Today’s quotable
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Westchester chief of police Steve Stelter spoke at an anti-cannabis legalization press conference today…
I’m here to address you today. I want to tell you that the people who are pushing this bill are feeding you a bunch of baloney is what they’re doing. They’re pulling the wool over your eyes.
This bill, the way it stands right now is absolutely terrible. I can’t understand and law enforcement can’t understand how they allow people to grow this stuff in their homes.
As Rep. Moylan said, how are we going to possibly regulate five plants? There is absolutely no way. These people will tell you that ‘Well, now that we can buy it legally, that’ll compete with the cartels and the black market.’
Wrong. The black market increases when legalized marijuana comes in. Not only do you have the Mexican drug cartels, the Jamaican drug cartels enter your world. You have the Chinese drug cartels enter your world.
They buy homes, dilapidated homes, foreclosed homes and they turn them into marijuana factories. And they sell this stuff in the neighborhoods. How can you possibly allow home grow? We don’t understand it.
Growing more than five plants would still be illegal. And if the neighbors and the Westchester police can’t figure out that a dilapidated, formerly vacant house has been turned into a marijuana factory with dozens of Chinese drug cartel employees working night and day, I just don’t know what to say, except those cartels could do all of that today if they wanted. It’s not like they follow the law.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to the recent press conference held by Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Legalize Illinois issued the following statement:
“Today’s distortions from our opponents are just more of the same from an organization that takes money from big tobacco and pretends to have the best interests of Illinoisans in mind. SAM would like to hold back progress on smart, sensible and equitable adult-use cannabis legalization even though the majority of the public supports legalization. Their false claims do not have the best interests of the public in mind. The truth is, the legislation that was just introduced is the most responsible and inclusive bill in the nation, developed by peer-reviewed research and input from stakeholders to create the most equitable and regulated industry in the nation.”
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* Politico…
ALD. WALTER BURNETT, who heads the 27th Ward Committee, is taking applications and preparing to interview candidates to replace state Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin. She’ll be sworn in May 20 as Chicago’s new city treasurer. Among those applying for her statehouse job: Burnett’s eldest son, Jawaharial “Omar” Williams, who has worked as a plumber for the city’s Water Department.
Another applicant: MAZE JACKSON, the lobbyist and WVON radio commentator who has consulted for former governors Bruce Rauner, Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich. “We’re getting a lot of applicants,” Burnett told Playbook.
Replacing Conyears-Ervin quickly is important to Democrats since so many big-ticket revenue bills will be up for consideration by May 31.
Burnett says he’s working to have a replacement named by May 18. On that day, the committee will have a so-called slate-making session “where we’ll allow folks to present their credentials.” During an executive session after that, committee members will decide on the new state representative.
* Daily Line…
Burnett said he will back his stepson Jawaharial “Omar” Williams to replace Conyears-Ervin over the more than a dozen other interested candidates.
Williams has been working precincts since he was a teenager alongside the alderman, who has been a member of Secretary of State Jesse White’s political organization for decades along with Ervin and Conyears-Ervin.
“I don’t know of any family business that don’t — I shouldn’t say family business — but if your kids work hard… that’s what I work for, to promote my kids, help my kids if they do well,” Burnett said. “If they’re not deserving of it, they’re not deserving of it. So we’ll see how all the other members look at it and we’ll take it from there. It’s no different than Jason pushing his wife for the state rep spot and pushing her for treasurer.” […]
WVON radio morning show host Maze Jackson told The Daily Line in an emailed statement he is also interested in replacing Conyears-Ervin and would strive “to bring economic resources back to the district, and to be an uncompromised vociferous advocate for self-interests of the Black community. I want to get an answer to ‘What’s in it for the Black People?’ in the state of Illinois.”
In addition to Williams and Jackson, Chavonne Carter, an assistant in White’s office; Dwight Lee, an executive in White’s office; Gerard Moorer in U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ office; and former state Rep. Eddie Winters are also interested in replacing Conyears-Ervin, Burnett said. […]
Conyears-Ervin replaced former state Rep. Pamela Reaves-Harris, who served one two-year term. Before her, former state Rep. Derrick Smith also served one term beginning in 2012. Smith was ousted by House colleagues after he was charged with accepting a bribe, and was convicted of bribery in June 2014.
Smith was replaced by Winters, a former Chicago Police officer.
* Let’s now move on to the replacement for former Rep. Jerry Costello…
Recently re-elected in the fall, the question locally now is how his replacement will be chosen. Randolph County Democratic Chair Kerry Johnson said with the likelihood of big votes coming this session, namely the governor’s tax plan and the legalizing recreational marijuana, he would like a replacement in before the session ends so the 116th has its say.
Matt Dietrich, public information officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections, pointed to state statute saying the county precinct committeemen have 30 days to name a successor.
“Each committeeperson of the appropriate legislative or representative committee shall be entitled to one vote for each vote that was received,” state statute says of the mechanism for replacing political appointees.
* BND…
Johnson said whoever is selected will need to be someone who could handle criticism, especially in today’s political environment.
“Today we need someone with a tough skin for sure,” Johnson said.
Johnson however would not comment on whether there would be an effort to find a replacement who would vote for the governor’s agenda.
“That would be up to the individual we select,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t tell someone how to vote.”
Johnson also said he hasn’t heard of any specific names of people who could fill the seat.
“I’m sure there will several people that will put their name in the hat,” Johnson said.
…Adding… Sun-Times…
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) will cast the third-highest weighted vote, at nearly 17.6 percent.
Waguespack said he has never met Williams, has no idea what qualifications he brings to the job and is troubled by the secretive nature of the process. […]
“The last time Walter [Burnett] chose somebody, we got Derrick Smith. That ended up pretty horribly,” Waguespack said.
Smith was expelled from the Illinois House after being indicted on bribery charges, but won re-election anyway. He was forced to step down from the Illinois House after his conviction.
Good point by Waguespack. Smith is a permanent stain on Ald. Burnett’s track record.
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* This session just took a big turn for the better…
May 7, 2019
Dear Leaders, Appropriations Chairpersons and Appropriations Spokespersons:
We write to share the good news that Illinois received significantly stronger-than-expected revenues in April.
More than $4.1 billion in individual and corporate income tax revenues were deposited into the General Funds in the month of April 2019, up $1.14 billion or 38% from April 2018 income tax deposits of $2.999 billion. This is also more than $1.5 billion more than internally projected for April 2019.
A number of factors likely contributed to this increase, including the performance of the stock market, better federal reimbursement for Medicaid, the elimination of the federal state and local tax deduction and additional changes in the federal tax law that meant many taxpayers didn’t withhold sufficient taxes through payroll deductions, backloading their end-of-year tax payments. Anecdotally, strong revenue collections occurred in many other states in April. Additional data and analysis are required to present a comprehensive explanation for the revenue shift, and our staffs are working to provide the General Assembly with a more detailed analysis.
As an immediate result of the strong April performance, coupled with revenue collections year-to-date, the State of Illinois will be able to address most of the $1.6 billion shortfall in the enacted FY19 budget because of the April revenues alone. GOMB and the Department of Revenue will be increasing the forecast of general funds individual income taxes by $1.249 billion and general funds corporate income taxes by $186 million, for a total revision of $1.435 billion, a revision of approximately 7% from February 2019 income tax estimates.
Additionally, based on this strong performance, the Department of Revenue has also re-evaluated its FY20 projections. DOR is also projecting that income tax revenue for the FY20 general funds budget will be roughly $800 million higher than initially projected, or nearly $22 billion instead of $21.18 billion. This represents income tax collections roughly 4% higher than the initial base projections.
Several, though not all, of the factors that contributed to the April revenue growth will continue into the coming fiscal year. These factors include continued strong employment, including in Illinois.
The Department has also taken a conservative approach to its revised revenue projection by considering several of the growth factors as likely one-time sources. These sources include the stock market’s performance and taxpayers’ adjustments in their withholdings because of the new federal tax law. These factors have limited the growth that can be expected.
Governor Pritzker remains committed to a financially responsible budget that addresses Illinois’ outstanding obligations, and recommends that these additional revenues can be dedicated to the state’s statutory FY20 pension payment. The certified payments to the retirement systems total $9.1 billion. With the additional revenues due to the forecast revision, the state will be able to meet the current funding commitment to the retirement systems without extending the ramp this year. The Governor remains committed to finding ways to fund our pension commitments in a sustainable manner.
Ensuring the state’s pensions are sustainably funded continues to require significant effort, and will not happen overnight. Over the coming months, the administration will continue to work on a responsible approach to the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, which continue to threaten to crowd out vital investments in education and public safety. Both the Pension Asset Value and Transfer Task Force and the Pension Consolidation Task Force are expected to provide comprehensive reports in the coming months. Our expectation is that the Legislature will be able to take their recommendations into account as we work together to finalize a long-term pension reform plan and continue to work with the Legislature to develop a long-term pension plan.
The State of Illinois has faced much financial uncertainty in the past, and while this revised revenue estimate is certainly welcome news for our residents, the state’s finances won’t be stable in the long-term until a fair tax system is put in place.
Sincerely,
David Harris
Director
Department of Revenue
Alexis Sturm
Director
Governor’s Office of Management & Budget [Emphasis added]
…Adding… Senate President Cullerton…
This is good news arriving at a good time.
Ain’t that the truth.
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* Daniel Kay Hertz at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability…
Because 97 percent of Illinois workers would see a tax cut as a result of the Fair Tax proposal, opponents have had to argue that that a graduated state income tax would make it more likely for Illinoisans to see tax increases at some unspecified point in the future.
This concern, however, is baseless. For one, Illinois’ flat tax has not prevented the state from enacting income tax increases in the last ten years. Instead, the flat tax has ensured that those tax increases have been borne by everyone, rather than targeted to the wealthiest who can most afford them.
This argument also relies on simply averaging together all changes in income taxes over the last century, rather than acknowledging that different time periods have seen radically different trends in income tax rates. In particular, it assumes that changes to the income tax more than 75 years ago are a more reliable predictor of what will happen in the 21st century than what has happened, well, in the 21st century — or even the second half of the 20th. Since 2003, states with graduated income taxes have cut taxes nearly two and a half times more often than they have raised them on the middle class. In any given year, a state with a graduated income tax had a roughly 13 percent likelihood of cutting taxes — versus just a five percent likelihood of increasing them on the middle class. […]
A better approach to understanding how a graduated state income tax is likely to change over time in Illinois in this century is to take a comprehensive look at the experience of other states during a more recent timeline. Helpfully, the Tax Foundation has a database of state personal income tax rates and brackets going back to 2002. […]
Using that database, CTBA recorded every instance of states with a “Fair Tax” raising or cutting taxes since 2003 (the first year in which we can do a year-over-year comparison with Tax Foundation data). […]
Our key finding: Since 2003, states with graduated income taxes have cut taxes nearly two and a half times more often than they have raised them on the middle class. In any given year, a state with a graduated income tax had a roughly 13 percent likelihood of cutting taxes — versus just a five percent likelihood of increasing them on the middle class.
Another way of looking at this is at the total change in averages rates — just to make sure that, for example, the smaller number of tax increases aren’t larger in size than the more numerous tax cuts. […]
The answer: No, they’re not. In fact, states with graduated income taxes have seen their average rates fall — both at the top and the bottom of their brackets — since 2002.
In short, only by ignoring the recent track record of all states with graduated income taxes, and cherry-picking one or two states or a particular, long-ago time period, can one support the claim that graduated income taxes tend towards ever-higher rates. The full picture shows that this argument simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
The full list of states which have cut or raised their graduated rates over the years is here. Just four states plus DC have raised rates on $250K+ income since 2003.
…Adding… Illinois Policy Institute…
Yet again, progressive income tax backers are reinforcing why Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “fair tax” amendment would open the floodgates for massive tax hikes on Illinois’ middle class.
1) CTBA’s list of progressive income tax states that have cut taxes makes use of the same lie that earned Think Big a “mostly false” rating from PolitiFact. They include states that essentially have flat taxes because their top rate affects most income earners, e.g. Georgia ($7k), Idaho ($10,890), Arkansas ($35k) and Louisiana ($50k). It’s not reasonable to compare these states to Illinois, where politicians have run up huge deficits and the push for a progressive tax is motivated primarily by a desire for more revenue.
2) The CTBA’s own analysis shows that when progressive tax states raise income tax revenue, the middle class overwhelmingly pays the price (33 tax hikes on income below $250,000 vs. 10 increases on income above $250,000.) CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire has repeatedly stated that Illinois should raise far more revenue than even Pritzker’s plan would bring in.
3) The CTBA research shows that in progressive tax states, tax cuts disproportionately go to the wealthy and tax hikes disproportionately hit the middle class.
4) The most reasonable apples-to-apples comparison in Illinois’ current debate on whether to adopt a progressive income tax is Connecticut, which is the only state to swap a flat tax for a progressive tax in the last 30 years, and did so in the face of similar fiscal circumstances. It is noticeably absent from the CTBA’s tax cut list.
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* Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) on legislation that will allow households to grow up to five cannabis plants in secured rooms…
“They’re going to be growing it on the back porch and selling it on the front porch,” Moylan said. “Listen, do you want this stuff in your neighborhood?” he asked.
Dude, I got news for you: Cannabis is already in your neighborhood. Your neighbors are consuming it, perhaps even right this moment. And most of your neighbors want it legalized.
All you’re doing is defending the economic interests of the often violent criminal network that grows and then distributes the product in your own neighborhood.
* Also…
“Minorities have said to me we don’t want this stuff in our neighborhood,” state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said at a news conference outside the Thompson Center in the Loop.
I…
I just…
Nevermind.
*** UPDATE *** I took a look at the totals from the 2016 countywide referendum on whether cannabis should be legalized. Moylan lives in Maine Township Precinct 14. The referendum passed 69-31 in his home precinct. That’s a better showing than the district-wide vote of 62-38.
Marty, your neighbors really want this.
…Adding… One of the goofiest things I’ve ever read…
“This is not your grandfather’s THC, or pot,” [Moylan] said. “Cheech and Chong would really disagree on how this is done.”
Cheech and Chong are supporters. Chong sits on the NORML advisory board for crying out loud.
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* From the newly introduced cannabis legalization bill in the eligibility for expungement section…
“Minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act” means one or more arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation (as defined in subsection (a)(1)(J)) for a Class 4 felony or misdemeanor violation of Section 4, 5, or 8 of the Cannabis Control Act, provided that (i) the individual did not receive a penalty enhancement under Section 7 of the Cannabis Control Act and (ii) the minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act was the only offense associated with the arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation to be expunged.
* So, keep that in mind when reading this. The House Speaker admits he hasn’t yet been briefed on the bill and the author of this story apparently didn’t realize this goes beyond convictions…
Madigan said there are several issues regarding marijuana legalization that will be “very important” when trying to rack up the 60 votes needed in the House to pass the bill.
That includes expunging criminal records for those with lower-level marijuana-related convictions and who will be entitled to get licenses to grow and process marijuana in Illinois. […]
“The key on that (expungement) issue is how far do you go in terms of the expungement?” Madigan said. “If you’re talking about some teenager who’s doing drugs and who’s only guilty of possession, that’s one thing. If you’re talking about people who are actually in the business, that were dealers, and you want to expunge those records, that’s a different case.”
For his part, Madigan said he is attempting to work with all the participants to see how to resolve the issues.
A little bit of context is required here. If this proposal passes, companies will be legally selling thousands of pounds of cannabis a year. The bill’s expungement language would apply to up to 500 grams (with no additional charges), which is barely over a single pound. That could very well be changed if people get nervous, but it doesn’t seem right to keep people locked up for stuff that others are doing under cover of law.
* Back to Madigan…
Madigan said the decision process for which businesses will receive new licenses would affect the vote as well.
“Among the minorities in the Legislature, they would argue that there oughta be some leg up for minorities in terms of licenses to cultivate or be a dispenser. Here again, language will be important in terms of finding 60 people to vote for the bill,” Madigan said. […]
The governor budgeted for $170 million in new revenues next fiscal year from licensing fees associated with legalization.
…Adding… I forgot about this video…
At the end, he talks about opposition to the bill…
And then you’ll have many people who are concerned about the opioid crisis, who feel that in light of that this is not a good time to be legalizing the use of marijuana.
Um. What? Those sorts of red herring excuses could be dragged out at any time in history and he really should know better.
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