Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It’s possible that there could be some announcements later this afternoon or evening, and maybe also tomorrow. So check back.
The Chairman of the Board will play us out…
Every moment of the year
Comments Off  
|
Rauner asked about special election vote
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* PJStar…
“I think they should have done a constitutional referendum to let the voters decide on the length of terms,” Rauner said Friday. “They did a partisan-politics power play. I don’t think it’s appropriate. But I’m not going to get caught up in that.”
* GOP Rep. David Leitch is usually pretty soft-spoken, but he wasn’t today…
“It was vomitous,” the Peoria Republican said about the decision. “I thought it was a raw power grab. I thought it was absolutely sickening to watch unfold in this state.”
There is a real feeling by Republicans that the Democratic majority and the lame duck Democratic governor have just flat-out stolen a rare and hard-won prize from their own party. Once you look at the issue within that frame, it’s much easier to understand their anger.
But their anger also reveals a serious and very real inferiority complex. Yes, 2016 is likely to be a strong Democratic year. But holding onto that seat won’t be 100 percent impossible.
26 Comments
|
* Illinois Public Radio has a story up about Bruce Rauner’s outreach to state legislators, particularly Democrats. They all gave him pretty high marks. For instance…
But rank-and-file Democrats, like Rep. Dan Beiser will pay a role too. Beiser, who’s from Alton, says his meeting with Rauner lasted about 15 minutes.
“It was more informal. Very little politics of where ‘do you stand on this issue’. There was none of that. It was more based on: just to get to know you, I’ve never met you, I’d like to get to know you. And it was not just one way. It was Gov. Rauner and Rep. Beiser exchanging those bits of information,” Beiser said.
They talked about their families, and backgrounds.
“The biggest thing I think that I brought out of that meeting was that he sincerely is attempting to establish lines of communications, establish relationships, regardless of your political stances.” […]
“I … really, think he’s doing a great job reaching out to all members of the General Assembly,” Rep. Beiser said. “And I think we might get back to those days where we, get back, into have some small group meetings over at the governor’s mansion and things like that. Just on a social level, but also establish relationships. And everything in politics, in my opinion, or the vast majority of success in politics, is based on establishing relationships.”
Beiser is right about that. Legislating is a business based on relationships. I had a long, off the record discussion with Rauner about this topic last summer, and he appeared to fully grasp that concept.
Give IPR some love and go read the whole thing. Heck, even Emil Jones III had nice things to say about the guy.
25 Comments
|
Rauner releases transition report
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Today, Governor-Elect Bruce Rauner’s Transition Committee released its report on the state of Illinois. The committee, chaired by Lieutenant Governor-elect Evelyn Sanguinetti, and co-chaired by 28 of the top business, civic and non-profit leaders in Illinois, has outlined key recommendations to return the state to a position of prominence in the United States.
“The Transition Committee worked extremely hard on this report to ensure it was complete and thorough,” Evelyn Sanguinetti said. “I thank them for their hard work to ensure the administration is properly briefed with recommendations as we move forward. I am looking forward to Monday so we can start to shake up Springfield.”
The report details the challenges that must be overcome, and sets forth recommendations to propel Illinois into the future. Nearly 200 committee members, representing all aspects of the state, assisted the team to figure out how to best move the state forward. They reviewed more than 1,400 pages of policy memos, and interviewed local and national policy experts to come to their conclusions. In addition, they asked the people of Illinois for their recommendations and ideas, generating more than 2,500 responses through the website, MakeIllinoisGreat.com.
“The state of Illinois is in a death spiral and in desperate need of a turnaround. I look forward to reviewing these recommendations to ensure my administration can hit the ground running,” said Bruce Rauner. “I appreciate the hard work from Evelyn and the transition team, and am ready to work with all levels of government, business and civic leaders and residents throughout the state to bring back Illinois.”
* The full report is here. There are, of course, no specific budget recommendations…
As our work on these transition strategies concludes, the work to develop the budget is just beginning. We are not in a position to provide specific recommendations on budgetary solutions, however we want to emphasize that Illinois’ ability to chart a more prosperous course hinges upon our addressing the state’s dismal fiscal condition
* There’s a lot of empty rhetoric…
Setting department-specific goals, establishing transparency around the goals, and holding officials accountable for achieving them.
* In many ways, it looks like one of Rauner’s campaign documents…
Lower the cost of doing business in the state. Illinois should review legislation to ensure its corporate taxes, workers’ compensation rates, and unemployment insurance rates are in line with peer states. Currently, many companies choose to locate just across the border in states with more favorable rates, thereby saving significant sums while still taking advantage of Illinois’ transportation and logistics infrastructure. Lowering Illinois’ workers’ compensation rates, which are a key factor for executives in determining where to locate or expand operations, could support job retention, create new job opportunities, and significantly improve the business climate. Similarly, tort reform in Illinois could improve the legal environment, saving businesses $2.4 billion and creating up to 147,000 new jobs.
And that’s it on that topic.
* The report calls for a new public-private business development agency free of DCEO’s restrictions…
Redundant agencies should be consolidated into a new structure to streamline operations and enable better coordination. In addition, a restructured DCEO should be able to respond rapidly to business requests and, when necessary, raise outside funding. To enable this, consideration should be given to creating a new, public-private entity that would be freed of the restrictions DCEO currently contends with in exchange for meeting specific performance criteria. Several neighboring states, including Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, have adopted this approach and reaped the benefits of a more nimble and responsive economic development arm geared to the needs of business.
* There are some buzz words…
Cultivate ecosystems in advantaged high-growth clusters.
* But we now have our first major hint of how Rauner wants to fund his infrastructure program: the service tax…
The state should optimize the use of existing funding sources and explore comprehensive tax reform proposals such as modernizing the sales tax, which could bring additional investment in infrastructure in general and transit in particular.
* They propose a new “czar”…
To coordinate communication across disparate energy and environmental stakeholders in the government, a senior policy position for energy and environment should be created.
* While desperately needed, I’m not sure where they’re gonna get the cash for this…
Design information technology (IT) systems to facilitate data integration and information sharing. IT platforms, systems, and databases are foundational components of efforts to reform health and human services, so the state should improve data transparency, report generation, and information accuracy to support health and human services programs and their administration. Ongoing efforts should be accelerated, including the Integrated Eligibility System (IES) program and the implementation of the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). Progress on the Child Care Management System (CCMS) should be assessed and adjusted as necessary. To facilitate the exchange of information among payers, providers, and the state, Illinois should expand its health information technology (HIT) infrastructure, including HIEs and electronic health records (EHRs). Other IT efforts to enable pay for value, enhance data analytics, and promote data storage and transparency should also be pursued.
* Easier said than done…
Assess areas of funding imbalance and sufficiency, from pre-K through postsecondary, across the entire system, and determine an appropriate formula that rebalances the system
* Good idea, not easy to do…
To reduce recidivism and increase prison safety, the state should embark on a sweeping effort to reform sentencing, ensure correctional supervision is commensurate with an offender’s risk profile, and allocate programming resources to increase positive outcomes.
* Another czar…
Currently, the provision of services to the residents is fragmented and, in many cases, redundant. To increase efficiency, Illinois should appoint a high-profile governmental official to lead efforts to rationalize and consolidate local government.
* Strengthen a current czar…
Illinois’ state CIO should drive a long-term IT strategic plan that is closely aligned with the governor’s priorities. This effort should lay out a unified vision on long-term priorities for investment governance, legacy migration, security, and procurement.
There’s lots more, so go read the whole thing.
46 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
Fisking the Democrats
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We looked at the hot GOP rhetoric from yesterday, now let’s look at the other side. Daily Herald…
“The late Judy Baar Topinka was a woman of the people,” Quinn said. “She understood that government officials must be accountable and responsive to Illinois citizens.” […]
This is meant to give people a chance to have an election,” Cullerton said. “We don’t know who’s going to run, we don’t know who’s going to win. The principle is, I think it’s something that we should do.”
I really don’t like the idea of putting words in a dead woman’s mouth. We have no idea what JBT would think about this. And we’ll never know.
Also, “we don’t know who is going to win”? Maybe, but we do know that presidential elections see a much higher turnout of Democratic-leaning voters.
For example, Democratic state Rep. Frank Mautino won by just 337 votes in 2014. He won by 11,706 votes two years ago. His 2014 GOP opponent received 17,072 votes while his 2012 opponent received 16,407 votes - hardly a huge increase. The difference was in Mautino’s results: 17,409 last year versus 28,113 in 2012,
The new Republican comptroller is gonna have to get really popular, really fast - and hope that Rauner doesn’t become too much of a liability.
* Sun-Times…
Earlier in the day, Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul of Chicago told his fellow lawmakers he wants to pursue merging the comptroller’s office with the treasurer’s when the next General Assembly begins its work. Republicans at times tried to turn the conversation back to that merger — complaining that there’s no reason it couldn’t happen now.
Currie called that a “smoke screen.”
“ ‘We can’t deal with this, because we’re not dealing with that,’ ” Currie said. “It’s a completely different issue, completely separate from what this is about.”
Translation: Speaker Madigan doesn’t support a merger, never has and probably never will.
* Gatehouse…
Democrats countered that the framers of the 1970 Illinois Constitution did not anticipate an appointee would serve a full four-year term as a statewide official. They also argued that an election in 2016 would cost nothing because voters will already be going to the polls to elect state lawmakers.
The framers did anticipate that something might happen, which is why they gave the GA the power to pass a special elections bill.
* Tribune…
Democrats contended that lawmakers needed to act now to avoid a legal battle in which Munger is sworn in on Monday and could claim a “property right” to the office for four years.
That’s true.
* More Tribune…
Meanwhile, Cullerton dismissed the notion that the maneuver sets a poor tone for his working relationship with Rauner, saying, “We have plenty of other things to talk about to get us set on a good foot.”
Yeah? Name one.
60 Comments
|
NRCC already attacking Simon
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From WSIL TV interviewed outgoing Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon…
As for her future, some people are urging her to run for Congress against Republican Mike Bost, who just took office this week. For that reason, Simon tells News 3 it’s far too early to make a decision. But she’s not ruling it out.
* The NRCC responded this morning with its usual understated modesty…
Hey there –
News hit today that former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is thinking about running for Congress in Illinois’ 12th District. Shocking right? It’s almost unbelievable that someone so closely tied to the toxic former Governor Pat Quinn would even consider running for another office after November’s election. Guess some folks just can’t see the writing on the wall.
If you plan on covering the bizarre news that Sheila Simon is thinking about resurrecting her toxic political career, please consider the following quote from the National Republican Congressional Committee:
“Southern Illinois families have already been hurt enough by the policies of Sheila Simon and Pat Quinn. The last thing folks need is the out-of-touch Quinn-Simon agenda wreaking havoc on them from Washington.” – Katie Martin Prill, NRCC Spokeswoman
Sigh.
All I can figure is, either they must really be worried to go so far over the top already, or they just can’t stop themselves from issuing press releases like this.
We’ve all given LG Simon a lot of grief here, but, c’mon, man… er… Katie.
35 Comments
|
A hot mess
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Legislative Republicans were up in arms yesterday during the debate over a special session. Here are a few quotes. Sun-Times…
“It’s a brazen, partisan, politically motivated power play. Period,” Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights) told the House on Thursday afternoon during a contentious hourlong debate at the Capitol in Springfield. […]
They said it poisons the well on the eve of a new administration that will bring two-party rule to Springfield. State Rep. Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) said it’s “pure and simple politics.”
“We don’t like the fact that we have a Republican governor that is going to be sworn in and so, at the eleventh hour, bingo, we’re going to stick it to them,” Kay said. “We’re going to do something that has never been done in state history to stick it to Gov. Rauner. And by golly, Mr. Speaker, we enjoy this. Well I say this, this is a pretty doggone bad start to a state that has an awful lot of bad problems.”
* Daily Herald…
“Everybody’s talking about how they can’t wait to be bipartisan again and work on these problems together and the tone is so important,” state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, said to Democratic Senate President John Cullerton. “And the first thing you do, the first partisan punch thrown in the year, was by you.” […]
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said the legislation would “strip an incoming governor of his executive authority” and would likely be challenged in court.
* Gatehouse…
“I think this is a shameful way to finish up our business in a lame-duck session,” House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said. “It is a power grab.”
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said, “I think passing this bill today is a naked power play.”
* Tribune…
A Rauner aide said there were no plans to sue over the measure, despite a statement taking Democrats to task for not acting in a bipartisan fashion and for passing a “constitutionally dubious” bill.
“In four days we are going to put a new governor in, and just on the eve of that we are stripping him of some of his constitutional executive authority, and that’s something that, if I was governor, I would take very personally,” said House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs. “We would not be here today if Gov. Quinn was re-elected and a Democrat was elected comptroller.”
32 Comments
|
Today’s number: 15,268
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner will be visiting several small towns today and tomorrow…
He starts the two-day tour Friday morning with a stop in the community of Byron outside Rockford. After that he will visit Casey, Grayville and Benton. On Saturday he’ll hit Maryville, Quincy, Moline and Moweaqua.
His team has dubbed it the “Ready to Work Tour.”
Rauner won’t be stopping in any of the state’s major media markets, including Chicago and Springfield.
Total population of the towns in today’s visit: 15,268.
39 Comments
|
“This is the thanks we get”
Friday, Jan 9, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Team Rauner sent out a list of inauguration events to reporters yesterday, including info on which events were open to all media and which were not.
The inaugural reception and dinner, the inter-faith prayer service, Rauner’s signing of his oath of office and the governor’s dinner party were all listed as “Limited Media”…
Associated Press will provide print and photo coverage for members
* The Sun-Times inquired about the limitations…
When a Sun-Times reporter sent an email asking what “limited media” meant and whether all media outlets were to be shut out except the AP for those events, Rauner’s spokesman responded that they could “make them closed entirely.”
“You are members [of AP] aren’t you? There is NOT ENOUGH ROOM. This is the thanks we get for opening events that previously have never been opened before,” wrote Rauner’s transition spokesman Mike Schrimpf. “We can make them closed entirely if you prefer that instead.”
When called and asked to clarify his statement about entirely closing events, Schrimpf said: “We are committed to running the most open inauguration in recent history and have an unprecedented number of events with media access that allows us to do that.”
Look, I can see the need for limiting access to some of these events. Reporter pools are common on the national stage.
But Schrimpf may wanna take a nap or something.
65 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
Question of the day
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* What do you admire most about Gov. Pat Quinn’s years in office?
No snark, please.
94 Comments
|
Unclear on the concept
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the twitters…
Um, dude, it’s pretty likely that the only person with standing to sue for shortening her term and thereby depriving her of her property rights would be the comptroller herself. And Comptroller-designate Munger has said she is fine with whatever the GA does.
…Adding… From Louis Atsaves in comments…
Somehow, I think the Governor, who is having this constitutional power stripped from him by statute, would also have standing.
He may, indeed have standing. But Rauner’s been awful quiet about Madigan’s move so far. We’ll see.
60 Comments
|
Rauner appointment rollout begins this weekend
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jim Dey has the scoop…
Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner has promised to “shake up Springfield” so many times, people are probably getting tired of what has become a political cliche that means attacking the state’s corrupt status quo.
But what does it mean? If it’s just a change in political parties — from Democrat to Republican — people are going to be disappointed. Republicans, after all, made significant contributions to Illinois’ current debased state. […]
Press secretary Mike Schrimpf said Wednesday that the public “will see a rollout of announcements (about appointees) this weekend.”
“I think you will be seeing a fair number of private-sector folks, some people from outside Illinois and some people from Illinois with government experience,” Schrimpf said.
He noted that it’s important to bring in people with institutional knowledge and understanding of state government as well as outsiders with big ideas.
Any predictions?
126 Comments
|
Today’s quotable
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sheila Simon…
As for Simon’s successor, Lt. Gov.-elect Evelyn Sanguinetti – who, like many in the circle of Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner, keeps a low public profile – she said, “Now’s the time to get to know (Sanguinetti). Let’s see what happens, and, as I always did during my term, wish that the governor has very good health and continues to stay fit and active.”
46 Comments
|
A very big thumbs up
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s return to the Tribune’s profile of Comptroller-to-be Leslie Munger. I talked with her about this topic yesterday, but didn’t include it in my subscriber-only story today because the Trib had it…
Munger is an active volunteer and former board member of the Lincolnshire-based Riverside Foundation, which provides assistance to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She said her work with the foundation made her aware of the important role of the comptroller, who is responsible for paying the state’s bills. At one point years ago, the state was behind in payments to the foundation, forcing the foundation’s board to borrow to pay its bills, Munger said.
That changed when Topinka took over the office, she said.
“She started putting those kind of bills at the top,” Munger said. “So I really became aware of what a difference this office can make and how important it is to be fiscally responsible.” […]
Munger was named Lincolnshire’s Citizen of the Year in 2004 and the Riverside Foundation’s Auxiliary Volunteer of the Year in 2013.
Munger told me she plans to continue Topinka’s commitment to prioritizing payments for social service agencies. “They live paycheck to paycheck, so to speak,” she said.
* Upon reflection, I think I was most impressed yesterday with Munger’s insight into how the comptroller’s office can make a positive difference. The vast majority of Illinoisans don’t know what Topinka did for those vital social service providers, but JBT kept a whole lot of them afloat by making sure they got at least some of the money they were owed.
And with more budget cuts looming, and a possibly permanent and drastic reduction in state revenues on the horizon, we’re definitely gonna need a comptroller who understands the impact on our all-important providers and fervently sides with them.
* And speaking of social service providers, we talked briefly yesterday about the Munger caption contest from the other day. She was all dressed up to receive that afore-mentioned award from the Riverside Foundation. She cracked that she’d seen a pic of me online wearing a tuxedo at my birthday party. Yep. Here it is. I was all dressed up because we were raising money for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (sign up for AmazonSmile and choose LSSI as your charity of choice by clicking here).
Anyway, she got a big kick out of the comments. No hard feelings, even when I told her to expect more.
Heh.
29 Comments
|
* AP…
Illinois could help prevent Exelon Corp. from closing nuclear plants by adopting policies that penalize competitors that emit carbon dioxide, including coal-fired power plants, according to a report released Wednesday by several state agencies.
House Speaker Michael Madigan last year directed the Commerce Commission and several other agencies to study ways to boost the financially struggling nuclear industry, after Exelon said it might have to close at least three of its six Illinois plants.
The report suggests the state could favor Exelon because its nuclear plants generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases […]
Exelon has told lawmakers it wants to be included in a “clean portfolio standard” under which nuclear, solar and wind power producers are rewarded for providing energy to the state. Otherwise, the company could push for a price on carbon that would make its nuclear plants more competitive.
The full report can be read by clicking here.
* Tribune…
Illinois governmental agencies Wednesday issued a report proposing ways to prop up Exelon’s ailing nuclear power plants, citing the economic and environmental impact that closing those plants could have on the state.
The agencies suggested programs and taxes that would punish electric generators that burn carbon-based fuels and produce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Exelon’s nuclear plants don’t emit greenhouse gases.
Regardless of whether Exelon’s plants continue to operate or are shuttered, Illinois ratepayers will see higher electricity bills, according to the report.
For instance, if the state legislature decides to tax carbon dioxide emissions to help Exelon, the move would drive up electricity prices 17 to 21 percent over 28 years, the report said.
Closing nuclear plants; however, would also cost “hundreds of millions of dollars or more” in upgrades to transmission lines needed to bring in new forms of power to the state, the report said.
* Nuclear Street…
Exelon is considering closing the Quad Cities, Byron and Clinton power stations due to unprofitably. The company has been lobbying the state to provide economic relief by recognizing the benefits of nuclear as a carbon-free source of electricity.
The report said that on balance closing the plants could benefit the state in terms of jobs. There would be 2,500 jobs lost if the plants closed, but 9,600 jobs could be gained by 2019 if the state invested in renewable power sources, the report said. Pointing to another balancing point, the report said $1.8 billion in economic activity would evaporate if the plants closed, but $120 million in energy efficiencies would be the result of an investment in renewables. […]
On the environmental front, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said there would be a price to pay for having the state rely more on fossil fuels. The immediate price tag for the environmental and health backlash between 2020 and 2030 could rise to $18.6 billion. Presumably, there would be long term expenses based on climate destabilization, as well.
* Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center…
“This report shows that Exelon’s nuclear plants that aren’t economically competitive can be retired without added costs to Illinois consumers, without hurting reliability, and with more job creation by growing clean renewable energy and energy efficiency.”
“This report confirms that the competitive power market is working to hold down Illinois energy costs. We shouldn’t bailout Exelon’s old, uncompetitive nuclear plants. Instead, we should invest in new renewable energy, like wind and solar, and energy efficiency to grow a cleaner Illinois energy future.”
* From David Kraft at the Nuclear Energy Information Service…
“Even though Exelon did their best to convince everyone that the sky is falling here in Illinois, even a poorly mandated, non-funded, public discounting and disenfranchising, abstract-model-heavy analysis could not reach that conclusion,” says Kraft.
“Given the guardedly incomplete conclusions of this Report, and the uncertainty about FERC awarding an additional $560 million in profits to Exelon, there is no legitimate reason for the Legislature to take immediate action on Exelon’s requests for a bailout, by any mechanism.”
According to Kraft, “The situation and the conclusions from this Report call for a number of things to happen first, before such consideration should even begin:
1. Exelon needs to open it books to the State and the public, on a plant by plant basis, to conclusively prove its need;
2. The Legislature FIRST needs to fix the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard to guarantee that EE/RE WILL be available to soften any economic or reliability damage the closure of the 5 money-losing reactors would cause, as the Report suggests numerous times it could;
3. No Legislative decision should be rendered prior to the FERC deciding on its potential $560 million award for Exelon. The Legislature should not set up an opportunity for a billion-dollar Exelon “double-dip.”
4. Alternatives to the Exelon proposals, and to Exelon as an energy provider, should be thoroughly investigated by the Legislature. Perhaps some of Exelon’s competitors would be willing to step up and fill some of the energy vacuum Exelon would create by closing the 5 reactors, and do so in a more economic, forward thinking manner — as the Report suggests should be done.
“The energy future of Illinois and its effects on the Illinois economy for decades to come are at stake with the Legislature’s decision,” Kraft warns. “Their job is to get it done RIGHT, not QUICK.”
* Meanwhile, the Tribune all but confirms widespread speculation that the General Assembly won’t send the Ameren/Comed bill to Gov. Quinn…
It’s a matter of timing. Quinn, who’s taken a tough line on some utility legislation, leaves office Monday when Rauner takes the oath as governor. But the new General Assembly isn’t sworn in until Wednesday. That leaves a brief window for Cullerton to send the bill to Rauner instead of Quinn. […]
“You probably ought to watch that,” Quinn told the Chicago Tribune in a recent interview. “They’re waiting for me to leave.” […]
Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said Quinn traditionally “hasn’t welcomed utility bills.” She confirmed the idea of waiting for Quinn to leave office is a “consideration.” […]
“The action came in the fall after Gov. Quinn’s loss in the election, leaving a very short amount of time for the legislature to respond if the lame-duck governor made changes or vetoed the legislation,” said Radogno spokeswoman Patty Schuh. “By holding it, it allows the incoming governor to take the necessary time to review the legislation and make his decision.”
28 Comments
|
* AP…
Illinois Democratic leaders are considering a move Thursday that’s opposed by Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner despite pledges of bipartisanship as the state enters its first divided government in more than a decade.
* Finke…
Republicans generally oppose the idea, pointing out that 2016 is a presidential election year in which Democratic voter turnout is generally higher, giving a Democratic candidate an edge. Topinka was a Republican, as is Leslie Munger, the woman Rauner said he will appoint to the job Monday.
Republican state Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove said he considers the special election proposal a slap in the face to Rauner, who he said has spent recent weeks trying to meet individually with legislators on both sides of the aisle.
“On the heels of that graciousness and openness, to all of the sudden pivot and snub him and say, ‘We have the ability to jam this down your throat,’ it smacks of overt partisanship,” Sandack said.
* But Munger herself says it’s no big deal either way…
Munger says if Democrats move forward with a special election in 2016, she’d “absolutely” run statewide for the post.
“Whatever they do, they’re going to do,” she said.
And…
Munger said Wednesday she’s not worried about the outcome of the vote [today in the General Assembly].
“If that comes to pass, hopefully the fact that I’ve done a good job will help me get elected,” she said in a phone interview from Florida, where she has been vacationing with her family.
Subscribers know more about this topic.
32 Comments
|
Bost denies report that he rehearsed his rant
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Former state Rep. and now Congressman Mike Bost became instantly famous for his 2012 floor rant against House Speaker Michael Madigan. And the anger he showed in the video most definitely helped his congressional campaign last year. The Rothenberg Political Report, however, claims it was all an act…
What is somewhat ironic about the video and caricature of Bost is that he did not previously have a reputation for being a loose cannon. For years, he was a legislator who kept his head down until more recently when he became the designated “bulldog” for the House GOP caucus.
While it is apparently common knowledge among Downstate Republican insiders, Beltway observers may not know that the Bost rant was apparently staged. He practiced for at least a week in his office, according to multiple sources, even though Bost didn’t know the specific bill that would garner his exercise in emotion.
Sources point to the video as further evidence. None of the legislators or staff in the frame of the shot appear surprised or tried to restrain Bost during his rant. And apparently he made a mistake by not taking the binder clip off of the papers. That limited the desired scatter effect and was the reason why he threw a punch at the stack of paper. The caucus was excited that the video went viral.
“He knew he was going to do it,” according to one Downstate Republican. “Rehearsed or not, he touched a nerve with a lot of people down here.”
* But Bost denies it was staged…
Bost chuckled as he denied that claim.
“If it was rehearsed, then I got to be one of the best actors in the world, OK?” Bost said.
At the time of the rant, Bost said he was working as a Republican floor leader.
“Was it my job to argue? Yes,” Bost said. “Was my frustration real? Yes. But to say I rehearsed that, no, there was no rehearsal.”
31 Comments
|
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Thursday, Jan 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m told that Cisco updated its spam lists over the holidays and my e-mail service provider Constant Contacts was put in the “yellow zone.” So, if you haven’t been receiving your Capitol Fax via e-mail this week, please check your spam folder or inform your IT department of this change. Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience.
Comments Off
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
