* Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney basically now has a lock on replacing former Sen. Matt Murphy, who officially submitted his resignation today. The last remaining major candidate, Palatine Township Republican Committeeman Aaron Del Mar, has dropped out and endorsed Rooney. From Del Mar…
For those of us who believe in reform and know change is desperately needed in Springfield, nothing is more important than a strong, unified Republican Party. That is why today I am withdrawing from consideration for the Senate seat in the 27th district and endorsing Tom Rooney. Tom has been an effective, reform-oriented mayor in Rolling Meadows and I’m confident he will bring the same type of leadership to Springfield. I look forward to continuing to serve at the local level.
The vote was likely going against Del Mar anyway, but this all but seals the deal.
*** UPDATE 1 *** This is a nice gesture for a retiring member…
Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno announced today the appointment of Senator Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) as Deputy Minority Leader. Radogno made her announcement as the resignation of Senator Matt Murphy, announced last month, became official on Thursday.
“I have had the privilege to know and work with Dave Luechtefeld for 20 years,” said Radogno. “Dave is a tireless fighter for the needs of southern Illinois, while also demonstrating his leadership skills and ability to see the state as a whole. Dave and I began our careers as freshman seatmates on the floor of the Illinois Senate. With this appointment, he will end his career as my seatmate.” Luechtefeld, who has served in the Illinois Senate since 1995, was previously serving in leadership as the Assistant Minority Leader.
“I appreciate the opportunity to serve as Deputy Leader through the end of my term,” said Luechtefeld. “As Illinois continues to face many difficult challenges in the months ahead, I am hopeful that as Deputy Leader I can contribute in a new way in meeting those challenges.”
Today’s appointment takes effect immediately. The position carries no increase in salary. Luechtefeld is not a member of the General Assembly retirement system and will receive no General Assembly pension.
Northwest suburban Republicans on Thursday chose Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney to replace departing state Sen. Matt Murphy, a move that came after a string of other candidates dropped out of the running.
Rooney, 48, says he’ll step down in the coming weeks from his village post as he transitions into representing the 27th Senate District, which includes parts of Palatine, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows and Inverness.
* Gov. Rauner was asked today about the transportation funding “lock box” constitutional amendment that voters will have a say on this November.
You’ll recall that the Tribune fiercely editorialized against the proposal, calling it “Illinois’ diabolical ‘Safe Roads Amendment.’” You might also recall that Rauner’s former chief of staff is working on behalf of the proposed amendment, so it’s highly doubtful that Rauner actually opposes it.
The governor’s response…
Um, that’s a good question. I’m, I’m really not gonna comment on it. It’s going through its own process.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate in August decreased -0.3 percentage points to 5.5 percent and nonfarm payrolls decreased, based on preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and IDES. The decrease in Illinois’ unemployment rate is largely due to a decline in the labor force. Job growth is still below the national average, with Illinois -46,400 jobs short of its peak employment level reached in September 2000.
“In this 30-day snapshot, manufacturing losses were heavy, which contributed to more than half of the month’s decrease in nonfarm payroll jobs,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “The surveys have shown a great deal of fluctuation over the past year; seeing how the numbers develop over the long-term should make the trend clear.”
“Illinois residents continue to drop out of the workforce at a concerning rate, driven out by the steady loss of jobs and anemic growth,” DCEO Acting Director Sean McCarthy said. “If our state enacted the structural reforms necessary to get Illinois growing at the national rate, we could create 200 new jobs every day and put Illinois back to work. Instead, the state lost 8,200 jobs and nearly 20,000 people gave up looking for work.”
In August, the two industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Leisure and Hospitality (+3,400); and Professional and Business Services (+2,000). The three industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were: Manufacturing (-4,400); Financial Activities (-2,600); and Education and Health Services (-1,900).
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +40,100 jobs with the largest gains in Leisure and Hospitality (+23,000); and Professional and Business Services (+17,000). Industry sectors with the largest over-the-year declines in August include: Manufacturing (-11,800) and Information Services (-3,600). The +0.7 percent over-the-year gain in Illinois is less than the +1.7 percent gain posted by the nation in August.
To put this into perspective, those 4,400 manufacturing jobs lost in just one month almost equals the 4,600 new manufacturing jobs created in Illinois over the last seven years.
Social service providers are appealing a judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit asking the court to force payment on contracts with the state of Illinois.
The Pay Now Illinois coalition said Thursday morning that it intends to appeal Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia’s Aug. 31 ruling to an Illinois appeals court. Garcia says the issue belongs in a higher court.
The coalition includes nearly 100 social service providers. The group sued in May over fallout from the state’s budget stalemate. They argue the state breached its service contracts and they are owed roughly $160 million collectively for services, including health care and programs to fight homelessness.
The list of appellants is now down to 47. Click here to see the full list. Mrs. Rauner’s Ounce of Prevention is still on the list.
DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján today announced that attorney and small-businessman C.J. Baricevic has earned a spot in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) competitive Emerging Races program, indicating that his campaign has shown promising strengths and has demonstrated the ability to fight on behalf of hardworking people in Southern Illinois.
Since announcing his campaign for Congress, Baricevic has outraised his opponent Republican Mike Bost, was the first to air a television ad, and has received the endorsements of, among others, United Steelworkers and the Alliance for Retired Americans.
Baricevic is up against freshman GOP Congressman Mike Bost. We’ll have to see if the DCCC gets heavily involved or if this is just a press pop.
But Baricevic spokesman Barzin Emami said that while the campaign would take the help, it had issues with the national party. He had said earlier this year that Baricevic would welcome DCCC support, and a DCCC spokesman told the Post-Dispatch in April that it would never take the Bost-Baricevic race off its list of possible takeovers. […]
Baricevic has been trying to separate himself from the national Democratic Party and President Barack Obama on two key issues: trade and coal. Both are important in Southern Illinois, as steelworkers and coal miners have seen their livelihoods buffeted by international trade agreements and the Obama administration’s clean-power environmental push, which has helped cripple the coal industry.
Baricevic argues that clean-coal technology should allow for a better 20-30 year transition away from coal than Obama has pushed.
“We have never really been one to cater to the national party,” Emami said. “We don’t agree with all their platform. We are Southern Illinois Democrats. A Southern Illinois Democrat is different from a Nancy Pelosi Democrat.”
Pelosi must not poll well. So, it’s sort of a double-edged sword. But I’m sure they’ll be happy to have the dough.
What’s true is Leslie Munger flat out lied at the Chicago Tribune last week when she denied that her campaign chair is Elizabeth Brandt when official documents signed by Munger herself show Brandt, the leader of the movement to slash the paychecks of thousands of Illinois private sector workers, is in fact her campaign chair.
Brandt is the Mayor of Lincolnshire, Munger’s home town. She is leading the fight for a local “right to work” ordinance.
* The candidates are debating at the Sun-Times today…
Mendoza brings up Munger's listed campaign chair again. Munger denies she's still her chair. Mendoza brings out the paperwork.
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Brandt is listed as Munger’s campaign chair. [Munger’s campaign manager Phil Rodriguez] called the incident a misunderstanding Wednesday and confirmed that Brandt is the comptroller’s campaign chair.
I don’t get it.
*** UPDATE *** From Tina…
Hey Rich,
I’m writing a story now, but Leslie didn’t deny that Brandt is on the paperwork. She just denied that she’s involved in her campaign. She called it an “error” that she didn’t take her name off.
Meh.
A campaign chairperson has duties. And she’s been the chair for quite a while now.
* A new report from the US Census shows that Illinois’ median household income rose 3.7 percent to $59,588 between 2014 and 2015. That’s right about the national average increase of 3.8 percent.
Indiana’s median household income rose 2.1 percent during the same period to $50,532. Michigan’s rose 2.4 percent to $51,084. Minnesota’s rose 3.2 percent to $63,488. Ohio’s rose 3.5 percent to $51,075. Texas’ rose 4.8 percent to $55,653. California’s rose 4.0 percent to $64,500. And New York’s rose 3.3 percent to $60,850.
* Another Census report released today found that the number of Illinoisans living in poverty fell by 0.8 percent in 2015 vs. 2014, equal to the national average. That number is now 14.4 percent, about a point lower than the national average. Indiana’s fell by 0.7 percent. Michigan’s fell by 0.4 percent. Minnesota’s fell by 1.3 percent. Ohio’s fell by 1.0 percent. Texas’ fell by 1.3 percent. California’s fell by 1.1 percent. And New York’s fell by 0.5 percent.
More numbers, including the number of people living at less than half the poverty rate and those below 125 percent of the poverty rate are here. I have some errands to run, so have a look and discuss in comments.
The battle between Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel continues after the city council voted to raise water and sewer taxes.
Emanuel wants the money to go toward underfunded city pensions. He also needs Rauner and state lawmakers to approve his plan to change pension benefits.
But Rauner is critical of the mayor’s proposal.
“My concern with the proposal so far, is they’re largely based upon re-ramping the payment schedule and slowing down the payment schedule and backloading it,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done in Chicago for decades and it’s the reason Chicago has the worst credit rating of any city other than Detroit.
OK, I get that. But, to a lesser degree, isn’t that similar to what the governor tried to do when he failed to stop the Teachers’ Retirement System from lowering its presumed rate of investment return? That was a kick the can down the road moment if there ever was one.
Current and former members of the military and their families can enjoy free food and entertainment at the Executive Mansion Saturday as guests of Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner.
The Rauners are hosting Military Family Day to acknowledge their service.
“This is really an opportunity just to show our appreciation to current active-duty and veteran families,” Diana Rauner said in an interview Wednesday. “We make, of course, great ceremony of many events during this time, but this is one that it a little bit more of a low-key, fun way to show appreciation to families. That’s the most important part of all of this.”
Rauner described the event as “your basic down-home party with activities for children of all ages.” She said that will include baseball and football games, carnival games, crafts, music and a princess parade with Disney princesses, along with a visit from Big Bird and Elmo from “Sesame Street.” There will be a video game truck for older children, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency will be bringing some Civil War re-enactors to the event.
This Saturday’s event will be privately funded. Click here to RSVP by Friday (it says September 12th at the link, but that’s been changed).
A conservative-backed organization says it will continue efforts to topple the Illinois law limiting campaign contributions, after a judge ruled the law constitutional.
The law caps how much individuals, corporations, and political action committees can give.
Committees controlled by the legislative leaders are subject to caps too, but only in the primary. There’s no limit on what they can give to candidates during the general election.
Liberty Justice Center attorney Jacob Huebert says the law is set up to help the leaders maintain power.
“When you have that power, you really can make or break a candidate. You can say: Well, I have can give unlimited money to you, or I can give unlimited money to your opponent,” he said. “It’s very easy for the leader to be in a position to effectively buy off people, or threaten people, who would challenge his leadership. And so this ability to give all this money helps them stay in that position. They can use it to maintain their own power.”
* Here’s what the Illinois Policy Institute’s organization really wants to do, however. From Liberty Justice Center attorney Jacob Huebert…
We have only asked the court to strike down all contribution limits, not to impose new limits on anyone. If the courts ultimately strike the limits down, it will be up to the General Assembly to enact a new scheme of fair limits if it chooses.
And striking down all contribution limits for everyone would make life easier for… ?
* Arizona voters have a ballot question in November to legalize marijuana in small quantities. The story has an Illinois angle, so I thought you might like to see it…
The campaign to prevent cannabis legalization in Arizona recently accepted a half-million dollar donation from a pharmaceutical company accused of peddling a dangerous narcotic painkiller off-label.
Drug company Insys made the donation to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy on Aug. 31, according to information posted by the Arizona Secretary of State. The revelation has lent support to longstanding claims by legalization proponents that drug companies view cannabis as a source of competition for their more addictive, dangerous and expensive products. […]
The large donation from Insys to the anti-legalization campaign is particularly notable because the company only markets a single product: Subsys, a sublingual spray form of the synthetic opioid painkiller fentanyl. Fentanyl is stronger than heroin, highly addictive and can cause lethal overdoses. It was fentanyl that led to the accidental death of the musician Prince in April.
In August, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against Insys, accusing the company of promoting Subsys to doctors for off-label uses, in violation of federal drug laws. Madigan claims that the company’s “desire for increased profits led it to disregard patients’ health and push addictive opioids for non-FDA approved purposes.” […]
A 2014 study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that states that legalized medical marijuana saw significant drops in opioid overdose deaths.
* From AG Madigan’s press release…
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics, Inc. for deceptively marketing and selling Subsys, a highly addictive opioid drug significantly more powerful than morphine and intended exclusively for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain, to physicians treating non-cancer patients for off-label uses like back and neck pain in an effort to rake in high profits.
Madigan alleges that Insys illegally marketed its painkiller to doctors who prescribed high volumes of opioid drugs instead of focusing its marketing on oncologists treating cancer patients, who are the intended recipients of the drug. Insys’ irresponsible promotion of a prescription opioid is particularly concerning as studies indicate that people who abuse prescription opioids frequently move on to using heroin as a cheaper and more readily available alternative. In fact, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, four out of five new heroin users started their addiction by misusing prescription painkillers.
“This drug company’s desire for increased profits led it to disregard patients’ health and push addictive opioids for non-FDA approved purposes,” Madigan said. “It’s this type of reprehensible and illegal conduct that feeds the dangerous opioid epidemic and is another low for the pharmaceutical industry.”
The lawsuit stems from Madigan’s investigation into allegations that Insys was marketing Subsys broadly as a treatment for breakthrough pain associated with chronic conditions, including back and neck pain, despite the lack of FDA approval for those uses. Insys also pushed doctors to prescribe the higher and more expensive doses of Subsys, contrary to FDA mandates aimed at keeping patients on the lowest effective dose.
Madigan’s investigation revealed that doctors across the country were rewarded for prescribing Subsys to non-cancer patients for off-label uses, including payments for sham speaking events and dinners at expensive restaurants. In Illinois, the top Subsys prescriber was Dr. Paul Madison, who wrote approximately 58 percent of the Subsys prescriptions in the state. Madison is an anesthesiologist who treats few, if any, cancer patients. More than 95 percent of the Subsys prescriptions written by Dr. Madison did not relate to breakthrough cancer pain. Madison was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago billing insurers for procedures he did not perform.
Madigan’s lawsuit against Insys seeks to permanently bar the company from selling its products in Illinois and impose financial penalties for violating the Consumer Fraud Act. Madigan’s office continues to investigate other opioid manufacturers for similar practices.
Nick Klitzing, executive director of the state GOP, said that while Rauner has supported the party over the last three years and is committed to “electing Republicans up and down the ticket who share his commitment to fixing Illinois through real reform, he is not involved in the day-to-day workings of any campaign.”
“Yeah, I’m asked that all the time and I do want to emphasize: I’m really not involved. People say, ‘Well, governor, you must be involved in these races.’ I’m really not involved in races,” [Gov. Rauner] said this week. “I’m encouraging everybody who … might be a public servant to get involved, I’m doing that; but I’m not involved in races per say — predicting races or advising races. I’m not involved in that,” he said this week.
Illinois Policy Action, an arm of the Illinois Policy Institute, is backing a new documentary called “Madigan: Power, privilege, politics,” which the group has dubbed “an unprecedented look at the life and influence of Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, one of the state’s most powerful political figures of all time.”
The 60-minute documentary is to be released in October — weeks before the November election — and will be available online and at “select movie theaters throughout the state,” a statement from Illinois Policy said.
The Illinois Policy Institute — and its CEO John Tillman — are closely aligned with Rauner, whose epic war with Madigan and Illinois Democrats held the state’s budget at an unprecedented impasse. […]
Those appearing in the documentary according to Illinois Policy: “Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, University of Illinois professor and political observer Dick Simpson, former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, law professor and former drafter of the 1970 Illinois Constitution Ann Lousin, former state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Rob Blagojevich who is the brother of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, political blogger Rich Miller.”
The Emil Jones stuff ought to be good.
* This is the explanation I was given by the documentary’s producer…
Emergent Order, based out of Austin TX is trying to create a dialogue about why the state of Illinois is in poor shape. Many fingers have been pointed at Michael Madigan, but we’re trying to do a fair/balanced piece about what’s really at the center of it all. We’ve interviewed both people who support and dispute that Madigan is to blame. Interested in your take on that and any other relevant info you’d be willing to contribute.
Seemed harmless enough.
I had no idea that the Illinois Policy Institute was behind this thing, but I did get a couple of hints during Tuesday’s interview when some of the group’s stories were used as a basis for a few of their questions. They also asked me about Rauschenberger, which I thought was kinda odd.
So, I have no clue what they’re gonna do with my interview.
Hackers are targeting state Democratic Party officials and have successfully breached and impersonated some of them, according to a message the Association of State Democratic Chairs sent Wednesday to its members.
“A number of chairs and state parties have been victims of hacks and impersonation recently,” read the email, which POLITICO obtained.
On Monday, [Raymond Buckley, president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs] posted on Facebook that his Twitter account was hacked last week and that Facebook had warned him about someone pretending to be him and trying to delete his profile. “Three other Dem State Chairs had their emails hacked,” he wrote in his post, which has since been deleted. “Interesting times.”
Speaker Madigan doesn’t use e-mail, doesn’t have a Facebook page and doesn’t use Twitter, so we can safely assume he wasn’t hacked.
* The Question: What would a hacked Democratic Party of Illinois Facebook page look like?
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Wednesday released a letter from the physician that led the medical treatment of his stroke declaring that the senator has made a “full cognitive recovery” while still dealing with some physical limitations.
“He is unlikely to regain further range of motion on his left side, but he continues to undergo regular exercise and physical therapy to maintain his strength,” stated Dr. Richard Fessler of Rush University Medical Center, who called Kirk otherwise “a healthy 56-year-old male.”
“His speech is occasionally halting but has vastly improved. The stroke did not affect the left side of his brain, which controls cognitive and verbal functions,” Fessler continued.
Kirk suffered a severe stroke in January 2012, returning to the Senate after a near year-long absence for recovery and rehabilitation. He often uses a wheelchair and occasionally uses a cane. Fessler wrote that Kirk has “no increased risk” of suffering another stroke.
Politically, Kirk’s campaign believes the big question voters have is about the mental state of Kirk, who turns 57 on Thursday, and what the lingering fallout of the stroke is on his judgment, if any.
Some of Kirk’s controversial remarks — such as calling his colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a “bro with no ho” in 2015 — have fueled speculation about Kirk’s mental status.
Kirk’s stroke did not impact “the left side of his brain, which controls cognitive and verbal functions,” Fessler wrote, concluding Kirk “has made a full cognitive recovery.”
The Fessler letter omits basic information yielded in routine physical exams — what medications Kirk takes, the results of basic lab tests, his blood pressure, electrocardiogram results.
After just nine months at embattled Chicago State University, President Thomas Calhoun Jr. is apparently parting ways with the Far South Side university.
Trustees on Friday plan to vote on Calhoun’s “separation agreement” and name an interim president, according to a board meeting agenda posted Wednesday morning. Calhoun is paid $300,000 a year, and the terms of the agreement were not immediately available. […]
On Wednesday morning, the president of the university faculty union sent a letter to the board to show the faculty’s “virtually unanimous support” for Calhoun, saying he has “provided steady leadership and a strong public voice” during the difficulties presented by the budget crisis of the past year. […]
“The board has chosen a path guaranteed to create continued conflict, contention and uproar on this campus,” said [Robert Bionaz, president of the faculty union], a history professor. “This is a truly dark hour for our university, and Gov. Rauner should immediately replace every member of this current board of trustees.”
* Dusty Rhodes thought a young man’s testimony to the General Assembly in favor of a bill to restrict school suspensions and expulsions sounded too good to be true. For instance…
“My junior high school had a very set protocol for disciplinary referrals,” Anderson said. “At three you got an out-of-school suspension; at five you got expulsion. In 8th grade, I set my junior high school single-year record at 54, and I was not expelled. And the reason for that was: I had an assistant principal who pulled me aside and told me that I was too smart for the dumb things I was doing. He said that he wasn’t going to let my behavior at age 13 affect what I was going to do at 23, 33 and 43.
“Every time that I would get those disciplinary referrals, he would pull me into his office and he’d make sure that my teachers forwarded my homework to his office, and I would do my school work in his office. And because of that, he didn’t allow my immaturity to affect who I became as an adult. And now I have a college degree, a law degree, and I’m sitting here before you to advocate on behalf of legislation that is that champion, that is that assistant principal who was there for me. All these young people — they don’t always have that. What this legislation does is it seeks to give those young people that additional champion.”
“Quentin Anderson! Really, really liked him. He drove me crazy!” Hampton said, “I’m not going to lie, he drove me crazy. It was just… at the time, he wasn’t a bad person, he just was going through some tough times, which led to really poor choices.” […]
“Quentin went through some really difficult phases, but you know what? If you can look past their choices and look into their heart, I really believe that there’s a big difference between who a person is versus the choice they make,” Hampton said. “Yeah, you have to pay for this choice, but are you really a bad person? No. Let’s rethink this. That’s how you change behavior.”
But Hampton didn’t just change Quentin Anderson’s behavior. The change Hampton made in that one student eventually changed the law in Illinois.
* But the story doesn’t end there. Dusty sent me an e-mail today…
So yesterday we aired this story that originated when I watched this kid lobby for Lightford’s SB100, and became suspicious that his personal tale he kept telling all the lawmakers was exaggerated if not wholly fabricated. Turns out — it wasn’t. But when I sent him a pic of the principal he had talked about every time he testified, he responded, “Yep, that’s the dude that saved my life.” I thought — well that’s a little melodramatic. But then last night, he contacted me and said his brother had called him after hearing the story, in tears. And he sent this link so that I could see who his brother is:
Tio Hardiman Offers Strong Alternative as 2018 Gubernatorial Prospect
(Chicago, IL) - After racking up 125,500 votes, securing nearly 30 percent of the vote statewide, and winning 30 counties downstate in the March 2014 Democratic Primary, Tio Hardiman is considering another run for Governor. The Chicago native has focused his career on strong community development and social change, and he believes in the face of economic and political stagnation, he is the catalyst Illinois needs. In a statement released today he said:
“My priorities have always focused on what is best for everyday people – ensuring youth have jobs, communities are economically stable and violence is reduced in every neighborhood. I represent the people, and in my first run for governor in 2014, I learned exactly what it would take to ensure a successful primary campaign. I’m determined to represent the common voice, and I’m the only candidate in the state of Illinois who does not need millions of dollars to win a primary. I could win the March 2018 Primary with $500,000, which promises to be a wide-open raise that is anyone’s game. Governor Bruce Rauner has disappointed millions of people across Illinois by allowing the state’s economy to languish. He has failed to reduce the state deficit, failed to address violence in Chicago, refused to fairly fund Chicago Public Schools, and has aggressively worked to break apart Illinois unions that protect hard working citizens. Illinois needs a leader who can take us in the right direction, and I plan to run a comprehensive grassroots organizing effort that will galvanize over 100,000 people to join my campaign.” - Tio Hardiman, prospective 2018 gubernatorial nominee
He says he can win the race with $500,000? Does he recall that he only raised $19,372.11 in the first quarter of 2014? And all but $555 of that was a loan to himself?
Hardiman ran an almost non-existent campaign. So, he didn’t “win” those votes and counties. The inept, unpopular Pat Quinn lost them.
Governor Bruce Rauner told law enforcement officers fixing the states wasteful bureaucracy will help free up the money needed for public safety.
The Governor made his comments at the Decatur Conference Center & Hotel. He spoke to more than 200 criminal interdiction police officers.
“Reduce wasteful bureaucracy, the cost of bureaucracy in our government, and free up money that we can put into public safety,” Rauner told WAND’s Doug Wolfe before leaving the conference.
The Governor told officers the money could be used to put extra police on the streets and provide them with the technology to do their jobs.
“So we’ve got this vicious cycle going. Bureaucracy wasting money and low economic growth not generating money and it’s taking away resources from you, it’s taking away from our school and making all the problems that you’re dealing with every day worse.”
If the people of Illinois skipped out on their job responsibilities 73% of the time in the month of September, they would get a pink slip – not a promotion.
Why does Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth hold herself to a different standard?
As NBC Chicago reports, Duckworth – one of the least-effective members of Congress, has missed 19 out of 26 votes in this month alone:
Duckworth has missed 19 out of 26 votes in September following a seven week recess. That includes seven votes Tuesday…Last week, the Duckworth campaign claimed the congresswoman missed votes because she was busy on the campaign trail.
One of the seven votes Duckworth skipped yesterday would prevent tax hikes on out-of-pocket medical expenses for middle class Illinoisans and seniors over 65.
Yet, that just wasn’t important enough for Duckworth to show up to work.
They list a couple of bills that’ll probably never become law and conclude…
The United States Congress isn’t just another office in the Rod Blagojevich administration where public officials can skip out on their responsibilities without consequence.
Tammy Duckworth should stop ripping off her constituents by wasting their tax dollars on an empty, ineffective congressional office.
“On Tuesday, Tammy was warmly received by over 2,000 working men and women of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, where she laid out her vision for an economy based on fair trade and opportunity for all in contrast to Senator Kirk, who supports the tax loopholes companies use to ship jobs overseas and tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, paid for by raising taxes on middle-class families by $2,000,” Duckworth spokesman Matt McGrath said in a statement.
“She also noted that Illinois has lost more than 270,000 manufacturing jobs since Kirk was first elected to Congress, a fact not lost on those in attendance, or working families across Illinois,” McGrath added. “With that record, it’s no surprise Kirk was a no-show in Illinois on Labor Day.”
The Duckworth campaign also pointed to votes missed by Kirk, including one in May that looked to protect and enhance the rights of sexual assault survivors. The Kirk campaign noted that Duckworth also missed a vote that day on a measure that looked to help police find kidnap victims.
This meaningless campaign can’t be over soon enough.
* This isn’t as silly as some might think. As the article rightly notes, no state has defaulted on its bonds since Arkansas during the Great Depression and states can’t file for bankruptcy…
For a year, Citigroup Inc. has recommended a strategy that has been controversial among its clients: Buy debt issued by the lowest-rated U.S. states to boost returns in a market where tax-exempt yields sank to historic lows.
Though there is “little optimism” that some of the worst-rated states with negative credit outlooks will see their funding of public pensions improve enough to help their bond ratings, Citigroup continues to “cautiously” recommend the debt to investors, according to a new report.
“It’s a controversial topic, but we think it is a compelling buy,” Vikram Rai, head of municipal strategy at Citigroup, said in a phone interview. “There is downgrade risk, but the credit stress is going to unfold slowly. The spread is compelling.”
Citigroup’s report declines to name specific states but some of the lowest rated such as Illinois and New Jersey, have returned 5.148 percent and 6.067 percent this year, respectively, according to S&P Municipal Bond Indices, some of the highest in the market.
The Kirk For Senate campaign will launch its first Spanish television ad tomorrow, titled “Su Senador,” highlighting Senator Kirk’s work on behalf of Illinois’ Hispanic community and residents. The ad will run on Univision and Telemundo until the end of the election cycle.
Senator Kirk has consistently broken from his party to support and advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. In 2013, he was one of 14 Senate Republicans to support comprehensive immigration reform and has continued the effort throughout his term, working with organizations like the Illinois Business Immigration Council. In 2005, Senator Kirk launched his Abuelitas program that has reunited over 3,000 separated families. He is fluent in Spanish and studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
So far, Univision, which airs on WGBO Ch. 66, reported the Kirk campaign bought seven ads for this week at a cost of $3,175. No spending report was on file with the Federal Communications Commission for Telemundo, which airs on WSNS Ch. 44.
The Campaign for Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger on Wednesday called on Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza to pass on one of her two public pensions to make up for her ten years of simultaneously taking in two government paychecks.
The campaign noted that Mendoza raked in two salaries – one from the city of Chicago and the other from the state – during her ten years of “service” in Springfield. The paydays coincided with government contributions to her two public pensions.
“Susana Mendoza voted for the unbalanced budgets, tax increases and pension holidays that put Illinois in fiscal crisis,” Munger Campaign Manager Phil Rodriguez said. “At the same time, she picked up two paychecks and sweetened her two pensions. It embodies all the problems that have led us to this place.”
Mendoza started working for the City of Chicago in 1998 as a Project Coordinator. In 2000, she won a Party Primary for State Representative and received a 33 percent raise for her city job a month later. She then served ten years in the General Assembly, all the while remaining on the city and state payrolls.
The salaries coincided with contributions to two public pensions.
“It’s time for a change,” Rodriguez said. “Leslie Munger spent her career balancing budgets and meeting financial expectations. She has dedicated nearly two decades to serving developmentally disabled adults. She doesn’t accept a public pension or state health care benefits. The contrast could not be clearer.”
You’d think that info about Munger’s “two decades” of dedication to “serving developmentally disabled adults” would be on her campaign bio page. It ain’t.
Other than that, what do you think of the release?
She is an active community leader and volunteer, and was honored as Lincolnshire’s Citizen of the Year in 2004. She is a long time volunteer and former Board member at the Riverside Foundation, a not-for-profit residential facility for developmentally disabled adults in Lincolnshire where she was the Volunteer of the Year in 2013 and the Distinguished Service Award Honoree in 2016.
*** UPDATE *** From Susana Mendoza…
“Like Rod Blagojevich, a pathological liar who attacked Susana on this same false charge years ago, Leslie Munger isn’t telling the truth. When Susana retires, she will have only one pension. What’s true is Leslie Munger flat out lied at the Chicago Tribune last week when she denied that her campaign chair is Elizabeth Brandt when official documents signed by Munger herself show Brandt, the leader of the movement to slash the paychecks of thousands of Illinois private sector workers, is in fact her campaign chair. Leslie Munger is very wealthy and doesn’t have to worry about a safety net when she retires unlike 99% of other Americans. We need a truth-telling independent comptroller, not a Rod Blagojevich quoting, factually challenged lap dog for Bruce Rauner.”
