* Assistant US Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote a letter today to the co-chairmen of the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission. Read it here. From the letter…
This confirms our request, during a telephone conversation with you and your staff on July 9, 2014, that the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission refrain from conducting interviews or receiving testimony from any individuals in connection with the State of Illinois program known as the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative for a period of 90 days.
As we explained during the call, there is an ongoing related federal criminal investigation and we believe such interviews and testimony during this time period would pose substantial risks to our investigation. We are not at this time asking the Commission to refrain from disclosure of records gathered in the course of its work.
We appreciate your consideration of this request and your support for our law enforcement efforts.
As you already know, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin and Commission member Rep. Ron Sandack have said they want to proceed regardless of the Department of Justice’s request.
*** UPDATE *** From Leader Durkin’s spokesperson via text…
We believe the Legislative Audit Commission will take this under advisement when they convene on the 16th.
That’s likely the beginning of a major walk-back.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Sandack reverses himself
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Twitters…
* But that’s not how he felt during a May 6th Legislative Audit Commission meeting. Members who claimed that Commission-issued subpoenas could impede other investigations were spouting “nonsense,” Sandack declared…
“I think we ought to get to the bottom of it without interfering with anyone. To the extent that anyone would suggest we’re going to get in the way of the federal government or state government procedures, investigations or criminal investigations, that’s nonsense.
“Anyone who has ever dealt with the federal government that is looking into something they simply say ‘We’ve got it,’ and then you step down. Whether that’s from State’s Attorney Alvarez’s office, the Central District of Illinois investigations. Whether it’s the US Attorney, the Department of Justice or whomever you just get out of their way.
“You stop. You suspend and let them do their thing.
“I suspect if that comes a day we’ll do just that.”
And now, despite a Justice Department request that the Commission stand down for 90 days, Sandack wants this to go full speed ahead.
You don’t suppose there’s any political motivation behind this righteous flip-flop?
Nah, couldn’t be.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Reacting to the recent request by the U.S. Justice Department to delay the Illinois General Assembly’s inquiries into Governor Quinn’s scandal plagued anti-violence program, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R, Western Springs) and Rep. Ron Sandack (R, Downers Grove) Thursday indicated their intent to press on with the Legislative Audit Commission hearing next week.
“While we respect the request from the Justice Department and are sensitive to the criminal investigation, we believe the Legislative Audit Commission needs to continue their review of the NRI audit,” said Durkin.
“In my past experience with parallel inquires, rather than being asked to cease the legislative proceedings by investigators, we worked with them on an almost daily basis enabling us to fulfill our statutory obligation as legislators without impeding their efforts,” Durkin added.
The request for a 90-day delay in legislative proceedings came from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs on Wednesday, making this request different from those dealing with recent legislative actions into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Rep. Derrick Smith.
“Our legislative fact finding mission and the federal probe have two different goals,” said Sandack. “Our primary concern for figuring out the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’s’ is to prevent a situation like this from happening again and to protect the taxpayers of Illinois.”
Sandack added, “We’re not here to investigate or prosecute, as members of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Legislative Audit Commission we have a job to do. We are here to get the facts and build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again and the legislative Audit Commission should proceed with our mission.”
The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Legislative Audit Commission is scheduled to meet next Wednesday and Thursday at the Michael J. Bilandic Building in Chicago to question and hear testimony from seven individuals subpoenaed earlier by a sub-committee of the Audit Commission. At that time, it is expected the commission will take procedural votes to decide whether or not to proceed.
“I am advising the House Republican members of the Audit Commission that they should consider the Justice Department’s request, but still have an obligation to review the audit and should proceed with the hearing next week,” Durkin concluded.
Durkin, a former Cook County prosecutor, served as the ranking Republican on the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee for the Impeachment of Governor Blagojevich and served as the House Manager for the removal of a sitting member prior to becoming House Minority Leader. Sandack, a floor leader for the House Republicans, is a practicing attorney in Downers Grove and Republican Spokesman for the Illinois House Judiciary Committee.
Sorry, but comparing this little dog and pony show to the impeachment of a sitting governor is downright silly.
And if all the Commission is doing is attempting to “build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again,” then it can wait.
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lots of legislators say they will donate their extra pay from ending legislator furloughs to charity. Tier One target state Sen. Mike Jacobs isn’t positive about what he’ll do…
Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who was paid almost $74,569 last year, said he “probably” would donate money from his first higher paycheck. “Let’s see if we ever get it first.”
Sen. Jacobs said he was skeptical that lawmakers who promised to donate the extra money to charity actually would do so. “A lot of people say they’re going to give it to charity, but how do you know they ever do?”
He said he would earn the extra pay by working the 12 previously unpaid furlough days. He also pointed out that lawmakers had not received a cost of living pay increase for years.
“I didn’t come to government to get rich, but I got bills to pay,” Sen. Jacobs said.
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Pat Boone backs candidate here
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Daily Herald…
Legendary singer Pat Boone, famous for hit songs in the 1950s and 1960s, praised Republican Larry Kaifesh of Carpentersville for Congress Tuesday on behalf of a national organization for seniors.
“I’m still singing at concerts, but today I’m singing the praises of Larry Kaifesh,” Boone said in a statement from the group, the 60 Plus Association. “Seniors can depend on Larry Kaifesh.”
Kaifesh is running for Congress against Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates in the 8th Congressional District.
The organization gave Kaifesh an award that it said is given to politicians with voting records that benefit seniors. Kaifesh, a U.S. Marine veteran, is making his first run for office.
* Did you know that Pat Boone covered “Crazy Train?” I kid you not…
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Uber demands a veto
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The last time I was in Chicago, I went out of my way to try to use Uber. But I quickly discovered that it was far easier to hail a taxi. Then again, I was in the Mag Mile, so cabs were literally everywhere.
A friend who lives on the South Side uses Uber because cabs are often more than a bit hard to come by. I get that. Outside the Loop, it can be tough to find a taxi. And the further south you go, the tougher it is.
A few weeks ago, a friend insisted that all of us wait on an Uber car even though there was a cab 15 feet away from us in the West Loop. He lost that argument. He prefers riding in a nicer car. I get that, too, but city cabs aren’t usually that horrific and it was getting cold and the rest of us didn’t wanna wait around any longer.
* As we discussed yesterday, Uber wants Gov. Pat Quinn to veto a regulatory bill sitting on his desk and projects 500 new corporate HQ jobs if this happens.
The company sent a blast e-mail out to its Chicagoland list today…
We need your help now.
Your right to transportation choice as an Illinois consumer is one signature away from disappearing.
There is still time for action to be taken. Governor Quinn has the opportunity to uphold his reputation as a champion for the Illinois consumer.
Tell Governor Quinn to veto HB 4075 now!
SIGN THE PETITION
The City of Chicago has passed sensible regulations that preserve ridesharing, keep prices low and quality high for consumers, and create thousands of new driver jobs.
HB 4075 does NOTHING to improve safety standards for riders or drivers. Uber partners already carry significantly higher insurance coverage and adhere to stricter safety standards than other transportation options in the city of Chicago.
The provisions in HB 4075 that threaten Illinois consumers are:
* Caps on flexible supply: restricting drivers ability to get on the road means fewer cars when you need them. That means more stranded people, more DUIs, and less service to underserved communities that need rides the most.
* Full-time red tape for part-time drivers: ridesharing creates thousands of jobs for people in need of cash to pay their bills. This bill destroys jobs by requiring even part-time drivers who occasionally work more to get a professional chauffeurs license.
* Higher costs: applying old insurance models to rideshare drivers that already have nearly 3X the level of insurance as taxis is a maneuver by taxi companies intended to drive costs up for consumers, and protect the taxi monopoly that costs us all dearly.
If ridesharing is allowed to flourish, tens of thousands of jobs will be created over the coming years as more people ditch their cars in favor of the sharing economy. Tell Governor Quinn not to destroy the jobs of military veterans, teachers, retirees, students, the unemployed and underemployed, and thousands of other part-time drivers.
It’s no coincidence that the state’s insurance industry supports the bill on Gov. Quinn’s desk. Insurers are very powerful here - a lot more powerful than the taxi industry. And not just here, either…
The Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America, an influential trade group, issued a statement during hearings in Buffalo, New York, which would ban operations by Uber and Lyft, alleging “serious insurance gaps” in operations by TNC services. Kristina Baldwin, a spokesperson for the organization, said that ride-sharing services’ insurance policies are “a source of confusion for drivers and passengers, who either erroneously believe that the personal automobile policy will provide coverage, or realize that it does not and are simply hoping for the best. This confusion is likely to result in costly coverage disputes and delayed compensation to accident victims.”
The Teamsters Union is even getting involved in California.
And as much as I love Austin, Texas, that city has not yet legalized ride-sharing companies. Who knew that Chicago was more “business friendly” than Austin?
/snark
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Questions of the day
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’ve been thinking lately that maybe we ought to do a “Book Club” thingy here. Jim Nowlan’s new “Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State,” made me think a bit more about it. Bernie reviewed the book today.
It would a regular feature, once a month or every other month. Very Illinois-centric. Maybe I’d pick some and maybe the readers would pick others. Perhaps a brief post from the author could be included.
I’m really not exactly sure how to work this. So…
* Question 1: Should we do a book club here? Take the poll…
survey services
* Question 2: How should we go about it?
Please try to answer both questions. Thanks.
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Over 5,000 gay marriage licenses since June 1st
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Equality Illinois…
More than 5,000 same-sex couples have taken advantage of the new Illinois freedom to marry law to have their love recognized by the state and to enjoy the same rights and benefits of other married couples and their families, according to a new statewide survey conducted by Equality Illinois. […]
Equality Illinois surveyed all 102 Illinois counties and found that at least 3,274 marriage licenses have been issued and 1,694 civil unions converted to marriages in every corner of the state.
In addition, the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which went into effect on June 1, 2014, automatically recognizes the same-sex marriages performed in other states, the District of Columbia and other nations, as marriages in Illinois. […]
Counting an exact number of same-sex couples who have obtained marriage licenses or converted a civil union into a marriage is a challenge because each of the 102 Illinois county clerks keeps records in a different way. Also, some counties, including Cook County, were able to start issuing licenses months before the law went into full effect due to federal court orders, and those numbers are included in the new totals.
The Equality Illinois survey also found that some county clerks combined the new marriage licenses and conversions from civil unions into one number. Other counties–including Will, Ogle, McLean, Kendall, and DeKalb–said they treat all marriages the same so do not keep a record of the same-sex marriages. If they had, the number of newly recorded same-sex marriages would easily be over 5,000.
Still, the Equality Illinois survey found that marriage licenses and civil union conversions were issued everywhere from the 10 licenses and conversions in Alexander County in the southernmost tip of Illinois to the 2,370 new licenses and 800 conversions in Cook County.
In the Chicago metropolitan area, there were also 50 licenses and 119 conversions in DuPage County, 42 licenses and 71 conversions in Lake County, 66 conversions in Will County (which did not separately count licenses issued to same-sex couples), 18 licenses and 25 conversions in McHenry County, and 36 licenses and 71 conversions in Kane County.
In some of the other counties around the state reporting a sizable number of marriages, there were 100 licenses and 45 conversions in Rock Island County, 116 licenses and 79 conversions in Sangamon County, 99 licenses and conversions in Madison County (which didn’t separate the two categories), 108 licenses and 62 conversions in Champaign County, 62 licenses and 4 conversions in Massac County, and 45 licenses and 33 conversions in St. Clair County.
Of the state’s 102 counties, five did not respond to the Equality Illinois inquiries. Nine counties reported no licenses issued to same-sex couples or civil union conversions
62 licenses in Massac County? Wow. Good for them.
The full list is here. Have a look and tell us if anything surprises you.
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Those Texas taxes
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Washington Monthly…
(A)ccording to a joint study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young and the Council on State Taxation, in fiscal year 2012 state and local business taxes in California came to 4.5 percent of private-sector gross state product. This compares with a 4.8 percent average for all fifty states—and a rate of 5.2 percent in Texas. With the exception of New York, every major state in the country, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, has a lower total effective business tax rate than Texas. [Some emphasis added.]
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Farnham working on plea deal
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After proclaiming his innocence, former state Rep. Keith Farnham is now trying to work out a plea deal…
Former State Rep. Keith Farnham is considering a plea deal in his federal child pornography case, his attorney says.
The Elgin Democrat has maintained his innocence since he was charged in April, but is now negotiating with prosecutors, his lawyer Terry Ekl told U.S. District Judge Edmund Chang Thursday morning.
The 66-year-old is accused of emailing videos of children who appeared to be as young as six months old being molested, according to a criminal complaint filed earlier this year. […]
A federal complaint alleges he used a phony name in online chatrooms to trade child porn while at his office and at his home. In one disturbing webchat in November, he boasted that he’d sexually abused a 6-year-old girl, the complaint alleges.
The judge gave Farnham until Sept. 2nd to work out a deal or the case goes to trial.
Prosecutors ought to make him disclose the name of that little girl, and then make sure the child gets some help.
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Pew looks at Statehouse reporters
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* New York Times…
The nation’s statehouses lost more than one-third of the journalists devoted to covering legislative matters full time, according to a study released on Thursday morning by the Journalism Project at the Pew Research Center.
The study, which surveyed all 50 statehouses, found a loss of 164 full-time statehouse reporters since 2003. The total number of full-time statehouse reporters dipped to roughly 300.
The study defined these journalists as reporters who worked physically in the statehouses. At the same time, nontraditional news organizations added journalists at state houses, including for-profit and nonprofit digital news organizations, ideologically driven publications and expensive trade newsletters catering to lobbyists.
* Economics is obviously at play here, but the weird thing about the Illinois data is that the period of decline in Illinois Statehouse reporters spanned one of the most gut-wrenching political eras Springfield had ever seen. From the Pew study…
In order to provide a direct comparison with today, Pew researchers examined staffing at the papers included in both 2003 and 2009 AJR studies as well as in the current 2014 data. Those 220 papers had 467 full-time statehouse reporters in 2003, which dropped to 343 in 2009 and then to 303 in 2014. That amounts to a 27% decline from 2003 to 2009, a 12% loss from 2009 to 2014, and an overall decline of 35%.
These cutbacks are not uniform across the board, however. Newspapers’ statehouse staffing among this cohort of papers dwindled in 23 states between 2009 and 2014. The sharpest cuts occurred in Illinois, which lost seven full-time newspaper slots—from 12 to five—during that period.
When I first arrived at the Statehouse, even the Alton Telegraph had a full-time reporter. The Champaign News-Gazette, the Rockford Register-Star both dumped their Statehouse bureaus in recent years, as have others. One explanation…
“Way back in the day, 35 years ago, a lot of the small papers had reporters in the statehouse,” said Susan Moeller, news editor of the Cape Cod Times in Massachusetts. Her paper had a two-person statehouse bureau, which was cut to one and then zero during the recession, she said.
“You can lay off your statehouse reporter or you can lay off somebody covering your town that is nearer and dearer to people’s hearts,” Moeller said. “You will lay off the statehouse reporter because you can get that from another source.” Last year, Moeller said, editors hired a reporter to cover the statehouse part time—but he is based on Cape Cod and also responsible for covering the town of Hyannis.
* Pew reports that 43 percent of all full-time statehouse reporters work for newspapers, another 12 percent work for wire services, and 12 percent work for TV stations. 9 percent work for radio and three percent file stories across multiple platforms. Another 7 percent are folks like me…
A total of 73 reporters cover state government for specialty publications aimed at government insiders, and 49 of them are full time—accounting for 7% of the total full-time statehouse reporting corps. Five reporters cover the statehouse only during legislative sessions, and 15 do so part time. Two of the journalists are students and two are in the category of “other.”
These outlets often charge hefty subscription fees, placing the content outside the reach of a general audience. They target lawmakers, lobbyists, activists and even journalists who are willing to pay for highly specialized information about the inner workings of government. Indeed, some of these outlets are owned by lobbyists or interest groups.
Prices for these outlets vary widely. The Alaska Budget Report charges $2,397 a year, the Austin Monitor $1,099 a year and the Tennessee Journal, $247 a year, to name a few.
$2,397 a year?
* Ideological outlets, like the Franklin Center’s Illinois Watchdog, have stepped in to fill part of the void…
Among the nontraditional statehouse outlets are those that have a stated ideological point of view. Most of them define themselves as conservative or as in favor of a “free market,” a basic tenet of economic conservatism. Only one outlet, NC Policy Watch, calls itself progressive.
The ideological outlets assign 53 reporters to the statehouse. Those outlets assign 17 reporters to state government full time, just 2% of all full-time reporters. They dispatch 15 reporters to the statehouse only during legislative sessions and 19 are part time. In addition, they have two student reporters. Most of these publications are digital only and many also are nonprofits. But because they describe themselves in ideological terms, we created a category to distinguish them.
About half of the ideological sites (14 out of 33) are owned by the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, a nonprofit that was founded in 2009 “to address the falloff in statehouse reporting as well as the steep decline in investigative reporting in the country,” said spokesman Michael Moroney. The center, based just outside Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Va., supports a free market, he said.
* A couple of charts. Statehouse reporters in the ten biggest states…
Over two-thirds of newspapers don’t have a statehouse reporter…
* This is a really long study, so I’ve cherry-picked all the Illinois stuff for you…
In Illinois, the State Journal-Register, based in Springfield, covers the statehouse for all Illinois newspapers owned by its parent company, GateHouse Media. […]
In addition, eight full-time journalists work for professional publications, such as local business journals or others that target a specific industry. Two full-time statehouse reporters work for outlets owned by universities—one each at the University of Illinois and the University of Missouri. […]
“We receive several wire service reports, but no longer have a reporter in Springfield,” said Philip Angelo, senior editor of the Small Newspaper Group, which has a handful of papers in Illinois. “We’ve had several rounds of layoffs.” […]
Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio are roughly comparable, with 12.8 million, 12.7 million and 11.5 million residents, respectively. But Ohio, the least populous of the three, has considerably more full-time statehouse reporters—32—than Illinois (22) or Pennsylvania (24). […]
In Illinois, the House and Senate provide live audio and video streams of floor sessions and committee hearings, said Steve Brown, press secretary to Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, a Democrat. “In some ways, you may be able to get more information because there are more things available to average citizens through state government itself,” said Brown, who has worked in the capitol for more than 30 years, initially as a newspaper reporter. But, he added, “It’s not the same as when your news was dropped at your door.”
Discuss.
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A sign of the times
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* At its peak, US Steel employed 20,000 people at its South Works plant. Those were very hard, dangerous, “he-man” jobs, but steelworkers gave an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
* And now? Well, we have a grocery store opening with state help…
The former U.S. Steel South Works site in Chicago will be the home of a new Mariano’s grocery store, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Ald. John Pope (10th) and supermarket company Roundy’s Inc. announced Wednesday.
The new South Side Mariano’s will be located at the intersection of 87th Street and South Lake Shore Drive and is expected to open in 2016. The “Mariano’s Lakeside” store will be 70,000 square feet and employ up to 400 full- and part-time workers. […]
The new Mariano’s will be built in part with some of the $5 million in state bond proceeds committed by Gov. Pat Quinn to help the grocery chain construct five stores. Four of those Mariano’s stores will be located in Chicago food desert neighborhoods. The fifth Mariano’s suburban site has not yet been decided.
Don’t get me wrong. The long-term redevelopment plan for the South Works site is quite impressive. Practically a whole new city could be built there. And food deserts are, indeed, a very real problem.
I’m just not feeling like jumping up and down with joy, though.
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Today’s number: 4
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
More than a year after a much-lauded compromise paved the way for high-volume oil and gas extraction in Illinois, the agency in charge of overseeing the practice has hired just four of 53 new employees it says it needs as it continues working to complete rules that drillers must follow.
Yes, we’re once again talking about the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. But this is not solely a problem with DNR. The Quinn administration takes forever to approve hiring. It’s a ridiculously elongated process and often-times the people agencies want to hire have found other jobs before the Quinnsters finally sign off.
* Ugh…
“I think this is a complete effort to slow down the process; I think it’s politics pure and simple,” said Mark Denzler, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, adding that the DNR had said it would hire half of the needed staff before the end of 2013 and half this year.
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
* DNR’s excuse…
Even if the rules were completed, the agency does not yet have enough experts to issue permits, inspect wells and perform other tasks associated with the anticipated influx of drilling activity. Last summer, state and industry officials said it could take a year to get the program running.
Miller said it took time to write job descriptions, develop interview questions and obtain approval to begin hiring. So far the agency has hired two well inspectors, an investigator and an office worker, and 23 other jobs are posted. The agency should have 15 people hired by the end of July, and will focus on first hiring those who will work in permitting, Miller said, adding that after July, hiring “will start picking up steam.”
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Topinka: Phase out tax hike over two years
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka is warning of “a $2 billion collapse” next year when the state’s temporary income tax increase begins to roll back. […]
Topinka likens the decrease to a “heart attack” to state finances. She says she’d rather see it phased out over two years to give lawmakers time to cut spending.
* More from the Jacksonville Journal-Courier…
The state’s fiscal year ended June 30 with the state having 46,000 unpaid bills at the Comptroller’s Office and an estimated bill backlog of nearly $5 billion, Topinka said, “which doesn’t sound all that bad when you consider it often hovers around $8 [billion] or $9 billion. My goodness, only in Illinois would a $5 billion bill backlog qualify as good news.”
Still, Topinka cautioned, tax revenues are allowing the state to pay bills, and then reality will set in again.
“The backlog is at a low point right now, but we expect it to rise again throughout the summer and into the fall,” she said. “We’re in this position more than three years after the largest tax increase in Illinois history. That tax increase is set to sunset at the end of this year and there is no plan to address the lost revenue.”
Topinka warned that if no action is taken, Illinois will have a $2 billion revenue collapse this fiscal year and face a $6.8 billion budget hole next year.
Thoughts?
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Quinn and congressional Democrats
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Hill looks at Illinois congressional contests…
At least four Illinois races this cycle are competitive, and Republicans are optimistic they can pick up at least one to two seats, especially with a robust GOP turnout operation backed by the wealthy Rauner.
One-term former GOP Reps. Bob Dold and Bobby Schilling are both in close rematches against Democratic Reps. Brad Schneider and Cheri Bustos, respectively. Republicans also hope to knock off freshman Rep. Bill Enyart (D) after unsuccessfully targeting the open downstate district in 2012, contending GOP state Rep. Mike Bost’s campaign is on the upswing.
* One reason why the national GOPs are optimistic is the unpopularity of Gov. Pat Quinn…
The GOP-aligned American Action Network released an automated poll last week that showed Dold up 42 percent to 39 percent in the rematch [with Schneider]. But in the governor’s race, in a district Obama won by 17 points, Rauner was leading Quinn 49 percent to 37 percent. Republicans expect similar, or even worse numbers, in from their governor in other districts in the state. […]
“We can tie Quinn to every single congressional race,” said one national GOP strategist
That poll and the expectation of tying candidates to Quinn doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m not so sure that works well in Illinois, though. Republicans tried hard to tie Democrats to Rod Blagojevich without much success.
* More from the poll…
President Barack Obama has a 44 percent job approval rating in the 10th district with 46 percent saying they disapprove and 10 percent not sure. […]
Schneider is vulnerable because in his second year as a House member, a large number of poll respondents—44 percent—have no opinion of how he is handling his job, with 28 percent approving and 28 percent disapproving. […]
* The candidate calls himself a moderate but then campaigns with Nancy Pelosi and the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
More likely 32 percent
Less likely 45 percent
Not sure 23 percent
* The candidate claims to be independent but votes with party leadership 90 percent of the time.
More likely 15 percent
Less likely 43 percent
Not sure 41 percent.
That district could easily wind up bouncing back and forth between the two parties for the rest of the remap cycle.
* Back to The Hill…
Democrats’ one saving grace could be Sen. Dick Durbin (D). The Senate majority whip is up for reelection but faces only nominal GOP opposition for a fourth term. As a downstate native who hails from Springfield, he’s always had a good image around the state and is a valuable elder statesman and party fundraiser.
I just don’t think as of yet that Durbin’s coattails will be long enough.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Just 90 days?
Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was sent out late yesterday by GOP state Sen. Jason Barickman, Legislative Audit Commission Co-Chairman…
Today, the Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern in Washington D.C. – requested that no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program be conducted for 90 days.
We do not want to impede their efforts or compromise the integrity of their criminal investigation.
Therefore, I believe it is appropriate for the Legislative Audit Commission to consider the request and its scope.
Why just 90 days? Federal investigations usually drag on for a very long time. And why the Legislative Affairs Office?
Then again, this is Springfield’s US Attorney’s Office, not the one in Chicago we’re used to hearing from, so they may just do things differently.
* Barickman updated this morning on WLS Radio…
“We cannot simply, at our own whim, drop this. We’ve taken legislative action to get to this point, we’ve got a hearing scheduled, we’ve subpoenaed seven witnesses, they’ve lawyered up, they’ve told us they’re going to attend,” Barickman said.
Barickman says he and other members of the commission will vote on the delay request next week.
“We’ll consider why they want us to stand down and what they’ve presented,” Barickman told Bruce and Dan. “And we’ll try to balance that with our own duties, you know we have legislative duties to the people of this state and to our constituents. I think we need to balance those two things in a public hearing, talk about it, and make a decision”.
* Another Republican member of the Legislative Audit Commission, Sen. Bill Brady, said he didn’t think the Commission’s investigation would step on any federal toes…
“I frankly don’t see where our role conflicts with theirs,” Brady said.
Whatever the case, when the feds ask you to step aside, you step aside.
After all, in 90 days, we’ll be in mid-October - right before election day.
…Adding… From a press release…
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers’ Grove) will be holding a press conference Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the James R. Thompson Center Blue Room at 2: 30 p.m.
The topic of the press conference is to discuss the latest development with the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI) and the Legislative Audit Commission.
*** UPDATE *** It looks like Sen. Barickman is attempting to make the Democrats pull the plug. An updated statement…
Following a scathing audit issued by the Illinois Auditor General on Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, the Legislative Audit Commission began its legally required public review of that audit and its findings.
We have had a healthy and spirited debate on the Commission. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and – with bipartisan agreement – the Audit Commission has scheduled a two-day public hearing with seven subpoenaed witnesses next week.
The Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern from Washington D.C. – has now requested no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program for 90 days.
I believe it is appropriate for the Audit Commission to consider that request at our July 16 meeting. We certainly do not want to impede their criminal investigation of the NRI program. However, we also have legislative duties and obligations that we must fulfill to the people of Illinois and our constituents.
Each member of the Audit Commission – myself included – will have to weigh those competing interests to determine whether we change course on a public review of how more than $55 million in taxpayers’ money was spent.
However, to be clear, the Audit Commission has already taken legal action. Seven witnesses have been subpoenaed and are compelled by law to attend next week’s hearings. We’ve taken legislative action.
This legislative action cannot – and should not – be undone with the sweep of a hand or a backdoor meeting. Only legislative action can rescind those efforts.
Unless Legislative Audit Commission takes new legislative action to change course, then I presume the Audit Commission will proceed with the plan laid out through its bipartisan, transparent process.
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Rauner and Stroger?
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The gist of a new Greg Hinz piece…
a company [Bruce Rauner] partly owned and on whose board he served just happened to make 11 contributions to Mr. Stroger’s campaign fund and to the Strogers’ 8th Ward Regular Democratic Organization at the time when Cook County was awarding the company a series of contracts over four years. Not to mention a $5,000 contribution to the Democratic Party of Illinois, Mr. Madigan, chairman. […]
Team Rauner responds that the candidate had “no idea” what his company was up to and that, in fact, he gave lots of financial help to independent board member Forrest Claypool.
* Some deets…
Now, GTCR owned a lot of companies at the time. But according to a 1999 filing with the Florida Secretary of State, Mr. Rauner was one of only four names listed on an application to do business with that state. He was one of two directors (the other also from GTCR) with others serving as CEO and president.
HealthRev hit the ground running. On Jan. 6, 2000, the Cook County Board, John Stroger presiding, approved a three-year pact with the company giving it a cut of any Medicaid collections it could make in the county’s huge balance of charity care debt, according to the agenda for that meeting (go to page 11). The pact then was estimated to bring in about $1.2 million a year for HealthRev.
Actually, the company did much better than that. According to the county, the firm was paid $8.8 million between June 2000 and April 2003. It earned another $1.9 million after the contract was renewed late in 2002, with the bulk of that coming before it sold the company to another private group in 2004.
Almost immediately after the first contract was approved by Mr. Stroger’s county board in January 2000, good things started happening to Mr. Stroger’s personal campaign fund and his 8th Ward organization account, which supported the activities of John Stroger and then 8th Ward Ald. Todd Stroger.
* From the union-backed Illinois Freedom PAC…
Hinz notes a “fascinating” pattern in which Rauner companies make political contributions to officials who have influence over government contracts the companies are awarded and Rauner subsequently claims to have no knowledge of such contributions.
* From the Rauner campaign…
* The Healthrev Contract Was Recommended By County Board Staff.
* Healthrev Was One Of The Three Lowest Bidders For The Contract.
* The Healthrev Contract Did Not Cost County Taxpayers Any Money - Healthrev Was Paid Only A Percentage Of What It Managed To Recover For The County.
* Healthrev’s Contract Was Approved Unanimously By The County Board.
* The Motion to Approve was seconded by Commissioner Lechowicz, who was unseated in 2002 by Forrest Claypool. Bruce was A major supporter of Claypool.
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Feds want Audit Commission to “defer”
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From what I gather, the feds have asked the committee to “defer” to them and to let them take the lead on the investigation into the governor’s anti-violence initiative.
There was a Legislative Audit Commission conference call this afternoon and I’m hearing another one is scheduled. Nothing has yet been decided.
The feds, from what I’m told, haven’t exactly come out and flatly told the Commission to back off. But the signal was certainly clear enough that members are reportedly getting the message…
The Justice Department has asked state lawmakers to back away from calling several former members of Gov. Pat Quinn’s inner circle to testify on the governor’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative to avoid possibly interfering with an ongoing federal probe of the scandal-tainted anti-violence program, sources said.
“There is a signal coming from the Department of Justice that the Legislature not proceed with calling witnesses being subpoenaed due to the current criminal investigation,” a source familiar with the feds’ request told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday.
The verbal request came from the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs and not directly from the federal prosecutor’s office in Springfield, which would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the request.
What makes the request somewhat unusual is that when ongoing state inquiries have skirted too closely to parallel probes by federal investigators, the requests to stand down historically have come from federal prosecutors themselves – not the Justice Department’s lobbying arm.
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Uber pegs HQ job growth to Quinn veto
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release, with emphasis added for reasons I’ll explain in a bit…
On Tuesday, Uber Technologies was joined by Illinois lawmakers, business leaders and tech community members to showcase their new Midwest Headquarters here. During the event, Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s Regional General Manager for the Midwest and Canada, highlighted the economic impact the company has had on the city of Chicago and announced projected job growth for Uber’s Midwest hub.
Under existing regulations and market conditions, Uber projects it’s Midwest headquarters will more than quadruple in size between now and 2016. The Midwest office started 2014 with 45 employees, a number that quickly grew to 75 staff members and is expected to reach approximately 500 employees by the end of 2016.
* Both highlighted phrases are connected. As Greg Hynes explains, those 500 jobs come with a big catch…
While the company is not seeking state Edge tax credits, tax increment financing subsidies or other incentives, it does want Gov. Pat Quinn to veto or amend a bill on his desk that Uber says conflicts with its business model and imposes heavier regulation than a recently approved city ordinance. Both measures govern ride-sharing companies that rely on smartphone applications and part-time drivers.
“We’d still add jobs” if Mr. Quinn signs the pending legislation as is, says Andrew Macdonald, Midwest general manager at the company, formally known as Uber Technologies Inc. “But to what extent, we don’t know.” […]
The new jobs will include legal, communications, marketing and other support staff, Mr. Macdonald said. On its current path, the company expects to hit the 125 mark by the end of the year and to double that in each of the next two years. That’s well above the 150 or so spots that the company spoke about earlier this year in a story by my colleague Ryan Ori.
But if the state “slams the brakes on,” Mr. Macdonald continued, “We’ll have to keep our eyes on the situation.”
Discuss.
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Quinn once again hits Rauner on taxes
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we discussed yesterday, Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference to slam Bruce Rauner over his tax issues. Sun-Times…
In a campaign in which Democrats are playing up income inequality issues, Quinn held a news conference that called on Rauner to further disclose details related to taxes he’s already released as well as future releases. Quinn’s remarks come after a Tribune report detailing loopholes that Rauner had tapped in previous filings, including avoiding paying Medicare and Social Security taxes in 2010 and 2011.
“The schedules tell the tale, all the details needed to determine if there are conflicts of interest and what loopholes are being used by Mr. Rauner to slash his tax burden and shift that burden onto working people,” Quinn said. “We don’t need a loophole governor and that’s what Rauner is all about.”
Quinn responded to the Rauner campaign calling the news conference a stunt, saying “I think the stunt is … [Rauner] not paying into Medicare or Social Security from their private income.”
Margaret Healy, a sixth grade Chicago history teacher at Chicago City Day School, held up her pay stub and talked of living in a basement apartment and sometimes borrowing her parents’ car to make ends meet.
“If you were to look at my pay stub … you would see that I pay Social Security and Medicare, however, it is somewhat mind-boggling that Bruce Rauner has managed to avoid payment to either of these programs,” said Healy.
* The Rauner response via surrogate…
Subpoenas issued by a federal grand jury for e-mails related to the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative have the Bruce Rauner campaign calling for Gov. Pat Quinn to testify about the program. Those subpoenas asked for e-mails dating to 2010 from several former officials in the Quinn administration. Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady, who now works for the Rauner campaign, says Quinn should volunteer to testify.
“If he doesn’t come clean now,” Brady said, “I fear for what the grand jury and the U.S. attorney’s office in the Central District of Illinois might do.”
Brady claims the Quinn campaign has tried to draw attention away from the subpoenas by calling for Rauner to release his tax returns.
Brady denies that Rauner is trying to avoid reporters while still attacking Quinn through surrogates. “Mr. Rauner didn’t spend 10, 11 years prosecuting financial crimes like I did,” Brady said, “and he doesn’t have probably the knowledge about this like I do.”
They’re basically just standing there throwing bricks at each other.
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Shakman rebuts Quinn in new filing
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration should face federal scrutiny to ensure it complies with bans on political hiring for nonpolitical jobs, anti-patronage lawyer Michael Shakman argued in a Tuesday filing, which also disputes the Democratic governor’s claim that a monitor would undercut his authority. […]
Shakman also rejects Quinn’s assertion that the hiring allegations amount to mere speculation, pointing to recent comments by then-IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider that the agency had hired people for positions designated as political, then transferred them to nonpolitical jobs without posting the openings to the public. […]
Quinn said his office had already acted to fix any lingering hiring issues.
Shakman’s filing says that remains to be seen. Quinn gave assurances before, as far back as 2009, that he was addressing the issue. But it says the “assurances, however earnestly made, cannot be relied upon” in the wake of allegations of improper hiring at IDOT.
Shakman also asks the judge again to order Quinn’s office to turn over thousands of hiring-related documents.
I don’t see this going away any time soon.
The governor is facing a far different environment than he did in 2010, when people thought he might be a bumbler, but was at least a non-crooked bumbler.
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* He’s still trailing Sen. Frerichs in cash on hand by at least two to one, but this was a pretty good quarter for Tom Cross. From a press release…
Illinois State Representative and Republican candidate for Illinois State Treasurer Tom Cross announced that his campaign raised over $555,000 in the second quarter, significantly more than any past fundraising performance by his opponent, Democrat Mike Frerichs.
“The overwhelming support and investment in our efforts to balance the budget, hold the line on taxes, and crack down on fraud and corruption is energizing Illinois voters,” said Cross. “The simple truth is that our campaign has strong momentum and great energy heading into the final four months.”
Since entering the race last September:
· 2,201 donors have contributed to Cross for Treasurer
· 65 Illinois counties have donors that have contributed to Cross for Treasurer
· $121,658 has been raised online for Cross for Treasurer
Cross will also file with over $500,000 cash-on-hand. Looking forward, the Cross campaign has 41 finance events scheduled for the third quarter.
In addition to the strong fundraising infrastructure and performance, Cross has led Frerichs in every public poll conducted on the general election contest. Most recently, a June 17th Reboot/We Ask America poll had Cross leading Frerichs 42-35.
Frerichs has reported about a quarter million dollars raised via his A-1 reports.
* Meanwhile, an unfortunate tweet…
That doesn’t look much like a “great event.”
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Rick Perry runs his mouth off again
Wednesday, Jul 9, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Texas Gov. Rick Perry was supposed to be in Chicago this week for his second job-poaching mission. He canceled due to a meeting with the President.
But his office also shopped around an op-ed, which claims in part…
In Texas, we rejected President Obama’s flawed demand to expand Medicaid because we know it’s a broken system that isn’t built to handle its existing caseload, let alone a massive crush of new people. We recognize the simple truth that expansion will undoubtedly lead to higher costs for states already struggling to meet mounting budgetary demands, and will crowd out other essential government functions.
Other states have rushed headfirst into expansion despite massive problems with their existing programs. In Illinois, for example, by the time expansion is complete, one out of every four Illinoisans will be dependent on Medicaid, which was only ever intended to serve as a safety net for those most in need. This makes it even more troubling that Illinois officials only recently realized that roughly 250,000 people had been receiving Medicaid services for which they did not qualify.
* Coincidentally, WalletHub has a new study on Obamacare and Medicaid expansion which looked at 44 of the 50 states. One of its results…
So Perry’s overheated rhetoric about Illinois Medicaid expansion is off-base.
* Then there’s this…
The study found that 24.81 percent of Texans have no insurance, the worst in the nation.
Heckuva job, Ricky boy.
* Gov. Quinn’s office sent this response to Crain’s before Perry canceled…
While we welcome Gov. Perry’s contributions to Illinois’ booming tourism and hope he plans to visit us soon, businesses here should be skeptical of his economic pitch. Compared with Texas, the Illinois workforce is much better paid and educated, healthier and better protected if injured on the job.
Texas’ record of late includes some of the nation’s worst outputs of air and water pollution accompanied by concern about the reliability of its power grid.
While Texas has no income tax, it must rely heavily on sales and property taxes that hit part of its population extremely hard.
After all that, the average tax burden for a business is fairly close in the two states.
Gov. Perry can sell the appeal of wide-open spaces. We think most Illinois businesses will remain convinced that our amenities such as transportation, education, workforce training and quality of life help them get the job done.
* But I really wish Quinn and Mayor Emanuel would watch this next video. It’s about a young woman who tried to set up an innovative little business in Chicago and was thwarted at every turn, so she headed south to Austin. The video is truly a must-watch. If the Illinois Policy Institute just focused on stuff like this and dropped the goofy histrionics, I’d be in their corner 100 percent…
Lots of background here.
Look, I get that Illinois Democratic politicians can’t stand Texas Republicans like Gov. Perry. But, we’re talking Austin here. It isn’t some right-wing bastion. Get with it, people.
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* From today’s Tribune editorial…
We keep wondering when Democrats in the Illinois House — forlorn little mushrooms on whom Speaker Michael Madigan regularly dumps his putrid embarrassments — will decide they’ve had enough of self-serving-antics-by-Mike.
Maybe never. Maybe they’re breathlessly seduced by the campaign money he gives to them and the cozy district lines he bestows on them. Or maybe they draw perverse pride from hobnobbing with clout, even if that means marching in subservient humiliation as his dupes.
Then again, maybe the sorry consequences for Illinois citizens of Madigan’s 44 years in Springfield — witness your broke and broken state — are sparking some dim awareness within his caucus: Even as his legislative giveaways to cronies drove Illinois toward financial ruin, Dear Leader still obsessed on rigging government decisions to help his political toadies. Have we all, um, been chumped?
The editorial then goes on to discus the Metra patronage story we talked about yesterday.
“Dear Leader,” by the way, was the title assumed by brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
Thoughts?
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