In the wake of legislation signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner that would allow for the use of taxpayer money to cover an unlimited number of abortions anytime for any reason, members of the Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation voted to advance bipartisan legislation H.R. 36 – the Unborn Pain-Capable Child Protection Act – to restrict abortions 20 weeks or more after conception, the point at which unborn fetuses can feel pain.
Representatives Peter Roskam (IL-06), John Shimkus (IL-15), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), Darin LaHood (IL-18) and Mike Bost (IL-12) released the following statement:
“Henry Hyde championed the rights of the unborn through the Hyde Amendment, which expressly prohibits federal funding for abortions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2005 to 2014, the infant mortality rate in the United States dropped 15 percent. Much of this progress can be attributed to technological advancements in medicine that gives children born prematurely and with various medical issues a fighting chance. H.R. 36 protects children like Micah Pickering who was born at 22 weeks and is a thriving toddler today. Read his story here.
“In a reversal of long-standing Illinois policy, Governor Rauner has let down Illinois taxpayers and the unborn by signing H.B. 40. Today, the Illinois delegation stands together in our support of H.R. 36 to protect human life.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a party’s entire state congressional delegation criticize their own party’s governor like that before. Or, at least, excluding the time during Rod Blagojevich’s arrest/impeachment.
And, like with Blagojevich, the criticism actually may help these Republicans electorally by putting some distance between themselves and a very unpopular person. Not many Democrats suffered electoral consequences from their past relationships with Blagojevich mainly because they so thoroughly trashed him at the end.
Congress is preparing to vote on a bill that would impose a nationwide ban on abortion at 20 weeks. This dangerous, out-of-touch legislation is nothing more than yet another attempt to restrict women’s access to safe, legal abortion.
Nearly 99 percent of abortions occur before 21 weeks, but when they are needed later in pregnancy, it’s often in very complex circumstances. For example, severe fetal anomalies and serious risks to the woman’s health — the kind of situations where a woman and her doctor need every medical option available.
20-week bans are also highly unpopular throughout the country. 61% of all voters say abortion should be legal after 20 weeks. Plus, Democrats (78%), Republicans (62%), and Independents (71%) say this is the wrong issue for lawmakers to be spending time on.
*** UPDATE *** Illinois ACLU…
It is a sad reflection that seven members of our Illinois Congressional delegation yesterday issued a statement that purposefully misrepresented the facts about Illinois House Bill 40, signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner last week. That new law simply extends coverage for health care, including abortion care, to all women in our state, even if they get their health insurance through the State. The law in no way changes abortion law in Illinois regarding when an abortion can be legally and safely performed. It is simply political distortion to say otherwise – and these lawmakers should retract that assertion.
It is fascinating that the Congressmen link their fake critique of House Bill 40 to federal legislation they support – H.R. 36. This abortion ban relies on fake “science” and fake claims. The assertion that the Congressmen supported the federal measure as a response to House Bill 40 is laughable and should fool no one. These seven members are long-time anti-abortion partisans, who have supported numerous restrictions on the ability of women in Illinois and across the country to make the most intimate decisions – about when and if to become a parent.
We can only stand in bewilderment that members of our congressional delegation champion H.R. 36, which counts among its prime sponsors a member of Congress who urged a woman with whom he had an affair to terminate her pregnancy. This is hypocrisy and political partisanship of the highest order.
House Bill 40 will help women in Illinois. These members of Congress should applaud, not condemn, such legislation.
Gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker had the most damning take on President Donald Trump, calling him “a racist and a bigot and a xenophobe and a liar.”
Cook County’s penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages, often called the “soda tax,” would be repealed under legislation (SB 2238) filed by State Sen. Chapin Rose.
“Many people just ‘roll their eyes’ at Cook County’s new soda tax as more of the same from the ‘nanny state’ that is Chicago,” Rose said. “But, people need to realize that Chicago’s actions will have a direct negative impact here in Central Illinois as one of the primary ingredients in any sweetened beverage is corn. So, agriculture will take a hit under this tax that is aimed at lowering consumption. Moreover, downstate companies and industries like ADM and Tate & Lyle and the shipping sector are directly engaged in the manufacturing of these ingredients. So make no mistake, Cook County’s actions will negatively impact us.
“I previously fought my own Republican Leader, and successfully, when she and others in the legislature last spring wanted to tax sugary drinks at the statewide level. But now Cook County is imposing its own tax. Thankfully, it looks like even some Chicago Democrats have had enough, so I am filing this bill and will be encouraging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in the effort to undo Cook County’s insanity. Many Democrats have already signed onto a similar repeal in the House. Let’s give the Democrats in the Senate a chance to sign onto this bill and see if we can’t move it forward.”
The person most actively pushing a sweetened beverage tax at the state level last spring was Gov. Rauner, who isn’t mentioned above.
Nationally, about 6 percent of corn is used for sweeteners or corn syrup. The Illinois Corn Growers Association did not take an official position on the Cook County tax, but [Tricia Braid, communications director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association] says they would oppose expanding the penny-per-ounce increase statewide. […]
Mike Doherty, senior economist with the Illinois Farm Bureau, agrees the impact now might be small, but any expansion of the tax could become a problem.
“[Corn syrup] is a component of what drives the demand for corn. So farmers do have a stake in it,” Doherty said. “The concern would be these taxes would be replicated in other large metro areas and would become a part of coast-to-coast taxation.”
Last December, he forwarded $50 million of his personal fortune to his campaign committee, signaling to others who might consider challenging him within the Republican party. A campaign spokesman insists Rauner’s petitions are on the street now and will be filed in December.
However, when asked directly about his re-election on Tuesday, Rauner said, “If you just watch and see how I’m working, the one thing I can say to you is I will never give up on working to protect Illinois, working to create a better future for the people of Illinois. I will never give up, I will never back down, never give in. Our system is broken, it’s fundamentally broken and I believe that we can have a movement, a movement of all people in Illinois.”
“It doesn’t matter what political party, doesn’t matter what background, or what part of the state, we can have a movement to dramatically change Illinois and improve our state,” the first-term governor continued. “And I believe we can do this in the coming months, I will do everything I can to help lead that movement. We need to change, our system is broken. We need dramatic change.”
Rauner added that “this is not about Democrats versus Republicans, this is about the people against a corrupt system, that is failing the people, we will change it by being strong together.”
* He also said this today and then tweeted it out…
Illinois is worth fighting for. You deserve great schools, value for tax dollars and a booming economy. That's our mission. #twillpic.twitter.com/8CVc6K86Um
* It’s possible. The union which represents the guards at Cook County Jail isn’t exactly in love with Sheriff Dart…
State Rep. Edward Acevedo updates his campaign committee to support a run for Cook County Sheriff against incumbent Tom Dart #twillhttps://t.co/HPAcKD65UD
The relationship between Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sheriff Tom Dart has virtually broken down over a key new labor contract, with a bitter exchange between the two offices over a pending deal with the Teamsters Union covering 3,500 guards at the county jail and related positions.
In a series of letters I obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request—you can read two of them at the end of this story—Dart’s office says it is “disappointed” that Preckwinkle aides “did not follow through” in bargaining work-rule changes needed to curb soaring overtime at the jail. Preckwinkle’s office replied that Dart’s letter is “full of mischaracterizations and blame” and that it’s Dart’s fault more concessions were not obtained.
At one point, the Preckwinkle letter suggested that, to get what he wanted, Dart need to go slower and “be willing to give something in exchange for what you hope to receive from the unions. . . .You have to build relationships, build trust with your employees.”
Dart and Preckwinkle often have clashed through the years. Nonetheless, this sharp exchange is dropping jaws all over the County Building, with board members saying it provides a “disturbing” and “alarming” look at bargaining on the new contract, which could come up for board action in October and, if approved, set a pattern for deals now being negotiated with other unions.
Illinois Republicans are split over whether to support Gov. Bruce Rauner after his decision to sign the abortion funding measure, House Bill 40.
Wheaton State Rep. Jeanne Ives has been approached by conservatives to consider opposing Rauner in the March primary, but for now, she is noncommittal.
“I’m not actively pursuing it, I’m letting it kind of boil up and we’ll see what happens,” Ives said. “I’m hoping somebody comes forward to run against him and we take him out as Republicans. Or I’m hoping that he decides on his own, ‘Look my base is eroded beneath me, there’s no chance of me winning because my base is going to stay home.’”
Wow! Almost 100 likes already! Thank you for showing your support! Invite your friends to like the page and join us in supporting Jeanne Ives for Governor.
As candidates for legislative positions jump into various races in Southern Illinois and around the state, state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, is still waiting to determine his next move.
McCarter, who is not running for re-election in 2018, has been recommended by Illinois Republican congressional members to be the next ambassador to Kenya. He has interviewed for the position, but the White House has yet to decide who it will nominate. […]
McCarter’s reaction to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s decision to sign House Bill 40 allowing Medicaid to pay for abortions left him and others saying Rauner should not run for re-election.
McCarter added he’s had numerous people ask him to consider a run for the governor’s office.
“My statement that he should not run for re-election has nothing to do with me and what my plans are,” McCarter said. “I believe he has betrayed in the greatest way the people that got him elected.”
“I was frustrated,” said State Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, who was recently named the party’s Senate leader. “This is a bill that I opposed. I have voted pro-life, I am pro file. I had a number of meetings with the governor, one-on-one, to talk about this.”
Brady told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin Illinois Democrats pushed through the abortion measure with Rauner in office to cause a rift within the Republican party.
Brady added the governor isn’t pushing a social agenda, but he doubts anyone would mount a primary challenge against Rauner next year.
“The governor would be very tough to beat and I think anyone who is thinking about a primary run better have a lot of money and better realize this is a big state and it’s hard just to jump into,” Brady said.
Brady said any challenger would likely need a lot of money and wouldn’t have a lot of time.
Former Springfield restaurant owner Mike Murphy won the endorsement of the Sangamon County Republican Party Monday night to replace retiring state Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez.
Murphy, 63, is the former owner of Charlie Parker’s Diner in Springfield.
Murphy beat out six other candidates to win the nod for the 99th House District seat from the party’s precinct committeemen Monday.
Seven candidates presented credentials to the party’s executive committee Monday before the meeting of all precinct committeemen. Party chair Rosemarie Long said the field was whittled to two before Murphy got the endorsement. Mike Coffey Jr. was the other finalist, she said.
“I think they liked (Murphy’s) business background,” Long said. “He also had farming in the family, and I think his passion to devote his full time to the office, I think that swayed people.”
Illinois’ new school funding plan — approved in August and hailed as a historic change — relies on the legislature to give every school the same state aid it got last year, plus push another $350 million through a new formula. That $350 million is crucial because it’s the part designed to address the inequity that has plagued Illinois schools for decades.
State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Democrat from Shorewood, wants to make sure lawmakers don’t skip that step.
She filed a measure today tying it to a tax break for people who provide private school scholarships. […]
Since the General Assembly has a history of “pro-rating” school funding, Bertino-Tarrant wanted to find a way to hold lawmakers to their $350 million promise to public schools. Her legislation would nix those private school tax credits any fiscal year the General Assembly fails to appropriate full funding for public schools.
Bertino-Tarrant’s measure, Senate Bill 2236, was filed in response to Senate Bill 1947, which includes a five year pilot program that would award a 75 percent tax credit to donors that contribute to scholarship funds for students to attend non-public schools. The credits are capped at of up to $1 million per taxpayer and $75 million statewide.
Bertino-Tarrant said this could take valuable taxpayer dollars away from Illinois’ public schools especially if the minimum funding level is not met.
“I’m proud that the General Assembly worked in a bipartisan manner to put our children first, now we need to take the next step,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “Since we embarked on this mission, our goal has remained funding our schools in a way that guarantees our children are provided an excellent education regardless of their zip code. This initiative solidifies our mission by keeping Illinois’ children our top priority.”
The new school funding mechanism outlined in Senate Bill 1947 established an evidence-based funding formula to dispense state dollars to public schools. The formula institutes a base funding minimum for school districts that serves as a hold harmless to ensure schools do not lose state dollars the next year.
Any additional funding the General Assembly appropriates is distributed through a tier-based system that prioritizes the state’s poorest and disadvantaged schools. The funding plan outlined in the new law includes a minimum funding level of $350 million in additional funding each year, with the goal of meeting the total statewide adequacy target over a period of time.
* Sen. Daniel Biss touts himself as a math wiz, but one of his papers had to be retracted, which is an exceedingly rare occurrence…
The Sun-Times inquired about some errors made in the Evanston Democrat’s mathematical papers, including an “erratum” — or an error in printing or writing — made to the Annals of Mathematics about a 2003 paper and another “erratum” submitted for a paper he wrote in 2006. Another paper from 2002 was retracted. Some of the errors were noted on Retraction Watch, which tracks scientific errors.
The website in February noted a retraction in a paper Biss wrote in 2002. “Topology and its Applications” wrote that the article was retracted “after receiving a complaint about anomalies.” The editors asked for further reviews “which indicated that the definitions in the paper are ambiguous and most results were false.” The website followed up and said the journal noted the findings were “inaccurate” but “not fraudulent.” […]
Biss’ campaign noted that “in a few cases” some of his papers “didn’t stand up.” But they said “revisions” are part of a normal part of the academic process. A CBS News story from 2015 noted that just 0.02 percent of some three million mathematical papers were retracted, but retractions are not necessarily seen as a bad thing. Instead, many view them as a better option than scientists and mathematicians choosing to let their errors live on in the academic realm.
“Theoretical mathematics is a field built on proposing new ideas that are scrutinized by peers over time, revised and perfected to move understanding forward,” Biss’s campaign said. “Whether it was training at MIT or the University of Chicago, Daniel has had dozens of academic papers reviewed by his peers and published. In a few cases, further research has found that the case posited in the original article didn’t stand up, and he revised his findings.”
* Biss recently got a very detailed question about the issue at an event. Biss had been invited to explain his support for the pension reform bill…
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I have a question about your general candidacy. From what I’ve read, it seems you’ve had two camps in your professional life so far, when you were an academic and now as a politician. And I see, you know, some of your history in both of those having two big blunders. Excuse me, but two big blunders. As far as your academic career, you made some fame and notoriety for yourself by publishing a few papers, and they were put into very good mathematical journals, for which, you know, you were applauded for. But as you know, a Russian mathematician found that the math that was involved in the proofs was fatally flawed, and so you were forced to withdraw those publications from the press. And I imagine that affected, you know, being at the University of Chicago too, your publication record, maybe your tenure track. I don’t know about those details, I’m just speculating.
Now at that time then, you also decided to switch courses then and go into politics. And you’re most famous for what you just talked about, and that is the SB1 bill. Because it is the bill you co-sponsored that had the most far-reaching affects to the state of Illinois. But again, a big blunder. A catastrophe really, I would call it, because of course it enraged state employees. I was at Eastern Illinois University. We spent two years raging against that bill that you co-sponsored. We’d go to Springfield, we rallied, we sent postcards, we’d make phone calls. And we got nowhere, of course it was passed like you said, and ultimately the Supreme Court of Illinois deemed it to be illegal. And it went up in flames. So what was the outcome of that? Nothing good. That bill that you co-sponsored disen- not disenfranchised but disappointed so many Democrats, and I know some of them, good Democrats, who said I’m not voting on the Democratic ticket this time around when Quinn went up for governorship. And some of them said they were even going to vote for Rauner, but they were good Democrats otherwise. And Rauner won by a sliver, and I think it’s a fair statement that some have proposed, that a lot of the blame for Rauner coming to power and wrecking the devastation that he’s done must be laid at your feet because of the SB1 bill.
So now you want us to endorse you as governor to fix the mess that you helped create. So my question here, I guess, is why did it take you almost four years to come to the conclusion, from 2013 to now, that it was a mistake? Because I saw a video of you in 2013 being not apologetic and being defensive about that bill when you were being challenged by some retired professors, or teachers rather. And then I met you about a year and a half ago in Mattoon, at an event that the local Democrats put on. And I asked you about the SB after you gave your talk and you were equally defensive and not apologetic. So now I hear – and I hear that you went on Fred Klonsky’s radio show and you were apologetic. So I assume that’s true. And I hear today that yes, you regret having done what you did. But why would it take so long? Excuse me for being cynical, but it happens to coincide when you’re running for governor. So can you calm my fears about your record and what it’s all about?
BISS: Sure. About my academic record, you know I’ve published dozens of papers and it’s very normal in the course of academic life for a subsequent academic to come and poke holes. And I think my academic record was strong, and I’m proud of a lot of the work that I did. The great majority of which, of course, did hold up. And I think that’s a standard part of the push and pull about that. Happy to go into more detail about that if you’re interested, but I think that’s probably not what most of the people here are hoping to hear.
So I’ll say a couple things. The first thing is that I think your timing is a little bit, a little bit off. Certainly for several years now I’ve been giving that spiel, almost identical to what I just said, since long before I was even considering running for governor, much less actually running. I spent a lot of time, a lot of sleepless nights during that effort and after that effort thinking about what that all meant. And I think an important turning point was the supreme court decision that helped contextualize, as the courts are very useful in doing, not just what that narrow piece of legislation itself meant, but what the opportunities the state of Illinois had at the time were. And if you recall, the argument that the attorney general used to defend the bill in the court was exactly this kind of, ‘hey listen, this is rough, this is frustrating, this is hard, but really we had no choice but – and so we had to.’ And that’s the argument that people who supported the bill used, and that’s the argument that the court shot down.
And watching that argument play out, watching both sides make those arguments during the course of the previous year as the litigation happened and seeing the court decision really made a big impact on me. And I don’t want to go through the calendar in a sort of argumentative way, but I remember talking in the summer of 2015 in a way that was almost identical to what I just said to you.
Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during Monday’s briefing that “there’s a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country.”
Asked about the issue again, Huckabee Sanders went on to bring up Chicago violence, as the president often has.
“I think one of the things that we don’t want to do is try to create laws that won’t create or stop these types of things from happening,” Sanders said. “I think if you look to Chicago, where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes last year, they have the strictest gun laws in the country. That certainly hasn’t helped there. So, I think we have to, when that time comes for those conversations to take place, then I think we need to look at things that may actually have a real impact.”
Some of Chicago’s previously tough gun laws, though, have been struck down in court. The Supreme Court has thrown out the city’s bans on handguns and gun stores. And a court decision led to Illinois now allowing for the concealed carry of firearms.
Donald Trump said, “In Chicago, which has the toughest gun laws in the United States, probably you could say by far, they have more gun violence than any other city.”
Chicago once had very tough regulations against guns, but they’ve been considerably watered down after the Supreme Court ruled that cities can’t ban handguns.
Additionally, the state at one time didn’t allow concealed carry, and now it does. Its rules for allowing concealed carry are more relaxed than in California or New York — states that allow local jurisdictions to regulate concealed carry within their boundaries.
Nor are penalties for violating gun laws in Illinois the toughest in the United States. Mandatory minimum sentences make New York state’s laws tougher than those in Illinois. […]
* NFL gear to be shot at in shooting range near Ottawa, IL: Below Buffalo Range’s announcement, a woman asked on Facebook, “What are you going to do with (the gear)? Burn it?” The range replied, “Destroy it the only way we know how…,” with an image of a handgun at the end of the sentence.
I don’t know if you saw this yesterday, but the Census Bureau released their 2016 estimates for population and other demographics by congressional district. As we are expected to lose a district after 2020, this gives a clue as to where the losses have been greatest so far this decade. I’ve converted the raw population estimates into percentages that each congressional district is short of the national average.
If population trends continue this way through 2020, then IL-01, 04, 12, 16, and 17 will all be at least 10% below the national average by the time of the census. That roughly suggests the amount of population those districts would have to add to comply with the next round of redistricting.
* A friend sent me this the other day. He circled the two items and blacked out the name…
Um, after HB40, isn’t he now part of the liberal special interests? /s
And, yes, that letter was dated a couple of weeks ago and things have changed a lot since he signed HB40. But still, he’s quoted by his own campaign committee as firmly saying he’s running for reelection.
[Rep. Jeanne Ives] said she and other Republicans remember in the 2014 primary when Rauner told them he was personally anti-abortion but had no social agenda, and instead would focus on economics. She later learned that Rauner had privately signed a statement that same year with an abortion rights advocacy group — which didn’t become public until this year — that he supported the public funding of abortion.
“It just feels he was the Manchurian candidate all along and we’re just now figuring it out,” Ives said.
Rauner’s campaign spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski responds: “It was well-known in 2014 that Bruce was pro-choice. Any claim to the contrary is preposterous.”
So, how could Rep. Ives fall for this? You’ll recall that even the late Jack Roeser, who at the time was the state’s most prominent pro-life activist, said during the 2014 campaign that Rauner is a “morally right-to-life guy” even though Rauner had said he was pro-choice.
* One of the answers is right in front of us and it hasn’t been covered much, if at all, by the media. This is what Gov. Rauner said during his HB40 press conference last week…
The passions, the emotions, the sentiments on both sides of these issues are very powerful. I respect them very much as a person.
The moral argument against HB40 is very powerful. In my view, it’s not debatable. It is irrefutable. I respect it very much.
Through my life, I have respected that view and supported candidates for office who are pro-life. And I have voted for and supported public officials and public servants in office who are pro-life.
So, he firmly believes that the moral argument against the legislation he signed into law is “irrefutable.” He’s been saying stuff like that for years and that’s what people like Rep. Ives and Roeser heard, or wanted to hear.
On the other side of this issue, the arguments, the position for women’s rights, women’s equality, women’s health are very powerful. I support them. I personally am pro-choice, I always have been. And I’ve made no qualms about that when I was elected governor. And I have not and never will change my views.
I personally believe that a woman should have, must have the right to decide what goes on in her own body. […]
I also believe that no woman should be forced to make a different decision that another woman would make purely based on her income.
When he talks to pro-life people he emphasizes his belief that life begins at conception. And when he is with pro-choice people he emphasizes his pro-choice beliefs. And that allowed him to get elected, but now this dichotomy has caught up to him.
* The elephant in the room is that Rauner’s money bought silence. His big checkbook convinced people to look the other way or bite their tongues. Terri Koyne, a former county party chairman, penned this for the Illinois Review…
The ILGOP was broke at the time and Rauner promised unlimited funding. This was their opportunity to publicly cast aside the Platform and the party’s conservative base (something that they had been doing for years behind closed doors, by the way).
Long story short – they willingly sold the party to Bruce Rauner.
The ILGOP selling out was bad, but who was the most deceptive during the 2014 election? By far, it was his supporters on the ground who were the most dishonest in all this. I include some of the Tea Party-type groups in this category. These devoted supporters were bullies and almost militant at times. The people I dealt with were telling people that Rauner was “personally pro-life”, and when further questioned on the issue, would quickly follow with “But we shouldn’t be focused on social issues this election anyway. Rauner said he won’t do anything to expand abortions in Illinois, so we need to stay focused on fiscal issues.”
* Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) referred to Rauner’s signature on HB40 last week as “unconscionable and the ultimate betrayal of trust of the majority of Illinois citizens who oppose the destruction of unborn children at taxpayers’ expense.”
Morrison is one of the most pro-life members in either chamber. This 2014 video has been making the rounds lately. Part of it shows Rep. Morrison explaining why he supported Rauner’s campaign at the time. It’s definitely worth a watch…
The primary’s over. We had four candidates running. I had friends in each one of the four camps, believe it or not. I stayed out of it as far as an endorsement goes, but now Rauner’s our candidate. […]
With the second-highest unemployment rate in Illinois and likely to climb higher if we can’t turn around this economy, funds for crisis pregnancy centers, for right to life groups, for Illinois Family Institute, they dry up. If someone can’t afford to have a roof over their head, they can’t write a check to Dave Smith at IFI. […]
You know the issue, whether it’s marriage, whether it’s right to life, it’s not strictly fought in the legislature. That battle is not fought in the courts, it’s not fought alone in the legislature, it’s not fought alone in the schools.
Three reasons: Partisanship, economics and it’s not solely a legislative issue.
On HB40, Rauner put himself in a trick bag by taking two diametrically opposed positions. He was going to burn somebody.
Rauner decided he could betray the ones who took his money; figured they were bought and paid for, a reasonable assumption. After all, they were complicit in all the damage he caused running up billions in unpaid bills and taking the wrecking ball to social services and higher ed. They sure weren’t looking out for their constituents by supporting Rauner’s actions then.
So now some Republican lawmakers are “outraged?” Then give Rauner his money back. Refuse to take any more from him. Show that your principles outweigh his principal.
* Mark Brown notes that as vulnerable as Gov. Rauner may seem, he’s not yet beaten, and Brown expects the governor to run for reelection…
As he has for the past four years, Rauner is going to campaign against what he will portray as the corrupt Illinois political establishment — personified by Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan — that has blocked him from accomplishing his goals.
He’s going to ask voters for the sake of the future of Illinois to allow him to finish the job that he’s started.
And Rauner will spend his millions to savage his to-be-determined Democratic opponent in campaign ads until voters are nearly as sick of that candidate as they are of him. […]
There are those who argue the businessman in Rauner will look at his re-election chances and the tens of millions of his personal wealth that he’s expended to date and decide it’s a bad investment to double that.
But the wealthy businessman has said from the start that he made an eight-year commitment to politics because he believed it would take that long to turn Illinois around. And I don’t believe for a moment that we’ve seen the outside limit of what he’s willing to spend to achieve his goal.
But supporters say Rauner may actually be better positioned now to at least remain competitive in a general election in a blue state where Hillary Clinton won by double digits last year. The Democratic gubernatorial primary is crowded but J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire, has consolidated support of major labor groups and party insiders. Pritzker has already demonstrated he can go toe to toe with Rauner financially and has spent some $14 million, advertising on TV and radio for months.
Rauner’s decision to sign automatic voter registration, and a bill making it easier for transgender individuals to obtain changes to their birth certificates, will burnish his appeal to moderates in both parties, supporters say.
“There are a lot of people I believe who aren’t necessarily vocal right now that totally support what the governor has done. It’s a center to left-of-center state, and being pro-choice or being for health care for poor women is not necessarily a bad place to be as a Republican,” said Pat Brady, a former Illinois Republican Party chairman. “It doesn’t make sense to me that all Republicans are going to revolt against him because he doesn’t like HB40. I understand completely that people are upset over HB40 … What are they going to do? Support J.B. Pritzker? [Democratic House Speaker Mike] Madigan’s guy?”
“Taking out a sitting governor sitting on that kind of money is no easy feat. It’s a heavy lift, you need manpower and money. He vetoed the tax hike — that is one of the biggest things he’s going to be able to run on, particularly in a Republican primary. A massive education overhaul got through … For Republicans in Illinois, he’s probably their best hope.”
Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin could be getting a challenge in the March primary, a reflection of the continued and deepening turmoil within the state GOP.
Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub said Monday that while he has long thought about running for higher office, the “icing on the cake” came when several Republicans joined with Democrats in July to enact an income tax hike and budget package over GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto. […]
Straub was featured Monday on WIND-AM 560’s morning show hosted by Dan Proft, a failed 2010 Republican primary governor candidate. Proft also is a political operative who was once a Rauner ally and is now at odds with the governor after he signed the abortion bill.
On his show, Proft was highly critical of Durkin. But Proft said his Liberty Principles political action committee, which got $2.5 million from Rauner last year, “did not convince anybody to run” against Durkin.
Straub said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that he had been encouraged by many conservative groups to challenge Durkin, including getting support from Proft and Patrick Hughes. Proft and Hughes co-founded the politically tax-exempt group, the Illinois Opportunity Project.
* Meanwhile, I asked the ILGOP for a response to all this, so here is Chairman Tim Schneider’s quote…
“I am strongly supporting Leader Durkin in his primary. As Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, my sole focus is on beating the Democrats and breaking up the Madigan Machine that has destroyed this state. When Republicans are fighting each other, Mike Madigan wins and Illinois loses.”
* But I also asked for a specific comment on Dan Proft and this is what I was told…
Concerning Proft, the Illinois Republican Party has no comment at this time.
One reason why Gov. Bruce Rauner promised to veto HB40 last spring was to prevent a House Republican revolt on the state budget.
The bill deletes a so-called “trigger” provision in current law, which states that if the Roe v. Wade case is overturned by the US Supreme Court, Illinois would automatically revert to outlawing abortions.
There’s a dispute about whether this is needed, but the more controversial part of the bill would allow state funding of abortions through Medicaid and the state employee group health insurance program.
Everyone knew from the beginning of the two-year budget impasse that the House Republicans were the key to victory for both sides. As long as Rauner could hold them completely together, he could continue the impasse fight with the Democrats. By April, however, mutinous rumblings were growing in that caucus and one way Rauner could placate them was to swear he would veto HB40 if it ever reached his desk.
There are no remaining pro-choice Republicans in the House, and there are certainly no supporters of taxpayer funded abortions in the caucus. Legislative threats were made to the pro-choice governor that there would be holy heck to pay if he signed HB40 into law. They’d abandon him in droves and there would be nothing he could do to stop them from working with the Democrats on a budget solution. So the governor told several House Republicans to their faces that he’d veto the bill.
But then a couple of months later, some of the same House Republicans who’d been demanding an HB40 veto broke with the governor and voted for the tax hike.
That tax vote may have played into the governor’s decision to become the first American governor to sign a taxpayer-funded abortion bill into law. He may have simply decided that he wasn’t bound to his promise because the House Republicans didn’t hold their caucus together.
The trouble is, he made that veto promise to more than just the House Republicans. As Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) pointed out after Rauner signed the bill into law, the governor made a “public commitment” to veto the bill. “His flip-flopping on this issue,”
McConchie said in a statement, “raises serious questions on whether the Governor’s word can be trusted on other matters.”
The reason this issue became such a huge crisis in the first place is that Rauner’s can’t be taken as truth. This started to become apparent on election night, when the governor claimed during his victory speech that he’d spoken to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton even though he hadn’t.
Rauner spent more than two years traveling the state to tell everyone who would listen that he would stop the Democrats from muscling through a Chicago Public Schools “bailout,” but then he signed a bill into law that actually gave CPS more money than the Democrats had proposed.
The governor told the Chicago Tribune in the spring of 2015 that a budget crisis would give him the leverage to obtain concessions from Democrats on his pro-business, anti-union agenda, then flat-out blamed the Democrats for the next two years for creating the crisis the governor had wanted.
I mean, the man repeatedly lied about his own grandfather to score political points. The governor has claimed over and over that his “best friend” growing up had immigrated from Sweden - the last time was when he bragged about it during a speech to an immigrant rights group when he signed a bill into law restricting what the police can do to undocumented immigrants. In fact, his grandfather was born in the United States. Politifact awarded the claim its harshest rating: “Pants on fire.”
The list is just endless with this guy. When Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich publicly calls you out for breaking your promise to veto HB40, you know you have a problem.
Candidate Rauner explicitly promised the pro-choice group Personal PAC in 2014 that he would sign legislation for government-funded abortions. So the question really boiled down to who the governor would wind up lying to.
With a tax hike passed over his veto and an education funding reform plan in place, the calculation could’ve been that he just doesn’t need the House Republicans for much of anything next year.
But the governor’s campaign insists that Rauner is running for reelection. If he manages to win, he’s going to have to eventually find a way to reestablish his relationships with legislative Republicans. Time will likely heal some of these wounds within his own party, but only if he makes a genuine attempt to reestablish his credibility.
If you’ve watched much network or cable TV over the past six months, you may already have grown weary of all the J.B. Pritzker TV ads. And it won’t ease up anytime soon. The billionaire has spent millions of his own dollars since early May to fund his Democratic bid for governor, but the primary election is still more than five months away.
Can TV spending alone buy an election? Nope. But Pritzker already has locked down the endorsement of several unions, including the Illinois AFL-CIO, along with lots of county parties, like the Cook County Democrats, and statewide officeholders Secretary of State Jesse White and Comptroller Susana Mendoza. He has also put together a large staff that’s functioning at a pace and a level far above anyone else, including Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s team.
Can Pritzker be stopped?
As I always say, the true beauty of politics is that it can be so unpredictable at times. Plenty of seemingly “inevitable” candidates have lost. Even Chris Kennedy looked like he could have a lock on the Democratic nomination for governor a year or so ago. But then another inevitable-looking Democratic candidate lost the presidential race and Pritzker, suddenly without prospects for a Cabinet-level appointment, decided to run for governor.
It was always presumed that a member of the Kennedy family—the son of Bobby, nephew of JFK—would have no trouble raising tons of money. But in the last quarterly fundraising reporting period, which ended June 30, he raised just $700,000. That’s pocket change when you’re up against a billionaire. Pritzker, by comparison, raised $14 million in the third quarter; Biss raised $1 million.
So, everyone I’ve talked to about this campaign says one thing and only one thing about Kennedy: He needs to
* One day, I suddenly understood these Tom Petty lyrics…
Somewhere, somehow somebody
Must’ve kicked you around some
Tell me why you want to lay there
And revel in your abandon
Honey, it don’t make no difference to me, baby
Everybody’s had to fight to be free
You see you don’t have to live like a refugee
Now baby you don’t have to live like a refugee
The song came on the car radio and I sang the lyrics to a friend of mine who just couldn’t get his act together. I didn’t do it to taunt him or to be mean, but to try and help him understand what he was doing to himself because all of his friends were worried about him.
I was in college at the time, but a couple of years later, I realized I was doing the very same thing. I’d been bouncing around with no direction, no plan, no ideas for a plan. Reveling in my abandon. And the clock was ticking…
Tom Petty, the rocker best known as the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is dead at 66, CBS News has confirmed.
The legendary musician suffered a full cardiac arrest and was found unconscious and not breathing in his Malibu home Sunday night. He was taken to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital and put on life support, reports TMZ.
Yes, we all knew Rauner was pro-choice. But he said at one point he would not sign the bill into law. He could have made numerous arguments against crossing that bright line, such as: “Yes, abortion should be safe and legal, but taxpayer money should not be the source of funding. There are organizations in the private sector that help women cover the cost. Support those groups.”
Something like that. But he did not. Not even close. That’s why his pro-life backers feel egregiously burned. Rauner didn’t have to sign this bill. He did not have to cross that line. In doing so, he has risked losing his core base of support and his re-election chances. That’s how important public financing of abortion is to him. That’s why he is getting lit up.
Supporters of the bill say the opposite, that Rauner helped clear a pathway to re-election by attracting women voters — as if pro-life women voters don’t exist. They do. They deserve respect. And they’re steamed.
Since his election, Rauner rightly blocked bloated Democratic budgets and vetoed an income tax increase. He pushed for pro-business, pro-growth reforms. But then he got in bed with Democrats on an issue that is explosive to his conservative base. He’s poison to that base now and so is his money.
Worse for him and his re-election prospects, those Democrats who praised him Thursday are not going to be with him in November 2018. No way in hell are supporters of public financing of elective abortion going to be helping Rauner, a pro-business Republican, win another term. They’re going to light him up even worse.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of abortion rights, you must admit that Gov. Bruce Rauner was courageous.
In signing the controversial bill Thursday expanding taxpayer-subsidized abortions for low-income women, the moderate Republican governor angered conservatives across the state —all the way up to Cardinal Blase Cupich.
But in refusing to veto the bill as he had promised, Rauner also did something else. He showed us what could happen when a politician refuses to allow politics to dictate his decisions. That’s something we don’t often see in Springfield — or Washington, for that matter.
So, if you’re a Democratic candidate who believes in unions, taxing the rich and empowering the working class, but are also a practicing Catholic who opposes unrestricted abortion rights up until the moment of birth, you will be ostracized by party leaders who will sic their militant faction on you and pronounce you guilty of being an anti-woman bigot and defender of the white, male patriarchy that must be destroyed.
And they’ll say that even if you’re a woman, even though they’ll deny such tactics to commentators like me.
And if you are Republican who supports any form of abortion rights, even very limited rights, you will be branded as being … well, Bruce Rauner.
The governor of Illinois is definitely an economic conservative who wants to smash the power of public employee unions in the state because he see those unions, rightly, as the foot soldiers and funders of the opposition Democratic Party. He supports smaller government and pro-growth policies designed to grow Illinois’ economy.
But because he was and remains a “liberal” on abortion and alphabet-lifestyle-group rights, he is scorned by the Christian radical right.
This hurts Republicans in Illinois because the religious right provides the foot soldiers, envelope stuffers and phone callers for the GOP, the same function performed by union members for the Democrats.
Conservatives ought to have learned by now that those who are not with us on abortion are, in most cases, not with us at all, and that promises of neutrality on the life question cannot be trusted.
Rauner, we now learn, does have a social agenda, one that is obnoxious to many of the conservatives who took him at his word on the campaign trail. It is a social agenda that is morally repugnant both on the fundamental question of abortion and on the secondary question of public funding for it.
* I asked this question of all the Democratic gubernatorial candidates…
What would you support and what would you oppose in the effort to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to Illinois?
The deadline was noon today.
* And here are their answers in the order they were received. Bob Daiber…
“I understand that Amazon is looking to locate at a site 30 miles from a major population center, 45 minutes from an international airport, access to mass transit, and one to two miles from a major highway system. With that said, I support providing Amazon with the needed infrastructure for transportation and telecommunications at the site they select. Previously, Amazon has looked at seven-year Enterprise Zones for their location, so this should be on the table. Also, it may be necessary to provide workforce studies to show the availability for qualified employees. I do not support any incentives to relocate workers from other centers to Illinois. This center has to be employment for Illinois workers.”
* Tio Hardiman…
Gubernatorial Candidate Tio Hardiman will support Amazon in the following areas; providing Amazon with a tax break but a very minimal tax break, offer concessions in the area of transportation (air and rail), tax payer subsides, and access to our most precious resource the brilliant young technical minds which Illinois has an abundance of qualified potential employees ready to work for Amazon.
Tio Hardiman opposes a refundable state payroll tax credit in any form and committing any state infrastructure dollars to Amazon. Additionally, we would like to see Amazon move their 2nd Headquarters to East St. Louis, Chicago’s west or south side, or the south suburbs of Chicago.
* Sen. Daniel Biss…
“Amazon HQ2 suggests the possibility of exciting opportunities for Illinois families: 50,000 jobs, recruitment from and investment in communities that need it most, and a chance to create an agreement that fosters good working conditions, environmental protections, and long-term economic growth. It’s a chance to make a deal that puts working families first.
“Given this potential for success, but also that our regressive tax structure means that the middle class, the working poor, and small businesses typically foot the bill for corporate tax giveaways, we must closely examine any deal that emerges. This means making sure we’re not spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a job that pays much less. It means establishing rules around how and where Amazon invests and hires. It means instituting a clawback mechanism to ensure that, if Amazon doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain, we won’t be expected to keep ours.”
* Chris Kennedy…
The development of an Amazon headquarters in Illinois is a once-in-a-generation opportunity; therefore, Illinois should negotiate with Amazon to bring their headquarters here.
Terms of a deal should be negotiated only within the parameters of the resources Amazon can guarantee to bring to Illinois, because such resources would not exist but for the investment Amazon would bring to our state.
Everyone must be held accountable to this deal. To ensure accountability, the terms of the negotiations should include:
* Public input, and the proposed terms should be published before negotiations are final.
* A clawback provision to ensure Amazon pays back state and local investment dollars if it fails to meet its proposed commitments, such as projected job growth or contributions to site development.
* Additional guarantees, including full payment of all sales taxes imposed upon related or comparable businesses, so as not to give Amazon such a competitive advantage that would put other companies out of business.
Corporate tax breaks are not the way to build an economy, and I’m skeptical of including any incentive in the form of a TIF, given the lack of transparency within the TIF program and within our property tax system.
Illinois is best positioned for this opportunity because of the public sector advantages we offer: a skilled workforce, great schools and universities, a competitive geographic location, a strong transit system, and access to consumers.
But, the factors that will be held against us include our budget instability imposed on us by Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership; our long-held inequitable school funding which has led to a disinvestment in public education, so much so that 75 percent of students are unable to graduate and go on to higher education without remedial education; and our broken tax system that allows the well-connected to get property tax breaks at the expense of low-income and middle class communities.
Illinois needs a governor who will make greater investments across our public sector if we want to be best positioned to grow our economy and our workforce.
* JB Pritzker…
For nearly two decades, I have worked to create an environment for companies like Amazon to see Illinois as one of the nation’s leading technology hubs, and I’m proud of my work with 1871 to create over 7,000 new jobs here. I support efforts to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to Illinois, but any incentives to attract new jobs to our state must be a good investment that yields a positive return for Illinois taxpayers. For example, in any incentive package we need to address concerns about companies not following through on their job creation commitments. The EDGE tax credit program, which was renewed by the legislature with near unanimous support, is updated to address those concerns. As governor, job creation and raising wages for working families will be one of my top priorities.
* Ameya Pawar…
If state and local leaders have the political will to offer Amazon special incentives to open a second headquarters here, where is the political will to bring investments to the many communities across our state who are struggling to survive? I propose that we match every incentive dollar we offer to Amazon with a new dollar dedicated to infrastructure and economic development, to public education, or to affordable housing in underserved communities.
If we have the money to give away billions of dollars in tax revenue to Amazon, then why don’t we have the money to invest in communities to save them from closing? And finally, we ask small businesses to pay their fair share in taxes even as they risk closure from the impacts of online retailers like Amazon, who are leading in job automation. Yet when small businesses ask for help, we tell them we live in a capitalist society.
It’s one thing to attract corporations like Amazon to Illinois because of our transportation infrastructure, our access to fresh water, because we have great colleges and universities, and because of the wealth of art and culture our state has to offer. But it’s another thing entirely to give away billions of dollars in tax incentives while places like Cairo and East St. Louis and hundreds of communities around Illinois are fighting to keep their communities from closing.
We cannot allow politicians to continue to put the profits of major corporations over the well-being of working class families and small businesses in our state, who have been forgotten and ignored for too long. It’s time we take our state back from the wealthy and corporate interests who care more about their own self-interest than improving the lives of people struggling to get ahead. It’s time we invest in communities that need it most to keep our communities from closing.
Dart also made some critical references to House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also chairs the state Democratic Party. The sheriff effectively accused him of taking power away from rank-and-file lawmakers. Dart served in the General Assembly from 1991 to 2003.
“I’ve often told people, ‘Absolutely, truly if the legislature had not become emasculated, which is what had happened, I probably would have stayed down there, because my first two years I’m introducing 120 bills a year and all the rest of the stuff,’” he said.
“But when you have people walk in to you and say, ‘Listen, you all have three bills a year and we pick them by the way,’ then you sit and say, ‘I can’t be impactful here. I’m mortal like everyone else. I either need to get a different job or find a different governmental position where I can be impactful,’” Dart said of a mandate once imposed by the speaker’s office on his Democratic members.
Dart also talked about why he decided not to run for attorney general.
Democratic Attorney General candidate Scott Drury said last week in Urbana that incumbent Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is stepping down after her current term, shouldn’t be “outsourcing” political corruption cases to the federal government. […]
“When I’m using the term watchdog, it’s more in the sense of watching over the government in Illinois. It hasn’t been done, at least in my lifetime,” Drury said later. “People in government need to know that it’s not just the feds that are out there, that there’s going to be someone in the state, in the top law enforcement position, that is going to be working on this as well. We’ve already been reaching out to state’s attorneys to talk about these issues about being in a collaborative position.” […]
“One of the issues right now, right or wrong, is the perception that the attorney general’s office can only go so far because there’s some sort of conflict that exists between the attorney general and some other people in state government,” he said. “It doesn’t exist with me. There would be a focus not just on corruption but on making sure that the state runs in the right way.
“I just don’t think that that part of the office should be outsourced to the feds. The AG’s office has hundreds of its own attorneys. It has I believe a $45 million budget, so it’s a matter of priority and how you’re going to utilize your resources and a matter of commitment.”
A new bill in the Illinois House would force Michael Madigan to choose between his role as House Speaker or Democratic Party Chairman.
State Rep. Margo McDermed’s bill would bar a legislative leader from also holding their political party’s checkbook. Madigan, D-Chicago, is the only person in the nation that this measure would apply to, as he’s the only statehouse leader that is also the head of his state’s political party. Madigan has served as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1983, save two years when he was minority leader. He has led the Illinois Democratic Party as its chair since 1998.
Considering that McDermed’s bill would have to pass multiple committees in the Madigan-controlled House, she says it’s highly unlikely to even see a committee hearing.
“There’s no chance of this bill seeing the light of day. Ever,” McDermed, R-Frankfort, said. “But we can’t solve the problem until we name the problem.”
* PolitiFact took a look at claims by pop tax proponents that the new levy will reduce consumption…
“Our Cook County hospital system spends $200 million a year or more treating sugar consumption related diseases,” [Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle] said, noting also that 87 percent of county government’s budget goes into health care. “Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, tooth decay. That’s a tremendous burden on our health care system. And we are facing a public health care crisis in this country related to sugar consumption.” […]
Bloomberg said Cook County’s sweetened beverage tax can bring health benefits by “reducing consumption of unhealthy soda pop and sugary beverages.”
Cook County is only the sixth jurisdiction in the U.S. to enact a sweetened drink tax since Berkeley, Calif., enacted the first one in March 2015. That means there’s been very little formal research on their effects, which makes proving or disproving Bloomberg’s claim difficult.
Academic research in Berkeley and on Mexico’s soda tax has shown declines in sales, however. Anecdotal evidence from tax opponents in Illinois appears to show the same here, as does a recent marketing report in Philadelphia. Studies using modeling schemes to project health outcomes based on reduced consumption also tilt in Bloomberg’s favor.
Cook County’s soda tax may not survive long enough to become part of the extended field study needed to judge the health effects of similar efforts nationwide. But there’s enough evidence out there to rate Bloomberg’s statement Mostly True.
Temp agencies must now give their workers information about equipment, protective clothing and training before sending them to a work place. And if the agency offers transportation to and from work, the service should be free of charge. […]
“It’s one of the few states in the country that really recognizes the changes in the economy and in the labor market,” [Tim Bell, the executive director for the Chicago Worker’s Collaborative] says, “and it’s one of the few states that recognizes that it’s jobs where the conditions are dangerous, they’re precarious, there’s no security, there’s no benefits.”
Next on advocates’ agendas is the issue of wage parity. Bell says many temporary workers “end up working a job for 8 years, 10 years, 12 years–as a temp– never getting vacation pay, never getting sick days, getting paid as little as half of what a direct worker makes.”
Agencies will also be required to make the effort to place workers into permanent jobs, and cover the expenses for background checks and drug tests. These changes go into effect June 2018.
The original bill included an aggressive wish list of reforms but was pared back after negotiations with industry representatives and legislative hearings. The law’s other provisions require temp agencies to:
* Notify workers of the kind of protective clothing, gear and training they will need.
* Bring workers back from job sites if they provide transportation to the job. Often, temp agency vans take workers to jobs far from home, but leave them to get back on their own.
* Stop charging workers for credit reports, criminal background checks and drug tests.
* “Attempt” to place temp workers into permanent positions when they open up. Otherwise, workers often toil for years as perma-temps, without benefits, seniority, time off or job security.
The back-story on this bill is here. It’s a very informative read.
* I’m not sure if we’ll be getting to politics today, so while I make up my mind about what to do, here’s something I didn’t know: Alexander Hamilton’s son William Stephen Hamilton served in the Illinois General Assembly…
Hamilton’s son later was a prominent legislator in the early days of Illinois statehood. The sixth child and fifth son, William was nearly seven when his father was killed in the duel.
Young Hamilton was accepted into West Point in 1814, but resigned three years later for unknown reasons. He then moved west, accepting an appointment as deputy surveyor for public lands. His career eventually brought him to Sangamon County and the newly-established settlement of Springfield.
One of the key issues in those early days of the county was the location of a seat, and Hamilton supported the bid of Sangamo Town, seven miles west of Springfield, the eventual winner. In June 1825, he reportedly executed a federal contract by driving 700 head of cattle from Sangamon County, first to Fort Dearborn in Chicago, then to Fort Howard in Green Bay – a trip of over 400 miles. He is said to have lost only one head on the drive.
In 1824, Hamilton was elected to the House in the Fourth General Assembly. During his term, he accompanied Gov. Edward Coles to Kaskaskia to welcome the Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War hero who toured the United States in 1824-25.
It would be the only elected office in Illinois for Hamilton, whom some consider an underachiever. One account states that Hamilton’s relatives said he was well-educated, and had read enough law for admission to the bar, but seldom practiced. Another source called Hamilton “a man of great intellectual powers” but “unsteady in his habits.”
Chicago Police touted a drop in September gun violence at a press conference Sunday morning, even as the weekend saw at least 33 people shot in the city, four fatally.
September was the seventh straight month that saw a reduction in gun violence in 2017, First Deputy Supt. Kevin Navarro said at the press conference at CPD headquarters.
This September saw 57 deaths that were ruled homicides, with 488 shooting deaths this year ruled homicides, according to data kept by the Chicago Sun-Times. That total accounts for a 2.6 percent drop from last year’s 501 shooting homicides through September.
In all, the city has recorded at least 524 homicides so far in 2017, including shootings, assaults and other types of incidents, Sun-Times data shows. Chicago suffered one of its bloodiest years in two decades in 2016, with more than 4,300 gunshot victims and nearly 800 total homicides.
* But…
True, but the city saw more murders in the first 9 mos. of 2017 than in all 12 mos. of any year btwn 2004 - 2015. https://t.co/CavjRGkHzG
Governor Bruce Rauner is reaching out to officials in Puerto Rico, letting them know the state of Illinois stands ready to assist with recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact on the island. Right now, more than 550 Illinois National Guardsmen are on alert and ready to deploy, if needed.
“Our fellow Americans need us,” said Rauner. “I am ready to send our Guardsmen on a mission to make sure the people of Puerto Rico are safe and healthy as they find a way to rebuild after such a tragic blow. We are one people, united by our love for this country and our willingness to help each other in times of need.”
The Illinois National Guard has already been responding to requests for assistance as they have come in through the appropriate federal channels. To date, the Guard has delivered vital relief material to the U.S Virgin Islands and is in Puerto Rico assisting with strategic communication capabilities.
Rauner says the state is ready to do more. While he has the authority to activate the Illinois National Guard within the state’s borders, he cannot send them to other states or territories without an official request. Rauner sent a letter to Ricardo Rossello, the governor of Puerto Rico, today, letting him know the state of Illinois is eager to help and will mobilize troops immediately, if and when more boots are needed on the ground.
The Rauner administration also reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Association to see how it can be of more assistance on the home front.
Rauner and Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti partnered with State Representative Luis Arroyo and other leaders in the Puerto Rican community last week, including La Casa Puertorriqueña and the Puerto Rican Parade Committee, to film a video asking the people of Illinois to pitch in with recovery efforts. The video is available online at www.Ready.Illinois.gov/hurricanehelp.
* Media advisory…
What: Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director James Joseph will hold a conference call with members of the media to provide an update on Illinois’ efforts to assist in Puerto Rico.
Date: Monday, October 2, 2017
Time: 11:30am
A DCFS Child Protective Investigator in the Sterling Office was sent out at the end of the day on Friday, September 29 to check on the welfare of a child. When the investigator arrived, the father, Andrew Sucher, viciously attacked her, knocking her to the ground repeatedly assaulting the investigator about the head.
As a result of the attack, the DCFS investigator sustained very serious brain injuries. She was airlifted to a hospital in Rockford where she has undergone two surgeries. She is currently in a coma.
Out of concern for the family, we are not releasing the employee’s name at this time. Kathy Lane, the president of AFSCME Local 448, knows her very well and was with the family at the hospital throughout the night after the attack. An AFSCME Personal Support Program (PSP) counselor has also been there to provide assistance. Kathy is urgently requesting prayers for this DCFS employee and fellow AFSCME member who is now so gravely injured as a result of her dedication to protecting an endangered child.
“This brutal attack is a horrific reminder of the dangers that DCFS employees confront every day on the job,” said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch. “There must be a thorough review of agency policies, as well as a commitment to assure staffing levels that can protect at-risk children and the employees we count on to safeguard them.”
The assailant has been arrested and is being held on $200,000 bond.
Andrew J. Sucher, 29, was out of jail on $15,000 bond, facing aggravated battery of a child, which carries 2 to 5 years in prison, and misdemeanor battery, domestic battery and interfering with the reporting of a domestic battery in a Whiteside County case when he was arrested Friday in Dixon. […]
Sucher was charged July 31 and pleaded not guilty Aug. 14 in the Whiteside County case. He has a pretrial hearing Oct. 25. A public defender has been assigned.
He also has an active emergency order of protection against him in Whiteside County, also filed July 31.
He was convicted of misdemeanor battery in 2011 in Carroll County and was sentenced to a year of court supervision.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
State Representatives Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), and Brian Stewart (R-Freeport) urged prayers and community awareness following a brutal attack on a DCFS Child Protective Investigator at a child welfare check on Friday, September 29th in Carroll County.
The three legislators offered the following statement today:
“This tragic attack highlights the dangers faced by our child welfare officers every day and the profound need to continue to educate communities on eliminating violence, especially domestic violence. Along with our fellow legislators, we offer our prayers to the family of the DCFS Investigator, as well as to her co-workers and fellow employees who are saving lives in Illinois’ child welfare system every day. This is terribly frightening and traumatizing for all of our hardworking Child Protective Investigators, but this incident shows how important their work is in protecting children from violence and harm.”
…Adding… Press release…
The Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) released its annual Domestic Violence Homicide Report for 2017 today. ICADV’s report states that 61 people died in Illinois because of domestic violence during the period of the report. 55 were adults and six (6) were under the age of 18. These deaths were identified as part of 44 separate incidents, indicating many perpetrators killed more than one victim at the time, highlighting it is important to understand that domestic violence doesn’t occur to just one victim.
“The numbers have risen,” says Vickie Smith, Executive Director of ICADV. “To us this means we have much more to do in educating our citizens about what domestic violence is and how we all play a part in working to eliminate it from our state.”
Another issue reported in the last four annual reports is the number of perpetrators that commit suicide after the murders. The latest report indicates twelve perpetrators committed suicide after killing their victim(s). “This is important when developing prevention programs. We need to pay attention to suicide ideation as well as threats of homicide when assisting victims with safety planning”, said Smith.
“I’m horrified by the senseless shooting last night in Las Vegas. This violence sears our hearts and leaves countless families forever, tragically changed.
“I extend my sincere condolences to all those who lost loved ones and send prayers for recovery to those wounded. And I’m grateful for the professionalism and bravery of law enforcement and first responders during and after this attack.
“Words and prayers are not enough for Las Vegas and other victims of gun violence across our country. We must come together to tackle this epidemic. Enough is enough.”
* Congressman Bill Foster…
We woke up to unimaginable news this morning. We stand in solidarity with Las Vegas today. We will mourn those we lost too soon and will keep their families and friends close to our hearts. But we cannot accept these tragedies as normal. There is no reason why a fun night at a concert should turn into a death sentence. We owe it to the memory of everyone who died to make sure we do everything we can to prevent another mass shooting.
* More on Twitter…
Prayers for all in Las Vegas. Terrible tragedy. First responders have our undying gratitude.
“My heart goes out to the victims of the tragic shooting in Las Vegas last night and their loved ones. Such senseless and horrifying acts of violence have no place in America or any other nation. The law enforcement officers and first responders who put their lives on the line to protect others deserve our solemn thanks for their bravery and courage in the face of the deadliest shooting in our country’s history.”
* Congressman Kinzinger…
“This morning, we woke up to horrific news of a senseless attack in Las Vegas, with more than 50 lives taken in an act of pure evil. I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. And my thoughts and prayers are with the injured and all those involved in this tragedy.
“Thank you to the first responders, local law enforcement, and the medical personnel in Las Vegas – their work and heroic actions saved lives. As a nation, we mourn this horrific, senseless tragedy and we stand together against this vile act of hate.”
* More from the Kennedy campaign…
“Our thoughts are with the victims of last night’s mass shooting and with the countless families who now face a lifetime of heartache and grief. We must stop the violence that plagues our communities, our state and our country. We need leadership that brings us together to heal, instead of leadership that divides us to foster hate.”
Just who and how many have to die from gun violence?
Background checks, gun trafficking, straw purchases, military weapons , access to mental health, Congress we have got to step up and stop hiding behind the Second Amendment.
Kids can’t play outside or walk to the store.
You can’t go to a concert, movie theater or practice for a charity baseball game.
I know nothing will solve everything but we have got to start somewhere!!
I am not against the Second Amendment, so do not suggest that, but senseless gun violence cannot continue and we must act.
* US Rep. Jan Schakowsky…
“Unspeakable violence terrorized and devastated Las Vegas last night. I cannot imagine the fear and horror that was experienced by tens of thousands of concertgoers outside of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. My thoughts today are with every victim, anyone injured, all those in attendance, and anyone whose loved ones were affected by this national tragedy.
“Only a year and a few months after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, our country has a harrowing new record for the worst mass shooting in our history. Back home in Chicago, our city has seen close to 500 people murdered by guns so far in 2017. As a country, we cannot accept this as the new normal. Gun violence is a scourge and an epidemic, and it requires bold legislative action. We cannot continue to make excuses. Federal comprehensive gun safety legislation must be a national priority.”
* As I told subscribers this morning, some Statehouse types are in Las Vegas for a conference. So far, everyone is said to be OK. But I thought I would pass this info along…
For families looking to locate missing loved ones in Las Vegas, police urge you to call the number below.
