Pet shop criminals
Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* First it was PetSmart in broad daylight…
Two men accused of an armed robbery in the Springfield PetSmart parking lot have been arrested.
Police say Tyler Sigretto, 21, and Dakota Davis, 20, both of Springfield, were arrested over the weekend following the Friday morning incident. Sigretto and Davis allegedly approached two people in the parking lot with guns and demanded personal belongings.
* And then Nature’s Select, also in broad daylight…
Springfield police are looking for a man who robbed the Nature’s Select Pet Store Wednesday afternoon.
Police described the robber as a dark-skinned black man with a thin build who is 20 to 30 years old and between 6 feet and 6-foot-2. He was wearing a light gray sweatshirt and sweat pants.
The man entered the store at 540 W. Monroe St. around 3:35 p.m. armed with a box cutter. He demanded money from an employee but fled on foot when a customer entered the business.
I regularly bring Oscar to both of those stores.
I know I shouldn’t be, but this has me a bit rattled.
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* I find it nearly impossible to argue with this U of I press release…
The University of Illinois must balance all of the interests of its campuses and the institution in reaching any decision, particularly one as important as granting a positon as a member of our faculty.
Last summer, while Steven Salaita was still under consideration for a tenured position to teach courses comparing issues related to the experiences of Native Americans to issues related to Palestinians and the Middle East, Dr. Salaita began demonstrating that he lacked the professional fitness to serve on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Specifically, Dr. Salaita began making a series of statements via social media on precisely the subject matter that he proposed to teach at our University. For example, on June 19, 2014, after three Israeli teenagers were reported kidnapped and presumed dead, Dr. Salaita posted a statement on Twitter which read: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.” Dr. Salaita continued to post this comment even after the three teens were found murdered later that month.
Dr. Salaita also posted statements such as:
“Zionist uplift in America: every little Jewish boy and girl can grow up to be the leader of a monstrous colonial regime.”
“If #Israel affirms life, then why do so many Zionists celebrate the slaughter of children? What’s that? Oh, I see JEWISH life.”
“Zionists: transforming antisemitism [sic] from something horrible into something honorable since 1948.”
“Let’s cut to the chase: If you’re defending #Israel right now you’re an awful human being.”
These statements and many more like them demonstrate that Dr. Salaita lacks the judgment, temperament and thoughtfulness to serve as a member of our faculty in any capacity, but particularly to teach courses related to the Middle East.
As Dr. Salaita admits in the complaint he filed today, the offer he received in October 2013 from the American Indian Studies Program was at all times subject to the ultimate approval of the Board of Trustees. This is consistent with the Statutes of the University of Illinois and the past precedent of the University. Dr. Salaita was well aware of the importance of this final approval. At no time was Dr. Salaita hired as a faculty member. His appointment was always subject to approval by the Board of Trustees.
On September 11, 2014, after carefully considering all of the issues related to Dr. Salaita’s proposed appointment, the Board of Trustees voted 8-1 not to approve Dr. Salaita for a position on the faculty. Two weeks ago, the Board emphatically reiterated that its decision is final and will not be reconsidered.
The Board’s decision concerning Dr. Salaita was not reached hastily. Nor was it the result of external pressures. Indeed, the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure concurred that “donor influence” was not a basis for the decision. The decision did not present a “new approach” to the consideration of proposed faculty appointments. It represented the careful exercise of each Board member’s fiduciary duty and a balancing of all of the interests of the University of Illinois. In the end, this is a responsibility that cannot be delegated nor abdicated.
Today, Dr. Salaita has filed a complaint in federal court. Among other accusations, he contends that the individual trustees and administrators of the University of Illinois are liable for intentionally inflicting emotional distress by refusing to provide him with a faculty position. The University of Illinois intends to vigorously defend against these and each of Dr. Salaita’s other meritless claims. The University has attempted to negotiate a settlement for his reasonable losses and expenses, but he has refused those offers.
As a private citizen, Dr. Salaita has the constitutional right to make any public statement he chooses. Dr. Salaita, however, does not have a constitutional right to a faculty position at the University of Illinois.
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Today’s number: 1 hour
Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The House passed its rules yesterday 70-46. One Democrat was absent. All Republicans voted against it…
Republicans objected to the rules, saying they lack transparency and give too much power to lame-duck legislators. Representative Ed Sullivan, a Republican from Mundelein, wants to extend the time period that information is posted online before legislators can debate a bill. The rules require only a one-hour notice before a hearing.
“I want to talk a little bit about the voice of the public, those that we serve, and what their voice is within the rules, and their ability to have more transparency,” Sullivan said.
House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie disagrees and says an hour is plenty of time.
“There is every opportunity for the public to participate in the first place in our budget debates through committee hearings, so I would urge that ours is a transparent, accountable process, and I see no reason for any changes,” Currie said.
Obviously, an hour is not “plenty of time.”
The new rules are here.
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Simon Institute releases study of 2014 campaign
Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reboot pulls some fun facts from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s new report on the 2014 election. Here are some of them…
* Quinn’s nominal Democratic primary opponent made his mark
Though Chicago community activist Tio Hardiman was “an unknown candidate from Chicago who had no money, no media, and no campaign staff,” he won 30 downstate counties and 28 percent of the vote statewide in the Democratic primary.
* Counties that supported Quinn in 2010 election paid a price — from Quinn
Pat Quinn won election to a full term in 2010 by only 31,000 votes. He carried only four counties: Cook, Alexander, Jackson and St. Clair. After winning the election, he closed state facilities in Alexander and Jackson counties to save money. In Alexander County, where Quinn closed Tamms Correctional Center (the county’s largest employer) in 2013, Quinn won only 37 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary and lost to Rauner by 5 percentage points in November. He carried only one county — Cook — but by a margin 3 percent lower than in 2010.
* Low voter turnout doomed Quinn
Quinn needed his party base turnout to be nearly as high as in the 2012 presidential election. Instead, turnout in Chicago was “one of the lowest in modern times” and statewide turnout of 49 percent was nearly as dismal.
* Illinois has moved from “dark blue” to “leans Democratic”
National pundits should not write off Illinois as a solidly blue state: “The results in 2010 and especially in 2014 show that in any given election with the right circumstances and the right candidates Republicans can certainly win statewide elections. This is especially true in the mid-term elections which are lower turnout elections disadvantaging the Democrats.”
The full report is here.
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The little guys are winning
Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* State and local video gaming receipts more than doubled last year…
According to the Illinois Gaming Board, state revenue from the machines topped $164.8 million in 2014, up from $75.1 million in 2013. Municipalities received $32.9 million, compared to $15 million the year before.
The money flowed in as gamblers poured more than $2.4 billion into the machines over the 12-month period, winning $1.7 billion of that back. Five percent of the revenue goes to cities, towns and counties, while 25 percent goes to the state.
Since the first 61 machines went online in September 2012 at a handful of bars and restaurants, the number of machines and locations has mushroomed to 19,182 machines in 4,675 locations.
While the revenue is helping pay for state construction projects, the spread of the machines is being blamed for a corresponding decrease in revenue for the state’s 10 casinos.
Those casinos had a monopoly and huge profits for a very long time, while local tavern owners faced arrest for offering similar gambling options to their patrons. It wasn’t fair.
* More…
The Illinois Gaming Board says revenue from casinos fell nearly $87 million in 2014 from a year earlier. Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, blamed the decline on the spread of video gambling machines.
“I constantly hear from people who say they can just go down to the corner bar and play the slots, rather than driving to a casino,” Swoik said.
Casino admission fell 1.4 million from 2013 to 2014. Lawmakers have long talked about adding more casinos in the state. […]
Video gambling machines are banned in 175 municipalities, down from 200 a year earlier.
* Related…
* Springfield gaming terminals up 46 percent in 2014; revenue hits $1M
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* From January 16th..
Chicago Public Schools are set to defy a mandate to launch a standardized exam districtwide this spring, despite the potential for sanctions that could include some loss of federal funding.
The district said it will administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, or PARCC, to just 66 of its more than 600 schools as an extension of a pilot program that began last year. The rest of the schools will continue to administer NWEA-MAP and EPAS exams.
School district chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s decision to snub PARCC, which she said was made in conjunction with the school board, could have national implications and play a role in a congressional debate over laws that created rigorous Common Core standards and a divisive system of high-stakes testing.
* Greg Hinz reports the cost to the state might be as high as $1.17 billion…
The threat came in a previously unpublicized letter to Illinois Schools Superintendent Christopher Koch from Deborah Delisle, the assistant U.S. education secretary, but also has been privately communicated in conversations that state officials are taking very seriously.
“We are greatly concerned about it,” the Rev. James Meeks, the new chairman of the state school board, told me.
“We are working through the process,” Meeks continued, with a “hope” that the matter can be resolved without financial loss to CPS or the state, which receives most federal school funds and distributes them to local districts.[…]
The letter mentioned several categories of assistance that, collectively, amount to $1.17 billion to Illinois in fiscal 2015, according to the state board.
The $1.17 billion represents about 84 percent of federal education aid to Illinois, excluding school lunch and breakfast programs. Of all dollars spent in the state on grade and high schools, about one in 10 comes from the feds—so losing all of the $1.17 billion really would bite
The letter is here.
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* A new Chicago Tribune poll has Mayor Rahm Emanuel leading the pack, but still not avoiding a runoff. But the trend is his friend…
In August, a Tribune poll found 46 percent of voters had an unfavorable view of Emanuel while just 29 percent viewed him favorably. The new survey shows Emanuel has turned that around, with 43 percent viewing him favorably compared with 35 percent who look at him in an unfavorable light.
Similarly, the August poll found more than half of the city’s voters — 52 percent — disapproved of Emanuel’s job performance compared with 35 percent who approved. Again, the latest poll found Emanuel had recovered some, as voters were split over his stewardship of the city: 44 percent voiced approval and 42 percent disapproval.
The most notable factor in Emanuel’s turnaround is African-American voters’ view of him. Back in August, nearly six in 10 black voters disapproved of Emanuel’s handling of City Hall. Now, that group of voters is split, with 40 percent approving of Emanuel and 42 percent disapproving. Continued street violence and closing of nearly 50 schools, many in predominantly black neighborhoods, had helped drive Emanuel’s unpopularity among some black voters. […]
The latest poll found Emanuel with a sizable lead among black voters, garnering 39 percent, followed by Wilson with 14 percent, Garcia with 10 percent, Fioretti with 7 percent and Walls with 2 percent. Wilson and Walls are the two African-American candidates in the race.
* Related…
* Emanuel expands fundraising lead
* Sneed exclusive: Rahm endorsed by 15 labor unions
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* Bernie…
Jim Kaitschuk, who has been executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers, is the new legislative director for Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“I think we can certainly appreciate the challenges that this great state faces,” Kaitschuk said in a news release from the agricultural group he has been with since 2003. […]
Kaitschuk, Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said, has spent more than 20 years in and around state government, including as House liaison in the governor’s office and legislative liaison for agencies including the Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
“Jim’s experience working with the legislature from both the government and private sector perspective provides him with a good balance and knowledge,” Trover said. “He has strong relationships with agencies and legislators from both sides of the aisle.”
Thoughts?
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Firing up the Democrats’ base
Thursday, Jan 29, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last summer, I jokingly told Bruce Rauner that his inauguration would likely be himself and 100,000 of his closest “friends” in organized labor. That didn’t come to pass because the unions decided to wait and see what he would actually do. But when Gov. Rauner took off after unions in Decatur Tuesday, some have decided to speak out today in Champaign…
Representatives of organized labor will be at the I Hotel Conference Center in Champaign today to demonstrate against Gov. Bruce Rauner after his remarks in Decatur Tuesday that were critical of unions.
Rauner is scheduled to speak to the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce at 1 p.m. today, delivering an address that he says is another preview of Wednesday’s State of the State speech to the Legislature. […]
Matt Kelly, president of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council in Champaign County, said he believes that Rauner is “trying to destroy unions. That’s really, we feel, what he’s trying to accomplish by doing this stuff. It has nothing to do with making the state better. It has nothing to do with anything other than destroying the unions.”
Kelly said several unions and trades, particularly public sector unions, will be represented at today’s demonstration.
* And, now, on to the Quad Cities…
“He’s proposing right-to-work, but what it really means is the right to work for less money,” said Dino Leone, President of Quad City Federation of Labor. “What it basically is, is an attack on workers rights to have a stronger voice in the state of Illinois.”
There are conflicting studies about the impact of right-to-work laws.
The Illinois Policy Institute said they analyzed data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that states with right-to-work laws have higher wages, lower unemployment rates, and higher GDP growth.
However, a similar study done by the University of Illinois in 2014 found the laws actually cut wages by three percent on average.
“It would mean a lot less pay for the middle class and working class for people in the Quad Cities,” said Leone. “We will definitely oppose every measure, every piece of legislation [Gov. Rauner] tries to put out on this.”
…Adding… Also from the QC area…
State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, a member of a firefighter union, said he also won’t be joining the governor on the topic.
“The right-to-work legislation has been out there for a long time, and it’s been tried over and over again,” Sen. Anderson said. “I’m against right-to-work. I don’t think it’s right for the state of Illinois.”
* And let’s finish this post with Kurt Erickson’s story…
Gov. Bruce Rauner may be looking to the Bluegrass State for inspiration when it comes to bringing right-to-work laws to Illinois.
In Kentucky, where attempts to put a statewide law on the books have stalled, counties have taken the lead in recent weeks by moving forward with their own anti-union laws.
In all, five counties have approved measures that would ban requiring workers to join a union or making membership in a labor organization a condition of employment. […]
In Kentucky, the AFL-CIO is fighting the counties in court — a scenario that likely would occur in Illinois if Rauner is successful in pushing the movement forward.
Sean Stott, director of governmental affairs for the Laborers’ union, said there is ample legal evidence county-level changes could be fought successfully. For example, the new local laws in Kentucky come despite an opinion by the state’s Democratic attorney general, who said local authorities don’t have the power to implement the laws.
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Another Quinn punt results in lawsuit
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
More than two years after missing a statutory deadline to implement a comprehensive risk assessment of state prisoners, a lawsuit has been filed seeking a court order directing Illinois prison officials to assess and consider paroling the longest serving prisoners.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks to force the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (IPRB) and the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) to abide by the Illinois Crime Reduction Act, which took effect in 2010 and gave those state agencies three years to prepare for and begin using a standardized risk assessment tool no later than January 2013.
The class action suit was filed on behalf of all still-incarcerated prisoners sentenced for crimes committed before 1978 when Illinois switched from a system of indeterminate sentences to sentences with a fixed length of time. More than 170 men are serving indeterminate sentences and appear periodically before the IPRB to request parole.
* Consequences…
Harrison Chancy, the lead plaintiff in the case, is serving an indeterminate sentence for a 1977 murder, armed robbery, armed violence and burglary in Lemont. Chancy, who maintains he is innocent, was 19 at the time of the crimes. He has been incarcerated for 37 years.
Chancy has used his time in prison productively, taking courses to prepare for success after release, and he has a positive behavior record and gone several years without receiving a single disciplinary ticket. Chancy’s IDOC work supervisor, who is a former Navy SEAL and a prison shift commander, wrote a letter of support to IPRB – the first time in his 25-year IDOC career that he had written in support of an inmate’s parole.
Without benefit of a risk assessment, the IPRB voted to deny Chancy’s parole applications for parole in 2013 and 2014. At the latest hearing, without pointing to any specific rationale and in a departure from the previous year’s hearing, the IPRB ordered that Chancy not be considered again for parole until 2017.
The lawsuit is here.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Former Gov. Pat Quinn’s legacy in one word? One word only, please. And keep it clean.
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Truax forms PAC as Kirk shifts left
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Twitters…
* The full press release…
Former U.S. Senate candidate Doug Truax is continuing his attempt to reshape America with formation of Restoration Action, a conservative federal 501(c)4 issue advocacy entity and companion Restoration PAC, a super PAC.
Restoration Action will promote an agenda to restore prosperity, individual freedom and international security to America. Restoration PAC will support candidates and office holders who adhere to those principles and oppose those who do not.
“As a candidate, my objective was to help change the direction of the country,” Truax said. “By forming Restoration Action and Restoration PAC, I have the same objective. Our country has steered off course and we need to right the ship.”
Truax is a 44-year-old West Point graduate, Army veteran and health care reform expert. He owns a successful health care consulting business and lives in west suburban Downers Grove, IL.
As a political newcomer in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in IL last year, Truax came out of nowhere to outpoll an established conservative politician in the Chicago metropolitan area and gain 44% of the statewide vote. Along the way he picked up glowing endorsements from Newt Gingrich, the Chicago Tribune and others. He has been characterized as one of Illinois’ rising political stars by a national cable network.
Truax said he has gained funding from several major donors to start the entities. He said the political arm will concentrate on high-level federal races and will issue candidate ratings.
* Meanwhile, after raising a ruckus with environmental groups by suggesting that climate change isn’t cased by humans, Sen. Mark Kirk appears to be moving back to those groups again…
For instance, he was the only Senate Republican to back regulations on petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining.
Then he was one of five Republicans to vote for an amendment declaring that “climate change is real and human activity significantly contributes to climate change.”
Now comes word that the senator has been elected co-chair, along with Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow, of the Senate’s Great Lakes Task Force.
“As co-chairs, my colleague Sen. Stabenow and I are committed to cleaning up toxic hot spots, removing the threat of invasive species and ending sewage dumping in the Great Lakes, the crown jewel of the Midwest’s ecosystem, once and for all,” Kirk said in a statement. “It is crucial that we work together with this bipartisan task force to protect the reverence of the lakes and ensure they remain clean and contaminant-free for the next generation.”
Discuss.
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* Public Integrity has compiled a list of the top 50 campaign contributors to state political races last year…
1. Republican Governors Association - A national group that advocates for the election of Republican governors.
$68.6 million
2. Democratic Governors Association - A national group that advocates for the election of Democratic governors.
$31.6 million
3. Charlie Crist campaign committee - The campaign committee of Florida’s unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
$28.6 million
4. Let’s Get To Work - Political action committee affiliated with Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott and funded largely by the Republican Governors Association.
$19.5 million
5. NextGen Climate Action Committee - A national group run by billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer that backs pro-environment candidates and groups.
$19.4 million
6. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - A national labor union that represents government employees.
$19.2 million
7. Bruce and Diana Rauner - Newly elected Republican governor of Illinois, who made his fortune in private equity, and his wife.
$14.4 million […]
10. Tom and Frances Wolf - Newly elected Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and kitchen cabinet magnate.
$10 million […]
15. Ken Griffin and Anne Dias Griffin - Conservative billionaire hedge fund manager and his soon-to-be ex-wife, also a hedge fund manager.
$7.5 million […]
29. Illinois Education Association - The Illinois chapter of the National Education Association, a labor union that represents public school employees.
$4.6 million […]
40. Bruce Rauner campaign committee - The campaign of the newly elected Republican governor of Illinois.
$4.1 million […]
43. Illinois Democratic Party - State branch of the Democratic Party.
$3.9 million
The RGA and DGA both played a major role in Illinois as well, of course.
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*** LIVE *** Session coverage
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Only the House is in session at noon today, and passing the new rules is expected to be the extent of its business. Tomorrow’s House session has been canceled. Here’s your ScribbleLive thingy…
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New York’s problem is likely prohibited here
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* New York Times…
Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she did.
Mr. Palermo, who was the lead singer in a Midtown nightclub in the 1960s when her elegant tango first caught his eye, now regularly rolls his wife’s wheelchair to the piano at the Catholic nursing home in Manhattan where she ended up in 2010 as dementia, falls and surgical complications took their toll. He sings her favorite songs, feeds her home-cooked Italian food, and pays a private aide to be there when he cannot.
But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo’s copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Mr. Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed.
It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Mrs. Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her money.
Few people are aware that a nursing home can take such a step. Guardianship cases are difficult to gain access to and poorly tracked by New York State courts; cases are often closed from public view for confidentiality. But the Palermo case is no aberration. Interviews with veterans of the system and a review of guardianship court data conducted by researchers at Hunter College at the request of The New York Times show the practice has become routine, underscoring the growing power nursing homes wield over residents and families amid changes in the financing of long-term care.
Could that happen here?
* I asked the attorney general’s office, whose spokesperson pointed me to this provision of the state’s Probate Act…
755 ILCS 5/11a-5) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11a-5)
Sec. 11a-5. Who may act as guardian […]
The court shall not appoint as guardian an agency which is directly providing residential services to the ward.
* The AG’s spokesperson explained that the office doesn’t have staff with much knowledge of this particular issue, but here’s what she wrote in an e-mail…
That language indicates that this should not be allowed to happen in Illinois, but it is possible that courts have allowed these kinds of petitions.
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Everything old is new again
Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a January, 2013 op-ed by not yet declared gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner…
A worker shouldn’t be under a union boss’ thumb any more than under a business boss’ thumb. Increasingly, employers are relocating to these pro-employment freedom states, and are looking only at those states when considering job expansion decisions. […]
Illinois need not adopt the exact reforms found in Wisconsin, Indiana or Michigan. But we sure need to move in that direction if we are going to compete for jobs.
One creative solution is available to us that has not been tried elsewhere. Under federal labor law, states may authorize their local communities to decide for themselves whether to embrace right-to-work. Why not empower Sangamon County, or Effingham County, or any of our other local governments to decide for themselves if they would like to compete for the jobs that come with new manufacturing plants or transportation facilities built by the many hundreds of companies that will consider expanding only in flexible work areas?
* From a fall 2013 appearance on Roe Conn’s WLS Radio show when asked about right to work…
“I think we’ve got a lot of challenges, I don’t think that’s at the top of our list… Labor regulations are one small piece of [improving the state’s business climate], I don’t think that’s in the top few.”
* From a January 2014 appearance on Robert Rees’ Bloomington Cities 92.9FM show…
“I am not anti-union, that’s a false statement by my opponents”
…Adding… From just before the election in October, 2014…
[Rauner] says “right-to-work” laws aren’t his focus.
“Pushing any specific labor regulation is not my priority at all,” Rauner said.
Yet, now it’s suddenly a first-year priority.
* By the way, I told subscribers today about an interesting quote I missed earlier this month which appeared in the Tribune…
Experts say it is unlikely Illinois will become a right-to-work state because the General Assembly is controlled by Democrats backed by unions that provide campaign contributions and volunteers. While Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner supports right-to-work zones, he is unlikely to tackle the issue as he faces larger issues such as a shortfall, pension obligations and a slow economic recovery.
“Illinois doesn’t need right to work (laws) to compete with its neighbors,” said [Illinois Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Todd Maisch].
Maisch said the state should focus on measures that would move the economy forward, such as a bill to fund upgrades to the state’s infrastructure. On that issue, he said, the chamber will work closely with labor to push lawmakers at the state and federal level to act on proposals.
“Business and labor do have joint agendas,” Maisch said.
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* From Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Decatur speech yesterday…
Spending on wages and benefits for state employees has to be brought under control. “There has been a decline in the number of state workers. But the payroll is still going up. I still don’t totally understand this. I think it’s a lot of overtime or manipulation of the system.”
His accompanying chart…
* Rauner also displayed a couple of other related charts. The first covers state worker health insurance premiums, the second covers employee pension costs…
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AFL-CIO responds to Rauner
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* IL AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan…
“The Bruce Rauner that managed to mask his true feelings about working families for most of last year showed his true agenda today. Much like his past proposal to cut the minimum wage, he is now going after workers on all fronts by supporting Right To Work, attacking Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation, as well as prevailing wage and Project Labor Agreements that benefit both workers and the taxpayers.
“A recent University of Illinois study points out that the net economic benefit of right to work in Illinois is negligible. The study points out that Right To Work seriously erodes wages, benefits and compounds racial and gender wage inequality. Right To Work will drop wages in Illinois between 5.7 to 7.3 percent. Prosperous economies are driven by good wages and a thriving middle class. Rauner’s proposals are not economic development, but middle class eradication.
“We suspected all along that Bruce Rauner would go back to his roots as a mega-wealthy corporate CEO and force the tired philosophy of increasing the bottom line on the backs of the workers. I haven’t seen any proposals from him on increasing Illinois’ low corporate income tax or closing big business loopholes. Where is his shared sacrifice?
“His attack on the middle class will be vigorously opposed by organized labor and community allies. He’s going to have to come up with something better than failed right-wing economic policy.”
The U of I study is here. The U of I also studied the possible repeal of the prevailing wage law, and that’s here.
…Adding… The governor’s presentation today in pdf format is here.
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Rauner cranks up anti-union rhetoric
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Bruce Rauner was in Decatur today giving a speech. He focused on right to work, prevailing wage, project labor agreements and other union issues…
* Also, this…
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Why Quinn’s med-mar punt matters
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When Gov. Pat Quinn punted the medical marijuana licensing issue to his successor, he not only created a longer wait for patients, he also put in jeopardy some pretty well-paying jobs…
A medical marijuana dispensary proposed on Ottawa’s North Side was ranked most likely to receive a license in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties prior to the end of Gov. Pat Quinn’s term, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. […]
Scott said the operation would generate 25 to 30 jobs with pay ranging from $30,000 to $100,000.
Try finding a job in Ottawa that pays $100K a year. Not easy. Heck, try finding one at $30K.
* The AP has some new info on the licensing procedure…
When Quinn left office, his administration publicly said the agencies in charge of evaluating applications still had more work to do. But the emails and other documents show the agencies were ready to award many of the licenses, having evaluated and identified as top scorers 18 businesses to grow medical marijuana and
The new information could trigger lawsuits, said patient advocates and the lawmaker who sponsored the legislation that created Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program.
“The scoring system should have played out and those with the highest number of points in each area should have won,” said Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, questioning why the Rauner administration released the documents before granting the business licenses. “This creates fodder for litigation. And there will be litigation.”
Not to mention that the names of those license-holders aren’t supposed to be made public under state law until after the procedure was complete.
* Illinois Review…
ArcView Market Research released the executive summary to the 3rd edition of the State of Legal Marijuana Markets. The report finds that the U.S. market for legal cannabis grew 74% in 2014 to $2.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2013 making it the fastest growing industry in the U.S.
The report also shows that if trends continues and all states legalized marijuana the total market size would top $36.8 billion, making it larger than the organic food industry which is $33.1 billion according to Nutrition Business Journal.
It also concludes that pot businesses in states with restrictive patient access and regulatory systems like Illinois, New Jersey, and Delaware are not likely to be particularly profitable as long as the market constraints remain.
The executive summary is here.
* In other news, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper appears to have been quoted out of context in some outlets. Many folks saw his recent statement about voter approval of recreational weed…
“If I had a magic wand that I could have waved and reversed the decision of the voters … the day after the election, I would have waved my wand,” he said in a recent interview.
But here’s the rest of his quote…
“Now, I’m not so sure,” he said crediting his team with a smooth implementation. “It’s not impossible to see that we could create a regulatory framework that works.”
Hickenlooper pointed to reports from the left-leaning Brookings Institution that called the rollout “largely successful” and the right-leaning Cato Institute that found the law “had minimal impact on marijuana use and the outcomes sometimes associated with use.”
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Um, wow
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the most bizarre developments in the Chicago mayor’s race happened yesterday when Bob Fioretti made what appears to be some blatantly false claims about the incumbent…
Fioretti said the mayor’s decision to not press charges after suspects were questioned for attacking his teenage son near the family’s home before Christmas “sent the wrong signal.”
“The next time somebody gets shot, the next time somebody gets beat up, the time somebody’s home gets invaded, you know what? It’s OK,” Fioretti said. “No, it’s not. The Mayor sent the wrong signal to everybody.”
Actually, according to the Sun-Times, a suspect who allegedly bought the phone stolen from the mayor’s son was questioned, but not arrested. And you can’t charge somebody until you either indict him or arrest him.
* Fioretti didn’t stop there…
“This mayor, where has he been? I mean for God sakes, you’ve got a CVS that gets a burglary a couple blocks down. You’ve got your own family member, and you don’t want to prosecute charges? What did we just send a signal about? What did we just do by doing that? When your kid gets a tooth almost knocked out? When your kid is out, just maybe whatever he was doing at 10 o’clock at night on the phone and had to leave the house,” Fioretti said. “What message does that send to every community about let’s not snitch, when they’re saying you gotta take an active role in our communities. Mr. Mayor, you failed us again.” […]
“Now, let’s see. You’re on your way for a vacation. Your kid leaves the house whatever time it was to make a phone call to talk to his college counselor, and then he gets attacked? And then, with all the resources that you have around the house more than any other citizen, to make your block a safe block.
“And he gets attacked, gets a tooth pretty well injured. I don’t know how quick they got to the dentist before they boarded that plane,” Fioretti said.
“And then you catch the people and then you say: ‘Well, we’re not going to prosecute it.’
Isn’t that the same thing that we hear the folks in: ‘let’s make sure you start telling about what crime is happening, who committed the crime?’ What did they do? They left. It sends the wrong signal.”
If he has any proof, he ought to just come out and say what’s on his mind instead of hinting around like that about the mayor’s kid.
Sheesh.
Fioretti, by the way, ended the fourth quarter with just $196,071.16 in the bank and hasn’t raised much since then.
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Tuesday puppy blogging
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* CBS 2…
The governor and his wife, Diana, won’t be the only ones who will have to get used to living in a fixer-upper for a while. Rauner drove the family van to Springfield on Saturday, to bring their two Labrador Retrievers, Stella and Pumpkin, to their new home, and he said they’ll have to get used to sleeping alone near the kitchen.
“Pumpkin is 15, and she has arthritic knees, so she can’t really handle stairs very well,” he said. “The elevator doesn’t work. So I’ve got a plan. The dogs are not going to be able to sleep up near me, as they normally like to do. They’re gonna have to sleep down by the kitchen. That’s okay. They’ll get used to that. They don’t have to do that at home, but they’re gonna have to do that here.”
That’s sad about his older dog.
* Which reminds me, I haven’t posted any pics of Oscar in a while. Here’s one of him looking cool…
* His face is covered in snow after playing outside…
* And here he is dashing around our “man cave”…
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A very tough problem to deal with
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
State prison officials hold close to 1,250 inmates beyond their release dates every year — not because they pose a threat to the public but because they cannot find a place to live that parole officers find suitable, according to court papers and interviews.
For Illinois taxpayers, the extended stays add as much as $25 million a year in prison costs, compared with the far lower tab for parole.
It’s a practice commonly known as “violating at the door” because guards at one time walked inmates who had completed their sentences to the prison gates, only to return them to their cells for failing to find a suitable home — considered a parole violation.
Now, according to prison officials, such dramatic “turnarounds” rarely if ever take place, yet hundreds of inmates continue to be held every year for months or even years beyond their release dates. They must be set free by the time their terms of parole end, sometimes as long as three years later.
This story was first reported by the Illinois Times on January 22nd. What makes this issue so difficult is that most of those inmates are sex offenders.
* From Patrick Yeagle’s IT piece…
Johnny Cordrey did his time.
He spent 18 years at Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois, but when his release date came in April 2012, Cordrey was instead sent back to prison. He hadn’t committed any new offense, however. His attorney says the only crime Cordrey committed this time around was being poor. […]
Cordrey, now 66, was sentenced in October 1993 to 36 years in prison for aggravated criminal sexual assault, plus a separate 30-year sentence for aggravated kidnapping. With credits for good conduct reducing his sentence, Cordrey was due for release in April 2012. The terms of his parole – called “mandatory supervised release” in Illinois – required him to register as a sex offender, attend three different types of counseling, have no contact with his victim, check in with his parole officer twice a week and wear an electronic tracking device at a suitable home.
As his release date approached, it became clear that Cordrey – who Poor says has no family or friends outside prison – wouldn’t be able to find a place to live during his parole. The Illinois Department of Corrections attempted to place Cordrey in transitional housing paid for by the state, but no facility could accept him, mainly because of his sex offender status. On April 12, 2012, instead of being released, Cordrey was informed he would stay in Menard Correctional Facility to serve his three-year parole term.
Cordrey sent a handwritten appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, asking the justices to free him on the legal theory that confining people past their prison terms violates the state and federal constitutions. If Cordrey had been a rich man, he reasoned, he could have easily obtained housing and would have been released sooner. Cordrey claimed keeping poor inmates confined longer creates a second-class status for them, in violation of the constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. […]
Cordrey is currently being held in the Peoria County jail. After he served his additional three years of parole in prison, he was released and picked up by police in late October 2014 while walking on a highway near Peoria. Because Cordrey is homeless, he was deemed to have violated the terms of his sex offender registration, which means he will likely be sent back to prison.
The Supreme Court ruled against him.
On the one hand, this just doesn’t seem right, and it’s certainly costing the taxpayers plenty of money. On the other hand, convicted sex offenders are deemed by statute to be more of a danger than other criminals, and many of them probably are.
Your thoughts?
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Budget stuff
Tuesday, Jan 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Bruce Rauner talked about the Democrats and the state budget, via the Illinois Radio Network…
“It was nowhere near balanced. They just assumed that they were gonna win and hike taxes after the election, and so they not only didn’t appropriate enough money for many of the departments, but then they told some of the people in the departments , go ahead and ignore what we appropriated, go ahead and spend what you wanna spend, ‘cuz we’ll deal with it later, so they have not been honest about it and that’s a problem that I’ve gotta fix, and I will fix it, but it’s gonna be hard to do,” he said.
Rauner says long-term, he’ll propose an “overhaul” of the state’s tax code. He also says he’s “looking forward” to contract negotiations with AFSCME, after saying last week that state workers are overpaid.
* And on a related note, the state’s childcare program was deliberately underfunded last year and is basically out of money…
State Senator Emil Jones is trying to shore up funding for child care programs in Illinois. He wants lawmakers to approve an extra 300-million dollars for the effort.
The money would help low-income working families pay for child care services. The program which usually offers support has run out of money, which means many daycare providers are turning kids away.
* Meanwhile, the mayor of DuQuoin believes that his town’s “state fair” will survive the budget axe…
The results of November’s gubernatorial elections hadn’t been announced yet when the rumor mill started its inexorable grinding of fact to pulp. “I’m hearing that Governor Rauner is going to close the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds,” whispered one. “The state is closing the fairgrounds after the first of the year,” said another.
You want to know what I’ve heard? Nothing. Not a single confirmed, reliably-sourced utterance has come my way about the future of the fairgrounds. I’ve heard lots of unfounded pessimism, doubt, negativity, and worst-case scenarios, but nothing substantial until early last week.
That’s when I read in reliable print media that the new Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Philip Nelson, wants to modernize both the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. He further wants to develop strategies for sustainability based on increasing year-round utilization of both fairgrounds. It’s out there in print. Google it, as I did.
That’s what he said. He didn’t parse words. He didn’t obfuscate or dart around the subject. Director Nelson’s comments, if taken as his intent, indicate a positive, constructive vision for our beloved Fairgrounds that bodes well for its future. It’s music to my ears!
Yeah, well, as much as I truly love the DuQuoin State Fair, I’m not sure it’s more important than things like childcare for the working poor. Then again, it’s undeniable that the region has already been hit hard by state facility closures. This one isn’t as important as losing, say, a prison, but shutting it down will have a negative economic impact.
* The Aurora Chamber lays out the problem for its members…
The state is constrained as to what it can cut. Illinois cannot cut debt service or pension payments. After adjusting for matching revenue, it would take an estimated 20 percent in cuts to remaining spending — including education, Medicaid, public safety and transportation — to eliminate the deficit.
There’s only so much Medicaid spending that can be cut because of federal rules on “mandatory” services. But, yeah, 20 percent of GRF is about right, and that’s just for this fiscal year. And it doesn’t include things like the already existing childcare shortfall.
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