s why legislators aren’t covered by the Illinois Human Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

* As far as I can tell, nobody in the House has received a committee assignment yet. The new committee structure hasn’t even been unveiled as of yet

The rookie lawmaker campaigned on a vow to vote against Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) retaining his title. Within days of announcing her decision to a private House Democratic conference, Stava-Murray says she faced “next level retribution” from Madigan’s allies.

Stava-Murray claims Madigan denied her a chance to sit on a committee, though the Speaker’s office has not yet officially finalized committee assignments for the upcoming session. She also complained that Madigan gave other longer serving House members preferential treatment in deciding the House floor seating chart. […]

Stava-Murray said she intends to mask the origin of her ideas so they can survive the legislative process. She detailed how she plans to work behind the scenes to “do the leg work” and craft legislation, then ask other members to introduce her bills under their name because she fears Madigan won’t allow bills with her name on them to pass out of committee.

“In some ways, I’m a pass through entity that makes my colleagues smarter,” she said.

* “Bodily fluids”?…

* And then came this

Due in part to the environment for women in Springfield, Stava-Murray announced Tuesday that she would be running for U.S. Senate in 2020, a seat currently held by long-time Senator Dick Durbin, who has been rumored to be near the end of his tenure in Washington.

Stava-Murray made the decision to announce a run now in an effort to keep Durbin from winning re-election only to resign and allow the Illinois Democratic Party to appoint someone.

“If there weren’t such a toxic culture in Springfield, in an ideal world would I have spent more than a few years as a state rep? Absolutely,” she said. “I don’t feel like I should have to go to an unsafe workplace for more than two years.”

Stava-Murray is a survivor of workplace harassment and said that the experiences have left her with post-traumatic stress. She’s committed to sponsoring legislation during her two years in Springfield that would give victims of sexual harassment in Springfield rights.

* More

She said she’s never met the veteran lawmaker but disagrees with his “turn of becoming more centrist.”

“I think that he sort of writes off the progressive branch of the party, of which I identify myself with, as being unwilling to compromise, and certainly there might be some key players who aren’t giving the progressive cause a good look, but in the most part what I see when I talk to my fellow progressives and Democrats in Springfield and other fellow progressive Democrats is a total willingness to work across the aisle.”

Durbin eventually confirmed he was running.

* Last word…



  60 Comments      


Pritzker could be sent gun shop licensing bill from this GA

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We have a lot of catching up to do. This Tribune story is from December 28th

A proposal that would give the state more oversight over Illinois gun dealers could be among the first big issues that land on Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker’s desk after he takes over, and an aide says he’d sign it.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the spring vetoed a bill that would have required the state to license and regulate gun shops. Lawmakers approved the plan in the wake of the killing of Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer and the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Supporters contended that federal regulators are stretched too thin to regulate all the shops operating in Illinois. Rauner, though, called the proposal “duplicative” because the federal government already licenses firearms retailers. He said adding another layer of oversight would be costly for businesses and “do little to improve public safety.”

Lawmakers didn’t override Rauner’s veto, but they approved a new version. Likely knowing the governor would veto that one, too, Democratic Senate President John Cullerton in May put a procedural hold on the bill, keeping the paperwork off Rauner’s desk.

Now, Cullerton could release it in the coming weeks just before Pritzker is inaugurated Jan. 14, steering the gun dealer licensing proposal into the Democratic governor’s hands instead of Rauner’s. There’s still time, though, for Cullerton to decide to send it to Rauner or it might not work out for procedural reasons.

* As subscribers were told on Friday, the parliamentary maneuver planned for the gun bill will also likely be used on a couple of other proposals. But can one General Assembly hold onto a bill until after the next GA convenes?

State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said it’s an interesting question of whether a previous General Assembly can pass legislation but hold it and then send it to a new governor.

“This is, I know, one of the unusual years where the General Assembly is sworn in before the governor. Just an oddity in the way that the calendar falls,” Harmon said. “I’m going to have to look into that.”

Monday and Tuesday are the final two days of the 100th General Assembly. The 101st General Assembly is seated Wednesday, Jan. 9. Gov.-elect Pritzker is inaugurated Jan. 14.

Longtime statehouse observer and University of Illinois Professor Emeritus Kent Redfield said it’s technically possible for lawmakers to hold a bill that passed in one General Assembly and then pass it onto a new governor. He said it’s an ambiguous area that he’s not aware has been fully litigated.

“Particularly if it’s controversial legislation involving something like gun control measures, something involving taxes, there certainly would be a court challenge,” Redfield said. […]

Per the state constitution, lawmakers are supposed to send measures that passed both chambers to the governor within 30 days of passing. A procedural hold called a motion to reconsider was used on House Bill 40 in 2017 after it passed both chambers. That hold kept the controversial bill allowing more tax dollars for abortions from the governor for a total of four months. The hold was eventually lifted and sent to the governor who signed the bill. A lawsuit challenging that procedure as an abuse of the legislative process has been appealed to the state Supreme Court, but whether the court will hear it is still not known.

The Illinois Constitution is silent on the matter.

…Adding… This has happened before, however. From early 2015

Gov. Bruce Rauner sided with the state’s two largest electric suppliers Friday when he signed legislation giving Ameren Illinois and ComEd two more years to recover costs of upgrading their delivery systems.

The move allows Ameren to continue seeking rate increases via a special formula, rather than going through a longer regulatory process.

The governor’s action came after legislative leaders in December delayed sending the measure to former Gov. Pat Quinn on the belief that he would veto the proposal. The maneuver left it up to Rauner to approve or deny the plan, even though it was approved by a previous General Assembly.

  10 Comments      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Sunday, Jan 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The House is scheduled to convene at noon. The Senate returns Tuesday. Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Dan Hynes, Christian Mitchell, Jesse Ruiz will serve as deputy governors in Pritzker administration

Thursday, Dec 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton made the following personnel announcements for their incoming administration:

Dan Hynes will serve as Deputy Governor. Hynes currently serves as a senior adviser to the transition committee and as a senior executive at UBS Asset Management in Chicago, following a distinguished 12-year career in public service as the Comptroller for the State of Illinois. Hynes was elected Comptroller in 1998 as the youngest state constitutional officer since World War II. He was re-elected in 2002 and 2006 by wide margins. In 2011, President Barack Obama named Hynes as the United States Observer to the International Fund for Ireland, which makes investments in Northern Ireland for the purpose of promoting peace and stability in the region. Hynes also serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee. He received his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.

Christian Mitchell will serve as Deputy Governor. Mitchell currently serves as a senior adviser to the transition committee, state representative of the 26th District, and executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Mitchell began his career as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago before entering politics. He served as a deputy field director on Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s re-election campaign and was Midwest Paid Media and Polling Director for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. He has consulted for state assembly, city council, and congressional races across the country and was a senior adviser to U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s successful 2016 race. Before being elected to office, Mitchell also served on the senior staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago and is pursuing a Juris Doctor from the Loyola University School of Law.

Jesse Ruiz will serve as Deputy Governor. Ruiz currently serves as counsel to the transition committee and is a partner in the Corporate & Securities Group of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Throughout his career, Jesse has also dedicated time to public service. He currently serves as the President of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners and as a Commissioner on the Public Building Commission. He has also served as Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education, Interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, Commissioner on the U.S. Department of Education Equity and Excellence Commission, Commissioner on the Illinois Supreme Court Character and Fitness Committee, and Commissioner on the Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Monitoring Commission. Jesse received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as an editor of the University of Chicago Law School Roundtable. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nikki Budzinski will serve as Senior Adviser. Budzinski currently serves as transition director and previously served as senior adviser to the JB Pritzker for Governor campaign. Budzinski led JB Pritzker’s exploratory effort for Governor and advised the campaign on political strategy, messaging, and outreach. From 2015 to 2016, she served as the labor campaign director on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Previously, Budzinski worked in the labor movement for ten years in Washington, D.C., working for the Laborers International Union of North America, International Association of Fire Fighters, and United Food and Commercial Workers Unions. From 1999 to 2004, Budzinski served numerous roles in the Office of the Comptroller in Springfield. Budzinski is a Peoria native and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Alexis Sturm will serve as Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB). Sturm has over 20 years of experience in Springfield working on state fiscal policy, debt management, and administration. She currently serves as the director of cash management and bond reporting for Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza. Sturm previously served in the administrations of three Republican governors and Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. From 2015 to 2017, she served as chief of staff and deputy director for debt, capital, and revenue in Gov. Rauner’s GOMB. From 2004 to 2015, Sturm served as director of research and fiscal reporting and senior fiscal advisor for Comptrollers Hynes, Topinka and Munger. Under three governors’ administrations from 1997 to 2004, she worked in senior roles in debt management, revenue and economic analysis after beginning her state government career as a Dunn Fellow in 1997. She grew up in Carbondale, received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Miami University and a Master of Arts in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.

Erin Guthrie will serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Guthrie currently serves as the regional general manager for Uber Midwest in Chicago where she partners with cities and regulators to create safe, positive experiences for customers and residents. From 2013 to 2017, she was a client engagement manager and partnership portfolio manager at McKinsey and Company in Chicago. Previously, Guthrie worked as a product manager (MBA intern) at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, as an account executive at 4INFO and as a business development manager at Nokia in San Francisco. She received her MBA from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business and Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Stanford University. Erin lives in Wicker Park with her husband and son.

Additional personnel announcements will be made on a rolling basis.

Budzinski is tops in my book and she’s doing a good job on the transition. Sturm’s experience should serve her well at GOMB. I don’t know much about Guthrie.

Your thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** From Tim Nuding, who ran the Senate Republican appropriations staff, was chief of staff to the Senate Republican Leader and then was director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget…

Rich,

Just wanted to weigh in on Alexis Sturm since I worked with her. She’s fantastic. One of the best and brightest people I’ve ever worked with. Great pick by JB.

…Adding… I think they did good…



I’m told she was also one of Steve Schnorf’s favorites.

  23 Comments      


Shriver Center to Rodney Davis: “Starving people is not an effective job creation program”

Thursday, Dec 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release from yesterday…

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today sent a letter to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner requesting further information about a waiver the State of Illinois submitted in November to exempt every county except for one from work requirements within the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP).

“The biggest concern I hear right now from employers is the inability to hire for the jobs they have available,” said Davis. “These are good paying jobs that we need taken to keep our economy growing and they’re jobs that help people get out of poverty. I want to make sure our state is doing everything they can to pair those who can work with these jobs. The Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents work requirement was a bipartisan initiative put in place during the Clinton Administration, but it seems states continue to exploit loopholes. Just because the rules allow it, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily what’s best for our our state so I’m hoping to get a little more clarification from Governor Rauner on the need for a waiver.”

Under current law, Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) who are are enrolled in the SNAP program have been subject to a work requirement since 1996, under President Clinton. This requirement is 80 hours per month of either working or workforce development activities such as SNAP Employment and Training. If that individual does not comply with the work requirement, they are limited to receiving SNAP benefits for 3 months in a 3 year period.

States can apply for a waiver from the time limit for ABAWDs if there are areas within the state that have an unemployment rate of over 10% or if there is a lack of sufficient jobs. In 2001, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) promulgated a final rule establishing that areas could qualify where the unemployment rate was 20% higher than the national average for 24 months. Additionally, the Obama Administration released further guidance in 2016 outlining how states could establish the need for waiver.

Davis fought for stricter work requirements and a nearly $1 billion a year investment in SNAP Employment and Training programs in the most recent farm bill. Unfortunately, these reforms were not included in the final bill.

* I asked the Shriver Center for a response and here’s Dan Lesser…

The Republican Congress just passed a Farm Bill that rejects the harsh work requirement penalties Cong. Davis advocates for. It did so in recognition that starving people is not an effective job creation program.

Gov. Rauner is to be commended for taking action through a waiver request to protect SNAP benefits for 200,000-300,000 Illinoisans, almost of whom face major and sometimes multiple major barriers to working 20 hours per week, including functional illiteracy, undiagnosed mental illness, and a criminal record. The meager SNAP benefits that these single adults receive — $192/month with no other assistance — is hardly enough to function as a work disincentive, as some would have you believe..

Empirical research has shown that the vast majority of men and women who would be cut off SNAP because they are not working at least 20 hours per week want to work. They either aren’t able to work, can’t find a job, can’t maintain 20 hours per week of employment in our unstable, low-wage work market, or are actually meeting the 20 hour requirement but are being cut off through bureaucratic errors.

* But

The Trump administration is setting out to do what this year’s farm bill didn’t: tighten work requirements for millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. […]

The USDA’s proposed rule would strip states’ ability to issue waivers unless a city or county has an unemployment rate of 7 percent or higher. The waivers would be good for one year and would require the governor to support the request. States would no longer be able to bank their 15 percent exemptions. The new rule also would forbid states from granting waivers for geographic areas larger than a specific jurisdiction. […]

A Brookings Institute study published this summer said more stringent work requirements are likely to hurt those who are already part of the workforce but whose employment is sporadic. […]

“I expect the rule will face significant opposition and legal challenges.” [said the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow, of Michigan]

…Adding… Congressman Davis responded to the proposed federal rule…

“Our safety-net is catching people when they fall, but it’s doing little to help them get back on their feet,” said Davis. “We have employers who can’t fill jobs, yet 74 percent of able-bodied adults without dependents on SNAP are not working. The proposed rule restores the intent of the 1996 law, which was passed in a divided government to help more individuals find a good-paying job and become less reliant on government assistance. I still believe greater investment is needed in our employment and training programs like we had in the House-passed farm bill and I want to work with our state to ensure they have what they need to help place people in open jobs.”

  25 Comments      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Thursday, Dec 20, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Preckwinkle drops challenge to Mendoza’s petitions

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Earlier today…

Today, Susana Mendoza’s campaign announced that, based on the current status of the records exam, their count shows more than 13,000 valid ballot petition signatures, with almost half of the challenged signatures still left to review. The number puts Mendoza far above the 12,500 required signatures to appear on the February ballot.

The announced numbers highlight the political motivations of Toni Preckwinkle’s desperate attempt to knock Mendoza and four other women of color off the ballot while draining taxpayer money.

“As we’ve said from the start, Susana Mendoza will be on the ballot,” said Susana Mendoza for Mayor Campaign Manager Nicole DeMont. “Preckwinkle’s petition challenge is nothing more than a desperate political attack made by a party boss willing to waste taxpayer dollars to maintain her grip on power.”

* A bit later…



* And now…

“Being Mayor of Chicago is a tough job. That’s why there are high standards for getting on the ballot. While the campaign is dropping its challenge to Susana Mendoza’s petitions, Chicago voters should know that she just barely met the bar to be included on the ballot. This fits a pattern of Mendoza being unprepared to tackle the critical duties of the office. Since getting into this race, Mendoza has repeatedly dodged questions and failed to bring any new ideas,” said campaign spokesperson Monica Trevino.

“Toni Preckwinkle is a tough, proven progressive leader who has taken strong stands on critical issues, including criminal justice reform, police accountability and demanding a fair, equal and representative public school system. In this campaign, Toni is going to fight for this City and that includes holding every candidate accountable who fails to bring the bold leadership and vision needed to be Chicago’s mayor.”

In the end, much ado about very little.

*** UPDATE *** CFL endorsements have been released. Staying neutral in the mayor’s race, so now it’ll be on candidates to roll out individual union nods…



Ald. Brendan Reilly also isn’t on the list, but he said it was no big deal. He’s unopposed.

…Adding… Mendoza campaign…

“Today Susana’s opponent decided to drop her bogus petition challenge that she knew was nothing more than an attempt at a self-coronation and a complete waste of nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars. The boss of the party bosses desperately tried to keep Susana out of the race and she failed. Despite what boss Preckwinkle hoped, there will be an election and voters will hold her accountable for her record of raising taxes first and providing transparency last. Her political games are exactly why Chicago needs a mayor focused on the next generation, instead of just the next four years.”

  18 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** What could possibly go wrong with Elon Musk’s “loop”?

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gizmodo

Elon Musk’s Boring Company unveiled its latest transportation experiment in Los Angeles last night. The Loop, not to be confused with the Hyperloop, was supposed to be a high-speed urban transportation system of the future. And the first reviews are in, but they’re pretty disappointing, to say the least.

Back when the concept was first announced, Musk promised that the Loop would utilize fully autonomous 16-passenger vehicles gliding along at speeds of 150 miles per hour. But the system that was demonstrated last night featured just regular Tesla cars driven manually on an underground one-mile track. And at an underwhelming speed of just 35-50 miles per hour. […]

Musk was reportedly making excuses throughout the night about why his system looked nothing like what he promised. And his concept now relies on every person having their own car.

“It’s much more like an underground highway than it is a subway,” Musk said, according to the Associated Press.

* Some Chicago aldermen were in LA for the unveiling

Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, chairman of the City Council’s Latino Caucus, was one of a group of aldermen and Chicago city officials who were in Los Angeles this week to take a ride through the tunnel, which runs just over a mile.

Villegas described the ride on Tuesday night as “a little bumpy” since Musk’s team had not yet smoothed out the surface of the tunnel. The top speed reached was about 34 mph, Villegas said, much slower than Musk’s promised future speed of 150 mph. Villegas said he believed the ride would have been twice as fast if the tunnel had been smooth. […]

In June, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Musk announced plans for an express, high-speed, underground connection between downtown and O’Hare International Airport.

* AP

On Tuesday, he explained for the first time in detail how the system, which he simply calls “loop,” could work on a larger scale beneath cities across the globe. Autonomous, electric vehicles could be lowered into the system on wall-less elevators, which could be placed almost anywhere cars can go. The cars would have to be fitted with specially designed side wheels that pop out perpendicular to the car’s regular tires and run along the tunnel’s track. The cost for such wheels would be about $200 or $300 a car, Musk said.

A number of autonomous cars would remain inside the tunnel system just for pedestrians and bicyclists. Once on the main arteries of the system, every car could run at top speed except when entering and exiting.

“It’s much more like an underground highway than it is a subway,” Musk said. […]

Tuesday’s reveal comes almost two years to the day since Musk announced on Twitter that “traffic is driving me nuts” and he was “going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging.”

So, lemme get this straight. You’re gonna have to wait in line inside your specially fitted autonomous vehicle (which doesn’t actually exist) along with hundreds of other people in their own personal autonomous vehicles (which don’t actually exist) and that’s not traffic?

Coulda fooled me.

* And the tunnel will have just one destination at each end?

It does seem strange, though, that we’re taking this ride in a Model X — because until this evening, there were going to be “autonomous electric skates” that zip passengers around at 120 to 150 miles per hour. These skates were supposed to carry eight to 16 people in a pod or a single car. Unlike with a more conventional subway, these skates don’t stop between where a person gets on and where they might get off; every skate runs express to one’s final destination.

Anyway, the skates have been canceled. “The car is the skate,” Musk says.

* Imagine the traffic jams at O’Hare Airport to get into and out of this thing and the similar jams downtown. Also, they’d better be able to get into and out of those tunnels in a hurry or the whole tunnel system will be one gigantic traffic jam. Anyone who has ever tried to exit a completely full parking garage after a ballgame knows what I’m talking about here

The lift slowly lowered our car into O’Leary Station, a circular hole Musk’s Boring Company had dug in the parking lot in Hawthorne, California.

And

The car emerged from the tunnel on an elevator erected inside a round shaft lined with corrugated metal.

So, entrance and egress won’t be fast at all. Just the opposite. Great!

* Yep

Personal rapid transit is subject to the same problems as every other kind. If the system is underused, it’ll take you immediately where you need to go, says Juan Matute, the deputy director of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies. But if people find it truly useful, bottlenecks will be created: long lines of cars waiting to get on, just like on the interstate. “It could choke on its success or just not be successful,” Matute says. “Either way it’s unlikely there will be significant changes to existing traffic congestion.”

*** UPDATE *** Crain’s

Robert Rivkin flew to L.A. to see a hole in the ground and came away impressed. […]

Rivkin, the city’s deputy mayor, was among 13 people from Chicago, mostly aldermen, who visited a Tuesday night demonstration by Musk’s Boring Co. staged at a test site in Hawthorne, Calif. The vision for the Chicago project is grand: autonomous pods whisking along at 150 miles per hour to O’Hare at a cost of $20 to $25. […]

The big issue for Rivkin and others has more to do with the digging than anything else. “The question is whether you can tunnel cheaper and faster than previously has been done,” he said.

So, after all that, the biggest hurdle is just digging the tunnel and not the autonomous vehicles that don’t exist or the other stuff we talked about above?

This is not gonna end well.

  49 Comments      


Question of the day: Golden Horseshoe Awards

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best In-House Lobbyist goes to Adrienne Alexander with AFSCME Council 31

Adrienne is smart and strategic and has great relationships. She understands politics and policy, from numerous angles. She’s been extremely effective as a lobbyist for years at both the state and city level. I wish I could steal her from AFSCME.

So do I.

Honorable mention goes to the entire team at the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois

Those guys are tough. They are there for the win. They will have your back. They are your friends. We are fortunate to have them at our Capitol.

* The 2018 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Contract Lobbyist goes to Marc Poulos

He is never unprepared, and, like Dave Sullivan, has an ability to work with people on both sides of the aisle. He spent four years under a vehemently anti-Labor Rauner administration working with Rs and Ds, and although much of it was defense, he was able navigate some key wins for Labor in a very hostile environment (see the years long fight over prevailing wage rates with Rauners IDOL that ended in a deal with the Rauner administration).

Dude has had quite the year.

Honorable mention goes to Tom Cullen

Knows everyone and knows the process. Works hard for all his clients.

Tom has remained a good friend and unofficial mentor to many that have worked for him at some point through the years. This is very much appreciated. If you stood by him he will stand by you no matter how much time may have gone by.

That is very true. He could easily win this one every year.

Congrats to all!

…Adding… Today’s winners…



* I’m shutting down the blog tomorrow for the holidays (I have a bunch of stuff I have to do Friday), which means we’re running out of time. Here are today’s categories…

* Best “Do-Gooder” Lobbyist

* Best Legislative Liaison

As always, explain your nominations or they will not count. And do your best to nominate in both categories if you can. Thanks.

  42 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Illinois lost 45,116 people in one year

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Ugh…


That’s like losing the equivalent of Elmhurst. Minnesota gained the equivalent of DeKalb and Indiana gained the equivalent of Danville.

* From the Census Bureau

Population declines were also common, with losses occurring in nine states and Puerto Rico. The nine states that lost population last year were New York (down 48,510), Illinois (45,116), West Virginia (11,216), Louisiana (10,840), Hawaii (3,712), Mississippi (3,133), Alaska (2,348), Connecticut (1,215) and Wyoming (1,197). […]

Texas had the largest numeric growth over the last year, with an increase of 379,128 people. Texas grew both from having more births than deaths and from net gains in movers from within and outside the United States.

Florida had the highest level of net domestic migration in the last year, at 132,602. Since 2010, Florida has gained a total of 1,160,387 people from net domestic migration.

The voting age population, those 18 years and over, increased by 0.9 percent to 253,768,092 people in 2018.

The estimates are as of July 1, 2018, and therefore do not reflect the effects of Hurricane Florence in September 2018, Hurricane Michael in October 2018, and the California Wildfires.

*** UPDATE *** Births are slightly down, deaths are slightly up, international migration is relatively flat, but check out how domestic out-migration has nearly doubled…



  113 Comments      


*** LIVE COVERAGE ***

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive


  Comments Off      


« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Hexaware: Your Globally Local IT Services Partner
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Hexaware: Your Globally Local IT Services Partner
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds
* Reader comments closed for the next week
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign updates
* Three-quarters of OEIG investigations into Paycheck Protection Program abuses resulted in misconduct findings
* SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
* Sen. Dale Fowler honors term limit pledge, won’t seek reelection; Rep. Paul Jacobs launches bid for 59th Senate seat
* Hexaware: Your Globally Local IT Services Partner
* Pritzker to meet with Texas Dems as Trump urges GOP remaps (Updated)
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today's edition
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller