Gov. Bruce Rauner won’t be required to sit for a deposition in a federal lawsuit that alleges Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan put up “sham” candidates in legislative races, after a federal judge ruled Monday that there’s no reason to prove “Gov. Rauner hates Speaker Madigan.”
“You can turn on a TV and see the ads,” U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said during a status hearing, arguing that anyone who’s not fully aware of the Republican governor’s animosity to the Democratic speaker is “like Rip Van Winkle and you just woke up.”
The removal of Rauner reduces Madigan’s attorneys’ deposition list to just one man: millionaire investor Blair Hull. […]
Hull is being deposed because lawyers are trying to show that he had the most participation in funding the Gonzales campaign.
A newly formed charity came to Chicago pitching state officials on its “model” way to provide low-income housing.
The Ohio-based Better Housing Foundation said it would provide safe apartments. It would help tenants get jobs and health care. And it wouldn’t evict “solely on the basis that the tenant is unable to pay their rent.”
Starting in early 2016, with little scrutiny, a pair of state agencies helped the nonprofit borrow tens of millions of dollars at lower interest rates and obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax breaks that allowed it to rapidly buy dozens of buildings across the South Side.
But a Tribune investigation has found that many residents have been left to live in deteriorating buildings. The nonprofit hasn’t provided social services there. And the charity regularly has sued to evict those behind on rent. Meanwhile, a real estate manager, lawyers and others have been collectively paid millions of dollars in fees. […]
As for the buildings themselves, closing documents show that of the nearly $14 million borrowed, just $100,000 was set aside to cover repairs in 16 older buildings mostly in South Shore but also to the west in Park Manor and as far south as West Pullman. […]
After that $52 million deal closed, DeAngelis’ firm was paid more than $3.3 million from bond proceeds — double what the state board had been told in a presentation, records show. […]
Building code problems also continued to increase. By February of this year — 19 months into the nonprofit’s stewardship — code violations topped 500. […]
Getting cheap financing was just one part of the plan. The other: getting property taxes eliminated.
The Illinois budget labeled as “balanced” by Democrats and Republicans alike has an estimated $1.2 billion structural imbalance, according to the state’s new offering statement.
The Fiscal Year 2019 General Funds budget has an estimated underlying structural deficit of $1.2 billion. To avoid future structural deficits, the Governor and the General Assembly would, among other potential solutions, need to reduce expenditures, adjust revenue collections or approve a combination of revenue adjustments and reductions in expenditures. The State provides no assurances as to how, when or in what form this structural deficit might be addressed.
According to the state’s report, the structural deficit results from one-time things like $800 million in interfund borrowing and $300 million for the sale of the Thompson Center. But there’s also the matter of $400 million in raises the state must pay, but never appropriated. Then there’s the hoped-for $400 million for pension savings from a buyout program…
“While these buyout programs have yet to be implemented, it is expected to create savings for the state in the long term,” state budget director Hans Zigmund said in a recorded investor presentation. “The state can provide no assurance as to the amount of savings actually realized from the implementation of such programs.”
* And despite the governor’s continued trash-talking of the tax hike, here’s his capital markets director…
“Several developments which have taken place since the beginning of fiscal year 2018 are putting the state on an improved trajectory for the future,” state capital markets director Kelly Hutchinson says in a recorded investor presentation, saying the permanent income tax hike “helped drive a 21% increase in general fund revenues.”
The report and the investor presentation are both here.
Director Hutchinson also made a good point during the presentation that the state’s GO bond program has a “perfect” repayment record since it was established in 1900. That’s 118 years.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Sunday vetoed legislation to expand benefit rights for paramedics and emergency medical technicians by defining them as firefighters in municipal collective bargaining agreements.
Rauner’s veto of the two measures, which were passed with overwhelming, veto-proof bipartisan majorities, was in line with his previous pronouncements that Springfield shouldn’t dictate “unfunded state mandates on local governments.”
But Rauner went further, castigating the legislation as perpetuating “the decades of political corruption that has plagued the state of Illinois for too long.”
“Time and again, elected officials have granted sweeping benefits and power to the unions in exchange for campaign contributions and political support, creating a system of entrenchment, waste and bad government,” Rauner wrote in his veto message of one of the measures.
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Sunday vetoed three education bills, including one that would have required students to learn about work ethic and another that would have created an “emotional intelligence” task force.
The work ethic bill called for the teaching of such concepts as the importance of trustworthiness, integrity, initiative, respecting authority, arriving on time, and being ready for work and dressing appropriately. […]
Rauner also vetoed a bill that would have mandated the creation of the Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning Task Force. The nine-member task force would have been charged with developing curriculum and guidelines for elementary and high school students to learn things like how to recognize, direct and positively express emotions. Members of the task force would have been unpaid but eligible for expense reimbursements.
* Press release…
[Last week] Governor Bruce Rauner used an amendatory veto on House Bill 4469, a measure that had passed both chambers with bi-partisan support. The bill would have allowed an opportunity for eligible persons detained pre-trial to vote, and provide those leaving Illinois jails and prisons with information on voting rights for individuals living with records, including the basic knowledge that in Illinois, eligible citizens have their voting rights restored upon release. Unfortunately, the Governor eliminated the provision that would have provided basic information to those leaving jails and the Department of Corrections. The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:
The Governor’s action today stands in stark contrast to our State’s commitment to protecting voting rights. It is also a sharp departure from his SB 2273 (Crosscheck) veto message, where he stated that his “administration has demonstrated a commitment to increasing access to the vote.” Proclamations like these are hollow, especially where the provision of the bill that he vetoed would’ve provide crucial information to men and women leaving Illinois jails and prison – information that would make clear that individuals with records, including those leaving prisons and jails, have a right to vote in Illinois post release.
It is especially disappointing that a governor, who has publically stated that individuals who have served time in jails and prisons deserve an opportunity for redemption, rehabilitation and a second chance to be productive citizens, would use his veto to take away an opportunity for individuals leaving prisons and jails to know about their voting rights. Especially when this bill, and the provision he vetoed, was the result of negotiations with many entities, including IDOC and the Illinois Sheriffs Association.
In the months that we have spent working on this bill, we have heard from many citizens living with records throughout the state who didn’t realize that they still had a right to vote post release. They were very hopeful that they governor would sign HB 4469, as were the many organizations, churches, community groups, and individuals who worked on this bill.
The legislature should override this veto and enact House Bill 4469 in its original form.
* Other bills…
* New law aims to keep at-risk families together, out of welfare system: The law, House Bill 4885, provides child care for children younger than 5 who are part of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services intact family case. After the DCFS case is closed, the families get an additional six months of child care.
* Stadelman proposal to crack down on mugshot websites signed into law: “These are private websites forcing individuals to pay thousands of dollars to remove incorrect information about their past,” Stadelman said. “In many cases, these people had their records sealed or expunged, or even had the case dismissed. It’s time to put an end to this unethical practice.”
Deputy Illinois House Republican leader Tom Demmer of Dixon says no one should expect the GOP to stop trying to tie Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to local Democratic candidates.
“It certainly hasn’t lost its effectiveness.” Demmer said Sunday on WGN-AM 720. “I think the reason is in most articles you read about Speaker Madigan, it talks about the tremendous amount of influence and control he has over legislation that ever even comes up for a vote.” […]
“When you think about, across the state, there’s a lot of people both Republicans and Democrats, who are frustrated with Mike Madigan’s leadership and they don’t have a way of directly voting for him or not,” Demmer said, explaining what Rauner and Republicans have described as the “People’s Pledge” asking candidates not to back Madigan for speaker.
“And so the question really comes down to, if you’re somebody in the state who thinks that 40 years in politics is long enough … that it might be time to try something new,” he said. “That’s why we’re encouraging people to ask your local state representative candidate who they’re going to vote for for speaker. This is not something that a typical Illinoisan will see on their ballot.”
A Williamson County commissioner says the push for a gun control advisory question on November’s ballot has nothing to do with letting the voters speak and everything to do with heavy-handed Springfield politics.
Commissioner Ron Ellis said when the Williamson County Board first started talking in June about letting the voters decide if the board should oppose specific gun control bills that were being debated in Springfield, he was all for it. In fact, the three-person board voted unanimously to put the question on the ballot, they just had to finalize the language. […]
Ellis said that board meeting put the political machine in top gear, and the pressure was on him particularly. He said he got a call from Joe Hackler, the Southern Illinois director for Citizens for Rauner Inc., about his support of the measure.
“I was literally told that if I didn’t put this on the ballot that there would be repercussions,” Ellis said. He said he later heard from a local Republican official that if he wasn’t careful, it was possible there could be a smear campaign launched against him for standing up to Springfield, making his political life very difficult in the future.”
Williamson County’s controversial advisory question opposing gun-control legislation died during Friday’s special meeting after commissioner Jim Marlo did not get a second for his motion to put the question on the ballot. […]
Friday’s meeting was well-attended, with the majority of the gallery filled with people wishing to speak on whether or not they thought the question should go on the ballot. The majority spoke in favor, saying they wanted the voters’ voices to be heard in Springfield, despite the advisory question being a nonbinding measure. […]
Bradley Marks addressed Ellis directly, accusing him of standing against voter turnout. He said the advisory question represents a hot-button issue that would draw out not just conservative voters, but also liberal voters as well.
“If we have to use a gimmick to turn people out to the polls, that’s sad,” Ellis replied.
In the end, however, the board voted unanimously to put their original question on the ballot…
After the question failed to advance to a vote, the commissioners voted instead to take up the original referendum opposing five specific pieces of gun legislation that were under consideration at the state level, some of which deal with wait periods for purchasing certain weapons and others banning possession of firearm accessories like bump stocks. That passed unanimously.
Helene Miller Walsh, the wife of conservative radio host and former GOP U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, has been picked to fill the state House vacancy of a former Republican lawmaker who stepped down after being accused of sending an ex-girlfriend’s nude photos to other men online.
Nick Sauer, of Lake Barrington, resigned from his Illinois House seat this month after the accusations surfaced in a Politico report. Local Republican officials on Saturday chose Walsh to replace Sauer both in the General Assembly and on the November ballot.
Now, Walsh faces the potentially difficult task of building a campaign in the short few months before the election. She will run against Mary Edly-Allen, a teacher from Libertyville, in the race to represent a central and southern Lake County district in the state legislature.
“I’m really angry about what’s going on in this state,” Miller Walsh said. “People are leaving and have already left. I’m tired of what’s going on.”
She also said that, as a legislator, she wants to help the black community. Miller Walsh is a five-year advisory board member at Project H.O.O.D., an inner city nonprofit organization started by Pastor Corey Brooks in 2012 to help people become peacemakers, problem solvers, leaders and entrepreneurs in their communities.
“We all want the same thing, ultimately,” said Miller Walsh, a lifelong Chicago-area resident. “We all want to be able to live our lives with a lot less government interference. And we are responsible for ourselves. We’re no different up here in Mundelein than they are on the South Side (of Chicago).” […]
“When people came to her, she said to me, ‘You know what, I’ve got a chance to do my part to fight for Illinois,’” [Joe Walsh] said. “I think she’ll make a great candidate because she’s the epitome of a citizen legislator. She ain’t a professional politician, that is for sure.”
Today, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s campaign for Congress released her first general election television message to voters. The spot, titled “Hike,” tells the story of a family hike that landed her son in the intensive care unit, fighting for his life. It highlights the critical importance of access to quality and affordable health care for Illinois families. The spot begins airing on television in the district tomorrow.
“For me, and for so many parents across central Illinois, health care is a personal issue,” said Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. “No family should risk losing a loved one, or face bankruptcy, because of one medical emergency. That’s why I’m running for Congress — because Rodney Davis has voted repeatedly to cut health care coverage, raise costs, and gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Central Illinois families deserve better.”
Ten years ago, a family hike almost cost our son Jack his life. A simple tick bite led to a deadly infection that put Jack in intensive care for 21 days where he was read last rites twice. I’m Betsy Londrigan and I know that without great health care, Jack [my son] would have died. Thankfully, he came home. But then the bills started coming. Without good insurance, we would have been bankrupt. I approve this message, because now I want to make sure every parent can afford good health care for their family, too.
Madigan’s attorneys on Friday filed exhibits in U.S. District Court to show that Blair Hull — a millionaire investor who made a failed Democratic run for the U.S. Senate — emailed Rauner’s assistant to provide an update on [Jason] Gonzales’ 2016 campaign [against Madigan]. Hull helped create the PAC Illinois United for Change, which in 2016 helped to fund ads and mailers that either helped Gonzales or criticized Madigan.
Madigan’s team is seeking to show why Hull and Rauner should be deposed in the case, and to try to link that back to one of their defense strategies: trying to show that Gonzales was a “closet Republican.”
Gonzales’ team is hoping to prove that Madigan put up two “sham” candidates with Latino names to try to split the Hispanic vote in the March 2016 Democratic primary. Madigan beat Gonzales 65.2 percent to 27.1 percent. The other two candidates received a combined 7.8 percent.
Madigan attorneys also included an August 2016 email from Illinois Policy Institute head John Tillman — sent to Rauner’s assistant, his “body man” at the time and Illinois first lady Diana Rauner — which in length includes information about the anti-Madigan documentary “Madigan: Power, Privilege, Politics.” Gonzales was listed as a “potential expert” to be featured in the documentary and ultimately did appear in it.
That e-mail was addressed to “Bruce.” And the documents filed by Madigan’s attorneys appear to indicate that Hull bankrolled Gonzales’ suit against Madigan…
If this lawsuit is being supported or paid for by political opponents of Defendants, that fact calls into question Plaintiff’s credibility as a witness and as an alleged member of the Democratic Party.
They’re claiming that they believe Gonzales was a plant, and therefore the party was in its rights to do whatever it could to beat him.
MJM’s lawyers also claim that months after the primary Hull was still expressing interest in video taken of Gonzales during the primary, suggesting that there might be a link between Hull and the Illinois Policy Institute’s Madigan “documentary.” Click here to read the filing for yourself. Lots of interesting stuff in there.
* Tillman’s e-mail to “Bruce” includes a bit of PR strategizing for the Madigan documentary. “We will also use a number of other tactics to reach individuals outside of our digital community,” Tillman wrote, including..
• Syndicated columns: We are developing a series of columns that highlight Madigan’s control of legislative and political processes and the ways in which he and his political allies are enriching themselves off of Illinois’ property-tax scheme. These columns will be distributed via our Illinois News Network to approximately 15 media outlets across the state with a unique circulation of nearly 200,000 readers.
• Earned media: We will leverage our relationship with media to undermine Madigan’s narrative as a “defender of the middle class” and paint him as an obstructionist.
• Radio: We will develop radio segments based on our articles and columns on Madigan. These segments will air on our Illinois Rising radio show on AM 560 and will be syndicated through our Illinois Radio Network, which reaches more than 300,000 unique listeners.
I can’t help but wonder how newspaper publishers and radio station owners feel now about being so deliberately duped.
Mac Strategies Group, a twenty-five time, award-winning strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm, announced today that former Chicago Tribune Statehouse Bureau Chief Monique Garcia will join the firm as its vice president of public and media relations.
In this newly created role, Garcia will be developing effective communication strategies for clients’ issue campaigns, while simultaneously using her experience to help navigate the Statehouse pressroom along with media outlets statewide. She has been recognized as one of the “best state capitol reporters in America” by the Washington Post, so she offers an invaluable blend of skills to successfully execute a variety of media and public relations campaigns. This role is a natural progression for Garcia who has chronicled the political process of hundreds of public policy issues in Illinois, having served as a key reporter and leader in the Chicago Tribune’s organization over the last decade.
“Monique will develop messaging plans and strategies to gain positive public exposure for our clients,” said Ryan McLaughlin, president and CEO of Mac Strategies Group. “Her familiarity and expertise of the news process will prove to be extremely beneficial for the clients we serve. She will bring a lens to statewide issues that furthers our ability to communicate sometimes complicated subjects, providing the perspective of those who want their important stories told.”
Garcia added, “This is a wonderful new chapter in my career, as I have long watched the smart, hard work of the team at Mac Strategies Group and am excited to join their ranks. I look forward to using my experience in the newsroom to help connect clients with journalists across the state in order to drive meaningful conversations about very important public policy issues.”
Mac Strategies Group continues the expansion of its capabilities with the addition of Garcia. In recent years the firm has added Matt Murphy, the former deputy leader of the Illinois Senate, to lead its government affairs practice; Matt Butterfield, a Peabody Award-winning Chicago broadcast journalist; Tom Bowen, a former key political strategist for Mayor Rahm Emanuel; and David Vite, one of the most respected lobbyists in Illinois. The firm was started by veteran media and political operative Ryan McLaughlin in 2008 and has quickly become one of the “go to” Chicago-based firms in executing public relations and public affairs campaigns for clients at the city, state and federal levels.
Huge loss for the reading public, huge gain for Mac. Monique is not only a good reporter she’s good people. I wish her nothing but the best. And I will never understand why the Tribune let her get away.
Today, the Pritzker campaign released a new digital video featuring President Barack Obama on why he’s backing JB Pritzker for governor. In the video, President Obama commends JB’s leadership in creating thousands of jobs at 1871 and expanding the school breakfast program to over 200,000 kids.
“Juliana and I are incredibly honored to have the support of President Barack Obama as we fight for the values that defined his presidency,” said JB Pritzker. “President Obama has done so much to move our country forward: expanding healthcare for millions, leading our country out of the Great Recession, and standing up as a model of leadership and integrity for millions across our great state and nation. I was proud to play a role in his historic presidency when I led the White House Summit on Early Childhood Education, and I’m proud to have his endorsement in this election. I look forward to fighting to preserve and build on his legacy as Illinois’ next governor by putting Springfield back on the side of working families.”
“I am proud to endorse JB Pritzker to be the next governor of my home state of Illinois, and let me tell you why,” said President Barack Obama in the video. “It’s simple. JB gets things done. When folks said Illinois couldn’t be a leader in creating high tech jobs, JB thought we could, and he started a tech incubator that’s helped entrepreneurs create hundreds of new companies and more than 7,000 good jobs. When JB saw that too many of our school kids were going hungry, he made it a personal mission to change that, and working with Illinois non-profits, he helped expand a program we started to make sure more than 200,000 low-income Illinois kids have access to school breakfast.
“I know JB. I trust JB, and that’s who he is — someone who is always thinking about how he can make difference. Someone who identifies the right problems and brings the right people together to solve them. And that’s something we can use in Illinois. JB will be a governor who looks out for all of us — from downstate towns to northern suburbs to the neighborhoods of Chicago. He’ll work as hard as he can to strengthen opportunity for every Illinoisan, today and into the future. So, I’m asking you to join me in supporting and voting for JB Pritzker for the next governor of Illinois.”
Chicago billionaire J.B. Pritzker isn’t sure whether he’ll back President Obama in 2012, Bloomberg TV reported on Friday. “We’ll have to wait and see. We have to see who the nominee will be on the Republican side,” Pritzker said. “I’m a Democrat, and I tend to lean towards voting for the president.”
“As in every election, it’s going to be a choice between two people and two parties that you’re not 100 percent behind,” Pritzker said. “You just have to pick the best of a mediocre set of choices.
Billionaire J.B. Pritzker has pumped another $20 million into his Democratic campaign for governor, bringing his record self-funding total to $126.5 million with 2½ months to go before the Nov. 6 general election.
Campaign finance reports filed late Saturday night showed Pritzker made his latest out-of-pocket contribution Tuesday, two days before he was a featured speaker at Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair.
At the fair’s Republican day, Gov. Bruce Rauner asked the gathered crowd for financial help, warning that he would be outspent by Pritzker by a 3-1 ratio, though he offered no specifics. […]
Still, the Republican governor has put $95.3 million of his own money into his campaign fund since March 2013, when he announced his first candidacy for governor. In December 2016, Rauner made a record one-time contribution of $50 million to his re-election fund.
Maxwell: Why do you think at this time in Pat Quinn’s governorship he created more jobs than you have in this time in yours? [Rauner laughs] Those are the facts, those are the dry numbers. Why do you think that is?
Rauner: So, um, Quinn was a disaster for the state of Illinois. And Pritzker will even be a bigger disaster. Regulations, restrictions, tax hikes…
Maxwell: How was he able to create more jobs at this time in his governorship than you have in yours?
Rauner: We have had the headwinds of a tax hike from Mike Madigan and the talk of further tax hikes…
Maxwell: To the same rate that it was under Gov. Quinn, to the same rate.
Rauner: And, and people see the deficit spending. People see what Madigan’s doing to the state. And it’s very difficult to persuade investors, very difficult to persuade job creators to come.
Go watch the rest. The governor claims he’s talked to business owners who’ve vowed to leave the state if Pritzker is elected. Maxwell also pressed him on all the jobs his overseas trips were supposed to create that haven’t yet been announced. The governor didn’t have much of an answer.
The Democratic Party of Illinois has sent out what could wind up being the most unintentionally hilarious campaign mailer of the season.
“Mica Freeman’s Plan: No Budget, No Pay,” the DPI mailer blares on behalf of the Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield).
“If politicians in Springfield don’t do their job and balance the budget, they shouldn’t get paid. Period,” the mailer claims. “Mica Freeman is outraged Governor Bruce Rauner and Springfield politicians continued collecting taxpayer-funded paychecks while failing to balance the budget for more than 700 days, putting critical services like breast cancer screenings and domestic violence shelters at risk.”
The other side of the mailer has a photo of a bespectacled, cross-armed Freeman staring at the camera. “If you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid. Even my kids understand that. But Springfield politicians who fail to pass a budget still collect a paycheck. I say that’s wrong and I’m going to stop it.”
Wait. What?
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s top attorney Mike Kasper filed a lawsuit on behalf of several of Madigan’s House Democratic members in 2016 against Comptroller Leslie Munger for withholding legislators’ paychecks during the two-year budget impasse. The Republican Munger’s special election campaign that year centered around her “No budget, no pay” slogan, and she got backup from Gov. Rauner, who, by the way, doesn’t accept a salary.
So, I about died laughing when I saw that Democratic Party mailer.
Rep. Batinick himself co-sponsored legislation in 2015 that would’ve repealed a state law enacting a continuing appropriation for legislator salaries and General Assembly operations. That 2014 law was pushed by Madigan after Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed legislator salaries out of a budget bill in a failed effort to force the GA to take up a pension reform bill. Madigan himself sued Quinn over the paychecks and won in 2013.
Rep. Batinick also sent a letter along with several of his colleagues to incoming Comptroller Susana Mendoza in December of 2016 offering their advice on how to counter the Madigan-backed lawsuit. Batinick even owns the NoBudgetNoPayIL.com website.
The issue definitely polls well, which is why the Democrats are using it. Munger received far more votes than the other two statewide Republican candidates in 2016 (President Donald Trump and Sen. Mark Kirk). “They’re hurting Illinois, so why should they get paid?” Munger asked in a TV ad focusing on the issue. And it was extremely telling that Madigan’s members waited until after the election ended to file their lawsuit. Madigan’s side prevailed in court, however, and the issue was dropped after the appellate court ruled it moot.
I asked Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown if this meant Madigan was now in favor of the concept. “As I recall,” Brown wrote in an e-mail, “Madigan opposed efforts to block pay because it was being used as an economic weapon.”
OK, but that issue would be weaponized yet again if Rep. Batinick and now his Democratic opponent have their way.
“It’s sad that candidates are so far from policy and at a place where some do anything to win,” Rep. Batinick said. “It’s a big reason we are in the mess we are in.”
The Democratic Party of Illinois is also using the “Invest in Kids Tax Credit” program to bash a Republican House candidate.
The 75 percent tax credit on donations to a fund to help lower-income families send their kids to private or out of district schools was passed as part of the school funding reform bill. It was hotly opposed by teachers unions, but backed to the hilt by folks like Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.
So far, contributions have not met expectations. Less than $41 million has been donated, even though the program is capped at $100 million. Democratic gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker has said he will end the program if elected.
“Tonia Khouri’s extreme agenda would strip millions in funding from our schools,” the mailer blares. Khouri “supports a plan to strip 75 million dollars from our public schools in a voucher-style scheme that diverts tax money to private schools,” according to the mailer.
The mailer is interesting mainly because this plan was supposed to be popular with suburbanites, and Khouri is vying to replace retiring suburban Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago). But, apparently, the polling works on this hit.
As usual with these things, it’s also more than a bit misleading. The “extreme” plan was backed by DPI’s chairman Speaker Madigan, passed by both Democratic-controlled legislative chambers and signed into law a year ago.
When it comes to gubernatorial races, Republicans say they’re victims of their own success from two great election cycles in a row. Going into 2018, Republicans control a near-record high of 33 governor’s mansions, including a number in blue and swing states.
So the only place for Democrats to go in 2018 may be up. What Democrats win back is critical for the future of their party. Many of the governors in these states will have strong influence over the legislative districts drawn when new Census data arrives in 2020.
A full election cycle before that, Democrats will have a lot of opportunities to chip away at their deficit. Of our top 10 governor races in 2018, eight are for Republican-held seats. […]
2. Illinois (Republican held. Previous ranking 4): This is probably the most drastic move on our list. Everyone we spoke to agrees that Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) is one of the, if not the, most vulnerable governors in America, despite his billions. He’s facing another billionaire, J.B. Pritzker, of one of the wealthiest families in the country. What happens when two billionaires clash can be unpredictable, but the emergence of a third-party conservative candidate, state senator Sam McCann, really hurts Rauner’s already iffy chances for reelection.
People caught texting while driving will face stiffer penalties under a new Illinois law.
Starting July 1, 2019 drivers caught texting will be issued a moving violation that will go on their driving record. Anyone convicted of three moving violations in a 12-month period may have their license suspended.
Under the current law that took effect in 2014 a first offense for texting while driving is a non-moving violation and doesn’t affect a person’s driving record.
* Common sense…
A new Illinois law championed by State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) will prevent the penalization of police officers for seeking mental health services.
Cullerton’s House Bill 5231, which removes possession of a FOID card as a condition for employment for officers, was signed into law Friday. This clears the way for officers to remain employed if they have been a patient in a mental health facility but not been determined to pose a danger to themselves or others
“This new law will allow officers who have endured traumatic experiences to seek medical assistance without fear of losing their jobs,” Cullerton said.
Although the law protects officers that seek mental health services, it does not prohibit an employer from determining an officer’s fitness to serve.
“Our law enforcement officers keep us safe. In doing so, they experience disturbing situations that may warrant their use of mental health services. This makes them human,” Cullerton said. “We are all safer if we make sure these officers have access to the proper mental health services to deal with the traumas they routinely face.”
House Bill 5231 is an initiative of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, which said requiring a FOID card for law enforcement officers – many of whom are active service members and veterans of the armed forces – creates an unnecessary obstacle to receiving mental health treatment.
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the U.S.
Cullerton, Chairman of the Illinois Senate Veterans Affairs Committee who served as an infantryman in the Army from 1990 to 1993, continues to work toward eliminating the veteran suicide epidemic in Illinois.
“Our nation’s heroes have fought to protect our freedoms and democracy. This commonsense measure will look out for them,” Cullerton said. “It’s our duty to remove all obstacles to mental health treatment for our military veterans and public safety personnel.”
House Bill 5231 passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support and will take effect immediately.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law making it illegal for Illinois lawmakers to silence sexual harassment victims with taxpayer money.
Even though the bill’s sponsor isn’t aware of it happening, given Springfield’s secretive nature, he said it’s best to get ahead of it.
State Rep. David McSweeney’s bill is straightforward. It says no public funds “shall be paid to any person in exchange for his or her silence or inaction related to an allegation or investigation of sexual harassment.”
With news coming out that members of Congress had done this, McSweeney said laws need to be in place to protect Illinoisans’ taxpayer money from any type of similar behavior.
* Other stuff…
* Rauner signs bill preventing professional license suspension for student loan delinquencies: Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law the Career Preservation and Student Loan Repayment Act on Aug. 14. The new law will prevent Illinoisans who fall behind on student loan payments from having their professional licenses denied, revoked or suspended for that reason. State Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, introduced the measure, which passed 54-0 in the Illinois Senate and 104-3 in the House of Representatives.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner was on WFMB earlier this week and Sam Madonia asked him whether he liked to campaign. He said he loves campaigning. And then…
MADONIA: How about dealing with the press?
RAUNER: [Laughs]
MADONIA: Is that all good, you want to play that again?
RAUNER: [Laughs] If the press wasn’t, you know if everyone was like you, Sam, playing down the middle –
MADONIA: Well, we try.
RAUNER: Play down the middle, that’d be fine. You know [laughs] one of my biggest frustrations is there’s a lot of left-leaning press, especially up around Chicago, and they’re plenty biased. And that’s been a frustration. But you know what? The press is all human beings. Every human being has their bias, whatever, and it’s all part of it, got to move past that.
It’s sad, but sadly no longer surprising, when political campaigns bring out the worst in people.
We unfortunately saw that in action Wednesday after a now-former field director for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis’s campaign was arrested for allegedly harassing Davis’ challenger, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, and her supporters at a private campaign event. […]
We hope this is the last time we see such an uncivil display. Yet given the tone of politics these days — where doing what gets the most attention often trumps doing what is right — we worry what else we might see as campaigns continue.
Election Day is Nov. 6. Candidates want your vote. They should get it by conducting themselves in an honorable manner — and making it clear to their staffs that they must act that way too. No one wants a repeat of what we saw here this week.
I asked Londrigan yesterday why she didn’t have the tracker removed right away. She said the guy was just hanging in the background doing his thing and then suddenly went off without warning.
But every time I’ve seen a tracker in a tavern, the bar owner/management has tossed the person out. Bars are private businesses. They need to protect their customers. Idiots walking around videoing people having a drink should be immediately ejected. That tracker shouldn’t have been given a chance to go nuts.
And, frankly, Rodney Davis’ campaign should’ve known better than to send a tracker to a bar in the first place. I doubt they’d like it if Londrigan did the same to them.
The Illinois State Fair traditionally has been an unofficial kickoff for fall election campaigns, but it also has proven to be a place to see how candidates play on the state’s political and geographic diversity that often represents how Illinois votes.
Case in point: When Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner spoke before the fair in Downstate Springfield to the party’s State Central Committee and its county chairs, the largely Democratic city of Chicago was among his targets for criticism.
“Everything’s on the line,” the governor said. “We have the threat of complete hostile takeover of our state by the corrupt Chicago Machine. That’s what’s at stake right here.”
Playing regional politics in Illinois is nothing new for Rauner or other candidates over the years, leaning on stereotypes cast decades ago that can make people living outside Chicago feel they are being shortchanged when it comes to government services and the use of their tax dollars.
* Scroll all the way to the bottom of that story and you’ll see a reference to this recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute research…
The research shows the south region receives $2.81 in state funds for every $1 generated. The central Illinois region of 50 counties receives $1.87 back for every $1.00 sent to Springfield. All of the downstate regions receive more from the state budget than they pay in taxes. By comparison, Cook County receives 90 cents for every $1, and the suburban counties only 53 cents for every $1 generated.
A 2017 Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey found that downstaters especially thought state government ignored them. Asked “How much attention do you feel state government pays to what the people in your community think when it decides what to do,” 73 percent of downstaters replied “not much.” That was a marginally higher level of alienation than Chicagoans (72 percent) or suburbanites (67 percent).
If any region should feel alienated from state government, it’s the suburbanites, according to the research. They get back about 53 cents for every dollar sent to state government.
Ironically, it’s traditionally been downstate lawmakers who push frivolous notions to separate Chicago or Cook County from the rest of the state. The most recent is a resolution introduced late in May — long after the legislative deadline for consideration of such measures — that called on Congress to declare Chicago the 51st state and break it off from the rest of Illinois. The resolution’s sponsors included state Reps. Reggie Phillips and Brad Halbrook, both of whom represent counties with state universities and community colleges.
Sometimes, what’s required is the compassion, understanding, and empathy to accept and act on those facts.
Chicagoans and suburbanites need to comprehend that the rest of the state not only has much to offer culturally, agriculturally, and aesthetically — in monuments like “The Hewer” in Cairo and in the vast green expanse known as the Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest — but it also needs that added assistance because it doesn’t have the resources the city and suburbs have at hand.
And residents in the rest of the state need to know when they’re being played by politicians lying to them that Chicago is a behemoth taking everything that’s best in Illinois and hoarding it away. It’s simply not factually true.
Meanwhile, suburbanites, who might be the first to grant that they have the best of both worlds, need something more than just recognition to keep them from feeling no better than a cash cow being milked by the rest of the state.
* Non-binding state resolution condemns non-binding local resolutions…
State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison has filed a state resolution to counter the wave of local declarations establishing “gun sanctuary counties.”
“I have been deeply concerned by the actions of several county boards in Illinois that have passed resolutions declaring that they will prohibit the enforcement of new gun laws passed by the General Assembly,” said Willis. “County board members are required to take an oath of office that includes a vow to uphold the Constitution of the State of Illinois. Instead, some are passing resolutions intended to set aside legitimate state law.”
The resolution challenges the legitimacy of county declarations and names each county action as a “shameless political stunt which undermines the rule of law and threatens the safety of all Illinois citizens.”
The full text of HR 1197 is here:
WHEREAS, Gun violence is an epidemic in America and in Illinois, touching all parts of the State; and
WHEREAS, The legislative and executive branches of the State have lawfully regulated guns and gun trafficking; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of reasonable state gun violence prevention regulations; Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito stated in the McDonald decision that state “experimentation with reasonable firearms regulations will continue under the Second Amendment”; and
WHEREAS, President Trump’s administration appears to be willfully ignoring the problem of gun violence in America, and at the same time, is attempting to coerce municipal police forces into diverting their resources towards harassing immigrant populations; some municipalities have lawfully opposed having their local law enforcement used for such purposes and have been dubbed “sanctuary cities”; and
WHEREAS, Some counties in Illinois have erroneously tried to liken the cause of a sanctuary city with opposition to gun violence prevention measures by declaring themselves “gun sanctuary counties”, thereby declaring their intention to refuse to enforce any gun safety measures lawfully passed by the State with which they disagree; and
WHEREAS, These counties are trying to use those lawful sanctuary cities as an excuse to unlawfully ignore important, democratically-implemented, state laws; and
WHEREAS, These so-called “gun sanctuary counties” are nothing more than scofflaw counties, usurping the judiciary and role of separation of powers in our government, while openly encouraging criminal behavior; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we condemn these scofflaw counties and declare their attempts to label themselves as “gun sanctuaries” as an unconstitutional and shameless political stunt which undermines the rule of law and threatens the safety of all Illinois citizens.
…Adding… From comments…
Translation: “I will call out your political stunt with my political stunt.”
“(Illinois House Speaker) Mike Madigan just raised your taxes 32 percent over Bruce Rauner’s veto. Now J.B. Pritzker wants to raise your taxes again. Pritzker and Madigan want to raise taxes on every middle class Illinoisan and increase tax rates another 26 percent,” in a [Gov. Rauner] TV ad launched last week. […]
Pritzker has not released a specific tax plan so it’s impossible to say how much he might raise taxes and who might pay more. […]
The additional 26 percent tax increase referenced in Rauner’s ad stems from a failed state bill this year that proposed raising the tax rate again by at least that much for anyone making more than $15,000 a year. When asked, Rauner’s campaign said that figure was used in the ad because it’s the only income tax plan a Democratic lawmaker has presented and Pritzker has not revealed how tax rates will change under his proposal. The Rauner campaign, however, could not provide any examples of Pritzker expressing support for the bill. During a March radio interview, Pritzker called an accusation that his tax plan would be similar to that bill “false.”
“JB does not support the bill referenced in Rauner’s ad,” his campaign said in a statement to the AP this week.
Once again with feeling: Politics abhors a vacuum. Until Pritzker defines what his graduated income tax will look like, the empty space will be filled by others.
…Adding… From Rep. Martwick…
Rich,
I guess I need to address my bill once again. That bill was filed at the height of the budget impasse. It was designed to show that by adopting the Wisconsin rate structure, we could stop the bleeding, provide basic services, properly fund education, and solve our pension problem. Rauner has had four years and has done NONE of that. I’m sorry but this debate over rates is silly, since we only get to decide rates once we have the ability to adopt them, and then you better believe the legislature is going to have a say on what rates are chosen. You could adopt progressive rates that give everyone a tax cut, but you would not solve a single problem. Or you could adopt the income tax rate structure of Wisconsin and solve almost all of your problems. So what’s the difference? With the Wisconsin rates, every single homeowner, renter, and business owner in Illinois would benefit from the largest property tax cut in the history of the state. Funny how Rauner never mentions that, even though he himself would likely save $40,000 per year on his property taxes. Perhaps that’s because his state income taxes would go up by $1.6 million. Oh, and all of those middle income folks that Rauner saying are going to get a tax increase? Well the typical family of four in the Chicago suburbs with an income of $85k, and living in a $300,000 home will see an income tax increase of approximately $1,000 per year and a property tax DECREASE of $3,500. Maybe that’s why Rauner and his trickle-down buddies don’t like it. It certainly will not benefit them.
* Comproller Susana Mendoza was asked by a reporter yesterday to respond to Republican comptroller candidate Darlene Senger calling her a “Mini Madigan with a Mouth” this week and asked whether she viewed Senger as a legitimate opponent…
Regarding those comments, I would just say that alliteration is nice, but a little considerations for those dead veterans in Quincy, their families and the remaining veterans would’ve been nicer.
I have yet to hear her apologize yet for trying to blame Tammy Duckworth - a decorated war hero who left almost half her body on the battlefield fighting for our country - for trying to pin the blame for these deaths, when it was in fact her boss.
You’ll recall that she sent an e-mail suggesting that they should blame this, maybe we can pin this on Duckworth. That is just so unacceptable, so lack of character and this is the woman Gov. Rauner chose to run against me.
Also, most importantly I would say, beyond that just morally corrupt stuff, the fact that she herself is running for the position of comptroller at the same time that she was working against the greatest transparency reform in the history of the comptroller’s office. The Debt Transparency Act. I mean, honest to God, does that make any sense? Again, no, just on Opposite Day, right? This is just par for the course for the Rauner administration, of which she was still a part of, where she was working against the very legislation that would shine a light that’s a critical light for the comptroller’s office to have. The person running for that job believes in less transparency. That just doesn’t make any sense and I think that voters see very clearly through that.
I was looking for a solid hook when transcribing her response, but while she makes some good points, her speaking style doesn’t allow for easy quotations. Almost every sentence includes an aside, or is incomplete or includes extraneous or repeated words.
…Adding… MrJM in comments…
Say what you say, then say the bumper-sticker version. It’s politics. People not only forgive repetition, they expect it.
“There’s a basic rule in Illinois politics: The political party that remains united wins the election,” said Speaker of the Illinois House and chairman of the state Democratic Party Michael Madigan.
“Look around the room. We are different, but we are Democrats. And if we stay together, we will win the general election — every Democrat’s going to be elected,” he said.
And with a quick “thank you very much,” Madigan was gone… Madigan left the event after his brief remarks and was not mentioned again.
Rauner campaign spokesman Will Allison responded, “Republicans are united to defeat J.B, Pritzker’s agenda of higher taxes and more corruption. It’s Pritzker and the Democrats who are divided since none of them have the courage to mention Mike Madigan’s name.”
Well, the Dems are most definitely united in their silence. /s
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown insisted the speaker is “not hiding,” saying Madigan has slipped out after his speech “for a number of years.”
“He just has to utilize his time. He had some other meetings in Springfield. He has to focus on fundraising. He did his part to get the crowd going. He’s not hiding from anything,” Brown said.
Brown called attention to Madigan’s exit “another desperate effort by Republicans to generate some attention for something other than the deaths of veterans at the Quincy Veterans Home.”
South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was brought in last minute as the keynote speaker after former Vice President Joe Biden had to cancel because of illness.
“I can sense a little nervous energy in the room,” Buttigieg said. “I am conscious you did not come here to see me speak about waste water. I’m conscious most of you did not come here to see me speak at all.”
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said that Rauner, a private equity investor, had promised to bring a business approach to government.
“This governor was handed lemons, and he took those lemons and miraculously turned them into a Dumpster fire,” Buttigieg said. “Who runs a business like that?”
“Now I don’t know if you heard, but Rauner says he plans to move to Italy if he loses in November,” Pritzker added. “So, after four years of failure, of maligning and attacking the very people who make this state great, I have just one thing to say to this governor: ‘Ciao, Bruce!’”
Another long-time Democrat, Secretary of State Jesse White – who’s held that office for 19 years – used his time at the podium during Thursday’s breakfast to address talk that should he win another term, he’d likely resign mid-term.
White is running again this year, despite having announced his retirement.
“A reporter asked me. ‘Is it true that once you’re elected that you’re going to walk away?’ I reminded him that I served in the military not once, not twice, but three times – I used to jump out of … airplanes. You never jump out of an airplane and stop halfway. It’s all the way,” White said.
Assuming he wins, do you believe he’ll finish out his next term?
Just ran into @GovRauner at State Fair. I asked what he’s doing this weekend: told me he’s going to stay at the Quincy Veterans Home again for two days, one night. Gov was last there in the spring, and of course stayed for a week in January after WBEZ stories came out in December pic.twitter.com/yAiIZuYD7x
Potent criticism of @GovRauner keeps coming from the son of Quincy vet’s home Legionnaire’s victim Eugene Miller as the governor is reported to be considering another overnighter at the home. https://t.co/b6camSoEIP
@GovRauner I see you may be coming to Quincy unless it is to apologize for: not getting it right allowing 3years to pass while families grieve for choosing PR over grieving families then don’t spend the money please I think you have had a busy week and who will feed the cow?
