* As I told you earlier, Gov. Quinn is expected to issue an amendatory veto on the McCormick Place reform bill soon. He’s going to use the so-called “departure tax” hike as an excuse, according to an e-mail from his campaign. The reform bill doubles the tax on cab rides leaving O’Hare and Midway airports to fund Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, with 25 percent going to Rosemont’s convention center. Take it away, Quinn campaign…
As we know, Brady voted for the McPier reforms and is urging for it to be signed as is. However, the reform doubles the departure tax. It is raised by 100%.
This from the person who recently signed the “no tax pledge” - and has spent the last few months publicly railing against any taxes - yet he voted for this tax increase.
One of the first chances he had to vote for a hike in taxes, he took it.
And someone should ask him if he knows where the money from the departure tax goes. This tax is already going to McPier and it collects about $8 million annually. This is estimated to collect another $8 million, 75% of the new revenue would go to CCTB to help market McPier. 25% of this would go to also market the Rosemont convention center.
Here is the Brady campaign press release issued after I wrote that Quinn would likely AV the McPier bill…
Bill Brady, Candidate for Governor, released the following statement on McCormick Place Reform today;
Why is Pat Quinn standing against jobs and reform? This is a clear opportunity to be on the side of growth and to make a clean break from insider Illinois politics. Today the bill went to the Governor’s desk; he has no more excuses. He should sign the bill. This is bipartisan and has widespread support for a good reason: It will mean jobs and reform.
Several trade shows have canceled here and others waiting before making future commitments. This could mean the loss of a billion dollars in local spending. As I said last week, Pat Quinn has failed the children of Chicago by opposing the Meeks school voucher bill, and he is failing the people of the Pullman neighborhood.
I hope Governor Quinn, on behalf of the people of Chicago, gets this one right and signs the bill.
* 6:14 pm - The House is now debating a motion to reconsider the pension borrowing bill, which came up one vote short. Rep. David Miller made the motion to reconsider, and he is expected to vote “Yes” when the actual bill comes up for a vote.
But if that happens, and Miller votes “Yes,” GOP Rep. Pritchard just told my intern Barton Lorimor that he is switching from “Yes” to “No.” Pritchard wouldn’t say why he was switching his vote. But Pritchard’s decision comes after an hour-long House Republican caucus meeting.
So, if Miller votes for it and Pritchard votes against it and nobody else changes their mind, then they’re still at 70 - one vote short.
* UPDATE 1 - 6:32 pm - We went back to talk to Pritchard and he’s actually going to vote “Present.” Same dif. Video in a bit.
* UPDATE 2 - 6:34 pm - Rep. David Miller’s motion to reconsider finally was called for a vote after a long delay. Apparently, they were looking for some missing members. The motion passed with 71 votes.
* OK, now a verification. And it passed.
* UPDATE 3 - 6:39 pm - As I mentioned below, Gov. Quinn stormed onto the House floor during House GOP Leader Tom Cross’ speech against the pension borrowing bill. Quinn stopped in the middle of the chamber, turned and glared at Cross. Watch it…
* UPDATE 4 - 6:41 pm - Rep. Pritchard just explained his vote. He said he’s voting “Present” because he wants some bipartisanship. Odd.
* UPDATE 5 - 6:45 pm - Crain’s just fell for an old Rod Blagojevich spin. Blagojevich used to say he was “signing” a bill when he was actually using his amendatory veto powers. An AV isn’t a signature. Period. Subscribers already knew what was going on, but here you go…
Gov. Pat Quinn is expected this week to sign the long-awaited bill to overhaul operations at McCormick Place, though the measure will come with a few changes, according to legislative and convention officials familiar with the situation.
Mr. Quinn could sign his amended version of the bill as soon as Wednesday.
Sources weren’t aware of the specific changes Mr. Quinn will make to the bill, but the governor has raised repeated concerns about numerous issues. Those include a lack of a succession plan for the interim trustee — expected to be Jim Reilly, chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority and liaison to the legislative panel that examines operations at McCormick Place — as well as securing oversight of changes made by the trustee and addressing organized labor’s concerns, to avoid legal challenges.
If Mr. Quinn does present an amended bill, legislators will have the choice of supporting it or overriding it.
Sources said legislators would more than likely overturn his amended bill since the measure in its current form unanimously passed the House and Senate.
* UPDATE 6 - 6:48 pm - Word from the floor is that the Democrats have picked up a Republican vote to replace Rep. Pritchard’s flip-flop. Stay tuned, but this looks like it may pass now. The word is, from several sources, that the new HGOP member is Rep. Bob Biggins.
* UPDATE 7 - 6:55 pm - After ducking reporters for more than an hour and spending time in both House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office and Gov. Quinn’s office, Rep. David Miller is now saying that the pension bond bill will save money. This after he voted “No” the first time around. Video in a bit.
But Miller, who had sought to raise taxes in prior years to help the state’s bleak finances, said he would vote for borrowing “because it’s the right thing to do” now.
“You’ve got to do the mature thing which is to at least get us through this crisis, no matter how bad it is,” Miller told reporters after the vote.
Miller said he’s not sure how his vote will impact his run for comptroller, but said his focus today was not on his future but the people he represents now.
“At some point you have to do some soul searching about why you’re here in the first place.”
He said he was not offered anything in return for his vote by the governor.
* UPDATE 8 - 7:03 pm - The pension borrowing bill passed with 71 votes and 44 voting no. Rep. Bob Biggins did, indeed, vote “Yes” on the bill.
* UPDATE 9 - 7:56 pm - There’s been a strong rumor in the building that Rep. Biggins switched his vote to “Yes” on the pension borrowing bill in exchange for a job. I’ll have more for subscribers tomorrow, but House GOP Leader Tom Cross just said he has heard the same rumors. He also talked about what he said to Rep. Pritchard to get him to change his vote. Video in a bit.
* UPDATE 11 - 8:15 pm - The Emergency Budget Act just passed with 67 votes. The bill gives extraordinary budget powers to the governor, among many other things House GOP Leader Tom Cross said a bit ago that just about everything would pass now that the pension borrowing bill cleared the chamber. Looks like he was right. The budget bill is up now.
* UPDATE 12 - 8:30 pm - And the budget just passed. It all seems so anti climactic.
* UPDATE 13 - 8:43 pm - The BIMP just passed.
* UPDATE 14 - 9:23 pm - And they’re done for the night.
* GOP Rep. Don Moffitt is a moderate Republican who was thought to be maybe leaning towards voting for the pension borrowing plan. My intern Barton Lorimor caught up with Moffitt after the House GOP caucus meeting a while ago and Moffitt said he’s sticking with his fellow HGOPs against the borrowing plan. Watch…
House GOP Leader Tom Cross affirmed that his caucus is united on the pension bond plan…
So much for that idea. At least for now.
* And Gov. Quinn was openly threatened today by the Housewares Show…
op executives with the International Home + Housewares Show fired off an email to Gov. Pat Quinn today, saying they could not recommend Chicago as the show’s venue for 2012 and beyond when their board meets later this week unless the governor signs the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
“The lack of signature to this bill will ultimately send us and other vitally important trade show business elsewhere,” the email stated. It was signed by Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association, and Mia Rampersad, the group’s vice president/trade shows. The association’s show has been a cornerstone of the city’s convention business since 1939.
If the bill is not signed, “the letter is pretty specific as to what will happen,” Mr. Brandl said. If Mr. Quinn signs it, renewing in Chicago “will be a much simpler process.”
The show is prepared to renew for “three to five years” in Chicago if the legislation is signed, Mr. Brandl said. The show attracted nearly 60,000 participants in March and injected an estimated $82 million into Chicago’s economy, he said.
* Quinn’s office has issued a press release announcing the governor’s support of university borrowing…
Governor Pat Quinn today spoke with University of Illinois President Stanley O. Ikenberry and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard regarding a legislative initiative to allow state universities to borrow money to cover expenses during the current economic crisis.
“After careful consideration, I believe it is in the best interest of Illinois taxpayers to include state university borrowing in the comprehensive borrowing bill now before the Illinois General Assembly.
The university presidents and I agree that this is a more fiscally-responsible way of addressing the state universities’ financial issues while also protecting the interests of Illinois taxpayers. A comprehensive plan will result in a stronger response from the bond market, more manageable and competitive interest rates on state bonds and ultimately lower costs to taxpayers.
Proceeds from a comprehensive borrowing plan will be used to pay for vital state services, including university expenses.”
ontinuing to deflect notions that President Barack Obama isn’t backing him, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias announced today two White House officials will be coming to Illinois next month to campaign for him.
Secretary of Education and former Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan will join Giannoulias on the campaign trail on June 17, followed two days later by Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, the campaign said. Duncan and Giannoulias have been friends for years and both were among a group with then state-senator Obama that regularly played basketball together.
* UPDATE 1 - 2:39 pm - The House Executive Committee voted on several budget-cutting ideas this afternoon. An amendment pushed by Rep. Elaine Nekritz to lower state employee mileage reimbursement failed, 4-0 with seven abstentions. Another amendment making state retirees pay more for their health insurance premiums failed. But a proposal to suspend per diem payments to legislators for one year was approved.
* UPDATE 3 - 2:39 pm - All amendments proposed by the coalition of Democrats pushing for cuts were either killed by the House Appropriations General Services Committee this afternoon or were withdrawn. One such proposal would’ve cut statewide officers’ budgets by 5 percent.
And here’s a press release from the Responsible Budget Coalition…
“Lawmakers have returned to Springfield to work towards a spending plan for the coming fiscal year, but appear no closer to approving a real, responsible budget with adequate new revenue to meet the state’s obligations and prevent devastating cuts to vital services and jobs.
“Instead, too many legislators are proposing to repeat and compound past mistakes by slashing education, health care, human services and jobs, and failing to pay the state’s bills.
“For example, under Senate Bill 3660, legislators—for the second straight year—would abandon their constitutional responsibility to set appropriations for essential public services. Instead, they would cede to the governor vast powers to reduce or eliminate such services. This is not part of a responsible, comprehensive solution that sets Illinois on a path to adequately fund vital programs, pay our bills, and avoid repetition of the problems that have landed us in a $13 billion revenue hole. The Responsible Budget Coalition demands a comprehensive solution to the problem.
* UPDATE 4 - 3:52 pm - After refusing to vote for the pension bond bill a couple of weeks ago, some House Republicans are now complaining that the Democrats are loading up the borrowing bill with amendments designed to entice them to vote for the bill - like specific borrowing proposals that have already been introduced by House Republicans.
So, the House Democrats have now moved to table all the amendments except one. That one would authorize an additional $1.5 billion in borrowing authority for school construction. It passed with 78 votes, including numerous Republicans. [That one was withdrawn as well.]
Welcome to silly season.
* UPDATE 5 - 4:47 pm - The pension borrowing bill fell just one vote short, 70-46-1. Democratic Reps. Jack Franks and David Miller (the Democratic nominee for comptroller) voted “No.” GOP Rep. Beth Coulson voted “Present.”
Republican “Yes” votes were Black, Pritchard. GOP Rep. Jerry Mitchell has an excused absence. Republican Reps. Raymond Poe and Rich Brauer, who have a whole lot of AFSCME members in their districts, voted “No.” The roll call will eventually be posted here.
* Speaker Madigan is on the floor now talking with Rep. Miller. We hope to have his explanation for his “No” vote and Rep. Coulson’s explanation for her “Present” vote soon.
* UPDATE 6 - 5:01 pm - Rep. David Miller has just moved to reconsider the vote.
The Republicans have asked for an immediate caucus. They’ve asked for an hour.
Not exactly the most courageous vote I’ve ever seen in the Illinois General Assembly.
Coulson said she wants to get the budget out of the way before considering the borrowing bill, but she also said she wants to “look at the municipality [pension] reforms” before she’s be ready to vote for the borrowing bill. Doesn’t sound like she’ll be a “Yes,” but that still doesn’t explain her “Present” vote.
House Republican leader Tom Cross was berating Democrats for being irresponsible with state finances when Gov. Pat Quinn suddenly sprinted into the House, stomped down the center aisle and stood, hands on hips, glaring at Cross.
* We had a bit of fun with my refusal to cut my hair or trim my beard yesterday. In response, my old buddy Jak Tichenor sent me a photo from the latest “Illinois Lawmakers” program I did with him. And since we’ve had caption contests on just about everybody else in politics, I thought it was probably only fair to do it to myself. I have a strong feeling that I’m gonna regret this, but whatever…
Gov. Pat Quinn took some oblique shots at political insider Jim Reilly Monday as he explained why he remains undecided on whether to sign the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
The bill would name Reilly, chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority, as trustee, with broad decision-making power to oversee restructuring the Chicago convention center. Quinn said he wanted to be sure the legislation had adequate checks and balances in place. […]
The governor twice cited the scandal at commuter rail agency Metra, which is among several transit agencies overseen by the RTA. Federal authorities are probing the late Metra chief Phil Pagano’s receipt of $475,000 in unauthorized vacation pay.
In making his case for more oversight provisions in the McPier legislation, Quinn said Metra had been run by someone “who Metra thought, and RTA felt, was doing a good job.'’
Quinn also says he’s worried that one or two unions could file a lawsuit…
Speaking at an unrelated news conference, Quinn said he wants to make certain other terms of the reform don’t bring on a “cloud of litigation.”
Some McCormick Place unions are opposed to the proposal’s far-reaching changes in work rules. The intent is to lower costs for exhibitors.
“Without signing the bill which has passed the House and Senate, I cannot endorse Chicago as the most viable option for the restaurant’s show,” said [Mary Pat Heftman, executive vice president of the National Restaurant Association convention[.
A video gambling bill strongly opposed by state regulators advanced in a House committee today and now awaits a vote that could send it to the governor.
The state’s top gambling regulator predicted House lawmakers would pass the legislation, which he said would give amnesty to operators who have illegally operated video poker machines in bars for years.
“It’s a disaster,” said Aaron Jaffe, chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board. “I have no idea all the power plays that are going on down there (Springfield) right now, but I can tell you that they are all listening to the wrong people.”
As we’ve already discussed, Jaffe views tavern owners and places like VFWs who have “amusement only” video poker machines and have paid out as dangerous mob-connected criminals. That’s why he thinks this bill is a “disaster.” The bill requires a felony conviction before a tavern owner or facility operator can be denied a license to have the new, regulated video poker machines. “Disaster” is a bit much. More…
The problem for regulators is that in most cases. the owners of bars and even some of those rounded up in video gambling raids are never convicted. Many could plead guilty to lesser crimes that don’t fall under the gambling statutes. And bar owners, in particular, often face only a fine from the state’s liquor control commission.
Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Mark Ostrowski said the changes would make it essentially impossible to deny applications based on past instances of illegal machine use. He said convictions are rare.
But state Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat sponsoring the proposal, said the Gaming Board brought this provision on itself by having vague regulations in this area.
Lang said the board’s stance was new violations would disqualify someone but past violations “may keep” someone from getting a license. He considered that inconsistent.
* As I told subscribers this morning, the House Democrats are advancing a plan to convince the Republicans to support the pension borrowing bill, which requires a super-majority to pass. The Tribune has part of the story…
To entice Republican support to get the 71 votes needed for approval, they would tie pension borrowing to approving new bonds to pay for road and school construction.
Democrats still are not confident that Republicans would support the combined package, but noted that in the past, GOP members voted for additional highway bonding and school construction and might fear criticism for failing to bring jobs and pork projects back to their home districts.
One House Republican, Rep. Bill Black of Danville, said he’s willing to vote to borrow for pensions. “I don’t see how you can leave here and not borrow money,” said Black, a member of House GOP leadership who is not seeking re-election.
This might actually roll. We’ll see. The bill is here.
The emergency plan advanced Monday out of a key House committee would simply tell the governor he doesn’t have to make the pension payment until he has the money to do so.
That plan requires only a simple majority and, in theory, would be easier to pass. But it socks taxpayers with substantially higher interest charges. The borrowing plan would cost nearly $1 billion in interest over eight years. Skipping the pension payment incurs 8.5 percent interest and by the time the state makes up the shortfall, the interest cost is predicted at as much as $37 billion.
Even the Democrat sponsoring the deferred payment plan said it’s not a great option. “But it may turn out by the end of the week to be our only shot,” said Chicago state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie.
She advised colleagues that there will be another vote this week on borrowing. “And I advise you to take me up on that offer.”
QUINN: It’s the most feasible way to save taxpayers’ money. Bottom line is, any other proposal will cost taxpayers in Illinois millions and millions of dollars.
* Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) is not overly optimistic that budget cuts pushed by a group of fellow House Democrats will survive intact…
“Generally, when you’re talking about spending reductions and other things of that nature it runs into some challenges,” Nekritz said.
It’s unclear if these ideas from rank-and-file Democrats will get approved — or even debated —this week as lawmakers jockey to preserve their unique budget interests with state money tight.
State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, for example, opposes the having retirees pay for health insurance.
“It’s amazing we could ever agree on anything because we’re so diverse,” said Flider. “But I also feel people are reasonable. My feeling is, give people their shot at whatever proposal they’d like to put forward.”
…Adding… Rep. Feigenholtz’s proposal to cut Medicaid by $200 million just passed out of a House committee 13.2.
* A 5 percent reduction to the operating budgets of state agencies, saving about $300 million, and the General Assembly, saving about $2.5 million.
* $300 million in cuts to K-12 education.
* $100 million in cuts to higher education.
* $200 million in Medicaid cuts.
* Renegotiating contracts and putting some up for new bids, which legislators say could save up to $300 million.
* $4 million in cuts to local subsidies for assessors, supervisors and coroners.
* Cutting the reimbursement rate for car travel from to 50 cents a mile to 39 cents a mile, which legislators say could save $6 million.
* Eliminating salaries for members of part time boards and commissions, which would save an estimated $2.5 million.
* State Retirees would pay health care premiums according to a sliding scale based on their income, saving the state an estimated $100 million in fiscal year 2011.
However, Quinn did seem to approve of $1.2 billion in cuts outlined by some Democratic lawmakers unhappy with how the budget process has played out.
“Just about all of the things they’ve talked about I’ve tried already,” Quinn said. “If there’s a renewed vision by members of the Legislature, both houses, majority vote, that they can get done, that’s fine by me.”
“It’s hard for me to get too specific because I don’t have my people in place. The best information we have is often a two year old audit.
“Clearly the Medicaid system has to be put on managed care. You saw the mismanagement of All Kids, people should be have to be eligible.” The state audit of All Kids, a state health plan for children, said the program spent $70 million, but $55 million of that was spent on children who do not live in Illinois.
He also talked about K-12 public school cuts, saying they should be spread out among more education programs and grants “so that in the end we see a 2 to 3 percent cut.” Gov. Pat Quinn proposes a 17 percent cut in funding at the classroom level, Brady said.
“There’s no area of state government that’s not going to have to play a role” in cutting the budget, said Brady.
* And Sen. Dan Kotowski issued a press release this morning about his own budget idea, which was included with that House Democratic plan above…
Kotowski’s major contribution to the reform package is legislation calling for Results Budgeting (also known as Budgeting for Outcomes). Results Budgeting starts by defining spending priorities (such as job creation, education, human services, transportation, and public safety) and identifying how much revenue is actually available. It then requires the creation of performance-based measurements for these priorities and encourages state agencies to find creative ways to achieve these goals with limited resources. This process also includes built-in accountability and transparency by requiring the Governor to develop a state-wide reporting system comparing actual results with budgeted results. These measurements and results will then be posted on the State Comptroller’s web site for public viewing and evaluation.
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan called this morning and asked me to meet her when she gets to town so she can show me her tax returns.
Madigan’s campaign manager refused on Friday to release the returns after I’d requested them. I asked for them after speaking with Bill Brady’s campaign, which mocked requests for Jason Plummer’s returns because AG Madigan hadn’t disclosed hers. Madigan is now second in line to the governor’s office since the state does not currently have a lt. governor. I was told yesterday that Lisa Madigan was not fully aware that the returns were specifically requested by me, but only knew that Brady was trying to drag her into the debate.
Madigan’s release will likely put even more pressure on Republican lt. governor nominee Jason Plummer to disclose his returns. Plummer has adamantly refused to do so, but now that the Brady campaign has directly tied Madigan’s tax returns to Plummer, it’ll be even more difficult to continue his refusal.
* Late yesterday, the Illinois Republican Party issued a press release demanding that Attorney General Madigan release her tax returns…
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady’s Response to Lisa Madigan’s Refusal to Release Her Tax Returns
CHICAGO - Lisa Madigan’s spokesperson dodged questions as to whether the Attorney General would release her tax returns. At the same time, Governor Quinn made the following statement regarding this very issue: “When these candidates play peek-a-boo, or not at all, with their tax returns, I think there’s legitimate questions to be asked.” Answers to the following simple questions would be a good start:
What is Lisa Madigan hiding?
When will the de-facto Governor, Mike Madigan, release his tax returns?
Will Pat Quinn apply the same standards he touts and ask both Madigans to open their tax returns for public viewing?
“People are fed up with single-party rule and the Democratic Party’s hypocritical stances regarding transparency,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “They expect stronger leadership from both Governor Quinn and de facto Governor Mike Madigan. All they are getting is political gamesmanship.”
Again, now that AG Madigan is releasing her returns, that IL GOP statement just puts more pressure on Plummer. Talk about irony. Yesterday’s repeated demand by Mark Kirk that Alexi Giannoulias disclose his own tax returns (as soon as he files them) doesn’t help Plummer’s case, either. I’ll ask about Speaker Madigan’s returns today, along with the other three legislative leaders, including the two Republicans.
…ADDING… Oops. I forgot to mention that Lisa Madigan’s Republican opponent, Steve Kim, has also agreed to disclose his tax returns. Chalk up another loss for Plummer.
Plummer’s position is less defensible than Brady’s early refusal to release his returns. Plummer is a complete unknown. He is 27 years old and does not have an extensive record on which the public can judge him. He has said he will not draw a salary if elected. That’s a nice gesture, but it also invites the inevitable question of what he will live on without a state salary. Let’s not forget that some of the testimony in the George Ryan trial focused on Ryan always having money but not having bank records showing where it came from.
We’ll concede that releasing one’s personal income tax information can be uncomfortable. For someone like Plummer, with extensive business interests and family wealth, it can be quite a hassle. As an electorate, we need to be aware that, taken to its extreme, the discomfort of releasing income tax returns could keep quality candidates from seeking office. Should a state representative candidate be expected to release his or her tax returns? A county treasurer? An alderman?
But if you expect to be a step away from being governor, you ought to be ready for the attendant hassle. Your discomfort is a fair trade for the voters’ trust.
* Meanwhile, the Associated Press found the deeply buried nugget in the Tribune and ran its own story…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady voted for legislation as an Illinois state senator in 2003 that could have benefited his business interests as a developer, according to a published report. ‘ […]
The following year in November, Brady voted to enact legislation giving local government the authority to take land for sewers near the interchange. That would have helped Brady’s development and property value. […]
His campaign spokeswoman Jaime Elich said Monday that Brady’s actions involving the interchange development were “normal business dealings.”
“Senator Brady has recused himself of voting when in fact he is concerned about a conflict of interest,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
“Normal business dealings” does not mean there is no conflict. Voting on legislation that directly impacts one’s business, and only one’s business, is a conflict of interest, plain and simple.
* Related…
* Sweep conducted at Jacksonville nursing home: Top officials from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office conducted a sweep at a Jacksonville nursing home Monday to check for violations of state law and regulations.
* Illinois AG unveils new aid to protect seniors from scams
* Attorney general often rules in favor of agencies in FOIA cases: Some redacted information, such as signatures of assistant attorneys general who sign letters that contain rulings on FOIA matters, is kept because of a concern about identity theft, said Cara Smith, who heads the public access counselor’s office. The names of lawyers do appear in print.
* Chicago Tonight is now doing live Skype interviews, so I’ll be on this evening without having to venture to their studios up in Alaska (OK, it’s not that far northwest, but it’s far, man. It’s far.).
Just a warning, I haven’t had a haircut in months because I refuse to cut my hair or trim my beard until these jokers end this session. So, it ain’t a pretty sight. Not like I’m ever pretty, but I really is not pretty now. “On purpose” is the big difference this time. Heh.
* This tax returns, personal finance issue is hotter now in Illinois politics than I’ve ever seen it. And, ironically, we have the top of the ticket going opposite directions. Bill Brady defends his running mate’s refusal to release his tax returns while Mark Kirk blasts Giannoulias for holding out. From a press release…
The Kirk for Senate campaign today urged Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias to release his 2009 income tax return and explain to Illinois voters why he filed last week for an extension on his U.S. Senate Financial Disclosure Report.
“While Congressman Kirk demonstrated his commitment to transparency and accountability by making his tax returns available and filing his annual financial disclosure on time, Alexi Giannoulias refuses to release any personal financial information covering the last calendar year,” Kirk campaign spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said. “Federal law requires Mr. Giannoulias to disclose his personal financial information to the Secretary of the Senate. After reckless banking practices brought down Broadway Bank and cost the FDIC more than $390 million, Alexi owes the people of Illinois a full accounting.”
Last Monday, Congressman Mark Kirk filed his annual Financial Disclosure Report with both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Earlier this year, Congressman Kirk made available his personal tax returns dating back to 1999.
In April, Mr. Giannoulias announced he had filed for an extension on his 2009 personal tax return but refused to disclose when he would make his tax information available to the media. Mr. Giannoulias’ U.S. Senate Financial Disclosure Report extension is available upon request.
I asked the Giannoulias campaign for a statement, and here it is…
“Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, who served in Congress for over 10 years, did not release his tax returns until we pressured him to – and still he would only release his tax returns for an in-person 15 minute review at his campaign office. In short, he can spare us the lecture.
“As he has already done every year he has served in elective office, Alexi Giannoulias will release his tax and economic interest disclosure information fully and publicly as soon as they are filed. As Congressman Kirk’s campaign knows already, Alexi has requested an extension to ensure an accurate picture of his personal finances, which have dramatically changed since the sale of his father’s business.
“All of Alexi’s information will be filed and publicly disclosed prior to Election Day.”
“Prior to election day” could mean anything, but there you have it.
* Also, I’m told we may hear more from Lisa Madigan’s campaign on her tax return issue later today or tomorrow. No response yet from her opponent, either.
* A group of House Democrats held a press conference this morning in Chicago to talk about their new budget-cutting ideas. You can listen to the entire presser by clicking here.
Most of this stuff is already old news to subscribers. They’re looking at $300 million in cuts to K-12 education - $200 million to mandated categoricals, and $100 million to grants. Another $100 million would be cut from universities. A 5 percent cut to operations, which works out to $300 million, including for statewide officials. Contracts would not be renewed without being rebid or renegotiated, which could save as much as $500 million, they claim. They also want state retiree/dependent health insurance premiums would rise, bringing in $100 million. They want $200 million in efficiencies and savings in Medicaid. Also, salaries and benefits for part-time state boards and commissions would be eliminated.
“As much as we love our retirees, this is a tough love exercise,” said Rep. Karen May, D-Highland Park. “They have to feel the pain.”
May said 25 percent of state retirees are not old enough to qualify for federal Medicare coverage and 95 percent of retired state employees do not pay health care premiums.
“We are the only state that is this generous,” May said.
Quinn has been meeting with members of the legislative Black Caucus who have sought his assurance that cuts he would make under the proposed emergency powers for himself would not be to teen-reach programs, summer jobs for youth, early childhood education, family case management, child care that supports low-income mothers, violence prevention programs, teacher programs like “grow your own teacher,” alternative education programs, digital divide programs, HIV outreach, adult education, etc.
“Lots of legislators have individual programs or causes they have worked for,” Quinn said. “I’m not excited about cutting education.”
Asked Friday if further cuts to the Department of Corrections would mean more early-release of prisoners, a practice that has already brought bad press for Quinn, the governor said, “No.” He said he hopes not to cut from corrections, health or education. Of course, those areas account for most of the spending in the budget.
Three months ago, on Feb. 28, we offered an option that’s still available: at least $6.4 billion in recurring savings that would in time nix the deficit:
Then they go on to rehash their horrifically vague and no-can-do “plan.” As I’ve pointed out before, a $6.4 billion cut does not equal $13 billion, no matter how long that cut (which is mostly imaginary anyway) stays in place. It cuts $6.4 billion (which it doesn’t, but just saying) and not $13 billion. Pretty simple mathematics. No wonder that company went bankrupt.
And this is hilarious…
We were pleased to hear the governor’s top staffers suggest that Illinois can’t erase its $13 billion budget deficit — recklessly accumulated over several years — in one budget.
I don’t know of a single plan that would wipe out the deficit in one year, Democratic or Republican. But, in order to do it a step at a time, borrowing has to be done, and so does deferrals. The Tribune calls borrowing to make the pension payment “madness,” but whether you borrow for pensions or borrow for something else, it’s still borrowing. Man, are they dense over there.
If Illinois’ elected officials truly are serious about creating a responsible budget, they would freeze the wages of all government employees.
No raises. No steps or lanes. No cost of living increases. Nothing.
Instead, the budget that Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed calls for $1.5 billion more in spending with $350 million of that money dedicated to increasing wages for government union employees.
Some of those raises range from 7 percent to 20 percent — unheard-of amounts in the private sector where most of the taxpayers work.
If the Rockford paper knows how to bust AFSCME’s contract, then it should speak up now. If not, it should retract that goofy editorial.
Two East Central Illinois Republican legislators will not support a state budget proposal containing an income tax increase unless the state first substantially cuts spending.
State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said he believes the state will not have a balanced budget until wasteful spending is cut. He said Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed income tax increase would still leave an approximately $4 billion “hole” in the budget.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Rose wouldn’t support a tax increase no matter how much was cut from the budget. There’s just no way.
* Related…
* Ex-state budget officials pessimistic on deficit: “There’s no longer a path out of this… They are in the worst of all worlds,” Schnorf said. “The new governor is going to have to come in here with the intention that his entire term is going to be solely dedicated to the budget and making terrible, terrible decisions,” added Joan Walters, another of Edgar’s budget chiefs. “Under the best of circumstances, it will be several years before we get back on track,” said Dawn Clark Netsch, a former state comptroller.
In 2003, the state legislature gave the [Champaign] local government authority to take land for sewers along Curtis Road east of Brady’s property. A final vote to enact the law occurred Nov. 4, as Brady was securing options on the land he planned to develop. He voted for it.
Three years later, when the legislature re-authorized the sewer plans, well after Brady began acquiring the land, he again voted in favor of the measure. In 2007, Brady also voted for similar legislation allowing Champaign and other local governments to seize property to build their share of the interchange.
Although the actions would help move the interchange project along, and affect the value of his land, Brady did not recuse himself.
“If I felt I had a conflict, I wouldn’t have done that,” Brady said. Later, in an e-mail, Brady said he believed the legislation had no direct effect on his Champaign property.
* It would certainly be a shock if Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. endorsed Mark Kirk for US Senate or remained neutral. But considering that Jackson was embroiled in the controversy over the alleged crimes committed by Rod Blagojevich during his Senate appointment deliberations, it could have a downside as well…
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who did not endorse anyone in the Democratic primary, is flirting with the idea of backing Republican nominee Mark Kirk in the general election.
“I like Alexi Giannoulias, but I have great respect for Mark Kirk and his service to the people of Illinois,” Jackson told POLITICO.
Jackson and Kirk work together on the House Appropriations Committee, on which both are senior members of the subcommittee that provides foreign aid.
It’s exceedingly rare for a lawmaker of one party to endorse a colleague of the other party — particularly within the same state — meaning Jackson lending his name to Kirk would be a bit of a shock to the political system and a blow to Giannoulias’s campaign.
Jackson always craved the spotlight, until he got caught up in the Blagojevich scandal, but he’s been slowly reemerging. He backed Forrest Claypool’s independent bid for assessor without stirring up too much controversy, so he appears ready to take the next step. Then again, the Blagojevich trial is coming up and his name is almost sure to be mentioned.
* On Friday afternoon, I was on the phone with a Bill Brady campaign person talking about Jason Plummer’s refusal to release his tax returns. The operative wondered aloud why Attorney General Lisa Madigan hadn’t released her own tax returns. I didn’t really get the point until somebody mentioned in comments later in the day that since AG Madigan is one heartbeat away from the governor’s job (there being no lieutenant governor) she was fair game.
So, I called Madigan’s campaign and left a message with her campaign manager Mary Morrisey about how my thinking had evolved and about how I was now requesting her boss’ returns, just to be fair. I didn’t hear back, so I called again and spoke with Morrisey late in the afternoon. She read me this statement…
“This has nothing to do with Lisa. This is about Bill Brady not releasing his tax returns and Jason Plummer not releasing his tax returns.”
Asked if that meant AG Madigan was refusing to release her returns, Morrisey would only repeat the statement.
“When these candidates play peek-a-boo, or not at all, with their tax returns, I think there’s legitimate questions to be asked,” said Quinn.
In response to a question, the governor opened a full bore attack on the Republicans running for the state’s top executive offices.
He was asked if thought Plummer was hiding something, Quinn said: “I think that’s a natural conclusion - I don’t think there’s any question about it, you know, when you don’t disclose your tax returns and you’re running for lieutenant governor of Illinois.”
Quinn also took a whack at Brady for not paying income taxes for two years…
“If you’ve got a taxpayer salary, if you have taxpayer paid health insurance, and you don’t pay one penny in taxes… It isn’t right,” said Quinn.
“I’m the guy running for lieutenant governor, not investors or business partners or different people like that. If I release my taxes I’m releasing information about them, and you can’t do that,” Plummer said.
Plummer said releasing full returns with detailed information about business ties is “a standard that hasn’t been set anywhere.”
But Brady, Plummer’s own running mate, let reporters examine six years’ worth of such documents.
Twenty years ago, Secretary of State Jim Edgar and Attorney General Neil Hartigan ran for governor against each other. Both men released their tax returns without much fanfare.
Four years later, Gov. Jim Edgar and his opponent Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch both released their tax returns. It wasn’t much of a story.
Then, in 1998, gubernatorial candidate George Ryan released his tax returns for the first time. He had adamantly refused to do so while he was secretary of state. And Ryan continued to refuse to release anything other than his current returns. Most of what he eventually got busted for happened while he was secretary of state, which may be no coincidence.
Four years later, Rod Blagojevich said he had filed a tax extension in April and wouldn’t be disclosing his returns until right before the election. By then, he was so far ahead of his opponent Jim Ryan that it really didn’t matter.
Four years ago, Blagojevich did the same thing and filed a tax filing extension. He finally released his returns in the fall, but only the front pages. He left out all the details that would’ve shown where his wife was making all her money. Turns out, a big chunk of Mrs. Blagojevich’s income was being funneled to her through fine upstanding folks like Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
Now comes 2010, and you’d think after 20 years and two criminal governors that the candidates would learn their lessons. They haven’t.
State Sen. Bill Brady flatly refused to release his tax returns, then finally relented after a media firestorm ensued. It turns out the reason for Brady’s reluctance was that he had paid no federal income taxes for two years on his state Senate salary, and no state income taxes on that government salary for one year. Indeed, he had asked for and received full and complete tax refunds. Brady’s businesses lost so much money that he was able to avoid taxes on his state pay.
After the beating that Brady took over his taxes, you might think that his running mate would’ve wanted to avoid the bad press. You’d be wrong.
Jason Plummer is 27. He won his campaign with some hard work and a whole lot of money from himself and his father, a wealthy lumber dealer. Plummer and his father gave or loaned his campaign fund well over $1.3 million.
Shortly after he surprised the establishment by winning his campaign, reporters looked at him a bit more and found that the political unknown had inflated his resume. He often said during the campaign that he’d worked for a Washington, D.C. think tank and a U.S. Senator, but he was just an intern. He said he founded and ran an Internet service company, but his father was listed as the owner and Jason wasn’t even on the corporation documents. He’d touted himself as a Naval intelligence officer, but he hadn’t received any training since obtaining his commission in the fall.
Plummer repeated the twin mantras of “transparency” and “accountability” just about wherever he went during the primary. He also pledged not to take a state salary if he was elected lieutenant governor.
Since Plummer’s running mate had disclosed his own income taxes, it was assumed that Plummer would have to follow suit.
Instead, the onetime champion of openness, transparency and accountability adamantly refused to disclose his returns last week. No way, no how, Plummer harumphed. Releasing returnsis just a “political distraction by those who cannot answer the real issues that voters care about,” he said. That doesn’t reflect all that well on his running mate, but whatever.
Plummer claimed last week that voters “need to know any potential conflicts that a public official might have.” But what about a guy who won’t be taking a state salary for four years? Won’t there be numerous potential “conflicts” if he’s still living on his private income without telling us how much he’s making and where it’s coming from?
The last two governors who played games with their tax returns were crooks. That doesn’t make Brady and Plummer crooks, but in an era when we ought to do everything we can to avoid the mistakes of the past, it’s a fair hit.
Just release the returns and get it over with, man.
“Some people parrot ‘reform’ rhetoric to get elected,” Andrzejewski said, “I want to be elected so that I can enact real reforms. The people of Illinois are intelligent enough to understand that the posting of tax returns is a serious step to reform, not a gimmick. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s ‘Gold Standard’ ethics policy included the posting of tax returns, and after the policy was enacted hundreds of elected officials resigned their posts.”
“I posted my tax return more than two months ago, and I have challenged my opponents to do the same – to prove that they have not benefitted financially from their government positions. None of them have followed suit. When I bring this up on the campaign trail, their embarrassment is not lost on the people in the audience. The people of Illinois get it.”
* On the run from the English tax man, hounded by French police over all the junkies hanging out at Keith Richards’ southern France villa and frustrated by band members constantly gone missing, the Rolling Stones managed to make a masterpiece out of the jumbled yet strongly coherent Exile on Main Street.
Exile’s grungy mix was sharply criticized when the album was first issued almost 40 years ago. But to many Stones fans, including myself, the sound achieved (or blundered into, depending whom you believe) was more authentic than anything the group managed to do before or since.
The album was recorded in a dirty basement and it definitely sounded like it. That dirty, even muddied sound induced righteous feelings of euphoria in those of us who know those guys are capable of so much more than poppy stadium rock. The band members explored different musical styles, different sorts of phrasing and new instruments, mostly at the behest of one of those junkies who was hanging around all the time: Gram Parsons. And they did it all without overtly and cynically pushing for that “one big hit” designed to appeal to the juveniles and keep the record in the top forty. They also succeeded in making an album that covered the musical gamut while holding together as one. All the songs have the same Exile feel. There’s just nothing else like it in rock.
I never heard Exile until I got to college, but I’m glad I had to wait. It is a classic “college” album, ready-made for those of us who were discovering they loved art, not just the mindless hard rock of their high school daze. Just play it, man, put it on tape and release the thing. That’s Exile. Or, at least, that’s how it sounded to me.
* As you probably know by now, Exile has been reissued with some old tracks that were never released. Many of the tracks have been redone, with lyrics written and vocals added because they were just instrumentals back then. Still, the Stones didn’t manage to totally screw it up.
All but one of the new tracks are on YouTube, so I’ve been listening to them the past couple of days. My father and my brother Devin are in love with a boogie-woogie song called I’m Not Signifying…
If that doesn’t put you right back into that basement with a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other, nothing will.
“Tumbling Dice” has always been one of my favorite Stones hits, and now they’ve released the song it was based on, Good Time Women…
Again, you definitely get that high, rough feel which you will only find in spots on most other Stones albums.
Pass the Wine (Sophia Loren) has all new vocals, so we get that overly affected Jagger voice which I really wish he’d drop. Plundered My Soul sounds a lot like some of the songs the Stones released in the early 1980s, which will probably make it the big hit off this new release. An alternate take of Soul Survivor has Keith Richards singing instead of Mick. So Divine (Aladdin Story) sounds like “Paint it Black” at the beginning, but listen carefully because you’ll hear the inspiration for later Stones songs.
And while Dancing In the Light doesn’t really sound like an Exile tune, it’s something I’ll probably be playing in the convertible all summer…
* This looks like an oppo dump that didn’t quite succeed. Kirk exaggerated, but as it turns out, he really does play a huge role in the war room…
“In my role in the military, I command the war room in the Pentagon,” Kirk told a gathering of experts on U.S.-Chinese relations last May.
This struck military observers as, literally speaking, implausible: The Pentagon’s National Military Command Center is typically run in eight-hour shifts headed by an officer of the rank of a one-star general, who would outrank Kirk, an intelligence officer in the Navy, both a retired flag officer and current Pentagon official said.
But as it turns out that while Kirk’s comment may have a tinge of braggadocio, his reserve role does put him in charge of an important element of the NMCC. He has a remarkable job for a reserve officer, spending his weekends in a front-line post at the NMCC, where he serves as the Deputy Director of Intelligence, his campaign said.
The NMCC, the retired flag officer and current official both said, is physically and organizationally sectioned off into “silos” with different functions.
Kirk’s post puts him “in charge of the intelligence section of the alert center — the information ‘war room’” — and is responsible for contacting the [Director of Intelligence] when necessary,” his campaign said.
Kirk “is regularly called upon to brief the JCS Vice Chairman or Director of Operations,” the campaign said.
Mark Kirk was claiming on his campaign site to be “the only member of Congress to serve stateside during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” which was true, but on his official web site he claimed to be “the only member of Congress to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” To say you have served in a campaign is precisely the sort of falsehood for which Richard Blumenthal has been castigated for the past few days.
Yet, whereas Blumenthal repeatedly pointed out in speeches that he had served “during” Vietnam–with that noteable slip-up–and then corrected the record when the mistake was pointed out, Kirk’s office refused to address the falsehood on his web site for more than 50 days after I first contacted him, despite the fact the Navy’s Office of Information agreed that, because Kirk had never served in Iraq during Iraqi Freedom, he had no right to claim to be an Iraqi Freedom veteran.
In the end, Kirk’s staff simply changed the site without comment or apology.
“I can’t imagine the governor not signing it. If for some reason he got confused and vetoed the bill, we would quickly go back to Springfield and override his veto and make it the law of the land,” said Sen. John Cullerton, Illinois Senate president.
Cullerton hasn’t yet transmitted the bill to the governor. Subscribers know why.
About 10 trade show leaders met with Quinn at his Chicago office Thursday. They emerged from the more than hourlong session saying Quinn had concerns about the bill but that they expect him to sign it.
Mr. Quinn is “working intensely on it,” said Mia Rampersad, a vice-president of the International Housewares Assn., who attended the meeting. “It’s complex legislation, and they’re doing what they can to get it done as soon as possible.”
The reason they’re looking so closely at the bill is to find a way to justify the delay…
The legislation designates Jim Reilly, a former chief executive of the agency that runs McCormick Place, as a trustee to oversee an 18-month restructuring. But there is no succession plan in the event Reilly cannot serve out that term, and that concerns Quinn, meeting participants said.
The reform bill puts Quinn in a tough position. Some unions oppose the work-rule changes it would impose at McCormick Place, and Quinn could use their money and volunteers in the fall.
But the General Assembly could just pass a trailer bill cleaning up that one provision and ignoring the rest.
* And Bill Brady is finally weighing in via press release…
“Pat Quinn needs to stand up for jobs instead of standing in the way of reform for McCormick Place.
“This is a prime opportunity to be on the side of growth and to make a clean break from the insider politics of Illinois. Pat Quinn failed the children of Chicago by opposing the Meeks voucher bill, and he is failing the people of the Pullman neighborhood who want jobs and opportunity in their community. Let’s hope he gets this one right. Governor Quinn should sign the reform bill today.”
* In other economics-related news, Sen. John O. Jones wants the STAR bonds bill expanded to other counties…
A Mount Vernon lawmaker says it’s not too late to consider other communities for special tax districts, as is being done with Marion with a proposed destination development.
State Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, offered these comments in response to an article in the Friday edition of the Southern Illinoisan.
Jones challenged Democratic Marion Rep. John Bradley’s notion it was too late to include Mount Vernon in the STAR bonds district. The creation of the district - which is outlined in Senate Bill 2093, now awaiting action in the Illinois Senate - would allow a portion of sales tax revenue generated by business patronage in the development site to pay off construction bonds.
The expansion push is happening even faster than I thought it would.
* Quinn won’t use budget power to raise state retiree insurance rates: “It’s very difficult legally and we think the best way to approach that is with a collective bargaining approach with the union instead of trying to do it unilaterally through the emergency budget act,” Vaught said during a meeting with The State Journal-Register editorial board.
* Will officials angry about new state law: Will County officials are furious about a new state law that allows the dumping of construction debris in local quarries.
* Public projects biggest TIF beneficiaries: While the Daley administration has caught heat for its use of tax increment financing for private developments, it’s likely that public projects and educational buildings were the biggest recipients of TIF money in the past decade.
* Court: Illinois can profit from unclaimed property: The state Supreme Court says Illinois is doing nothing wrong when it makes money off of unclaimed property.
Quinn has been meeting with legislators to build support for his budget proposals - borrowing billions of dollars, raising cigarette taxes and giving the governor broad new power to cut spending where he sees fit.
Republicans, who have been largely shut out of budget discussions, are refusing to support the proposals. Some Democrats object, too, and want assurances that Quinn won’t cut programs they see as vital.
“He has not made any commitments,” Kraft said. “He has definitely heard from legislators about things they’re interested in preserving.”
Quinn better start making some commitments if he wants to finish up this session. We’re getting down to the wire here, and it’s time to make some tough choices.
* Subscribers know more details, but here is a little about what to expect on Monday…
In the two weeks since lawmakers suspended their work, Gov. Pat Quinn’s been meeting with groups of Democrats in an attempt to structure a budget compromise that can get enough votes to pass. Some of them are planning a Monday news conference.
“Our philosophy is that we have to reform the process,” said Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest.
That means, she said, targeted budget cuts, a thorough review of state contracts and how they are awarded, and giving rank-and-file lawmakers more input into crafting a budget.
“Cuts are going to be some things brought up to move us forward,” Garrett said. “We want to be more specific so certain agencies can plan ahead. … I’m assuming everyone is going to have to deal with some cuts.”
A group of House Democrats, the Capitol Fax Blog reports, plans to propose $1.3 billion in cuts on Monday.
* The Senate is waiting until Wednesday to return. Here’s why…
Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said there is no reason for the Senate to come into session earlier since the chamber already passed all of the components of a new budget earlier this month and sent it to the House.
* Gov. Quinn’s top aides met with the Daily Herald editorial board to explain why they want to borrow to make the pension payment…
Quinn’s Chief of Staff Jerry Stermer pointed out that the state can borrow at a 4.5 percent interest rate, whereas if the pension payment is shorted, the state is automatically hit with 8.5 percent interest in making up the shortfall. And pushing off billions in state payments to vendors to make the budget look balanced incurs a 12 percent interest rate under late-payment laws.
Given those choices and the rejection of other proposals, Stermer said borrowing at 4.5 percent makes the most sense.
“Our analysis is we ought to do the most fiscally conservative thing,” he told the Daily Herald editorial board.
Borrowing is a miserable solution. But the alternatives — skipping or delaying a payment to the pension system — are far worse. Illinois is obliged to make this payment sooner or later — whether we resent those public union pensions or not — and the longer it’s delayed the more it costs the state.
* And Rep. Frank Mautino gets out quote of the day for his prediction of what the final state budget will look like…
“This will keep the trains running, though not on time.”
* Related…
* Press release: United Way of Metropolitan Chicago wants a revenue increase as part of budget deal
* The second-place finishers in the gubernatorial primary were both on Chicago Tonight last night. They answered several questions about the budget, but at the end of the program, host Elizabeth Brackett asked Sen. Kirk Dillard whether lt. governor Jason Plummer, a fellow Republican, should release his tax returns. Here’s Dillard’s response…
“I think public officials should release their tax returns, and Jason Plummer, a fine young man, you know, I think, is going to have to figure out how he releases his tax returns.”
* The Pantagraph editorialized on the subject today…
In a Dec. 4 editorial on this topic, we referred to comments made by Joseph J. Thorndike, contributing editor of the website TaxAnalysts, on the value of presidents and presidential candidates making their tax returns public.
The reasoning applies to candidates for governors, too, and is worth repeating: “Public returns can reveal points of inconsistency between a candidate’s public rhetoric and his private finances. Which is no small thing, especially when a candidate makes a point of targeting tax avoidance.”
Arguing that releasing the information invades a candidate’s “privacy” is not a persuasive argument.
When an individual chooses to seek public office, particularly high public office — such as governor or lieutenant governor — their expectations of privacy should shrink considerably.
When running for statewide office, that includes recognizing that their income tax returns shouldn’t be private — not if candidates want to demonstrate a commitment to openness and transparency.
The latest rumble I’m hearing is that Attorney General Lisa Madigan ought to release her returns before the Democrats call on Plummer to do the same. That’s kinda weird, since she’s not running for governor and her opponent hasn’t offered up his own returns and demanded she do the same. Also, it’s not just Democrats calling on Plummer to disclose. Dillard is no Democrat, and the Pantagraph is no Democratic paper.
After releasing his own federal and state tax returns to the Daily Herald, Republican congressional candidate Joe Walsh is calling on Democratic U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean to do the same. […]
A Bean spokesman said information about her finances can be found on her U.S. House financial disclosure forms, which are public. Scheurer said he’s keeping his tax return under wraps because of privacy concerns.
Walsh has ignored Scheurer and instead is focusing on Bean.
“Republicans and Democrats alike running for offices from the U.S. Senate and governor on down have released their tax returns,” Walsh said in a recent e-mail. “Rep. Bean clearly thinks she shouldn’t be held to the same standards of transparency and full disclosure. She is wrong.”
That’s not helpful to the Brady/Plummer ticket, which Walsh supposedly is supporting.
* Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Brady missed almost half the floor votes taken in the closing days of the spring session…
GOP nominee for governor Bill Brady recently missed more than 200 votes as a state senator during the waning weeks of the legislative session, a Daily Herald review of voting records found. […]
Hundreds of roll call votes from the hectic two-week period covering late April and early May are riddled with Brady omissions. The Bloomington state senator missed 207 votes during that period and cast 239.
For instance, Brady, who’s campaigned heavily against taxes, missed a rare chance to actually end a tax. He’s not recorded as voting on a proposal to do away with the sales tax imposed by the DuPage Water Commission. That proposal is now in Quinn’s hands.
Here’s the list. Oddly enough, Brady cast only two votes on April 27th. Both of those votes were for bills supported by the Humane Society, which whacked Brady for his “puppy and kitty killing” bill.
Part of the reason is philosophical: I don’t believe in spending much time or ink on folks who have no chance to win. It’s hard enough to get most voters to pay even minimal attention to election races, and I hate to distract them.
The House Armed Services Committee has dealt a blow to President Obama’s hopes to shutter the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by unanimously approving legislation that would prohibit creating a detention center inside the United States.
That doesn’t appear to mean that the feds won’t buy Thomson for another purpose, but things are once again looking grim for the people in that area who just want to get that facility open. And the committee’s move doesn’t completely kill off the president’s idea, either…
The White House had no official comment on the committee’s action, but an official noted that the National Defense Authorization Act doesn’t entirely reject the idea of jailing Guantanamo prisoners in the U.S.
“The chairman’s mark also required a report, due by April 2011, from the [secretary of defense] on the merits, costs and risks of using any proposed facility in the U.S. or territories. So the issue will be revisited,” the official said.
However, if the White House accepts such a report as a prerequisite to closure, it will mean abandoning Obama’s prediction that the facility could close by the end of 2010. He had earlier vowed to close Gitmo in his first year in office but saw that prospect fall away because of bipartisan congressional resistance to bringing prisoners to U.S. soil.
At the very least, this puts off action for another year or so.
State Sen. Martin Sandoval (12th) called the tuition increase “unconscionable” and “insulting,” noting that it’s coming even as the board hires a new university president at a base salary of $620,000.
University officials have said new president Michael Hogan’s salary is comparable to what other Big Ten schools pay.
“There is no justification to the salary,” Sandoval said. “They just want to keep up with the Joneses. It is not an acceptable model.”
The salary is only a “bargain” because of a skewed marketplace. Captive board members buy into the mystique of super-high salaries and are therefore eager to pay out the nose. The exact same board attitude has driven corporate CEO salaries into the stratosphere. Everybody else is doing it, we need to do it too. As my mother would say, “If your friends jumped off a roof, would you follow them down?”
During a severe economic crunch, when the state’s revenues are in the tank and students and university employees are being asked to sacrifice greatly, it’s totally reasonable of Sandoval to request Hogan voluntarily give back the raise. But we shouldn’t pretend that the state legislature is an innocent bystander in the college cost crunch. Since FY 1997, state allocations for higher education have dropped $137 million in real dollars. It’s far lower when adjusted for inflation. Worse yet, the state can’t even keep up with those measly payments, falling behind on its appropriations to U of I by $464 million.
Then again, that’s all the more reason to wonder why the board is willing to spend so much money. Does paying huge mountains of cash always mean you’ve found the best? Could they have found someone who actually wanted to run the U of I so much that s/he would’ve been willing to sacrifice the glitzy salary? Did they even try to break out of this race to the top?
One reason state approps dropped or held constant during Rod Blagojevich’s tenure is that he was trying to force the universities to rein in their pricey fiefdoms. It was one of the few policy initiatives of his that made sense. The problem is, the schools just kept increasing tuition without changing their money-based culture.
The RTA board met Thursday, but there was no discussion of the recent discovery of a half-million-dollar fraud against Metra committed by late executive director Phil Pagano.
The RTA has financial oversight of Metra, but no one would even say whether the RTA would audit Metra.
RTA executive director Stephen Schlickman declined any comment about the Pagano investigation.
Garrett said she is filing legislation calling on Metra to hire an independent auditor to review its finances and to require Metra to appoint an inspector general with specific watchdog duties.
Pagano made $269,625 a year in salary and allegedly stole at least $475,000 right under the noses of everyone at Metra. He was able to get away with this for so long because he had so much power that nobody wanted to question him. Sound familiar? Another captive, all-too-compliant board.
