This Is Illinois
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Exactly right…
The most telling thing about both Dunkin and McCann is that I never heard one of their colleagues in their own caucuses come to their defense.
Not once.
Legislators from Dunkin’s and McCann’s respective caucuses stayed silent not out of fear of angering their party bosses, but because they genuinely don’t like or respect either man. Scott is absolutely correct.
We ended up with a massive, multi million dollar proxy war centered around two of the most flawed legislators at the Statehouse.
Lovely.
* Related…
* McCann mileage hearing set for April 12
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Another hostage calls it quits
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rockford Register Star…
Rockford police officers are busy enough without adding baby-sitting to their duties, but that’s what will happen because one more valuable program to help troubled youths is disappearing thanks to the state of Illinois budget impasse.
Youth Services Network has been providing vital support for young people, but it is running out of money. The agency had to drop its Redeploy Illinois program in October because the state wasn’t paying. Its youth shelter services have been limited by the state’s budget woes. Last week, the agency suspended its Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services. On Friday, the 24-hour crisis line will be shut off.
It’s become almost a daily occurrence: an agency that does business with the state of Illinois is forced to cut service for people who most need help.
Why should you care? That teenager who could have received help from Youth Services Network might wind up stealing from you — or worse. A police officer might be tied up dealing with a kid across town and won’t be able to respond to your problem as quickly. There will be an effect on the entire community.
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Today’s “outrage”
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
OUTRAGE OVER GAY RIGHTS GROUP NOT BACKING DUCKWORTH — “Why Did a Major Gay Rights Group Endorse a Republican Senator Over a Pro-LGBTQ Democrat?” by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern: “The Human Rights Campaign is undoubtedly the biggest and most influential LGBTQ rights organization in the world. It deserves great credit for its work on marriage equality, and has even begun to atone for its questionable record on trans rights by leading the charge against anti-trans “bathroom bills.” But HRC recently committed an unforced error of astonishing ineptitude that necessitates a re-evaluation of the group’s core mission: It endorsed Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois for re-election over his challenger, Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth.” http://slate.me/22uGGO9
OUTRAGE OVER GAY RIGHTS GROUP BACKING KIRK (AND DOLD) — “Two Republicans endorsed by radical LGBT group in upcoming elections,” by Life Style News’ Dustin Siggins: “The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has backed two GOP members of Congress against their Democratic opponents – specifically because the Republicans back legislative priorities of the LGBT movement. On Saturday, HRC announced its first set of endorsements. Out of more than a dozen candidates for office, Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rep. Bob Dold – who took Kirk’s old seat in the House – received support due to their ‘strong commitment’ to LGBT issues on Capitol Hill.” http://bit.ly/1ReK1ti
* Reason for Democratic “outrage,” which was confined to websites like Daily Kos and Slate…
It’s wonderful that Kirk supports equality, but his own leaders—men like Sen. Mitch McConnell—will never let allow his pro-LGBTQ bills to become law. Kirk’s about-face on LGBTQ rights is very nice, and may presage a future shift within his party. But right now there is only one way to pass the Equality Act, and that is to restore Democratic leadership in the Senate. Accomplishing this objective will likely require Duckworth to defeat Kirk. And I am deeply puzzled that HRC, an organization that prides itself on pragmatism, does not seem to grasp that very simple reality.
Meh. Can’t please everybody. If they say they’re bipartisan, then they need to act that way. Plus, the Republicans will filibuster if they wind up in the minority. The idea is to create more allies.
* Reason for hardcore right wing “outrage” by a pro-life group…
Both Kirk and Dold also support federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Many pro-life activists, especially Catholics, consider marriage and abortion two sides of the same life equation. The founder of 40 Days for Life, David Bereit, told LifeSiteNews at the 2015 March for Marriage that “the various moral issues we confront in our culture today are all intrinsically connected. When you look at the various factors that lead to the breakdown of nations and civilizations, they are moral factors. It’s the devaluing of human life, it’s the abandonment of religious belief and practice, it’s immorality – the increase thereof – and it’s the breakdown of the family.”
Right.
OK.
I happen to think it’s highly immoral to judge someone by the consenting adult s/he loves.
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Governor caves after nine-month impasse
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No, not ours. Pennsylvania’s…
The nine-month-long Pennsylvania budget impasse is over.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf said while he won’t sign the Republicans’ $6.6 billion no-new-taxes spending package, he won’t veto it either.
That means it will lapse into law on Sunday, and complete a $30 billion budget.
“To allow us to move on from the problems that have plagued 2015-16, I am going to allow this bill to become law,” he said.
But while making the announcement, the Democrat criticized the spending plan, saying “This budget doesn’t work. The math doesn’t work, and that’s a real problem. But we need to keep our commonwealth working.”
So, we’re the last state without a budget. Hooray!
…Adding… Heh…
I think he should shave his head.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Eric Zorn penned an open letter to Democratic legislative leaders…
Offer Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner a deal. If he’ll sit down with you and hammer out a state budget, no auxiliary “reform” items included, you’ll give him, say, eight votes in the General Assembly — full floor votes, both chambers, after robust debate — on his version of individual items on what he calls his “turnaround agenda.”
Amend the state constitution to enact term limits and take away from party bosses the power to draw political maps? Alter how compensation for injured workers is calculated? Eliminate prevailing wage laws? Reduce award amounts in civil lawsuits? Freeze property taxes?
Let Rauner make his case with legislation, not sanctimonious sound bites. Let him write the bills — with no if-then conditions to link them — and promise him a small-d democratic verdict from the duly elected representatives of the people on each proposal.
Sure, it’s risky. Some of Rauner’s ideas poll very well — term limits and nonpartisan mapmaking, to name two — and it will be a political liability for some of your rank-and-file members to vote against them (or, more likely, to fail to support them by casting “present” votes).
But the very fact that it is risky will allow you to portray the move as a compromise, a good-faith effort to break the logjam in Springfield that has left the state without a budget since last summer.
* The Question: Do you mostly agree or mostly disagree with Zorn’s idea? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey services
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Bad news everywhere
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois State Board of Education released a report the day after the primary, so I didn’t get to it. Let’s circle back…
499 of 852 [school[ districts reporting budget information — 58.6 percent — are deficit spending, meaning they’re spending more than their revenues in main operating accounts, such as for instruction, school maintenance and transportation expenses. That’s the highest percentage since at least the 2010 school year.
A key concern is that districts can look good on paper and increase their financial profile score by borrowing to bolster their operating accounts and dipping into reserves to cover the red ink, among other measures. […]
“They’re issuing debt and leveraging future revenues to sustain operations … and that is not good fiscal practice. It’s not what we do at home and not what any business would do,” [Robert Wolfe, chief financial officer at ISBE] said. […]
One district in the Chicago region, Aurora West School District 129, was on the Financial Watch list in 2015 but got off this year. It was bumped to the second-worst category, the “Early Warning” designation. Getting there entailed issuing bonds in a refinancing deal, dipping into fund balances to cover red ink, and borrowing against future tax collections, according to data in the district’s Annual Financial Report.
* Meanwhile, Mayor Emanuel’s floor leader made a valid point to the Sun-Times that most folks often forget. Union leaders have to face elections, and that often puts political pressure on the candidates…
Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th) told the Chicago Sun-Times that upcoming union elections will complicate contract talks that hit a setback in January, when the CTU’s big bargaining team rejected an offer their leader called “serious.”
“If not closed, it’s pretty well done,” said O’Connor, the longtime chairman of the City Council’s Education Committee now serving as Emanuel’s floor leader. “If you’re looking for collaboration and concession, as you get closer to a union election that becomes harder and harder to do. . . . If they make an agreement, they’re labeled a sellout.” […]
The union will know on March 28 who, if anyone, will challenge the popular Lewis and her leadership team. That’s when nominating petitions are due, but a contested election isn’t expected.
A City Hall source acknowledged that the “likelihood of anyone winning against Karen and Jesse [Sharkey] are remote . . . but they still have to worry about appeasing the left wing” of the union, which opposed the earlier serious offer the source called “a balanced deal with a lot of money and concessions and a lot of things they wouldn’t get in a million Christmases.
* CTU has played politics pretty well with Chicagoans, by the way…
Those are mostly pie in the sky proposals. The union has eschewed ideas like property and sales tax increases. So, they are actually heroes of a sort to beleaguered homeowners who want some budgetary magic to save them from the consequences of their own voting histories.
* Related…
* CTU to decide on 1-day April 1 walkout tonight
* CTU’s April 1 strike legal or illegal? State board would decide: The staff investigates and makes a decision, which can be appealed to the five-person board. Three of them were appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has tried to weaken labor unions. [One of those three was a Quinn person reappointed by Rauner.]
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Putting the band back together
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dan Kleinman…
The map on the [top] details Tuesday’s primary between Kim Foxx and Anita Alvarez. The Green/Purple shades are Kim Fox. The Yellow/Brown shades are Anita Alvarez.
The map on the [bottom] outlines 1987’s mayoral election between Harold Washington and Edward Vrdolyak. The purple shades are Harold. The red is Vrdolyak.
* The eerily similar maps. Click the pics for a larger, side-by-side version…
* Related…
* Zorn: Why Anita Alvarez should resign now
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Living on borrowed time
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Progress Illinois…
The city of Chicago borrowed $220 million for a police and fire pension payment due by the end of the year.
The city took out the loan with a 3 percent interest rate in order to have the pension funds ready by a state-mandated March 1 deadline, officials said Monday.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2016 budget included a $588 million property tax hike for police and fire pensions and school construction. Still, the mayor’s spending plan depends on the state for pension funding changes, which have cleared both legislative chambers but have not yet been sent to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. The governor has called for the Chicago pension to bill to be included “as part of a larger package of structural reform bills.”
The pension funding changes would give the city more time to make its pension payments, cutting pension costs due this year by $219 million.
* And hope is not a plan…
Although the state House and Senate, both controlled by Democrats, approved the bill, they have not sent it to the governor for fear he’ll veto it if they don’t sign on to his pro-business, union-weakening agenda. The governor’s spokesman has said Rauner would sign the bill only “as part of a larger package of structural reform bills.”
That’s the Rauner administration’s alternate phrase for the governor’s “turnaround agenda,” which the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has rejected, keeping the state from approving a budget for more than eight months now.
And there’s no end in sight to that stalemate, given that last week’s primary elections did not change the state’s partisan political landscape despite the record amounts of money spent on some General Assembly contests.
Nevertheless, Holt expressed optimism the governor will eventually sign the bill. “We still believe the (police and fire pension bill) is consistent with what the governor believes needs to happen with pensions,” she said. “I think there are a lot of reasons it’s consistent with his view and we don’t see any reason he wouldn’t sign it.”
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Adventures in reporting
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Amanda Vinicky made a valiant effort to fact check Gov. Bruce Rauner’s claim that he had reached out to Speaker Madigan’s staff to try and set a one-on-one meeting, but hadn’t heard back…
“I really don’t have a way … I don’t have any information on that claim so I don’t really have any comment one way or another on that so,” [Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] said in response.
Okay then. The Speaker’s spokesman — one of his right-hand-men - doesn’t know whether the governor has called Madigan’s office to ask for a meeting. Or if he’s just made the offer through the press. […]
“Well is it maybe time? Would it be prudent for the Speaker and governor to get together and talk about about a path forward?” I asked Brown.
He responded: “I have no thoughts on that.” […]
I pressed Brown to check with Madigan’s secretary, scheduler or administrative assistant.
“I don’t think I’ll have an opportunity to get information about that claim. So that’s really all I have to say about that. So do you have another topic you wanted to go through?” he said.
Um, OK.
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More on ag education funding
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Flanked by students involved in the Future Farmers of America program, Rauner also found himself defending his latest budget proposal, which would zero out funding for agriculture education. Rauner said he supports beefing up school funding across the board, but local districts should be able to decide how it’s spent.
“Let’s be clear. I’m a strong advocate for agriculture and a strong advocate for education for agriculture,” Rauner said. “What we’re saying is, let’s not have a lot of line items dictating terms of where money gets spent. Let’s put a lot more money in the schools and let the schools decide how they spend their money. I hope the schools in Illinois put more money into agriculture, not less.”
* But the kids don’t see it that way…
Connor Carmody, Illinois FFA state vice president, said he was among FFA representatives asked by the Department of Agriculture to be at the news conference.
“We … wish we could get our direct funding,” he told The State Journal-Register concerning the ag education line item, “because whenever you give it to the schools, obviously, they’re going to try to spread it out everywhere else. And agriculture is an elective in most schools, so it’s one of the first things on the chopping block. I know that’s how it is at my school.”
Carmody, 18, is a graduate of Calhoun High School in Hardin, and is spending a year in his FFA post before attending the University of Illinois at Urbana next year.
“Sadly, at my school, if we get more money, it’s probably going to go into sports,” Carmody said. “That’s just kind of how small town schools like mine are. … Actually, my school ag program has been threatened the past couple years,” he added, and alumni are helping fund the program there.
Some of those same points were mentioned in yesterday’s Question of the Day. But, I thought you’d like to see them anyway.
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Energy companies behaving badly
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Steve Daniels…
Both of the Chicago area’s major natural gas utilities spent hundreds of millions last year to replace aging gas pipes, but suburbanites got a lot more bang for their buck than Chicagoans.
Nicor Gas, which serves 2.2 million suburban customers, spent $273 million on its pipe replacement project, dubbed “Investing in Illinois,” in the 13 months ended Dec. 31. That wasn’t too far from the $232 million Chicago’s Peoples Gas spent in 2015.
But Nicor installed 164 miles of new pipes, according to an SEC filing by its parent, AGL Resources of Atlanta. Peoples last year replaced 79 miles. […]
Nicor isn’t the only utility doing this kind of work for far less money. Dominion East Ohio, which serves 1.2 million customers in northeast Ohio, including Cleveland and Akron, has managed a large-scale pipe replacement program for eight years. In that time, a spokeswoman says, Dominion has spent a little more than $1 billion and replaced 1,181 miles of pipe. Since the inception of Peoples’ program in 2011, it has spent $1.1 billion and replaced only 340 miles.
* Steve Daniels…
Exelon CEO Chris Crane has paid personal visits in recent weeks to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton to warn them the power-industry giant will begin the process of shuttering its downstate Clinton nuclear plant if it doesn’t get financial help from the state this spring. Exelon also has informed Gov. Bruce Rauner, as well as Republican leaders in both chambers, according to people familiar with the discussions.
It’s far from clear, though, that Springfield will respond to the renewed threats from Illinois’ largest power generator. Exelon, owner of Commonwealth Edison, owns six nuclear stations in Illinois, generating as much as 11,841 megawatts and employing about 2,700. That’s enough juice to power well over 10 million homes.
Exelon last year warned it would have to close as many as three of its six nukes without passage of a bill that would have imposed a surcharge on electric bills statewide to provide as much as $300 million in additional revenue to the company’s fleet. The bill never saw floor action in either chamber as the budget war between GOP Gov. Rauner and Democrats who run the Legislature raged.
Exelon late last year then appeared to back off its threats and agreed to keep its plants open for the near term. Now the threats are back. The company is expected within a month to float a revised version of last year’s bill that likely won’t be quite as generous.
Still, the reception Crane got was tepid.
Cullerton told him a bill could see action if it could strike a compromise with other parties wanting comprehensive energy legislation—green groups, consumer advocates, coal interests, renewable power producers.
* Steve Daniels…
Exelon CEO Chris Crane looks to be a strong contender this year for highest paid utility boss in the land.
Crane last year received nearly $16 million in cash, stock and benefits, 7 percent more than the $15 million he got in 2014, according to the company proxy statement, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Crane’s cash haul was especially robust, rising 20 percent from the year before. He cleared $3.3 million in cash—a $1.2 million salary plus $2.1 million in incentive plan payments—compared with $2.75 million in 2014, when his incentive plan payout was $1.6 million.
Crane’s pay raise came as Chicago-based Exelon boosted its earnings per share in 2015 for the first time in many years. But the company’s stock fell 27 percent in 2015 compared with the 10 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Utility Index.
* AP…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has demanded that a financially shaky Peabody Energy prove it has the $92 million necessary to restore Illinois mining land if it shuts down.
Madigan sent a letter Monday to the St. Louis-based coal company seeking details on the bond amount available for its southern Illinois coal mines.
Peabody told federal regulators last week its financial situation might force it to cease operations. It also delayed an interest payment.
Madigan says she fears the company’s bond funds would not be sufficient to follow state law requiring used-up mining land to be restored as timberland, wildlife habitat or rangeland.
AG Madigan’s full press release is here.
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Today’s quotable
Wednesday, Mar 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association, speaking in Springfield yesterday…
“It’s important to understand we can’t sacrifice freedom out of fear,” said Dow. “These incidents are tragic. However, if we don’t travel smartly and have smart security, then the terrorists win the game. It’s very important to understand. We must show the terrorists, life does go on.”
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Did Rauner learn an important lesson?
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Before Gov. Rauner haplessly diverted himself to the topics of Donald Trump and Speaker Madigan yesterday, he announced some good news about DCFS. From a press release…
Governor Bruce Rauner today discussed the transformations at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and how it’s better serving the needs of Illinois children.
“When I took office, DCFS was in shambles from a lack of leadership and direction,” Governor Rauner said. “Today, under the direction of Director George Sheldon, the agency has made an impressive transformation to ensure we are protecting our state’s most vulnerable children.”
Within the last year, DCFS has reduced the number of children in shelter care by 50 percent and instituted a new directive to ensure no child under the age of six spends the night in a shelter. DCFS has also reduced the use of deep-end residential treatment and partnered with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department to create the Child Recovery Unit.
In addition, DCFS increased its federal reimbursement for services provided to youth aged 18-21 by $20 million for FY16, and the state is expected to receive an additional $16 million in subsequent fiscal years by fixing a paperwork issue.
DCFS is also part of the state’s IT transformation by implementing the 360 Initiative. It is a platform that brings multiple databases together to ensure caseworkers have the whole picture of a family’s situation more quickly and efficiently.
“In the last year, we’ve accomplished a lot to improve Illinois’ child welfare system. These initiatives are just a starting point; we must also change the way we think about our youth in care,” DCFS Director Sheldon said. “DCFS is supporting new legislation to provide children in foster care more normalcy and to recognize the strong bond a child and foster parent may develop. We also must recognize the hard-working women and men at DCFS who are striving every day to restore families, and give children hope for their future and set them on a path for better lives.”
The bills supported by DCFS are SB 2371/HB 5551 which expand the definition of “fictive kin” to include foster parents, and SB 3041/HB 5665 which enable foster parents and caregivers to act as “prudent parents” and make decisions to give children a more normal life.
These transformations are part of the vision Governor Rauner laid out in his State of the State Address. The purpose is to improve how we provide health and human services in Illinois to produce better outcomes for our most vulnerable residents.
Emphasis added.
* With that in mind, here’s the response from Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago), DCFS’ most active legislative critic. She offers both praise and a couple of important historical reminders…
“In the last year, DCFS has indeed transformed and worked diligently to address the mounting issues uncovered by state hearings and news reports. And while the agency is better today than it was a year ago, let’s not forget how the governor sought to dismantle vital services in his budget last year.
“Governor Rauner called for a 12.5 percent reduction in spending for wards of the state and eliminating support for some 2,400 wards ages 18 to 21 years old, ignoring pleas from the community and the wards themselves to keep a roof over their heads and keep them safe.
“I called on the governor to take action after he entered office, just as I have called on previous governors to step up to the plate for our state’s children.
“Today, I am glad the agency is getting recognition for its improvements. Director George Sheldon and the DCFS advisory board have made great strides in improving the agency by listening to human service advocates and concerned residents. But, the Rauner administration needs to stop trying to take credit for programs that they considered nonessential and repeatedly tried to zero out of the budget.”
Not to mention that he vetoed the DCFS budget last year. But emphasis was added to point out that maybe the governor learned something on this topic after last year’s budget fight. Either way, it’s a good thing that it’s now part of the program.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* For what I believe to be the first time, the governor was asked today about his proposed budget, which zeroes out state funding for agriculture education…
…Adding… Democratic response…
State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) issued the following statement after the governor’s comments regarding Illinois agriculture on Tuesday.
“The governor repeatedly mentions the fact that Illinois’ economy is driven by agriculture but at the same time he wants to completely eliminate agriculture education funding in the state.
“Agriculture education programs allow for our young students interested in careers in agriculture to be educated and prepared to enter that workforce. Without that funding, many school districts would completely eliminate their programs.
“Those who rely on agriculture education funding deserve the guarantee that it will be there. We cannot expect them to be successful when their funding is under attack from the Rauner administration.
“I don’t understand why the governor prioritizes roofs on the barns at the fairground over direct funding for agriculture education in classrooms.”
* The Question: Do you mainly agree with the governor’s approach? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
polls & surveys
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We’re number one… For now
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Good news and a warning from this press release from Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs…
More than 113,000 workers are in Illinois’ clean energy industry, surpassing the number of clean energy jobs in other Midwestern states. The clean energy industry, which includes solar, wind, bioenergy and other technology, employs more individuals in Illinois than the fossil fuel industry.
According to a comprehensive analysis – available at www.CleanJobsMidwest.com - unveiled today by Clean Energy Trust (CET) and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), employment in the clean energy sector in Illinois grew 9%. In 2016, jobs in Illinois’ clean energy sector surpassed expectations for job growth, with small businesses employing nearly 70% of individuals in the clean energy sector.
“The expanding demand for energy efficient building design has allowed dbHMS to grow significantly and create clean jobs here in Illinois,” said Sachin Anand, Principal, dbHMS.
However, while jobs in the clean energy sector grew overall, solar and wind power generation saw job losses. Solar jobs dropped 3.5%, from 4,424 to 4,272 and wind generation saw larger losses dropping 11% from 3,980 to 3,549.
The decrease in solar and wind jobs can be attributed to the failure to fully implement the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in Illinois. Illinois currently has energy efficiency standards and a RPS mandating that by 2016, 25% of the State’s energy come from renewable energy. However, as a result of a spending cap on energy efficiency, Illinois is not currently reaching its’ energy efficiency goals. Businesses project that Illinois’s clean energy workforce overall will grow by only 5.3% over the next 12 months compared to the 9% growth from last year. Fixing the RPS would stimulate growth in these sectors.
“Clean energy is a dynamic sector and central to economic growth in Illinois. Smart public policy will further accelerate the clean energy sector and create thousands of new jobs created across the state, a big economic advantage for Illinois,” said Erik Birkerts, CEO of Clean Energy Trust.
“Microgrid Energy helps businesses install solar power systems, reducing their power bills and saving them money. Illinois has great solar potential, but we need to fix the broken Renewable Portfolio Standards in Illinois to provide certainty for businesses like ours,” said Will Kenworthy, Vice President for Regional Operations at Microgrid Energy.
The report also found:
· Energy efficiency jobs, such as working with high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and high-efficiency HVAC services, are by far the largest clean energy sector employer in the state, employing over three-fourths of the Illinois clean energy workforce.
· The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metro area has the largest regional clean energy employment in the state with over 81,000 clean energy jobs.
· Clean energy employs more than 550,000 people across the 12-state Midwest region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).
· Renewable energy generation employed almost 13,000 Illinois workers, distributed relatively evenly between mostly solar, wind, and bioenergy— with 4,200, 3,500, and 3,000 jobs respectively.
“The Midwest is a central hub of America’s clean energy jobs market. Other regions may attract more attention, but there’s no doubt the Midwest is a force in its own right,” said Philip Jordan, Vice President and Principal at BW Research Partnership. “Having such a massive clean energy workforce concentrated in the Midwest is due in no small part to some strong state- and federal-level policies. But as the clean energy businesses we spoke with made abundantly clear, there are some major opportunities for more growth within the sector.”
The analysis – available at www.CleanJobsMidwest.com – is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a comprehensive survey of thousands of businesses across Illinois and the region. This analysis was developed with BW Research, and included as part of a major U.S. Department of Energy study of all energy jobs in America released earlier this month. The Clean Jobs Midwest report provides detailed breakdowns of clean energy jobs not available previously – including job totals for every county in Illinois. Illinois is currently home to 113,918 clean energy jobs.
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Not quite on the same page
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last week’s primary has caused a bit of messaging confusion. From today…
* From yesterday…
[State Sens. Michael Connelly, R-Wheaton, and Chris Nybo, R-Elmhurst] said only political pressure, whether it be Democrats losing seats in the November election or increasingly dire financial straits, seemed likely to bring Madigan to the bargaining table.
That seems to run directly counter to the governor’s new messaging.
But here’s something to ponder: What if the Democrats gain seats? It is a presidential year, after all, and they do have the map.
While that seems to be a less likely prospect in the Senate, with John Sullivan’s retirement, it might conceivably happen in the House.
* Full raw Rauner audio from today…
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This message ain’t gonna work, either
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* So, does this mean he won’t be backing the winner of the 50th Senate District Republican primary? I thought as the self-described “leader of the Republican Party,” he was obligated to support the nominee?…
Sam McCann: Infinitely worse than Trump!
Or… something.
…Adding… Can’t this message also be read to somehow imply that the people who voted for the winners somehow aren’t taxpayers? Not cool, governor. Not cool.
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A tweet unexamined…
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois News Network on legislative social media presence…
Carl Palmer, associate professor of politics and government at Illinois State University, said for someone like Speaker Michael Madigan, the platforms aren’t necessary. “Madigan has the name recognition, he has the power and influence.”
Palmer also notes that some older politicians may not see the importance of social media at all.
“There are older political actors, older political figures, that are just more resistant to adapting and changing,” Palmer said.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said he hasn’t examined the issue of social media and didn’t want to comment.
Those House Democratic top guys are openly hostile to social media. But as more people decide not to answer their phones and their doors during campaigns, tune out direct mail and migrate even further away from network TV and terrestrial radio, the brain trust is gonna eventually have to drag itself into the 21st Century.
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Time for a messaging reboot
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When you flatly deny something that everybody else can plainly see with their own two eyes, like the governor’s high-profile primary election losses last week, it tends to create problems. From WLS Radio…
Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for more budget talks now that the primary elections are over, but he’s ignoring the results of those primaries.
Now that Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) trounced him in last Tuesday’s primaries, Rauner wants Madigan to compromise.
Oof.
That’s gotta sting.
* Also, let’s reexamine this other gubernatorial quote from yesterday…
“It seems to me that the crisis is being extended for political gain and messaging, and that’s wrong.”
At the very least, doesn’t that statement imply that the other side’s message is “#Winning”?
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Cleaning up Quinn’s mess
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Quinn’s administration sat on hundreds of millions of federal dollars for homeowner weatherization, which could’ve created huge numbers of jobs during the Great Recession. And, guess what? A half-billion dollar school construction program was also never activated…
In the depths of the Great Recession, then-Gov. Pat Quinn celebrated a roughly $500 million school construction bond program that would allow Illinois districts to build new facilities, fix old ones and handle a bevy of housekeeping needs, all via a federal program that would subsidize interest payments on the borrowing.
But while other states charged ahead with their slice of the Qualified School Construction Bonds program, Illinois did nothing.
The $495.6 million in bonding authority granted to Illinois sat on the shelf in Springfield for six years, denying schools a chance at a unique borrowing deal that could save taxpayers money.
It only became available late last year, after district administrators like those in West Aurora School District 129 caught wind of its existence and started “clamoring” for its release, according to interviews and Illinois board of education records obtained via a Freedom of Information request.
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Lip service
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the twitters…
* From the news…
Illinois risks losing thousands of tourism jobs — and hundreds of millions in state and local tax revenue — from marketing cuts and ongoing budget uncertainty, according to an industry study released Monday. […]
According to the report, a 20 percent cut from $63.8 million for tourism marketing in fiscal 2014 would cost the state $2.3 billion in visitor spending, 4,600 jobs and nearly $200 million in state and local taxes over four years. If marketing money were eliminated, according to the study by Oxford Economics Co., the four-year figures increase to $11.3 billion in visitor spending, 22,800 jobs, and $970 million in state and local taxes. […]
“When they hear ‘museum,’ they think presidential museum,” said Gemberling. “We get calls into our office asking, ‘Is Springfield closed?’ There’s this perception out there that all of our sites are closed. So we have increased our media buys in St. Louis and Chicago, as well as regionally, to combat and stop that message.” […]
Marketing cuts also threaten to set back one of the state’s fastest-growing industries in tourism, said Brett Stawar, president and CEO of the Alton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. Stawar said Illinois is pulling back at a time when neighboring states, including Missouri, are aggressively targeting Illinois travelers.
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#Winning!
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You’ve undoubtedly seen this…
* The candidate was asked to explain by the Washington Post’s editorial board…
HIATT: I’d like to come back to the campaign. You said a few weeks ago after a family in Chicago gave some money to a PAC opposing you, you said, “They better watch out. They have a lot to hide.” What should they watch out for?
TRUMP: Look, they are spending vicious … I don’t even know these people. Those Ricketts. I actually said they ought to focus on the Chicago Cubs and, you know, stop playing around. They spent millions of dollars fighting me in Florida. And out of 68 counties, I won 66. I won by 20 points, almost 20 points. Against, everybody thought he was a popular sitting senator. I had $38 million dollars spent on me in Florida over a short period of time. $38 million. And, you know, the Ricketts, I don’t even know these people.
HIATT: So, what does it mean, “They better watch out”?
TRUMP: Well, it means that I’ll start spending on them. I’ll start taking ads telling them all what a rotten job they’re doing with the Chicago Cubs. I mean, they are spending on me. I mean, so am I allowed to say that? I’ll start doing ads about their baseball team. That it’s not properly run or that they haven’t done a good job in the brokerage business lately.
RYAN: Would you do that while you are president?
TRUMP: No, not while I am president. No, not while I’m president. That is two phases. Right now, look, you know, I went to a great school, I was a good student and all. I am an intelligent person. My uncle, I would say my uncle was one of the brilliant people. He was at MIT for 35 years. As a great scientist and engineer, actually more than anything else. Dr. John Trump, a great guy. I’m an intelligent person. I understand what is going on. Right now, I had 17 people who started out. They are almost all gone. If I were going to do that in a different fashion I think I probably wouldn’t be sitting here. You would be interviewing somebody else. But it is hard to act presidential when you are being … I mean, actually I think it is presidential because it is winning. And winning is a pretty good thing for this country because we don’t win any more. And I say it all the time. We do not win any more. This country doesn’t win.
* Related…
* Mark Brown: I know for a fact that Illinois GOP leaders have been dreading since last year the possibility of a Trump nomination and the detrimental effect it might have on their efforts down the ballot — in particular Rauner’s hopes of clawing back state legislative seats from Democrats and keeping his appointee Leslie Munger as state comptroller… Rather than speak out about Trump, Rauner says that if Trump is the nominee, he’ll do everything he can for him. If he does, I can only hope that Illinois voters make him pay a price for it.
* Jim Dey: Democrats smell what Republicans fear — another Goldwater-like landslide defeat — and they think either tying Republicans to Trump or forcing them to repudiate him will boost their electoral prospects.
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