The circular firing squad heats up yet again
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From former acting legislative inspector general Julie Porter back in April…
My term ended Feb. 28, 2019, and this month — as required by law — the new LIG and the commission presented their quarterly reports to the General Assembly. The quarterly reports are hard to read and do not convey much information. But a careful look reveals that near the end of my term, I issued a founded summary report — a report where I found that a legislator engaged in wrongdoing — that was not published. I requested publication, and the commission refused.
Also buried in the numbers is a second founded summary report that I requested to be published; the new LIG chose to close the case.
* I told subscribers about this dustup earlier today. Here’s the Daily Herald…
Accusations flew among state Republicans Tuesday after a suburban lawmaker called for an investigation of Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin’s organization over a “buried” misconduct report.
A representative for Durkin called the comments off-base.
* Excerpt from Rep. David McSweeney’s press release early this morning…
Leader Jim Durkin has had an opportunity to be a statesman and take the bold step of rooting out corruption and wrongdoing in his own caucus. It is easy to be for ethics when the other party is under fire - it is not so easy when it potentially involves your own party. Leader Durkin is being tested and, so far, he is miserably failing that test. I’m willing to stand up against misconduct on both sides of the aisle. […]
In Springfield, there are insiders and then there are real insiders. Legislative leaders, by virtue of their position as leaders, are privy to information that most rank and file members simply do not have. I believe that Leader Jim Durkin is aware of the founded misconduct that Porter is referring to and that it likely involves a Republican House member.
Even if the buried report is about a Democrat, Durkin very likely has access to the information. Two members of Durkin’s leadership team are on the Legislative Ethics Commission, with one serving as the chairman of the commission. It is highly doubtful that Leader Durkin is truly in the dark about this situation.
* Response from House Republican spokesperson Eleni Demertzis…
The House Republicans have addressed each and every allegation of abuse and misconduct swiftly and publicly. We will continue to ensure a safe workplace for all staff and employees. This is just more ramblings from someone who hasn’t even taken the time to show up for caucus in the last 5 years.
* Back to the Daily Herald…
McSweeney said Durkin likely is aware of who the legislator is and that “Leader Durkin is being tested and, so far, he is miserably failing that test.”
Demertzis countered that “the [Legislative Ethics Commission] is an independent body that the legislative leaders have no involvement with. That’s why Rep McSweeney’s statements are once again not based in fact,” she said.
…Adding… Grant usually lashes out at Democrats on the Twitter machine…
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* From October of 2018…
Rauner’s cabinet is 79 percent white, with only four blacks, two Hispanics, and two Asians among his 38 picks to lead state government agencies.
And reports obtained by WBEZ show his nearly 1,200 appointees to boards, commissions, and task forces in the past three years were 73 percent white, 10 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent Asian. No race was given for 7 percent of the people Rauner chose. […]
The WBEZ investigation also found men far outnumber women in Rauner’s cabinet and among his board appointments.
When pressed about whether his own administration would be more diverse than Rauner’s, Democratic gubernatorial challenger JB Pritzker said he would do better than the incumbent, by appointing the most diverse state government ever. But asked if he could promise that his high-level appointments would reflect the state’s overall population, Pritzker would only say it would be his “goal” to have a cabinet and boards that mirror the diversity of Illinois.
* Hannah Meisel…
As Gov. JB Pritzker approaches the nine-month mark in office, he has appointed 225 people to key posts within his administration and to state boards and commissions — a diverse group that’s more than 41 percent female and 44 percent people of color. […]
Illinois is one of the nation’s most diverse states. According to the latest stats available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the people of Illinois were 61.3 percent white, 17.3 percent Hispanic, 14.6 percent black and 5.7 percent Asian. […]
The Daily Line is tracking Pritzker’s appointments, as Rauner’s administration was slow to cooperate with a state law that requires the governor release demographic data about appointees to boards, commissions, and task forces on an annual basis. A WBEZ investigation last year found that Rauner’s appointees were overwhelmingly white and male. […]
Pritzker has mostly met those diversity goals, with 94 females named to director posts for state agencies and to state boards and commissions, and 98 people of color announced since January. Pritzker’s hires in the governor’s office are also a diverse group, though The Daily Line’s analysis does not extend to his direct reports.
He just announced the appointment of a white male today to be the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Labor.
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Rose, Righter won’t try for Shimkus seat
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Here we go…
* Marron announced an exploratory committee today…
At the Vermilion County Administration Building in front of family, friends and supporters, State Representative Mike Marron (R-Fithian) announced the creation of an exploratory committee to seek the 15th Congressional seat currently held by John Shimkus. Shimkus has recently announced that he will not be seeking reelection.
“For over 20 years, Congressman John Shimkus has represented parts of Southern Illinois in Congress,” said Marron. “When John decided not to run again, I knew that it would be a huge loss for Southern Illinois, and our country. Anyone trying to replace him will have incredibly large shoes to fill. He has a legacy of rolling up his sleeves and getting to work for Southern Illinois in the good times and fighting the liberal Obama and Pelosi policies in the bad times. I want to continue that legacy that reflects Southern Illinois values.”
Marron highlighted his experience as Vermilion County Board Chairman and State Representative at the press conference. Mike has had success in getting a strong consensus on a partisan county board. During his tenure, he was successful in working through differences the board members had with other board members and with the opposition party.
Mike took this leadership style to Springfield as State Representative, and as a freshman representative, he was able to work within a super-minority caucus to pass legislation that helped the citizens of the 104th Legislative District. Legislation such as helping protect the public health of his constituents by creating the regulatory framework that prevents coal ash pollution like what occurred at the Vermilion Power Station and protecting taxpayers from fronting the bill.
“Now, everyone knows that Springfield politics, especially from the past year, don’t reflect the values of us downstate, rural Illinoisans,” said Marron. “I fought against Springfield Democrats implementing the largest minimum wage increase in this state’s history, the implementation of a massive tax increase being billed as a “fair and progressive” tax, and the most expansive abortion law in the country. Unfortunately, due to Chicago’s influence, all of these things passed despite my opposition.
“A true leader knows when to get to work and when to fight for what’s right. Politicians and political insiders in Washington DC fight when they need to get to work and make compromises when they need to fight. I am here today to announce that I am opening an exploratory committee to run as the Congressman in the 15th District.”
Chairing the exploratory committee is Vermilion County Board Chairman Larry Baughn. Other members of the committee include Pat O’Shaughnessy of Danville, Stan Harper, Champaign County Board Member from St. Joseph and Bill Raben, a farmer from Ridgeway. More members will be invited in the coming weeks.
He did vote for the capital bill taxes, however.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Robert Feder…
It’s been more than five years since the Sun-Times disabled its online reader comments, claiming to be developing a new system that would be introduced “in the weeks to come.” Now that may be happening at last.
“I think we’re getting to the point where hopefully soon we can restore comments in sort of a targeted way on the right stories,” editor-in-chief Chris Fusco said on Ben Joravsky’s podcast Saturday. “Comments are a tool that, if we use them wisely, I think they can be back on a targeted basis and help us build more engagement.”
* The Question: Your comment section advice for Chris Fusco?
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The Chicago pension scapegoat that isn’t
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Friday…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot today declared “unsustainable” the 3 percent annual compound pension COLA many city workers and retirees have been promised—and hinted she would not object if further conversations occurred about amending the pension clause in the Illinois Constitution to allow change.
* Amanda Kass tried to set the record straight on Twitter…
(A) few comments about the annual annuity increases, also referred to as the COLA.
First, police and fire do NOT have a compounded 3% COLA–these two funds account for ~51% of Chicago’s pension liabilities. Only municipal employees and laborers have had 3% COLA.
Second, that 3% COLA was only applicable for people hired before Jan 1, 2011….everyone else is now in Tier 2. Tier 2 COLA isn’t compounded, and is designed to basically guarantee retirement income doesn’t keep pace w/inflation. […]
so let’s now turn to the history of the 3%, compounded COLA (remember only applicable to 2 of the 4 funds). It was set in 1998. What did things look like at the time? well both labor and municipal funds were pretty well funded [in 2000 municipal fund was about 95% funded, labor was over 100%] […]
At the time, and until v recently, the city’s contributions were a multiplier of employee contributions. for every $1 municipal employee put in, city put in $1.25. This was already bad because it meant city’s contributions weren’t tied to cost of benefits or unfunded liabilities
To me, the 3% compounded COLA isn’t the root of the problem, it’s that lawmakers chose to enhance benefits while 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 the city’s contributions and have those contributions be totally de-linked from the pension funds’ finances…and not changing for years.
the problem snowballed and snowballed, compounded by the recession.
changing COLA would mean changing benefits for Tier 1 members of 2 systems…there has been several attempts at cutting benefits, each one struck down by the state supreme court.
another thing to add is that Public Act 100-23 created a third benefit tier (Tier 3) for municipal employees and labor. Tier 3 COLA is same as Tier 2. tier 2 and 3 comparison for municipal is here meabf.org/legislature
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Tillman appeals bond ruling
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Expected…
The appeal is here.
* Wirepoints on the trial court’s opinion…
Far more important, however, Davis seems unaware of the bedrock principle in American law – that courts have the power and duty to invalidate laws that conflict with the federal constitution or their state’s constitution. It’s not a court’s place to “substitute its judgement” for the legislature’s, he says.
Marbury vs Madison established in 1803 that courts should invalidate laws that violate the constitution. That’s a central tenet of separation of powers. Since then, federal and state courts have invalidated hundreds of statutes and administrative actions as unconstitutional. Illinois and all other states routinely do the same, testing their statutes against their state constitutions. Judge Davis, however, might as well have written, “Politicians decided to do this so it must be permitted.”
Courts assume laws are constitutional and proceed from there. Tillman claimed the Legislature skirted the “specific purposes” requirement, when it clearly did not. This is a taxpayer lawsuit, so he had some serious legal hurdles to overcome and the judge ruled his case did not overcome those hurdles.
* Back to Wirepoints…
Judge Davis ignored, among other things, the most interesting aspect of the case, which warrants a full, reasoned opinion. That’s the relevance of the balanced budget requirement in our state constitution, and it’s especially pertinent to the 2017 bonds. They were used simply to pay down part of Illinois’ huge bill backlog.
That backlog obviously results from budgets that weren’t balanced.
From the Illinois Constitution…
Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year.
There are several loopholes here, among them: 1) It doesn’t say “expenditures,” it says “appropriations.” Things can happen after a budget is enacted; 2) There is no clear and specific mandatory requirement for a hard revenue estimate. Should they do that? Yep. But courts have yet to force their hands.
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Arduin tries to tank another governor
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Alaska…
When he introduced his budget in February, Gov. Mike Dunleavy did not say he wanted to start a conversation.
“I promised to fix our budget and I will keep my promise to Alaskans,” he said. “We will fix the budget and we will fix it this year.”
This was the occasion at which temporary budget director Donna Arduin introduced herself to Alaska by frequently talking about “our” fiscal problems and declaring, “The cost to transport a vehicle on a state highway is about 2 cents per mile, where it’s about $4.58 per mile on a ferry.”
“We’re here to solve our problems, not to ask Alaskans to do it for us,” she said, touching on the plan to gut the University of Alaska, K-12 schools and Medicaid, while sending 500 prisoners out of state and getting rid of the ferry system.
Ah, Donna Arduin. Remember her?
* Back to Alaska…
The governor made those cuts, in part, to fulfill a campaign promise to pay a full Permanent Fund dividend using the traditional formula, which this year amounts to about $3,000.
“The governor’s approach is tough,” said Matt Shuckerow, his press secretary. “But it’s necessary.”
Others disagree — vehemently — and some economists estimate Dunleavy’s cuts would lead to 4,000 jobs lost in the short term, plunging Alaska into recession.
“This is a dismantling of our state: economically, emotionally, morally,” said Kodiak Rep. Louise Stutes, a Republican who represents parts of Southcentral Alaska, including Cordova. “It’s unreal. It’s just stinking unreal.”
* All sorts of havoc was wreaked…
The University of Alaska could lay off more than 1,000 and cut dozens of programs, thanks to a dramatic slash in money it gets from the state – a 41% cut from a line-item veto by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
University officials say the $130 million cut could prove disastrous for Alaska’s future, endangering local economies, school employees and rural programs for Alaska Native students. They have pleaded with the Legislature to override the veto but say they have little hope that will happen.
Even stuff like this was cut…
A state program that costs nothing to administer was restored this week to keep Alaska-grown produce in groceries, but the state’s nascent hemp program remains in limbo.
* From a post I did when Governor-elect Bruce Rauner announced he’d hired Arduin…
“She has a complete tin ear with respect to the political ramifications of particular cuts, ” University of California-Berkeley political scientist Bruce Cain told the Los Angeles Times in a story published in 2004.
Rauner loved her…
“Because she’s the best in America,” Rauner said when asked by a reporter how he can justify that [$30,000 per month Arduin contract] expense. “She’s a brilliant lady who’s done financial turnarounds at a number of states. She’s the smartest state government budget person in America that I was able to find and she’s well worth it, because she’s going to save us billions.”
Some of the substantial proposed cuts in Rauner’s first budget which he failed to mention in his address…
* The Department of Children and Family Services. It would also eliminate services for youth ages 18 to 21.
* Community care for senior citizens.
* Mental health services.
* Addiction treatment.
* Dental Care for adults on Medicaid.
* Support for children on ventilators.
Brownie tried to warn the state…
“People in Alaska better buckle up if she has any real authority,” [Speaker Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] said.
* And now…
Organizers of the effort to remove Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office announced Thursday that one week after launching, they had gathered more than 18,000 signatures and were more than two-thirds toward completing a first-round signature drive.
* Last week…
The campaign to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy has gathered 36,731 signatures as of Thursday, Aug. 22. […]
The campaign’s website says the petition phase will continue until the campaign collects 71,252 signatures, which is equal to 25% of the voter turnout in the last general election.
Uh-oh…
The state agency in charge of monitoring campaign finance laws in Alaska says backers of a movement to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy from office can accept unlimited campaign contributions and do not have to immediately disclose the source of that money. The same rules apply to any organization formed to oppose the recall. […]
“You can get (money) from labor organizations, businesses, nonprofits, folks out of state — the only limitation is foreign nationals. But that’s the only limitation,” Lucas said.
* Gov. Dunleavy is now backtracking as fast as he can…
Remember when candidate Mike Dunleavy promised every man, woman, and child in Alaska checks in excess of $6,000 if he was elected governor?
Recently, Governor Mike Dunleavy took the road less travelled and issued a video statement, avoiding the press altogether, to announce that he has mostly accepted the Legislature’s budget, complete with a $1,600 PFD.
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* Press release…
The University of Illinois Flash Index fell to 105.1, its lowest level so far this year. The dip in August comes after an uptick in July, when the index was at 105.4.
Two of the three components of the Flash Index, individual income and corporate tax receipts, were down from the same month last year after adjusting for inflation and rate changes. The third component, sales tax receipts, increased.
University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, said that despite conjecture about a possible recession in the national economy, this decrease in the Flash Index does not signal a recession. Generally, a recession is characterized by the GDP declining for two quarters.
“The Illinois economy appears to be slowing slightly from its recent moderate pace. This, however, is far from an indication of a recession,” Giertz said. “The national and Illinois economies are still growing, albeit at a slower rate. Remember that any Index reading above 100 denotes growth.”
The unemployment rate in Illinois fell slightly to 4.2 percent, tied for the lowest in recent decades. This suggests continued strength, although unemployment is a lagging indicator that tends to increase only after the overall economy slows.
The Flash Index is a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income as estimated from receipts for corporate income, personal income and retail sales taxes. These are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through August 31, 2019. See the full Flash Index archive.
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It ain’t all rainbows and ponies
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WICS TV…
Bilingual employees at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services are overworked and underpaid.
It’s why the agency is struggling to keep up with the state law to employ at least 194 bilingual staffers across the state. […]
Back in 2007 when this law was adopted, the department had 154 bilingual staff. […]
As of June 2018, the department only reported having 158 bilingual staff members.
* Daily Chronicle…
The Epilepsy Foundation of North Central Illinois was supposed to get $500,000 from the state this year, with the DeKalb office’s share being $79,000, Garcia-Martinez said. This year, however, there was no money from the state.
The DeKalb office rent costs $950 a month. Other monthly expenses include $500 a month for transportation, which Garcia-Martinez said is imperative to DeKalb County since many clients face transportation limitations.
Johnson said the office has applied for a community-needs grant through the DeKalb County Community Foundation but has not yet heard back.
Garcia-Martinez said the only difference in the application this year for state funds was a change in the number of clients. She said the DeKalb office serves 81 clients with epilepsy, with more than 400 clients who receive additional support services.
* Daily Herald…
For more than a decade, the Child Advocacy Center of McHenry County collected $13 for every traffic, misdemeanor and felony conviction — a deal negotiated years ago among agency and county leaders, Executive Director Misty Marinier said. The funding has been crucial for the nonprofit’s operations, which include conducting forensic interviews and offering free services for victims of child sexual and physical abuse, among other violent crimes, she said.
However, a recent statewide overhaul of the system set court fees collected by all CACs at $10 per offense, and funding from traffic cases has been eliminated.
The impact on the McHenry County center? A projected loss of at least $120,000 a year, or 40% of its $300,000 budget. […]
A sunset clause was included in House Bill 4594 when it passed about a year ago, forcing lawmakers to revisit the legislation by the end of 2020. When the General Assembly reconvenes in January — six months after the law went into effect — it is expected to review the data that has been collected so far and “adjust the numbers accordingly,” said Andersson, the bill’s chief sponsor. “We didn’t pretend like we knew everything.”
* Meanwhile, from a union press release…
Just days before the new semester UIS Administration announced deep cuts to programs and budgets that support teaching and learning at UIS. Despite receiving a 5% increase over last year’s appropriation from the state, UIS administrators are cutting as much as 10% from their operating budgets.
* But…
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan says authority to hire more people has helped ease morale at the agency.
DNR has been working to fill nearly 100 positions this year, and the fiscal year 2020 budget, which began July 1, allows for a full-time-equivalent headcount of 1,250. There have been some retirements and some additions, and as of last week, there were about 1,192 positions filled.
“It means that we can actually begin to do our jobs more effectively and impactfully again,” Callahan said. “Staff would say that for a long period of time, they felt like they were in survival mode. Now, they feel like they survived. And now that we can hire again, it says help is on the way, and it’s a big morale booster, for sure.”
* Related…
* ‘Nearly Every District Is Looking For Teachers’: Teacher Shortage Still A Struggle In Illinois
* Relief at Last - By Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier: Fortunately, there has been a dramatic change. This year – for the first time – I was able to report to my colleagues at the Conference of Chief Justices that Illinois could not only boast of a functional court, but also of a government that was finally able to provide the judicial branch with a timely and workable budget. For Fiscal Year 2020, our appropriation from the General Revenue Fund was increased to $405,321,200, a figure that is $60.5 million higher than each of the previous five years.
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Too big to succeed?
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Years ago, I read an article about espionage advice given to our World War II moles by the Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor to the CIA). One suggested tactic for American sympathizers was to create large corporate study committees, which would slow down or even halt progress on whatever it was they were studying. Whenever Speaker Madigan brings a large number of his members and staff with him to a meeting in the governor’s office, I remember that article and chuckle.
And that brings us to the new Property Tax Relief Task Force…
As voters start to consider whether to replace Illinois’ flat income tax with a progressive-rate model, lawmakers are starting their work to overhaul the state’s property tax system too.
The Property Tax Relief Task Force recently begin its work, setting up seven subcommittees that will tackle thorny topics like school and economic disparities, school funding, and tax-increment financing (TIF) districts. State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is one of over 80 task force members.
There are actually 88 members of that task force. It has eight (8) co-chairs. And seven subcommittees? Oy.
The first organizational meeting was a cluster of enormous proportions. And members are not exactly getting along very well since then.
* From an August 29 press release…
State Representative Deanne M. Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) today called upon her fellow legislators to study and end systemic conflicts of interest in the Illinois property tax system. These conflicts generate disproportionate outcomes; increase costs; and often benefit politically connected insiders. All but a few Democrats voted no, and rejected her request. Those voting “no” included members who profit from the property tax system; another was recently subject to a federal indictment.
After the vote, Rep. Mazzochi released the following statement:
“Currently this task force has 90 members. It is absurd to suggest we can’t have a subcommittee to target conflicts of interest that both sides of the aisle know exist. Today’s vote demonstrates that members of the majority are insincere about real reform. If this task force wants to achieve meaningful reform, we must address the problem of high-level political insiders who game the system, whether at the state, county or local level. Illinois residents already pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. They don’t need an added corruption tax. The antics on display at the meeting are the exact reason why we do not have property tax relief today. Whose interests are they really looking out for?”
Illinois residents attending the meeting also expressed concerns during public comment about public corruption. James Di Naso of Charleston explained, “The first issue that needs to be addressed is the corruption and conflict of interest at the top of Illinois government. Only then can the property tax issue be honestly dealt within this state.”
Mazzochi’s motion would have charged the task force with specifically looking at existing areas of conflict of interest, and making reform recommendations to improve the integrity of the property tax process. Once Mazzochi’s motion was made and seconded, additional task force members not present for the first 45 minutes of the meeting were added to the roll and allowed to vote. When votes were tallied, Rep. Mazzochi’s motion failed 40-23, with two additional members voting “present.”
Notwithstanding the result of the vote, Mazzochi vowed that she would continue to advocate for added transparency and integrity within the entire property tax system.
DuPage County legislators voting yes in support of Mazzochi’s motion included Grant Wehrli, Amy Grant; Anne Stava-Murray, as well as Mazzochi. Voting no were Suzy Glowiak; Tom Cullerton; Tara Costa Howard; Karina Villa; and Diane Pappas. Deb Conroy, a member of the task force, was absent.
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* Daily Herald…
Close to 200 Naperville residents opposed to the possibility of the city eventually allowing the sale of recreational marijuana held a rally downtown Saturday urging city officials to “opt out.”
“Naperville has built its reputation over the years as a family friendly community,” said Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, one of the rally’s organizers. “There is nothing family friendly about marijuana.” […]
“Fear is a drug that Americans are imbibing at a heavy pace,” [Dan Allen] said. “I’ve experienced the benefits of marijuana and there’s been a lot of studies showing the use helps get people off other heavier, more dangerous drugs like opioids.” […]
The rally was held in downtown’s Central Park a few blocks away from the city’s nightclub district. Naperville police often have to add extra patrols on the weekends in an effort to curb misbehavior by bar patrons. In the past, police ran sting operations intended to catch violators urinating in the city’s parking garages as well.
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* Over the weekend, I decided to re-read Gay Talese’s 1966 “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” essay for Esquire Magazine which sparked a new journalistic format. I re-read it every few years because it’s so phenomenal. As I was doing so, I came upon this passage…
Then after the last show at The Sands, the Sinatra crowd, which now numbered about twenty—and included Jilly, who had flown in from New York; Jimmy Cannon, Sinatra’s favorite sports columnist; Harold Gibbons, a Teamster official expected to take over if Hoffa goes to jail—all got into a line of cars and headed for another club. It was three o’clock. The night was young.
For some reason, Harold Gibbons’ name stood out to me, so I Googled him.
* From Wikipedia…
For a time, Gibbons was widely considered to be the heir apparent to Jimmy Hoffa. But Gibbons’ work and political stances landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents. Nixon’s Chief Counsel, Charles Colson, directed White House Counsel John Dean to initiate tax audits on Gibbons, but Dean did not follow through. Gibbons’ opposition to the Vietnam War led to Hoffa moving to marginalize him. Hoffa supported the war, while Gibbons had been a founder of Labor for Peace, and had visited Hanoi. Another source of friction was Bobby Kennedy, who had hounded Hoffa, and whom Gibbons had befriended. While Gibbons remained head of the Teamsters in St. Louis, he was maneuvered out of posts in which he could influence policy. […]
Gibbons’ papers are in the archives of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville which he was instrumental in founding, because Illinois union members who wished to pursue higher education had to make exhausting commutes to attend university in Carbondale.
*** UPDATE *** From Jeff Manuel at SIUE’s Department of Historical Studies…
Hi Rich,
I just wanted to share a brief comment in response to your post about Harold Gibbons and SIUE. If you (or any readers) are interested in digging deeper into Harold Gibbons, labor historian Robert Bussel wrote an excellent biography of Gibbons and Ernest Calloway a few years ago using the Gibbons papers in the SIUE archive. Calloway’s attempt, which ultimately failed, to unite the labor movement and the civil rights movement in the middle of the last century is a fantastic story that deserves more attention.
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/45gps3ym9780252039492.html
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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
After decades of the state putting off things like fixing our roads and bridges, we started to see some very real progress this year.
Huge bipartisan legislative majorities approved a $45 billion infrastructure program.
In the process, however, the state’s motor-fuel tax went from 19 cents a gallon to 38 cents a gallon. My Facebook feed was jammed with exclamation points for days on end. Well, just wait until those angry Illinoisans find out their license plate fees are also going up next year, or they realize there’s a new tax imposed when they trade in their cars.
The idea back in May was to pass all these tax hikes and then go quiet. The governor would then focus attention on announcing new projects and grants, and eventually the furor would all die down.
But that hasn’t quite happened, partly because Chicago’s budget woes have kept taxation in the foreground.
New Mayor Lori Lightfoot clumsily floated a bunch of nonstarter ideas like taxing retirement income to help her bail out the fiscally troubled city. Taxing retirement income at the state level polls about as well as meningitis. Gov. J.B. Pritzker defeated two Democratic primary opponents partly by hammering them for opening the door just a tiny crack to the possibility of such a tax.
But because Chicago’s mayor was interested, it was big news everywhere. My Facebook feed went nuts again, and the governor was forced to publicly shoot it down.
Meanwhile
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
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Unsolicited advice for the new mayor
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
The statement issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office last Thursday night had some good advice for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who gave what was billed as a “State of the City” address earlier in the evening.
Lightfoot had outlined the challenges facing the city, including an $838 million budget deficit and her need for Illinois government’s help in changing some state laws to allow her to raise more tax revenues.
The Pritzker administration’s statement read in part: “In the weeks ahead, as Chicago pursues assistance from the legislature, it will be important for the mayor to reach out to leaders and lawmakers across the state and across the aisle to build a coalition for her ideas.”
The rookie mayor has had a habit of surprising Springfield with proposals offered up by unidentified sources to members of the news media, rather than working through established channels. That tendency has grated on some Statehouse nerves, partly because the mayor too often makes proposals that are dead on arrival and which put her natural allies on the defensive.
Some of this is probably due to her being so new. Some of it is likely because she ran for mayor as an outsider. She strongly endorsed Chris Kennedy for governor, ignoring her party’s preference for Pritzker. She then challenged a sitting mayor (Rahm Emanuel) and then when he dropped out, she stayed in the race and overwhelmingly defeated the Democrats’ powerful Cook County party chair (Toni Preckwinkle).
She believes voters gave her a mandate in April, and reporters and pundits of all stripes have mainly backed up her assertion.
Not often mentioned is that, while Lightfoot took 74% in the April runoff, Pritzker won the city with 81% last November. Also, 723,000 Chicagoans voted for the governor compared to the 396,000 who voted for the mayor.
Pritzker’s Chicago percentage and vote totals were both significantly higher than any Democratic gubernatorial nominee going back to 2002, when the party reinvigorated itself statewide after decades in the wilderness.
But, whatever. Everybody just needs to read the room and get along. The mayor should use the winning formula from the spring legislative session. Get the Democratic leaders on board, convince the unions to support it and then work rank and file members to keep the leaders honest while trying to pick up whatever Republican support she can find.
Lightfoot has a strong personal relationship with the House Republican Leader, and that can surely be helpful. She has to focus on three numbers: 60, 30 and 1 (majorities in the House and Senate and the governor’s signature) . Otherwise, it’s all just rhetoric.
”Our fates are intertwined,” Lightfoot said Thursday about the common struggles that towns and cities are facing throughout Illinois. “That is why I intend to continue working with Gov. Pritzker, the legislative leaders, and other state lawmakers, regardless of party or geography.”
It’s a good plan. It’s a plan that could’ve been devised by Michael Bauer, who chaired Lightfoot’s campaign and was her strongest link to the established political world. Michael passed away last night. “Sparkly, effervescent” is how his friend Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, accurately described him in her grief.
As for me, I always sought him out when he came to Springfield and I always left our conversations with a smile on my face. He was a gem of a human being and, according to his friend Dave Lundy, he died while watching the mayor’s speech.
Michael truly wanted his friend to succeed. Heck, we all do. Even all the ultra-conservative Eastern Bloc members lined up to pose for photographs with the mayor when she came to town — and they want to kick the city out of Illinois. The rest of the governor’s statement included phrases like “Illinois succeeds when its cities succeed,” and he pledged to work with everyone involved to make that happen.
Build on that good will, mayor. It won’t last forever.
And whatever you do, stop not-so-subtly threatening to tank the governor’s progressive income tax if you don’t get your way, as you did on Friday when you spoke with the Sun-Times and said something your office had to retract (“We can’t keep taxing the hell out of all of our people who make substantial income. That’s not right. That’s not fair. It’s not gonna work.”).
Pritzker can spend whatever it takes to push his constitutional amendment past the finish line. He’s not the hostage, mayor. You are.
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*** LIVE COVERAGE ***
Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ScribbleLive has been a bit buggy lately, so I’m going to use this Twitter-generated feed for the next few days as a test…
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