* This AFSCME Council 31 handout to members was scanned by a reader and then converted to text. I’ve tried to correct most of the conversion errors. The original document is here…
Drastically reducing the group insurance benefit for state employees has been a priority for Governor Rauner since Day 1. Even before contract negotiations got underway, the Governor made cutting the state’s insurance plan a pillar of his budget proposal building $700 million in cuts to the group health plan into his budget. Even though his staff admitted in legislative testimony that changes would have to be negotiated with state employee unions, the governor is now demanding that legislators amend the collective bargaining law to ban negotiations over health care benefits.
At the bargaining table, Rauner is pushing for two radical changes to the group insurance benefit which could increase employee costs by thousands of dollars each year: He is proposing to drastically increase the share of the premium paid by employees and drastically increase the out of pocket costs when employees access healthcare.
Rauner wants to double the employee premium contribution to 40% of the cost for single coverage - and to 40% of the cost for dependent coverage too. By federal law, the cost for single coverage is capped at 9.5% of income. However, there is no cap at all on the premium contribution for dependent coverage. This proposal represents a significant change in a number of ways:
1. Currently employees pay a fixed dollar amount toward premiums that is specified in the contract. Moving to paying a percentage of the premium cost means that employee costs would rise each year based on any increase in the state’s healthcare costs.
2. Currently employees who make less pay a little less for health insurance, and employees that make more pay a little more. This proposal eliminates protections for lower paid workers, as everyone will be paying the same amount for group insurance.
3. Increasing the employee premium contribution from 19% (the current average contribution) to 40% puts Illinois outside the norm of other states. The national average for state employee premium contributions is 16%.
Rauner also wants to lower the insurance plan’s value and institute massive cost shifting onto employees through high out of pocket costs. The Administration is proposing a health plan with a 60% actuarial value. This means that on average, the health plan will pay 60% of allowable health care expenses, with the employee paying 40% of the cost through deductibles, copays and co-insurance.
• The current actuarial value of the Illinois group health plan is 93%. This mirrors state employee group insurance plans in other states. The average state government health plan nationwide had an actuarial value of 92% in 2013; the Midwest average is 93%.
• The Administration’s proposal does not include any specific changes to co-pays, deductibles, etc. Rather, it would delegate a committee to develop the new out of pocket costs based on its demand that employees pay a total of 40% of health care expenditures.
These proposed changes to health benefits would move Illinois from average to dead last when compared to other states.
• The Affordable Care Act (ACA) ranks plans as: platinum (best); gold; silver; bronze (worst). 60% actuarial value equates to “bronze” level coverage under the ACA.
• The average bronze level plan for an individual has a deductible of $5,400 and an out-of pocket maximum of $6,350. Bronze level plans would result in staggering and unaffordable cost increases for state employees. These plans have out of pocket costs at or near what is allowable under the ACA:
o $6,600 for single
o $13,200 for family
• 96% of states have a group health benefit that equates to an ACA “platinum” plan (valued over 80%).
• Only two states have “gold” level plans (valued at 80%)
• No other state has an employee health insurance plan with an actuarial value as low as 60%
* Hyperpartisan Democrats have been occasionally suggesting in comments that Gov. Rauner be recalled by voters. We’ve had even more today, so I feel I need to “front page” this topic.
Like all hyperpartisans, these recall enthusiasts are clueless.
The recall of the Governor may be proposed by a petition signed by a number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election, with at least 100 signatures from each of at least 25 separate counties.
15 percent of 3,627,690 total votes cast last year would be 544,154 signatures. That’s a whole lot, not to mention the 25 county requirement.
A petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors not more than 150 days after an affidavit has been filed with the State Board of Elections providing notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the Governor. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 6 months after the beginning of the Governor’s term of office. The affidavit shall have been signed by the proponent of the recall petition, at least 20 members of the House of Representatives, and at least 10 members of the Senate, with no more than half of the signatures of members of each chamber from the same established political party.
Can anybody out there name 10 House Republicans and 5 Senate Republicans who would sign such an affidavit?
Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.
* Don’t clog up our comment section here with your goofy recall rants. You’ll be banned for life and forced to flee to a newspaper website, where nobody cares.
* I keep hearing this over and over about Sen. Mark Kirk…
He hasn’t had much of a filter on what he says in recent years. Whether that has anything to do with the stroke he suffered in 2012, I don’t know. It seems he was once more cautious. Now words just pop out of there.
Kirk has always had a mouth problem. That didn’t stop him from thumping his opponent five years ago. Underestimate him at your own risk.
I’m not making any excuses for his “bro with no ho” remarks. There are no excuses. But he’s apologized, so let’s move on to the question of whether he can hold his own against whomever the Democrats nominate.
Now, you may not agree with everything he said, but you have to admit that he was quite sharp and handled himself very well.
He has trouble giving long speeches (which don’t happen much in politics these days anyway), but he appears to have no trouble at all with answering questions.
* And here he is being interviewed at length not long ago by Bruce Dold at Elmhurst College…
Again, you may not agree with some of his statements, but he doesn’t look weak or ineffectual to me.
Kirk obviously needs to hold his tongue more often, but I think he’ll hold his own in the coming campaign, particularly with a potential opponent like this…
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrea Zopp was one of 19 character witnesses listed to testify Friday in Springfield for her friend Quinshaunta Golden, who is facing a decade or more in prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar theft and bribery scheme involving government grants and contracts awarded by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
But Zopp — who’s seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois — said Wednesday, “I’m not going to be able to testify.
“The sentencing’s been moved countless times,” Zopp said. “I couldn’t make it work to go to Springfield. It’s an all-day trip. I couldn’t rearrange my schedule to make that happen.”
So much for the jobs-killer rep—when it comes to states that are growing new businesses, Illinois is among the top U.S. leaders.
The Land of Lincoln ranked No. 2 among states where businesses are being created the fastest, according to numbers released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of business startups in Illinois jumped 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. The only state beating Illinois was Massachusetts—home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—whose fourth-quarter number rose 5.6 percent.
Education seems to be a common thread among the top business-creating states, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a research group that promotes innovation. […]
The density of young firms and population diversity, including an area’s ability to attract immigrants, are among the factors that helped some metropolitan areas and states stand out, said Arnobio Morelix, a research analyst who studies startups at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo.
Illinois fits that bill, aided by Chicago’s status as one of the fastest-growing cities for technology jobs, with a rapidly-growing tech community in River North.
One hundred fifty years ago today, the U.S. Army took possession of Galveston Island, a barrier island just off the Texas coast that guards the entrance to Galveston Bay, and began a late-arriving, long-lasting war against slavery in Texas. This little-known battle would endure for months after the end of what we normally think of as the Civil War. This struggle, pitting Texas freedpeople and loyalists and the U.S. Army against stubborn defenders of slavery, would become the basis for the increasingly popular celebrations of Juneteenth, a predominantly African-American holiday celebrating emancipation on or about June 19th every year.
The historical origins of Juneteenth are clear. On June 19, 1865, U.S. Major General Gordon Granger, newly arrived with 1,800 men in Texas, ordered that “all slaves are free” in Texas and that there would be an “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.” The idea that any such proclamation would still need to be issued in June 1865 – two months after the surrender at Appomattox - forces us to rethink how and when slavery and the Civil War really ended. And in turn it helps us recognize Juneteenth as not just a bookend to the Civil War but as a celebration and commemoration of the epic struggles of emancipation and Reconstruction.
By June 19, 1865, it had been more than two years since President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, almost five months since Congress passed the 13th Amendment, and more than two months since General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army at Appomattox Court House. So why did Granger need to act to end slavery?
A lawyer for former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Thursday called leaks regarding the federal hush-money case against the Illinois Republican “unconscionable” and said he may ask the court to investigate.
Thomas Green, Hastert’s Washington, D.C.-based defense attorney, said during a status hearing in Chicago that he’s concerned information that’s been disclosed to the media may inhibit Hastert’s right to a fair trial.
“Something has to be done to stop these leaks,” said Green, who attended the hearing via telephone. “They’re unconscionable and they have to stop.” […]
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Block told U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin that prosecutors also find the leaks “disturbing.” He said the government is “doing everything we can” to look into it.
There are always some leaks and some helpful “assistance” provided to “friendly” reporters. But the Chicago US Attorney’s office hasn’t leaked like this in my memory.
* Rep. Phillips is a sponsor of a “right to work” bill, and now we know why…
State Rep. Reggie Phillips made his feelings on the proposed right-to-work resolution clear Thursday, saying AFSCME members are “like ants” and asking his members to lock arms and support towns that pass the resolution.
Phillips, R-Charleston, along with State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, spoke at the Charleston Chamber of Commerce’s legislative update lunch at the Unique Suites hotel. Phillips pointed to right-to-work and pension reform as two of the biggest topics state legislators are dealing with.
Phillips said he will ask Charleston city officials to resurrect the right-to-work resolution, rescinded by council members after union supporters packed council meetings to speak against it, and wants his constituents to support it.
Phillips noted he attended one of the council meetings in support of the resolution.
“There’s only 38,000 members in AFSCME (represented by the contract in Illinois),” he said. “You’d think there’s 38 million. They’re mobilized, like ants.”
Phillips said he wished Gov. Bruce Rauner and Phillips’ own supporters would have stood firm on the issue. The process of change may be painful but is necessary for the state, he said.
“Trust me, it’s like spanking a child sometimes,” he said. “The child doesn’t want to be spanked, but in the end it’s going to make them a better person.”
Conventional wisdom told us that our leaders would end their dog-and-pony shows when push came to shove, get together in the governor’s conference room at the Capitol and hammer out a compromise budget in which neither side gets all it wants but both sides can live with it.
But these are unconventional times. Rauner has been hurling insults at Madigan, who is doing a slow burn. What’s developing before our eyes is a nonviolent version of World War I trench warfare: Both sides dig in and prepare for a long, withering conflict.
“My staff will tell you that there were many times when I was governor, and particularly that first few months, I had a lot of thoughts about Mike Madigan, but I never said them publicly,” says Edgar, a Republican who served two terms in the 1990s. “I worked that out, and we got to be very good friends, actually.”
Edgar says the money Rauner is spending on campaign-style ads attacking Democrats is unnecessary and won’t lead to compromise.
“That could make it extremely difficult,” he says. “I hope that some private talks will resume.”
Edgar says it also doesn’t help when Democrats are comparing Rauner to disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He says when he was governor, in the final weeks of sessions, everyone kept their opinions to themselves and got to work, and thinks that should happen here.
Edgar also says Rauner has to realize he’s not in the private sector anymore. Democrats, in turn, must realize they can’t do things the way they’ve always done them, calling it “a new day” in Springfield, Edgar says.
After careful thought and consideration I have decided to not seek re-election as Illinois State Senator for the 47th District in the 2016 election.
It is an honor to have earned the trust and support of so many people in Western Illinois and across the state. I will continue to work hard to represent and be a voice for my constituents in Springfield as I transition to the private sector.
Sincerely,
Senator John Sullivan
Sullivan, a Democrat, represents a heavily Republican district. He told me last night that he’s not resigning before the election. The Democrats, therefore, won’t be able to put anybody into the seat to give him or her a leg up. That’s gonna be a real tough one for them to hold.
Sen. Sullivan has justly earned great respect from both sides of the aisle. He’s a class act, and that’s why his GOP voters have kept sending him back to Springfield. It’s a “Sullivan district,” not a partisan district.
He’ll be missed.
…Adding… Some decidedly unclassy spin from the IL GOP…
Senator John Sullivan, a downstate Democrat in a competitive district, announced Thursday that he is not running for re-election in 2016.
Sullivan’s announcement is an early sign that the Democrats controlled by Mike Madigan are afraid of answering to voters after their repeated failure in Springfield.
In spite of winning re-election by nearly 13 points in 2012, Sullivan bowed out of his re-election campaign less than a week after Governor Bruce Rauner visited the district and challenged voters to hold Sullivan accountable for standing with Mike Madigan. In the November election, Governor Bruce Rauner won the district by more than 36 points.
As the 30-year House Speaker and Chairman of the Democratic Party, Mike Madigan has held a firm grip on Democrats in Springfield and has enforced loyalty at all costs. Sullivan knows that if he were to run for re-election, he would not be able to distance himself from Mike Madigan.
For the Democrat legislators who continue to stand against reform to business-as-usual in Springfield, Mike Madigan’s name will be next to theirs on the ballot in November 2016.
Sullivan has won every election since 2002 by wide margins. Sen. Sullivan won a close race in 2002, beating incumbent Sen. Laura Kent Donahue by 3 points (51.5% - 48.5%), but he has coasted to victory in every election since. (Illinois Board of Elections, Accessed 6/18/2015)
2004: Sen. Sullivan (D) beat Republican Tom Ernst by 24 points (61.8% - 38.2%).
2008: Sen. Sullivan (D) won re-election unopposed.
2012: Sen. Sullivan (D) beat Republican Randy Frese by nearly 13 points (56.4% - 43.6%).
Just three weeks ago, Sullivan blindly supported his Democrat party boss Mike Madigan by voting for a budget that was unbalanced by more than $3 billion. “House Democrats worked into the evening Tuesday to push through major parts of a new budget they acknowledge is at least $3 billion short in an effort to force new Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to eventually go along with a tax increase to fill the deficit.” (Monique Garcia and Kim Geiger,
“Illinois Democrats Push Ahead With Budget That’s $3 Billion Short,” Chicago Tribune, 5/26/2015)
Sullivan voted to pass Madigan’s unbalanced FY2016 budget bill. (Illinois General Assembly Records, Accessed 6/18/2015)
Sullivan has taken $1,037,820 from Democrat Party committees controlled by Mike Madigan. (Illinois Board of Elections, Accessed 6/18/2015)
Last week, Governor Bruce Rauner visited Sullivan’s district and challenged voters to hold Sullivan accountable for standing with Mike Madigan. “[Gov. Bruce Rauner] said he wants people to get in touch with their representatives and ask them: “Are you for taxpayers or the Chicago political machine?”‘” (WGEM, “Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Challenges Voters To Pressure Lawmakers,” WGEM.com, 6/11/2015)
Governor Bruce Rauner won Sullivan’s district by 36 points (65% - 29%) in the November 2014 election. The rural Western Illinois district covers all or part of 11 counties, including Adams, Brown, Cass, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Mason, McDonough, Schuyler and Warren. Governor Rauner won the district by 36 points and the most populous county in the district by 56 points (Adams, 76.4% - 19.3%). (Illinois Board of Elections, Accessed 6/18/2015)
“Plain and simple: Sen. John Sullivan is running from Mike Madigan. After voting for a budget that was unbalanced by $4 billion and accepting over $1 million from Madigan’s Democrat Party over the years, John Sullivan knows that he can’t justify his actions to his constituents. In the past, Democrats have voted with Madigan in Springfield and then distanced themselves to voters at home. But now, Governor Rauner is not letting Democrats like Sullivan get away with it. Countless Democrats represent districts throughout the state where Madigan is loathed by voters. By November 2016, these voters will know that a vote for a Democrat in the state legislature is a vote for the failed status quo controlled by Mike Madigan,” said Nick Klitzing, Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party.
May Jobs in Illinois Increase +9,200; Job Growth Still Lagging Behind Other States
Illinois Unemployment Rate Remains at 6 percent
CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in May held steady at 6.0 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national unemployment rate reported for May, which inched up from the prior month to 5.5 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment gained +9,200 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The BLS revised April data which showed a further increase in Illinois’ job gain from a preliminary +4,800 to +5,400. Illinois has gained an average of 5,300 jobs per month since recovery from the 2008-09 recession while a majority of other states have seen a quicker recovery, per BLS data. The number of jobs in Illinois will not reach pre-recession levels until approximately June 2016, according to IDES analysts’ estimations.
“Though 9,200 new jobs are good, this represents a job growth rate of less than 0.2 percent,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “Illinois policymakers must continue to focus on improving our underlying business climate.”
In May, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Professional and Business Services (+6,900), Leisure and Hospitality (+3,300) and Government (+2,300). The three industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were Manufacturing (-2,500); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-2,300); and Financial Activities (-1,200).
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +62,100 jobs with the largest gains in Professional and Business Services (+27,500); Education and Health Services (+14,800); and Construction (+13,700). Two key sectors posted over-the-year declines in May: Manufacturing (-7,300) and Financial Activities (-5,300).
The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work. IDES’ IllinoisJoblink.com (IJL) program, which helps jobseekers connect with hiring companies, recently showed that 168,271 help wanted ads were available and 59,192 resumes were posted. Many positions however continue to remain unfilled. The Department continues its efforts to help spur job growth in Illinois.
In May, the unemployment rate stood 1.1 percentage points below the unemployment rate a year ago when it was 7.1 percent. The number of unemployed workers increased 0.3 percent from the prior month to 392,000 and was down -15.6 percent over the same month for the prior year.
“Illinois needs to take decisive action to address persistently low job growth through structural reforms to make Illinois competitive and attractive for business,” said Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director (DCEO) Jim Schultz. “Governor Rauner’s proposed reforms will create an environment in which Illinois businesses and families can thrive.”
* Tony Leone, a Republican and former assistant House clerk under Speaker Michael Madigan, talked to Bernie about what happened after Gov. Jim Thompson appointed him to the state property tax appeals board…
Leone said Madigan called him to his office.
“He said, ‘Listen. I want you to recuse yourself from any complaint that … my law firm is representing,’” Leone recalled, noting that as speaker, Madigan ran House operations.
“At this point, I had no idea he was even an appeals attorney or his law firm handled appeals,” Leone said. “I walked out of the room having an awful lot of respect.”
“I think people ought to be careful about making insinuations that maybe he uses his influence on those types of appeals,” Leone added.
Leone said he wasn’t pointing the finger at anyone in particular, including the governor.
* And speaking of Madigan’s property tax work, check out Ben Joravsky’s latest in The Reader…
Rauner and his aides blasted Madigan for operating a law practice that takes advantage of the speaker’s clout with Cook County Democrats to win lower taxes for his well-to-do downtown clients. […]
But what the governor and his aides conveniently neglected to mention is that GTCR, Rauner’s old investment firm, is also one of the insiders benefiting from Madigan’s clout. That’s because GTCR is housed in a River North high-rise whose landlord hired Madigan’s law firm to handle its property tax appeal, according to the Cook County assessor’s website. […]
Finally, there’s the case of Kenneth Griffin, the wealthiest man in the state, who runs Citadel, a hedge fund.
Griffin has donated more than $5 million to Rauner’s campaign fund. Plus, he let Rauner use his private jet in the last campaign.
Griffin’s hedge fund is headquartered in the so-called Citadel building at 131 S. Dearborn. To handle its property tax appeal, the landlord of the Citadel building has hired—drum roll, please—Madigan’s law firm!
Gov. Bruce Rauner has said that he wants to reduce Amtrak train service in the state starting July 1, but the Illinois Department of Transportation hasn’t informed the national rail line about any cuts to its state aid, according to an Amtrak spokesman.
Company spokesman Marc Magliari said Tuesday that Amtrak still is accepting bookings for current levels of service. Rauner announced a new round of cuts to state programs Friday as he continues to negotiate with Democratic leaders in the Illinois Legislature, namely Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, over the state budget. […]
Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the agency was waiting for Amtrak to provide “detailed cost and revenue projections for each route in order to make decisions about the frequency and level of service that the state can afford in anticipation of the Madigan-Cullerton budget.”
Amtrak plans to continue operating under its current schedule until it hears otherwise.
Seems odd.
* Meanwhile, from the Capital Development Board…
From: “Golden, Jodi”
Date: June 17, 2015 at 10:40:36 AM CDT
To: CDB.Executive.BoardMembers
Subject: FW: Stop work Letter
Board Members – I hope this note finds you all well. I wanted to inform you that the attached letter was mailed on Monday evening to contract holders with CDB. At this time we have no appropriations to continue with projects, therefore, unless this changes by June 30th, all work must be stopped by June 30th. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
Thanks for your service to CDB!
Best,
Jodi
* The letter, with emphasis added…
To Whom it May Concern:
In accordance with Section 20-60 of the Illinois Procurement Code (30 ILCS 500/20-60) and the Capital Development Board’s (CDB) Standard Documents for Construction, the CDB directs you to stop all work you are performing under the above-referenced contract by June 30, 2015. You are further directed to do nothing after that date that would incur any additional cost to the State. This action is necessary because no appropriation bill was passed by the General Assembly this spring that would allow payments from the CDB to continue.
You should submit a payment request for work performed up to June 30, 2015, to the CDB project manager for the project. The CDB project manager will assist you in addressing any issues with the payment request and will answer any questions you might have regarding this stop work order, including design services of any kind, construction services of any kind, storage of all construction materials and equipment, and securing the job site.
Please note that the funds were available when you entered the contract with the CDB, but the General Assembly has failed to appropriate monies for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1, 2015. The CDB is working diligently to correct this situation, but it requires legislative action.
If it is determined that the funding problem cannot be fixed in a reasonable time, then the CDB will formally advise you that the contract is suspended. The project manager will advise you about any developments.
The CDB sincerely regrets the need for this action and greatly appreciates your cooperative response.
Sincerely
Jodi Golden
Acting Executive Director
* A top legislative Democrat responds via e-mail…
We sent them the capital re approp bill [yesterday]. If they are saying there are ongoing projects that were not re appropriated, that would be OMB’s failure to notify the legislative budget folks of what projects were completed and what ones needed continued approp authority. I know our staff sought suggestions from OMB on all parts of the budget. And of course the capital bill and all budget House bills with the exception of the k-12 bill were on file for three days in the Senate and we never heard there was any problem with the capital re approp bill.
*** UPDATE *** A Rauner administration official just called to point me to two bills: HBs 2913 and 2914.
They’re about a thousand pages of approps and re-approps for capital projects. The Democratic bill, the Rauner official said, is only about 75 pages - or 925 pages short.
“They knew what they were doing,” the Rauner official said, and added some unprintable stuff.
Thursday, Jun 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Since 1974, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued more than 850 recalls for toy products, many for hazards like magnets, lead and other dangers hidden in our children’s toys. In the face of such risks, and with so few resources at hand, American parents have come to rely on consumer groups and the civil justice system to serve both as an early warning system and an enforcement mechanism against negligent corporations.
Between 1990 and 2007, 196 children died from choking on toy parts, small balls and balloons. Nearly a quarter of a million children are treated at U.S. emergency rooms for toy-related injuries every year. A series of lawsuits in the late-2000s not only helped remove lead-tainted toys from store shelves, but also helped establish quality assurance programs overseen by the courts. A lawsuit filed by the family of a toddler who died after ingesting tiny magnets brought awareness to the hidden dangers of magnetic toys.
Civil actions by parents across the country have consistently forced corporations and regulators to take action. For more information, click here.
Thursday, Jun 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions hold a strong belief in giving back to their communities at the credit union level and on a geographic basis. Twenty-four chapters unite the state’s 305 credit unions and are integral to fulfilling their mission for nearly three million consumer members. Like the boards at credit unions, chapter boards are also run by volunteers.
The Illinois Quad Cities Chapter alone serves 10 credit unions and their 241,000 members in a three county area. Similarly to other credit union chapters, Illinois Quad Cities is particularly active in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes. This includes helping consumers protect their personal information by sponsoring community shred days to properly dispose of documents. The chapter also hosts “community nights” to provide local organizations a forum for requesting financial support. As a result, more than $17,000 has been provided to a variety of local charities. Motivated by their stories, credit unions separately hold fundraisers to support these groups, as well participate in events for others, including the local children’s hospital.
Members know credit unions will be there for their daily financial needs and support their community – just some of the many virtues that define the credit union difference.
* Speaker Madigan responded to this question on Tuesday…
Does the governor really want a solution, or does he want chaos and upheaval in the state?
“I really don’t know, and I don’t plan to try to answer that question.”
* The Question: Does the governor really want a solution, or does he want chaos and upheaval in the state? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The plaintiff, Bill Hadley, filed a defamation lawsuit against the defendant, Subscriber Doe, a/k/a “Fuboy,” based on statements made by Fuboy in the comments section of a newspaper website. After the suit was filed, Hadley requested the circuit court, pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224 (Ill. S. Ct. R. 224 (eff. May 30, 2008)), to order Fuboy’s internet service provider to disclose Fuboy’s identity. The circuit court granted the request and the appellate court affirmed. 2014 IL App (2d) 130489. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court.
BACKGROUND
On December 28, 2011, the Freeport Journal Standard published an online newspaper article entitled “Hadley returns to county politics. Candidate stresses fiscal responsibility.” The article discussed plaintiff Bill Hadley’s decision to again seek election to the county board of Stephenson County, Illinois. Online readers could post comments in response to the article after completing a basic registration process.
On December 29, an individual using the name “Fuboy” posted the following comment: “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed. Check out the view he has of Empire [Elementary School in Freeport, Illinois] from his front door.”
Fuboy also made a second comment, stating: “Anybody know the tale of Hadley’s suicide attempt? It is kinda ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ with Pottersville win[n]ing out. We can just be happy that Stephenson County is fortunate enough to have this guy want to be of ‘service’ again.”
Giving the words used by Fuboy their natural and obvious meaning, and considering the timing of the comment, we find the idea Fuboy intended to convey to the reasonable reader by his statement, “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed. Check out the view he has of Empire from his front door,” was that Hadley was a pedophile or had engaged in sexual acts with children.
Fuboy contends, however, that the comment is susceptible to an innocent construction. He maintains the appellate court failed to consider the political context in which the statement was made, as well as the fact that it was made in an effort to seek debate over the candidate. We do not find this argument persuasive.
Me neither.
I have tracked down more than a few nasty commenters over the years. For whatever insane reason, some people think that they can say anything they want in an anonymous context. They can’t. Not here, at least.
And the Illinois Supreme Court thankfully upheld that viewpoint today.
* Years ago, I ran into George Ryan at a Greek restaurant in Chicago. He was still governor back then, although it was late in his term.
Ryan sat down at my table after a while and we chatted about various stuff. I don’t really remember. Pretty soon, though, some folks at the next table came over and asked the governor if he would take a picture with them. They were all smiles and said very nice things to him.
Ryan came back and said he just couldn’t believe all those negative polls about him because this sort of thing happened to him all the time.
I didn’t want to spoil his moment, but I knew then and still know now that people are pretty much always that way around “celebrities.” If you’re on the teevee, folks are generally nice to you.
Heck, they’re even nice to me. I don’t think a stranger has ever once picked a fight with me over something I’ve written. Notice, I said “stranger.”
Asked whether Madigan felt his own message was getting out to the public, the speaker responded: ”Our encounters with people would say yes,” Madigan said.
What types of encounters?
“People that I rode with in the elevator this morning, who said they didn’t quite understand why a TV commercial would be run in the middle of a legislative session, when we’re several months after an election and many, many more months before the next election.”
It’s no surprise to me that folks who found themselves on the same elevator with a very powerful politician would try to take his side on something.
Anyway, it was just kind of a weird thing to say and, again, I hope he doesn’t really believe that.
A health care union is launching its own ad push in an attempt to counter Gov. Bruce Rauner’s statewide TV ad launch.
The ad, called “Wrong Priorities,” features first-person testimonials from family of the elderly and disabled, who say their quality of life — and actual lifespan — improves if they’re able to stay at home.
“Governor Rauner’s dangerous budget cuts target Illinois’ most vulnerable,” a narrator says on the ad.
The ad, on social media and online media, is part of a larger paid effort that could include a cable and TV ad buy, according to the union.
* Keeping in mind that this is only an online purchase, rate the ad…
* The Chicago Tribune editorial board on Speaker Madigan’s response to Gov. Rauner’s new TV ad…
How amusing that the patron of scorched-earth politics and endless campaigning tries to paint the other guy as extreme.
Madigan campaigns year-round. Always has, through structured roll calls that allow vulnerable incumbents to take safe votes. By bottling up Republican bills in committee to limit Republicans’ success. By swapping out his members during committee hearings so they don’t have to take controversial votes. By passing legislation that makes it more difficult for challengers or independents to get on the ballot. By blocking term limits. By raising money year-round. All of those maneuvers are designed to protect his majority for the next election. In other words, campaigning.
[Madigan’s] operatives sent campaign mailers last fall that claimed Leslie Munger, a Republican running for the House, supported child abusers in schools. Ads and automated phone calls claimed she opposed background checks on school workers, which was untrue, and would expose children to pedophiles.
Now that’s extreme. […]
Madigan’s operatives suggested in a separate mailer that Republican Rep. Sheri Jesiel sided with rapists over rape victims.
They make a valid point here. When compared to Madigan’s standard direct mail program, these Rauner ads are pretty darned tame.
