* The pro-gay rights tea party group GOProud is shutting down, just days after endorsing Bruce Rauner for governor…
In 2004, GOProud was born when Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron split from the Log Cabin Republicans. Fast forward to today: both have stepped down from the organization and it is shutting down for good.
GOProud has been mired by several controversies since the departure of their founders. The group has bled donors since the widely reported departure of Jimmy LaSalvia from the Republican Party earlier this year. […]
Finding it difficult to continue without securing more funding, GOProud will be shutting down immediately - an homage to an era gone by. The shuttering is undoubtedly necessary as the organization’s full effectiveness has been tarnished.
The organization may rebrand and regroup later, but for now, the organization will no longer be functioning. Co-director Matthew Bechstein stated in an interview that the “brand is broken” and a rebrand is necessary.
* More…
After Andrew Markle’s story yesterday that the far-right conservative LGBT group GOProud was shutting down, the organization’s leadership took to Facebook to deny the reporting saying, “Nothing could be further from the truth” and “GOProud is not closing. It is growing.”
Today, however, the group confirmed it plans to kill the GOProud brand and will attempt to reorganize as a grassroots online organization with a new name.
A “grassroots online organization” is not a political committee.
So, is the Rauner endorsement now essentially worthless? Seems so.
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A new record
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* According to statistics generated by my web hosting company using Apache log files, we reached a milestone last month. CapitolFax.com had nearly 5 million page views in the month of May (not including spiders, spambots, etc). That’s more than double what it was in May of 2012.
I don’t usually share this sort of data because my advertising sales are based on the target audience, not the quantity of clicks. But that’s a pretty darned amazing stat and I figured you ought to know. Also, the number of unique IP addresses using this site in May grew by more than 57 percent compared to the same month two years ago.
* More importantly (for advertising purposes), a check of the top IP addresses found that at least 20 percent of those May page views - or at least a million - came from within the Capitol Complex, which is my target audience during session. That’s about 50,000 Statehouse/Stratton Building-area page views per session day. And that doesn’t count all the cell phones, etc. which aren’t connected to the LIS wi-fi system.
Not bad for a little state politics website, eh?
* Anyway, thanks so much to all you subscribers and readers out there. And thanks to the commenters who truly help make this site live and breathe. And many, many thanks to the advertisers who allow me to keep this little monster of a website going strong.
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More defining Statehouse moments
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Doug Finke…
“I haven’t read the language of the amendment.” Speaker Madigan in response to a question about a bill he sponsored making the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum its own state agency.
Oy.
* On the other hand, this could very well signal some real progress on the city’s pension reform bill. Somebody was apparently using his or her noggin…
As Mayor Rahm Emanuel waits for Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision on a measure that would partially fix the finances of city worker pension funds, the mayor isn’t saying whether a 911 fee increase on phone bills would allow him to avoid a property tax hike. […]
Emanuel has talked about raising property taxes to come up with the city’s share, but that puts Quinn in a tight spot. The Democratic governor is running for re-election against anti-tax Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.
Meanwhile, the legislature last week gave Emanuel and Quinn a possible escape route by approving a bill that would allow the city to raise a 911 tax on landline and cell phones by $1.40 a month to $3.90. The resulting $50 million or so a year from the 911 tax could allow the City Council to put off raising property taxes until after next year’s city elections. […]
“I don’t think we should be subsidizing (OEMC) from” other revenue sources, said Emanuel, who added that the 911 budget “should be self sufficient and independent.” But Emanuel did not address the property tax portion of the question during his news conference.
The city claims it was subsidizing 911 services out of general revenue. So, this tax hike frees up that general revenue cash, which could, indeed, postpone a property tax hike until after election day.
So, sometimes, we can have positive defining moments.
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A selective conspiracy?
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an e-mail sent yesterday by Michael Kolenc, the campaign manager for Yes for Independent Maps, which is pushing a constitutional amendment for remap reform and doesn’t yet have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot…
We knew it would come to this. The status quo in Illinois was not going to let this process be easy…and because of that, we have been hard at work trying to rehabilitate signatures the state threw out in their rushed, uneven and back-room validation process. In fact, we are working today – checking signatures in the voter file, preparing lists of certified voter registration cards we need to obtain; having notaries collect signed affidavits.
This work is tedious, but with the support of over 500,000 petition signers, we know you have our back. Can you continue to cheer us on by making a $25 contribution today?
That’s a nice little conspiracy theory, but you’d think the Board of Elections would’ve been at least as “unfair” to Bruce Rauner’s term limits petition drive. Nope…
Illinois election officials say a group that supports eight-year term limits on legislators appears to have enough signatures to let voters decide on the issue in November.
Illinois State Board of Elections Director Rupert Borgsmiller told The Associated Press on Monday that about 60 percent of the group’s tested signatures were valid. The Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits turned in nearly 600,000 signatures. That’s about 370,000 eligible signatures. Illinois ballot measures need about 300,000 voter signatures.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner backs the proposal. It also would also change the size of the Legislature and make it harder for lawmakers to override a governor’s veto.
* From Rauner’s term limits group…
“Today we also extend our gratitude to the State Board of Elections for their impartiality and professionalism throughout the petition process,“ said Executive Director Mark Campbell. “Today the Board has made official what we have known all along – that the people of Illinois want term limits.”
Bottom line, Rauner appears to have run a professional operation.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Your choice for biggest losers of the spring legislative session?
We’ll do winners tomorrow.
…Adding… Please explain your choices. Thanks.
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Jeanne Ives complained bitterly last week during debate on the election reform bill that I told you about earlier today…
If you can’t listen to audio at work, here’s some of what she said about the voting changes…
“Let’s set it up at Chicago State University with a less than 20 percent graduation rate. I’m sure those guys know exactly what they’re doing.”
She always chooses her words so carefully.
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Unclear on the concept
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate might wanna change his script…
Vallas said that he is “bothered” by a return to the bad budgeting practices, and the lack of a budget alternative from the Rauner campaign. […]
“It bothers me that we’re borrowing again and we seem to be relapsing into the same kinds of practices that got us into this position in the first place,” he added.
Emphasis added because the borrowing he speaks of was in Gov. Quinn’s own budget proposal. From the Civic Federation…
Although the budget recommended by Governor Pat Quinn for FY2015 proposes extending current income tax rates to avoid a massive revenue cliff, it also relies on borrowing $650 million to close a budget gap and pay down a portion of the State’s backlog of unpaid bills.
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Big changes for November voting
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The General Assembly sent this bill to the governor’s desk last week…
The Chicago Democrat’s proposal would extend in-person early voting hours and allow voters to register on election day.
It also would remove identification requirements for in-person early voting and allow public universities to serve as locations for election day in-person absentee voting.
The changes would be in effect for [only] the November election. [….]
Republicans say the move is an attempt to drive Democratic turnout in a close, nationally watched governor’s race.
* From a Chicago Votes press release…
What happened Friday is a big deal. The legislature approved a pilot program that allows Illinoisans to register to vote until the end of Election Day at designated polling locations across the state! This is a great step towards permanent precinct-wide Election Day Registration, which we will continue to fight for in the coming months.
We also got some bonuses:
* University of Illinois at Chicago, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U of Ilinois at Springfield, U of I Carbondale, U of I Edwardsville, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, Western Illinois University at Macomb and Western Illinois at Moline will allow students who are registered, but haven’t switched their registration location to vote on Election Day.
* Employers may not require employees to use earned vacation time or paid leave to serve as an election judge!
* We also got extended hours and more days for early voting.
Fewer folks will have to deal with an arbitrary 28 day registration deadline before an election, (or scramble to the few spots that offer registration 3 days before), or worry about not having their provisional ballots counted, or be excluded from the voting process because they moved just before Election Day.
The full bill is here.
* The bill also includes this…
Provides that Cook County Commissioners and the president of the board are not eligible to hold office if he or she has been convicted in any court located in the United States of any infamous crime, bribery, perjury, or other felony.
Hmm.
…Adding… From Think Progress…
Election Day registration is, in many ways, the anti-voter ID. Voter ID laws, which have been en vogue among conservatives recently, could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters (though different studies have reached different conclusions regarding how many voters will be disenfranchised by voter ID, even conservative estimates suggest that 2 to 3 percent of registered voters will be impacted). Election Day registration, on the other hand, tends to boost turnout between 7 to 14 percentage points, according to scientific studies. These gains come predominantly from the very groups that voter ID tends to discriminate against: minorities, young voters, and low-income Americans.
There are a few reasons why Election Day registration has such a significant impact on turnout. Requiring people to register before they actually cast a ballot presents an extra hurdle to voting that necessarily depresses turnout. In addition, many Americans don’t begin paying attention to an election until just before Election Day, at which point it is too late to register in many states. Finally, nearly one in eight Americans move in an average year. Unless they remember to update their voter registration before Election Day or live in a state with Election Day registration, they can’t vote.
Election Day registration has grown increasingly popular in blue states recently, likely in response to the rash of voter suppression laws since 2010. In the past two years, four other states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Hawaii — have enacted Election Day registration, bringing the total number of states to 13, plus the District of Columbia.
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Why did they do it this way?
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
The latest state budgetary meltdown got me wondering: Why did the Democrats decide four years ago to allow the income tax hike to expire in the middle of a fiscal year?
The trouble caused by the Jan. 1, 2015, tax hike expiration has been tremendous.
By putting in that particular “sunset date,” state revenues are scheduled to drop almost $2 billion in the second half of the new fiscal year, which starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2015.
To prevent that dramatic loss of revenue, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed in March that the Illinois General Assembly permanently extend the income tax hike. Fellow Democrats House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton both publicly agreed.
Trouble is, statehouse tax hikes almost never get passed before an election. Former Republican Gov. Jim Thompson twice pushed for post-election tax hikes, claiming he’d badly misread the fiscal tea leaves while he was campaigning on a solemn pledge to never raise taxes.
And, sure enough, the combination of an off-year election that’s already going to be bad for Democrats and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s endless supply of campaign cash has scared the living daylights out of House Democrats. The tax extension idea was dropped.
Instead, the Democrats passed an alternative budget that kicks a very expensive can down the road, blowing a gigantic, multibillion-dollar hole in next year’s budget.
So why did the Democrats lock themselves into such a mess?
Mr. Cullerton told me a few weeks ago that he’d been asking himself that same question.
Go read the whole thing to find out what Cullerton said.
* Meanwhile, Doug Finke…
[Gov. Pat Quinn] didn’t get the tax extension, he didn’t get the $500 pre-election checks for property taxpayers (another of his proposals), he didn’t get an increase in the minimum wage (although he’ll get an advisory referendum), there’s no increase in the earned income tax credit, and most of his budgetary priorities went down the drain. He did get a new capital program of sorts, all of $1 billion for roads and bridges.
But like the Chicago Cubs, there’s always next year and the hope it will prove more successful. Except, depending on the November election, this could have been Quinn’s last spring hurrah.
* Umm…
“This was a successful session,” the speaker continued. “The governor didn’t get everything he wanted, but that’s the nature of the Legislature. That’s the nature of American government. But going forward, the Democrats will be together because they’ll be brought together by Republicans.”
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Stuff you may have missed
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s take a quick look at some legislation that has been overlooked…
Unpaid interns would be included in the state’s ban of sexual harassment in the workplace under one measure. Currently, Illinois law only prohibits the harassment of paid employees. The bill would require employers to act on all reports of sexual harassment.
Two bills would expand protections for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. The first measure would give the Illinois Department on Aging legal protections from being sued for enforcing bans against the abuse of disabled adults. The second proposal would enact new penalties for the abuse of disabled children. The measure would allow police to seize property, such as boats or cars, of adults who abuse children 13 or younger who have severe mental disabilities. […]
In another effort to give people a fair shake and broaden the workforce pool, lawmakers passed a bill that would bar employers from asking on initial job applications if a person has a criminal record. After the applicant has been found qualified for a position and scheduled for an interview, the employer would be able to ask for criminal record disclosure.
* More…
In an effort to undo a previously approved law that had over-enforced poker runs, the House and Senate signed off on changes to the rules governing this popular fundraising tool for motorcycle enthusiasts, in which bikers ride from one tavern to another collecting poker hands. The new rules take enforcement out of the hands of the state and gives counties the authority to issue licenses for the events. […]
A proposed new law will require schools to address electronic bullying, even if it doesn’t happen on school grounds. […]
In an effort to stop cities from over-regulating farmers’ markets, a proposed new law would preclude municipalities from passing regulations that are stricter than state laws. […]
In a move that could drive up the cost of school construction, a proposed new law would require all new schools to have storm shelters.
* Money for solar…
On May 30, 2014, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 2427, which unlocks $30 million of roughly $54 million in existing state funds for investment in new renewable generation. The $30 million comes from the Renewable Energy Resources Fund (RERF), which is administered by the Illinois Power Agency (IPA). The $30 million is anticipated to be targeted at solar generation, with a focus on “distributed” solar generation, or generation with a name-plate capacity of less than two megawatts. To date the IPA has only made one procurement using the RERF and committed less than $3 million, even though the RERF is anticipated to grow to nearly $130 million this September.
* This bill passed both chambers…
A measure, passed by the Illinois House or Representatives [Friday], specifically exempts the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the northwest suburb from the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which prohibits smoking in public places. The exemption would last until Oct. 1, 2015. […]
Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo, which drew about 4,000 people to its annual meeting in Las Vegas in January, has already held preliminary talks with village officials about holding a second show, said Susan Reuter, president of Branford, Conn.-based Reuter Exposition Services LLC, which puts on the Expo. A Rosemont meeting would likely attract about the same number of people, she said.
Smoking is a necessary part of the show, which is limited to distributors, wholesalers and retailers and other people in the industry, she said. “It’s a type of sampling people do, whether they’re sampling cigars or a new cigarette.”
* And, finally…
Republican Bruce Rauner doesn’t have a specific budget plan of his own yet ripped pieces of the Democratic budget Friday, including one spending package that contains $500,000 for a YMCA bearing his name. […]
Yet, one of the bills that makes up the spending package now headed to Gov. Pat Quinn contains a reappropriated $500,000 state grant “to the Rauner Family YMCA for costs associated with capital improvements at the facility.”
Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf said “the Rauners’ have no personal benefit from the Rauner YMCA.”
“It’s called that because of their generosity in helping fund it,” Schrimpf said of the facility.
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UNO charged with defrauding investors
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced it had charged charter school operator UNO with defrauding investors in a $37.5 million bond offering for school construction work by failing to disclose conflicts of interest.
The SEC alleged that UNO Charter School Network had failed to disclose a multimillion dollar contract with a windows company linked to one of its top executives, Miguel d’Escoto.
D’Escoto, resigned in February last year, days after the Sun-Times reported that UNO gave $8.5 million of business to companies owned by two of d’Escoto’s brothers with money from $98 million in state school-construction grant funding.
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Defining Statehouse moments
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This buried little nugget in a Tribune roundup is the most overlooked story of the session so far, but I’m betting that won’t last…
During the last few years, lawmakers each were supposed to take 12 unpaid days a year as a recognition of the state’s rocky financial condition. On Friday, lawmakers decided to keep that money when the new budget year starts July 1, providing a minimum $3,100 boost that would return the base salary for their part-time jobs to $67,836, though most lawmakers get an additional $10,000 or so for committee posts.
Yeah, because they did such a great job.
Sheesh.
* And if this next bill is signed into law, those legislative paychecks can never be blocked again…
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton gave a little political payback to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday as the spring session headed toward the finish line […]
(L)ast summer, Quinn vetoed the money for lawmakers’ paychecks after they ended session without sending him a bill to reform the state’s government worker pension systems. On Friday, Madigan and Cullerton passed a measure that would keep lawmaker paychecks flowing.
“You’ll remember the governor vetoed our salaries in the middle of last summer,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, Madigan’s top lieutenant who maintained the paycheck move was not personal but rather an issue of “separation of powers.” “We didn’t like that very much, and a court said the governor couldn’t do it. But in order to make sure our governor doesn’t try it again, this will ensure that our paychecks come as they are supposed to come.”
What they did was create a continuing appropriation. So, if there is ever another veto, paychecks will still be issued.
* The roof problems at the governor’s mansion are also indicative of the bass-ackwards way our government is run…
Over at the Governor’s Mansion, the 44-year-old roof is gasping for life. Water is coming in. Plaster is falling down. Antique furniture has been yanked out of the third-floor Lincoln and Yates bedrooms and stored for safekeeping. Called the “people’s house,” this is the most irresistible metaphor for the neglect and corrosion of our fiscal state. […]
According to Rep. Brauer, there is money in a $3.7 million appropriation to make repairs, though the administration disputes that. Nobody disputes that this is an emergency that has only gotten more expensive by waiting.
Like every other state problem you can think of. […]
While the governor lives in a money-pit fixer-upper, Speaker Mike Madigan operates out of a gilt capitol palace, the renovation of which was downright reverential in its attention to detail. Copper doors, sconces and chandeliers. Nice digs for a Legislature that gets nothing done.
* And speaking of those nice Statehouse digs…
In September, Quinn blocked spending on Capitol renovations after questions were raised about how money was spent, from big chandeliers in lawmakers’ offices to newly installed maidens on the grand staircase to three wooden double doors coated in glistening copper that cost nearly $670,000. On Friday, Madigan and Cullerton passed a bill that would take away Quinn’s ability to block spending on Capitol renovations.
Sigh.
* And speaking of Madigan…
The budget also included language that authorizes $35 million in school construction in Chicago, funds that will be used to pay for a 1,200 student school in Madigan’s political home turf in the 13th Ward near Midway Airport.
“It’s a new school that’s planned,” Madigan said after the House adjourned shortly before 8 p.m. Friday.
Asked if it would be named in his honor, the longtime speaker smiled and said, “It doesn’t have a name. It’s a brand new building…. There’s severe overcrowding on the southwest side of Chicago.”
The big dogs always eat first here…
Renovating the historic Uptown Theatre is the “missing piece” to creating an entertainment district in the North Side neighborhood, proponents say. And that effort just got a $10 million boost.
A House Bill which included the appropriation for the theater — pushed by Senate President John Cullerton (D) — passed both houses of the Illinois Legislature last week. It’s the first major investment in the theater since it was purchased by JAM Productions in 2008.
“We’re happy to help jumpstart that project. Of course we know it’s just upward of $70 million for the theater’s full renovation but he still wanted to jumpstart it,” said Rikeesha Pheon, a spokeswoman for Cullerton. “He thinks it could be the centerpiece of Uptown.”
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Caption contest!
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ormsby…
Governor Pat Quinn yesterday appointed a new communications director.
Quinn on Sunday announced that Grant Klinzman will immediately assume the role of Acting Communications Director for the Governor’s Office.
Klinzman has been serving as Deputy Communications Director. The Governor’s chief spokesman and Communications Director, Brooke Anderson, is leaving the Governor’s Office to join the Quinn for Illinois campaign.
* From Grant’s Facebook page…
He almost looks like he’s being renditioned by the CIA.
Have fun and let’s welcome him the right way.
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A huge hole
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
On the bright side, I suppose you could argue that last week’s budget passed by the General Assembly will lead to the largest tax cut in Illinois history come January, when the 2011 income tax increase partially expires on schedule.
But that’s about the only bright side. And, really, pretty much nobody expects that some sort of tax hike will be avoided after the election, no matter who wins come November.
The new Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal had to be based on the partial expiration of the tax hike on January 1st, when it will drop from 5 percent to 3.75 percent. House Democrats claim they couldn’t find enough votes to permanently extend the tax hike.
But this new budget will blow close to a $6 billion hole in the following year’s budget, according to my own back of the envelope analysis that top Senate Democrats said looked accurate to them.
I based what follows on what what I know about how the budget was crafted. But whatever the final number ends up being, it’s crystal clear that whoever wins the governor’s race will face a monstrous challenge after he’s sworn in next January.
Borrowing $660 million from special state funds, as this new budget does, is a one-off affair. The money is being put into the state’s spending base and will have to somehow be replaced the following year. A two-year repayment plan means another $330 million will also have to be found in the next budget, for a total hole of about a billion dollars.
Using about $500 million in one-time revenue increases from this fiscal year to pay forward some bills in next fiscal year means that same $500 million will have to be found again in when the next budget is crafted.
Not funding employee salary and health insurance benefit cost increases kicks another $380 million down the road. So, now we’re at $1.9 billion.
And then, of course, there’s the approximately $3.6 billion in full-year revenue lost after the income tax hike partially expires. That puts the hole at around $5.7 billion.
Also, Rep. Greg Harris, who chairs a House appropriations committee, told reporters last week that the new budget could create as much as a “couple of billion” dollars in past-due bills in the coming fiscal year. If that’s accurate, then the FY16 hole becomes much, much worse, plus there’s all that new debt owed to providers which will eventually have to be paid back.
Not to mention that some state agencies have been given lump sum operating appropriations. Gov. Pat Quinn could conceivably try to avoid cuts before the election by putting off decisions until after the election. Doing so, of course, would blow a big hole in the second half of the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1st.
And that brings us to Bruce Rauner, the Republican nominee for governor.
Gov. Quinn’s campaign has been pushing Rauner hard lately to divulge his “secret” plan to balance the budget. The reason for that is they may have him caught in a trick bag of his own making.
Rauner has hinted more than once that he’d like to taper off the income tax hike over a period of time. But he can’t do that now because last week’s legislative inaction means that most of the 2011 tax hike will automatically disappear on schedule this coming January 1st.
Because of that legislative failure, if Rauner follows what was widely believed to be his original plan, the Republican would actually have to raise taxes in order to lower them again.
Needless to say, don’t bet on that ever surfacing as his plan now.
So, he’s gonna have to come up with a new idea. And that won’t be easy, because as I explained above this “kick the can budget” has planted a multibillion dollar nuclear time bomb that is so massive Rauner won’t possibly be able to simply cut his way out of it.
The other option is to do what he’s doing now: Refuse to answer any questions about his secret plan. But after promising for a year and a half to deliver one, he’s going to find himself dogged on the campaign trail from now on if he tries to stay mum.
Either way, though, it’s Quinn who has the most problems. He’ll have to deal with a big budgetary hole during the campaign while attempting to convince voters to reelect him so that he can try once again to raise their taxes. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
We’ll have more on the budgetary fiasco later today.
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* Conservative Republican gay rights group GOProud’s endorsement of Bruce Rauner on the eve of the official start of legal gay marriage here sparked a major backlash among gay rights organizations which pushed the bill. From a press release…
A robust debate occurred last year over whether all Illinois couples and families should be treated equally and with dignity under the law. Today, as we celebrate the official commencement of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, we honor those officials who stood for freedom and equality.
We also remember those public figures, like Bruce Rauner, who chose the side of bigotry and intolerance.
Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, claims to be a social moderate. In public and in the media, he claims not to “have a social agenda” and that “it doesn’t matter” how he feels about marriage equality.
Rauner can’t have it both ways. A real leader takes a stand. But we now know how he really feels. Last year at a Tea Party gathering in Quincy, he had this to say about marriage equality: “They haven’t approved it in a referendum, so if I were governor I would veto.”
Rauner opposes the freedom to marry. If he had been Governor, the many couples across Illinois who today are celebrating new families would still be relegated to a second-class legal status. Bruce Rauner, as he said in Quincy, has no problem with that.
We know the real Bruce Rauner. His administration would very likely be working behind-the-scenes to block new legislation and erode the existing laws protecting our families.
Just look at the GOP “top of the ticket” and the elected officials Rauner surrounds himself with, like running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis, both of who strongly oppose the freedom to marry, LGBT family adoption rights and other legal protections. Moreover, he has given tens of thousands of dollars to anti-LGBT candidates throughout our state.
* Sun-Times…
“They haven’t approved it in a referendum, so if I were governor I would veto,” [Equality Illinois] alleges Rauner said.
Rauner’s campaign could not verify the account or provide a response to the letter because they could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday evening.
Earlier Sunday, campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf declined to reveal Rauner’s personal feelings on same-sex marriage because “Bruce does not have an agenda on social issues.” But he said Rauner is not in favor of overturning the new law unless a referendum on the ballot calls for it. The campaign also noted Rauner was endorsed by GOProud, a Republican pro-gay rights group.
And Schrimpf added that Rauner does wish the best for newly-married same-sex couples.
“He wishes them congratulations and many years of happiness together,” Schrimpf said.
* That’s no mere allegation. It’s a fact. I posted the audio of Rauner’s tea party event comments on December 19th…
* From the Quinn campaign…
Throughout the campaign, Rauner has sought to downplay his position on the wrong side of history, telling one reporter: “My view is irrelevant. Why does that matter?”
At other times, he has ducked the issue altogether, acting as if it weren’t important. According to one report, during a press availability in Peoria, when a reporter asked, “Should Illinois legalize gay marriage?” Rauner responded: “I guess we’re done,” and abruptly walked out of the room.
While Rauner sought to downplay the significance of his position on the matter, people across Illinois visited their county clerks’ offices to apply for marriage licenses, a right they would undeniably not have had if Bruce Rauner were governor.
Thoughts?
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It was a wild and crazy one. Some really good times, some really bad times, some really bizarre times. Overall, it was pretty much a bust. But at least now it’s over, thank goodness…
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right
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Rauner breaks radio silence
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Bruce Rauner Statement on State Budget
Bruce Rauner issued the following statement regarding passage of the phony state budget:
“We learned a number of very telling things today. One, the massive job-destroying 67% Quinn-Madigan tax increase that has robbed the average worker of more than $1,000 every year is rejected by a strong bipartisan majority. At the same time, the politicians in charge of Springfield again refused to make the structural reforms needed to fix state government. Instead, they passed the same type of broken, dishonest budget that career politicians in Illinois have been passing for years. This phony budget is an unsurprising, yet tragic, conclusion to five years of failure under Pat Quinn. It’s time to shake up Springfield.”
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* Wow…
The Chicago Business Barometer, an index of local business activity, increased another 2.5 points to 65.5 in May after jumping 7.1 points in April. Anything over 50 indicates the economy is growing, and that’s the highest level the index has reached since October and nearly as high as it’s been for the past decade. [Emphasis added.]
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Illinois’ growth is actually pretty good when compared to other neighboring states.
* But it sure looks like a jobless recovery…
Even though the state’s unemployment rate is coming down, Illinois still has the third worst rate in the nation. Employment was down 3.2 points to 54.6 in the Chicago Business Barometer despite a three-year high in order backlogs and increases in new orders, inventories and a spike in the price of raw materials and components.
“You can’t have employment at 54.6 if you’re going to keep up with demand,” said Alyce Andres-Frantz, Chicago Bureau Chief for Market News International and author of the Chicago Business Barometer. The increased use of temporary workers and interns “doesn’t seem to be going away.”
Only about half of the Chicago-area companies in her survey have plans to hire in the next three months, and only half of those plan to hire permanent workers. “It’s telling me companies are trying to do more with less,” she said.
Ugh.
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Partially staying the course
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner may have toned down his rhetoric about “corrupt” union “bosses,” but he hasn’t backed away from his longtime belief in local right to work zones…
On Tuesday, the Republican candidate addressed a lunchtime gathering of approximately 300 members of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors and the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers at the Rosewood Restaurant in suburban Rosemont. […]
Under the leadership of Daniels and Snyder, Indiana and Michigan became the 23rd and 24th states in the US to pass right-to-work laws.
However, Rauner added that he did not support a similar effort in Illinois. Instead, he believes right-to-work zones should allow local communities to make these decisions.
Rauner would also consider using a superstar team of business leaders to chart a better course for the state.
* In other Rauner news…
The guy who recently declared that he would have vetoed Illinois’ new gay-marriage law has been endorsed by — surprise — a national gay-rights group.
It’s interesting timing, as the new law goes into effect over over the weekend. But GOProud, which describes itself as “a national organization of gay and straight Americans who seek to promote freedom by supporting free markets, limited government and a respect for individual rights,” announced in a press release that Bruce Rauner is its candidate for governor of Illinois. […]
He said he would veto the marriage bill,” said Bernard Cherkov, president of Equality Illinois, the state’s largest gay-rights group, which endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary but has backed some Republicans in the past and has not made a general-election pick for this year yet. “He would have put it to a referendum, and has declined every opportunity to articulate an inclusive and positive vision for LGBT Illinoisans.” […]
Said Mr. Rauner’s spokesman in a statement, “Bruce’s message of lower taxes, term limits and better schools is one that resonates with everyone across the state.”
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* WMAY…
House Speaker Mike Madigan’s proposal to turn the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum into a standalone state agency will not pass the General Assembly this spring.
As 970 WMAY News was the first to report, a spokesperson says Senate President John Cullerton will not call the bill. She says Cullerton believes more study of the proposal is needed.
Madigan had wanted to take the library and museum away from the control of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, because he says that agency is inhibiting hiring and acquisitions. Madigan said creating a separate agency would be revenue-neutral, a claim denied by IHPA.
Good move by Cullerton.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Jak Tichenor asked Speaker Madigan yesterday during a taping of “Illinois Lawmakers” about whether his friends influenced his decision to move the Lincoln Presidential Library out from under the IHP’s control. The museum’s executive director, Elaine Mackevich, and her longtime friend Stanley Balzekas Jr. are close Madigan friends. Balzekas is also the Speaker’s ward office landlord.
His response begins at about the 12:30 mark in the video…
* If you can’t watch videos where you are, here’s the transcript…
“You know, in America people have friends. This is not a communist country. People have friends. I have friends, you have friends.
“And this is my reference where I say some people want to be negative, they want to be critics they want to engage in a lot of simple political gossip. So be it. That agency should be left to chart its own course.”
Your thoughts?
*** UPDATE 2 *** More of MJM’s remarks…
“It ought to be improved. We ought to work for federal accreditation and enrollment in the federal system of libraries and museums…
“And today that institution is required to check in with a routine state agency. I’m not being negative when I use the word ‘routine,’ but the Historic Preservation Agency is not one of the premiere agencies of state government. It’s a routine state agency and a treasure like the Lincoln Library and Museum is being required to check in with this other agency.
“They ought to be separated. And the Library and Museum ought to be able to chart its own destiny, work to improve the quality and the beauty of the museum. That’s my thinking.
“There’s similar situations that universities of the state are set up where there’s a governing board that selects a president. The State Board of Education for the state, the governor appoints people, they select a chief executive officer.
“It’s simple. Some people don’t want to make it simple. Some people want to engage in a lot of political speculation. So be it.
“I think history will prove that I know what I am talking about. This is an asset of the state. It ought to be improved. And the route to improvement is to separate them from the jurisdiction of this other agency.”
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Question of the day
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the synopsis of House Bill 4527…
Requires a charter school to comply with all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools that pertain to special education and the instruction of English language learners.
Charters have historically been exempt from quite a few state laws and regulations in the School Code, including special ed mandates and English as a Second Language requirements.
* From two opponents…
“What you’re doing with this bill is you’re taking away the flexibility and innovation that has characterized charters and made them a success,” [Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon] said. “If you want to make charter schools like regular public schools, this bill’s for you.” […]
“It seems like it’s going to make it more difficult for the charter schools, and end up in the long run, providing less choice,” [Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove] said. “Am I incorrect?”
* From the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Kimberly Lightford…
“It actually opens the door for more children,” Lightford said. “These are critical areas. It’s not some general, vague program. We’re talking about kids who have special needs and they should be addressed and able to attend that local charter school as well.”
Lightford said charter schools, like every other school, are subject to federal law and that her bill helps “ensure that federal and state anti-discrimination laws are enforced consistenty in every public school in Illinois.”
* The Question: Should charter schools be required to follow state mandates to offer special education and English as a second language programs? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys
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This week’s greatest rant
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
As many as seven ballot measures could be up for consideration, including four proposed to alter Illinois’ constitution and three poll-style questions. […]
None of the ballot measures — term limits, political redistricting, voters’ rights, crime victims’ rights and minimum wage— are sure things. Some are still emerging as legislators prepare to adjourn this week. Election officials are verifying signatures for petition-driven efforts on political boundaries and term limits, while a lawsuit could threaten both plans. Election officials certify ballots in August.
The sheer number of potential ballot measures could be unprecedented. State Board of Election records, which date back to 1970, show there have not been more than three ballot measures in one election year — including constitutional amendments and nonbinding questions. […]
The issue hit a frenzied pitch in Illinois on Thursday when the Senate advanced one nonbinding question that asks voters if prescription drug plans should cover birth control, an Illinois law on the books since 2003. Opposition from Republican Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine was so impassioned that he was admonished by leadership to avoid personal attacks.
* A tiny bit of Murphy’s rant…
Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, who voted against her legislation Thursday, called it an election-year gimmick by Democrats meant to “gin up” their voting base this fall, particularly women.
“This is a gimmick. It’s a stunt. It’s a game, and everybody down here knows it,” Murphy said. “You’re talking about something that’s been settled law for 10 years. But you just want to gin people up over issues that really don’t exist.
“What all this stuff is this year is nothing less than the desperation your side of the aisle has because people of this state might actually pay attention this year and fire some of you for the despicable record you have,” Murphy said.
* But, oh, it was so much better than that. You really need to listen to the whole thing. When admonished to “avoid personalities,” Murph ranted…
“Whose personality? What? Your whole party? Are you guys a personality? I’ll say ‘Democratic’ if you let me continue.”
Heh.
* Seriously, take a few minutes and listen to the whole thing. It’ll be worth it, I promise…
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Adventures in mismanagement
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The state shut down Tinley Park Mental Health Center on June 30, 2012. But the state kept paying a lease on its postage meter for almost another year, according to a new Auditor General’s report. That shows the state probably didn’t have its act together when it closed the facility.
But check this out…
During a review of 220 equipment items reported to the Department of Central Management Services as lost, valued at $157,656, the auditors noted the following:
- For equipment items with either an acquisition cost in excess of $500 or deemed a high theft, Tinley Park reported 86 items were lost, valued at $123,772. This represented 10% of the total inventory dollar value and 13% of the total number of items on hand at Tinley Park’s closure date of July 1, 2012. […]
- Tinley Park reported it had lost a refrigerated van trailer, valued at $29,217, during its equipment inventory following the closure. [Emphasis added.]
Oy.
* The state also left behind a big junk yard…
The auditors identified equipment items, including furniture, 4 farm tractors, a forklift, and 10 inoperable State vehicles that were still on site within various buildings across the Tinley Park campus and had, presumably, been abandoned. The inoperable State vehicles appeared they had been inoperable for a considerable length of time. In addition, the auditors identified one vehicle that had been abandoned by a private person at Tinley Park after it was sold by the DCMS several years ago.
The auditors also identified one operable vehicle at Tinley Park that was in use by the Department of Central Management Services’ caretaker at Tinley Park. This vehicle was still on the Tinley Park equipment inventory at June 30, 2013, totaling $18,135.
* This was common at all the facilities checked…
At the Jacksonville Developmental Center, which closed on November 27, 2012, auditors found confidential information in trash receptacles, filing cabinets, binders, boxes, and on desks. We found resident’s names, health information, and social security numbers, a labeled medical specimen, photos of residents’ labeled with residents’ names and incident number, security reports which included residents’ names; filing cabinets with folder separators labeled with residents’ names; two computer monitors and three computer towers; large stack of binders which contained the last name and first initial of residents on the spine of the binders; and manila filing folders with patient names written on the tabs.
Sigh.
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Quinn’s campaign pokes fun at Rauner silence
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner’s campaign hasn’t issued any official statements or press releases all week. Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign had a bit of fun today with Rauner’s silence via their own press release…
EXCLUSIVE: A Detailed Day-by-Day Recap of Billionaire Bruce Rauner’s Week of Courage, Ideas, and Transparency
CHICAGO - With yet ANOTHER of his shady equity firm’s concerns in the docket today (this one in Florida bankruptcy court with the nursing home empire accused in multiple wrongful death lawsuits), billionaire Bruce Rauner had a singular week of courage, ideas and transparency.
Even as issues of the day were being debated in Springfield, with Governor Quinn working to pass legislation to protect pregnant women in the workplace and other important bills related to the future of Illinois’ middle class - Rauner chose a decidedly different path.
Below is a detailed and exhaustive recap of all the bold stands Rauner took on issues like protecting pregnant women in the workplace, and a comprehensive look at the details he provided of his OWN budget plan for Illinois, which, to date, has remained hidden from human eyes for 452 days.
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Least surprising news of the day
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Meh…
A bid to expand gambling in Illinois appears dead for the spring’s legislative session after the south suburban lawmaker pushing the measure announced Friday he won’t call the bill for a vote.
“The time was not right to build the support needed for the bill to pass the Illinois House and Senate and be signed into law by the governor,” Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, said in a written statement. “I am disappointed we could not move this issue forward this spring, but I am determined to prepare a bill for consideration in the fall veto session.” […]
He mentioned local squabbles, fear of competition by existing casino owners and the lack of participation in the debate by Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has insisted on tackling pension reform ahead of gambling expansion.
Rita said again Friday that support from Quinn and Emanuel is key to passing a casino bill. The same goes for the horse racing industry and communities that would host a new casino, he said — around Chicago and Downstate.
Gaming expansion requires everybody to be pulling in the same direction at once. That didn’t happen this year, so it died. Same as it ever was.
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Aiming at the wrong target
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This headline is completely, utterly bogus…
Audit: $12.3M in Illinois Medicaid benefits paid to dead people
First of all, Medicaid doesn’t pay patients. Medicaid pays providers. And that’s just what happened here, which you’ll finally see after you scroll down several paragraphs…
The vast majority of the overpayments — $11.4 million — went to managed care organizations, that is, the private insurance companies with contracts to pay for health care for the poor and disabled. The state pays monthly [capitation] fees to those companies on a per-patient basis, rather than paying doctors and hospitals a fee for each separate service.
* To be sure, however, this was most definitely a supremely massive oversight failure by DHFS. From the audit…
We determined that many of the individuals were signed up for managed care months after their date of death. For individuals with Title XIX eligibility in fiscal year 2013, of the 993 individuals whose date of death was more than 60 days prior to the payment date, we identified 561 who were enrolled in managed care and had capitation services paid on their behalf more than 90 days after their date of death. The average number of days they were signed up after their date of death was 663.
Due to the fact that these individuals were deceased, the State in most cases was not paying for any fee-for-service expenses for these individuals after their date of death. However, once the Department enrolled these 561 deceased individuals into managed care, the State began paying their monthly premiums, which totaled $6.96 million through October 1, 2013. The highest monthly rate paid was $5,384. [Emphasis added.]
Oy.
An accompanying chart shows managed care payments on behalf of people who’d been dead more than 60 days were about $50,000 a month back in July of 2011, but shot way up to almost $900,000 a month by October, 2013.
Plain and simple, DHFS dropped the ball.
Bigtime.
* From the agency’s audit response…
Because capitation payments for individuals enrolled in managed care are made prospectively and the Department may not be immediately notified of an individual’s death, Department policy provides for recoupment of improper payments for deceased individuals from managed care companies.
As deaths are recorded in Department systems, the information is automatically processed to deduct up to 18 months of overpayments for deceased individuals from future payments. […]
As of February 10, 2014, 98% of the 993 people associated with the capitation overpayments identified in this audit have been properly coded as deceased in Department systems. The Department has recouped or is in the process of recouping the $11.4 million in capitation overpayments under managed care that were identified in this audit. The Department expects all overpayments to be recouped by year’s end.
OK, fine, but fix the darned problem.
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* Rep. Derrick Smith’s attorney Vic Henderson went after the federal prosecutor’s case during yesterday’s opening arguments…
The [FBI] mole was someone who was “down on his luck — he always needed money, always needed a place to stay,” Henderson said. “Because Derrick was a kind-hearted guy, he tried to help out.”
But the mole tricked both Smith and the feds by only recording some of the phone calls and conversations he had with Smith, Henderson alleged.
And Henderson denied Smith had confessed to the FBI, saying Smith had merely admitted he “messed up” by trusting the mole.
Though he acknowledged Smith wrote the letter in support of the grant application, Henderson said “that was his job — he supported anyone who came to him from his district.”
Calling Smith a “baby legislator” who was desperate to hold onto his seat and needed money, he told jurors “there’s a lot you haven’t heard.”
* But the case against Smith appears pretty darned solid…
As the 2012 election season loomed, the campaign worker went to the FBI offering to wear a wire and record Smith scheming to receive a bribe, prosecutor Michael Donovan told jurors at the Chicago trial.
In a transcript of one recorded conversation displayed by Donovan on a large courtroom screen, Smith rejects Pete’s suggestion that he accept the money in a traceable cashier’s check.
“OK. Cash?” responds the informant.
“Yeah,” the legislator answers, “I don’t want no trace of it.”
In another recorded conversation, Smith tells Pete he needs plausible deniability, saying, “I don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, man.”
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Kicking the roof can
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Roof repairs on the Executive Mansion would be hugely expensive and therefore potentially politically embarrassing for the governor, especially since he whacked legislators so hard for their expensive Statehouse remodeling program several months ago. So, repairs will be deferred into the future…
The Executive Mansion roof is leaking so badly that the third floor has been closed to the public and furniture from two historic bedrooms has been moved to storage to keep it safe from water damage.
However, officials in Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration say there are no plans at this time to repair the leaks, even though they acknowledge there has been some damage to ceilings and walls.
“The maintenance will be deferred for the present time,” Quinn spokesman Dave Blanchette said. “It is not an ideal situation.”
Mansion curator Dave Bourland blamed the leaks on the harsh winter and the mansion roof that is 44 years old. […]
“The water’s coming through the ceiling,” Bourland said. “So there’s plaster falling down. That’s why I’ve got some plastic on the floor and some buckets there. It’s one of those things that came upon us pretty quick.”
Discuss.
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Today’s number: 15 years
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Secretary of State Jesse White has set a record as Illinois’ longest-serving secretary of state.
The 79-year-old White claimed that milestone today, when he surpassed the tenure of James A. Rose, who served from 1897 to 1912.
White has served since his first inauguration in January 1999.
White says he’s proud of honoring a pledge to not use the Secretary of State’s office as a stepping stone to higher office. The Democrat has won five terms in office, often by wide margins.
Secretary White turns 80 next month.
And, I gotta say, he doesn’t seem all that worse for wear. The man is in incredible shape for any age.
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* Subscribers were kept abreast of this development yesterday…
The Illinois House Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $1.1 billion road-and-bridge package stripped up of what the GOP characterized as pork as the spring legislative session neared a hectic end with several key issues still unresolved. […]
That plan passed the House by a 97-11 vote, with four members voting “present,” in a push sought by labor unions. That measure now heads to the Senate, which also has to vote on a budget Friday or Saturday. Separate legislation to fund the program is up for a House vote Friday. […]
The plan will be paid for, in part, through higher vehicle registration fees put in place in the late 1990s that were used to float construction bonds under former Gov. George Ryan. Some of those bonds have now been paid off by the state.
Led by House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, Republicans forced the plan to be scaled back from a $1.6 billion package originally sought by House Democrats, arguing that the hundreds of millions of dollars that were stripped away could have been earmarked for no-strings-attached, election-year goodies.
* More…
House Bill 3794 calls for $1.1 billion in construction spending, $1 billion of which would go to road and bridge projects included in IDOT’s 5-year plan. The bill does not list the projects because they would be determined by IDOT, but sponsor Rep. Luis Arroyo said that the department plans to prioritize projects that are ready to go during the summer construction season. The remaining $100 million would go to local street repair projects. The money for construction would come from funding sources approved as part of the 1999 Illinois First capital program. Borrowing for the plan has been paid off, but the increased fees and taxes remain. “Some of that debt has been retired. It’s been paid off, and the revenue stream that was used to support it is now available,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The plan passed with bipartisan support. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said that after the particularly harsh winter, the state’s roads need work. “Illinois roads were clobbered.” He said that while Republicans opposed other construction projects passed in the House yesterday, this pared-down plan is “responsible” because the spending will be decided by IDOT instead of legislators. “It’s a smaller bill, but this is going to get us through the end of the year.”
But some lawmakers questioned spending money that could otherwise go into the general revenue fund on a rushed capital bill that does not include anything other than road and bridge projects. “I think this is the wrong time to do this, and I think this is the wrong approach,” said Northbrook Democrat Rep. Elaine Nekritz. and Proponents argued that this plan can be accomplished now to get people to work in the coming months, and the issue of a larger capital plan could be revisited later. “Bottom line, this is going to put people to work. Those people will pay taxes, and some of those taxes will come to the state of Illinois,” said Madigan.
* More…
Other members complained they did not know what road projects would be included in the program, although many lawmakers had copies of a project list provided to them by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider said the program will focus on “shovel ready” projects that can be undertaken quickly. The projects are coming from IDOT’s five-year plan, which outlines both current road projects and those planned for the future. She said some of the future projects could get moved up under the program.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said the capital bill was scaled back from its original idea. At first, he said, it also contained $500 million for building projects other than roads.
“I had concerns with pork-barrel spending,” Durkin said. “We were not going to participate in a program with that type of discretionary spending.”
That part of the bill was removed, leaving only road and bridge projects, which Durkin supported.
You can see IDOT’s full five-year plan broken down into legislative districts by clicking here. Only some of those projects will be funded by this new capital bill.
* Legislators will have to trust IDOT to be fair. Check out the way that a billion of that $1.1 billion is appropriated…
The sum of $1,000,000,000, or so much thereof 5 as may be necessary for statewide purposes, is appropriated from the Transportation Bond Series D Fund to the Department of Transportation for preliminary engineering and construction engineering and contract costs of construction, including reconstruction, extension and improvement of state and local highways, arterial highways, roads, access areas, roadside shelters, rest areas, and fringe parking facilities and sanitary facilities, and such other purposes as provided 1by the “Illinois Highway Code”; for purposes allowed or required by Title 23 of the U.S. Code; for bikeways as provided by Public Act 78-850; for land acquisition and signboard removal and control and preservation of natural beauty; and for capital improvements which directly facilitate an effective vehicle weight enforcement program, such as scales (fixed and portable), scale pits and scale installations and scale houses, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations for the state and local portions of the Road Improvement Program.
* House members voting “No” yesterday were…
Kelly Burke, Scott Drury, Kay Hatcher, Fran Hurley, Jeanne Ives, Dwight Kay, Dave McSweeney, Tom Morrison, Elaine Nekritz, Sandi Pihos, Ann Williams.
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Illinois Credit Unions – A Smarter Choice
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
In these uncertain times, it’s important to have a financial institution you can trust. Credit unions have been serving their members for more than a century, providing them with a member-owned, not-for-profit alternative to traditional banks. Credit unions are different. They return profits back to their members in the form of lower rates and reduced fees. And because credit unions are member-owned and member directed, credit unions provide members with services they want, not products that will generate a tidy profit for a few investors. Credit unions know their members. Loan decisions are made locally, not by bureaucrats and computer models from across the country. If you are a credit union member, you already know the credit union difference. If you are not a credit union member, go to www.asmarterchoice.org to see which credit union can show you the advantage of credit union membership.
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