* Oh, heck. I forgot to post a question. Let’s do this one: AP…
Smoking will be banned indoors and out on all Illinois public college and university campuses starting next summer under legislation signed yesterday by Gov. Pat Quinn.
Quinn said the measure, which takes effect July 1, 2015, applies to all state-supported schools and will protect students’ health and help nonsmokers avoid unwanted smoke “on the campuses they call home.”
Smoking still will be permitted inside privately owned vehicles and during some activities protected by the federal American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
Health officials praised the law, saying it could help reduce smoking rates.
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree with this smoking ban? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* The Sun-Times has some video of Bruce Rauner during which Rauner says he wanted to punch somebody for allegedly trying to keep him out of Chicago’s annual Greek Independence Day parade…
“I was the only Republican in this parade. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in line. You know what Pat Quinn said: ‘Holy cow, Rauner’s coming after my base. You know, I’m out working ‘em, I’m working ‘em. He’s running around chasing me … he’s never been to a Greek parade in his life. He came to that parade because he said, “Uh-oh, Rauner’s taking my votes.’”
“You know what, they tried to, his people tried to kick me out of the parade. You know what, it’s the closest I’ve come to punching someone in this race. I said, I said I ain’t leaving this parade, this is not a Democratic parade, this is a Greek-American parade, and I’m working for every family in this state. You know what, I pushed those guys aside, we went to the front of that parade, high-fives and selfies all up and down. You know what, they were clapping and cheering. They loved every part of the message.”
Quinn’s people say the governor has indeed marched in the Greek Independence Day Parade in the past. They say the governor did not order or attempt to kick Rauner out of any parade.
“The Governor has attended numerous Greek events in recent years and throughout his career, including the Greek Independence Day Parade in 2010 and most recently on March 30 along with his Greek-American running mate Paul Vallas,” says campaign spokeswoman Brooke Anderson. “Mr. Rauner has a history of making things up in his stump speeches and his negative attack ads, so we’re not surprised he is continuing that trend.”
I tried calling the group which runs the parade, but its phone number is disconnected.
*** UPDATE *** Blogger and frequent commenter Louis G Atsaves in comments…
For those who think Rauner was making this up, I beg to differ. I was there as a marcher. My group was marching just behind the “dignitaries” line, where Rauner and Quinn were nearly next to each other.
One of the parade marshals ordered the Rauner marchers that were between the dignitaries and my group off the street and moved them out to the curb.
My group was right behind them and I was carrying a State Flag. I waived the Rauner group back in, told the marshall something unprintable and they then marched the rest of the parade directly in front of my group.
No other “political” group was treated like that in that particular parade.
When everyone reached the parade stand, the Rauner group was announced twice, once where they should have been, and a second time when the MC (Anna Davlantis) noticed them in their new spot, which I guess was a little poetic justice.
That goes some distance toward confirming part of Rauner’s story.
Marching in that parade were nearly every single Cook County and Chicago politician of both parties, along with Rauner and Quinn. Kirk was also there (just behind my group) riding in a convertible.
So, when Rauner said, “I was the only Republican in this parade,” he wasn’t telling the truth?
Bruce Rauner today issued the following statement in response to new data showing Illinois leads the Midwest in job losses this year while thousands of Illinoisans have left the workforce.
“Illinois should be home to a vibrant workforce with a booming economy but thanks to Pat Quinn we are still leading the Midwest in job losses. With higher taxes and fewer jobs, Illinois isn’t working under Pat Quinn.”
According to the BLS data, Illinois has lost 4,200 jobs since the beginning of the year while its neighbors have made large gains: Indiana has gained more than 26,000 jobs, Wisconsin has gained nearly 11,000 jobs, Missouri has gained more than 31,000 jobs and Iowa has gained 6,000 jobs.
Additionally, the data shows more than twice as many people have left the Illinois workforce than have gained jobs over Pat Quinn’s time in office. As media noted today, while the unemployment rate has declined, “BLS numbers show much of that is due to people leaving the workforce.”
That’s certainly one way to spin it and it’s valid.
We need more. Lots and lots more. But the recent three-month trend ain’t horrible.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Quinn campaign response…
As Governor Quinn today announced 500 good-paying jobs by an Illinois company, Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner and one of his top allies - which he has personally funded the tune of $525,000 - attacked the Illinois economy and rooted for Illinois to fail even as Illinois’ unemployment rate went down to its lowest point since August 2008. It makes sense that Bruce Rauner is desperately trying to undermine any positive economic news for our state because it’s undermining the very basis for his bash-Illinois campaign. The Illinois Policy Institute, which agrees with Mr. Rauner’s position to cut the minimum wage, and Rauner are working feverishly to spread their message of doom and gloom even as the economic outlook in Illinois has significantly improved.
Below is a quick fact check on Rauner’s claims:
Rauner Falsehood: Illinois is in an economic death spiral.
Fact: Just last week, unemployment fell to 6.8%, its lowest point since August 2008 and significantly lower than when Governor Quinn took office. This is the steepest 12-month unemployment decline in the last three decades.
Rauner Falsehood: Illinois leads the Midwest in job losses this year.
Fact: The arbitrary seven-month timeframe is cherry picked by those rooting for the state to fail. A full year period tells a much more accurate and honest story. Over the past 12 months, the state has created 30,500 jobs, and the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.2 to 6.8—the largest decrease in three decades, and 127,000 more people are working. Further, Illinois saw net job creation last month, with 11,200 private sector jobs created, and a net job creation of 10,300 jobs because of government job loss. Yet left unsaid by Bruce Rauner is that he has proposed a Tax Plan that would slash the budget by EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS which would lead to mass layoffs of state employees and drive the unemployment rate sky high.
Rauner Falsehood: With higher taxes and fewer jobs, Illinois isn’t working under Pat Quinn.
Fact: Under Governor Quinn’s leadership, Illinois is making a comeback. While there’s more work to do, unemployment is significantly lower than when Quinn took office. According to a new study on businesses, Illinois’ overall tax burden ranks lower than about half the country - read about the study here.
Republican False Claim: Unemployment isn’t really going down - people are just leaving the workforce.
Fact: In fact, Illinois had a net gain of 11,200 private sector jobs last month. We have 127,000 more people working today than compared to last year.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Rauner campaign responds…
17,157 Illinoisans Exited The Workforce In July, The Third-Largest Drop In Labor Force Participation Since At Least 2004. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
21,637 Illinoisans Exited The Workforce In June, The Largest Drop In Labor Force Participation Since At Least 2004. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
Illinois’ Labor Force Has Been Dropping Every Month Since April, For A Cumulative Total Of 63,083 People Who Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/18/14)
Some readers will be offended by the idea of video recording cops and teachers. You might even invoke the specter of mass surveillance. I see things differently. Privacy is a wonderful thing, but on-duty police officers and teachers in classrooms are not private citizens living their lives as they choose. They are public servants charged with, well, serving the public.
* That’s almost guaranteed to honk off the Illinois Federation of Teachers. We’ve discussed the IFT and IEA attacks on the Trib earlier. The IFT’s MoveOn petition demanding that the Tribune “stop manufacturing scandals that target teachers and start telling the whole story” now has more than 4,000 signatures.
Teachers, parents, and students across the world demanded that the Chicago Tribune tell the whole story about our schools. They took to Twitter using the hashtag #TheWholeStory. The hashtag garnered more than 5 million impressions and was the #1 trending topic in the Chicago area.
* There’s something missing from this Quinn campaign press release…
Quinn for Illinois is continuing to take a closer look at Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner’s business record, including his strategy of outsourcing jobs overseas to drive GTCRauner’s profits. The Polymer Group, a multinational corporation formed with Bruce Rauner that produced non-woven fabrics, including feminine hygiene products and wipes, is the latest Rauner business to be profiled.
KEY QUOTE: “Their strategic story is very compelling.” -Bruce Rauner in 1998 on PolymerGroup’s use of foreign labor.
THE STORY: Bruce Rauner served as a director of the Polymer Group, operating factories around the globe that produced feminine hygiene products and wipes. Controlled by GTCRauner, the group was heavily invested in low-wage labor markets opened up by “free trade” agreements such as China and Mexico, reaping millions in profits. Rauner exited the firm around the time they declared bankruptcy, leaving investors on the hook for $600 million in debt obligations.
THE TIMELINE:
1994: GTCR Acquires Majority Stake in the Polymer Group and Rauner takes a seat on the board of directors. [Polymer Group, SEC S-1/A, 05/07/96]
1995: Polymer Expanded and Increased Manufacturing in Mexico Shortly After NAFTA Went into Effect in 1994. According to a Polymer SEC S-1/A Filing in May 1996: “The Company recently completed an expansion in Mexico with the installation of a new 4.2 meter SMS line with unique and proprietary capabilities…. The Company continuously evaluates opportunities to expand its existing production capacity or enhance production technologies. The Company has invested approximately $50.0 million in capital improvements since 1992 to either debottleneck existing assets or to add new capabilities and capacity. The largest of these projects is a state-of-the-art SMS line at the San Luis Potosi, Mexico facility, which line began commercial production in the third quarter of 1995.”[Polymer Group, SEC Filing S-1/A, 5/7/96]
1995: Nearly Half of the Company’s Sales Were Derived from Operations Conducted Outside the United States. “The Company manufactures certain of its products in Germany, Canada, Mexico and the Netherlands. In 1995, approximately 42% of the Company’s net sales ($182.3 million) were derived from operations conducted outside the United States.” [Polymer Group, SEC Filing S-1/A, 5/7/96]
By 1999, Polymer Operated 23 Manufacturing Facilities “Strategically Located” in Eight Countries on Three Continents, Including Mexico and Argentina. Polymer reported in its 1998 Annual Report that, “PGI is currently in the final stages of building/acquiring new facilities in Colombia, Turkey, and China. With these new facilities, PGI will operate plants in 11 countries on four continents.” [Polymer Group, 1998 Annual Report]
Between 1993 and 2002, Sales From Polymer’s Foreign Manufacturing Facilities Increased From $28 Million to $404.6 Million. [Polymer Group, SEC Filing 10-K, 04/14/03]
December 2001: Rauner and another GTCRauner Principal Remain on the Board of Directors. [Polymer Group, SEC Filing 10-K, 04/12/02]
May 2002: Polymer Group Files for Bankruptcy. [Associated Press, 05/13/02]
Subsequent filings show Rauner no longer listed as director after May 2002. [Polymer Group, SEC Filing 10-K , 05/1/02 (Amendment) , 04/14/03]
I get that “jobs outsourcing” is usually a bad thing for businessman candidates like Bruce Rauner, particularly when the story ends in bankruptcy.
But usually those stories include emotional tales of laid-off American workers. I don’t see any references to Americans losing their jobs here. Sure, he can be criticized for not opening American plants and hiring American workers, but this isn’t the best “hit” I’ve ever seen.
A Cook County judge will decide whether Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, and his business partners must pay fines for illegally erecting a digital billboard on a building in West Rogers Park.
The company has signs across Chicago and in some suburbs. It ran into trouble with City Hall over a 10-foot-by-10-foot sign it put up about a year ago above the corner doorway at 6958 N. Western Ave.
It got a permit from City Hall on Dec. 14, 2012, for an electric sign but didn’t also obtain a required public-use permit from the City Council, which has to sign off whenever a sign extends onto public property.
“The sign was hanging over the public way, and they didn’t have a permit,” said Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th). “It was quite a large sign, and the neighbors were complaining about it.”
As we’ve discussed before, Chicago is crazy about its regulations of business signs, awnings and the like. It’s ridiculous and unjustifiable. I mean, according to the article, the company is facing fines of as much as $15,000 a day, dating back to Feb. 25.
Sheesh.
* Back to the story, which notes that Rauner is a “passive investor” in the company…
The Rauner campaign has received $188,000 in free advertising from the sign company in the past five months, according to financial disclosure reports that it’s filed with the Illinois State Board of Election.
* These photos aren’t in the article, but perhaps the subject matter of the above 50th Ward sign is what got Ald. Silverstein so fired up…
Yeah, I’m sure that had nothing whatsoever to do with the alderman’s hissy fit.
#amiright?
…Adding… Apparently, this fight has raged for awhile, even before the signs started flashing pro-Rauner messages…
The approximately 100-square-foot sign went up in early June [of 2013], facing north on the busy intersection.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) also has heard criticism from her constituents about the sign erected by Digital Greensigns above the corner store at 6958 N. Western Ave., she said.
Joseph Mancino, CEO of the digital billboard company, wouldn’t comment on other signs, but said the sign in West Rogers Park was erected lawfully and in compliance with a building permit.
The city confirmed that the company obtained the proper building permit and that it was located snuggly enough up against the single-story commercial building not to need a public-use permit.
* Bernie took another look yesterday at the allegations that Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka had asked the governor to get her son a job at SIU…
“I did not do that,” she said. “I just asked if he would consider him. … I’d like to reverse the trend of people leaving Illinois. I can actually bring a family back.”
“I’ve put it out there for anybody,” she said of her son’s resume, “in the private sector as well. … You get jobs and you work by virtue of relationships; I mean, it’s not just putting a blind ad in the paper.” […]
Dave Mellet, campaign manager for Democratic Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who is running against Republican Topinka for comptroller, said: “What Judy Baar Topinka has admitted to is attempting to use patronage to obtain a job for her son, which is wrong and possibly illegal. In Judy Baar Topinka’s world, a resume is something you submit to the governor. For everyone else in Illinois, a resume is submitted to human resources.”
Topinka spokesman Brad Hahn said that, with Simon down in the polls and with 11 weeks go to the election, “we expect her to get more desperate and pathetic with each passing day.”
* So, considering the growing hostility between Sheila Simon and Gov. Quinn, and the placement of this Quinn campaign sticker, I’m not sure that Lt. Gov. Simon stuck it on herself during Governor’s Day. A prank, perhaps?…
Mr. Rauner has put a ton of money into trying to revive the GOP field organization. He isn’t about to talk about things such as his relatively liberal beliefs on social issues or his support for some tax hikes. Too dangerous.
Mr. Quinn is hiring lots of Obama campaign vets and stretching to motivate Chicago voters, especially African-Americans. That’s almost certainly why you’ll see Mr. Obama here sometime in the fall campaigning for Mr. Quinn.
One interesting aspect is voter registration. While I’m sure that adding voters in, say, Lincoln Park would meet with the approval of both the governor and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, that’s not the case on the South Side, where Mr. Emanuel would like to hold down the turnout in February for potential foes such as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. Man, I’d just love to be in the room when the mayor and governor talk about registration.
One other thing I’d follow between now and Election Day is whether Team Rauner, which by most polls is 7 or 8 points up, gets overconfident. That would be a big, big mistake in a blue state like Illinois…
After that unexpectedly narrow primary win, I don’t think they’ll get too overconfident.
* In fact, one thing I heard a lot from the Rauner folks last week was “1998.” That’s the year Republican George Ryan faced Democrat Glenn Poshard in the governor’s race.
I’m not sure why, but the surprise appearance by former Gov. Jim Edgar at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day last week didn’t generate much media coverage.
Despite the fact that Edgar is a Republican, this was not an easy “get” for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner. I’m told it took weeks of careful wooing and negotiations through one of Edgar’s old cronies. Edgar backed state Sen. Kirk Dillard in the GOP primary against Rauner, but he has also expressed public and private concerns about how Rauner is portraying himself on the stump and about how that confrontational attitude could manifest itself if he’s elected governor.
Another reason why I’m perplexed by the lack of coverage is that Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has repeatedly gone out of his way to praise Edgar since Dillard’s Republican primary loss. Quinn consulted with Edgar before his post-primary budget address, seeking his advice on keeping the income tax at current levels and providing some property tax relief. Quinn then mentioned Edgar by name during his actual address, saying the former governor was right to keep a tax hike in place.
If Quinn was hoping to somehow neutralize the still popular Edgar, he failed miserably. Edgar said at the State Fair last week that not only did Rauner have an opportunity to finally end one-party rule, but “The Blagojevich-Quinn governorship has been a disaster for Illinois.”
Oh, man, that’s gonna leave a mark.
“Outsiders” can make some Illinoisans uncomfortable. Despite the blathering of editorial boards and pundits, quite a few voters here subconsciously or otherwise still “don’t want nobody what nobody sent.” The Edgar endorsement could go a very long way toward soothing fears by moderate to liberal independents about how Rauner may be just too new, too unknown and too risky to be trusted with the office.
Meanwhile, four years ago I wrote that Gov. Quinn wouldn’t know a campaign theme if it was bleeding to death in his front yard. His 2010 State Fair Governor’s Day speech was rambling, disjointed and unfocused. Not this year. Quinn’s theme so far is pretty darned clear: Bruce Rauner is an out of touch billionaire whose policies would harm working people.
But can it work? So far, the attacks seem almost juvenile, catty and not well produced. “Look! Over there! Rauner is rich! He’s rich, I tells ya!”
The Quinn campaign appears to be following the Obama 2012 script very closely (and that script was based in part on Quinn’s 2010 campaign against Bill Brady). The first thing they have to do is establish in voters’ minds that Rauner is a plutocrat. Once that message is baked in, the big hits connecting him to nursing home and hospital deaths and whatever else the Quinnsters have in their opposition research files can be dumped on Rauner’s head.
The political professionals who attended Governor’s Day this year weren’t confident at all that Quinn could pull this off. Then again, they had zero confidence in Quinn four years ago and he managed to edge out Brady. But, of course, there’s no third party candidate willing to spend close to $4 million and split the anti-Quinn vote with Rauner this year, as there was in 2010.
In contrast, the GOP operatives who attended Republican Day four years ago were upbeat and hopeful, but quite concerned about the physical mechanics of GOP nominee state Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign. Those fears turned out to be justified. This time around, there were few if any fears expressed about the way their guy is running his show.
And probably for good reason. The Rauner folks say that the Republican Governors Association has been tracking the number of contacts made at the doors by GOP gubernatorial campaigns. Rauner’s door-to-door contact effort so far ranks number one in the nation - even ahead of Texas, which has a far larger population than Illinois.
Rauner, by the way, left after his State Fair appearance for a 38-county bus trip blitz through Downstate Illinois. The schedule looks brutal.
The idea is to pack as many Downstate appearances in before Labor Day and then focus mainly on the Chicago media market until November. It’s the smart move because Downstate is so huge that it can’t be easily and quickly traversed.
The governor, on the other hand, has focused much of his summertime attention on the Chicago area, perhaps because polls show he has real trouble with his Democratic “base.”
* Related…
* Erickson: State Fair offers glimpse of fall campaign season
* Finke: GOP seemed energized at the fair, for once - In the past few years, Republicans often sounded like they were just going through the motions during their state fair rally. This year, not the case.
* My Crain’s editor said he’d read a Chicago newspaper article about Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair and complained that it lacked “color.” So, I was asked to use lots of color in my column…
The Illinois State Fair’s “Director’s Lawn” is a tree-lined venue far from the corn dogs, grandstand concerts and beer tents.
The lawn spreads out in front of a rather dingy house used by the state’s director of agriculture, off a road marred by potholes and best accessed via a special gate that often is closed during the fair because there’s so little public parking. A million or so people attend the fair each year.
The grass on the lawn is trampled flat. But no events ever are as crowded as the annual Governor’s Day and the accompanying rally for the party out of power.
Even in this era of high-tech campaigns, the twin events unofficially kick off the governor’s race… Politicians high and low attend. The more important ones give speeches, the less important mill about and try to interest others in shaking their hands. Every major media outlet sends reporters.
* I’ve had one of the best State Fair experiences ever. And let’s hope (probably beyond hope) it doesn’t rain tonight because I really want to see these guys…
While political reporters, analysts and party strategists argue over whether there is or is not a wave approaching, one thing is clear: it’s an extremely difficult landscape for Democratic candidates.
Candidates, party committees, and outside groups are polling dozens of House races as they formalize their fall ad strategies. And increasingly the news ranges from good to great for Republicans, and very few competitive races trending toward Democrats. […]
Illinois’s 13th District. Former Madison County Judge Ann Callis started the cycle as one of Democrats’ top recruits. But her challenge to Rep. Rodney Davis (R) just isn’t materializing. The congressman is in a very strong position and Gov. Pat Quinn is proving to be an anvil around the neck of Downstate Democratic candidates. We’re moving the race from Toss-Up/Tilt Republican to Lean Republican.
State and local police departments obtain some of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in the early 1990s. While the portion of their gear coming from the program is relatively small (most of it is paid for through department budgets and federal grants), detailed data from the Pentagon illustrates how ubiquitous such equipment has become.
Highlighted counties have received guns, grenade launchers, vehicles, night vision or body armor through the program since 2006.
* Keep in mind that “recipients” can include state and local governments based within the counties. The national map…
* A few random Illinois counties. Check out all the armored vehicles…
* The Illinois Department of Central Management Services was mandated by statute way back in 2012 to expand a state employee database to include municipal employees. CMS claims it was never appropriated any money and so never expanded the database.
One of the co-sponsors of that legislation, Rep. Jack Franks, is not happy…
“There was no appropriation necessary,” Franks said. Local governments “already have this information and all they have to do is transmit it to the state electronically. There’s absolutely no cost and anybody who hides behind that ought to be tarred and feathered.”
State law requires local government agencies to post salary information on their own websites about employees whose annual total compensation exceeds $75,000. Many post the information for all employees.
West Chicago Republican state Rep. Mike Fortner was the chief sponsor of the bill to add library district employees to the database. He had no idea when his bill passed last August that Central Management Services officials hadn’t implemented the database for other local government employees. He also said he was never informed of appropriation issues.
“I would naively suspect that if you’ve got the person on staff doing the website for the state agency, it’s at most an incremental increase in responsibility,” he said. “I get that the first time (reporting) may take more work, but maintaining it would not be near as much.”
Because none of the laws include an enforcement component, there’s little recourse to compel the state agency to create the databases, according to legal experts.
The governor ought to step in and order CMS to do its job.
Illinois Lt. Gov. and Democratic candidate for state comptroller Sheila Simon performed a same-sex marriage ceremony Thursday afternoon in Springfield. […]
“The party that fought tooth and nail against same-sex marriage is at the state fair celebrating their intolerance,” said Simon’s campaign manager Dave Mellet in a press release. “Meanwhile, Sheila Simon is on the capitol steps, helping two men celebrate a wedding that Republicans forced them to wait on for two decades.”
Simon’s campaign is calling out Republican incumbent Judy Baar Topinka for appearing at LGBT rallies, but failing to support her LGBT employees while serving as state Treasurer, when she “chose to be the only constitutional officer in Illinois to prohibit same-sex domestic partners from receiving health care coverage,” according to Simon’s campaign.
“It’s hypocritical for Judy Baar Topinka to stand up at GLBT rallies, and then raise money and rally with a man who has pledged to veto same-sex marriage,” Mellet added.
Tying her to Rauner is a good move. The treasurer’s office stuff is accurate, but a whole lot of people, including President Obama, have “evolved” on this topic since 2008. So, I’m not sure if it can get any traction, particularly since JBT worked so aggressively to pass gay marriage.
Wearing a Bruce Rauner T-shirt and a pair of Prada shoes, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock walked onto the State Fairgrounds putting the political divisiveness between himself and the gubernatorial candidate behind him.
Topinka called for everyone to get people to vote GOP: “It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican, Democrat, independent, vegetarian, whatever. This is where it’s at.”
Former Marine Paul Schimpf, who is seeking to unseat Attorney General Lisa Madigan, said her 12 years in office have seen two governors go to prison for corruption.
“Her record speaks for itself,” Schimpf said. “Trust a retired Marine, not the Madigan machine.”
“That house is the people’s house,” Rauner said [of the governor’s mansion]. “We should treat it with reverence; we should treat it with respect. Some of you guys who know contractors may have to help me. We have to repair the roof and pump out the basement.”
It was a reference to reports earlier this year that the mansion roof was leaking so badly it damaged rooms on the third floor and led to flooding in the basement. Mansion officials have estimated the roof is at least 40 years old.
“The current governor takes care of the governor’s residence the way he takes care of the economy,” Rauner told the fair crowd.
Sanguinetti was a no-show at a Republican unity breakfast in Springfield Thursday and seemed to tiptoe around the controversy while expressing her adoration for the State Fair during a brief speaking role at the Republican fair event
“Over the last six years, and I apologize to my kids already, this is a family tradition coming to this place,” Sanguinetti told the party faithful at the fairground rally.
“I think she should apologize for those disrespectful remarks,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago. “That isn’t the right way to talk about anybody or any cow in Illinois. We’re proud of our cows. They’re the best that ever was.
“She ought to say she’s sorry to a bunch of cows,” Quinn said.
He was making a joke, but that didn’t translate well to the printed page.
“You know what? I bet Pat Quinn and his Chicago machine political allies don’t even know what a steer is,” Rauner said. “You know what? A steer is a castrated bull. You know what?
“I tell ya,” Rauner continued, “Pat Quinn and his cronies, and these corrupt patronage workers, they know — they do know bull. You hear Pat Quinn generate a lot of bull when he’s talking about his failed record, failed record on jobs, on taxes, on schools.”
No, I don’t “know what.” How about asking us again?
Bruce Rauner remained defiant in insisting he’s released enough on his taxes and wouldn’t commit to making public his full tax schedules for inspection before the Nov. 4 election.
“We will release our tax returns when they’re prepared and filed on Oct. 15 and at that point we will have released four years of our tax returns. We outlined and detailed our tax rate. My tax rate is the same as Pat Quinn’s,” Rauner said to a packed scrum of reporters after riding into the fairgrounds on his Harley.
Rauner ducked when asked if he would release his full schedules, talking over reporters and repeating that he’d release his 2013 tax documents in October. Rauner has asked for an extension and that is the due date. Gov. Pat Quinn and other Democrats on Wednesday repeatedly called on Rauner, a multi-millionaire with hundreds of investments, to release the full details of his finances for public inspection. While candidates are not required to do so, it has become the new norm to release full tax schedules and it was something that Mitt Romney eventually did in the 2012 presidential election. His tax documents were some 700 pages.
* But not every Republican agreed with Rauner. Charles Thomas…
Earlier at the state county chairman’s meeting, other Republicans differed on how much Rauner or any candidate should reveal of his or her personal finances.
“I think that basically candidates need to be a transparent as possible,” said Paul Schimpf, R-Attorney General candidate.
“I think you have to see where your money is and I think people need to be upfront about that,” said Judy Baar Topinka, R- Illinois comptroller.
* From the DGA…
“If Bruce Rauner doesn’t want to trust the people of Illinois with information about his finances, the people of Illinois shouldn’t trust Bruce Rauner. He has hidden his policies from them. He has hidden his foreign investments from them. He has hidden the details of how he built his corporate empire at the expense of workers, seniors and communities.
“Releasing tax information is a low bar of disclosure for a public official, not a ‘diversion’ as Rauner says it is. It’s an easy test of whether he is worthy of the public’s trust. Bruce Rauner has failed that most basic test and he shouldn’t be trusted.”
* And the Quinn campaign released a photo comparing Romney’s disclosed tax returns to Rauner’s…
On a day when Republicans were otherwise well-choreographed, U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis attempted to respond to the Democrats’ painting them as the detached party of the rich. Oberweis, a millionaire who has so far donated $1 million to his run for Senate, worked to cast Durbin as a millionaire. The attempt landed with an awkward thud.
“Please repeat after me,” Oberweis asked the crowd. “Millionaire! Career politician! Dick Durbin! Must go!”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday blamed the economic squeeze on the middle class for his 35 percent showing in a Chicago Tribune poll that also shows him trailing Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. […]
“There’s tremendous economic stress in people’s lives, which is why I’ve pushed for the minimum wage, which is why I’ve pushed for policies to make sure our small businesses have a fair chance and an equal chance with big companies,” the mayor said.
“You have to have a set of policies in place — from pre-K to community colleges to playgrounds to parks to after-school activities — to give everybody a chance to not just look at the gains, but know that they have a future in those gains. We’re not where we need to be. We’re not repeating the mistakes that got us into the problems. But we’re not at the pace or place we need to be where everybody’s feeling an opportunity that they have a chance at a middle-class job.”
Yikes. When the overwhelming majority is siding with the CTU against you, that’s trouble with a capital T. That sound you hear is Karen Lewis’ cackling.
Among parents of children in Chicago Public Schools — about one-fifth of those taking part in the survey — nearly 4 out of 5 disapproved of the mayor’s handling of public education while only 19 percent approved. But even those without children in the public schools disapproved at a 62 percent rate, while only 27 percent approved. […]
While dissatisfaction with the mayor on education crossed racial lines, it was more intense among African-American voters. Critics contend black neighborhoods were disproportionately targeted for school closings. Fully 77 percent of black voters disapproved of Emanuel’s handling of the city’s schools while only 14 percent approved. […]
Among white voters, 52 percent disapproved while 38 percent approved. Those numbers slipped from May 2013, when 46 percent of white voters approved of Emanuel’s handling of the schools and 44 percent disapproved. The poll found a similar dynamic among Hispanic voters. […]
Emanuel’s approach on charters versus neighborhood schools was roundly criticized by voters: 72 percent disagreed with that approach, compared with 18 percent who agreed. African-American voters most severely opposed the policy — at 83 percent — while only 10 percent agreed with Emanuel. Nearly 8 in 10 parents of CPS children also were opposed, as well as 75 percent of female voters, 69 percent of men and 63 percent of whites.
Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says he’s all in for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner.
Edgar says the Democratic agenda offers more of the same policies voters have seen for the past decade. He even equated Gov. Pat Quinn’s tenure to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving a 14-year term in federal prison.
“The Blagojevich-Quinn governorship has been a disaster for Illinois,” he said.
* Gov. Pat Quinn announced some positive economic news yesterday during the State Fair’s Republican Day…
The state Department of Employment Security says Illinois unemployment fell in July to 6.8 percent. It was the fifth straight monthly decrease in the state’s jobless rate.
The new employment numbers included, finally, a gain in manufacturing — though total jobs there remain lower than a year ago.
It prompted Governor Pat Quinn to try to rewrite what has been the established narrative about the State’s troubled economy as he seeks another 4-year lease in the Executive Mansion.
“Unemployment’s fallen from 9.2% last year to 6.8%. It’s the steepest decline since the 1980s. Last month employers created 11,200 jobs,” Quinn said.
And even better, the decline now is being propelled not by people leaving the job force but by the creation of new jobs, with 11,200 positions added just in July. […]
The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 7.1 percent in June to 6.8 percent in July, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The state rate is still somewhat above the national figure of 6.2 percent, but the 0.6 difference is just a fraction of what it was a year ago.
Since July 2013, the Illinois rate has dropped an enormous 2.4 percentage points, from 9.2 percent to 6.7 percent, according to the federal data released by the state. That’s the biggest year-over-year decline since 1984, putting the unemployment rate just above the 6.8 percent level of August 2008. […]
According to the figures, derived from a different survey than the unemployment data, the state added 11,200 private sector jobs in the past month, and 35,600 over the past 12 months.
The July gains were widespread across various sectors, with professional and business services up 5,900, manufacturers adding 3,900 positions and construction 1,900 slots. Leisure and hospitality dropped 3,800 in the month.
According to the governor’s office, this is the lowest unemployment rate in six years. And you’d have to go back to 1984 to see such a sharp drop in the rate.
“Celebrating today’s job numbers is like cheering a touchdown when you’re down 35 points with two minutes left,” said Mike Schrimpf, a campaign spokesman.
“Our state is still down thousands of jobs since the beginning of the year, we still have one of the worst unemployment rates in the entire country and thousands of Illinoisans have given up looking for work. On top of higher taxes, this means too many families continue to suffer under Pat Quinn. Thankfully, Pat Quinn’s time is almost up and his term in office can’t end soon enough for the working people of Illinois.”
* Related…
* VIDEO: Quinn announces state unemployment rate drops
* Illinois’ tax burden? Not so bad, according to new report
* The “Boat Drink Caucus” - Reps. Chad Hays Mike Tryon - would like me to tell you that their rockin’ cover band is playing at the Bud Tent from 5-8 this evening. Their backup band today was the Blackhawks’ house band at the United Center. Should be a good time.
* Speaking of Tryon, here he is gazing in wide wonder at State Fair fashionista (or fashion disaster, depending) Dave Dring’s boots…
*** UPDATE *** The post hasn’t generated many comments so far, but I’m betting the addition of this pic will do the trick…
Evelyn Sanguinetti used the word “love” several times Wednesday when explaining what she thinks of Springfield and its people.
And the member of the Wheaton City Council, who is also running mate to GOP governor candidate Bruce Rauner, made it very clear that a leaked email she sent to a law school friend months before she was on the state ticket was not intended to be demeaning to the capital city.
“I’ve loved it,” Sanguinetti said of Springfield in a brief interview with The State Journal-Register after a closed-to-press meeting with Women for Rauner at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. “We come here every year as a family. We always have come throughout the years for Republican Day, and the kids have enjoyed the (state) fair as a whole. So we love it. And we love all the tribute to Lincoln, and the kids have loved to go to the (Abraham Lincoln Presidential) Museum as well as all the areas around here.”
Lee Enterprises newspapers recently reported that in a Jan. 1, 2013, email to a former classmate at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Sanguinetti asked about any openings in his agency and ended with, “Isn’t cow tipping a work requirement in Springfield (LOL)?”
Many contend we cannot find common ground on key issues, but the recent discussion over Champaign’s failed ERI program reveals a lot of common ground between the Cross and Frerichs camps. For instance:
1. We all agree on Frerichs’ role in providing the data and analysis the county board used to make the decision on the failed ERI program.
From Frerichs’ response posted on Capitol Fax:
“…Frerichs provided us with an analysis that showed both costs and potential savings…” (Michael Graham, former Champaign County Board member and CPA)
“…the administrator asked Mike to review its advantages and disadvantages. Mike did so and presented his findings to the Board, who then adopted it in a bipartisan fashion…” (Steve Beckett, former Democratic Champaign Board and architect of the legislation to take over the Lincoln Library)
2. We all agree the program was a costly failure. At no point in Frerichs’ response does he or his fellow county officials dispute the program was a massive failure that ended up costing Champaign County taxpayers in excess of $3 million. Even though at the time Frerichs said the plan would “be a good tool to deal with budgetary problems for the county board.” (CNG, 7/3/03)
Now, there are a few points of disagreement.
1. Again, instead of taking responsibility for bad analysis and recommendations, Frerichs’ attempts to shift the blame to the market. But, just like the ERI debacle, Frerichs relies on bad math.
Frerichs Response:
On the Champaign County early retirement initiative, many financial experts missed the continued recession that occurred after those decisions were made, not by Mike Frerichs but by other county leaders. The Champaign News-Gazette correctly pointed this out in its 2004 endorsement of Frerichs for County Auditor.
This is just wrong. The market rebounded after ERI was passed, but Frerichs did not account for the market losses in 2001 and 2002 in his analysis for ERI, and that’s why the 2003 ERI program was such a failure. As a result of the ERI and negative investment returns that were already known at the time ERI was proposed and passed, the county faced $2.5 million in new unfunded liability which prompted them to issue bonds in 2005 costing taxpayers over $3 million. (Source: IMRF Champaign County Historical Funding)
Take a look at the Dow Jones Returns. The market performed well after ERI. Frerichs never factored in the losses in 2001 and 2002. Dow Jones Averages
2. Frerichs’ Performance was definitely an issue in his removal as the County’s IMRF Agent
The County Board debate on this issue clearly outlines frustration with mistakes made by the County Auditor along with an office overly focused on politics. As noted also, Frerichs opposed his removal as IMRF Agent.
Before the vote to remove Frerichs from the position, Champaign County Board member Scott Tapley said “This is a move that is long, long overdue, I am not going to beat a dead horse but mistakes have been made in the past. This is a financial decision that should be made every year, politics should be removed and we should have these decisions made by administration.” (County Board Meeting – 9/21/06, Resolution No. 5643 – Audio)
3. On the patronage issue, that’s a debate between Frerichs and the Champaign News Gazette. But, the Gazette never made the claim Frerichs hired people, their extensive research and reporting argued that Frerichs used his significant clout to have those employees appointed to their positions. Once in the positions, their performances were described by the Champaign News-Gazette with words like “disaster” and “fiasco”.
“If you look at his record on almost six years, it’s almost as if he’s running for Rod Blagojevich’s fourth term right now,” Murphy said. “You’ve got the NRI scandal. Look, there’s no other way to put it – he took $54.5 million of taxpayer money to help buy his re-election. Nothing Rod Blagojevich is impeached or imprisoned for cost taxpayers that much money.”
On Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers congregated in Springfield for a brunch (and photo-op) that attracted about 1,400 people. Afterward the group descended upon the fairgrounds to continue a show of solidarity with Quinn, who’s facing a tough re-election challenge from GOP nominee Bruce Rauner.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin was there. So too were U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth and Quinn running mate Paul Vallas, who addressed the string of corporate scandals related to Rauner’s former private equity firm, GTCR.
Conspicuously absent? Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. He didn’t show up last year, either.
The Springfield ringmaster — who’s viewed as a shadow governor of sorts, the real power broker running the show — is also the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Given his high rank, you’d think Madigan would be there with bells on, the first to arrive and the last to leave. His no-show carries a whiff of possible tension with Quinn.
First of all, yesterday was Governor’s Day, not Democrat Day. And a couple of years ago, after being loudly and roundly booed by AFSCME members, Madigan grew tired of the sideshow atmosphere and handed the event to the governor’s office.
And other democrats who made the trip to Springfield wondered why their state party chairman, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, did not attend the events during a year with six statewide offices on the ballot.
ABC7’s Charles Thomas: “He’s the party chairman and he’s not here?”
Quinn: “Well, everybody in, nobody left out in my book, yeah.”
“He’s the hardest-working party chair the state has,” said Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
ABC7’s Charles Thomas: “So he’s not here, does that mean anything?
Lisa Madigan: “Apparently, it does to you. So you can comment on it.”
A Madigan spokesman said the party chief was away fund-raising, and Democratic officials knew he would not be at the fair.
“He’s been raising campaign funds out of state. He’s been doing that all summer,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown, predicting: “We’re going to be badly outspent.”
Brown said they’re keeping the fund-raising location close to the vest.
For appearance purposes, he probably should’ve been there. But Madigan isn’t one who cares much for optics, as his horrific approval ratings clearly demonstrate. And yet, considering those ratings, maybe it’s best that he stayed away.
Perhaps the most stinging anti-Rauner attack came from U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, the wounded Iraq War veteran who is seeking re-election to her northwest suburban congressional seat and was Wednesday morning’s keynote speaker.
She hit Rauner hard, later likening him to a “deserter” for investing some of his personal fortune in funds and stocks based in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven.
“I think if you’re avoiding paying your fair share in your nation, that fits,” she said of Rauner when pressed on that label, considered in military circles to be the most derisive of all.
That’s disgusting and way over the line.
For crying out loud, it’s August and the campaign is already this ugly?
“If we use comments like ‘deserter’ and ‘traitor’ that normally those crimes have a capital punishment consequence, I’d say that rhetoric is probably too overblown for a country that wants to stick together and hang together,” Kirk said.
Rauner and other Republicans first will meet at a downtown Springfield hotel, where party leaders from around the state will hear out the candidates up and down the ballot.
They then will hold a noon rally at the fairgrounds — one expected to be peppered with political speeches from would-be officeholders and longtime veterans, such as Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who is seeking re-election.
The fairground event is billed as more of a true rally in the traditional sense rather than the family-styled format with picnic and performers that Quinn has adopted. The governor made the change from the traditional platform for old-fashioned stem winders on an outdoor stage following a run-in two years ago. Union workers booed him off the stage over a contract dispute.
* While yesterday’s Director’s Lawn event was indeed billed as a light, family-oriented festival, it contained lots of elements of the rallies of old, including several fiery speeches and a stage appearance by “Baron von Moneybags”…
“I don’t see this Republican wave they’re talking about,” [Sen. Dick Durbin] continued. “To be honest, the public is not very enamored with either political party at this point. I went through the races yesterday with Harry Reid — the Senate races — and we feel good.”
* Meanwhile, Durbin fired back at Jim Oberweis for calling him a “bully” after Walgreens decided to remain in the US and not do an “inversion” to avoid federal taxation…
Durbin’s November opponent state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, blasted Durbin, saying he had bullied the company into staying rather than fixing a broken tax code and that Durbin deserved “scorn” rather than praise.
“You know, where I grew up, bullies picked on little people. When I’m doing these battles for the state, I’m picking some of the big people,” Durbin told Early&Often Wednesday. “You know, and I think that’s my job, to call them out. I’m a customer at Walgreens. I love Walgreens. They were about to make a bad decision and they straightened it out. When the CEO called me and said ‘let’s get together,’ and of course we will. We can disagree without being petty about it. I think they were about to make a big mistake and I’m glad they didn’t.”
“Oberweis introduced a bill and said it should be illegal to give an increase in the minimum wage to anyone under the age of 26,” Durbin said. “You think I’m making it up, don’t ya? It’s a fact. Well, who did he exclude. All college students. Virtually all of them. A lot of struggling moms, struggling to keep their families together. And incidentally, returning vets under the age of 26 trying to find any kind of job. Jim Oberweis said no increase for them.”
Among CPS parents, 57 percent backed Lewis, who led an eight-day teacher strike during Emanuel’s first year in office, while 27 percent supported Emanuel. Similarly, 56 percent of union household members backed Lewis, who has headed the CTU for four years, while 31 percent backed Emanuel’s re-election.
Younger voters tended to back Lewis over Emanuel, with 51 percent of those ages 18-35 favoring the potential challenger compared with 36 percent for the mayor. Those numbers were nearly flipped among voters ages 36-49.
Lewis, a controversial and outspoken union leader, was viewed favorably by 38 percent of the voters, compared with 24 percent who viewed her unfavorably. Another 38 percent had no impression of her, leaving Emanuel room to try to help voters make up their minds if she runs against him.
White voters were divided in their impression of Lewis: 36 percent unfavorable, 31 percent favorable and 33 percent with no opinion. Black voters, meanwhile, considered the African-American union leader favorably — 46 percent, to only 13 percent unfavorably. Parents of CPS students who took part in the survey viewed her favorably by 49 percent to 19 percent who viewed her unfavorably.
Emanuel probably knew that this poll was coming, which could explain why some unfavorable stories appeared this week about Lewis and Ald. Fioretti, who is almost completely unknown to voters but is still getting a quarter of the vote.
Lewis isn’t as wealthy as Emanuel, a multimillionaire who made his fortune during a short stint as an investment banker. But she makes more than $200,000 a year and has an ownership interest in three homes, records show.
That includes vacation homes in Hawaii and in the upscale “Harbor Country” area of southwestern Michigan, where Emanuel has a second home, property records show. […]
When she first ran for CTU president four years ago, Lewis promised not to make more than the highest-paid teacher. […]
Chicago Public Schools’ payroll records show no teacher makes as much as Lewis’ $136,890 CTU base salary.
Ald. Bob Fioretti says he’s thinking so seriously about challenging Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the February election that he plans on hiring campaign staff now. Want ads were posted online last week.
If you’re looking to apply, though, you might want to know this: Two staffers who worked on Fioretti’s first campaign didn’t get paid in full until he was halfway through his first term as the 2nd Ward’s alderman.
Former Fioretti staffers Emily Miller and Jane Deronne didn’t receive all they were owed until appealing to the state agency that helps workers who’ve been shortchanged.
Miller said Fioretti’s campaign stiffed her out of $3,000. An administrative law judge for the state sided with Miller and ordered Fioretti For Alderman to pay up, according to records obtained by Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times political portal.
Kolenc most recently served as campaign manager for Yes For Independent Maps, an organization that ran a failed bid to launch a statewide constitutional amendment referendum on state legislative redistricting. First, opponents challenged whether enough of the group’s petition signatures were valid, then a Cook County judge tossed it from the ballot.
Today Illinois Freedom PAC released a new video highlighting billionaire gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s record of outsourcing American jobs. The video comes as Rauner faces criticism for stashing some of his vast fortune in a foreign tax haven and as an executive of a Rauner-created business faces criminal charges for wire fraud committed via a subsidiary in Bermuda.
The video features TV clips and other footage from a July protest of Rauner held at site of an abandoned wire plant in Rockford, which saw some of its production move to Mexico in 2002. Rockford is a community not unlike many others throughout Illinois and the nation, which has fallen victim to CEOs who outsource jobs.
Tom Gaulrapp - who found himself out of work in late 2012 when Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital outsourced his and 169 of his co-workers’ jobs to China and closed the Sensata Technologies plant in nearby Freeport - sums up the sentiment of the day in one particular clip.
“This is about keeping one of these vulture capitalists who thinks it’s a good idea to pack up our jobs and move them somewhere else, to keep him from being in the governorship of Illinois,” Gaulrapp tells local reporters.
H-Cube
Rauner was a director at H-Cube, a self-described “premier global business outsourcing firm.” In 2006, 4,000 of its financial service jobs were located in India.
Polymer Group
Rauner was a director at the Polymer Group, a company which produces feminine hygiene products, wipes, medical fabrics, and industrial material. The Polymer Group increased its profits by $13.4 million in 1995 by expanding its operations in Mexico after NAFTA.
VeriFone
Rauner’s company financed VeriFone, a maker of retail credit card terminals. In late 2001, 100% of its manufacturing workforce was outsourced to China, Mexico, Singapore, and Brazil. Rauner’s company made $800 million from VeriFone in just three years and Rauner called it his “biggest financial winner.”
ERO Inc.
Rauner was a director at ERO Inc., a company that produces slumber bags and flotation devices. In 1997, Ero contracted with manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Italy, and Indonesia..
