Edsal Manufacturing, a Chicago-based firm that makes a wide-range of shelving products, is opening a facility in Gary where it will hire 300 people.
Edsal decided to open a new operation in the Indiana town because it is close to the company’s operations in Chicago, according to CEO Bruce Saltzberg.
He also cited the Hoosier state’s right-to-work law, which makes it more difficult for unions to organize and keep members, as well as a state minimum wage that stands at $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum.
Amends the Flag Display Act. Requires the Governor to issue an official notice to fly the United States national flag, the State flag of Illinois, and the appropriate military flag upon the death of a resident of this State killed during on duty training for active military duty.
I think the pumpkin bill is the most publicity he’s ever received.
* I gave a speech in Peoria last August. Jessica Newbold with Giordano Consulting Services spoke before me, and then-Congressman Aaron Schock spoke after me. I stuck around to listen to Schock’s speech and then chatted with him later. I was, as usual, impressed with his knowledge on a wide range of issues and with his political insights.
Anyway, with some trepidation because, man, I’ve lost a bunch of weight since this pic was taken, here you go…
Thursday, Apr 16, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
EXELON ENERGY NEWS
Highlights
1. Exelon Just Received Up To $58 Million in 2015 For Clinton Nuclear Plant
2. Clinton To Stay Open Through At Least May 2016
3. Byron and Quad Cities To Stay Open Through May 2017
MISO Grid Auction Results: Up To $58 million for Clinton
A Good Day for Clinton:†On April 14th, the MISO Grid announced that auction prices in Illinois skyrocketed. The result? Clinton will earn as much as $58 million from ratepayers in ìcapacity revenueî starting June 1, 2015. The previous year, Clinton earned up to $6 million ñ an increase of $52 million.
Clinton Stays Open Another Year:†Because Clinton cleared the auction, Exelon is obligated to keep Clinton open through at least May 31, 2016.
PJM Grid Auction Delayed: Hundreds of Millions Still Expected
Auction Process Delayed to Summer:†The PJM Grid auction results were expected to be announced May 22. Due to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission administrative process, the auction has been delayed by a few weeks. Auction results are expected in late July or early August.
Expected Results Unchanged:†Fortunately for Exelon, market analysts expect the results for Exelon to remain essentially the same. Exelon is expected to receive hundreds of millions in additional ratepayer dollars each year starting in 2016.
Byron and Quad Cities Stay Open Until At Least May 2017:†Because Exelon previously successfully bid these plants into the PJM Grid auction, Exelon is obligated to keep them open through at least May 31, 2017.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
Thursday, Apr 16, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
In 2011, at the strong request of business and insurance companies the Workers’ Compensation “Reform” package was signed into law, aimed at lowering costs for employers in Illinois. These changes have had a negative effect on workers in Illinois and their ability to receive fair and reasonable compensation when they are injured on the job and have not resulted in savings for employers in Illinois.
According to a study done by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Illinois had a 24 percent reduction in workers’ compensation rates between 2012 and 2014 – the steepest drop in the nation. This reduction should have resulted in a $1 billion savings in insurance premiums for Illinois employers. Tellingly, insurance companies have refused to reduce their premiums in response to their own industry’s recommendations.
Cries from business interests for more so-called “reforms” will likely take away more rights from injured workers and increase the insurance industry’s profits. Any further changes in laws should instead look to promote insurance premium transparency and oversight – not further sacrifices by the injured worker.
For more information about workers’ compensation in Illinois, click here.
This is a situation where a rising tide will float all boats. Illinois needs to repair some holes in its boat without trying to rip holes in Indiana’s economy.
There are many examples of cross-state collaboration in fields like higher education and the environment. Let’s add economic development to that list.
Let’s also tone down the rhetoric, including the “Illinoyed” campaign in Indiana and Rauner’s “rip the economic guts out of Indiana” speech, and find ways to work together.
We’re neighbors, after all, and should act more neighborly.
* The Question: Is it time for a truce with Indiana? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The campaign racked up $313,920 in legal fees during the first quarter, money still owed to the Jones Day law firm in Washington. […]
During the first quarter, his campaign incurred bills for “fundraising lodging,” including $4,000 paid to the White Elephant hotel in Nantucket, Mass., $2,137 to the Langham hotel in Chicago and $716 to the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa.
The report says the campaign paid $3,114 for Tiffany bowls for the donors, but even more, $3,408, to Garrett Popcorn in Chicago for volunteer gifts.
Other spending included $2,698 to photographer Jonathon Link, who traveled widely with Schock, and $3,705 in salary to staffer Shea Ledford, who reportedly accompanied Schock on a trip to London during the Royal Ascot in 2011.
Another of the congressman’s accounts, the Schock Victory Committee, listed hotel stays at the New York Palace and Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles, and more than $12,000 in additional American Express expenses. He also transferred more than $81,000 to his own Pac, the Generation-Y fund. The reports for that committee have not yet been filed.
In the first quarter, Schock raised nearly $130,000. Chicago billionaire Sam Zell gave Schock $2,500 on Feb. 12. Both William Stone and Albert Lord donated to Schock. Stone owns a Maryland golf course that Schock held a fundraiser on in the fall of 2014. Lord founded that private course. Schock never reported the cost of that fundraiser on campaign filings.
* Other stuff…
* Election expert: Lawsuit against Aaron Schock could face obstacles
[Gov. Bruce Rauner] told a group of Downstate school superintendents that “I personally am concerned when I see the numbers, that Chicago can’t, Chicago Public Schools can’t meet their obligations. Even raising taxes they can’t meet their obligations.”
“The taxpayers of Illinois are not going to bail out the city of Chicago, that ain’t happenin’,” Rauner said, returning to a note he has hit in recent months. “But there are things we can do to help them restructure and get their government and their schools turned around, and I’d like to help them.”
* One of those options Rauner wants to give CPS is the ability to declare bankruptcy…
“The idea that you would go to bankruptcy and yet you would leave in place a tax code that has dual taxation on Chicago citizens is wrong,” [Mayor Rahm Emanuel] said when asked about Rauner’s talk about CPS going bankrupt. “Nothing is worse economics and a worse strategy than leaving in place dual taxation on Chicago residents that are the only residents in the state that have to pay twice, and only get the benefit of one teacher.”
Thursday, Apr 16, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Recently, ads on Capitol Fax have distorted the facts about the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (SB 1585). Let’s set the record straight.
Myth:“Exelon is profitable, so they don’t need more money to keep these plants open.”
Fact: Much like a retail business with multiple stores, every location has to make money on its own. No retail chain could survive for long using profitable stores to keep unprofitable ones open. Exelon would not operate Plant A at a loss simply because Plant B is earning a profit.
The fact is, three of Illinois’ six nuclear plants are at risk of closing, and the consequences of these closures are catastrophic:
• $1.8 billion every year in lost economic activity
• Nearly 8,000 jobs
• Up to $500 million annually in higher energy costs statewide, according to a PJM analysis
• $1.1 billion per year due to increases in carbon and other pollutants
• Hundreds of millions of dollars to construct new transmission lines
Only one legislative solution, the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS), properly values all low-carbon sources of energy, including the state’s nuclear facilities.
According to a State of Illinois report, the cost to Illinois of allowing nuclear plants to prematurely retire are as much as 12 times greater than the maximum cost of the Illinois LCPS.
MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS SENATE ENERGY AND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMITTEE:
VOTE YES ON THE LOW CARBON PORTFOLIO STANDARD (SB 1585)
Gov. Bruce Rauner has suggested creating so-called “right-to-work zones” across Illinois, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel and several aldermen have said that won’t happen in Chicago on their watch.
“I want to be very clear. As long as I’m mayor, Chicago will not be a right-to-work city,” Emanuel said Wednesday, after introducing a City Council resolution calling for public hearings to declare opposition to the governor’s plan, which would allow municipalities to limit the power of labor unions by giving the workers the option of not joining unions or paying dues even in jobs that have been unionized. The zones also would limit prevailing wage and worker’s compensation laws.
“This has been an issue the governor has been advocating. I firmly disagree with it on a series of fronts, economically and otherwise,” Emanuel said. “I do not believe that, as it relates to right to work it would be pulling — our goal is to build up the middle class, not to pull a rug from underneath them.”
The mayor said right-to-work zones could potentially dismantle labor unions that have protected workers’ rights, and helped support middle class families.
And Emanuel scoffed at the suggestion that if he agreed to work zones, the governor might restore proposed cuts to funding for the Chicago Transit Authority. “That the only way to continue to invest in the CTA, which has been an incredible economic and job creator in the city of Chicago, is if I accept lower wages for everybody else? That’s a Faustian bargain, and I would never accept that,” he said.
* On a related front, I e-mailed the Chicagoland Chamber yesterday…
Quick question: Does the Chicagoland Chamber support the governor’s local right to work zone idea?
Its response…
“The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce continues to hear from our diverse membership and the broader business community about Governor Rauner’s right-to-work zone proposals. Our focus remains on making Illinois more competitive by working with the Governor and state legislators on putting our fiscal house in order.
“We are focused on workers’ compensation reform, pension reform, and strong structural fiscal reforms related to the budget as the most immediate and long term way to improve Illinois’ financial situation and provide certainty to businesses that wish to invest and expand in Illinois.”
Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge Ramirez, speaking at a City Club of Chicago luncheon Wednesday, said Gov. Rauner’s desire to create “right-to-work” zones, where certain local wage and workplace rules would be suspended, would mean lower wages and a less-safe workplace.
“Right to work means you lose your voice in the workplace and as a result you create an easily exploitable work force,” Ramirez said, citing a study that showed right-to-work states made 6 percent less in wages on average, with minorities making even less.
“Not only are you making less money in a right-to-work state, you are more likely to suffer an injury or fatality in your place of work,” Ramirez said. “Rauner is saying he’s empowering workers through these zones. Well what is he really empowering? Lower wages? A less safe workplace? You see much can be done to truly empower workers. Getting rid of protections unions provide does not need to be the bedrock of this type of empowerment.”
Ramirez told the luncheon crowd, which included Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, that Rauner is not only attacking workers, but “taking direct aim at the marginalized and most vulnerable segments of our society,” by cutting funding to vital social services.
* But it’s probably only a matter of time before Adams County (pop. 40,798) passes the resolution…
A crowd of union members opposed to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” were given a brief reprieve Wednesday night as the Adams County Board tabled a resolution supporting the plan.
County Board Chairman Les Post asked the board to table the resolution to avoid potential legal conflicts involving the Open Meetings Act.
“We had communication with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office today that there may be an issue with our time frame with our public speakers to sign up for meetings, and we didn’t have time to clear it up (Wednesday),” Post said. “Rather than do something possibly illegal, we felt best to table it until we had a chance to look at it.” […]
Post said the board will take action next month.
“Obviously, there are some things that people may not like, but the situation Illinois is in, we may have to do some things we don’t like,” he said.
Although state finances are stretched thin, the Illinois House approved a plan Wednesday to pay out more than $60 million owed to thousands of unionized state workers. […]
The dispute over the money dates to 2011, when former Gov. Pat Quinn reneged on wage increases for state workers approved under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
At the time, Quinn said state lawmakers failed to provide the money for the raises, while House Speaker Michael Madigan said the governor should find money in the existing budget to pay the wage hikes.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union won a court order saying the money needs to be paid.
The vote was 88-23-2. All “No” votes were Republicans. Rep. Mike Smiddy (an AFSCME member) and freshman GOP Rep. Terri Bryant both voted “Present.” There’s no guarantee that Gov. Rauner will actually dole out the money if the bill also passes the Senate.
Chicago Public Schools would get $33.3 million to soften the blow of recent state budget cuts under a plan approved Wednesday by the State Board of Education.
The money is part of a $97 million pot set aside to help struggling schools after lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner agreed to cut education and other state services by 2.25 percent as the state faces a $1.6 billion funding shortfall in the current spending year.
For CPS, officials said that means what was to be a cut of $35 million will instead amount to a reduction of $1.7 million. The district is one of 32 that education officials identified as having less than 30 days cash on hand, though nearly 600 of the state’s 800 school districts will receive some money to offset the cuts.
However, officials acknowledged the cuts are still painful because they come late in the school year and districts had little time to plan for them. Robert Wolfe, the board’s chief financial officer, said it could take as long as three months for districts to receive the payments.
Lawyers representing state retirees in a case involving their health insurance premiums will receive a little more than $1.5 million in fees and costs for their work.
The amount, determined by Sangamon County Associate Judge Steven Nardulli, is less than half of the $3.1 million in compensation (including a multiplier) the lawyers sought during a court hearing two weeks ago.
Money to pay the fees will come out of the roughly $63 million in health insurance premiums collected from retirees. The money was deducted from their pension checks.
In his ruling, Nardulli said the attorney fees amount to about 2.37 percent of the premium money paid. In other words, when refunds are made, for every $100 in premium refunds due to an employee, $2.37 will be deducted to pay legal fees.
Federal authorities are investigating Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and a $20.5 million contract the district awarded on a no-bid basis to a training academy that formerly employed her, sources said.
The CPS inspector general’s office began an investigation into the contract with north suburban-based SUPES Academy and Byrd-Bennett’s relationship to the company in 2013, a source said. The U.S. attorney’s office then started its own probe, and a grand jury has been reviewing evidence for at least a year, the source said.
CPS officials have discussed the possibility of appointing an interim CEO depending on the outcome of the investigation, a source said. Byrd-Bennett, who was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2012, attended a regularly scheduled meeting at CPS headquarters Wednesday and remains in her post.
The CPS inspector general has been investigating Byrd-Bennett and the controversial SUPES contract since 2013. Inspector General Nick Schuler declined to comment Wednesday on whether the investigation is ongoing or on the inquiries from the federal government. […]
When Mayor Rahm Emanuel was asked by reporters at City Hall about whether he had confidence in Byrd-Bennett, he said he “couldn’t answer that question,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
In the district’s largest no-bid contract in recent memory, SUPES received the contract from CPS to provide ongoing training on Saturdays for principals and network chiefs through 2016 at a cost of $20.5 million. According to the contract, the company was supposed to use experts who’d specialize the training according to the type of school the principal led — including schools set to receive children affected by the massive 2013 school closings.
It didn’t take long for the no-bid deal — approved unanimously in June 2013 by the mayor’s school board — to ignite criticism, especially as the district stared down a $1 billion budget deficit that year.
By October, principals were complaining about the quality of professional development they were receiving from SUPES, according to a newsletter produced by the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.
The Principals Association “is sorry to report our members, in large numbers, are expressing dissatisfaction with the caliber of the `SUPES’ Academy,” the Association’s October 2013 newsletter said.
In a sign of intensifying scrutiny of the College of DuPage, federal prosecutors have opened a wide-ranging criminal investigation at the embattled community college, issuing two subpoenas this week that seek documents tied to spending and other matters, according to records obtained late Wednesday.
The subpoenas, which were served to college administrators Monday, cover three main areas: administrator expenses, contracts with the college’s fundraising foundation and credits awarded to police recruits at a law enforcement academy on the Glen Ellyn campus. […]
The federal subpoenas request many of the records sought by DuPage prosecutors. Federal investigators have asked for employment records, expense reports and conflict-of-interest statements for Breuder, all senior managers and trustees.
The federal investigation also seeks records relating to the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy. The Tribune recently reported that the college increased the number of credits given to recruits in the training program without increasing the amount of instruction — a change that boosted enrollment figures and led one top official at the police academy to question “the integrity of this process” before he resigned late last year. The revelation upset the school’s faculty union, which said the change should not have been made without consulting the campus’s curriculum committee.
* Considering the news about federal probes into both the Chicago Public Schools and College of DuPage (which we’ll discuss in a few minutes), this request by a birthday buddy last night seems appropriate…
Today, the Illinois Tobacco Quitline ended its operations following Gov. Bruce Rauner’s executive order that suspended $26 million in social services and public health grants, including the $3.1 million allocated to the Quitline. In response, Heather Eagleton, Illinois government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, released the following statement:
“Today, Illinois became the only state in the country without a tobacco quitline. As an organization dedicated to tobacco prevention and cessation, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is alarmed and deeply concerned about Governor Rauner’s decision to eliminate all funding for this life-saving resource. We believe this decision is short-sighted and will ultimately cost, rather than save the state money.
“The Illinois Tobacco Quitline answered more than 90,000 calls in just the last year, leading 43 percent of its callers to successfully stop smoking. Most cessation tools have around a 20 percent success rate.
“What’s more, the Quitline is funded not through taxpayer dollars, but rather through money from the Tobacco Master Settlement, which gave Illinois $265 million this fiscal year to support programs like the Quitline. Taxpayers do, however, pay nearly $1 billion a year in tobacco-related Medicaid costs – costs that could dramatically increase with the elimination of the Quitline’s free and valuable cessation service.
“Ending Quitline operations means cutting a valuable lifeline that smokers have to a healthier future. It means eliminating a tool hospitals and physicians use every day to get their patients on the right track, and it means putting at risk thousands of lives that could otherwise be spared the health effects of smoking.
“ACS CAN strongly urges Governor Rauner to reconsider his decision and commit to restoring the Quitline and helping tobacco users and kick their addiction.”
What’s also weird about this cut is that the governor has proposed funding the Quitline next fiscal year. So, either they’ll just kill it off altogether, or they’ll have to rehire all those state employees who lost their jobs today.
*** UPDATE *** Governor’s office response…
Smoking is a serious health issue facing Illinoisans, but the fact remains that Pat Quinn enacted a phony budget with a $1.6 billion hole. The bipartisan legislation passed by the General Assembly was not a complete solution, and reviewing grants and agency spending is part of a comprehensive approach to close the deficit without raising taxes and without borrowing.
A couple of state lawmakers who are leaders on pension restructuring are cautioning against doing anything further without considering the consequences. “The road to pension hell is paved with rash actions. It’s paved with hast actions. It’s paved with actions that aren’t thought out carefully,” State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) said at a news conference today (Tuesday) at ther state Capitol.
Rauner, who took office in January, wants to freeze benefits accrued by state workers starting July 1. After that date, the workers would be moved into a less generous, tier 2 pension plan in place for new workers hired since Jan. 1, 2011, or would have the option to buy out their pensions and move into a retirement plan similar to the popular 401(k) plan in the private sector. […]
“Illinois’ current pension system is unaffordable and choking the state’s budget, and the governor’s plan enacts true pension reform for the financial future of Illinois,” Rauner’s office said in a statement, adding there was enough time to review and pass the proposal.
If they plan to run it through actuaries as every previous pension plan has done, then that takes time.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news network…
In short, they say Rauner needs to get his specifics into a bill and before legislators. They say a realistic proposal will need:
Detailed analysis by professional actuaries retained by the state’s major pension systems.
A ruling from the Internal Revenue Service on whether it complies with federal law.
Discussion and consideration by legislators and give and take with the governor’s office.
All of that takes time, the lawmakers said, and there are about seven weeks left in the scheduled legislative session.
“This is a very, very complicated and difficult arena to move through and if we are to do something quickly … this is something that should have been started two months ago,” Nekritz said.
Nekritz said analyzing pension-plan change requires as long as three weeks for investment agencies such as the Teachers Retirement System to determine monetary impact. Rauner, a first-time office holder, needs to understand that “there’s a long lead time to actually getting the data and the information you need.”
Yep. And every time you tweak the thing, it takes that much more time all over again.
Central to questions about Tier 2 is a federal tax provision sometimes referred to as the Safe Harbor rule. In short, it requires public pension plans to offer retirement benefits at least as good as the minimum workers would get if they were covered by Social Security.
Failing that, federal law requires public workers to join Social Security and pay a 6.2 percent tax to the national retirement system. Their employers would also have to kick in another 6.2 percent, costing taxpayers more money. Most public employees and employers in Illinois currently do not pay Social Security taxes.
Teacher retirement system experts say Tier 2 benefits currently meet the Safe Harbor test but will begin to fall out of compliance by 2027. The reason, they say, is that Tier 2 includes both a limit on benefits and inflation adjustments much tighter than those adopted by Social Security — leaving retirement benefits for some workers at risk of falling below what they could qualify for under the federal system.
A fix for the problem would be to increase cost-of-living adjustments for Tier 2 workers to keep them in line with what Social Security offers. That, however, would cut into the cost savings counted on by Rauner and state leaders who approved the 2010 law.
Larry Langer, a principle at Buck Consultants which conducted the actuarial analysis for TRS, predicted only higher-paid employees would initially bump up against the Safe Harbor threshold. If Tier 2 were confined to newer hires — who tend to earn less — Langer predicted the ranks of affected workers would be modest for many years beyond 2027.
That dynamic would change, however, if tens of thousands of additional workers are put into the Tier 2 retirement system as Rauner proposes, Langer said. “These are people who are higher paid just because of where they are at in their career and higher pay is a potential driver of non-compliance,” Langer explained.
Not to mention the dubious constitutionality of moving current workers from one system to another and thereby diminishing their benefits.
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
2015
“Exelon has long believed that there is no need to promote subsidies for proven technologies at any cost, nor for electricity consumers or taxpayers to pay more than required for a clean electricity supply.” EXELON WEBSITE
2014
“We’re saying we don’t want to be subsidized and no one should be subsidized in the competitive markets, so there are a few that may not make it.” Chris Crane, Exelon CEO, May 13, 2014 - E&E News
2013
“ComEd has long believed that competitive markets will work in the best interests of our customers. So we are concerned about the negative impact on our customers from a requirement that would force utilities to buy subsidized generation at above-market prices” Crain’s, February 28,
2011
So the key questions, Mr. Rowe says, boil down to how open markets are from region to region and, among utilities, “who’s pro-market and who really the mercantilists are.” then EXELON Chairman John Rowe, Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2011.
Stop the Exelon hypocrisy. Just say no to the Exelon bailout.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
* Last night, somebody forwarded me this e-mail entitled “Quinn for Illinois Get-Together”…
Hello Team Quinn!
With 2015 well on its way, Governor Quinn is hosting a get-together for loyal friends and supporters like you.
The party will be on Thursday, April 30, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm — at Connie’s! Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be served, and a cash bar will also be available.
Please click HERE to RSVP by April 27, 2015.
Connie’s address is 2373 S. Archer Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60616.
Best Wishes,
Billy Morgan
P.S. Feel free to email me with any questions. Thanks!
* The person who forwarded it wondered if Quinn was having some thoughts about running for office, so I checked with a former Quinn spokesperson. She texted back…
You think this is a campaign brainstorm? No. lol. It’s a belated pizza / thank you party for Quinnsters - pretty straight forward
I’ve since received the e-mail several times, so I thought I’d post it.
* From unsuccessful 2014 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tio Hardiman…
Dear Members of the Media,
After speaking with several supporters and securing over 125,500 votes in the March 2014 Democratic Primary. Tio Hardiman has decided to run for Congress against Congressman Bobby Rush in the 1st Congressional District. Tio Hardiman’s platform will include:
· More benefits and tax breaks for seniors
· Reducing violence
· Ending police brutality and excessive force
· More programs for the youth
· Jobs and economic development
· Open primaries
· Combating illegal gun trafficking
Tio Hardiman initially announced a run for United States Senate against Mark Kirk but decided against another statewide race after consulting with his political advisors and supporters. […]
Thank you,
Tio Hardiman, MA
* The Question: Your pick for Tio Hardiman’s campaign slogan(s)?
During the weeks after Lincoln’s death, as his funeral train made a circuitous journey from Washington, D.C., back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, perhaps a million Americans filed past the open coffin to glimpse their fallen leader’s face. Millions more—as much as one-third of the North’s population—watched the procession pass.
* Goodheart retraced the entire funeral train journey. It’s a great read…
From Freeland to New Freedom, the old train tracks rise gently out of Maryland toward the Pennsylvania hills. One of these auspiciously named hamlets sits just south of the Mason-Dixon Line separating the two states, the other just north. Until Maryland enacted emancipation just five months before Lincoln’s death, this line was like an electrified fence standing between four million people and liberty.
Today the old right-of-way on which Lincoln’s train passed, closed to rail traffic in the 1980s, has become a hiking trail. Rusted rails emerge here and there from its grassy margins, then sink again into the sod. A wooden post, a bench, and a couple of picnic tables are all that mark the Mason-Dixon Line itself. I sit down on the bench, with the left half of me in the South and the right half in the North, marveling at the border’s utter invisibility. I watch a pale green inchworm as it traverses my shirtfront from Pennsylvania into Maryland, then doubles back and crosses the Mason-Dixon Line again. […]
In 1860s America the railroad was more than just a new technology—it was a kind of national cult. A few months before the end of the Civil War, the abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison waxed mystical about the revolution that trains had brought, fostering not just economic prosperity but also human connection on a vast scale: “So may the modes of communication and the ties of life continue to multiply, until all nations shall feel a common sympathy and worship of a common shrine!”
Little remains of the Civil War–era railroad network traveled by the funeral train between Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. But as I get accustomed to the landscape, I find I can sense the railroad like a vanished limb: a downtown street that’s wider than it needs to be, a vacant lot beside a grain elevator, a long straight groove through the middle of a farmer’s soybean field. I’ll pull over, find a telltale scatter of old gravel and broken glass, and tell myself, Lincoln passed here too.
Sometimes at these places I find signs warning of buried fiber-optic lines. Data companies often use the old railroad rights-of-way to run their cables—just as, in the late 1850s, telegraph companies ran their wires here. The multiplication that Garrison prophesied continues apace.
The tomb, I find, is a disappointment. Twice reconstructed since 1865—most recently, in the 1930s, in incongruous Art Deco style—its current incarnation has all the historic character of an office lobby. (The coffin was moved no fewer than 14 times in the decades after its original burial, as if no one could figure out quite what to do with it.) Lengthy inscriptions on the wall, relics of their time, recount nearly every biographical detail except the Emancipation Proclamation. The body, a guide tells the crowd of tourists, lies under ten feet of concrete. It’s strange to think that there is a place where Lincoln still physically exists in the world, let alone that it’s a place like this.
Caretakers of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb are on the defensive over an unflattering critique in National Geographic magazine and looming budget cuts that could threaten management of the historic site, even as they commemorate the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War president’s assassination.
For the state that calls itself the “Land of Lincoln,” the timing of a ceremony Wednesday in Springfield to mark his death is awkward because Illinois faces a financial crisis and Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed eliminating the state Historic Preservation Agency that manages sites including the tomb as it currently exists. He would roll the agency into another department.
What’s more, the popular tourist site was pilloried in this month’s issue of National Geographic magazine as having “all the historical character of an office lobby.”
OK, first of all, even if IHPA is abolished, the state will continue to take care of Lincoln’s tomb. There have been budget cuts and hours have been reduced, but another agency can still handle the job.
Secondly, the article’s author went on what can probably be best described as a transcendent journey. He likely would’ve been disappointed at the end of that trip no matter what the tomb looked like.
I’ve been there many times. It’s a great space. Everyone I’ve taken to the tomb has been awed by the experience. I’ve never heard one complaint. And the AP even checked with a random tomb visitor…
William Sparks, a visitor to the outside of the tomb Tuesday who took an Amtrak train from Green Bay, Wisconsin, said he had a copy of the National Geographic story with him at his Springfield hotel, but disagreed with its conclusion.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” he said of the site, even though he didn’t get to see the interior of the tomb. “I don’t get (the author’s take) at all. This is very impressive.”
* If you thought the Tribune editorial board was stacked with Raunerite boot-lickers, get a load of Steve Forbes…
Roaring into this massive morass as Illinois’ new chief executive is a former venture capitalist turned radical reformer, Bruce Rauner. That a Republican could win the governorship in Barack Obama’s deep blue state is testament to the state’s distress. Democrats may still hold supermajorities in both houses of the legislature, but, with the force of a Paul Bunyan, Rauner is acting as if the opposite were true. He is vigorously and unapologetically pushing forward with changes on every front. […]
The governor appeared at the Forbes Reinventing America Summit in March. No one came away from that interview doubting his resolve or sincerity. When I asked him about criticism that he’s taking on too much, especially in fighting unions that have immense influence with Democratic state legislators, he responded: “Structural reforms and fighting the unions are inseparable. If all we do is get a balanced budget and modernize our tax code without changing the structure, the next governor after me–and believe me, we’re gonna get some other Blagojeviches [Rod Blagojevich is a former governor serving a 14-year sentence in federal prison for corruption] because Illinois is good at bringin’ those kinda people–our budget will be blown out again. It’ll be back in massive deficit again.”
The financial outlook for beleaguered Chicago? He replied that it will go bankrupt. The unions won’t allow needed changes.
Can Rauner cut down the opposition as Paul Bunyan chopped down trees? He may well get a lot of what he wants. As a fig leaf for legislators to approve hefty parts of his package, the governor could, for instance, allow a small increase in the state’s 3.75% income tax to, say, 4%. (It’s already down from 5%.)
So, Illinois’ Paul Bunyan is gonna entice Democrats to agree to local “right to work” zones, elimination of prevailing wage, massive workers’ comp reforms, radical pension reforms, property tax freezes and municipal bankruptcy in exchange for… a quarter point increase in the state income tax?
A week and a half after The Autism Program in Rockford found out it would no longer be receiving state funding, 13 News has learned that it will be closing this Friday.
TAP is one of more than 25 grant-funded organizations that got letters earlier this month from the Department of Human Services and Department of Public Health notifying them they would have to stop spending any further grant money.
A number of local organizations were impacted, including the Teen Reach Program and the Epilepsy Foundation.
A top aide for Gov. Bruce Rauner said grant freezes could continue for the rest of the current fiscal year as the administration tries to balance the budget.
Tim Nuding, Rauner’s budget director, said at a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee that grant suspensions like the $26 million announced last week for the Department of Human Services would likely continue until the new fiscal year begins in July. The recent freeze has adversely affected several programs, including funding for The Autism Program. […]
Several Democrats said they felt the Rauner administration misled them. Sen. Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge said he gave his vote for the budget fix thinking autism care would be funded.
“You know I felt pretty good that we were moving forward,” he said. “Then for all these agencies to get a letter on April 3 — Good Friday and Passover — was a real kick in the gut.”
Nuding and Bassi said they were completely forthcoming in their discussions with lawmakers.
The budget chief said reviews of the state’s major agencies already have been completed. He said funding limits set by lawmakers in the deal would determine where places in the state budget would run out of money and face more grant
He also rejected suggestions he didn’t make lawmakers aware of the possibility of potential changes to the funding for grants and said that the budget deal legislation was always meant to be part of the fix on top of an ongoing examination of state expenses following Rauner’s executive order in January to freeze nonessential spending.
Democrats attempted to pick apart the methods and thinking used by officials in the budget office, the Department of Public Health and Department of Human Services. Nonprofit organizations across the state received letters on Good Friday notifying them of an immediate and indefinite suspension of funding for the current fiscal year.
Sen. Dan Kotowski said he believed lawmakers were assured that certain programs and services would not be touched by cuts as part of the budget deal.
If lawmakers knew the $26 million in grant suspensions would have been a part of budget deal, “I would not have voted for the bill,” Kotowksi said.
While Tuesday’s political sniping was focused on the current year’s budget, the hearing offered a glimpse into the tough negotiations ahead for the next fiscal year’s spending plan. Republican Rauner has proposed a blueprint that would cut spending on universities, Medicaid, Amtrak and a host of other programs.
Republicans contend Democrats caused the problem when they approved a budget last spring that was based on the temporary income tax increase not expiring Jan. 1. Once that happened, however, it left Rauner, who took over for Democrat Pat Quinn on Jan. 12, with no choice but to look for ways to balance spending.
“I’m struggling to understand what the point of this meeting is,” said state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine “This experience right now is like watching an arsonist criticize the fireman for the manner in which he put out the arsonist’s fire. This is ludicrous.”
* Meanwhile…
Sen Pres John Cullerton says Gov Rauner didn't go back on his word by freezing $26 mil in grants, "but that doesn't make them good ideas"
* Roe’s guest was Patti Vasquez, who describes herself as a “Comic, WGN Radio Show Host, Special Needs Mom.” She led a group of similarly situated moms to Springfield this week…
Gov. #IL#Rauner#GOMB didn't have "time" 2 collect data 2 determine whether #Autism programs were essential so they decided they were not.
Last week’s storm was the first crisis for Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration. Today he talked about what he saw when he toured the area on Friday.
“Rochelle was devastated and the Town of Fairdale was…it was horrible what happened. We went there to offer our emotional support, our financial support, and to thank those first responders, our firefighters, our police officers and our Red Cross volunteers,” Rauner said.
Because of Illinois’ inability to get federal aid for Washington, Illinois after the November 2013 tornado, Rauner believes there’s little hope Fairdale and Rochelle will receive any aid from Washington. His plan is to rebuild those towns with private donations.
The Governor and his wife Diana have already anted up $100,000.
“My wife and I are trying to lead a major fundraising effort with the Red Cross. The Red Cross is doing extraordinary work to provide meals, provide shelter and provide transportation to those families and we’re doing everything we can to bring private resources to help,” the Governor said.
Rauner invited members of the media to Springfield for one-on-one interviews. He wanted to talk about, among other things, the enormous challenge facing Chicago’s budget and what happens if the city’s pension liabilities become too much to bear. […]
CBS 2’s Rob Johnson pressed Rauner on whether bankruptcy is a viable option, if public pension costs cannot be tamed through legislation. Rauner’s proposals include making the option legal for Illinois communities.
“Many other states have allowed local governments to decide whether they need to declare bankruptcy,” Rauner tells Johnson. “Bankruptcy law exists for a reason. It’s allowed in business so that businesses can get back on their feet and prosper again by restructuring their debts.” […]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office issued a statement that said balancing the state budget on the backs of the local governments is itself a “bankrupt” idea. Rauner has proposed sweeping cuts in state assistance that have angered local officials.
* And he drove that point home again yesterday when talking about the Chicago Public Schools…
“The state has a crisis, the city has a crisis. I’m concerned that [CPS] is going to have to go bankrupt,” he said during a moderated discussion at a Chicago Public Education Fund luncheon. “Bankruptcy code exists to help the organization get out of financial trouble. There’s a reason for the bankruptcy code.”
Then he told the sympathetic audience – which minutes later gave him a standing ovation – that unions are partly to blame for why municipalities and school districts in Illinois can’t file for bankruptcy in order to renegotiate debt.
“Insiders in our system currently have made bankruptcy in government units illegal because some people never want to restructure contracts – contracts brought into place through insider deals,” said Rauner, who also advocated for right-to-work zones.
“The municipal bankruptcy bill is not currently moving in Springfield,” [Mayoral spokeswoman Libby Langsdorf ] said. “The governor’s suggestion is not part of our plan. Instead of proposing to solve the state’s fiscal crisis on the back of local governments, he should be working to ensure that Chicago, the biggest economic driver in the state, gets back on sound footing.” […]
Chicago Board of Education member Carlos Azcoitia said the district meanwhile is “taking measures to be able to prevent [bankruptcy] and be able to get our house in order,” adding that the district and Rauner agree that pensions should be reformed. “But I don’t see bankruptcy as any solution, and it’s not going to happen,” Azcoitia said.
Afterward by telephone, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis denounced Rauner’s bankruptcy suggestion, saying “to throw the entire system into chaos, financial chaos is irresponsible.”
Calling the governor “basically a robber baron,” engaged in “union busting,” Lewis wondered “how much respect does Bruce Rauner have for people who walk away from their debts, for regular, ordinary people who walk away from their debts?”
“I’m sure he has special names for them: deadbeats.”
* The AP reports that we have some new special election dates to replace Aaron Schock…
A federal judge in Chicago signed a consent decree Tuesday scheduling a July 7 primary and a Sept. 10 general election. […]
Candidates may begin filing nominating papers for the office Wednesday.
GOP state Sen. Darin LaHood, the son of former Congressman and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, is considered the front-runner in the heavily Republican district.
* Meanwhile, innocent people often receive subpoenas to talk about what they know about not so innocent people. So, let’s hope this is the case here. AP…
Congress said Tuesday it has been told at least four staffers who worked for former Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury as part of an ongoing probe into the congressman’s expenses.
The Justice Department issued its subpoenas in recent weeks to current and former Schock staffers as it examines expense accounts, his re-election campaign spending and his relationships with political donors. A Springfield, Illinois, grand jury began hearing testimony about the matter earlier this month.
The House clerk reported Tuesday the subpoenas were issued to Schock chief of staff Mark Roman, Peoria district office manager Bryan Rudolph, district chief of staff Dayne LaHood and executive assistant Sarah Rogers.
A former donor to disgraced ex-Representative Aaron Schock will file a class action lawsuit against him Wednesday morning, in hopes of preventing the Illinois Republican from using campaign funds for his legal defense.
Howard Foster, a Chicago lawyer and former donor to the congressman, will be the lead—and so far, only—plaintiff in the case against Schock, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. He has retained Steve Berman, a Seattle lawyer famous for launching high-profile class action lawsuits against the likes of Exxon Mobil and Enron, to file the case Wednesday in Chicago Federal Court. […]
“We thought he was honest and had a bright future. We would not have supported him had we known he regularly violated House rules,” Foster wrote in a blog post last month. (Neither Foster nor Berman would speak on the record about the pending case.) Previewing the argument he will likely be making in the legal brief, Foster then wrote, “In light of the situation, he should not convert his campaign funds to any other purpose, such as his legal defense. For that he should have to pay out of his own pocket. Donors should get their money back on some sort of percentage basis, such as in a bankruptcy proceeding.” […]
According to Federal Election Commission records, Foster only made a single $500 donation to Schock’s congressional campaign fund. He and Berman hope to convince a federal judge to certify the case as a class action suit, which would then result in a letter being sent to every single one of Schock’s many donors across the country, informing them that they have the opportunity to become parties to the lawsuit.
Such a legal campaign—typically used against companies that make defective products—is unprecedented in the annals of American politics. As such, the plaintiffs will have to overcome a high legal burden and need to prove that Schock deliberately made false assertions to donors and raised their money for purposes other than the furtherance of his political career.
A source familiar with Schock’s operation told The Daily Beast that as to “the substantive claim that he defrauded donors for the purpose of living high, nobody can be able to prove that.” Calling the case “frivolous,” the source explained that Schock resigned over his misuse of public money, not campaign funds, the latter of which candidates have wide legal latitude in spending. “It’s classic trial lawyer bullshit and it’ll go nowhere.”
Duckworth’s Double Dipping Past Haunts Her On Tax Day
WASHINGTON – With today being tax day, the NRSC is reminding voters that for four years Tammy Duckworth improperly claimed a homestead exemption on her properties in Cook and DeKalb Counties.
“With millions of people filing their taxes today, it’s worth noting that Tammy Duckworth was fined for improperly claiming tax exemptions,” said NRSC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek. “It’s ironic that in Congress Tammy Duckworth has no problem pushing higher taxes on Illinois families but when it comes to paying her own, she cheats the system.”
BACKGROUND …
From 2007-2010, Duckworth Improperly Claimed The Homestead Exemption On Properties She Owned In Cook And DeKalb Counties. “A suburban congressional candidate improperly claimed two homeowner exemptions at once over a period of several years, a Daily Herald investigation has found… County records show Duckworth claimed homestead exemptions in both DeKalb and Cook counties from 2007 to 2010.” (Kerry Lester, “Duckworth Claimed Two Homeowner Exemptions,” Daily Herald, 8/23/12)
Duckworth Unaware She Has A “Tax Problem.” “A spokeswoman says Duckworth was unaware that she’d been claiming the exemptions simultaneously.” (“Duckworth Double Dipped On Tax Exemption,” NBC, 8/23/2012)
Duckworth Paid Back The $1,928 In Taxes She Saved And Another $612 In Late Fees. “John Sullivan, an attorney who specializes in property tax appeals, said Duckworth contacted him weeks ago about the issue, and he computed how much she owed to DeKalb County. The four years of claiming the benefit in DeKalb County saved Duckworth $1,928, Brunschon said. Duckworth has sent a check to DeKalb County to cover what she would have paid without the exemption, plus an added $612 in late fees, Sullivan said. As of Tuesday afternoon, Brunschon had not yet received the check.” (Kerry Lester, “Duckworth Claimed Two Homeowner Exemptions,” Daily Herald, 8/23/12)
Duckworth Filed The First Homestead Exemption On The DeKalb Property After Purchasing The Property In 1997. “The DeKalb exemption was filed first, after Duckworth and her husband Bryan Bowlsbey purchased the property in 1997. In DeKalb County, Chief County Assessment Officer Robin Brunschon said, exemptions are automatically renewed each year unless residents notify the assessor’s office that they have changed their primary address.” (Kerry Lester, “Duckworth Claimed Two Homeowner Exemptions,” Daily Herald, 8/23/12)
Kinda weak. For starters, it’s not property tax day, it’s income tax day. And tons of people have found themselves in the same situation as Duckworth. Plus, it’s pretty old news.
But, whatevs. It does show how much the NRSC wants to thwack Duckworth early and often.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s turnaround agenda suffered a setback Monday night when Crete Mayor Michael Einhorn decided not to call for a vote supporting the governor’s effort after an outpouring of union opposition at a village board meeting.
“I didn’t call for a vote because it would have failed,” Einhorn told me. “I’m not ruling out another vote in the future, but it’s unlikely. I agreed to sit down with the union people and talk about our problems and see if there’s some way we can agree on a way to solve them.”
Einhorn is the only Southland mayor I’m aware of who responded so far to the governor’s plea to mayors throughout the state to endorse his turnaround agenda for Illinois by having their town’s aldermen or trustees pass local resolutions endorsing his plan. Among its components are right-to-work zones, lower wages for government workers and contractors, workers’ compensation reform and tort reform. […]
Only a few municipalities throughout Illinois have passed Rauner’s turnaround resolution, despite what several mayors told me was unprecedented lobbying by the governor and his staff.
* The Illinois Federation of Teachers is attempting to track the municipal votes on its website…
The following municipalities/counties will consider the Rauner “right-to-work” (RTW) resolution this week, April 13-17.
Adams County
Wednesday, April 15, 7 p.m.
Council Chambers, Quincy
Livingston County Board (Pontiac)
Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m.
112 W. Madison St., Pontiac […]
These areas have already considered the Rauner proposal, with the following outcomes (2013 population figure listed in parentheses):
East Dundee (Kane) - (3,198) - passed
Oswego (Kendall) - (32,174) - tabled
Iroquois County (29,982) - held in committee
Pingree Grove (Kane) - (4,532) - unanimously defeated
Mount Zion (Macon) - (5,914) - tabled
Woodstock (McHenry) - (25,146) - defeated 4-3, tabled
Litchfield (Montgomery) - (6,816) - passed 5-3
Shelby County (22,119) - not called
Moultrie County (14,876) - on hold until May
Clinton (De Witt) - (7,150) - passed
Cambridge (Henry) - (2,131) - passed
Makanda (Jackson) - (552) - passed
Charleston (Coles) - (21,961) - passed
Milledgeville (Carroll) - (997) - passed
Shannon (Carroll) - (731) - passed
Heyworth (McLean) - (2,915) - passed
Martinsville (Clark) - (1,155) - passed
Mundelein (Lake)- (31,395) - tabled
Crete (Will) - (8,230) - tabled
Winnebago County (290,666) - defeated [resolution actually passed, but without labor items]
Lexington (McLean) - (2,080) - tabled
McHenry County - (307,409) - passed
Libertyville (Lake) - (20,431) - defeated
Aurora Township (Kane) - (199,962) - defeated
The Libertyville and Aurora Township votes were reportedly held last night. I couldn’t find any news coverage online, but that’s big news if it went down in Libertyville. [UPDATE: The governor’s office claims there was no vote in Libertyville. See below.]
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s controversial plan to improve Illinois’ poor financial outlook by attacking labor unions has failed to gain initial support in Mundelein.
Rather than voting to support what the new Republican governor has dubbed his turnaround agenda, trustees on Monday opted to delay a decision for at least two weeks. Additionally, officials said they may rework the resolution that was presented Monday. […]
Eventually, the board voted 4-1 to remove the resolution from the agenda. Trustee Holly Kim cast the lone “no” vote, while Trustee Ray Semple was absent.
In an interview Tuesday, Mayor Steve Lentz sounded uneasy with Rauner’s plan.
“I agree with the bottom line resolution to support reforms that give us more local control and reduce the costs to local government,” Lentz said. “Some of the clauses, however, are very polarizing.”
The Charleston City Council passed a resolution April 7 that incorporated some proposals by Gov. Bruce Rauner regarding the creation of “empowerment zones.” […]
The Journal Gazette & Times-Courier reported that the language of the resolution was discussed via email among Mayor Larry Rennels and the other council members.
The resolution was part of the consent agenda, with members of the public not being able to voice their opinion. The resolution was also not placed on file for public inspection.
The language of the resolution also does not spell out why exactly the city needs this to be enacted. What are written are words from the governor’s office.
In order to accomplish any of his agenda, Rauner is going to have to go beyond his Republican base for support, and so far he’s failing in dramatic fashion.
On the other hand, in addition to uniting unions in opposition to his agenda, his proposed budget cuts have brought almost every social service agency into the debate — all arguing for funds to help the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, elderly and single parents. […]
I believe the governor remains popular with the people of this state who generally want to see taxes cut, state spending reduced and political reforms to restore integrity in Springfield.
But his ability to lead toward a solution seems lacking. Maybe the problems are just too big. Maybe he hasn’t had enough time. Maybe he’s still learning. I hope that’s the case.
Because this state and many of its municipalities need a leader who can unite opposing forces, not drive a wedge between them that widens the gulf.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the governor’s office…
Hi, Rich –
Add Fairfield to the list that have passed the resolution. I’ll send you the pdf when I have it.
ck
Population 5,421 .
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the governor’s office…
FYI, Libertyville did NOT defeat the resolution last night, it was discussed and never came to a vote.
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
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