* The Illinois Chamber just sent out a notice to “chamber executives” about an upcoming speech that will surely draw a ton of media attention…
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is very proud to announce Governor Scott Walker will serve as keynote speaker at Employer Action Day, the Chamber’s annual lobby day to be held in Springfield on April 17. His address will recount Wisconsin’s dramatic fiscal turn around and serve as an important reminder to our state policy makers that big problems require big solutions.
The Chamber is trying to keep it quiet for now. From the same e-mail…
While this invitation is being sent to chamber executives today, we are not making a formal press announcement at this time. Please take reasonable steps to keep the invitation limited to employer members and not members of the press.
The governor will have a full schedule during the first gubernatorial trade mission to Europe in 13 years. He will participate in several events organized by NATO, address a trade conference sponsored by the European Union, and host a business roundtable with Belgian businesses that currently invest in Illinois, potential investors, and business leaders and associations.
“We want the world to know that their trip to America starts in Illinois,” Governor Quinn said. “We’ll showcase Illinois’ tremendous economic assets before an international audience and we’ll bring back more trade opportunities, tourism, and business investment to Illinois.”
* The Question: What specific Illinois location (in other words, not just a town or city) would you recommend as the first place a foreign investor visits? Explain.
Federal disaster officials for a second time denied an aid request for southern Illinois communities battered by deadly tornadoes Feb. 29, ruling Wednesday against an appeal filed by the state after the first claim was denied two weeks ago.
Gov. Pat Quinn and members of the Illinois congressional delegation said the decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not reflect the seriousness of the damage from tornadoes, which killed seven people in tiny Harrisburg, Ill., and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses across a five-county area.
“That’s pretty rough,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg said Wednesday.
Revised damage estimates included in the state’s appeal seemed to meet the requirements for a presidential disaster declaration that would entitle homeowners to grants and other aid to rebuild, Gregg said. Four of the five counties seeking aid for tornado damage were designated disaster areas after floods that struck the area in April 2011.
“After a thorough review of all the information contained in your initial request and appeal, we reaffirm our original findings that the impact from this event is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration. The required response appears to be within the combined capabilities of the state and affected local governments. Therefore, I must inform you that your appeal for a major disaster declaration is denied,” states a letter appearing to be from FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate to Quinn.
The numbers of homes damaged or destroyed and businesses wiped out in the multi-county area of the request for aid is high. According to the Associated Press, the state in its appeal said the storms actually leveled or seriously damaged 441 homes and destroyed 128 businesses in “the poorest part of Illinois.”
*** UPDATE *** From IEMA…
The actual number included in the state’s appeal of FEMA’s denial was 440 homes that were damaged to some degree, 176 of those were severely damaged or destroyed. [Emphasis added.]
Illinois Emergency Management Agency director Jonathon Monken says the state’s next step is to seek low-interest loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration.
Monken says while he’s disappointed, he knows FEMA has criteria and does not have an unlimited supply of funds. “Last year, there were more federally declared disasters than in any year previous to that… and we were the recipients of that twice, for a blizzard and a flood,” says Monken.
“It makes it very frustrating when you’re the one that falls below that line that’s set, because you feel like it’s an arbitrary line.”
* React from US Sen. Dick Durbin, US Sen. Mark Kirk, Congressman John Shimkus and Congressman Jerry Costello…
“A few days after the tornadoes touched down in Southern Illinois, I saw the damage first hand and there was no doubt that the residents and families would need the full spectrum of disaster aid available,” said Durbin. “The fact that the federal government has denied disaster aid – and done so with little explanation – defies logic. Hard working Americans expect that when they face these disasters, the federal government will give them a helping hand to rebuild. I am disappointed this is not the case today. I will be working with Governor Quinn and the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation over the next several days to identify opportunities to bring back federal funding for Harrisburg, Ridgway and the surrounding communities.
“We are extremely disappointed with FEMA’s decision to deny the State of Illinois’ appeal for federal assistance for the five counties affected by the deadly storms earlier this month,” said Senator Kirk. “Our office will continue to work with the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation and local and state officials to see that Gallatin, Randolph, Saline, Union, and Williamson Counties fully recover from this disaster.”
“I am extremely disappointed in this decision,” said Shimkus. “I know that the charitable donations have been coming in to help the communities affected, as I see collection boxes and fundraisers as I travel my district. We will continue to assist in every effort to help Harrisburg, Ridgway and the other areas with damaged businesses and residences.”
“I am very disappointed that the State’s appeal has been denied,” said Costello. “These communities face a very tough rebuilding process and the full complement of federal resources would have helped. We will fully pursue other types of federal assistance and we send our thanks to all the first responders and citizens that have given so much over the past three weeks to help those in need.”
“The president of the United States is from the state of Illinois,” [Democratic state Sen. Gary Forby] said. “You would think he would get on board and do something about this. When George W. Bush was president and Texas needed something, he gave them whatever the hell they wanted.”
I think the president has tried to be even-handed when it comes to his home state. But there are those who don’t appreciate that effort, and I know some who think his behavior is just downright shameful.
Thoughts?
…Adding… I’m told that last night’s “Sullivan Caucus” raised $2,000 for Harrisburg. Way to go.
* If Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) doesn’t resign soon, he may be expelled. A special investigating committee has been formed and members appointed by both House leaders. The end result could be expulsion for the legislator arrested last week on federal bribery charges…
House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was mum on Smith in the days before the election, and Cross each named three members to the committee on Wednesday after five House Republicans requested it. That automatically triggered the committee under House rules.
Federal prosecutors allege he accepted a $7,000 cash bribe in exchange for his endorsement of a state grant application.
Sara Wojcicki says the investigation will be closed to the public. If it finds reason for discipline, a separate committee will conduct a public hearing.
* The House Special Investigating Committee membership, which has been updated this morning to show who the GOP spokesperson is…
Chairperson : Elaine Nekritz D
Republican Spokesperson : Dennis M. Reboletti R
Member: William Davis D
Member: JoAnn D. Osmond R
Member: André M. Thapedi D
Member: Jil Tracy R
The committee will consist of three Republicans and three Democrats. They will then make recommendations which could lead to another 12-man disciplinary committee that would decide whether to censure, reprimand or expel Smith.
The full House then takes up the matter. Expulsioin requires a two-thirds vote.
We can thank [Secretary of State Jesse White[ especially for the mess out west. White, who’s also the 27th Ward Democratic committeeman, clouted Smith into the 10th District House seat last year after he clouted incumbent Annazette Collins into the 5th District Senate seat vacated by Rickey Hendon.
“He’s an honest, stand-up kind of a guy,” White said at the time. Smith had been hired by the Secretary of State’s office shortly after being fired from his city job for allegedly misusing city resources; he says he did nothing wrong.
White stood behind Collins through a long string of ethical lapses but abandoned her in the primary after learning she had claimed a homestead exemption on a condo outside the district where she’s supposed to live. Collins was defeated Tuesday by White’s new candidate, Patricia Van Pelt Watkins, who has done more for the district as a community activist than Collins has done in 11 years in the General Assembly. Look what happens when you give voters a credible alternative: They trade up.
It’s up to the West Side leadership to make sure that happens in the House too. Ald. Burnett, Rep. Davis, Commissioner Steele, Secretary of State White: The voters who supported your disgraced candidate were taking it on faith that you’d provide them a better choice by November. Do it.
Better Government Association Executive Director Andy Shaw said Smith’s election win was disappointing.
“That’s terribly discouraging, not just because the voters gave him an overwhelming victory, but because so many well-respected politicians – including Congressman Danny Davis – actually endorsed him and encouraged people to vote for him for a simple reason – he is the Democrat,” Shaw said.
According to Shaw, Smith’s election win shows Illinois politics is in the gutter.
Davis said that while he asked voters to cast their ballots for Smith, it was about ensuring the seat stayed in Democrat control and was not a show of support for Smith. Davis said Smith should not appear on the November ballot given the ethical cloud he now faces.
“I was glad to see Derrick win the election, but I think in reality one can say that Democrats won the election,” Davis said. “I don’t think they were necessarily voting for Derrick, but I think they were saying ‘Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.’”
“It’s not just about the man, but it’s also about, as Ossie Davis said, the plan,” Davis said. “So I think people were intelligent enough, they were wise enough, they understood enough that they wanted to give themselves another chance to get a good, solid Democrat to represent them.”
The leaders who have joined the chorus for Smith to step down include Gov. Pat Quinn and Smith’s top political backer, Secretary of State Jesse White.
“The governor thinks he should step down. He thinks [Smith] is not going to be able to be an effective representative for his constituents given the circumstances. The governor would urge the representative to step down as soon as possible,” Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said Wednesday.
Quinn on Saturday tiptoed around Smith’s bribery charge, calling his race a “tough call for voters,” but one “they’ll be able to sort out.” Other top Dems, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) even campaigned for Smith after he was arrested.
When Smith was charged, White did not address whether his protege should step down, only issuing a brief statement saying “I am very disappointed with the conduct alleged in the charges. I am confident this case will be handled fairly and justly by the judicial system.”
White’s call Wednesday for Smith to resign had nothing to do with the primary results, a White spokesman said.
“After reviewing the situation, having time to think about it and overcoming some of the shock of the original charges, he feels that the people would be better represented if someone else was in that spot,” White spokesman Dave Druker said.
* The House passed a bill yesterday to end the highly controversial legislative scholarship program by a vote of 79-25 with two absentions (Democrats Arroyo and Chapa LaVia both voted “Present”).
“I applaud the members of the House for voting to end the legislative scholarship program. As I have repeatedly advocated in the past, scholarships – paid for by Illinois taxpayers- should be awarded only to those with merit who are in true financial need.
“I urge the Senate to pass this legislation swiftly.”
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, said Wednesday he thinks there are enough votes in the Senate to get rid of it. However, Senate Republicans are worried this effort might meet the same fate as those of the past. Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said an identical bill is sitting in a Senate Executive subcommittee.
“We do fear it will meet the same fate as all of our other efforts,” said Schuh, who added that the Senate Republicans no longer participate in the program.
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said Cullerton in the past has voted to reform the program rather than abolishing it.
“He supports reforming the General Assembly scholarships, both in lawmaker restrictions and eligibility requirements, like who can receive them,” Phelon said.
* I doubt even this bad news will help the bill get called by the Senate…
Current and prospective college students who apply now hoping to get state tuition help for next school year will be turned away, officials said Tuesday.
The state is on pace to receive a record number of applications for 2012-13 from the Monetary Award Program, the primary source of need-based financial aid. The scholarship money, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, was depleted by students who applied by March 13.
It’s the earliest the state has run out of funds for MAP grants, said John Samuels, spokesman for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the agency that administers the program. About 140,000 to 145,000 students are expected to get the aid, worth up to $4,968. An estimated 140,000 eligible students will be denied.
When it’s alleged that lawmakers fail to observe the law, it stands to reason that some sort of formal investigation should seek to determine guilt or innocence, and have the power to impose a sanction or consequence.
But for years, nothing has been done.
In fact, Thomas J. Homer, the Illinois Legislative Inspector General — the entity with the jurisdiction to investigate any alleged wrongdoing by members of the General Assembly — confirms that his office did not conduct a single investigation related to legislative scholarships until last fall.
Homer points to several factors that crimp his ability to investigate lawmakers, including a statute of limitations that prevents him from looking into allegations of wrongdoing that occurred more than a year before the complaint is filed, unless there’s a cover-up involved. And before 2010, Homer’s office was prohibited from initiating its own investigations and had to rely on complaints from third parties.
Efforts of the Legislative Inspector General to pursue violations of the law have proven to be woefully inadequate — or nonexistent — despite the firestorm of controversy surrounding it. Since 2010, there have been at least seven reports of legislative scholarship abuse, and not a single investigation with a suggested remedial action has come out of the Office of the Legislative Inspector General.
Lame-duck lawmakers could provide the extra push needed to get public pension changes and Medicaid reforms through the General Assembly this year. […]
Twenty-two incumbents — a mix of Republicans and Democrats — said they won’t seek re-election this fall. Another seven incumbents, mostly Republicans, lost their primary race Tuesday.
“It depends why someone is a lame duck. Sometimes people believe that being a lame duck is temporary. But by and large, these are good opportunities to move things” through the legislative process, said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
The issues sure to dominate the conversations in the halls of the Capitol are public pension and Medicaid reforms. The costs associated with Illinois’ Medicaid system and public pensions have ballooned in recent years, eating up more and more of the state’s budget.
In the Senate: Bomke, A. Collins, Crotty, Cutra, Garrett, C Johnson, T Johnson, J Jones, Lauzen, Maloney, Meeks, Millner, Schmidt, and Schoenberg for 14.
In the House: Carli, Coladipietro, duBucklet, Dugan, Eddy, Evans, Gaffney, Howard, Krezwick, Lyons, May, J Mitchell, Mulligan, Nybo, Penny, Ramey, and Yarbrough for 17
Rep. Eddy resigned early this morning. It’s not clear yet who will replace him. If it’s a placeholder, then the number is 31. If it’s the guy who won the Republican primary, it’s 30.
* In a related story, Senate President John Cullerton is convening a Committee of the Whole today to discuss Medicaid…
An expert from the National Conference of State Legislatures will address the senators.
State strategies to hold down Medicaid spending vary. Tennessee limits adults to two brand-name and three generic drug prescriptions per month. New York set a Medicaid spending cap and gave the state health commissioner “superpowers” to make benefit changes or cut rates to providers without legislative approval if the cap is exceeded. Washington state is trying to limit coverage of emergency room visits for non-emergency care to three visits annually.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has recommended cutting $2.7 billion from Medicaid. Sen. Heather Steans, also a Democrat, said Wednesday that cutting that much in one year “is going to be a real stretch.”
Cullerton agreed, saying the governor’s goal may not be achieved. “It might be other parts of the budget that are cut,” he said.
* Related…
* Illinois Senate President Cullerton Proposes Pension Changes: The state’s five pension systems are drastically under funded and it’s making it difficult for lawmakers to balance the budget. Senate President John Cullerton says part of the problem is there’s a big difference in the way the state funds pensions for teachers in Chicago versus Southern Illinois. “The State is paying virtually nothing into the Chicago Pension System, and $2.5 billion into theirs. I don’t think that anyone can say that’s fair. It’s time to ask local school districts outside Chicago to have some skin in the game”, said Cullerton.
* Taxes, tension up in Illinois: “Other states can look at Illinois and see that merely raising revenue without structural changes is not enough to fix the problem,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a tax watchdog group in Chicago.
“I am calling on Derrick Smith to resign from his position as state representative of the 10th District. The allegations in the charge against him convey unacceptable conduct, making it extremely difficult to represent the citizens of the district. The public would be much better served if Derrick were to step down.”
I don’t know yet if this means Smith is resisting a push-out or whether White just wants to get out in front of the inevitable. Stay tuned.
As you already know, Rep. Smith is White’s guy. White installed him in the House, so the task of getting Smith the heck out - now - is naturally falling on White’s shoulders.
Jason Plummer, the GOP’s newly minted 12th U.S. House District nominee, talked up his party’s prospects in the November general election during a unity breakfast Wednesday.
“It’s great to see a united Republican Party,” said Plummer at St. Clair County GOP headquarters a day after his win in the Tuesday primary race.
“It’s not just a united Republican Party,” said Plummer, of Fairview Heights. “But a growing Republican Party.” […]
Plummer, however, might not be able to count on the help of Rodger Cook, who finished second to Plummer in the three-way GOP contest.
Cook, after sharing a perfunctory handshake with Plummer Wednesday morning, said he still felt some hard feelings toward Plummer.
* Commenter “Oswego Willy” has been firing on Plummer for years here with some of the funniest posts on the blog. So, this must-watch mashup of Plummer’s disastrous 2010 Chicago Tonight appearance, featuring EPMD’s “So What Cha Sayin,’” is for OW…
* House Speaker Michael Madigan defeated Michele Piszczor 76-17 yesterday, but that didn’t stop Piszczor from claiming she was robbed…
“I know he cheated,” Piszczor said to Progress Illinois in the Marriott lobby.
“If I lost fair and square, OK. The fact that you cheated to get to where you’re at, no, you didn’t win.” […]
“They’re over here soliciting votes, sitting there literally guarding the door,” she said, referring to at least five people standing or sitting in front of the polling location at 10 a.m.
“It’s unbelievable. They approach voters like hound dogs. It’s illegal. They can’t be doing this.”
While I didn’t observe any cheating Tuesday except perhaps the usual electioneering too close to the polling place, it was evident that Madigan’s old-fashioned patronage army was pushing extra hard to bring in good numbers for the boss. That type of effort that has been known to lead to excesses, but it doesn’t explain losing 76 to 17.
I’m not suggesting Piszczor wasted her time in challenging Madigan.
There’s certainly a value to making sure no politician takes his constituents for granted, as some voters I met Tuesday complained of Madigan.
Others told me they might have considered voting for an alternative if only he’d had a more serious opponent than Piszczor.
Brown’s conclusion is something that I think I share…
I’m as eager as anybody for Madigan, who turns 70 next month, to ride off into the sunset — if only to give us a fresh start in Springfield.
But portraying him as the all powerful cartoon villain from whom all evil flows in Illinois government is also an overly simplistic rewrite of history. Madigan helped get Illinois into this mess, but he also may be the best person to help get us out.
Toni Preckwinkle is a rare popular politician at a time when voter love is in scarce supply. Even so, in Tuesday’s primary, the coattails of the first-term president of the Cook County Board couldn’t carry some of the high-profile candidates she endorsed.
Preckwinkle’s candidate for Illinois Supreme Court, Joy Cunningham, lost resoundingly to Mary Jane Theis.
Her candidate for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, Ricardo Munoz, was soundly defeated by incumbent Dorothy Brown.
Her pick for the 8th Congressional District seat, Raja Krishnamoorthi, lost to Tammy Duckworth.
A bright spot for Preckwinkle, however, was winning a fight on her Hyde Park home turf, where her chosen candidate, Christian Mitchell, was leading against Kenny Johnson in the 26th District state House race. […]
For Preckwinkle, Tuesday night was not a night of addition.
Preckwinkle also backed Rudy Lozano, who lost the 21st House District race to Silvana Tabares.
That Hyde Park win came at a very high cost. Preckwinkle spent a fortune and had to deploy just about every resource she had to drag Christian Mitchell across the finish line, even though Kenny Johnson had some serious problems in his background
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s night went considerably better. He backed Rep. Toni Berrios in her close win over progressive Will Guzzardi. Rep. Kelly Cassidy raised a lot of money for her winning primary effort partly because of Emanuel’s efforts. The mayor also supported Ald. Deb Graham against Congressman Danny Davis for 29th Ward Democratic Committeeman and Graham defied all expectations by beating Davis 51.5 to 48.5. Emanuel did some robocalls for Christian Mitchell, was totally instrumental in Justice Theis’ Supreme Court victory, helped Duckworth, etc. Not bad at all.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rep. Smith’s assistant says she hasn’t seen him yet today and that his car isn’t on the Capitol grounds.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Smith has an excused absence from the House.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* 11:23 am - Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) has yet to say anything publicly since his federal bribery arrest last week or his huge win last night over former Republican operative Tom Swiss. It’s possible he could resign as early as today, but there’s no official word yet. House Republican Leader Tom Cross isn’t waiting for Smith to decide. From a press release…
A group of Republican House lawmakers today called for the creation of a House Special Investigative Committee to further investigate all allegations and charges of impropriety that prompted the recent arrest of Representative Derrick Smith on Federal bribery charges. The House Committee, similar to that formed following the arrest of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, would determine what if any disciplinary action the House would recommend against Smith.
From that same press release, Cross explains how the process will work…
Under the rules of the Illinois House (House Rule 91), disciplinary proceedings against a member may be commenced by filing a petition with the Speaker calling for a Special Investigative Committee. The petition must be signed by at least one member of the House, and must contain suggested charges which, if true, may subject the member named in the petition to disciplinary action by the House.
If the petition is signed by 3 or more members of the House, the Speaker shall appoint 3 members of the majority caucus and the Minority Leader shall appoint 3 members of the minority caucus to a Special Investigative Committee.
Representatives today signing the petition requesting the creation of the Special Investigative Committee are: Representative Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein), Representative Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth), Representative Jim Sacia (R-Pecatonica), Representative Tim Schmitz (R-Batavia), and Representative Dave Winters (R-Shirland).
I’ll add a roundup of Smith stories in a few minutes.
…Adding... Rep. Smith won last night 77-23. Tom Swiss’ take…
With about 92 percent of the precincts reporting, Smith had taken in 77 percent of the vote against 23 percent for challenger Tom Swiss, who raised eyebrows by running billboard ads depicting black individuals in the mostly African-American district when he himself is white.
“I was annihilated,” Swiss said. ““The ideologues came out, and those are the people that just would rather vote for a crook than someone who had worked for Republicans.”
Swiss also insinuated that getting arrested actually helped Smith, saying the race was based on name recognition and the stories generated by his arrest were the equivalent of “hundreds and thousands of dollars” of campaign advertising.
Getting arrested “helped” Smith by focusing lots of attention on Swiss’ race and partisan background.
* Democrat Ilya Sheyman’s loss to Brad Schneider in the 10th Congressional District was yet another big surprise last night. Politico’s take…
[Sheyman’s] loss is a crushing blow to the organized professional left, which poured substantial resources into the primary, making it a national priority for the movement.
A poll by Public Policy Polling last week showed Sheyman with a double-digit lead, so the margin is one of most stunning outcomes of the night.
Yes, it is. And you can bet that the DCC is breathing a little easier today. Sheyman would’ve probably been too far to the left to win the moderate, ticket-splitting 10th CD against freshman Republican Bob Dold. Some analysis from the NRCC…
Dold’s challenger Brad Schneider, comes off a bruising Democrat primary where he didn’t break 50% over a 25-year-old. Endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Schneider’s support for her national energy tax won’t bode well for Illinois families who are already paying record-high gas prices. During his primary, Schneider said that he wouldn’t join the Blue Dog Coalition, signaling that he will be another partisan rubber-stamp in Congress. In addition, Schneider is going to have a lot of ground to make up against Bob Dold’s fundraising prowess and retail campaign skills. Dold has a cash advantage of over $1 million compared to Schneider, a significant gap in what is sure to be a costly race.
* The polls weren’t off everywhere, but as I told you yesterday, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s last tracker had him up by just three points over GOP Congressman Don Manzullo. The Kinzinger campaign was collectively biting its nails even after the AP had declared he’d won. But with 99 percent reporting, Kinzinger soundly defeated Manzullo 56-44.
KInzinger had a superior field operation and he’s a telegenic candidate. He also won the new part of the district…
Both performed strongly in the parts of the district they’d previously represented, but Kinzinger won over the new part of the district by a solid margin.
TBut another key factor was the role played by the Campaign for Primary Accountability, which showered the district with $ 211,500 in TV and radio ads, robo-calls, and mailers in the last three weeks, slamming Mr. Manzullo for voting for spending proposals backed by Democrats.
The PAC is a small collection of about a dozen individuals, almost all of them conservative, Republican, Texan, or all three of the above. They helped unseat GOP incumbent Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio on super Tuesday, and since then, have made an impact in several other primaries in both parties.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. coasted to a big win against long-time foe Debbie Halvorson, a former congresswoman.
In the 2nd Congressional District contest, Jackson had 71.2 percent of the vote to Debbie Halvorson’s 28.8 percent with 99 percent of the unofficial vote counted.
That’s just jaw-dropping, if you ask me. Halvorson could very well be finished in this business. She has, for far too long, engaged in a war with Jackson over the third regional airport location. She demanded to be appointed Illinois Secretary of Transportation, but she was refused and then she turned down other cabinet positions to run against Jackson in an almost surely no-win race.
Halvorson pulled in 2,686 votes in Will County to Jackson’s 1,709, and in Kankakee County, Halvorson brought in 2,395 to Jackson’s 1,182. Will County and Kankakee-area officials have never taken kindly to Jackson’s advocacy for a south suburban airport.
In Cook County, Jackson pulled in 31,847 votes to Halvorson’s 11,049. In the city of Chicago, Jackson posted 19,700 to Halvorson’s 5,721.
In the 8th, former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth handily beat Raja Krishnamoorthi 67 percent to 33 percent.
“I am so proud to be standing here in front of you, ready to bring back common sense and practical solutions to Washington because that’s what the residents of the 8th district need. That’s what they deserve,” Duckworth told supporters in Homewood.
Duckworth goes on to compete against Joe Walsh.
Most of us figured she’d win big, but 67 percent is pretty darned huge for such a hotly contested primary.
* THis is a major blow to DC Democrats who had hoped to prevent David Gill from winning the Democratic primary for the fourth time. Gill was seen as far less electable against longtime Republican Congressman Tim Johnson, but as of now, Gill is ahead of Matt Goetten by 143 votes…
Unofficial returns, which will not be certified by the State Board of Elections for weeks, give the Bloomington physician 15,507 votes to 15,364 votes for Greene County State’s Attorney Matt Goetten.
Before Macoupin County ballots were counted around 4:30 a.m. today, Gill had a lead of 14,245 to 13,220. Macoupin County Democrats favored Goetten, 2,144 to 1,262. But the margin wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s lead. […]
Gill owed much of his victory to Champaign County Democrats, who gave him a margin of 5,116 votes to 1,365 votes for Goetten. Champaign County voters, who are familiar with Gill from his three previous races against Johnson, gave Gill more than one-third of all of his votes Tuesday. Gill’s campaign had hoped for 72 percent of the votes in Champaign County; he got 75.78 percent. Gill also won by a large margin in McLean County, 805 to 265. But Goetten won in Macon County, 2,678 to 2,632, and in Sangamon County, 1,903 to 1,582.
Goetten was never an A-List candidate. As the NRCC pointed out last night in a press release, the best possible candidates stayed away from this contest even though the district was drawn to be more Democratic.
Bloomington physician David Gill has a narrow lead over primary opponent Matt Goetten with all precincts reporting Wednesday morning.
Unofficial totals have Gill with 15,507 votes to Goetten’s 15,364 votes. Macoupin County made up the last 61 precincts to come in after 4 a.m. Wednesday, and Goetten won the county handily with 2,144 votes to Gill’s 1,262.
But it apparently wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s margin. However, absentee ballots mailed on time can be counted up to 14 days after the election.
Goetten’s campaign could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.
Macoupin hand-counted votes last night. It was slow as slow can be down there. Just ten minutes or so before the county finished counting, Gill sent out a harsh press release, which probably highlighted his not ready for primetime character…
Dr David Gill Questions Elections Process in Macoupin County
“At this point, we must seriously question the validity, transparency and accuracy of the elections process in Macoupin County. Right now, I lead in this election by 4 points and 1025 votes, but it doesn’t matter. This about the democratic process and being able to have basic faith in our election system.
“There are serious questions with how this process is being handled in Macoupin County.
Who decided to count the ballots by hand?
What process and procedures did they follow?
Has there been an uninterrupted and verified chain of custody?
Were there witnesses present for every part of the process and to monitor all handling of the ballots?
How were the results tabulated?
Was the media present?
Was law enforcement involved?
Was a legal opinion sought by the County Clerk for the proper course of action for this unprecedented process? Why was there no press conference or public announcement?
In 2000, Americans saw a president selected in this country and citizens disenfranchised because of a flawed election process and political dealmaking in Florida.
How can this possibly be happening in Illinois 12 years later?
At this point I believe the best course of action is for a judge to order the impounding of all ballots in Macoupin County until a process and equipment can be determined to properly count these ballots electronically, overseen by a judge and open to the media and observers. Anything less is undermining our basic democratic rights.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** A letter sent to Gill by the Macoupin County Clerk…
March 21, 2012
Dr. David Gill
Congressional Candidate
13th Congressional District
Dear Dr. Gill:
I have read your press release issued early this morning. I appreciate the scrutiny being placed on my Office because as the chief election authority of Macoupin County it is my responsibility to make certain that the great American freedom of the individual right to vote is protected. First and foremost, all procedures were completed in conjunction with the State Board of Elections. Because of the unprecedented problem that was being experienced by dozens of counties across the state, I ensured that the process here was conducted in a manner that not only met legal standards, but went above and beyond to guarantee accuracy and transparency in the voting process.
The procedure put in place required that any precinct experiencing any problem was immediately checked in and ballots, tabulators and official ballot records were taken to experienced Democrat and Republican election judges. These judges then individually ran each ballot through the tabulator, verifying that the total count on the tabulator reflected the ballot being read and counted. Overseeing this process were two representatives from the State Board of Elections, an Assistant State’s Attorney of Macoupin County, the Democrat and Republican County Chairmen, nearly all candidates (or their representatives) in contested races, members of the media, as well as any member of the general public who wished to be present. This was the process from start to finish. No one was denied access.
Every step of this process was done to promote accuracy and continue to promote a fair and unbiased election process in Macoupin County. Macoupin County’s Democrat and Republican election judges as well as members of my staff worked tirelessly all day and night to make sure that every vote was counted and done so properly. I know it was a long night for everyone and sometimes tensions arise; however, my office, as always, took any necessary steps in providing an open vote tabulation process. During my time as County Clerk I have worked with others to ensure open government by placing our county checkbook and monthly board meeting minutes online and have been recognized by local news outlets for these types of efforts toward transparency.
As always, I will make myself available to you, any candidate, or any taxpayer should you have questions about how this election was administered by the dedicated staff in my office and all election judges.
* My computer crashed last night. As you might imagine, it was a total nightmare. The ‘puter is back up and running again, but the hair-raising incident meant I stayed up way too late and now I need a couple hours’ sleep. So how about you discuss the biggest surprise of yesterday’s primary election for a while? Thanks.
* Several Cook County voters have received some very nasty robocalls over the past day or so. A large number of Cook County pols have been slammed by these robocalls, and the one thing they may have in common is that they all are opponents of Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown.
Some commenters reported receiving robocalls today about a non-politician, however. Rick Pearson of the Tribune was attacked. Nobody I’ve found connected with this story seems to have any idea why a politician would be this stupid. I mean, attacking a reporter in a robocall? Stupid.
But the Tribune endorsed Rick Munoz, who’s running against Brown, so the enemies were all hit Godfather style - brutally and at the same. Listen…
* Text…
The Chicago Tribune was called a criminal enterprise by a federal bankruptcy judge. Perhaps this is why the Chicago Tribune proudly endorses three-time convicted criminals for political office. While we work hard and do what we can to provide for our families, the Chicago Tribune’s political reporter Rick Pearson actually lobbied corrupt politicians for government jobs for family members. Does the Tribune lose readership because its reporters and editors are essentially press secretaries for the most corrupt politicians in the state of Illinois? Call editor Bruce Dold at [redacted] and tell him to resign.
* And our live blog.BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just watch the automatically updated thingamabob. As before, when I open another precinct report post, I’ll move this ScribbleLive thing over to it…
* Let’s move into the next phase of our coverage with your predictions for tonight. Presidential, congressional, legislative, etc. Make as many as you can, and I won’t hold you to them. It’s all in fun. No wagering, please.
….Adding… NBC 5 has a live video feed. We’ll hopefully have more of these as the evening progresses….
US Congress : Jesse Jackson Jr., Tammy Duckworth, Adam Kinziger, Ilya Sheyman
General Assembly: Patricia van Pelt Watkins, Kirk Dillard, Derrick Smith
Supreme Court: Aurelia Pucinski
Cook County Clerk: Dorothy Brown
President: Mitt Romney (by 7 percent)
*** UPDATE *** Check the ScribbleLive feed for exit poll info.
* I asked Dan Curry, an old buddy who does PR for the DuPage County Election Commission, to explain what happened with their primary ballots. As you already know, the ballots were cut just a little too big and they won’t fit into the counting machines. This is a problem in at least 24 counties, according to the Board of Elections…
Jane Gasperin of the Illinois State Board of Elections says all votes will be counted, but tallying may go slower than usual in affected counties.
She says ballots from two vendors are causing problems in 24 counties. But not all precincts in those counties are affected. Some ballots are fine, even in the affected precincts.
* Anyway, according to Curry, the company DuPage uses is called ABS Graphics.
The county has used the printer for “23 elections straight” and it has “printed 15 million ballots without problems,” Curry said. The firm, Curry said, was selected because of its “close proximity, high security, high capacity and backup capabilities.”
When the problem was spotted, “ballots were reprinted and replaced within a couple of hours,” Curry claimed, adding, “As with all elections, a post-election day review will be done of all procedures and problems to make sure they don’t happen again.”
* Meanwhile, some tinfoil hat types noticed something sinister on ABC7’s website last night. From the Ron Paul Revolution website…
Illinois Primary Results A Day Early, Santorum Wins!
The Illinois primary is tomorrow, 3/20/12 but it looks like Chicago’s ABC 7 News has somehow obtained the results a day early. Not sure how ABC News came up with these results or if it means anything but it is interesting.
The blogger posted a screenshot on the site as well.
It was a test. The website results that appeared before polls opened were test results. Actual results will appear after the polls close.
The AP typically sends out test results the day before an election and news sites post them to see if their systems are working. No need to be alarmed.
* OK, let’s get back to the afternoon discussion. What’s going on out there? Details, please.
* Announcement: We’ll have live news video starting at 4:30 this afternoon.
Illinois Review has just been notified that 65 counties in Illinois are facing ballot size problems, according to the Macoupin County Election Clerk.
In 65 of 102 counties, judges will be forced to hand count ballots that are filled in with markers, which is expected to cause delays in counting after the 7:00 PM poll closing. Judges are encouraging the use of touch screens. As a result voting is expected to take longer.
UPDATE: We’re told county election officials are working to get templates to the precinct judges so they can hand cut the ballots down to size to fit into the machines.
I checked with Illinois State Board of Elections Executive Director Rupert Borgsmiller this morning. Borgsmiller said the problem stems from a printing company that different vendors are using.
So far, Borgsmiller said, he hasn’t heard of any big counties that have been effected. “The ones I’ve heard about were from smaller counties.” But he said he didn’t know if any big counties were having trouble.
Borgsmiller also said that he talked to his elections information director, who didn’t seem to indicate that it was a major problem. It’s being dealt with at the precinct level and things should be OK.
We’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** Longtime commenter OneMan says the City of Aurora is impacted by the ballot width problem.
…Adding… I’m hearing that the current suggested workaround is to trim 1/8th of an inch off the side.
Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen says judges are reporting very light turnout so far.
One Chicago precinct may stay open an hour later because of a problem delivering ballots, but Allen says voting is going smoothly elsewhere.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I’m going to add a ScribbleLive thingy to this post in a minute. So, let’s use it as a mid-morning precinct report. I’ll close the earlier open thread.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Rep. Chris Nybo says at least some DuPage precincts are experiencing the ballot-width problem.
*** UPDATE 5 *** From Dan Curry in DuPage County Election Commission…
Problem confined to 23 locations out of 360. Small # of ballots at those 23 locations were too wide to be counted. New ballots are being taken to all those locations and all affected ballots will be counted under statutory procedures that judges are trained to implement.
Entire situation expected to be completely under control by 1 p.m.
* I’m told that Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s latest tracking poll has him ahead of fellow Republican Congressman Don Manzullo by three points. Whatever happens today, things are definitely getting testy…
Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor should step down from his leadership position for interfering in Tuesday’s primary.
The 10-term congressman said he was “outraged” that Cantor (R-Va.) endorsed freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) in the battle between the two lawmakers, which is growing nastier by the day.
“He needs to step down as majority leader,” Manzullo told The Hill on Monday afternoon, referring to Cantor. “Members of our conference don’t trust him, and when you don’t trust someone, you need to replace him.”
Locked in the fight of his political life, a visibly perturbed Rep. Don Manzullo unloaded on Majority Leader Eric Cantor for intervening on behalf of his opponent in their contentious GOP primary and revealed that Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy phoned him to convey distance from Cantor’s moves.
“McCarthy’s madder than hell at Cantor,” Manzullo told POLITICO in an interview. “He said, ‘I’m fighting with Cantor.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s interesting.’”
Manzullo also accused Cantor of ripping apart the GOP caucus due to his glowing endorsement of freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger in the 16th Congressional District primary here. […]
Manzullo’s frustration with House GOP leadership appeared to boil over when a super PAC aligned with Cantor dropped $50,000 on a radio ad supporting Kinzinger. The Young Guns PAC is run by former top aides to Cantor. […]
Manzullo said the call by McCarthy was followed by a call from Speaker John Boehner, who said he would talk to his deputy.
“The Speaker called and I said, ‘I want that ad pulled.’ The Speaker said, ‘I’m going to call McCarthy,’” Manzullo recalled.
“This has been a real terrible process,” Mr. Manzullo told a reporter on the sidelines of an event for Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum. He said that his rival’s campaign “brought in three super PACs that have dumped $400,000 against us trying to defeat us.”
* Former Speaker Dennis Hastert, who endorsed Manzullo, can see both sides…
“Usually, any leadership situation, you don’t want to get stuck in the middle, especially between two incumbents,” Hastert said in an interview with POLITICO. “But I have a great deal of sympathy for Cantor … I feel sorry for Cantor. He’s got 100 new members of Congress, and he has to work with these guys. That’s part of it. He supported Kinzinger because he’s representative of that new group of people he has to deal with every day. It puts you in a predicament.”
* Related…
* Romney, Santorum go head-to-head in Illinois GOP primary
* Cantor’s Big-Time Political Blunder: Third, if Cantor was going to take the bold step of endorsing against a colleague, he should’ve gone all in. The super PAC’s five-figure radio buy on Kinzinger’s behalf was enough money to draw significant attention, but not significant enough to make a real dent in the race.
* Rep. Cantor takes sides in Illinois House primary
* Illinois House primaries critical to balance of power: As colleague Aaron Blake writes: “No state in 2012 will be more crucial to Democrats ability to re-take the House than Illinois.” “Democrats have a great shot at picking up four seats from Republicans under a new redistricting map drawn by the Democratic legislature, but they will also have to defend the seat of retiring Rep. Jerry Costello (D),” Blake notes at The Fix. “In all, as many as six Illinois congressional seats could be competitive come November.”
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to shutter several state facilities and eliminate 2,300 jobs will cost the state $250 million in economic activity, according to a new report by the University of Illinois…
Those figures are based on economic impact statements for just eight of the 14 prisons, mental institutions and other facilities Quinn wants to close. When more reports are filed, the total impact could be significantly higher. For instance, closures planned in Centralia and Joliet will cost another 600 jobs just in state layoffs.
When the Democratic governor laid out his budget plan in February, he mentioned only the government jobs that would be lost. He estimated that figure to 2,300 state jobs at all 14 facilities combined.
But the new impact statements, which he is required to file before closing state facilities, also include estimates of the “ripple” effect on nearby communities.
For example, closing the “supermax” prison in Tamms would mean 295 state employee layoffs — and a ripple effect of 43 jobs lost in the community, such as grocery store clerks or car mechanics. The economic impact would be more than $32 million, the report says.
ccording to a report submitted to the General Assembly, the governor’s plan to shutter the super-maximum-prison at Tamms would have an economic impact of over $32.8 million in the southern Illinois region.
The studies, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, noted that closing the all-female prison in Dwight would have an impact of $53.7 million.
Larry Vaupel of the Greater Livingston County Economic Development Corporation, said the study doesn’t count the impact of closing Dwight on surrounding counties. He said the report also doesn’t reflect vendors and contractors who would lose income if the prison closes.
“It grossly underestimates the impact on the area,” Vaupel said.
* And while the state struggles to stay afloat, the CEO of Sears Holding is living large…
Sears Holdings Corp. CEO Lou D’Ambrosio’s total pay in fiscal 2011 was nearly $10 million, according to company filings.
He received $930,769 in base salary; a $150,000 bonus; just more than $8 million in stock awards, and $852,037 in travel-related compensation for a total 2011 pay package of $9.9 million, according to a company proxy filed this afternoon with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Other compensation” includes about $793,000 toward “personal use of chartered aircraft” between Chicago and the Philadelphia area, the site of Mr. D’Ambrosio’s principal residence.
He also received more than $3,600 for commuting costs in Sears-provided vehicles; just under $30,000 for temporary housing near Sears’ Hoffman Estates headquarters, and more than $18,000 in “tax gross-ups” that cover any personal tax liability Mr. D’Ambrosio may incur from the travel allowances.
Sears’ new CEO could be called the $10 million man. That isn’t unusually high pay for a big company boss these days, but there are a few aspects of Lou D’Ambrosio’s eight-figure compensation that are notable. […]
Last year, Sears threatened to move its headquarters from Hoffman Estates — and with it more than 6,000 jobs along with a century of ties to metro Chicago. Governor Pat Quinn and the General Assembly handed Sears a $150 million tax credit that prompted the firm to call off the moving vans.
Despite fourth quarter earnings down 50 percent, 62 additional store closings this year and 100 layoffs just last month at headquarters, Mr. D’Ambrosio has been handsomely paid - $9.9 million that includes a base of $930,000, a signing bonus of $150,000 and $8 million in stock awards, according to federal SEC filings.
But the SEC records reveal another interesting payment to D’Ambrosio, who lives in Philadelphia. To get to work in Hoffman Estates, D’Ambrosio had to fly and drive. For the plane and automobile travel he was reimbursed $803,000 last year alone.
That sum is 400 times more than the average Chicago commuter spends to get to work, and Chicago’s commuting cost is already highest in the nation.
The Governor certainly doesn’t approve of that [the $800,000 travel expense for CEO to get to work.]
However, the package you speak of, which passed the General Assembly with a bipartisan vote and support from all four leaders, pertained specifically to Sears Headquarters - it kept the 6,000 jobs that currently exist at the headquarters here in Illinois. This also has an large multiplier effect Sears headquarters creates a direct economic impact of $1.5 billion and supports thousands of additional jobs in Illinois. The package also ensured a private investment by Sears of $300 million in Illinois, at a time when Ohio was offering Sears a far more lucrative investment package.
In addition, the Governor secured tax relief for working families as part of this package. In fact, he said he would not sign any bill if tax relief for working families was not part of the package. Governor Quinn’s efforts resulted in an annual $105 million dollars in targeted relief for low-income working families through a boost in the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit and also an increase in the value of the personal exemption. Improving Illinois EITC will help almost 1 million Illinois families.
We are watching Sears carefully and will hold them accountable to live up to their commitment as part of the package. If there is any violation in the agreement on their part- if they did not meet their investment and jobs numbers, for example- the incentive would be eliminated.
Bottom line is that the Governor had a decision to make when it came to whether or not to sign this bill. Save the jobs- or let them go to a state that was offering three times the incentive as Illinois had proposed. He decided to protect thousands of Illinois jobs and hundreds of millions of investment in Illinois while also increasing tax relief to working families.
*** UPDATE *** From Sears…
If you add the cost of his commuting and related expenses to his salary and bonus, you will see that this is not out of line with his peers at other major companies (Fortune 100 CEOs, CEOs in Chicago or retail CEOs). In addition, Sears Holdings won’t receive a dime from the state if we don’t make investments in our HQ facility and campus. We are required to invest $300 million over the 10-year period or $30 million per year to receive our annual benefit (max of $15 million per year). And, any funds we receive back from local property tax due to the extension of the EDA are a reimbursement for monies we already spent on local infrastructure.
* Related…
* Online lottery sales in Illinois set to start Sunday
* Editorial: Paying up your $10,000: Who even knows what bankruptcy looks like for a state, other than the taxpayers at some level will provide the solution and in a fashion that follows demands instead of choices.
* Unemployment System Outdated For Current Economy, Experts Say
* Kiley Center families say group homes not an option for residents
* Editorial: Pension reform needs to look at big picture
