Campaign notebook
Tuesday, Aug 30, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Victory Geek, 512 voters called 8/25-28, automated (90%) and live calls (just 10%), MoE is ±4.3 percent…
…Adding… 48 percent of the respondents for this poll were in Downstate and just 19 percent were in Cook County. In the last election, 36 percent of the votes cast for governor were from Downstate and 39 percent were cast in Cook County. So, that huge difference would tend to skew the poll even more Republican. Not good. At all.
Duckworth: 58%
Salvi: 35%
3rd party/Undecided 7%
Pritzker: 56%
Bailey: 38%
3rd/Undecided: 6%
Giannoulias: 55%
Brady: 37%
3rd/Undecided: 8%
Frerichs: 54%
Demmer: 33%
3rd/Undecided: 13%
Legislature Matchup
Democrat: 55%
Republican: 34%
3rd/Undecided: 11%
Not really sure about this pollster, but 18-23 point leads across the board and every Dem above 50 is pretty wild.
* Um, is Steve even a Republican these days?…
* ILGOP…
Former Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias just can’t seem to shake his past as he attempts his reboot. It’s been twelve years since Giannoulias left the public eye. As he continues his rehabilitation tour hoping voters will forget about his scandal-laden past, let’s recap his greatest hits.
First, there was his mismanagement of Illinois’ college loans savings programs, causing families to lose millions. According to NBC Chicago from January 6, 2010:
“Bright Start was supposed to be Alexi Giannoulias’ shining achievement. Instead, the beleaguered fund, which lost more than $150 million through risky Oppenheimer investments, is radiating trouble for the Illinois State Treasurer and his Senate campaign.”
Then, there were the loans to mobsters when he was a Senior Loan Officer of Broadway Bank. According to the Chicago Tribune from April 1, 2010:
“The family bank of Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias loaned a pair of Chicago crime figures about $20 million during a 14-month period when Giannoulias was a senior loan officer, according to a Tribune examination that provides new details about the bank’s relationship with the convicted felons. Broadway Bank had already lent millions to Michael Giorango when he and a new business partner, Demitri Stavropoulos, came to the bank in mid-2004. Although both men were preparing to serve federal prison terms, the bank embarked on a series of loans to them.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Broadway Bank was later seized by the feds. According to Reuters from April 23, 2010:
“Regulators on Friday seized a Chicago bank owned by the family of the Democratic nominee running for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. Broadway Bank was among seven Illinois banks whose failure was announced on Friday. U.S. regulators have seized 15 banks in the past two weeks, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp ratchets up efforts to clean up the banking industry.”
“Trouble seems to follow Alexi Giannoulias wherever he goes, and it never seems to be his fault if you ask him,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. “The Giannoulias family bank loaned money to mobsters when he was a Senior Loan Officer there, and Giannoulias as Treasurer lost millions in college savings loans. Putting Alexi Giannoulias in charge of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, where he’d be in charge of 4,000 state jobs, would be like putting an arsonist in charge of the fire department.”
* Press release…
This morning, Nikki Budzinski, candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, released her plans for middle class tax relief and to fight inflation. From ideas expanding the child tax credit to investing in union apprenticeship programs, Budzinskiis focused on attainable solutions that will bring down costs for working families.
Budzinski made the following statement: “There are some short-term solutions to inflation that Congress needs to act on today to provide immediate relief to working people. But ultimately, this is not a problem that occurred overnight.”
“Decades of Democrats and Republicans have contributed by allowing our jobs to be shipped overseas, exporting manufacturing from America to China, and allowing China to become the global economic leader that America used to be. In addition to short term measures, I will fight for long term, bipartisan solutions that will increase American manufacturing so we can start to make things at home again.”
• Repeal the Trump tax cuts that benefit the super-rich over working people
• Extend the child tax cut for working families
• Cap the cost of life-saving drugs for everyone like insulin at $35
• Invest in union apprenticeship programs to promote alternatives to a 4-year college degree and a path to a debt-free, high-paying trades career
• Lower the price at the pump by implementing a year-round E-15 blend to provide sustained relief at the pump and support Illinois farmers
• Enact a windfall profit tax on oil and gas companies to make sure oil companies aren’t profiting at our expense
* Same district…
Farmer trustees representing county Farm Bureaus in the 13th Congressional District will be endorsing Regan Deering for Congress with a three-stop tour in Champaign, Sangamon and Madison counties. Local leaders meeting as trustees for Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR® – the organization’s political action committee –endorsed Deering after interviewing both candidates in the race.
What: Three Stop Media Tour to announce Farm Bureau Endorsement of Regan Deering
Who: Candidate for the 13th Congressional District Regan Deering and farmer trustees
When: Tuesday, August 30, 2022
* Meanwhile…
The Republican candidate running for Illinois U.S. House District 17 received a major endorsement on Monday, Aug. 29, ahead of a tour through rural parts of the state.
Esther Joy King, who is running against Democrat Eric Sorensen in the 2022 midterm elections, was endorsed by the Illinois Farm Bureau’s political committee ACTIVATOR.
The organization has a long history of supporting Republican candidates, and, this year, has also endorsed IL District 16 rep. candidate Darin LaHood and many other conservative bids for the Illinois state legislature.
“It’s truly an honor to be endorsed by the Farm Bureau activator,” said King. “I sat in a room being grilled by a lot of farmers, and for them to put their trust in me, it’s pretty extraordinary. It’s my goal and my ambition to be a champion for agriculture in Washington, D.C.”
…Adding… Press release…
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers(IAM) Districts and Locals in Illinois have raised $100,000 to support an Illinois constitutional guarantee of workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. The Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment would be one of four such guarantees enshrined in state constitutions, but Illinois Amendment 1 goes a step further than other states by also banning anti-union “right-to-work” laws.
The IAM is joining the Illinois AFL-CIO and legislative allies to promote the passage of the pro-worker ballot initiative, which will be on the ballot for Illinois voters on Nov. 8, 2022. To amend the state constitution, 60% of voters will need to vote “yes.”
The proposed amendment would add a new section to the Illinois Bill of Rights, guaranteeing workers the fundamental rights to organize and bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions. It would also prohibit any law from being passed that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.The pro-worker efforts under Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker are in stark contrast to former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who failed in his effort to pass a statewide anti-union “right-to-work” law to weaken unions in 2015. At that time, Rauner declared that Illinois cities, counties, towns and villages could enact “right-to-work” laws. State courts threw that measure out.
“IAM members in Illinois, along with our allies in labor and state government, are leading the charge to make the state more worker-friendly,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “It’s our hope that other states will also make efforts to put workers’ rights at the forefront of their state constitutions.”
…Adding… Press release…
Illinois State Treasurer Candidate and State Representative Tom Demmer will join other Illinois legislators and candidates to discuss the harmful impact a retirement tax would have on Illinois families and why he is running against its champion Treasurer Mike Frerichs.
WHO:
Illinois State Treasurer Candidate and State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon)
Illinois State Representative Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg)
Candidate for the Illinois Senate 56th District Erica Harriss
WHAT: Press conference and media availability to discuss Demmer’s prevention of the harmful effects of a retirement tax suggested by Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs.
WHEN: Wednesday, August 31, 2022, 2:30 pm
WHERE: Madison County Courthouse
157 N. Main Street
Edwardsville, IL 62025
* More…
* Pritzker calls Bailey a ‘liar’ without addressing farmers’ Grain Belt Express concerns: “If J.B. is comfortable walking into a room and lying to the faces of working people about this, how can he be trusted to tell the truth about anything? I’m focused on honest leadership that identifies problems, brings people to the table, and finds solutions to make Illinois safer and more affordable for everyone,” Bailey said.
* Who is this guy? Treasurer candidate hits the hustings: Demmer said that he’s been disappointed by Frerichs’ failure to be a more energetic financial watchdog. If elected, Demmer said he’ll embrace a “more active role in advocating for sound financial policy.” “I think (Frerichs) has taken a keep-your-head-down, don’t-ruffle-any-feathers approach,” Demmer said.
* Wheaton Democrat mounts challenge to GOP’s Amy Grant for 47th House seat
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* From January of 2019…
Billionaire J.B. Pritzker on Thursday promised to shift some of his immense wealth into a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest, but it’s unclear whether he will be able to fully wall off his fortune from his official duties as Illinois governor.
Pritzker said he has appointed Chicago-based Northern Trust Co. to act as an independent trustee and make all investment decisions about his personal assets. Those same rules won’t apply to the extended Pritzker family fortune that’s held in secretive onshore and offshore trusts. Pritzker said the terms governing the family trusts do not allow for the assets to be moved into the blind trust.
In addition, Pritzker is divesting “his personally-held direct interests in companies that have contracts” with the state, his campaign said. […]
What Pritzker promises to set up is not a true blind trust, however, since he will not be totally “blind.” He will need to know the names of the companies and funds he’s invested in to do his taxes and to comply with the state’s ethics laws.
* BGA…
In 2019, Pritzker’s first year as governor, Centene faced federal antitrust scrutiny amid concerns it would control more than half the Medicaid market in Illinois and other states. To clinch the merger, Centene needed the Pritzker administration’s approval to swap thousands of patient accounts with other state Medicaid contractors.
“I can’t thank you enough for your help in setting up the meeting between Governor Pritzker, yourself and Michael Neidorff, CEO of Centene Corporation,” said Centene lobbyist Julie A. Curry in a March 29, 2019 email to Illinois Deputy Gov. Sol Flores.
Curry followed up with a July 30, 2019 email to Anne Caprara, Pritzker’s chief of staff.
“Anne, any help that you can give in getting the Governor’s Office to complete their internal review of the Centene/Wellcare MOU with HFS would be greatly appreciated,” Curry wrote. “Please let me know if you any questions or concerns. Thank you for your consideration and help!!”
In May 2019, Pritzker also accepted an invitation from then-CEO Neidorff to speak at a ribbon cutting for a new Centene facility in Carbondale.
Then in September 2019, Pritzker’s calendar listed an hour-long call “on Centene Merger” with seven top aides, including Ann Spillane, his general counsel, and her deputy general counsel. One of the attendees, Emily Bittner, the governor’s deputy communications director, downplayed the importance of the meeting as “general background on the issues relating to the Centene merger.”
“The GC and deputy GC were not asking the governor to make any decisions, only giving him background,” Bittner said in an email to the BGA.
In a written statement to the BGA, Spillane said it was her job — and not the governor’s — to “make final decisions” on the memorandum of understanding between Centene and the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
“I provided the Governor and senior staff with a detailed background briefing to address questions and to assure the Governor that all potential legal issues had been considered,” Spillane told the BGA. “I then advised HFS that the agency could sign the MOU.”
Bittner portrayed Pritzker’s meetings with company executives as insignificant.
“Governor Pritzker meets regularly with CEOs who do business in the state of Illinois, and he regularly attends events to celebrate the creation of new jobs throughout the state,” she wrote. “Our records indicate that the April meeting with the CEO of Centene was a brief introductory meeting and that the company was informed in advance that the meeting would not involve any discussion of the Wellcare transaction. The Governor was not involved in the transaction.”
In December 2019, with the approval of the Pritzker administration, Centene announced it was selling thousands of patients to another insurer, easing federal antitrust concerns.
In January 2020, Centene closed its deal to purchase Wellcare. That year, Pritzker’s trust bought his Centene stock, his ethics filings show. Also that year, the state oversaw a bulk patient transfer agreement that gave Centene a toehold in the Cook County Medicaid market, and Illinois activated Centene’s separate contract for the medical care of 36,000 juvenile state wards.
With these new lines of business secured, Centene subsidiary Meridian reported profits of $181.5 million on premiums from Illinois Medicaid contracts worth $5.2 billion in 2021. Those profits did not include more than $1 billion in management fees Meridian paid to its affiliates under intercompany arrangements, state insurance filings show.
Pritzker’s ethics filings show he made a capital gain from selling Centene stock last year, but the amount of the gain is not specified.
Pritzker was notified of his holdings in Centene in 2021 when it was listed among the 300-plus entities on his annual economic disclosure filings, a report required of all elected officials. Those disclosures require public officials to list all holdings worth more than $5,000. The specific value of the holdings does not have to be disclosed, nor would Pritzker provide it.
The BGA first reported his trust’s Centene investment in February. At that time, the Pritzker administration said he was not involved with Centene.
“The governor is not involved in the contracting process related to Centene,” Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzker’s communications director, told the BGA. “There is nothing he would have to recuse himself from.”
Questioned by Chicago media days later, Pritzker made a striking admission: The governor said he only learned of his investment in Centene when the BGA contacted him about it.
The people who run that blind trust are doing the governor no favors.
*** UPDATE *** Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
Any Illinoisan who has ever worked with a financial advisor would agree that if they had no idea what their financial advisor was doing with their money, they would feel blind. Under the blind trust rules the Governor has in place, Illinois voters know as much about the Governor’s investments as he does. The BGA continues to have trouble understanding the basic facts. The Governor did divest his personal holdings in companies with state contracts before he even created his blind trust and entered office. Anything the trustees have done since then, he has had no say in. The Governor has a legal obligation to file a complete and correct tax return and a complete and correct Statement of Economic Interests. If BGA and its so-called experts had their way, Governor Pritzker wouldn’t even have the information he needs to meet these legal requirements. Imagine the story BGA would write then.
…Adding… ILGOP…
“Governor Pritzker’s repeated lack of transparency is disturbing. The Governor needs to answer why he has failed to avoid financial conflicts by not telling his trust managers to refrain from investing in state contractors. The Governor, or his trusts, should release all correspondence and documents pertaining to any companies in his ‘blind’ trust that have done business with the state since he became Governor. To do otherwise would be a disservice to the voters of Illinois and to honest and transparent government,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.
Pritzker most definitely should have told the blind trust managers to never invest in state contractors, etc. But if he does it now, it ain’t actually blind.
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* Bailey campaign…
* Dot points…
Guarantee Illinoisans 90% of undergraduate seats to the University of Illinois
The first priority of the University of Illinois should be to educate Illinois residents in order to improve the lives of citizens in Illinois.
Illinois students commonly make up 75% of freshman enrollees to the University of Illinois.1 The remaining quarter of the undergraduate student body comes from other states and countries. As the state’s flagship university, the University of Illinois should guarantee more spots in each class for graduates of Illinois high schools.
Senator Darren Bailey proposes to increase the proportion of freshman enrollees who come from the State of Illinois over each of the 4 years in his first term as governor. The goal of this policy is to increase the proportion of Illinoisans from approximately 75% to 90% of total enrollment at the University of Illinois. Senator Bailey proposes a new state law to guarantee the following proportion of first-year student seats at the University of Illinois to Illinoisans:
• 2023-2024: 79% of the first-year class
• 2024-2025: 82.5% of the first-year class
• 2025-2026: 86.5% of the first-year class
• 2026-2027: 90% of the first-year class
Every subsequent class will be required to have at least 90% Illinoisans.
State precedents
Guaranteeing seats to in-state students is a policy that other states have pursued.
For example, The University of Texas at Austin caps out-of-state enrollment at 10% of total enrollment, thus guaranteeing 90% of undergraduate seats to Texans.2
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors adopted policy 700.1.3 in 1986, creating the 82/18 rule. This rule put a cap on out of state student enrollment at 18% of enrolled freshman, guaranteeing 82% of positions in each freshman class to North Carolinians.3
Fulfilling the University of Illinois’ mission
The University of Illinois should focus primarily on enhancing the lives of citizens in Illinois by educating Illinoisans so that Illinois can have a more productive and educated population. Yet school administrators have a financial incentive to accept non-Illinois students because out-of-state students pay more, which provides more funding to the university.
Tuition to the University of Illinois ranges from $17,138-$22,324 for in-state students for the 2022-2023 school year. By comparison, tuition and fees for out of state students range from $35,110-$42,796 per year, while international students pay $36,018-$45,774 in tuition and fees.4
In-state students pay lower tuition and fees because their families pay taxes that fund the University of Illinois system. For example, the state appropriated $655 million in general funds to the University of Illinois System for the 2023 fiscal year. The System’s operating budget is $7.18 billion. Illinois taxpayers also cover the pension costs of university faculty and the cost of capital projects.5
Illinoisans pay taxes that fund the university’s operating budget, and so the university should show a strong preference for Illinois students. This policy needs to be reflected in state law. The University of Illinois should guarantee 9 out of every 10 seats to Illinois high school graduates.
1 https://las.illinois.edu/news/2020-09-10/university-illinois-enrollment-remains-above-50000-fall-2020
2 https://news.utexas.edu/2021/09/21/automatic-admissions-threshold-remains-at-6-for-ut- austin/#:~:text=Under%20state%20law%2C%2090%25%20of,through%20a%20holistic%20review%20process.
3 http://mediahub.unc.edu/the-cap-on-out-of-state-student-enrollment-at-north-carolina-universities-could-be- increasing-but-only-for- hbcus/#:~:text=The%2082%2F18%20rule%2C%20mandating,policy%20have%20been%20made%20since.
4 https://www.admissions.illinois.edu/invest/tuition 5 https://news.uillinois.edu/view/7815/1096621426
5 https://news.uillinois.edu/view/7815/1096621426
…Adding… This could complicate matters. Crain’s…
College recruiters call the population drop “the cliff.” The cohort of Illinois high school seniors graduating in 2023 is down 5% from a 2015 peak, with the ranks of Gen Zs thinner than their millennial predecessors. The number of high school graduates is expected to drop a stunning 22% by the mid-2030s.
*** UPDATE *** Natalie Edelstein at the Pritzker campaign…
The vast majority of students who attend the University of Illinois are from in-state. As of last year, more than 80% of the University of Illinois students were Illinois residents. Darren Bailey’s lackluster campaign promise to boost in-state attendance rates is based on a false premise and is yet another example of Bailey misunderstanding the role he is aiming to take on. It is critical that Illinois universities attract out-of-state students as these are the same people who go on to start families, businesses, and lives in Illinois upon graduation. Darren Bailey is woefully underprepared to serve as the State’s best Chief Marketing officer––a role that Governor Pritzker has done exceptionally.
She also included this link.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Aug 30, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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