1) A belated and very hearty thanks to Barton Lorimor and Scott Kennedy for doing such a great job here on election night. Nobody else had results faster, and nobody did it better and it was mainly because of those two talented men.
* The Senate passed an appropriations bill today on party lines that the governor does not like, to say the least. From Gov. Rauner’s office…
“Senate Democrats today admitted that this bill would do nothing to help higher education, MAP students or social services because there is no money to pay for it. Rather than adding billions to our debt and risk further delaying payments to social service providers, the General Assembly needs to stay in Springfield and negotiate a balanced budget alongside structural reforms that create jobs and grow our economy.”
They aren’t staying. Spring break has sprung. And considering the dueling press releases from yesterday, no negotiations are gonna happen for a while anyway.
* We’ll let Sen. Gary Forby’s press release stand for the Democrats…
Southern Illinois University and other state universities would finally get state support and potentially scale back program cuts and layoffs thanks to legislation Senator Gary Forby (D-Benton) supported Thursday in the Illinois Senate.
Forby helped the Senate approve legislation that includes $185 million in support for SIU. The vote comes just days after university leaders warned lawmakers that deep cuts and layoffs were coming because the state had stopped supporting state schools.
“State schools deserve state support,” Forby said. “SIU is the economic engine of our region. We must work hard to keep this institution open and keep jobs in Southern Illinois. The fact that more than 300 faculty and administrative professionals could be laid off is outrageous.”
The proposal Forby supported also cements an Amtrak deal to keep trains running through Carbondale and elsewhere in the state.
Gov. Rauner and state transportation officials announced a deal with Amtrak in February. However, because the governor last year vetoed the budget that includes Amtrak funding, he had no spending authority to honor that contract. The legislation Forby helped pass gives the governor the authority to honor that contract.
“Amtrak is a vital transportation option. Thousands of SIU students and staff rely on it along with tourists coming to enjoy all Southern Illinois has to offer. I’m glad the governor abandoned his efforts to slash Amtrak service and will now have the ability to back up the contract he signed,” said Forby.
The measure, Senate Bill 2059, passed the Senate with a vote of 39 to 18 and will now go to the House for consideration.
…Adding… OK, I think Sen. Daniel Biss’ press release does a better job of countering the governor’s position, so here it is…
Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) joined Democratic lawmakers Thursday in offering the Rauner administration guidance on spending priorities by voting for an appropriations bill that authorizes payments for the state’s human service providers, universities and more as the budget impasse drags on.
“Right now 90 percent of Illinois government is moving along on autopilot because of court orders and consent decrees. The other 10 percent is on the verge of shutting down. That 10 percent is just as vital as the other 90 percent,” Biss said.
The Senate approved legislation Thursday that authorizes Gov. Bruce Rauner to meet the state’s contractual obligations with human service providers and Amtrak rail service, pay for universities and colleges, and put money toward libraries, rape crisis centers, autism programs, homelessness, after-school programs, school construction grants, job training, mental health services, medical screenings and research, local tourism and more.
As Gov. Rauner’s impasse with the Legislature over a state budget continues, human service providers statewide are closing their doors because the state has not paid them since July. The same is true for public universities around the state.
“What’s being allowed to happen in Illinois is completely irrational and patently unfair. We need a spending plan, we need to hammer out a way to pay for it and we need to do what’s right for Illinois before it’s too late to recover,” Biss said.
Thursday, Mar 17, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
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The problem is anti-tax zealots continually bombard the media with red herrings designed to sway public opinion against supporting the tax increases which the evidence indicates Illinois sorely needs. One of the most common canards is the ever-popular claim that higher tax rates kill jobs and the economy. Great rhetoric, that. It just doesn’t survive scrutiny. Consider that major, peer-reviewed studies by the Small Business Association, Congressional Budget Office, University of Missouri and the right-leaning CATO Institute and Kaufman Foundation for Entrepreneurship all found no statistically meaningful correlation between tax policy on the one hand and job/economic growth on the other. More recently, Kansas cut taxes and saw its economy nosedive, while California and Minnesota increased taxes and saw strong economic growth.
Then there’s the increasingly popular claim — also false — that the temporary tax increases of 2011 prompted Illinoisans to flee — running off to “business friendly” states like Indiana. After reviewing the data, however, a recent report by KDM Consulting found these claims simply didn’t hold water. Indeed, net out-migration is nothing new in Illinois — occurring every year but one since 1925, while Illinois’ net out-migration rate actually fell in 2011, the first year of the temporary tax increase.
Yes, more people move from Illinois to Indiana than the other way around, because Illinois has more people than Indiana. However, a greater proportion of Indiana’s population moves to Illinois than vice versa. Same holds true for Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, by the way. Which means the contention that Illinois’ temporary tax increases caused people to leave in droves is just so much malarkey.
* Illinois’ out-migration is nothing new. The state has seen net out-migration every year but one since 1925.
* Illinois’ out-migration is overstated if international migration is ignored. Otherwise migrants from other countries are not counted when they move to Illinois, but are counted when they move out of Illinois to other parts of the country. Including international migration reduces net migration out of Illinois by one-third.
* Both in-migration and out-migration are tied to the economic cycle. People move when times are good and sit tight when they are bad. The 2011 income tax rate increases came as Illinois was moving out of recession, and migration could have been expected to increase.
* Illinois’ migration pattern is similar to those of its neighboring states. Illinoisans tend to move to the same states as do residents of Indiana and Wisconsin.
* Many migrants don’t move far. Illinois’ largest out-migration is to Indiana. Indiana’s and Wisconsin’s largest out-migration is to Illinois.
* Illinois is a large state so out-migration in absolute numbers is large. However, a larger percentage of both Indiana’s and Wisconsin’s population moves to Illinois than vice versa.
* Out-migration from Illinois to Indiana and Wisconsin has declined.
* Illinois net out-migration rates fell in 2011, the first year of the income tax rate increase, but increased significantly in 2014.
Just to set the record straight, Ralph Martire certainly doesn’t capture the views of Cato Institute scholars in his commentary on tax policy.
Many factors determine a state’s economic vitality, to be sure, so it would be foolish to claim that taxes are the only thing that matters. However, it would be equally foolish to claim that taxes don’t matter. There is a wealth of academic literature showing, on the margin, that higher tax burdens and higher tax rates lead to less income growth, less job growth, and reduced competitiveness at the state level.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel can breathe a little easier. But he’s still walking through a minefield.
Emanuel, of course, was virtually invisible this election cycle. He didn’t have much of a choice, given the continuing uproar over his handling of the Laquan McDonald matter. That issue is what led to yesterday’s defeat of State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, and remains highly salient. The mayor had best not forget that reality for one second.
On the other hand, presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders spent millions of dollars trying to wrap Emanuel right around Hillary Clinton’s neck. In very personal terms, he went after not only McDonald but city tax and school policies, declaring that he didn’t want Emanuel’s support in November.
Well, guess what? Clinton carried the city 54 percent to 45 percent, roughly 55,000 votes, winning majority white and majority African-American wards alike. And an effort funded by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce to oust Dunkin by tying his foe to Emanuel equally flopped.
Ergo, Emanuel clearly is damaged goods. But he’s in recovery mode. No one is going to force him out of office. Now he has three years left in his term to build back up.
* The Question: Do you more agree or more disagree with these observations? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Thursday, Mar 17, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Meanwhile, the political games continued at the Capitol, with Senate Democrats on Wednesday giving initial approval to legislation that would free up nearly $4 billion for everything from higher education to rape crisis centers. Rauner has threatened to veto the measure, saying there’s no money to pay for it, an argument his budget office repeated in a memo to lawmakers.
It largely mirrors a bill approved by the House earlier this month. However, the Senate said it added some things, like the library grants and Amtrak expenses, that were excluded from the House version.
“It does not come with additional revenue,” said Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, the committee chair.
Instead, the bill provides agencies with authority to spend money in certain areas that they do not now have. […]
Senate Democrats said most of the programs are not covered by the various court orders that have helped keep 90 percent of state spending going out the door. They said the state has already entered into contracts with organizations to provide the services, but has no way to pay them because a budget has not been approved.
* From the governor’s budget director…
To: Members of the Illinois Senate
From: Tim Nuding, Director, Governor’s Office of Management and Budget Date: March 16, 2016
Re: Senate Bill 2059
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget opposes Senate Floor Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 2059 because it represents yet another proposal to spend billions of dollars without any way to pay for it. The bill appropriates approximately $3.9 billion, of which $3.1 billion is appropriated from General Funds.
The spending identified in this bill is not affordable because the legislature has already spent all available funds on other priorities. Furthermore, there are no corresponding proposals to reform government programs, to reduce other spending or to free up resources to fund this bill within existing resources.
Today, the Comptroller’s Office reports a backlog of bills totaling $7.6 billion, with over 50,000 unpaid vouchers on hand. Vendors who have already provided services to the state continue to wait months to get paid.
Regrettably, Senate Floor Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 2059 is another in a long line of political documents that make promises that knowingly cannot be kept. For these reasons this bill could be viewed as a political document designed to generate roll calls for political purposes.
Voting for this bill adds to the state’s debt, causes those who are already waiting for state payments to wait even longer and potentially jeopardizes payments to the pension systems and General State Aid payments for school districts.
Unfortunately, this bill is a cruel hoax on those it is purportedly designed to help.
Reasonable proposals exist in the legislature that would free up resources to afford much of this spending, including procurement reforms and pension reforms as well as proposals to allow the Governor to reduce spending in other areas to make this spending affordable.
If you’ll recall, the threat of a mutiny by some GOP House members is what caused Rauner to cave and release the local government hostages.
It’s amazing to me that GOP House members don’t realize how much power they have right now. They could dictate budget terms to both Rauner and the Dems.
The same goes for some Senate Republicans, but the House GOP has been the most insistent about releasing some of the impasse hostages, and not just the local government units, either.
“On Wednesday morning, the intensity in Springfield is going to get a lot higher,” said House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, Republican of Western Springs.
“It’s been a rough environment and it won’t get any easier,” Durkin said. “We must win seats. Last year the Democrats proposed a budget deal that was $4 billion in the red, and they play the victims in this. It’s ridiculous. But this is a critical election.”
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner suffered some high-profile election defeats, but his allies on Wednesday pointed to a number of smaller victories as proof he can flex his political muscle — a signal that little is likely to change in his battle with Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan for control of state government.
With both sides claiming wins in Tuesday’s primary, there’s not much incentive for Rauner to back off his pro-business, union-weakening agenda, or for Democrats aligned with labor to drop their fierce opposition to it. And so there remains no resolution in sight to the record-breaking budget stalemate that’s cut services for the poor, led to mass layoffs at public universities and sent the state’s debt soaring.
Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said the real takeaway from the results should be that Rauner is able to protect Republicans who have his back.
“To me, the most important thing is every Republican that he said he was going to help and protect, won,” Murphy said. “So if you are a Republican sitting there wondering if the governor can successfully have your back, so far his record on that is perfect.”
Amid the spectacular collapse of efforts to defeat State Senator Sam McCann (R-Plainview) and to defend State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) by Governor Bruce Rauner and his top political allies, a third Rauner-backed legislative candidate also fell on Tuesday night.
While all the insider political chatter on Wednesday has been focused on McCann and Dunkin, the thumping loss of Republican Mike DeSutter, who sought the House seat being vacated by State Rep. Don Moffit (R-Galesburg), went largely went unnoticed.
DeSutter of Woodhull, who had been backed by Dan Proft‘s Liberty Principles PAC and which had spent $51,719 in TV ads in DeSutter’s behalf, got clobbered by Dan Swanson of Alpha, 34.6%-48.9%. A third candidate, Knox County GOP Chairman Wayne Saline, took 16.5%.
DeSutter’s allies clearly saw polling data that showed trouble on the horizon because in the race’s last 10 days $31,900 flowed into DeSutter’s campaign coffers, including $5,000 from Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC and $5,400 from wealthy conservative activist Dick Uihlein of Lake Forest. […]
Meanwhile, Swanson, a 17-year veteran of the AlWood School Board from 1992-2009 and a former Henry County Board member, raised only a piddly $15,000 for the race, according to state election board records […]
No labor money was among the entirely local contributions that largely came from family or friends.
For McCann, the pressure came from constituents in a district heavily populated with unionized state employees. But virtually every Republican in the legislature has some issue that makes him or her especially vulnerable to pressure from back home.
For example, Republicans whose districts include state universities will be in a tough spot in November if no state funding has arrived. To this point, all House and Senate Republicans have stood firm with Rauner and voted against Democrat-sponsored bills that would have brought instant relief to college campuses while compounding the state’s horrid long-term fiscal trouble.
Now that they’ve seen that even a $3 million blitz couldn’t unseat McCann for his union bill sin, will these members stay loyal to Rauner with a general election on the line? With each passing week without a budget, the situation at the universities becomes more dire and, by extension, the constituent pressure increases. […]
On a related note, Rauner may want to stop invoking all those unnamed Democrats he says would love to side with him but are too afraid of Madigan to do so. The lone Democrat who crossed over to the Rauner camp, Rep. Ken Dunkin of Chicago, was routed Tuesday night by Juliana Stratton, the primary challenger Madigan had backed. Even with $4.2 million in protection money from Rauner allies, the seven-term incumbent Dunkin was defeated by a margin of more than 2-to-1.
Agreed.
* Related…
* Gov. Rauner an Election Day loser, observers say: “Sam McCann won fair and square,” Proft said via email. “I congratulate him. But I wouldn’t read too much into his victory. I’m not sure to which ‘wing’ of the party McCann is referring but I can tell you that the big government, public sector union boss-supported philosophy of government McCann has pursued has no future in this party or this state. As should be obvious to all by now, even to McCann, we simply cannot afford it.”
Officials say more than 800 private companies doing work for the Department of Human Services haven’t been paid because of the budget stalemate.
Human Services Secretary James Dimas told a Senate appropriations committee Wednesday the agency owes about $168 million in overdue bills since July 1 — when the budget should have taken effect.
Yep. We’re so much more pro-business now right here in good ol’ Illinois.
* My social media streams have been jam packed with warnings from hardcore conservatives that last Friday’s Chicago protests at Donald Trump’s rally would backfire on the liberals. And lots of liberals appeared to agree that they’re just solidifying Trump’s position.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% of Likely U.S. Voters believe there is a greater danger of political violence this election cycle compared to past presidential campaigns. Only nine percent (9%) feel there is less of a danger this campaign season, while 26% say the potential for violence is about the same. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Fifty-two percent (52%) blame Trump’s positions rather than his political opponents for the recent violent protests at some of his rallies. Thirty-one percent (31%) say Trump’s opponents are more to blame. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.
Liberal political activist group MoveOn.org has taken credit for the protests last weekend that forced the cancellation of a Trump rally in Chicago, but 72% of Democrats still blame the Republican front-runner’s positions more than his opponents for the violence at some of his recent rallies. Just 39% of Republicans and 42% of unaffiliated voters agree.
* OK, now look at the crosstabs. Not mentioned in the above narrative is that the 42 percent of independents who agree that the violence is Trump’s fault is actually a plurality. Only 35 percent of indies believe it’s not Trump’s fault and 22 percent have no opinion.
And while a substantial minority of 39 percent of Republicans think the violence is Trump’s fault, only a plurality of 45 percent think it’s not. Another 15 percent have no opinion.
* Women tend to vote in larger numbers than men, and 59 percent of women say the violence is on Trump, while a 44-40 plurality of men say the same thing.
* This kinda got buried under election coverage, but you may remember the memo I posted on Tuesday evening…
Dear Chamber Board Members:
This week, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, through its special independent expenditure committee, launched a large advertising campaign in Chicago on behalf of a key candidate for state representative, Rep. Ken Dunkin. We believe this is the single most important race in this Primary Election, and perhaps the most important in many election cycles. Rep. Dunkin has shown a willingness to vote against the status quo in Springfield and support a better path forward for our state. He is being vigorously opposed by forces of the status quo.
While Rep. Dunkin was endorsed by the Chamber’s regular political committee, Chamber PAC, this independent expenditure was made through the Chamber’s special independent expenditure committee, which requires strict non-coordination with candidates. The restriction greatly limits our ability to communicate intentions before a campaign is launched. In addition, you should know that is was fully funded by a like-minded organization and NO Chamber dues or other revenues were used to pay for the campaign.
The advertisement we are running is primarily positive about Rep. Dunkin, but does highlight that he is independent from the political powers that be in Chicago. Some of you may have received calls from Chicago Mayor Emmanuel’s representatives complaining about the ad. Given the nature of Chicago politics, we believe this is quite an overreaction. However, we apologize if you feel this has put you in an uncomfortable position. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please call me directly at one of the numbers below.
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing everyone next week at the Board meeting on the 17th in Normal.
Todd Maisch
President and CEO
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Team Emanuel reacted with total fury to the ad, and Maisch in his letter to board members notes that, “Some of you may have received calls from Chicago Mayor Emmanuel’s [sic] representatives complaining…We apologize if you feel that this has put you in an uncomfortable position. […]
One board member, who asked not to be named, told me he did hear from the mayor’s forces and isn’t angry, but said the board “didn’t get the chance to decide if we wanted to be in the middle” of a fight involving Madigan, Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Another said he was “surprised” when he saw the ad on TV, as were “a lot” of other chamber directors. “We look at what we do as a process of addition, not subtraction,” that board member told me. “In situations like this, you may win the battle but lose the war.”
Translation: This guy and his company have to do business in Chicago with a mayor who now is first-class PO’d. […]
It should be interesting to hear why the chamber dropped a cool $1 million on a guy who got blown out 67 percent to 32 percent. And though Maisch’s letter notes that the money for the ad came from another group and involved “NO chamber dues or other revenues,” it might be interesting to hear if the group’s independent-expenditure unit now is effectively for rent to the highest bidder.
Historically, the Illinois Chamber was a more pragmatic group, but it’s always leaned Republican, although perhaps not enough for some of its more strident members. And many of those members are undoubtedly in Gov. Rauner’s corner and don’t really care at all about Chicago’s mayor (or worse, because of his support for things like raising the minimum wage). So I’d be shocked if something happened to Maisch beyond a light hand slap.
* But there are real problems here. The TV ad ripped into Emanuel, undoubtedly at Gov. Rauner’s behest. Emanuel, for good reason, is constantly criticized for being too cozy with big business interests and Dunkin has had a very poor Chamber voting record.
So for a business group to whack a more often than not ally like Emanuel when he’s already down with a million dollar TV ad, only to end up participating in a spectacularly humiliating defeat on behalf of a not pro-business legislator seems imprudent, at best.
Love him or not (and most, understandably, have no love for Rahm) this just wasn’t a particularly bright move, particularly since Chamber members regularly ask for help from the Hall.
Rauner and his folks can be mightily persuasive, and the governor can also do a lot for business interests, but a polite “Thanks, but we have to pass” probably would’ve been the smarter play.
* Donald Trump better hope he doesn’t fall three delegates shy of winning the Republican nomination because his Illinois supporters apparently don’t love foreign-sounding names…
In the western Chicago suburbs, a Trump delegate candidate named Nabi Fakroddin received 14 percent fewer votes than a member of the same Trump slate named Paul Minch. In southern Illinois, a would-be Trump delegate named Raja Sadiq received an eye-popping 25 percent fewer votes than a slate-mate named Doug Hartmann. And in a rural western Illinois district, a losing Trump delegate named Jim Uribe received 11 percent fewer votes than one named Rich Nordstrom.
In all three cases, the disparity appeared to cost Trump a delegate.
Oops.
Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady, a Kasich delegate, finished ahead of Nabi Fakroddin, by the way.
* Nancy Kimme also won a Kasich delegate slot yesterday. Kimme, you will recall, was the winner of our 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Statehouse Insider and won our 2015 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Contract Lobbyist. I chuckled to myself last night when I thought about her being in one of those smoke-filled rooms cutting a deal on who the nominee will be. Nobody I know in the GOP is better suited for an environment like that than her. Nobody.
There were many races last night where special interests backed by Speaker Madigan failed to defeat Republican incumbents and candidates who support Governor Rauner’s call for structural reforms that grow our economy alongside a balanced budget. Even in a Democratic primary, the Speaker needed to call in the President of the United States to defeat one legislator who dared to show a hint of independent thinking. But the primary elections are over and rather than issuing partisan press releases, the Speaker needs to end his month long vacation and begin working with the Governor to enact a balanced budget alongside structural reforms that grow our economy.
This election cycle, Madigan is testing another strategy. He is attacking Democrats he doesn’t like by linking them to his chief adversary, Gov. Bruce Rauner. In a handful of races, Madigan is trying to keep reform-minded Democrats from winning by calling them sellouts to Republicans. It’s not true, of course, but it’s an effective message at a time when Rauner is largely being blamed for state budget cuts.
In doing so, Madigan is framing this election as a referendum on Rauner. He has amped up the significance of Tuesday’s primary because Rauner’s leverage is on the line. If Rauner doesn’t beat Madigan in a few key races, the freshman governor’s influence, his agenda and his party will lose credibility at a time when they’re already struggling to be relevant.
Outside Chicago, in more conservative-leaning districts, Rauner remains popular and supported. His agenda is welcomed in Downstate communities that have emptied out, in part due to the state’s poor fiscal shape. I say that, having interviewed just about every candidate running for a seat in the General Assembly. Distaste for Madigan, Chicago and Democratic policies is palpable.
But in the city and suburbs, Rauner’s support is porous. Gridlock over the state budget is wearing out the fringes of his base. Tuesday will indicate how much.
I think we got the answer.
* Meanwhile, a Springfield resident explains her vote for Sen. Sam McCann…
[L. Gay Davidson, 62, a computer consultant and retired state worker] said she doesn’t want Rauner to “think he can control” lawmakers. She said she ran into Rauner at a hockey game, and he told her to tell House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, about her complaints about the state budget.
“I blame them both, but Madigan’s been in for a very long time, and we’ve always had budgets,” Davidson said, adding that she thinks Rauner is “holding it (the budget) hostage” to his agenda.
This “we always had a budget until Rauner showed up” claim is a topic that is rarely, if ever, mentioned in mainstream media. Perhaps the governor’s two high-profile and downright humiliating primary losses yesterday will prompt more critical coverage. When reporters smell blood in the water, bad things start to happen.
Even so, some folks have flatly stated that the impasse is a good thing. Illinois really needs this battle to finally turn the state toward a new direction.
My own opinion, stated quite often, is that the governor needs to find another way out of this mess. He’s the governor, he’s supposed to be the one in charge.
Stop pointing fingers, quit the constant whining about your impotence and get something done already.
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement after Tuesday’s election results:
“Yesterday, voters in the Democratic primary election made it very clear they want representatives in the State Capitol who will stand up for middle-class families, children and the elderly, not turn their backs on them. I’m honored to have again received the trust and support of the voters of the 22nd District, where they rejected a candidate who received his financial support from a number of Republicans and those aligned with the governor’s belief in how government should be run.
“Voters in the 5th Representative District clearly were unhappy with Ken Dunkin’s record, how he turned his back on the elderly, children and families struggling to make ends meet, his failure to follow through on promises he made, and his association with Bruce Rauner and the governor’s allies. Also, a message was sent that spending more money does not translate into electoral success. The millions spent by Ken Dunkin, IllinoisGO, the Illinois Opportunity Project and others – an effort that significantly outspent the Stratton campaign – did not persuade voters because their views do not reflect the views of middle-class and struggling families.
“As Speaker, I have consistently and successfully worked with Republican governors to find common ground on issues important to moving the state forward. I am prepared, as I have been for the last year, to work cooperatively and professionally with Governor Rauner to address the most important issues facing our state today. However, the gridlock that we are experiencing stems not from a difference in political parties, but from the governor’s insistence that we focus on his agenda attacking middle-class families, rather than making the budget deficit his priority. Over the last year, you will find the times that the governor and the Legislature were able to work together, such as the passage of a measure to free up billions of dollars in federal funds and rejecting cost of living adjustments for lawmakers, is when the governor was willing to put aside his agenda that hurts middle-class families and work directly with the Legislature on the most important issue at hand.
“With the clear message sent by voters Tuesday, I am hopeful we can use this framework moving forward to implement a state budget and work together to get things accomplished for the people we serve.”
Been in accident with a state-owned vehicle and not at fault? Waiting for the state to pony up?
Keep waiting.
The state, which is self-insured, has about 200 claims worth about $560,000 on hold, said Meredith Krantz, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
Those claims, filed since July 1, aren’t being paid because there’s no state budget.
One Springfield lawyer said he found the situation “pathetic.”
“The way I take this: If a state employee runs into your car and damages a fender or a bumper or whatever, the state isn’t paying that now,” said attorney Jim Ackerman, whose work includes auto liability cases.
“And if they run over your mother and kill her, the state isn’t going to pay that for quite some time,” he said.
* $4,165,838 was raised/spent on behalf of Rep. Ken Dunkin, who received 8,804 votes yesterday. That’s $473 per vote. The winner of that race, Juliana Stratton, spent $125 per vote.
* Republican Senate candidate Bryce Benton received 19,026 votes. $3,183,904 was raised and/or spent on his behalf. That’s $167 per vote. Winning candidate Sen. Sam McCann spent $40.69 per vote.
* Jason Gonzales raised/spent $1,004,784 to get 6,594 votes, or about $152 per vote. Because Speaker Madigan’s campaign committees also contribute heavily to other candidates, it’s unknown right now how much he spent on his race.
The fall election could make this look like pennies.
* Word has gone around for a bit now that he’s been looking for a new job…
State Sen. Dan Duffy, a Lake Barrington Republican, will step down to lead Prevent Child Abuse America in April before his term ends.
Duffy didn’t run for re-election to the Illinois Senate and his term would expire in January.
His preferred candidate, Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods, has likely prevailed in Tuesday’s Republican primary to replace Duffy. McConchie holds a 651 vote lead over Casey Urlacher with 85 percent of precincts reporting this morning.
Now that the primary is over, it’s a good time to remind people that despite the fact that there was (and will continue to be) a never-ending stream of money available to win (and lose) elections, the same cannot be said when it comes to funds available to ensure Illinois children, families and communities have the tools they need to thrive.
While attention has been diverted to elections, the normal budgeting process has geared up, and appropriations committees in both the House and Senate have started hearing testimony on the governor’s proposed budget and agency requests for FY17. And of course, that is occurring against the backdrop of a budgetless FY16.
As it does every year, Voices is submitting testimony. The governor and agencies have, in some cases, proposed increases in line items that would have a significant positive impact on children and families. This year, we are not unconditionally supporting increases in spending for line-items we traditionally care about - a move that would be absurd in a normal year.
But, as we said in our testimony submitted today to the Senate Approps I committee, as an advocacy organization for children, it is extremely difficult for us to advocate for more funding for one priority if it comes at the expense of another. The truth is that our state continues to fail our kids, as the ongoing budget crisis erodes our ability to give them the opportunity that they require to be successful students, skilled employees, taxpayers, and productive citizens.
Now that the election is over, maybe lawmakers and the governor can take a beat and consider that when they express a desire to fund vital programs, like human services, PK-12 and higher education, they must also consider how they will pay for those programs.
* Favorite headline of the day, with bonus quote from the defeated candidate…
* After Staple Gun Attack, Zwolinski Loses To Soto By Landslide: Conceding to Soto, Zwolinski said via text message: “The community has to unfortunately wait two more years for real change and not a just puppet for the machine. It’s a shame because we all suffer. But time flies.”
The staple gun obviously missed his frontal lobes.
* Apparently, David Gergen’s endorsement is worth nothing in the 22nd House District…
My former student Jason Gonzales up for state rep. in Illinois today. First class guy. Good luck today, @JasonGonzo!
“I know I have been criticized that I wasn’t a very good politician, and that is probably right,” [Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez] said. “But I am very damn proud of the fact that I am a good prosecutor.”
She vowed to serve her remaining months “with professionalism and integrity.”
He denied that bucking Madigan had cost the Democrats any key votes in Springfield or that doing so had attracted conservative funders to his campaign.
“This was people looking at me historically and wanting to invest in me,” Dunkin said.
He said he planned to remain active, whether in politics or business, but was focused now on finishing out his term and helping Stratton transition into the role of legislator if she wins the General Election.
The mood was somber at Dunkin’s election night party at Norman’s Bistro, 1001 E. 43rd St., as early election results came in showing Stratton leading Dunkin.
A buffet sat untouched and the coat rack was empty as the few supporters there watched in the back bar.
Campaign staff were still unsure where Dunkin was or when he would arrive as media outnumbered campaign workers waiting for results in the hotly contested race.
* Also…
Ken Dunkin won the 6th ward, unfortunately it only had 30 total votes. He didn't break 40% in any other ward.
* “Do you feel betrayed by Republican politicians?” 51% said yes, 41% said no (Trump carried both categories with 37 and 43 percent, respectively).
* Illegal immigrants working in the US should be: 56 percent chose “Offered legal status,” 40 percent chose “Deported to home country” (Trump won 56 percent of those who want them deported).
* Temporary ban on Muslims entering the US: 68 percent support it (Trump won 48 percent of those) and 28 percent oppose it (Kasich won 36 percent of those).
* 34 percent of all Republicans said they would not vote for Donald Trump if he wins the nomination (including 42 percent of Cruz voters and 38 percent of Kasich voters). 28 percent of Republicans said they would not vote for Ted Cruz if he’s nominated (including 51 percent of Trump voters and 34 percent of Kasich voters). And 25 percent of Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for John Kasich if he’s nominated (including 60 percent of Trump voters and 30 percent of Cruz voters).
* 43 percent of Republicans said they’d “consider a third party” if Trump is nominated.
* 51 percent of Republican voters said that Donald Trump is not honest or trustworthy (41 percent said the same of Cruz and 23 percent said that of Kasich).
* Of the 38 percent who believe the top candidate quality is “shares my values,” just 14 percent said that of Trump.
* There was an historic Republican turnout yesterday, and Democrats nearly matched their huge numbers from 2008. This may help explain the numerous ballot shortage troubles throughout the state.
According to unofficial tallies, 1,377,341 voters cast ballots for Republican presidential candidates. That’s a 48 percent increase over the 933,454 people who voted for GOP presidential candidates in 2012, and a 53 percent increase over the 899,422 who voted Republican in 2008.
Wow.
* Meanwhile, 1,971,059 Democrats voted for president yesterday, well above the 652,717 who took part in the uncontested race in 2012, and just below the historic high of 2,038,614 in 2008.
Not bad, but those Republican numbers cannot be ignored.
* And in Chicago, 84,948 Republican ballots were cast, compared to 47,896 four years ago. That’s way up, but because of increased Democratic turnout this year, the GOP share was 11 percent, compared to 15 percent four years ago. Go back to 2008, however, and the total GOP share was 6.4 percent. So, despite a really good turnout year for Democrats this time around, the Republicans greatly improved both their numbers and (compared to ‘08) their percentages.
* In suburban Cook, the Republicans cast 218,850 votes yesterday, for 32 percent of the total. That’s way down from their 49 percent in 2012, but way up from the 23 percent in 2008.
* Also, Chicago clearly put Hillary Clinton over the top yesterday. She beat Bernie Sanders by 55,040 in the city, but her statewide margin was just 34,605. Sanders closed the gap hard, but using Rahm Emanuel as a whipping post ultimately didn’t work, despite all the gleeful chatter from the chattering class on Monday.
* The New York Times has some fascinating maps to help you delve deeper. Click here. CNN’s exit polling is here and here. We’ll talk more about all that later.
* Election news updates are here. Live Republican primary results are here. Live Democratic primary results are here. Get your declared winner live updates right here on this very post with ScribbleLive…
* Election news updates are here. Also, click here for tonight’s declared winners. You can click here to see live GOP primary results or just follow along below with ScribbleLive…
* Election news updates are here. Also, click here for tonight’s declared winners. You can click here to see live Democratic Party primary results or just follow along below with ScribbleLive…
* OK, so I decided we needed four posts instead of three. I didn’t want to muck up the two partisan election returns posts with election news about both parties, so here it is via ScribbleLive…
* I’m planning to put up three posts before 7 o’clock. One will update you on Republican primary results, one will update you on Democratic primary results and the third will have a list of declared winners as they come in.
My former intern Barton Lorimor will be assisting tonight as well as our great pal Scott Kennedy. It should be fun. So I’ll see you soon!
…Adding… Text from an old friend…
Gal working for Dunkin was passing this today. She thought she was working for Stratton. Lol! Love Chicago.
The flier…
*** UPDATE *** I’m guessing from the somewhat defensive tone of this March 11th memo, there was member blowback to the Chamber’s decision to assist Rep. Ken Dunkin…
Dear Chamber Board Members:
This week, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, through its special independent expenditure committee, launched a large advertising campaign in Chicago on behalf of a key candidate for state representative, Rep. Ken Dunkin. We believe this is the single most important race in this Primary Election, and perhaps the most important in many election cycles. Rep. Dunkin has shown a willingness to vote against the status quo in Springfield and support a better path forward for our state. He is being vigorously opposed by forces of the status quo.
While Rep. Dunkin was endorsed by the Chamber’s regular political committee, Chamber PAC, this independent expenditure was made through the Chamber’s special independent expenditure committee, which requires strict non-coordination with candidates. The restriction greatly limits our ability to communicate intentions before a campaign is launched. In addition, you should know that is was fully funded by a like-minded organization and NO Chamber dues or other revenues were used to pay for the campaign.
The advertisement we are running is primarily positive about Rep. Dunkin, but does highlight that he is independent from the political powers that be in Chicago. Some of you may have received calls from Chicago Mayor Emmanuel’s representatives complaining about the ad. Given the nature of Chicago politics, we believe this is quite an overreaction. However, we apologize if you feel this has put you in an uncomfortable position. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please call me directly at one of the numbers below.
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing everyone next week at the Board meeting on the 17th in Normal.
Todd Maisch
President and CEO
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Because you are among those potentially impacted by a layoff plan that Governor Rauner announced last summer, I wanted to let you know the most recent development in the Union’s efforts to prevent those layoffs. As you are likely very aware, AFSCME filed a grievance challenging the layoffs at the time they were announced. We also filed a motion in state court seeking an injunction to halt the layoffs until the grievance was resolved. In response to the Union’s legal action, the Rauner Administration entered into an agreement with the Union to suspend any layoffs pending arbitration of the Union’s grievance—as well as any potential appeal of the arbitrator’s ruling in circuit court.
It is because of that agreement that none of the layoffs have proceeded thus far and you have been able to continue working in your current position.
The grievance was heard by an arbitrator several months ago and yesterday we received notification that the arbitrator had ruled against the Union. The arbitrator found that the state had demonstrated there was a lack of funds in each affected state agency and that there was a lack of work and a material reorganization at the ICC and IDOT. Needless to say, we are very disappointed in this outcome.
However, we are not done with this fight. We will now appeal the arbitrator’s ruling in state court. Per the agreement entered into with the Rauner Administration, the layoffs will remain on hold while that appeal is pending—so there will be no change in your employment status at this time.
If you are among the employees who work at an Illinois State Museum site, you should also be aware that AFSCME is working with Senator Andy Manar to develop a new bill that could help the ISM to reopen.
We know this is a very difficult situation for you—and you can be assured that AFSCME is doing everything possible to prevent the harm that layoffs would cause to Union members.
In Unity,
Roberta Lynch
* The union may not have much of a case on appeal, judging from the ruling…
The breadth of the management rights clause in the contract required the Union to present clear evidence of an improper motive on the part of the State or some other indication the State was acting in an arbitrary or capricious manner. While the Union urged the layoffs were a “political football” designed to gain political leverage, there needed to be evidence presented to support that notion other than references to Governor Rauner’s ubiquitous comments about creating “wedge” issues and his often proclaimed animus toward public sector unions. The State’s fiscal condition and its lack of a budget are unique in its history, a fact even the Union acknowledged in its opening statement when it stated “…things are special this time, things are extraordinary, we’ve never had this situation before…especially when you get into a legal battle, but it’s truly the case that both the state and the union are operating in waters that are both uncharted and unsettled.”
The layoff language has been a part of the parties’ agreement for decades and has been tested in many other court battles and grievance arbitrations over layoffs and issues associated with layoffs. Each time the language has been put to test in the past, the State has prevailed on the question of its authority to layoff. Neither that language nor the law permit the Union or this arbitrator to supplant the Governor’s decision-making with their own. Suggestions of what he could have done or should have done have no bearing on the meaning or application of “lack of work or other legitimate reasons.” Neither the Union nor the arbitrator was elected to be the chief executive officer of this State. It goes without question the Union would have acted otherwise if the power to make such decisions rested with it; so too likely would have this neutral.
The purpose of this arbitration is not for it to constitute an endorsement or a condemnation of the State’s actions, what has transpired with the Illinois State Museum, or the withholding of support for the social service and education programs historically funded by the State. Rather the purpose of this award is limited by the parties’ agreement to being a determination of whether the State violated the negotiated contract language governing the State’s authority to layoff. The burden was on the Union to prove the State’s actions were arbitrary, capricious or arose from an illegal motivation was simply too great for it to surmount. There is no proof in the record that is the case. The Union’s grievance is denied for the detailed reasons that follow in this award.
* Bernie Sanders ain’t the only candidate out there trying to tie his Democratic opponent to Rahm Emanuel…
* And, as we all know, Rahm’s former buddy is being used in some Democratic campaigns as well, like the one to replace retiring state Sen. Willie Delgado (D-Chicago)…
* And even a Rauner/Rahm campaign contributor is getting some Bernie time…
Interest in election contests and same-day voter registration are two reasons that voters may need to exercise patience at polling places, Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said Tuesday.
“People are coming out at a steady pace and people should expect to know that it’s taking a little bit longer than normal,” Gray said in a late-morning Election Day interview. “Patience is appreciated, and we’re working very hard.”
Gray had said he thought turnout could peak at about 25 percent – a few percentage points higher than in similar elections in recent years. […]
Gray also said that “a fair amount of folks” were taking advantage of law allowing same-day registration and voting. He recommends the most efficient route for people using that option is to go to the county election office, Room 105 of the Sangamon County Complex, 200 S. Ninth St., Springfield. All ballot forms are on hand there, so people with the needed two forms of identification – including one with their current home address – can register and vote, all in a matter of minutes.
* And a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners said during a conference call this afternoon that there was strong turnout in the morning, but it has since fallen off…
“We do not expect to reach the 53 percent turnout (equal to 2008) or anything close to it unless there’s a huge evening rush… Assuming that the weather holds, we’re looking at in the range of 40 percent.”
He then backed totally off that informal projection.
Either way, as I’ve said many times before, 2008 was an outlier. You can’t really compare any other year to that one. And this year’s turnout would be a lot better than 2012, which was 17 percent.
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Nearly 1,900 people responded to the recent Citizen’s Utility Board survey about Exelon’s push to bailout its nuclear plants. Here is how CUB put it:
“Exelon says keeping its nuclear plants open will fight climate change—and they need economic help. Opponents say Exelon just wants bigger profits.
Should Illinois give unprofitable nuclear plants more money if it helps fight climate change?
No:1,583 (about 84 percent)
Yes:298 (about 16 percent)”
—————————————————
Illinois still has no budget, the state’s finances and services are in shambles, the social safety net is being decimated but Exelon STILL wants the Legislature to pass a huge BAILOUT.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visitwww.noexelonbailout.com.
Setting aside the fact that Madigan probably has that many people in each precinct (only semi-snark), I can’t help but wonder if some of those folks answered a recent CraigsList help wanted ad.
How seriously did House Speaker Michael Madigan take the Democratic primary challenge of Jason Gonzales? Early voting was up 258 percent in Madigan’s 13th Ward compared with 2008. By Sunday night, 4,396 early votes had been cast there, the second-most of any Chicago ward.
* Rep. Christian Mitchell got an assist from Bubba today…
Travis campaign workers were reporting ballot problems and issues related to voter supression in a number of precincts across the far-flung district, particularly at the precinct at Lawless Gardens senior housing at 3510 S. Rhodes in the 4th Ward, where Toni Preckwinkle, who’s supporting incumbent Mitchell as well, is committeewoman.
Um, why would Preckwinkle want to suppress the vote in her own ward when she’s pushing Kimberly Foxx so hard?
* This is the executive director of Common Cause Illinois…
Line out the door at Inglewood High voting in Dunkin/Stratton race - most expensive race in IL history.
Yesterday, the Illinois State Board of Elections met to determine what action to take regarding complaints that had been filed against Liberty Principles PAC. Specifically the matters of Jonathan & Clair Kaye & Kenneth Cabay vs Liberty Principles PAC, Inc (“LPPAC”).
Kayes and Cabay had alleged that LPPAC’s production and distribution of newspaper mailings that inform the electorate on the policy positions of various candidates were “fraudulent” and “misleading.” In addition, they alleged that the newspapers were prepared in direct coordination with state representative candidates Allen Skillicorn and current representative Reggie Phillips.
After a closed preliminary hearing on March 3, 2016, a hearing officer determined that there were “justifiable grounds” to allow for a public hearing on the issue of coordination, and the General Counsel for the State Board of Elections concurred with the recommendation on Monday.
However, the Board reversed the hearing officer’s determination in a stunning 7-0 unanimous decision (Coffrin abstaining).
Meh. He created a newspaper. He’s protected by the 1st Amendment. Move along.
* If you were watching the live cable news coverage of the Chicago Donald Trump rally last week, you may have noticed some footage taken from a helicopter of police battling with protesters outside the venue after the event was canceled. The commentators basically ignored it.
Well, footage from ground-level has since been posted to Facebook. Obviously, there’s some bad language and violence, so decide for yourself what you can do here, but have a look if you can…
Posted by Chuck Pullen on Saturday, March 12, 2016
* Even if Sen. McCann wins his primary today, he could ultimately lose…
Elections authorities voted Monday to hold a public hearing on the thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements that state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, has billed to his campaign fund.
The State Board of Elections voted unanimously to conduct the hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
McCann may avoid a public hearing on thousands of additional dollars he billed to his campaign fund for unspecified “grouped expenses.” The board gave McCann until the end of business Monday to file amended reports that detail those expenses.
Records showed McCann’s campaign did file a series of amendments late Monday that contained “corrections and clarifications of expenditures.” Steve Sandvoss, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said staff will have to review the filings to make sure they comply with the additional information being sought.
Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
In January, Illinois’ unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, far higher than the nation’s 4.9 percent for the same month, according to the latest information released Monday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only three other states plus the District of Columbia have unemployment rates worse than Illinois: Mississippi at 6.9 percent; Alaska at 6.6 percent; New Mexico at 6.5 percent; and D.C. at 6.5 percent.
Over the last year, Illinois added 49,600 jobs, but there were not enough added to make up for those lost. In January 2015, the state’s unemployment rate was better at 6 percent.
The state added about 10,000 construction jobs over the last year but lost about 5,100 in manufacturing. It also added 15,200 in education and health care, and 4,500 in professional services jobs. The greatest increase was in an area typically with lower-paying jobs: Leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and hotels, added 20,700 jobs.
I think we probably have a pretty good idea about who has enough money to be funding Dunkin and would also want to conceal the source via a “dark money” organization.
Three guesses.
* On the other side of that primary coin…
Juliana Stratton adds $232,500 including $100K from Michael Sacks, $75K from the Teamsters & $50K from Beiser. https://t.co/0apiZob3sw
Sacks is a close friend of Mayor Emanuel’s. I’d bet money that he got heavily involved in this race because the Illinois Chamber ran a TV ad against Stratton which blasted the mayor.
* In other news, the Cook County State’s Attorney is having trouble raising money from the usual Democratic funders and has had to rely on her own bank account…
Late last night Alvarez added $229,500 including a $200K personal loan & $15K from the plumbers. https://t.co/1o6AtlkkVU
* This story is ostensibly about the presidential race, but put that aside…
With trade and prosperity prominent in the campaign, Yahoo Finance analyzed economic data for each state during the last 10 years to determine which states seem to be feeling the most pain from globalization and the movement of jobs overseas. For each state, we calculated the change in manufacturing employment, total employment and income during the last 10 years. Then we ranked the states on their overall economic performance. (Full methodology is at the end of this story.) These 10 states are hurting the most
We calculated 10-year growth in overall and manufacturing employment using statewide data for the month of December in 2005 and 2015. Income data is also from December of each year, though those numbers date to 2007, the first year the figures were available state-by-state. Income figures are not adjusted for inflation. The unemployment rate for each state is the most recent. In each of the four categories, we ranked the states (plus the District of Columbia) from 1 to 51, with 1 being best and 51 being worst. Then we added those 4 numbers together and ranked the states by the aggregate of the four rankings. We weighted all categories equally.
Donald Trump’s Illinois campaign director has been sidelined after the national campaign grew furious over what sources described as a lack of organization in the state in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary.
Instead, two others have assumed duties that were held by Springfield-area attorney Kent Gray, who is also running for state representative, a person intimately involved with Trump’s political operation confirmed. […]
Sources told POLITICO that Gray was sidelined early last week after the Trump camp learned he made few inroads with get-out-the-vote efforts and organizing volunteers.
“One thing after another was bungled,” said one source with knowledge of the discussions.
* But as the above story indicates, Gray denies it…
“It is an anonymously sourced and recklessly inaccurate story,” Gray told The State Journal-Register via email on Monday.
“I have a six-month contract as Illinois state director that was always scheduled to conclude on Illinois’ primary, March 15,” he added.
I have no idea who’s telling the truth here, but I do have one simple question: What kind of a goofy outfit waits until a week before primary day to discover they have a field organization problem in a huge state like Illinois? Election day operations take weeks, even months to build.
I mean, seriously, they don’t have regular progress report deadlines?
…Adding… Trump also obviously has serious problems with his advance team and some of his supporters really are clueless…
Local firefighters from Bloomington and Normal teamed with other volunteers to repair gravesites and the grounds at East Lawn Memorial Gardens in Bloomington which were damaged by parked cars that turned the cemetery into a makeshift parking lot for the Donald Trump rally.
President of the Bloomington Firefighters Union IAFF Local 49 and Bloomington firefighter John Meckley said at least a dozen gravestones were damaged.
“There was trash everywhere, where they had driven over numerous stones,” Meckley said. “Fortunately, not all were damaged, but there were rows and rows and rows of headstones that were driven over.”
After pictures surfaced on social media, volunteers went to work with jacks, shovels, and rakes to re-level headstones and smooth out the grounds which were torn up by the cars and the rain.
“It was a community gathering of…. this is not tolerable, this is not acceptable,” Meckley stressed.
Cue Fox News white-hot outrage. Oh… wait. It’s Trump. Nevermind.
The Loading Dock looked a lot different this time to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner who visited Sunday when he talked to voters, shared youngsters’ birthday cupcakes and marveled at the venue’s flood recovery.
Rauner and state Senate candidate Bryce Benton, an Illinois state trooper who is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Sam McCann in the state’s 50th Senate District, made a series of campaign stops Sunday in anticipation of Tuesday’s primary election.
“Last time I was here, it was under about five feet of water. I’m glad to see it’s recovered so well,” Rauner said Sunday. “It was a brutal, brutal flood.”
I really love that place. Listening to a live band on a sunny weekend next to the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers is about as good as a day can get.
But the venue floods on a regular basis. It’s designed to withstand flooding and ownership appears to use the floods as a marketing tool. They have marks on a wall which show how high the floods rose every year back to the big one in 1993. It just adds to the charm.
* For your added enjoyment, that’s state Senate candidate Bryce Benton behind the governor’s left shoulder. From the above story…
Rauner touted Benton as a “strong conservative” who was pro-Second Amendment, pro-life, supports term limits for elected officials, and wants to end legislative pensions.
“We have to change directions,” Rauner said. “Mike Madigan and the Chicago Democratic machine has been controlling Illinois for decades and they’ve run us into the ditch. He’s going to help me in the General Assembly standing up to Mike Madigan, that’s why I’m strongly endorsing Bryce Benton for state Senate.”
“We’ve had a standstill down in Springfield, and I think the Governor and Ken Dunkin have a partnership, and I think it’s bad for Chicago, bad for Illinois. And the question is: Are we going to have somebody rewarded that, in my view, is not going to pass a budget that invests in Chicago and in Chicago’s schoolchildren, or are we going to hold everything hostage?”
* And if you have the time, watch this video of Rep. Dunkin speaking to elderly constituents, many of whom won’t look at him…
From the video…
“All I did, all I did was go around Mike Madigan and got the governor to release $2 billion. $2 billion for child care assistance, for the developmentally disabled and for senior services.”
* A group of committed volunteers goes into the worst cell block in all of Cook County Jail and produces unheard of results. Wow…
The combined number of incidents prior to the implementation of Malachi Dads in September 2015 was 83.
“The numbers don’t lie,” says Dart. “As a group, they had incident after incident, fighting, fighting with correctional officers and exposing themselves. Now, it’s zero. I’m not saying it went from whatever to zero and back up. It has stayed at zero. I was blown away.”
* By far the single most underreported political story of the season is the involvement of Dan Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC…
Spending in the 2016 Illinois Primary Election may end up a record-breaker as Super PACs take aim at incumbents and challengers who have either opposed or supported Governor Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda.
One of those PACs - Liberty Principles PAC - has spent massive amounts of cash this year. As of Friday, the PAC, which is chaired and directed by radio talk show host Dan Proft, has spent over $4,835,000 on nine races throughout the state.
Starting with televison ads in late January, Proft’s PAC has reported spending thus far over $3,075,400 on mailings, robo calls, television and radio ads to boost law enforcement officer Bryce Benton of Springfield, who is challenging incumbent Republican State Senator Sam McCann.
Honestly, not a parody, but the attempt by Dorothy Brown to argue that she runs a modern court system. Never mind the outdated computers in the video, the piles of paper in the stock footage, and the incredibly low tech productions values of the video itself.
Whoever produced this has a brilliant future. . . . as a video producer for The Onion.
Jacob Meister, candidate for Clerk of the Court, who has been endorsed by all 3 major dailies, will hold a media availability and phone bank at his campaign office today (Monday 3/14) from 1 – 2pm. Meister will discuss the legacy of corruption and patronage Clerk Dorothy Brown and Alderman Michelle Harris offer voters.
Last fall the campaign season kicked off with the revelation that Brown was being investigated by the FBI for selling jobs. Now, just days before the election, Brown has released a bizarre re‐election campaign videoon social media containing footage filmed in the Clerk’s office on government property, seemingly during business hours. Has Dorothy learned nothing from her past illegal behavior?
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner spent his Sunday trying to give a boost to a central Illinois Republican candidate for state senate. The race is seen as a key test of Rauner’s own agenda, and power within his party.
Gov. Rauner stopped by a table of folks waiting for pancakes at Charlie Parker’s diner in Springfield.
He gestured to the man by his side — Bryce Benton. He’s a state trooper, and homeland security officer, Rauner told them. Vote for him on Tuesday.
“I need him in the legislature to help me battle Madigan. So. Bryce Benton for State Senate,” Rauner said.
(Benton himself didn’t say much; he told them to enjoy their breakfast).
Dude, you’re the candidate. Yeah, I know you’ve raised almost no money on your own and are being almost totally bankrolled by Rauner, but for crying out loud take a little initiative.
Keep in mind: Even if Rauner-backed candidates win, one of Madigan’s unique strengths is making friends of foes. Plenty of Democrats have joined the House as self-proclaimed Madigan rebels, only to fall politely in line. Why? They need Madigan. They need his staff. They need his campaign war chest. They need his attorneys to protect them on the ballot. They need his approval to pass legislation.
Stockholm syndrome is endemic among House Democrats.
There’s nothing quite like an armchair mass diagnosis.
* Same message, but said less politely by someone else on Twitter…
@GovRauner ignore the haters gov. rauner.. they're just demo rat trolls. stay strong.. dictator madigan wants to bankrupt us..
* For as long as I can remember, the SJ-R’s political columnist has made predictions the Sunday before an election. Here are Bernie’s…
In the end, it looks like the Benton-McCann race could be very close. I’ll guess McCann gets a slim win. […]
* In the 95th House District, I think Rep. AVERY BOURNE, R-Raymond, will remain the party’s standard bearer despite a strong challenge from DENNIS SCOBBIE of Litchfield. CHRISTOPHER HICKS of Sawyerville is also in the race. The Democrat in the November contest is MIKE MATHIS of Gillespie.
* In the 99th House District, Jimenez will defeat fellow Leland Grove resident KENT GRAY, winning the right to take on Democrat TONY DelGIORNO of Springfield in the fall. And in the 96th, CINDY DEADRICK WOLFER, a Macon County resident, will defeat GARY PIERCE of Springfield for the GOP nomination, and the chance to challenge Rep. SUE SCHERER, D-Decatur, in November.
Illinois Republicans have long complained that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s campaign organization doesn’t just beat you; it destroys you. Madigan doesn’t set out to merely win; he wants to make sure he doesn’t ever have to deal with you again.
Madigan’s own Democratic primary race was a good example. He posted yard signs all over his district urging his constituents to vote against “convicted felon Jason Gonzales,” and his cable-TV and direct-mail ads ceaselessly pounded home that very same message. His captains also reportedly had volunteers holding those signs at the entrance to voting locations.
Gonzales was, indeed, a convicted felon. But that happened two decades ago, and he was pardoned by former Democratic Governor Pat Quinn. To hear the Madigan campaign tell it, however, you’d think the guy just walked out of prison.
Or take a look at what Madigan did to Katelyn Hotle. The House speaker’s operation dropped at least nine negative mailers on the little-known, lightly funded candidate in the Quad Cities-area Democratic primary to replace retiring state Representative Pat Verschoore (D-Milan). The gist of the attacks was that Hotle, a Rock Island city-council member, profited personally from her shoddy government service, but none of it was true.
They also smeared Hotle in the media for being a “plant” of Governor Bruce Rauner. Why? The only real explanation is that she was the lone female in a four-way primary, so she could do well on demographics alone and they had to take her out. For good.
The Madigan operation reached way back into the past of Representative Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) to find an arrest, some formal allegations of domestic abuse, and troubles paying his child support and then used that against him in his Democratic primary campaign. Dunkin started the fight by so closely allying himself with our Republican governor and thumbing his nose at his fellow Democrats, but he seems to have personally rehabilitated himself. Madigan and the people around him didn’t care. It’s a matter of public record, and Dunkin got whacked with it.
But as we’ve also discovered this year, Rauner’s legislative-campaign operation is eerily similar to Madigan’s. And while that’s making some Republicans privately uncomfortable, Madigan’s way has proven to work far more often than not over the years.
A good case in point is conservative activist Dan Proft’s TV ads against Jim Acklin in the three-way 102nd House District GOP primary.
Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC ran a blistering TV ad that claimed Acklin, as a school superintendent, “blamed the victim” and “did nothing” about a sexual predator in his school system who also happened to be a “family friend.” The ad was based on a failed civil lawsuit – a very thin reed indeed – but it was brutal.
Rauner and his pals have pumped seven-figure contributions into Proft’s PAC over the past few months. They’ve clearly been involved in several races through Proft.
Rauner and his people do not want Acklin nominated because he is backed by former Republican Governor Jim Edgar, a frequent Rauner critic. So they’re supporting former state Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), despite the fact that they don’t really love the guy. Keeping Edgar’s fingers out of the House has been their priority.
So they launched a second killer TV ad to build on their theme. The new spot used Acklin’s own videotaped comments at a candidates’ forum where he claimed to have acted “quickly and decisively” to remove the predator teacher from his school.
But the second Proft ad claimed: “In his own words, it took him four years to act. Four years.” A news clip on the screen indicates that Acklin said “he was aware of an incident involving [the predator] in 2008.” That “incident” was an allegation that the teacher was texting a student, but the student denied at the time that anything inappropriate was going on. The teacher was warned, and that was the end of it until the predator’s arrest four years later. The ad concludes: “Acklin touts his judgment. On March 15, make your own.”
Acklin raised a decent amount of money compared to similar races in prior years, but times have changed. Both sides in Dunkin’s race (including Rauner’s allies) dumped well over $5 million into the contest. A Senate Republican primary race in the Springfield area where the governor opposed the incumbent saw spending top $3.5 million.
Acklin wasn’t able to air a response ad until a full week after the initial Proft ad aired, and after he’d already been buried with Rauner’s money.
