*** UPDATED x1 *** Harmon react
Sunday, Jan 19, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Senate President Don Harmon…
After representing the people of Oak Park and the state of Illinois for more than 17 years, Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) looks forward to serving as the 39th Senate president, and thanks his colleagues for recognizing his legislative accomplishments and for believing in his ability to lead the chamber.
“The Senate is a collection of diverse views and diverse experiences but consistent purpose—to best represent the citizens who send us to the Capitol, to collaborate, to compromise, and to create better opportunities, better outcomes, and greater faith in the honor and integrity of our state,” President Harmon said.
Senate President Harmon was first elected to the Senate in the fall of 2002, and has since promoted a progressive agenda based on his commitment to social justice and public service. In 2011, former-Senate President John Cullerton appointed him president pro tempore, offering Harmon a key role in shaping policy and moving legislation through the Senate.
Notable legislation spearheaded by Senate President Harmon include the Preschool for All Program to expand access to preschool opportunities for thousands of Illinois families, a law to make same-day voter registration a permanent option, and the Fair Tax constitutional amendment to allow Illinois to vote to replace the current flat income tax with a fairer, more equitable and efficient approach to lower tax rates for lower income levels.
“The work now begins in earnest,” President Harmon said. “I look forward to joining together with Governor Pritzker and leaders in both chambers as we work to change the trajectory of our state and set a better course for our future.”
* Gov. Pritzker…
On behalf of the people of Illinois, I congratulate Senator Don Harmon on being elected to serve as the next President of the Illinois State Senate. With 17 years of experience in the upper chamber, I am confident that Don will ably serve and lead the Senate with a steady hand and hold integrity above all else. A staunch advocate for working families, Don was instrumental in shepherding the most sweeping and consequential legislative agenda through the state senate this past year. Because of Senator Harmon’s leadership, we advanced the historic Fair Tax amendment which will change the trajectory of our state’s finances forever, and I was proud to sign his legislation requiring gun dealers to be state-licensed and creating a new parole system for youth facing long sentences. I look forward to working with Senate President Harmon to build on the progress we made last year and continue to move our state in the right direction.
I commend Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford on a historic run and am proud of her work tackling big challenges for working families. Without Kim’s leadership we could not have raised the minimum wage, lifting more than a million Illinoisans out of poverty and I know she has more important work to do as Majority Leader.
Now is the time to come together and continue working on our shared goal of moving Illinois forward.
* Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady…
I want to congratulate Sen. Don Harmon on becoming the new Illinois Senate President. I look forward to meeting with him to discuss the important issues facing our state, such as the need for fair maps, policies that attract businesses and grow jobs, and real property tax relief.
* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…
Congratulations to Senate President Don Harmon. I look forward to working with him to accomplish great things for the state of Illinois this coming session.
* ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider…
I congratulate Senator Harmon on becoming the next Illinois Senate President. I hope he brings in a new era of reform that changes course away from the decades of inaction and corruption that have plagued the capitol. The new Senate President can get a great start on that front by strongly supporting substantive ethics reform and a fair maps constitutional amendment.
* llinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association President Kristina Zahorik…
I am very proud and excited for our friend Don Harmon. He has done an amazing job representing the 39th District and Chairing the Democratic Party of Oak Park. His support for Democratic values has extended well beyond the confines of western suburbs and he will do a fantastic job of not only holding our supermajority in the State Senate but expanding on it.
When the IDCCA formed our advisory Leadership Circle two years ago, we knew that we needed Senator Harmon as part of our organization. We were honored with his support then and his continued support now. Senate President Harmon has shown us that he is committed to building the Democratic Party. We are looking forward to continuing to partner with him as we build our Party throughout Illinois.
…Adding… Secretary of State Jesse White…
Congratulations to our new Senate President, Don Harmon.
I’ve known Senator Harmon for many years and he has the skills and character necessary to be a strong and effective Senate President. I look forward to working with him on issues important to the Secretary of State’s office.
I also applaud John Cullerton for his years of leadership as Senate President and as an advocate for road safety. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
*** UPDATE *** Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford…
This has been an incredible journey for me over the past several weeks and one that I would never trade. While it’s not the outcome I had hoped for, I know that the Senate Democratic caucus will emerge stronger and more unified than ever. I want to thank my colleagues who put their trust in me with their vote. To those who did not, I look forward to the many battles ahead that we will fight together to make this state the very best it can be for every resident and family.
I have known Senator Harmon for many years and know that our caucus will be in very good hands with him as our President. With our state being at such a critical juncture, we have no time to waste in getting to work. I look forward to standing alongside President Harmon and our caucus to ensure that we do everything we can to lift people up throughout Illinois and build a road map for residents, families and businesses to thrive and have hope for a great future.
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*** UPDATE *** I am told that Assistant Majority Leader Don Harmon has accepted the terms from Senate Majority Leader Kim Lightford. Barring some unforeseen blow-up, Harmon will be the new Senate President. Lightford, I’m told, will keep her leadership spot and so will most other leaders who backed her.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Supporters of Sen. Kimberly Lightford and Sen. Don Harmon are claiming they have a very real shot at winning the Senate President’s race as we head into the voting today. But I’ve been hearing lots of stories about double-dealing over the past several days, so their roll calls can’t be verified and may not be correct. As I recall, the last time Kirk Dillard ran for Senate Republican Leader he went in thinking he’d win it by one vote. Instead, he lost it by one. These things happen.
From the beginning, Sen. Harmon has been quite adept at projecting the image of a frontrunner and of competence and that has most certainly helped his effort. Majority Leader Lightford, however, has proved time and again that she cannot be underestimated. She worked hard, raised gobs of money and ran a smart campaign. I think both candidates have grown during the past couple of exhausting months.
The expected secret ballot on at least the first round of voting has allowed a few members to tell both sides that they’re with them. It has also allowed some members who have made up their own minds to just stay mum about their pick and vote without fear of retribution. A few are going in without knowing which way they’ll vote. The second round could be a voice vote, and then they’ll know who is with whom (although a couple of folks have intimated that they won’t vote unless it’s a secret ballot).
Rumors are flying everywhere and many of them are just flat-out false. A Harmon supporter, for instance, recently told a Lightford supporter that one of Lightford’s top backers had flipped to Harmon. She called that top supporter in a fury and was told in no uncertain terms that the rumor was completely false. Someone begged me last night to tweet that Speaker Madigan was getting involved for Harmon. But when I asked who MJM had contacted and was given a name, that Senator told me Madigan had called him about something else.
The Democrats will meet in a private caucus starting at 11 o’clock. Members have been told public access will be closed to the SDem’s Statehouse wing. They’ll caucus in what is still Senate President John Cullerton’s office. That’s where they always meet. The candidates will have access to other rooms in that wing to talk with supporters and potential supporters.
The full Senate is officially scheduled to convene at noon, and Gov. Pritzker’s official daily schedule has him presiding over the chamber at that time, but it could very well take much longer than an hour to get this done. Pritzker will be hanging out at the mansion [turns out, he chose to hang out in his Statehouse office] until he’s needed. It’s his birthday today and he joked last week that his birthday present will be a new Senate President. That’s assuming it gets done today, of course.
* I’m going to use our standard ScribbleLive feed, but I’ll be adding commentary to it and posting other stuff along the way. Have fun…
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* Jon Seidel at the Sun-Times…
Former state Rep. Luis Arroyo appears to be preparing to plead guilty in his federal corruption case, a new court record indicates.
Federal prosecutors filed a charging document Friday known as an information against Arroyo that repeated allegations first made against him in October. The filing is significant because an information typically means a defendant plans to plead guilty.
If Arroyo does enter such a plea, it would be the first conviction secured against an elected official as a result of the feds’ multiple public corruption investigations that became known with the November 2018 raid of Ald. Edward M. Burke’s office.
…Adding… Meisner concurs…
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* Dan Proft has shut down his two campaign committees, Liberty Principles PAC and Proft for Governor. He hasn’t raised money lately, so this wasn’t unexpected.
Liberty Principles PAC raised over $25 million since 2012. Much of that money came from the super-wealthy Richard Uihlein, but Uihlein stopped contributing a while ago. Proft ran for governor in 2010, losing the GOP primary, but he kept his PAC open and ended up raising almost $1.3 million.
Proft didn’t win a large number of contests, but he did help create what we now know as the Eastern Bloc. And the millions he spent on GOP primary races unnerved lots of Republican incumbents in this state, particularly in the House. It’s one reason so many House Republicans who voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the tax hike chose not to stand for reelection the following year.
I reached out to Proft to ask if he plans to open any new campaign accounts. I’ll let you know what he says, but last month he signed on to do a nightly show for the Salem Radio Network, which serves 2,000 radio stations across the country. He replaced Joe Walsh, who is running for president… sorta.
* Proft went out with a twist. Liberty Principles PAC filed what turned out to be its final quarterly report this week showing it with a balance of $0. It reported an in-kind $1,007 contribution for “legal expenses” from the Illinois Opportunity Project and an odd expenditure of $38,847.89 for “Corrective Accounting/Journal Entry.”
Proft’s personal campaign committee also filed its final quarterly report this week showing a $0 balance, a $412.50 payment for legal fees and $3,353.11 listed under “Other Receipts” for “Corrective/Journal Entry.”
* This paper filing was dated January 13…
Dear Sir or Madam,
Our firm represents Liberty Principles PAC, Committee ID Number 24614, in connection with the above-referenced matters. Please be advised as follows:
The Committee’s Quarterly D-2 report filed electronically on January 13, 2020 for the quarter ending December 31, 2019 is the committee’s final report. This report contains a corrective accounting journal expenditure entry in the amount of $38,847.89 to account for the difference in available balance that would have otherwise shown on the committee’s D-2 Quarterly report and actual $0.00 cash balance in Committee’s bank accounts at end of quarter. The Committee is unable to account for the difference in the reported available balance and the actual cash balance even after an exhaustive internal audit through the end of 2018 that resulted in the committee’s filing of Amended D-2 Quarterly Reports from 2016Q1 to 2018Q3.
Please accept this 2019Q4 D-2 Quarterly Report as the committee’s final report. Do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions, concerns, or require any further action relating to these issues.
* As was this one…
Our firm represents Proft for Governor, Committee ID Number 22072, in connection with the above-referenced matters. Please be advised as follows:
The Committee’s Quarterly D-2 report filed electronically on January 13, 2020 for the quarter ending December 31, 2019 is the committee’s final report, This report contains a corrective accounting/journal receipt in the amount of $3,353.11 to account for the difference in negative balance that would have otherwise shown on the committee’s D-2 Quarterly report and actual $0.00 cash balance in Committe&s bank accounts at end of quarter. The Committee is unable to account for the difference in the reported available balance and the actual cash balance even after a review of its available banking records. The $3,353.11 reported as a ‘4Corrective/Journal Entry” other receipt on December 31, 2019 is not an actual contribution nor receipt of anything else of value.
Please accept this 2019Q4 D-2 Quarterly Report as the committee’s final report. Do not hesitate to contact inc should you have any questions, concerns, or require any flrther action relating to these issues.
…Adding… The irony of the missing money is pretty rich when you consider this history…
The Feb. 7-13 edition of the weekly McHenry Times devoted much of its ink to Mautino, a Spring Valley Democrat who became the state’s auditor general Jan. 1. Its lead story was titled, “Scandal brewing over Illinois auditor general’s dubious campaign expenditures.”
The Liberty Principles PAC hired a company, Chicago-based Newsinator LLC, to produce the products. The PAC paid Newsinator $85,000 in February, according to a report filed with the state Board of Elections.
Andrew McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party from 2005 to 2009, is listed as the agent for Newsinator, according to the secretary of state’s business database.
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* Former Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), whose Statehouse office was raided by the feds last year, this week reported receiving a large campaign contribution refund from the Senate Democratic Victory Fund, which is chaired by retiring Senate President John Cullerton…
I asked SDVF’s political director if this was part of some deal to convince Sandoval to resign. I was told “No.” The check was written on January 13th.
Why wasn’t the money donated to charity or something? I was told the decision was made by Senate President Cullerton, who has not yet responded.
As we’ve already been discussing today, Sandoval reported paying $90,000 in legal fees last quarter out of his campaign account, so that $60K refund check will come in super-handy.
The SDVF ended the fourth quarter with $840K in the bank and a whopping $625K in debt. That $60K refund could’ve also been used to pay off some of that debt before he left office.
I’ll let you know if Cullerton responds.
…Adding… According to a State Board of Elections website search, Sandoval has contributed $84,200 to SDVF since 2011. So, this refund represented 71 percent of the money Sandoval gave.
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* Tina…
* Meanwhile…
For the first time in six years, tuition will be going up for in-state students attending University of Illinois schools.
Trustees on Thursday unanimously approved a proposal that will raise base tuition for Illinoisans by 1.8% at the campuses at Urbana-Champaign and Chicago, and by 1% in Springfield.
That means tuition for Illinois freshmen in fall 2020 will be $12,254 at Urbana-Champaign, $10,776 at Chicago and $9,502.50 at Springfield. […]
The tuition hikes do not affect currently enrolled students — only the next incoming class. Illinois’ Truth in Tuition law guarantees that the price students pay in their first year of college essentially is locked in for four years.
…Adding… I asked the governor’s office if this included any state revenue to fund it and was told this…
The current bipartisan balanced budget included increased funding for higher education and the Governor remains committed to investing in education in future budgets.
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Pols shelling out big bucks for legal fees
Friday, Jan 17, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We discussed yesterday how Speaker Madigan’s campaign committee spent over $445,000 on legal fees during the fourth quarter. Here’s Paris Schutz at WTTW…
Madigan isn’t the only public official providing paychecks to Chicago-area attorneys. Campaign disclosures show that McCook Mayor and Democratic Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski paid $200,000 in legal fees in the last quarter; $100,000 went to the law firm of Blaine & Vanzant, and another $100,000 to Walsh, Fewkes & Sterba. Federal agents raided Tobolski’s home and the village headquarters of McCook on Sept. 26. Tobolski, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, has not commented about the federal probe. His campaign fund is not nearly as robust as Madigan’s: he raised $5,750 in the last quarter and has about $225,744 available.
On the same day Tobolski was targeted, federal agents sacked the home and offices of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval. Sandoval reported paying $90,000 in legal fees in the last quarter and stepped down from the General Assembly amid the federal probe.
Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, 14th Ward, paid nearly $400,000 in legal fees from his campaign account in the last quarter, according to state campaign disclosures. The payments went to high-profile attorneys at two white-collar defense firms – Jenner & Block and Loeb & Loeb, who are defending Burke in a 14-count federal indictment. Burke has nearly $12 million in campaign cash across multiple funds he controls.
Chicago Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th Ward, spent $40,000 in legal fees in the last quarter – paid to the law firm of Clark Hill. Austin reported raised only $700 in the last quarter and has around $30,000 available, according to state filings. Federal agents raided Austin’s ward office last June. Austin has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Former Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) reported reimbursing his spouse Maribel $10,000 on November 11th for legal fees that she paid “with personal funds.” Arroyo was arrested by the feds in late October and his indictment has been postponed until February 20th. He had close to $228K in his campaign account at the end of the year.
* Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) paid his attorney $25,000 in October out of his campaign fund. He was indicted last summer.
Sen. Cullerton reported having just $240.31 in the bank at the end of the fourth quarter. But he’s still raising money.
Cullerton reported receiving almost $10,000 last quarter from contributors including AFSCME Council 31, ComEd, Comcast and (are you ready?) the Illinois Policy PAC. That’s the campaign arm of the Illinois Policy Institute. It contributed $2,000.
…Adding… Cullerton returned the Illinois Policy PAC check. He apparently didn’t want to be associated with them.
…Adding… Matt Praprocki with Illinois Policy…
The check was cancelled, not returned.
Noted. This post is killing me.
…Adding… I just did something I’ve criticized others for doing and I’m upset at myself. I jumped to a conclusion by looking at contribution dates. As I’ve said many times before, the receive date is when the check is deposited. AFSCME tells me their contribution was actually made in June. Ugh! Sorry! I will listen to myself more often!
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