Rauner files “emergency appeal”
Thursday, Aug 21, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Today the Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits, chaired by Bruce Rauner, filed an emergency petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. The Illinois Supreme Court will ultimately decide if the people have the right to vote on the Term Limits and Reform binding constitutional amendment on November 4th.
“I urge the Illinois Supreme Court to listen to the people of Illinois; the Court needs to take our appeal and rule on this case. We believe our Term Limits and Reform amendment is not only constitutional but is exactly what the framers of the 1970 Illinois Constitution intended when they provided for a direct initiative by the voters to make structural and procedural changes to the Legislature. The Legislature will never vote to term limit themselves because of their self-interest in maintaining the status quo in Springfield - it has to be the people,” Bruce Rauner said.
The Committee filed nearly 600,000 signatures with the State Board of Elections in April, almost double the number required by law, in order to place the amendment on the November ballot. The State Board of Elections has certified that enough valid signatures were submitted for the amendment to appear on the ballot.
“This amendment was crafted to follow the requirements as set forth by the Illinois Constitution and previous rulings of the Illinois Supreme Court that have addressed what is needed to have a valid initiative,” Rauner concluded.
Look, if you spend enough money and do it right, you can get 600,000 signatures on just about anything. 600,000 signatures has nothing to do with constitutionality.
…Adding… In my haste to post this development, I forgot I had something ready to go on this topic. Here’s our frequent commenter “walker” on Bruce Rauner’s attempt to amend the Constitution with term limits…
It was doomed from the start, and should have been known to be so. It was obvious on first reading of the petition itself.
Quite an abusive and fraudulent campaign tactic. Cynically build up the hopes and dreams of well-meaning citizens, just to look good, only to have their efforts fail by design, and to then blame those “insiders” in Springfield.
Of all the things this Rauner team has done, this was the most cynical and destructive — regardless of where you are on term limits. And it will probably work well for Rauner at the polls, which is of course their only ethical standard.
* Also, Wordslinger…
Now it’s just a Rauner-as-victim thing that he can use to burnish his outsider credentials and stoke up anger.
* Meanwhile, the Tribune rewrites history…
a redistricting reform proposal that died after Mikva’s ruling because its supporters didn’t have the money to fight another round.
Yeah, that’s why they dropped it. Right. And if they really were facing financial ruin, it’s because donors finally figured out that they had screwed up their petitions and their amendment.
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* Back in May, Julieus Hooks signed a nominating petition for the Libertarian Party. The Republican Party attempted to kick the Libertarians off the ballot and hired a lawyer who hired a private security firm to help with the challenge.
That “help” included sending visibly armed private investigators to the homes of petition signers…
“On or about July 20, 2014, I was exiting my house when a tall Caucasian man and a woman approached and startled me. The man had a gun, which was visible. They told me that the woman who had circulated the petition sheet that I had signed had violated the law because she had obtained too many signatures and committed fraud. I was then given a piece of paper and told to sign.”
Sarah Dart, who was paid to circulate petitions for the Libertarians and obtained Hooks’ signature, told me a similar story. Dart says a private investigator named Carlos Rodriguez contacted her, asking about a missing girl who knew someone she supposedly knew.
She believes the story about the missing girl was a ruse. When she met with Rodriguez, Dart says he confronted her with a stack of petitions and asked her to admit that the signatures for the Libertarians were obtained fraudulently. She refused, and the state’s hearing officer later found that her signatures were legitimately gathered.
Dart says Rodriguez displayed a holstered gun when he met her. He gave her a business card showing he works for Morrison Security in Alsip. The company’s owner is the Palos Township Republican leader, Sean Morrison.
Morrison has been a Bruce Rauner ally since the beginning.
*** UPDATE *** As YDD notes in comments, these could be Class 4 felonies…
(10 ILCS 5/29-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 29-4)
Sec. 29-4. Prevention of voting or candidate support. Any person who, by force, intimidation, threat, deception or forgery, knowingly prevents any other person from (a) registering to vote, or (b) lawfully voting, supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any person for public office or any public question voted upon at any election, shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.
…Adding… Those of you who are defending Rauner and the state GOP in comments should go read the whole Sun-Times story…
A party spokesman confirmed that lawyer John Fogarty hired Morrison Security to help with the case against the Libertarians’ petitions.
“Their private investigators are licensed to carry firearms and often do so in areas they consider dangerous,” Republican spokesman Andrew Welhouse said.
The party clearly defended the practice of sending visibly armed private detectives to peoples’ homes.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Quinn campaign’s response calls for a federal investigation…
“We are deeply disturbed that the Rauner forces are intimidating people with weapons.
“Sending armed investigators to people’s homes in the name of politics is not OK in Illinois nor anywhere else.
“Voter intimidation has no place in our state, particularly with guns.
“This is a serious matter and it should be investigated by the State Board of Elections, Cook County State’s Attorney, and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”
To be clear, I have heard of private eyes and off-duty cops doing petition work. it does happen. It’s absolutely wrong, however, to send armed people to intimidate voters. And hopefully this blatant example will help end it.
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* 1:46 pm - An attorney close to the lawsuit over Bruce Rauner’s proposed term limits amendment just called to say the appellate court has ruled against Rauner and upheld the lower court ruling that forbade the measure from appearing on the ballot.
You’ll know more when I know more. The deadline to certify the ballot is Friday. So, the Supreme Court would have to act almost immediately or a court would have to suspend the deadline date, and neither of those may be in the cards.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The opinion is here.
The most important line…
Based on the cases discussed above, some components of the Committee’s proposed amendment may very well comply with article XIV, section 3. However, the proposed amendment is ultimately invalid because of its term limits provision. CBA II viewed term limits as a matter of the “eligibility or qualifications of an individual legislator,” and in turn, neither structural nor procedural.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
With the Appellate Court’s ruling today, Bruce Rauner, Chairman of the Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits, has directed his legal team to immediately file an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court to quickly take up the matter of whether or not voters will have the opportunity to vote on the Term Limits and Reform binding constitutional amendment in November.
“Let the people of Illinois decide for themselves if they want to term limit legislators. Time is running out - the Illinois Supreme Court needs to take the case. Nearly 600,000 Illinoisans signed the petition to put our amendment on the November ballot and the State Board of Elections has certified that we submitted enough signatures to be on the ballot. The people deserve to have their voices heard.” Bruce Rauner said. “The Illinois Supreme Court should not ignore the people of Illinois.”
“Our Term Limits and Reform amendment was carefully crafted to meet all the requirements that the Illinois Supreme Court very clearly laid out in its 1994 decision and we are hopeful that the Illinois Supreme Court will find in favor of the citizens of Illinois,” Rauner concluded.
Um, no, it clearly was not “carefully crafted to meet all the requirements that the Illinois Supreme Court very clearly laid out in its 1994 decision.” Look at that excerpted line from the appellate decision above. This was doomed from the start.
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Prank ad posted on craigslist
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A help-wanted ad on the Chambana craigslist promotes a $22 an hour “Copywriter/Proofer for Statewide Political Campaign (Champaign)”…
Statewide political campaign in desperate need of a copywriter and proofer. The candidate loves to see himself on Facebook and Twitter, but to date, we’ve made way too many mistakes with typos and bad photos.
Key Responsibilities include: proofing the videos that the campaign makes to make sure we aren’t saying something false in them, editing and writing Facebook status updates and email blasts, watching the campaign posts on blog comment sections to make sure they don’t post stupid things and even holding up a ‘meet the candidate sign’ so he doesn’t have to.
Dress code: Need to be able to wear a suit. Even to places you shouldn’t.
We’d prefer someone who has worked with celebrities or perhaps infants. Either way, someone who is willing to tolerate vanity and a ‘pay attention to me!’ type of attitude from the boss.
If you have a library of tall/height puns, all the better.
Must be able to spell the words “Treasurer” and “Treasurer’s Office” properly.
More than a little insidery, but still somewhat amusing. Plus, I’ve never seen that tactic used before.
…Adding… The Tom Cross campaign says it’s not from them and not authorized by them.
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True, but…
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From RollCall. Valid…
The national political tide isn’t looking good for Democrats, but in Illinois this November, down-ballot candidates have an even bigger problem: the drag of Gov. Pat Quinn.
* Valid…
Absent from the Governor’s Day lineup were any of the three Democrats facing competitive re-elections in the Land of Lincoln: Reps. Cheri Bustos, Brad Schneider and Bill Enyart.
Bustos and Enyart hail from the northwest and southwest corners of the state, respectively. President Barack Obama carried their districts in 2012, but Quinn lost them by large margins two years earlier, and this fall is looking even more troubling for the governor.
Schneider is facing a rematch with former Rep. Bob Dold in the 10th District — the Republican he ousted in 2012 by a mere 1-point margin, even as Obama won there with 58 percent. The district is located in the northern Chicago suburbs, and while it votes Democratic in presidential cycles, it sent moderate Republican Mark S. Kirk to the House for five terms before he rose to the Senate.
Former Judge Ann Callis, the Democratic nominee taking on Rodney Davis in the Springfield-based 13th District this fall, attended the breakfast. But she did not speak, nor did she bring with her any sort of large presence of supporters or staff to boost her candidacy.
* Goofy…
While vulnerable Democrats avoided sharing the spotlight with Quinn during their day at the fair, GOP candidates and elected officials clamored to share a stage with Rauner. They included Kirk, Rep. Aaron Schock and Rodney Davis, and each talked more about Rauner and a rising Republican tide in this traditionally blue state than they did about Obama.
Davis represents Springfield and he has some former aides working on Rauner’s campaign. Mark Kirk isn’t up this year and Schock barely has an opponent.
Absent from the festivities were Republicans Mike Bost, [Bost was apparently there, but I didn’t see him] Bobby Schilling and Bob Dold. Yet their Democratic opponents were zinged by RollCall for not showing.
Look, there’s no doubt that Quinn will be a drag on most of these races, particularly Downstate contests, and those Dem candidates don’t wanna be seen anywhere near the guy. But at least use the same standard when judging them.
* Also, the reporter described how some of Quinn’s backers were bused to Springfield. That happens every year and Rauner did the same exact thing. And she said there was no energy at the Quinn Director’s Lawn event. Was she even there? I thought they did a decent job firing up the crowd - not as well as Rauner did, but decent enough for showbiz.
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* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner today confirmed eight gubernatorial debates and candidate forums leading up to the November election.
“I look forward to comparing my vision of freezing property taxes, rolling back the Quinn-Madigan income tax hike and reversing the governor’s education cuts to Pat Quinn’s failed record of job losses, broken schools and Blagojevich-style corruption,” Rauner said. “I am running to be governor for all people in Illinois and our debate schedule should reflect the diversity of our state.”
Rauner’s proposed debates and candidate forums include:
Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable Candidate Forum - Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Metropolitan Planning Council Candidate Forum – Thursday, August 28, 2014
Chicago Tribune Joint Endorsement Session - Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Polish-American Leadership Political Action Committee Candidate Forum - Wednesday, September 10, 2014
League of Women Voters/PBS Peoria Debate - Thursday, October 9, 2014
Urban League/Business Leadership Council/DuSable Museum Debate - Thursday, October 14, 2014
Lake County Municipal League Candidate Forum*
League of Women Voters /ABC7 Chicago Debate*
*Dates Pending
I’ll let you know what the Quinn campaign says in response.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The response…
Below is the statement of Quinn for Illinois Communications Director Brooke Anderson following news that Bruce Rauner refused eight neutral debates with Gov. Pat Quinn and proposed a phony alternative of concocted venues to help himself:
“The public knows virtually nothing about Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner and he wants to keep it that way. In limiting the number of debates to a paltry three, he is hiding from a transparent airing of his views and plans for Illinois.
“This is unworthy of a candidate for governor and a disservice to the people of Illinois. Mr. Rauner won’t let us know about his finances. He won’t let us know about the shady dealings of his business. He won’t let us know about his foreign investments and partnerships. He won’t let us know about the exotic vehicles he uses to dodge Illinois and U.S. taxes.
“In the 2010 election, Republican nominee for governor Bill Brady readily agreed to five debates without condition.
“By hiding from debates about the future of Illinois, Bruce Rauner is letting us know ONE thing: he wants to hide from the judgment of the people. By doing so, Mr. Rauner is disrespecting Illinois voters.”
In addition, Bruce Rauner attempted to mislead the public and brand five additional appearances as “debates,” which they are not. For example, the first two events noted by Rauner in his list - hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council and Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable - are not even joint appearances, much less debates. At both events, the candidates will arrive and speak separately. The Chicago Tribune endorsement session is not a debate but a session closed to the general media. The Polish American Political Action Committee is a small group whose chair is the head of Polish Americans for Rauner. The president of the Lake County Municipal League is also the chairman of Mayors for Rauner and a Rauner business associate who recently put up an illegal sign to help Rauner’s campaign.
Below is a list of 11 confirmed debates the Governor of Illinois committed to, with Rauner’s denied participation noted:
1. Sept 17th: Daily Herald
2. Oct 1st: Governor’s State University
3. Oct. 7th: University of Illinois in Champaign
4. Oct. 9th: League of Women Voters/ PBS Peoria
5. Oct. 14th: Urban League and Business Leadership DuSable Museum
6. Oct 16th: League of Women Voters / ABC7 Chicago
7. Oct. 19th: Elmhurst College
8. Oct. 23 - NBC5/U of C Institute of Politics
9. Oct. 28th- CBS2/Daily Herald/WBBM Radio
10. Oct. 30th: WTTW/ Chicago Tonight
11. Date TBD by debate host: WGN/Channel 9 (Oct. 22nd or Oct. 29th)
The criticisms, particularly about the forums, are valid.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Two of the debates on this list, Governors State and CBS2/Daily Herald, were not on the original list of debates Quinn demanded earlier this month. So, they’re padding the numbers here.
Also, I’m hearing that the CBS2 debate was also supposed to include Andy Shaw of the BGA and that might have been why Quinn didn’t agree to it then, but is saying he would now.
*** UPDATE 3 *** My phone blew up with text messages from the governor’s campaign after that second update. A sample…
We are not padding #s
We listed the gov state as tentative - and he other two weren’t confirmed - they have since been confirmed
*** UPDATE 4 *** This video clip was slipped to me a few minutes ago. It shows Bruce Rauner promising Carol Marin that he would return to the station for a debate against Gov. Quinn…
Transcript…
Carol Marin: With 30 seconds to go, do each of you promise, assuming one of you is chosen, to come back and meet your opponent on the Democratic side in another one of these forums?
Bruce Rauner: I would look forward to that day. Pat Quinn’s the worst governor in America and I look forward to debating him.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Yes, he did, but so did Quinn
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* On September 18, 2012, Bruce Rauner appeared on a panel in Chicago to discuss Illinois economics and taxes. He was asked about Jimmy John’s CEO Jimmy John Liataud’s decision to leave Illinois…
“I’m deeply saddened, outraged and ready to fight to make that not the case for you [Liataud] and your fellow entrepreneurs. We have got to change the direction of our state. And the rest of us in this business community who’ve been here for our whole lives to say ‘enough, no more, we’re not going to stay in this death spiral, we want great entrepreneurs to stay and thrive and build your companies and your jobs here in Illinois.’ That’s what our future’s about.
“Backstory on us, I’m in the venture capital business, private equity business. We’ve helped start almost a hundred companies. We’ve financed the growth of hundreds of companies. And we’ve been integral to the location decision of where they will base their operations, where they will base their headquarters. We’ve been the driving factor in much of that decision.
“It’s driven me nuts for decades that we are unsuccessful in convincing many of the entrepreneurs that we back to headquarter in Illinois. And many of the companies that we’ve helped started in Illinois have decided to leave the state. I know dozens of business owners who’ve left. I know dozens of others who are ready to leave. I know many successful business executives who were born and raised here and they changing their residency. They’re changing it to Florida, they’re changing it to Texas, they’re changing it to Nevada. We’ve got to say ‘Enough. No more.’
“And it’s, it’s in part about taxes, but it’s really about confidence and value. We’ve got to have confidence in our, in our government institutions. And in Illinois, for good reason, we have almost none.
“I mean, I, if we, if you were going to invest in a new plant that would come to Illinois, I’d like to say yes, but I’d have to say no.”
* The Quinn campaign wants you to focus like a laser on that last sentence, so a top official sent along this short clip…
Out of context, that could very well work in an ad.
* But I think the “we’ve been integral to the location decision” line could also be important. Why? Well, yesterday, Rauner said this…
“I have never closed a plant and moved those jobs overseas or that sort of thing. That’s not what my business was. Never done that.”
* Now, let’s get back to H-Cube, the outsourcing company mentioned in the governor’s new TV ad. The company eventually changed its name to Zenta. The governor’s campaign passed along some intel on the company, including this…
Zenta Downsized 25 Person Group to 12, Trained Indian Managers, and Began “Transferring Process Related Functions to India.” According to a case study listed on the Zenta website in November 2009: “[The] Client had a 110,000 loan, $25 billion residential master servicing portfolio in an industry with shrinking margins and increasing client service demands. Zenta Solution…Downsize 25 person group to 12. Remaining U.S. employees refocused on client management. Train Indian managers in U.S. Brought in experienced U.S. management. Indian managers return to Chennai to train new team…Begin transferring process related functions to India. Results: Reduced operational costs by 60%… Developed a leading third party master servicing platform in the U.S.” [Zenta.com, 11/09]
* From the DGA…
According to Rauner American job loss to low-wage markets like China, India and Mexico by announcing that “Not every job should be in America.”
Now that he’s squarely on the record concerning outsourcing at the expense of American jobs, here are a few questions for the tycoon who told a blatant falsehood concerning the outsourcing strategies of his own companies:
Question 1: What about Zenta?
“GTCRauner formed an outsourcing company in 2005 that, at its very outset, made clear it would deliberately exploit cheap labor in places such as India, China and the Philippines. Combining under the Zenta brand name, the conglomerate was designed specifically to send a wide range of American white-collar work overseas. In some cases, low-wage workers from places like India came to the United States to be trained by the very people whose jobs their firm would take. Rauner’s firms claimed they pioneered the outsourcing of jobs in the financial services and real estate markets. In fact, sending jobs overseas to exploit cheap labor was their guiding principle. They exploited American workers, too, and were successfully sued for labor violations.”
It’s pretty clear that Rauner wasn’t telling the full truth when he said “I have never closed a plant and moved those jobs overseas or that sort of thing. That’s not what my business was. Never done that.” He apparently did do that.
* And that “Not every job should be in America” line is gonna come back to bite Rauner for sure. From Illinois Freedom PAC…
Yesterday, Bruce Rauner fiercely defended his record of outsourcing U.S. jobs, saying “not every job should be in America.”
Neal Waltmire, Communications Director for Illinois Freedom PAC, released the following statement in response to Rauner’s remarks:
Spoken like a true vulture capitalist, Rauner defends his record of destroying middle class jobs and shipping them out of the United States.
When candidates for Governor speak of creating jobs, we assume they are talking about here in Illinois. But when Rauner talks job creation he means in foreign countries, conveniently leaving out the American jobs that will be destroyed in the process.
Rauner’s statement proves once again that his barometer of success is not creating middle class jobs or growing local companies. His primary metric is how much profits he and his billionaire buddies can suck out of our economy.
Rauner - and the executives he picks to run his companies - will do just about anything to make money, even if it means destroying middle class jobs, abusing and neglecting vulnerable citizens, and bankrupting companies.
Tom Gaulrapp, a Freeport resident whose job was outsourced to China in 2012, hit the nail on the head when he told a group in Rockford last month that this election is about “keeping one of these vulture capitalists who thinks it’s a good idea to pack up our jobs and move them somewhere else, to keep him from being in the governorship of Illinois.”
* Then there’s Polymer Group. From another opposition research file that was tossed over the transom…
Rauner was on the Board of Directors, including the audit committee, of Polymer Group until 2003. Under GTCR and Rauner’s leadership, Polymer posted five straight quarters of losses starting in late 2000 through 2002. While the company wasn’t making money, Rauner and GTCR were loading it up with debt. And in 2001-2002, Polymer defaulted on its loans to creditors three times and its bond rating was slashed to “D” by S&P. To cut costs, the company laid off 500 workers, 14% of its workforce and moved some jobs to foreign countries. Later, in May 2002, Polymer Group filed for bankruptcy. Despite all of this, according to the Daily Deal, GTCR “managed to escape with a profit.” […]
Polymer Group Laid Off 500 Employees, 14% Of The Workforce. “Johnston said the corporation is progressing with plans to lay off more than 500 employees, or 14 percent of the work force, to trim costs. He said less than half of the cutbacks are complete, but most of the reduction will be finished by early 2002. [Post And Courier, 1/1/02]
The jobs were moved to Canada, which isn’t “overseas,” but still technically a foreign nation. And keep in mind that Rauner said his firm exerted control over operation and HQ sitings.
* But the Rauner campaign is countering with its own claims of Quinn outsourcing. From a press release…
“The fact is Pat Quinn is invested in the Caymans and has engaged in business outsourcing as governor. Pat Quinn has clearly reached all out desperation mode with his new false and misleading attack. Only a failed governor who wants to cover up his own record of tax hikes and job losses would make outrageous claims like these.” – Rauner Spokesman Mike Schrimpf
* Details…
The Quinn Administration Gave Maximus A Two-Year, $76.8 Million Contract To Scrub The State’s Medicaid Rolls. “The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which administers Medicaid, said the verification process is “well within the time frame mandated by the new law.” The state last Thursday finalized a contract with Maximus Health Services to conduct the review. The company gets paid on a per-case basis and is expected to earn about $76.8 million during the two-year contract.” (Doug Finke, “GOP: Quinn Administration Slow To Review Medicaid Eligibility,” The State Journal-Register, 9/18/12)
Maximus Describes Itself As Providing “Business Process Outsourcing.” “MAXIMUS (NYSE: MMS), a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that several case studies highlighting the Company’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Business Process Management (BPM) solutions were recently featured in the Gartner research report, ‘Use BPM to Drive Revenue, Not Just Efficiency.’” (Press Release, “MAXIMUS Business Process Management Highlighted in Gartner Research Report,” Maximus, 1/15/13)
AFSCME Denounced The Maximus Contract As “Outsourcing.” “‘It’s time to end this failed experiment with outsourcing a critical public watchdog role to a private, for-profit corporation,’ AFSCME director Bayer said. ‘The arbitrator’s order will bring oversight back to state government where it is directly accountable, and save money in the process.’ The backdrop to the Maximus contract was a backlog in Medicaid eligibility redeterminations caused by staff shortages in the departments of Human Services (DHS) and Healthcare and Family Services (HFS). Rather than hire sufficient staff, the state outsourced the work to a for-profit company. Council 31 filed a grievance, contending that outsourcing violated provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.” (Press Release, “Arbitrator’s Order Will End Wasteful Outsourcing, Return Medicaid Oversight To State Government,” AFSCME Council 31, 12/18/13)
Maximus Still Has Numerous Contracts With The State Of Illinois, And Was Paid $44,892,852.22 In FY2014. (State Contracts Database, Illinois Comptroller, Accessed 6/4/14)
*** UPDATE *** From the Rauner campaign…
POLYMER GROUP’S U.S. OPERATIONS EXPANDED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING GTCR’S INVOLVEMENT
In 1996, The Polymer Group’s U.S.-Based Manufacturing, Warehousing and Research & Development Facilities Occupied 1,781,500 Square Feet In Four States. (SEC Form S-1/A, Polymer Group, 5/7/96)
By 2003, The Polymer Group’s U.S.-Based Manufacturing, Warehousing And Research & Development Facilities Had Increased By More Than 1 Million Square Feet (To 3,051,677 Square Feet) In Ten States. (SEC Form 10-K, Polymer Group, 4/14/03)
They don’t say how many jobs were added, however. Warehousing facilities are highly automated these days.
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* I’m told this begins airing tomorrow…
*** UPDATE *** Bost campaign response…
Enyart says “he has helped Scott Air Force Base grow.”
The Facts Beltway Bill Doesn’t Want You To Know:
-Nearly 3,500 workers will be laid off in the next five years at Scott Air Force Base. Enyart was also absent for a crucial vote for military construction and appropriations.
-Enyart has also turned his back on Illinois Veterans after voting “NO” on a resolution that would have kept military chaplains working during the government shutdown.
-Illinois Veterans have asked Enyart to apologize. One month later, they’re still waiting. Click here to read Veteran’s letter.
Enyart says he is a “supporter of clean coal.”
The Facts Beltway Bill Doesn’t Want You To Know:
-Enyart voted against “The Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Act,” (H.R. 2824) and also voted against hard-working Illinois coal miners.
-Enyart also continues his anti-energy record by voting against prohibiting the Obama Administration from conducting its anti-fossil fuel agenda.
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* From the Pew Charitable Trusts…
Employment rates for 25- to 54-year-olds were lower in 29 states in fiscal year 2014 than in 2007, before the Great Recession. In 2007, 79.9 percent of people ages 25 to 54 in the United States had a job. In the 12 months ending June 2014, five years after the recession ended, only 76.2 percent of people in that age group were working.
* Methodology…
Pew weighted data from the Current Population Survey using values provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These data were used to calculate the total number of civilian, noninstitutionalized 25- to 54-year-olds in each state and in the nation. Pew then calculated the average percentage of people who were employed in each of those populations. These calculations were done for 2007 (January through December) and fiscal 2014 (July 2013 through June 2014). Pew used these values to calculate the percentage-point change from 2007 to fiscal 2014. Significance tests were performed to determine which changes were statistically significant at a 0.05 level.
The top five states, in order were Vermont, Nebraska, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Alaska.
* US average…
* Illinois actually did a little bit better than the national average…
* Meanwhile, we already discussed this hyperbolic statement by Bruce Rauner’s campaign today…
“Tens of thousands of people are giving up looking for work because of Pat Quinn’s failed policies,” Rauner said. “More than 63,000 people have given up hope on finding a job since April and Pat Quinn is out celebrating – it’s downright offensive to struggling families around Illinois.”
* So, I went looking through various Federal Reserve Board publications to see what their explanation was. Let’s start with this chart from the San Francisco Fed…
* James Bullard, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explained the history back in February…
If you know only one aspect of the data on labor force participation, it should be this: Labor force participation used to be relatively low, it rose during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, peaking in 2000, and it has generally been declining since 2000. […]
After about three decades of trending up, the labor force participation rate peaked in the first half of 2000 at 67.3 percent. The rate of increase was slower in the 1990s than it was in the 1970s or 1980s. The peak was more than 8 percentage points higher than the average level during 1948 - 1966. Many of the studies of labor force participation during this period focused on the increasing participation rates of women. However, whatever effects came from that source, or any other source, the labor force participation rate could not continue to increase forever. Households are making choice s about how much labor to supply given current wages and work environments, and women newly joining the labor force would find the right level of participation and stop there.
Since 2000, the labor force participation rate has generally been declining. The pace of decline was particularly sharp during the recession of 2007 - 2009, but the participation rate also declined steadily in the early 2000s and since the end of the recession in mid - 2009. […]
According to BLS projections, more than 70 percent of this decline is due to pure demographic factors; that is, changes in population shares by age groups, assuming unchanged participation rates for each group.
* By Willem Van Zandweghe at the KC Fed…
The primary factor behind this decline is the rising share of older workers in the population as the baby-boom generation ages and life expectancies increase. The rising share of older workers pulls down the LFPR because older workers have lower participation rates than prime-age workers. A second factor behind the gradual decline of the LFPR has been a steady reduction in labor force participation among young people over the last decade, resulting in large part from rising school enrollment
* Shigeru Fujita, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, February 6, 2014…
Nonparticipation due to retirement did not rise until the end of the Great Recession but started to increase significantly in 2010. Since the start of 2012, it has been the most important contributor to the increase in the overall nonparticipation rate.
* Washington Post…
Americans over the age of 65 are much less likely to work than prime-age Americans. And since that subset of Americans is swelling, that drives the labor-force participation rate down. Note that this is happening even though older Americans are staying on the job for longer than they did during the 1990s.
* And the Chicago Fed predicted more declines in the labor force through 2020…
Roughly two-thirds of the decline is due to the aging of the labor force (in particular, baby boomer retirements)
…Adding… Last year, when Illinois’ unemployment rate was really high, Bruce Rauner focused heavily on the rate. Now, of course, he’s saying the rate doesn’t matter. A few quotes sent over by Gov. Quinn’s campaign…
“Unemployment is awful. But in Danville, Decatur, and Rockford and other places, unemployment is well over 10%. These places share one common need: Jobs - and we need leaders who have experience in creating them.” -Rauner FB Post, 3/10/2013
“Under Pat Quinn we have become hostile to business and have moved up to one of the highest unemployment rates in America. We use to be leading the nation in economic growth and now we are at the bottom.” -WLDS, 8/15/14
“Rauner told the crowd he wants to bring his success in business to Springfield. In the process, his focus is to achieve results that will point to Illinois having the best schools and “the lowest unemployment in the country as opposed to the third highest” -SIOR-AIRE Meeting, 5/27/14
…Adding More… Greg Hinz…
For instance, the share of Illinois adults in the workforce dropped a whopping 4.1 percentage points in the past six years, slipping to 64.7 percent from 66.8 percent. Not good. But in Michigan and Ohio, the slippage was a statistically indistinguishable 3.9 percent each. And their current participation rates remain well under ours, at 60.4 percent and 62.8 percent, specifically.
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* The Sun-Times has some video of Bruce Rauner during which Rauner says he wanted to punch somebody for allegedly trying to keep him out of Chicago’s annual Greek Independence Day parade…
“I was the only Republican in this parade. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in line. You know what Pat Quinn said: ‘Holy cow, Rauner’s coming after my base. You know, I’m out working ‘em, I’m working ‘em. He’s running around chasing me … he’s never been to a Greek parade in his life. He came to that parade because he said, “Uh-oh, Rauner’s taking my votes.’”
“You know what, they tried to, his people tried to kick me out of the parade. You know what, it’s the closest I’ve come to punching someone in this race. I said, I said I ain’t leaving this parade, this is not a Democratic parade, this is a Greek-American parade, and I’m working for every family in this state. You know what, I pushed those guys aside, we went to the front of that parade, high-fives and selfies all up and down. You know what, they were clapping and cheering. They loved every part of the message.”
The punching line got a big laugh.
* Quinn response…
Quinn’s people say the governor has indeed marched in the Greek Independence Day Parade in the past. They say the governor did not order or attempt to kick Rauner out of any parade.
“The Governor has attended numerous Greek events in recent years and throughout his career, including the Greek Independence Day Parade in 2010 and most recently on March 30 along with his Greek-American running mate Paul Vallas,” says campaign spokeswoman Brooke Anderson. “Mr. Rauner has a history of making things up in his stump speeches and his negative attack ads, so we’re not surprised he is continuing that trend.”
* The video…
I tried calling the group which runs the parade, but its phone number is disconnected.
*** UPDATE *** Blogger and frequent commenter Louis G Atsaves in comments…
For those who think Rauner was making this up, I beg to differ. I was there as a marcher. My group was marching just behind the “dignitaries” line, where Rauner and Quinn were nearly next to each other.
One of the parade marshals ordered the Rauner marchers that were between the dignitaries and my group off the street and moved them out to the curb.
My group was right behind them and I was carrying a State Flag. I waived the Rauner group back in, told the marshall something unprintable and they then marched the rest of the parade directly in front of my group.
No other “political” group was treated like that in that particular parade.
When everyone reached the parade stand, the Rauner group was announced twice, once where they should have been, and a second time when the MC (Anna Davlantis) noticed them in their new spot, which I guess was a little poetic justice.
That goes some distance toward confirming part of Rauner’s story.
But this is also from Louis…
Marching in that parade were nearly every single Cook County and Chicago politician of both parties, along with Rauner and Quinn. Kirk was also there (just behind my group) riding in a convertible.
So, when Rauner said, “I was the only Republican in this parade,” he wasn’t telling the truth?
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*** UPDATED x2 *** Fun with numbers
Monday, Aug 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner today issued the following statement in response to new data showing Illinois leads the Midwest in job losses this year while thousands of Illinoisans have left the workforce.
“Illinois should be home to a vibrant workforce with a booming economy but thanks to Pat Quinn we are still leading the Midwest in job losses. With higher taxes and fewer jobs, Illinois isn’t working under Pat Quinn.”
According to the BLS data, Illinois has lost 4,200 jobs since the beginning of the year while its neighbors have made large gains: Indiana has gained more than 26,000 jobs, Wisconsin has gained nearly 11,000 jobs, Missouri has gained more than 31,000 jobs and Iowa has gained 6,000 jobs.
Additionally, the data shows more than twice as many people have left the Illinois workforce than have gained jobs over Pat Quinn’s time in office. As media noted today, while the unemployment rate has declined, “BLS numbers show much of that is due to people leaving the workforce.”
That’s certainly one way to spin it and it’s valid.
* But the BLS data also show some fairly strong gains over the past three months. Illinois has added almost 18,000 jobs since the end of April.
We need more. Lots and lots more. But the recent three-month trend ain’t horrible.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Quinn campaign response…
As Governor Quinn today announced 500 good-paying jobs by an Illinois company, Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner and one of his top allies - which he has personally funded the tune of $525,000 - attacked the Illinois economy and rooted for Illinois to fail even as Illinois’ unemployment rate went down to its lowest point since August 2008. It makes sense that Bruce Rauner is desperately trying to undermine any positive economic news for our state because it’s undermining the very basis for his bash-Illinois campaign. The Illinois Policy Institute, which agrees with Mr. Rauner’s position to cut the minimum wage, and Rauner are working feverishly to spread their message of doom and gloom even as the economic outlook in Illinois has significantly improved.
Below is a quick fact check on Rauner’s claims:
Rauner Falsehood: Illinois is in an economic death spiral.
Fact: Just last week, unemployment fell to 6.8%, its lowest point since August 2008 and significantly lower than when Governor Quinn took office. This is the steepest 12-month unemployment decline in the last three decades.
Rauner Falsehood: Illinois leads the Midwest in job losses this year.
Fact: The arbitrary seven-month timeframe is cherry picked by those rooting for the state to fail. A full year period tells a much more accurate and honest story. Over the past 12 months, the state has created 30,500 jobs, and the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.2 to 6.8—the largest decrease in three decades, and 127,000 more people are working. Further, Illinois saw net job creation last month, with 11,200 private sector jobs created, and a net job creation of 10,300 jobs because of government job loss. Yet left unsaid by Bruce Rauner is that he has proposed a Tax Plan that would slash the budget by EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS which would lead to mass layoffs of state employees and drive the unemployment rate sky high.
Rauner Falsehood: With higher taxes and fewer jobs, Illinois isn’t working under Pat Quinn.
Fact: Under Governor Quinn’s leadership, Illinois is making a comeback. While there’s more work to do, unemployment is significantly lower than when Quinn took office. According to a new study on businesses, Illinois’ overall tax burden ranks lower than about half the country - read about the study here.
Republican False Claim: Unemployment isn’t really going down - people are just leaving the workforce.
Fact: In fact, Illinois had a net gain of 11,200 private sector jobs last month. We have 127,000 more people working today than compared to last year.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Rauner campaign responds…
17,157 Illinoisans Exited The Workforce In July, The Third-Largest Drop In Labor Force Participation Since At Least 2004. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
21,637 Illinoisans Exited The Workforce In June, The Largest Drop In Labor Force Participation Since At Least 2004. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
Illinois’ Labor Force Has Been Dropping Every Month Since April, For A Cumulative Total Of 63,083 People Who Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
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Goofy regs and possible political retaliation
Monday, Aug 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The headline…
Rauner firm faces fines for illegal sign in West Rogers Park
* The lede…
A Cook County judge will decide whether Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, and his business partners must pay fines for illegally erecting a digital billboard on a building in West Rogers Park.
* The offense…
The company has signs across Chicago and in some suburbs. It ran into trouble with City Hall over a 10-foot-by-10-foot sign it put up about a year ago above the corner doorway at 6958 N. Western Ave.
It got a permit from City Hall on Dec. 14, 2012, for an electric sign but didn’t also obtain a required public-use permit from the City Council, which has to sign off whenever a sign extends onto public property.
“The sign was hanging over the public way, and they didn’t have a permit,” said Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th). “It was quite a large sign, and the neighbors were complaining about it.”
As we’ve discussed before, Chicago is crazy about its regulations of business signs, awnings and the like. It’s ridiculous and unjustifiable. I mean, according to the article, the company is facing fines of as much as $15,000 a day, dating back to Feb. 25.
Sheesh.
* Back to the story, which notes that Rauner is a “passive investor” in the company…
The Rauner campaign has received $188,000 in free advertising from the sign company in the past five months, according to financial disclosure reports that it’s filed with the Illinois State Board of Election.
* These photos aren’t in the article, but perhaps the subject matter of the above 50th Ward sign is what got Ald. Silverstein so fired up…

Yeah, I’m sure that had nothing whatsoever to do with the alderman’s hissy fit.
#amiright?
…Adding… Apparently, this fight has raged for awhile, even before the signs started flashing pro-Rauner messages…
The approximately 100-square-foot sign went up in early June [of 2013], facing north on the busy intersection.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) also has heard criticism from her constituents about the sign erected by Digital Greensigns above the corner store at 6958 N. Western Ave., she said.
But…
Joseph Mancino, CEO of the digital billboard company, wouldn’t comment on other signs, but said the sign in West Rogers Park was erected lawfully and in compliance with a building permit.
The city confirmed that the company obtained the proper building permit and that it was located snuggly enough up against the single-story commercial building not to need a public-use permit.
Just absolutely ridiculous.
Look at the building…
Which is uglier, the business or the sign?
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