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.
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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.
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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?
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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.”
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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.
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* 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.”
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* 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.
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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.”
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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.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jan 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oops. I forgot to post a question today. Sorry about that. It’s awful late, so let’s go with a tried and true subject matter…
* The Question: Caption?
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* From Steve Brown…
FYI
Another special proclamation has been prepared allowing the special election applying to all appropriate constitutional offices.
Speaker Madigan stated he will support the legislation on Thursday
The new proclamation, issued by Madigan and Senate President Cullerton, is here.
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* The study panel examining governance of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and its parent agency, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency was released today. From a press release…
The report concludes that establishing ALPLM as a separate agency is unlikely to solve the complex problems that led to the introduction of the pending legislation. Rather, separation of the ALPLM from the IHPA would weaken both organizations and “would result in a significant lost opportunity for the state,” depriving it of important synergies between the ALPLM and the other historical sites, memorials and programs that exist under the IHPA.
Instead, the report urges integration of ALPLM into a reorganized IHPA, to achieve “a better balance between the political culture that created ALPLM, the bureaucratic culture that has managed ALPLM for the past decade, and a museum and research library culture that must assume a higher profile in the [institution’s] future.”
The author of the report, Dr. Brent Glass, director emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, argues that changes in the current governing structure of both IHPA and ALPLM could provide Illinois “a nationally recognized public history agency with the resources—human, physical, and cultural—commensurate with its rich and varied heritage.”
The report’s conclusions and recommendations were unanimously endorsed by the study panel at its meeting on December 22. Co-chairs of the panel, Donna Sack of the Association of Midwest Museums, and Bernard Reilly, of the Center for Research Libraries, expressed confidence that the report will shed new light on the complex issues surrounding ALPLM governance and operations and their hope that it proves useful to state legislators in considering the pending legislation.
The full report is here. I’ve been sick all day, so I’ll get to it eventually. Let the rest of us know what you find. Thanks.
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DCFS to get 8th director in three years
Wednesday, Jan 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
The acting director of the Department of Children and Family Services told a packed legislative hearing Wednesday morning that she is leaving the troubled agency Jan. 19.
Bobbie Gregg announced her departure at a Chicago hearing investigating conditions at the state’s roughly 50 residential treatment facilities, which were the focus of the Tribune’s recent “Harsh Treatment” investigation. […]
Lance Trover, a spokesman for Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner, said in an email that Rauner “is committed to a transformation at the Department of Children and Family Services and will work closely with the General Assembly to ensure we protect our most vulnerable residents.”
Gregg said she is DCFS’ seventh director in the past three years.
From what I’ve been hearing, Gregg thought until very recently that she’d be asked to stay on at DCFS.
Administration and oversight apparently aren’t her only shortcomings. Add “foresight” to the list.
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Tuition freezes and budget math
Wednesday, Jan 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a U of I press release with emphasis added…
In-state freshmen at the University of Illinois would see no increase in base tuition next fall for the first time in more than two decades under a proposal that will be reviewed Monday by the Board of Trustees’ Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee. […]
Officials said the University hopes to hold future tuition increases to the rate of inflation or below, but cautioned that significant reductions in state funding and other factors could lead to larger increases.
* The Tribune explains how the university will cover the costs, with emphasis added…
The university will forgo about $2.6 million in tuition revenue by not instituting another 1.7 percent increase this year, Pierre said.
However, he said, the university expects about $25 million in additional tuition revenue during the 2015-16 school year in part because of increased enrollment in some programs and higher graduate student tuition. Also, under the four-year guaranteed tuition plan, some lower-paying students will be graduating, and new students — even with the freeze — will be paying more than those they replace.
Pierre warned that this could be a one-time freeze, especially as the state’s public colleges and universities are facing threats of funding cuts after the state income tax rate dropped Jan. 1.
“Certainly any changes in state support might have consequences on tuition rates for next year,” he said.
* Keep that $2.6 million figure in mind when reading this, with emphasis added…
The University of Illinois is preparing for a possible 20 percent cut in its state appropriation.
Last week, the university was asked to submit a report to the Illinois Office of Management and Budget and the Illinois Board of Higher Education on how such a reduction would affect its operations for the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2015.
A 20 percent cut in the UI’s approximately $670 million state appropriation would amount to about $134 million.
The tuition freeze’s $2.6 million cost amounts to 0.39 percent of the system’s $670 million state approp. Any hit to its budget beyond that, and either the freeze could be imperiled or tuition will have to rise even higher in the very near future.
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Shine a light
Wednesday, Jan 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* USA Today…
The election may be over, but the fundraising hasn’t stopped for some of the nation’s governors, whose allies are busy collecting more money from donors to help underwrite their inaugural bashes.
In some cases, the donations exceed what their supporters could contribute to their campaigns.
In Illinois, sponsors who give $25,000 to the committee raising funds for Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner’s inaugural events get four VIP tickets to his Jan. 12 swearing-in, along with entry to two dinners, a reception and concert featuring country star Toby Keith and blues legend Buddy Guy, according to the committee’s website.
State law limits candidates accepting more than $10,500 from a corporation or union or $5,300 from an individual.
* Finke…
Rauner, who is not using taxpayer money to pay for his inaugural activities over the coming week in Springfield, will release information about who is paying for it when the time is right, spokesman Mike Schrimpf said Tuesday.
“We already committed to releasing the donors and will release the relevant information at the appropriate time,” he said in an emailed response to questions.
Schrimpf did not answer questions about the total estimated cost of the inaugural events. […]
Although Rauner has promised to disclose contributors, that isn’t enough for some critics of privately funding inaugural events. David Melton, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said it still leads to the perception that someone or something is buying access.
“I’m not questioning the good faith of anyone involved about this idea of privately funding inaugurations, whether it’s for the governor, the president or anyone else,” Melton said. “But I think it’s a mistake because it undermines the position that they hold and leads to misperceptions about where their chief loyalties lie.”
* Meanwhile, Mark Brown looks at Rauner’s pledge to shift his assets into a blind trust…
Rauner’s most obvious and serious potential conflicts involve his holdings in GTCR, the private-equity company he ran before entering the governor’s race, and the firm’s work investing state pension funds. I honestly don’t know what he can do to alleviate that conflict.
Many of Rauner’s investments are complex and probably can’t be undone by any trustee, which means he will keep them for many years.
That’s why Robert Walker, a former chief counsel to both the U.S. Senate and House ethics committees and now a lawyer at Wiley Rein LLP, says blind trusts are of limited value in the short term.
After all, Rauner will know exactly what he put in the trust, and what actions might benefit those investments.
“It’s a good gesture initially if there are strict provisions applied and followed. It’s not a panacea for potential conflicts of interest,” Walker said.
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Economist: Rauner’s pension plan doesn’t add up
Wednesday, Jan 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune shines some belated light on Bruce Rauner’s 401(K) proposal for public employees…
In his successful campaign, Rauner spoke generally about wanting to shift public employees from receiving a defined pension benefit into becoming members of a defined contribution plan similar to a 401(k)-style system.
Rauner has said public workers should be able to keep the benefits they have already accrued, but, moving forward, go into a defined contribution system. He also has said public safety workers should stay in the current system. And, with 80 percent of public employees not eligible to receive Social Security, Rauner has said he favors some unspecified plan to create a retirement safety net.
But it’s unclear whether Rauner’s concept is constitutional, as he maintains, or how it would address the current unfunded pension liability since payments would go into a new retirement system rather than address the shortfalls in the current system.
“Not only does it not solve the problem, but it makes it worse in the near term,” [Richard Dye, an economist on the faculty of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois] said. “Whatever the solution is will cost something, and I don’t know how it would be implemented. It’s hard to add (Rauner’s concept) up as a fiscal benefit for the state.”
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* From an e-mail to supporters…
Over the Christmas Holiday, more than 300 letters, notes, and emails of grassroots support flowed to the Rauner Team regarding my application for Illinois Comptroller.
THANK YOU!
Governor-elect Bruce Rauner decided to appoint North Shore businesswoman Leslie Munger as the next Illinois Comptroller. It’s a good pick which I support and respect.
Here’s what I texted her yesterday morning…
Hi Leslie, Congratulations on Comptroller appt. I personally wish you much success! Time to Shake up Springfield. Again, Best Wishes and Congratulations- Adam Andrzejewski
Thank you for your outpouring of support. The Rauner team described it as a “flood.”
I especially appreciated these supportive notes, because you took time out of your Christmas Holiday. Volunteer Susan Petty, founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk, and IL Tea Party Denise Cattoni and many others did much to organize support.
Our teams at For The Good of Illinois and OpenTheBooks.com work extremely hard to protect taxpayers and fight spending abuse. Your support further steeled our spine for the long road ahead.
Thank you to U.S. Senator Tom Coburn who sent a supportive email to Bruce Rauner. As Dr. Coburn leaves the Senate, we will work hard to carry his legacy of transparency and aggressive spending oversight.
Thank you to Solidarity founder, Nobel Laureate, and Polish President Lech Walesa for his 2010 endorsement and continued friendship. The possible appointment was a leading story in the largest Polish weekly newspaper, Wprost- here.
Thank you to Deroy Murdock at National Review who wrote an incredible biography piece, Let Andrzejewski Open The Books in Illinois.
Thank you to Michael Flynn at Breitbart for his early piece- IL Governor-elect Faces First Test of Leadership.
Thank you to the ten elected members of the General Assembly who backed my application, members of the GOP State Central Committee, GOP County Chairman, leaders of center-right persuading organizations, pro-family organizations, prominent business people across Illinois, donors and of course… regular people across our state.
From the bottom of my heart, I deeply appreciate all of you. Thank you. All of you put your good name next to mine. It’s a charge that I will not forget.
It’s good news that Rauner picked from the deep well of Illinois business talent and not from politics. All of us have high hopes. We wish Bruce Rauner and his team the best!
Now, let’s get back to work. All of us have a lot of work to do.
For The Good of Illinois.
ADAM ANDRZEJEWSKI
Founder & Chairman, For The Good of Illinois
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