Now, check out the roll call on the ISBE motion yesterday to leave the highly controversial Crosscheck program…
4:4 vote from IL State Board of Elections on motion to withdraw from #Crosscheck:
Andrew K. Carruthers: N Ian K. Linnabary: N William M. McGuffage: Y Katherine S. O’Brien: N Charles W. Scholz : Y Casandra B. Watson: Y John R. Keith: Y William J. Cadigan: N https://t.co/VRJEHCDpKb
William McGuffage, a Democrat from Chicago who has served on the board for 18 years, called Crosscheck “suspect for a lot of reasons.” He contended there was a “symbiotic relationship” between Kobach’s role in Kansas overseeing the multistate database and his role on “what I called the bogus Trump commission.”
Republican Board Chairman William Cadigan of Winnetka called it “a shame that this whole issue of voting list maintenance has gotten entangled” with Washington politics. But he said Illinois is required by federal law to have accurate voter registration lists and noted the state has received notice expressing concerns from the U.S. Department of Justice that could lead to litigation.
Republican board member Ian Linnabary of Rockford told board members he had spoken with Kansas election officials and had “good news” that a meeting of all member Crosscheck states about security concerns would be held within the next two weeks.
While Linnabary said that no board members feel “voter fraud is rampant,” he urged the panel to “take a step back” and not withdraw from Crosscheck while efforts are made to secure the system.
* Pritzker campaign…
Bruce Rauner’s handpicked members of the State Board of Elections voted yesterday to keep Illinois in the Crosscheck program, a key priority of Donald Trump in the “GOP’s stealth war against voters.”
While there’s no evidence of voter fraud in Illinois, the Trump administration is still pushing states to opt into the program that needlessly exposes personal information and could disenfranchise voters. Instead of standing up to protect Illinoisans, Rauner’s appointees sided with Donald Trump.
“All four members that Bruce Rauner appointed to the State Board of Elections chose fear over facts and stood firmly by Donald Trump’s side,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Illinois needs a governor who will protect voting rights and stand up to Trump’s relentless attacks on this state.”
…Adding… Press release…
In response to the Illinois State Board of Elections’ decision to continue to participate in the discriminatory, deeply flawed Interstate Voter Registration Data Crosscheck Program (Crosscheck), U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement:
“No American voter should ever be improperly disenfranchised because of inaccurate information, which makes the decision by the Illinois State Board of Elections to continue its use of Kris Kobach’s secretive Crosscheck system so disheartening,” said Senators Duckworth and Durbin. “This system could purge as many as 300 legitimate voter registrations for each registration it eliminates—it has no place in our state or our nation’s electoral system. Illinois can and must withdraw from Crosscheck to restore the integrity of our state’s elections and ensure all eligible voters are able to exercise their fundamental Constitutional rights at the ballot box.”
Duckworth and Durbin wrote to IL SBE last month asking the board to stop using the program to help maintain the accuracy of its voter registration system and to instead participate in a far more precise alternative, the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) multistate partnership, which has resulted in higher voter registration rates and increased voter turnout.
…Adding More… Press release…
State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago 13th) and State Senator Bill Cunningham plan to introduce legislation ending Illinois’ participation in the controversial Interstate Crosscheck system.
Despite calls from state and national legislators to withdraw from the program, the State Board of Elections voted Monday to remain in the national voter registration database.
“If the Board of Elections will not act to protect Illinois voters, then it is our duty as legislators to do so,” Raoul said. “The right to vote is sacred, and citizens in our state should know that their information is secure when they cast their ballot.”
At a joint hearing of the House Elections Committee and the Senate Telecommunications and Information Technology Committee last week, legislators heard testimony on security concerns with the system.
Shawn Davis, a faculty member at the Illinois Institute of Technology Center for Cyber Security and Forensics Education testified that the Crosscheck system uses an unsecured network system. Most websites handling sensitive information use secure file transmission networks called SFTPs.
“The risk of exposing the personal information of millions of Illinois voters to an Equifax-style data breach is not worth the small benefit of remaining in the Crosscheck system,” Cunningham said. “This should not be a partisan issue — it is a data protection issue and it must be addressed immediately.”
Additionally, many voting rights activists say that Crosscheck is a vehicle for discrimination at the voting booth. This is because Crosscheck compares first and last names of state voter databases, ignoring middle names and designations like Jr. or Sr. This is viewed as problematic by experts because communities of color are more likely to share last names, making them easy targets for voter suppression.
The Illinois Board of Elections currently subscribes to two national voter database systems designed to help election authorities identify voters who may be registered in more than one state: Crosscheck and the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This legislation will remove Illinois from the Crosscheck system but allow the state to remain in ERIC, widely viewed as the better system.
When a small nonprofit called the Judicial Crisis Network poured millions into a campaign to stop the Senate from confirming Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick last year, and then spent millions more supporting President Donald Trump’s choice for the same seat, political observers assumed conservatives from around the country were showering the group with donations.
Not so.
Newly obtained tax documents show that JCN’s money came almost entirely from yet another secretive nonprofit, the Wellspring Committee, which flooded JCN with nearly $23.5 million in 2016.
Most of Wellspring’s funds, in turn, came from a single mysterious donor who gave the organization almost $28.5 million — nearly 90 percent of its $32.2 million in revenues.
Like JCN, Wellspring — at one time tied to the donor network spearheaded by conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch — is a nonprofit that is supposed to be dedicated to social welfare functions and doesn’t have to disclose the names of its benefactors. Since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision loosened certain constraints on political spending, these and other 501(c)(4) groups have become increasingly politically active while providing anonymity to their donors. Often one group, like Wellspring, will act as a conduit, giving most of its funds to other, similar groups with political agendas.
“It sounds like Wellspring Committee acted as a dark money conduit to provide an extra layer of secrecy to whomever was bankrolling the Judicial Crisis Network ads,” Brendan Fischer of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington said in an email interview. “This has the effect of layering secrecy on top of secrecy, and almost entirely insulating donors from any form of public accountability.” […]
Illinois Policy Action was another organization that benefited from Wellspring’s grants in 2016, receiving $2.5 million; it’s the lobbying arm of the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative Chicago think tank in Chicago that has ties to the state’s billionaire governor, Republican Bruce Rauner, according to the Chicago Tribune. In 2016, the institute released a documentary critical of Rauner’s political opponent, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, a Democrat.
* All emphasis added. From the Rauner administration’s presentation to potential buyers of its $750 million bond offering…
INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE STATE
Budget Passage
The State operated without fully enacted General Funds Budgets for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. The Fiscal Year 2018 General Funds Budget was vetoed by the Governor, and was enacted by the General Assembly after overriding the Governor’s vetoes of the Fiscal Year 2018 budget package. There can be no assurance that a budget will be enacted in future fiscal years.
The Fiscal Year 2018 General Funds Budget was balanced after the inclusion of several items including the budgetary impact of the issuance of the Section 7.6 Bonds and authorized fund reallocations and interfund borrowing. The Fiscal Year 2018 General Funds budget has an estimated underlying structural deficit of $1.5 billion… To avoid future structural deficits, the Governor and the General Assembly would, among other potential solutions, need to reduce expenditures, adjust revenue collections or approve a combination of revenue adjustments and reductions in expenditures. The State can provide no assurances as to how, when or in what form this might be addressed.
*Sigh*
* Remember the governor’s 2013 campaign vow: “They won’t stop me if I want to dramatically spend less. You need the legislature if you want to spend more. If you want to spend less, they can’t stop me”? Well…
The State estimates that the General Funds financial commitment in Fiscal Year 2017, beyond the amounts sent to the Comptroller in Fiscal Year 2017 described under “Fiscal Year 2017 Spending in the Absence of a Budget,” totaled $1.6 billion for State employee health insurance providers and $1.2 billion for other State operational costs and grants. […]
Total General Funds expenditures with the revised definition of funds for Fiscal Year 2018 are estimated to be $37.4 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion or 4.8 percent from estimated Fiscal Year 2017 results for the revised definition of General Funds. This reflects approximately $150 million in deficit reduction actions directed by the Governor.
So, instead of “dramatically” spending less, the governor spent $1.2 billion without an appropriation last fiscal year and has identified just $150 million in cuts this fiscal year.
*** UPDATE *** Comptroller Mendoza…
The Governor has now signaled that he plans to head into yet another budget cycle without talking, negotiating or compromising with legislators – leaving the state once again without a budget. That demonstrates the height of irresponsibility and the failed leadership that has come to define Governor Rauner. The good news is that legislators of both parties proved this year they are up to the task of working around an obstructionist, out-of-touch, and frankly, irrelevant governor to pass a budget for the good of Illinois.
The message that I continue to send investors, because it is true, is that Illinois is a sound investment and will continue to meet its debt service obligations under my watch. I implore the Governor to learn from his past mistakes and to follow through on his Constitutional responsibility to submit a balanced and responsible budget. He should do his job and begin good-faith negotiations with legislators.
Jim Durkin and Mike Madigan like Illinois state government just as it is.
Madigan makes millions as a property tax appeals attorney. Your property taxes go up to finance the relief Madigan gets his friends.
Durkin gets rich as a municipal attorney by getting local governments to borrow money. Your property taxes go up to finance the debt Durkin gets local governments to pile up.
Madigan and Durkin play the same game so they’re financed by the same insiders.
They work together against you.
Madigan and Durkin get rich. You get gamed.
It isn’t a pretty picture.
If you’re tired of looking at it, Vote no on Jim Durkin.
Illinois may need another tax hike to balance the books and pay for needed public investments, even if the progressive income tax eventually comes about. […]
“If you want to add revenue, the first focus is on accelerating growth and not raising taxes,” he said. […]
However, even if waste is cut, some new money will be needed to pay bills and meet tomorrow’s needs, Pritzker said.
Some will come from amending the Illinois Constitution to allow a progressive income tax, something that would require a referendum vote, likely in 2020. Pritzker said he could not estimate how much that would pull in, but he projected the state would net another $300 million to $700 million by legalizing and taxing marijuana.
Would that be enough to meet all the needs while growth accelerates?
“No. But it depends on how you prioritize,” Pritzker replied.
Would boosted income from a progressive income tax suffice?
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I haven’t proposed a budget. . . .(But) it’s clear that we are underfunding schools.”
Pritzker later suggested that some spending cuts would be on the table, but did not get specific.
Illinois Democrat gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker openly admitted in an editorial board interview with Crain’s Chicago Business yesterday that he would seek massive tax hikes if elected Governor – even more than previously disclosed by his campaign.
Pritzker’s openness about raising taxes if elected poses challenges for his nascent campaign, since Illinois voters already face some of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Pritzker’s position in favor of tax increases is in stark contrast to that of Governor Bruce Rauner, who has consistently advocated for structural reforms and lower taxes as the solution to Illinois’ fiscal challenges.
This is not the first time Pritzker has detailed his openness to tax hikes. He began his campaign amidst audio recordings documenting that he favored a large increase in the state income tax, and has opposed a property tax freeze.
Pritzker has also come under fire for not paying his fair share of taxes on his second gold-coast Chicago mansion, getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in politically connected tax breaks. Now, he’s running on raising taxes for others.
* Greg updated his piece with this statement from the Pritzker campaign…
“J.B. does not believe we should raise taxes on middle class families, period. As J.B. has said since he entered the race, passing a progressive income tax will be his top priority as governor and he is committed to finding budget solutions, like legalizing and taxing marijuana, to help address the damage Bruce Rauner has done.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** ILGOP…
“Illinois may need another tax hike to balance the books and pay for needed public investments, even if the progressive income tax eventually comes about.
“That was the fiscal bottom line from Democratic gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker today as the Chicago entrepreneur and investor, who’s moved ahead in some recent polls, met with Crain’s Editorial Board for a wide-ranging interview.”
That is how Greg Hinz’s Monday column on J.B. Pritzker column begins. Pritzker continues to mirror his patron Mike Madigan when it comes to taxes, promoting even higher taxes despite Madigan’s 32% tax hike on Illinois families earlier this year.
Madigan muscled through the increase this summer, and if he has his way, will continue to raise taxes.
This comes as no surprise, as Madigan has stated a tax increase to 5% is a “good place to begin.”
This all while Pritzker continues to dodge releasing his own tax returns. It has been 221 days since Pritzker pledged to release his taxes, but he continues to hide behind empty promises of ’soon.’
When it comes to raising taxes, Pritzker is lock step with Madigan: more taxes, no reform.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Rauner campaign…
Yesterday, JB Pritzker stated his support for yet another tax increase on working families all across Illinois. This would mean even more tax hikes after Pritzker’s ally, Speaker Mike Madigan, rammed through a 32% tax hike earlier this year. Governor Bruce Rauner knows that more tax hikes will only force more jobs to leave the state. That’s why he’s fighting to reform Madigan’s corrupt system in Springfield.
From Greg Hinz’s Monday column: “Illinois may need another tax hike to balance the books and pay for needed public investments, even if the progressive income tax eventually comes about. That was the fiscal bottom line from Democratic gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker today as the Chicago entrepreneur and investor, who’s moved ahead in some recent polls, met with Crain’s Editorial Board for a wide-ranging interview.”
Following Pritzker’s comments, Rauner spokesman Justin Giorgio issued the following statement:
“The contrast is clear in Illinois. Governor Rauner is fighting for every single Illinoisian by working to fix a broken and corrupt system. He wants everyone to be able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. But JB Pritzker doesn’t want to do the difficult work of making real reforms. JB Pritzker just wants to raise taxes to avoid showing any leadership and staying in the good graces of Mike Madigan.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Pritzker campaign…
“The idea that Bruce Rauner is fighting for every Illinoisan is as laughable as his team’s spelling and tired talking points. Bruce Rauner decimated schools, social services, and working families across this state and refuses to take a stand on Donald Trump’s tax plan that will raise taxes on many middle-class families. The truth is, the best thing Rauner can do for every Illinoisan is hop back on his motorcycle and ride off before destroying anything else in this state.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** ILGOP…
So J.B. Pritzker does not deny his plan to raise income taxes on every Illinoisan. Our suspicions have been confirmed. Illinois, hold onto your wallets. Pritzker and Madigan are coming.
Um, didn’t he say he didn’t want to raise taxes on the middle class at all?
*** UPDATE 5 *** Pritzker campaign…
A. Please refer to previous statement: “J.B. does not believe we should raise taxes on middle class families, period.”
B. Does Rauner support Donald Trump’s destructive tax plan? Yes or no?
Illinois election officials have decided the state will remain in a multi-state voter registration database that critics claim is inaccurate and could lead to security breaches.
The motion to withdraw from the Kansas-run Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program failed on Monday after the State Board of Elections voted 4-4. Five votes were needed for it to pass.
However, the issue could come before the Illinois board again or through the Legislature, as some advocates have promised.
Groups including the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights have raised concerns about the program run by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who’s also a vice chairman of President Donald Trump’s election fraud commission.
* It looks like the vote was along party lines…
4:4 vote from IL State Board of Elections on motion to withdraw from #Crosscheck:
Andrew K. Carruthers: N Ian K. Linnabary: N William M. McGuffage: Y Katherine S. O’Brien: N Charles W. Scholz : Y Casandra B. Watson: Y John R. Keith: Y William J. Cadigan: N https://t.co/VRJEHCDpKb
State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) is disappointed in the Illinois Board of Elections’ decision to continue participating in the intrusive and controversial Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program.
The Board of Elections voted 4-4 this morning against a motion to withdraw from Crosscheck, meaning that Illinois will continue participating in the program despite substantial security and disenfranchisement risks.
“Voting is a fundamental component of our nation’s democratic values,” Hastings said. “Illinois residents deserve to have the peace of mind that the Illinois State Board of Elections is taking every necessary precaution to protect their sensitive personal information.”
The state of Illinois is also a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which is considered to be more reliable in determining the accuracy of voter registration.
“I’m disappointed the Illinois State Board of Elections refuses to learn from the mistakes of the past,” Hastings said.
Last week, Hastings raised some security concerns and urged the State Board of Elections to abandon Crosscheck, during a joint House and Senate hearing.
Since 2010, approximately 8.6 million Illinois voter registration records have been submitted to the Arkansas and Kansas Secretaries of State, including names, birth dates and partial social security numbers.
During the hearing, members heard from advocates and experts that Crosscheck does not use secure networks and that passwords used to access information on the database have been sent through unsecure emails.
“We live in an online world,” Hastings said. “We have already seen the effects of using unsecure voter systems with the cybersecurity breaches during the 2016 presidential election. However, it seems like the lessons of the last election are lost on some members of the Illinois State Board of Elections board.”
Critics also argue the unsecure Crosscheck system is designed to suppress minority voters. Communities of color are more likely to have the same last names, which the program flags as a potential double voter. Additionally, the program does not check middle names or suffixes such as Junior or Senior.
The result is that voters with similar names can often be mistaken by the program as double-registered voters, which could have them potentially thrown off the voter rolls.
“I refuse to sit by and watch policies that promote voter suppression persist,” Hastings said. “Our nation’s heroes have gone to war and too many have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our democratic values. Taking away qualified voters’ ability to participate in the democratic process is an extreme injustice and disservice to the men and women who have fought to protect our freedoms.”
Hastings has continued to advocate and call for stronger cybersecurity protocols at the state and local levels to prevent further attacks on Illinois’ voter registration databases. He will explore additional action to secure the sensitive voter information.
* Meanwhile…
The Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) held a hearing Monday - to a full room - to receive public comments on the implementation of the new automatic voter registration law (Public Act 100-46).
Illinois will be the 10th state (plus Washington, D.C.) to implement automatic voter registration (AVR) into law, and is the first midwestern state to do so.
The law modernizes and reforms current registration laws so that whenever an eligible Illinois citizen applies for, updates, or renews a driver’s license or state ID, they will be automatically registered to vote at their new address, unless they choose to opt out. AVR creates a similar program for other social service and public assistance agencies, making Illinois’ law the farthest reaching AVR law in the country.
Members of the Just Democracy Illinois coalition testified in Springfield and in Chicago this morning to offer assistance and expertise in urging the SBE to work with other state agencies to implement the AVR law on time. Several coalition members expressed specific community needs to ensure the new process would maximize efforts to register voters of color, non-native English speakers, and young voters encouraging the Board to get additional community input throughout their implementation planning. “There’s value in a broad stakeholder process,” said Abraham Scarr, Director of Illinois PIRG.
“Illinois lags behind the country when it comes to voter participation by young people and voters of color,” said Ami Gandhi of Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “If we implement AVR correctly, we have the potential to close these disparities and reach communities that have historically been excluded from our elections.”
Jay Young, the Political Director of Common Cause Illinois, encouraged the SBE to “think of the enthusiastic support for Automatic Voter Registration as a resource” to be called upon to overcome obstacles in the implementation process.
In submitted written testimony, Just Democracy Illinois reinforced with the SBE the goals of the new law:
For Illinois to have a more complete and accurate voter list,
To keep our elections secure by preventing the potential for the inadvertent registration of non-citizens,
To lower barriers for young voters, communities of color, and other under-registered demographics to register to vote and expand ballot access to encourage more participation at the polls,
And to maximize new voter registrations and voter registration updates.
The law has a mandatory implementation date of July 1, 2018 for the Secretary of State’s Department of Drivers’ Services. Other state agencies responsible for implementing AVR, including the Departments of Employment Security, Natural Resources, Financial & Professional Regulation, and Human Services, have an additional year (July 1, 2019) to comply with implementation.
“The 2018 elections will be a huge motivation for new voter registrations and registration updates,” said Andy Kang, Legal Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago and Chair of the Just Democracy Illinois coalition. “It is imperative that the State Board uses every tool in its toolbox — including assistance from the Just Democracy Illinois coalition — to obtain the necessary resources to implement this law on-time and not keep voters from voting in November because of a preventable delay.”
AVR has a major positive impact on under-registered communities. After instituting AVR, Oregon saw a six percent increase in turnout among young voters and had registration rates among voters of color increase by 26 points, from 53 percent in 2012 to 79 percent in 2016, according to the Alliance for Youth Action.
In response to Just Democracy Illinois’ oral comments and testimony, Chairman William J. Cadigan called for a round of applause for the AVR’s unanimous, bipartisan passage in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly (passing the House 115-0 and the Senate 55-0). Chairman Cadigan also noted that they would hold another public hearing after the March 20th primary elections next year. To close out the topic, Cadigan stated that the SBE was currently working to submit a supplemental appropriations request to the General Assembly to ensure the effective implementation of AVR. Lance Gough, Executive Director of Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners, also urged the State Board of Elections to advocate for proper funding for AVR.
In recent years, Illinois has passed additional laws to improve registration rates and increase ballot access by extending early voting time periods, as well as implementing online and same-day registration. AVR is just the latest step Illinois has taken to be a national leader on voting rights.
For social service and public assistance agencies implementation, the Just Democracy Illinois gave the following recommendations in submitted written testimony in preparation for today’s hearing:
Regularly soliciting and incorporating input from community members who interface with these agencies, including communities of color, about topics such as service applications, interactions with agency personnel, and other issues critical to the success of successful AVR implementation at agencies;
Assigning a voter registration coordinator for each agency and a coordinator for each local office;
Ensuring that proper training is taking place; and
Requiring a comprehensive oversight system for compliance.
* I just received this press release from Local 150 of the Operating Engineers Union…
Updated Release: Democrat Lance Redneck Announces Run Against Jerry Long for State Representative
Lance Redneck? What an interesting name for a Downstate candidate.
Trouble is, the candidate’s name is actually Lance Yednock.
Now, I normally don’t make a deal out of auto-correct typos, but that one was just too hilarious to pass up.
* Here’s the release…
Lifelong Ottawa resident Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, announced his candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives in the 76th District today. Yednock, 45, a business representative with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, felt compelled to run after Jerry Long lied to union families and failed to support a measure that would have protected middle-class workers from Bruce Rauner’s dangerous agenda.
“I have spent my adult life building and cultivating relationships across our communities,” said Yednock. “I was driven to run for office by my passion to serve the working people of the Illinois Valley. I want to ensure that working families get a fair shake, something Jerry Long has failed to do since he took office.”
Before being hired on as a business representative by Local 150 in 2012, Yednock was an equipment operator for nearly 20 years. He also previously served on Local 150’s Executive Board for 7 years before being brought on staff. Yednock has a degree in political science and he lives in Ottawa with his wife.
“Lance is a hard worker, a committed husband and a trusted member of this community,” said Local 150 President-Business Manager James M. Sweeney. “Jerry Long sent working families up the creek without a paddle when he stood with Bruce Rauner and his anti-worker agenda. A line in the sand has been drawn, and I know Lance will fight every day in Springfield to ensure our voices are being heard.”
Long is a life-long member of the Teamsters, and has often used his union credentials as a way to curry favor in the district with voters. Leading up to a vote in Springfield earlier this month that would have protected middle-class families from Rauner’s anti-worker agenda, Long promised local community members he would stand up to the governor and vote for the measure. On the day of the vote, Long caved to Rauner’s demands and broke his promise to his union brothers and sisters.
Teamsters Joint Council 25 has also stepped up to support Yednock’s race against Long. After Long voted in favor of allowing local “right to work” laws, the Teamsters Joint Council 25 President Terrence J. Hancock embraced Yednock as a candidate who will represent working families in the Illinois Valley.
“After the disappointment Long has personally delivered to working people by breaking campaign promises and supporting Governor Rauner, Long should turn in his union membership card and stop touting himself as a friend of labor,” Hancock said. “We will be supporting every effort to secure Lance Yednock’s place on the ballot in the upcoming primary election, and we will work hard to ensure that he is successful in November.”
“Jerry Long turned his back on working families when he chose to support Governor Rauner’s reckless agenda instead of standing up for the rights of middle-class workers,” said Laborers International Union of North America Vice President John Penn. “Jerry Long cannot be trusted and the families in the 76th district deserve better. That is why we are fully supporting Lance Yednock, a labor representative who has a proven record of standing up for working men and women.”
The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 is a labor union representing 23,000 working men and women in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Local 150 represents workers in various industries, including construction, construction material development, public works, concrete pumping, steel mill service, slag processing and others.
Suggested campaign slogans?
…Adding… That’s Redneck… um, I mean Yednock wearing the yellow vest…
* Fritz Kaegi isn’t getting anywhere near the publicity he ought to be receiving, but that may change soon…
Politicians are stepping up to buck Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, who is under heightened scrutiny for his business and campaign practices.
Today, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and the 22nd Ward organization are expected to endorse Fritz Kaegi for assessor. Already, state Sen. Heather Steans and clerk David Orr have backed Kaegi.
This summer, Garcia said Berrios’ relationship with attorneys and law firms was problematic because he accepts campaign donations from those who file property tax assessment appeals. Garcia moved to ban the practice. Berrios has been under fire for years, but scrutiny intensified after the Chicago Tribune this summer exposed rampant inequality with how properties are assessed with poor and minority property owners bearing the biggest burden, and wealthy owners winning “unsanctioned tax breaks.” Will others follow? Stay tuned.
…Adding… ILGOP…
“J.B. Pritzker’s silence on Joe Berrios is stunning, but not surprising. The Berrios-led Cook County Democrats were one of Pritzker’s early backers. Even worse, Pritzker received a $230,000 property tax break from Berrios on his Chicago mansion after ripping out the toilets. It’s clear - J.B. Pritzker will do anything to line his pockets and win an election, even if it means supporting corrupt politicians like Joe Berrios.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is the latest Cook County Democrat to oppose Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ re-election.
Berrios has been under fire for running what is essentially a property tax racket and Democrats like “Chuy” Garcia, Heather Steans, David Orr, and Chris Kennedy want nothing to do with him.
But there’s been one notable Democrat who has been silent on Joe Berrios - J.B. Pritzker - and it’s no surprise. Pritzker owes a lot to Berrios.
The Cook County Democratic Party, an organization chaired by Berrios, endorsed J.B. Pritzker’s campaign for governor in what some Democrats called a” backroom deal”.
Even worse, Pritzker was embroiled in a property tax scandal of his own where he ripped the toilets out of his multi-million dollar Chicago mansion to get a $230,000 property tax break from Berrios. Pritzker’s property tax appeals attorneys have given over $100,000 in campaign cash to Joe Berrios’ various political organizations.
J.B. Pritzker will do anything to line his pockets and win the Democratic nomination for governor, even if it means getting in bed with Madigan’s Chicago Machine and turning a blind eye to corrupt politicians like Joe Berrios.
* Meanwhile, Chris Kennedy has never been comfortable talking about the death of his father. For instance…
Chicago Magazine: You were 4 when your father, Bobby Kennedy, was killed. Do you have memories of him?
CK: Let’s keep moving.
* But he seems to be moving past that…
My father, Robert Kennedy, gave his life to civil rights. He was taken away from us but he gave a gift to our country. I used to find comfort in that. But that's no longer the case as we watch civil rights being rolled back. I won’t stop fighting for justice and equality. #twillpic.twitter.com/2jNMIW0X1Q
Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold was at a forum in California last week where she was asked about being a woman running as a Republican in a party headed by President Donald Trump.
Harold gave a lengthy response at the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit. But that response didn’t include a mention of Trump’s name. Instead, she also appeared to take a shot at the Democrats running for attorney general who have made attacking the president a top priority.
“As attorney general, my job is neither to support nor oppose whoever is the president because my job is to enforce the rule of law. And I take that very seriously. So, I’m not running for attorney general as a platform to denounce whoever may be in office, whether it’s a person of my party or not. It’s to stay focused on what my state’s interests are, to stay focused on what it is that the law says and to make sure I champion the interests of my state,” she said. […]
Apparently reminded by the questioner of the original question, Harold responded: “As attorney general, it’s my job to stay focused on what are the interests of the people of my state. It’s not my job to support or oppose any person who’s in power.”
State Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, who has been critical of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, is backing a primary challenger in the gubernatorial race.
McCarter has endorsed state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, as the two have criticized Rauner’s decisions to sign legislation that allows state health insurance and Medicaid money to go towards abortions, sign an education funding bill that included extra money for Chicago Public Schools, and sign legislation that protects people who are in the country illegally from being detained solely because of their immigration status. […]
“We have a real choice in Jeanne Ives. Someone who can lead Illinois in the right direction,” McCarter said. “We need someone who will stand up for us and fight for us; not just tell us he supports us, throws around a lot of money and says ‘Be my friend because I have a lot of money.’ This election is about morals not millions. It’s about telling the truth and standing up for the people of this state.”
* Press release…
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4), a national leader on issues of crucial importance to Latino and immigrant communities, on Monday endorsed Jesse Ruiz in the Democratic race for Illinois Attorney General.
“For decades, Jesse has been a leader in the fight to improve public education, to protect immigrants, and to promote civil rights,” Gutierrez, the senior member of the Illinois Congressional delegation, told a crowd of supporters at a news conference held in the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. “As Illinois Attorney General, I know that Jesse will stand tough when Donald Trump attacks our fundamental rights.”
Todd Stroger — the former Cook County board president who was easily unseated by Toni Preckwinkle amid furor over a county sales-tax increase — told WFLD-Channel 32 on Monday morning that he plans to run against Preckwinkle in the next county board president’s race.
Stroger cited the outcry over the since-repealed penny-an-ounce soda tax that Preckwinkle pushed as a primary reason for his political comeback attempt.
“I felt vindicated when they had to bring the whole tax back,” Stroger said of the soda tax. “There’s a lot of people who are not happy with the current administration, and I think there’s a lot of people who had felt I did a good job.”
Stroger said Preckwinkle’s decision to raise sales taxes in 2015 proves he was right when he did so in 2008.
“I believe what that showed was that tax was needed. What we’ve seen in the last seven years is the budget has gone from $3.2 billion to $4.8 billion. The question is where is all that money going? Why do we need such a large increase?” he said. “I won’t be able to tell you that until I’m able to get in the books.”
Stroger also said he opposed the idea of a sweetened beverage tax when he was county board president.
“I thought it was a bad idea back then. So we’re not looking at the same race that was happening in 2010,” he said. “This isn’t 2010. This is 2017. So this is a different age.”
“After inheriting a broken system as Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle closed budget deficits of more than two billion dollars, cut wasteful spending, and improved the County’s bond ratings. She remains focused on protecting essential services, reforming our criminal justice system, and strengthening access to medical care for Cook County families.”
“Cook County voters know what Toni Preckwinkle has accomplished and we are confident that she will be successful in both the Democratic primary and general election in 2018,” said Preckwinkle for President’s Political Director Scott Kastrup.
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) announced on Friday additional appointments to the Senate Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Awareness and Prevention.
“In making these appointments, it is important to bring both diversity and an outside perspective to how best address this important issue in the public and private sectors,” said Brady. “I want to commend those who are willing to serve on this Task Force, and I look forward to working with them when their recommendations are presented.”
As part of the Task Force’s composition, each Senate leader will make 12 appointments. On Nov. 13, Brady announced his five legislator appointments. The remaining seven appointees announced Nov. 17 are comprised of statewide associations that represent women or work to advance civil rights (2) and members of the public (5).
The two members from statewide associations that represent women or work to advance civil rights are:
* Ahlam Jbara – Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
* Dr. Kathleen Robbins – Equality Illinois
The five members of the public include:
* Maria Rodriguez – Former Mayor of Long Grove
* Maureen Maffei – Attorney, Ice Miller
* Julie Proscia – Attorney, Smith Admundsen
* Anita Rodriguez – Assistant State’s Attorney, Adams County
* TBD – Awaiting final confirmation
The goal of the new Task Force is to conduct a comprehensive review of legal and social consequences of sexual discrimination and harassment in both the public and private sectors. The Task Force will study and make recommendations on combating sexual discrimination and harassment in workplaces, educational institutions, and in State and local government.
Members of the Task Force will not receive compensation for their service and will submit a report to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2018.
Dr. Robbins is a Vietnam veteran and is transgender. Jbara is a Muslim. Those are not the sort of picks you’d normally expect from a conservative Republican like Leader Brady, so good for him.
…Adding… Press release…
Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, the state’s LGBTQ civil rights organization
We applaud the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Robbins by Illinois Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady to the Illinois Senate Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Awareness and Prevention. Kathleen is an excellent addition to the task force. She has significant life experiences, from service in the U.S. Air Force, the business sector, and the non-profit space, and is a member of the Equality Illinois Community Advisory Group.
We thank Leader Brady for appointing Kathleen and for ensuring an inclusive discussion of the impact of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in Illinois.
Indeed, it is essential that the voices of LGBTQ people, especially transgender individuals, be included in these discussion and deliberations. According to the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey of more than 27,000 transgender respondents from across the United States, 47% have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime. Furthermore, 10% were sexually assaulted in the year preceding the survey.
In Illinois, 13% of individuals who are out or perceived to be transgender report being sexually assaulted in their K-12 schools because of their gender identity. And, among transgender Illinoisans who saw a health care provider in the year preceding the survey, 33% report having at least one negative experience related to being transgender. For some respondents, that included being physically or sexually assaulted.
The prevalence and impact of sexual violence on transgender people are problems that must be acknowledged and addressed. We call on the task force, the Illinois General Assembly, and Governor Rauner to propose and act on robust policy proposals to ensure the dignity of women and LGBTQ people and to build a better Illinois.
The last two weeks have seen some significant movement in Democrats favor. First, there were the impressive results from last Tuesday’s elections. This week, we’ve seen two polls — one by Quinnipiac and one by Marist — that show Democrats with a congressional ballot advantage of +13 to +15. Three other recent polls — ABC/Washington Post, Fox, and NBC/Wall Street Journal — show Democrats with an advantage of anywhere from +7 to +15.
These are political wave numbers. […]
My colleague David Wasserman has been digging into the question of just how big of a wave Democrats need to get in order to surf into the majority. The short answer: they need to see a generic ballot advantage of +8 or more, which roughly translates to getting at least 54 percent or more of the national House vote in 2018.
The last time Democrats enjoyed a margin of +8 or more in a mid-term year was 2006. That year, Democrats won the House vote by 8.5 percent. The last time that Democrats got into the double digits was 2008 when they carried the House vote by D+11. This has led to a lots of talk that Democrats can only hit significant margins of victory in presidential elections when their base is more engaged and involved. It also helped to have a transformational candidate - Barack Obama - at the top of the ticket. Something they obviously don’t have in 2018. But, there is precedent for Democrats winning the House vote by double digits in mid-term years. In the post-Watergate midterm of 1974, Democrats won by a whopping 17 points. In Ronald Reagan’s first midterm of 1982, Democrats won the House vote by 12 points.
* As a result, Cook has moved Peter Roskam from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up”…
IL-06: Peter Roskam (R) - Chicago west suburbs: Wheaton, Palatine
Toss Up. Roskam has been a party loyalist since 2006, narrowly losing a bid for GOP whip in 2014 and casting conservative votes. But his suburban Chicago district has moved away from the GOP so fast that Democrats are now wishing they hadn’t protected him in their 2012 gerrymander. In 2016, Clinton won this seat 50 percent to 43 percent. Only eight House Republicans represent a seat Trump lost by more. Defeating Roskam will be Chicago Democrats’ top priority.
The large Democratic field is led by financial adviser and former North Barrington Village Trustee Kelly Mazeski, who had $343,000 on hand at the end of September. Clean energy businessman Sean Casten, former congressional aide Carole Cheney and 2016 nominee Amanda Howland are running too. Fortunately for Democrats, Illinois’s March 20 primary should give the nominee more time to consolidate support and raise money to compete in a very expensive market.
…Adding… I’ve generally avoided covering the Dem primary because there are so many hopefuls and I wasn’t sure who would even survive the petition season. This may change things…
* I wasn’t at today’s Chicago press conference, but I did listen to the audio and that’s not the question Rauner was asked and his answer was more involved than that. The governor did dodge the question, for sure, but here’s what he actually said…
Mary Ann Ahern: Can you say today whether or not, are you aware, yes or no, of sexual harassment complaints within your office?
Gov. Bruce Rauner: So, here are the simple facts. We have a very clear, rigorous process for investigations of any potential of wrongdoing. Clear lines of authority, clear lines of reporting. We have a very independent, very confidential executive inspector general. Any specific requests or questions you have about anything pending really needs to go to the inspector general. I am not authorized to comment about it. And I specifically have taken action to put out a code of ethics, code of ethical behavior in my administration through executive order. And have pushed, made sure everybody in our state government has gone through ethics training, specifically around harassment.
Quite the pickle.
…Adding… Per a commenter, if you look at page 49 of the Office of Executive Inspector General’s latest report you’ll see one “founded report” for the governor’s office in Fiscal Year 2017. It’s unclear what that is, exactly. But here’s the procedure…
If the OEIG, upon the conclusion of an investigation, finds reasonable cause to believe that a violation of law or policy has occurred within its jurisdiction, it will write a founded report that documents:
• the allegations of wrongdoing;
• facts confirmed by the investigation;
• an analysis of the facts in comparison to the applicable law, rule, or policy; and
• findings and recommendations.
In accordance with State law, OEIG reports are provided only to the affected public entities and other appropriate authorities, such as the Governor or a board of trustees. The OEIG does not have the authority to enforce its recommendations, and therefore, it is the responsibility of the affected agencies to act upon OEIG recommendations.
So, the governor knows of at least one founded report from OEIG. I wonder what that one’s about?
* Gov. Rauner was asked yesterday why he hasn’t spoken to Comptroller Mendoza since she was sworn in…
No need to talk with her directly, my team is talking to her all the time. I can tell you [crosstalk] this is important. We put a tax hike on the people of Illinois. I vetoed it, but it went in anyway. We’re still running a $2 billion deficit. The fiscal irresponsibility of the folks in charge, Speaker Madigan, is outrageous.
We have to fix this. Our unpaid bills are still going up. And we can’t invest to grow jobs. We can’t invest to invest enough. We got a federal grant for this [off-road vehicle trail system on reclaimed Saline County strip mine], but we could be doing more if we had balanced budgets. And we could be doing more if we grew our economy.
And, and the, the comptroller and the Speaker, who she really works for Speaker Madigan, they don’t get that. They, they just think taxes, more taxes, higher taxes are the answer. It’s not the answer. We gotta grow. Grow good paying jobs in southern Illinois. Don’t tax people and push the jobs out. [Crosstalk] Thanks, everybody.
…Adding… It should be noted that Rauner’s hand-picked comptroller, Leslie Munger, now works for the Rauner administration. And the new comptroller candidate backed by Rauner, Darlene Senger, is on Rauner’s payroll as his chief legislative liaison.
*** UPDATE *** From Comptroller Mendoza…
Governor Rauner has no accomplishments of his own to boast of, so he resorts to patronizing and condescending attacks on me.
He’s struggling with the fact that he has been outworked, outperformed, and beaten at every turn by a strong and independent 5’3” woman. Last week’s bipartisan 164-3 rebuke on the override of the Debt Transparency veto must still sting.
To be clear, I was elected by 2,676,244 voters, which is 852,617 more votes than Governor Rauner received, to work for the 12+ million people in the State of Illinois. I am accountable to them, and it is time that the Governor be as well.
Absent the pleasure of a meeting with the Governor, I’d like to ask him this: What did you spend the $2.8 billion in unauthorized deficit spending on, and how do you plan to pay for it? How much will your Rauner Tax cost the people of Illinois?
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
…Adding More… Check out the not so subtle trolling of Gov. Bruce V. Rauner on the comptroller’s website…
…Adding Even More… Aviva Bowen makes a good point on Facebook…
Why is it SO hard to believe that a tenacious, smart woman can’t be impressive in her own right, that she must be doing the bidding of a man?
Rauner really needs to rethink these attacks in the current climate.
In broad, vague terms, he also called for rolling back the “Madigan income tax hike,” lowering property taxes and restoring good government. “I’ve got, actually, dozens of companies who want to come to Illinois. They want to come to Southern Illinois,” Rauner said. But he said Illinois is losing out on that potential to neighboring states such as Indiana where “the property taxes are one-third, the workers’ comp costs are one-quarter.”
“They’d love to be in Illinois but the costs are prohibitive,” Rauner said.
An aide to Rauner cut off questions from media six minutes into a question-and-answer session following his announcement of the ATV park.
