Mess with the bull…
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) writing in the Kankakee Daily Journal…
As the Illinois Legislature searches for ways to provide taxpayers relief, everything must be on the table.
That is why I have introduced House Bill 261, which will remove the state unfunded mandate requiring local units of government to publish public notices in newspapers. HB 261 will save local units of government and taxpayers’ money by allowing public notices to be placed on government websites instead of in newspapers. […]
One quick example that happens all over Illinois: Boone County spent more than $17,000 in 2013 on assessment publications for property taxpayers who had an assessed value change. That’s $17,000 to publish assessment information. Currently, a resident receives notification in the mail of changes in assessed value and Boone County has property assessment information on their website every day.
We should not financially punish local governments that are accountable and transparent to their taxpayers; therefore, why do we require local governments to pay more to put this information in the newspaper that will be published and viewable only once?
The answer is the newspapers lobby. Yes they have lobbyists in Springfield looking to get their cut of taxpayer money. The newspaper lobby claims they are increasing accountability and transparency by fighting for these types of notices to be filed in the paper. Articles written by some journalists claim my proposal will decrease government transparency. That is utterly false.
The only thing that will be affected is the profits of newspapers. It’s not the taxpayer’s responsibility to keep newspapers afloat. If we are being serious, how many of us are avidly searching their local weekly newspaper to find a fire protection district budget, school annual statement of affairs, taxpayer property ID numbers, etc.? If you miss it, it is not printed again, whereas if the notice was posted online it would be available all the time and readily available for public viewing.
Discuss.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions were first exempted from federal income tax in 1917 because of their unique structure as not-for-profit financial cooperatives. Contrary to what some banks may suggest, credit unions pay property, payroll, and sales taxes.
Yet while banks decry the credit union tax exemption, nearly 40 percent of banks in Illinois elect Subchapter S status under the Internal Revenue Code to avoid federal income taxation. That’s $59 million in diverted tax dollars. These for-profit Sub-S banks also pay dividends and fees — not to customers, but to directors/investors/stockholders who may or may not be depositors — to the tune of more than $1.3 billion. This is far in excess of the estimated federal income tax credit unions would pay.
In contrast, credit unions return net revenue to their members. The banker argument against the credit union tax exemption is simply disingenuous. If banks really believed that credit unions operate with an unfair competitive advantage, they would restructure their institutions to credit union charters. None would, however, because doing so would expose them to becoming democratically controlled, locally-owned financial cooperatives governed by their very own volunteer members that put people before profits — all the virtues that define the credit union difference.
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They got him on tape
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Randolph County State’s Attorney Jeremy R. Walker and Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that defendant Drew Peterson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered a plea of not guilty in the state’s case charging him with one count of solicitation of murder for hire and one count of solicitation of murder.
Peterson, 61, an inmate at the Menard Correctional Center, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered the plea before Randolph County Circuit Judge Richard A. Brown.
The charges, both Class X felonies, allege that between September 2013 and December 2014, the defendant solicited an individual to carry out a murder-for-hire plot against Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. The case is being jointly prosecuted by the Randolph County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Also today, the state filed a required notice disclosing the case involved the use of a court-ordered eavesdropping device on two occasions – from Oct. 24 to Nov. 23, 2014 and from Nov. 23 to Dec. 22, 2014.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Trenton, New Jersey columnist Jeff Edelstein doesn’t much care for Gov. Bruce Rauner’s claims about his home state…
When I think of Illinois, I think of women shaped like fire hydrants wearing sausage-stained Chicago Bears sweatshirts. For the men, I just add a mustache.
I just wanted to get that out there.
Why? Because Illinois’ newly-elected governor, Bruce Rauner, said the following last week about our fair state: “New Jersey is lost. They’re going down the drain and they ain’t turning it around.” He said this in remarks to the Illinois Farm Bureau, a group with the motto, “Farm. Family. Food,” which makes me wonder if full sentences are beyond the grasp of Illinois farmers.
But enough with the cheap insults.
Rauner, who may or may not have once fed his family dog to serial killer and Illinois native John Wayne Gacy, was speaking about the property tax situation in the Prairie State, which he claims is second worst only to the property tax situation here in the Garden State. (Yes, the Prairie State. Prairies are wide open spaces. Like the craniums of most of Illinois residents.) (“Cranium” is another word for “skull,” Illinoisans.) (Say, how are those Cubbies looking this year?)
“I don’t want to compete with New Jersey on anything, especially that. That’s a disaster,” Rauner said, according to the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois.
Believe you this, Rauner, we don’t want to compete with Illinois on anything either. We prefer stiffer competition. Like from New York, California, Texas. That’s the A-league right there. You guys are B-league at best. Go play with Iowa or something.
* The Question: Your response to Mr. Edelstein?
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Get well soon, Mika!
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was posted yesterday on Facebook…
My sister in law Mika Baugher and father in law Eric got in a car accident today. Eric seems to be doing okay so far, but Mika has 7 broken ribs. This is particularly bad for Mika because she has Cystic Fibrosis, and needs to cough often in order to keep her lungs from getting infected. It’s days like this that make me so thankful that Jason Kozemczak and I have such incredible families, and grateful that technology can connect us all in times of need. Warm thoughts and prayers are welcomed/requested for Mika and Eric. Life is precious.
Mika is the front-office receptionist for House Speaker Michael Madigan. She takes a whole lot of grief from the public almost every day, but she always manages to maintain a super-sweet and friendly demeanor. I don’t know how she does it.
* Mika posted an update on her condition yesterday…
Hi everyone! I am blessed for all the wonderful friends and family. I am ok. Very sore. Seven broken ribs in the left side and some are broken numerous times. The fear is my lungs will fill with fluid as I lay here. My goal is cough as I can and get up and walk as I can. I’m working on that.
Thank god for my husband. He’s been here and is going to be back tomorrow. Waiting on me hand and foot. He’s an angel. My Mom she is my rock and such a huge help to us. My in laws thank you for everything! Today was scary and it was a jolt but could have been so much worse! Thank you all again! Love you all.
Please join me in sending best wishes to Mika. Thanks.
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Comprehensive heroin bill introduced
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A bipartisan anti-heroin package was unveiled yesterday…
Republican Reps. John Anthony of Plainfield and John Cabello of Loves Park and former Rep. Dennis Reboletti joined Assistant House Majority Leader Lou Lang, D-Skokie, at a news conference Monday to announce the introduction of legislation to combat the drug. Lang said he filed House Bill 1 after a 2014 task force found the problem was much worse than he expected.
The bill looks to attack the problem from a variety of different angles instead of just focusing on treatment, Lang said.
It includes provisions for the disposal of certain potentially addictive medications, limits the number of those medications to a 10-day supply, changes Medicaid to cover rehabilitation services and provides at no cost to police departments medicine used to remedy heroin overdoses. Money would also be allocated for education and treatment purposes.
Lang estimates the entire proposal would require about $25 million. He said he thought the program was worth it, but acknowledged the state faces tough fiscal times and may need new revenue streams to fund the initiative.
* The pricetag is an issue…
“Heroin is a huge problem but the budget is very tight this year also,” said Rep. Patti Bellock, House Republicans’ point person on the Medicaid health program for the poor. “I would try to look at cost effective ways of doing things.”
* And it steps on some interest group toes…
Lang acknowledged that portions of the legislation -including limiting painkiller prescriptions and requiring pharmacies to serve as prescription “take back” sites - could be opposed by the powerful pharmaceutical and hospital lobby in Springfield, because of increased regulation. […]
While Illinois State Medical Society President William McDade said the group was still reviewing the legislation, he pointed to a recent paper released by the group stating support for expanding access to antidotes but urging caution in limiting the number of pills a physician can prescribe.
“In short, there’s going to be a lot of pushback,” Lang said.
* That NARCAN antidote is pretty remarkable…
“It’s an antidote that works,” said Lang. “But it’s not an antidote that everybody has.”
The bill requires [and pays for] first responders to carry the product. West Frankfort Police Chief Shawn Talluto supports the idea, as long as officers get the proper training. […]
“We’ve had people who’ve been overdosed,” said Talluto. “Once they bring them into the ambulance and administer that drug, it will bring them back.”
However, the EMTs could be farther away in some of the smaller counties. A police officer may be the first on scene.
“They’re not for sure if that person is overdosed or not, because they’re not a medical person,” said Talluto. “They can administer that drug, and there are no ill effects against an individual if they are not an overdose victim.”
* Also in the bill…
• An increase in the number of times an individual can be admitted to drug court, providing people with more potential access to rehab instead of a direct path to prison.
• A mandate that requires all coroners to share information involving death due to drug overdose with Illinois’ Department of Public Health and requires hospitals to report all controlled substance overdoses to the Department of Public Health within 48 hours.
• A measure to improve the Prescription Monitoring Program, which ensures people aren’t “doctor shopping” to receive more opioids than needed, by mandating that pharmacies update dispensing information every day and barring patients from having more than two prescribers in a 30-day period.
• A mandated statewide prescription return program that would allow Illinois residents to return unused medications to any pharmacy for disposal.
The bill’s full text is here.
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Viewer mail
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This e-mail was entitled “Chicago Credit Downgrade”…
One step closer to going bankrupt due to the out of line pensions. Are you and Karen Lewis ready to float out to the middle of the lake together in shame when the city goes belly up? Just wait until the whole state goes belly up trying to pay pensions such as our former govenor’s pension that is 11, 000 a month. Oh, and what Quinn paid in for his pension will only last 18 months and then the rest of his life will be funded by taxpayers. Read up on it dope, it is all true. The only people that think this is sustainble are either idiots or biased or both. Pension default is headed our way followed by pension reform approved by the US Supreme court, not the crooked pro union courts in Illinois. Reality trumps all, and reality says the pensions are done. Once the state rejects pension reform Chicago’s credit rating will go to junk and with already too high of taxes there will be nothing left to do but go belly up as the mayor has hinted at over and over now. Enjoy the collapse!
Thoughts?
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Former “role model” running a “lost” state
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last Wednesday’s gubernatorial speech to the Illinois Farm Bureau is still generating news. AP…
The Republican governor of Illinois has some harsh words for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who campaigned hard for his election last year.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says New Jersey “is lost.” He said during an Illinois Farm Bureau conference last week his state has the highest property taxes in America after New Jersey. He says he doesn’t want to compete with New Jersey on anything — especially that.
He says the situation in New Jersey is a disaster. He says: “They’re going down the drain, and they ain’t turning it around.”
* My, how times have changed…
In September, Christie appeared at a campaign event with Rauner, where the GOP challenger praised Christie as “one of the greatest public servants in America today, and one of the greatest governors in the United States” as well as “a role model for me,” a “superstar” and “a friend of mine.”
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Today’s number: $41,237
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lynn Sweet…
Less than a day after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., billed taxpayers for a private plane ride to Chicago for a Bears game, on Monday he repaid the government $1,237 for the trip. […]
With the latest check, Schock in the past weeks has paid $41,237 back to the U.S. Treasury to cover expenses billed to taxpayers. The bulk of the money was to cover costs for the redecoration of his “Downton Abby” House office in Washington.
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* There are tons of state business rankings out there, but many are based on perceptions. Site Selection Magazine looks at hard data…
 
Not too bad for a state which is supposedly in a “death spiral.”
* Chicagoland finished in first place…
Frank Sinatra once famously crooned, “My kind of town, Chicago is.” These days he would be joined by a chorus of business and industry executives who have chosen to invest in the Windy City. In fact, 385 companies either expanded or located in Chicago in 2014, resulting in the city being named Site Selection’s Top Metro in the US for the second straight year. The consecutive wins are a pleasant endorsement, says Jeff Malehorn, president and CEO of World Business Chicago.
“Winning back-to-back speaks to the economic leadership and the work being done here in the city and the region,” he says, tipping his cap to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, assorted partner organizations and the business community.
Chicago’s appeal is hardly surprising. The city’s boasts outstanding transportation and logistical assets, including two international airports, a rail hub and seaport, and stands at the crossroads of major Interstates. Chicago and the region are home to a wealth of talent educated at some of the nation’s premier colleges and universities. Foreign companies looking for a US home are drawn to the city’s diverse ethnic population. “Any company outside the US can look to Chicago and see a home,” says Malehorn.
Project highlights for Chicago in 2014 include:
Valence Health — a health services company based in Chicago adding 500 jobs over the next five years;
Yelp — the online review and advertising site based in San Francisco, Calif., is opening an office in Chicago and plans to hire 300 employees;
Braintree — the global payments platform expanded into a 65,000-sq.-ft. (6,000-sq.-m.) headquarters on the eighth floor of the Merchandise Mart. The company is adding 360 new jobs by 2017.
ADM — the food services company opened its new global headquarters in downtown Chicago in August 2014.
But no other Illinois city cracked the top ten in rankings for smaller towns.
* Meanwhile…
For all of the positive national press Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio seem to receive on a regular basis, a recent breakdown of the Gallup-Healthways 2014 Well-Being Index makes the region look less appealing.
Analyzed by Yahoo’s 24/7 Wall St. blog , Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio landed among the nation’s 10 most miserable states, according to key measures of the index.
Areas such as poverty, unemployment, obesity, mental health, smoking habits, vaccination and insufficient sleep were highlighted in Yahoo’s ranking.
Indiana fared worse than Ohio, ranking number 3 on the list with a 31.8 percent obesity rate, among other measures.
The full rankings are here. Illinois finished 36th, behind New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Also, this Illinois Policy Institute study purports to show how high our “global” tax rates are in comparison to surrounding states. But four of the bottom five states (Illinois included) are separated by only half a percentage point.
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Consequences of a trooper hiring freeze
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to cut $9.2 million from the Illinois State Police’s budget next year, which means no new troopers…
The lack of new hires, combined with a number of troopers heading off to retirement, will mean fewer officers patrolling.
That has budget officials projecting a continuing drop in the number of alcohol-related citations handed out by the state police, from more than 16,800 in the fiscal year ending July 1, 2012, to an estimated 12,224 citations in the year ending July 1, 2016.
Despite that decrease, a state police spokesman said public safety for Illinoisans and others on the roads roadways remains a top priority for the governor.
“Given the inherited budget crisis, Governor Rauner faces some extremely tough budgetary challenges,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Boerwinkle.
He added that Rauner’s pick to run the state police, former Chicago Police Department administrator Leo Schmitz, “will utilize strategic enforcement strategies and best practices in order to maximize resources” to protect the lives and property of Illinois citizens.
Discuss.
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Rauner still on the warpath
Tuesday, Mar 3, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor made two speeches yesterday. One was in Pontiac…
“You choose” was the motto of Gov. Bruce Rauner in an address Monday at the Livingston County Courthouse.
From union rules to public employee pensions to term limits for elected officials, Rauner promoted local control in a 15-minute speech that raced through his post-election agenda.
The Republican governor specifically said he does not support the idea of making Illinois a “right-to-work” state — one where unions can’t make employees of a specific business pay union dues — but added certain areas of the state need to function that way for Illinois to attract businesses currently going to neighboring states with “right-to-work” laws.
If the Legislature passes a proposal to allow those areas — which Rauner calls “economic opportunity zones” — he said, “I’m going to Indiana, and I’m getting companies to move to Livingston County.” […]
“The state orders you in how to do your teachers’ pensions, your police officers’, your government workers’,” he said. “You should decide that.”
More from Pontiac…
“I want you to have the power to control your future. That’s the key to turning our state around. If you want your teachers to be in the union and pay dues, terrific, have it, keep it. If you don’t, you shouldn’t have to force them to join a union. And you should be able to decide what you collectively bargain with your teacher’s union. You decide. Springfield doesn’t decide. Special interest don’t decide. You decide,” said Governor Bruce Rauner.
* The other speech was in Mundelein…
Although Rauner didn’t explain in much detail, he said he plans to introduce 12 bills over the next year that will change the way government works. […]
“I want local voters to take the power over collective bargaining in your schools, municipalities, county and state,” Rauner said. “If you’re happy with status quo, then fine. Keep it. I won’t stop you. But if you want to even the playing field, I’ll stand with you.”
School districts typically cannot survive a teachers strike of 10 days or more, Rauner continued, saying the administrators have little leverage to bargain with.
“I’m not anti-teachers; I just don’t think they should have unlimited power,” Rauner said.
* The governor also refused to take questions from reporters…
Rauner posed for photographs with club members but refused to answer questions from reporters after the speech.
“No gaggling,” he told the Daily Herald.
When one reporter asked him about his political agenda while he was buying a Rotary raffle ticket, he asked her if she planned to purchase a ticket and ignored her questions.
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Economic trouble ahead?
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The U of I’s Jorge Chapa takes a look at Illinois’ demographic trends…
Sometime in the 2000s, California became a majority-minority state. Sometime in the 2020s, Illinois likely will do the same.
At first glance, it appears majority-minority status is a long way off for Illinois. The latest U.S. Census data show that 63 percent of Illinoisans are non-Latino white, 30 percent are African American and Latino, 5 percent are Asian and 2 percent are Native American.
But the major differences in the age distributions of these groups will accelerate change. Whites are much older than any other racial group. For example, Illinoisans aged 65 or older are 80 percent white, while only 17 percent of these seniors are African American or Latino. In contrast, Latinos and African Americans make up almost 40 percent of the Illinois population under age 25.
This age-race shift was just as pronounced in California — back in the 1980s. Today, Latinos and African Americans make up 45 percent of the Golden State’s population and a majority of the younger age groups. Illinois appears well on its way to joining California — and Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii — as a majority-minority state.
* And that makes him worry about our future if things don’t change soon…
As the age-race shift progresses, Latinos and African Americans will make up a much larger proportion of the workforce. For a variety of reasons, to date, neither group has attained the education levels of whites. For example, white adults are more than twice as likely to have graduated college as African Americans or Latinos. Not coincidentally, the per capita income of whites is at least twice that of African Americans and Latinos.
If such differences persist, they will have a significant negative effect on the Illinois economy and state budget.
As white baby boomers age, they will place a tremendous demand on pensions and other senior support programs. If the prime earning population is made up of more minorities, and if they continue to earn less money, the economy will be depressed and government revenue will decline.
The state of Illinois faces a $100 billion shortfall in funding for public pensions and needs tens of billions more for infrastructure, education and other investments. Where will this money come from if a large part of our future workforce has low levels of education and lower earnings?
Discuss.
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Chicago loses another great
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* First Ernie and now Minnie…
White Sox legend Minnie Minoso died Saturday night in Chicago, the team announced Sunday.
Minoso, whose full name was Saturnino Orestes Armas “Minnie” Minoso Arrieta, was the first black player White Sox history when he debuted with the team on May 1, 1951, the Sox said.
The so-called “Cuban Comet” was a seven-time All-Star who was almost as well known for his post-retirement job an ambassador for the team, interacting with many fans at Sox games at U.S. Cellular Field and at community events.
“Our organization and our city have suffered a heart-breaking loss today,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox. “We have lost our dear friend and a great man. Many tears are falling.”
* Rick Telander…
Player after player has said Minoso was the perfect teammate, with a love for the game that bubbled up like a spring.
‘‘When I die, I want to be playing baseball,’’ Minoso once said. ‘‘They don’t bury me without my uniform.’’
It would have been nice, in its way, to see him right there on the green grass of the Sox’ lovely spring-training complex when he took his last breath. And if he’s buried in his No. 9 Sox uniform, so be it.
His accomplishments — he ran the bases like a gazelle, drove in 100 or more runs four times and hit .300 or higher eight times in an era when hitting was hard and steroids were unheard of — make him worthy of special honors. But the equanimity he showed while breaking into a sports world that was foreign and didn’t necessarily want him is the amazing part.
‘‘I know we are all going to go at some time, but I had gotten to the point where I really felt Minnie was going to live forever,’’ Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. ‘‘I don’t think he ever had an unhappy day. If he did, he never let anyone know he was unhappy. He was always upbeat. He always had a smile. He always had something nice to say to somebody.’’ […]
As new Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija put it, sadly and succinctly: ‘‘What a great dude.’’
* A bit more background…
Born in Cuba, Minoso was the only player ever in professional ball to play in seven different decades, in Cuba, the Negro Leagues, the Majors, in Mexico, and in the Minors. He was an eight-time All Star, and had a lifetime .298 average. He barely missed being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and 2014.
That last snub was ridiculous. The man belongs in the Hall.
* More…
Minoso’s No. 9 was retired by the Sox in 1983, and his statue was unveiled at U.S. Cellular Field in 2004. He made his major-league debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1949 and was acquired by Sox general manager Frank Lane in a three-team trade two years later. In his first game with the Sox, he homered against the Yankees’ Vic Raschi in his first at-bat.
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Poe doesn’t look like he’ll be following recent paths out the House door. Just the opposite, in fact…
Representative Raymond Poe’s return to Illinois may not be the best news for Governor Bruce Rauner. Poe will be back at work next week after spending three months in Texas receiving treatment for a blood disorder.
And he’s ready to oppose some of the governor’s proposals… including Rauner’s call to move all state workers to the less generous Tier 2 pension system. Poe says he’s also willing to consider additional revenue for the state… so long as the money is used to pay off old bills and make required pension payments.
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Question of the day
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I ran into Tim Butler Friday night at the Tossers’ show in Springfield. Everybody who knows him thinks he’s a solid dude. And if he likes Irish punk, that’s a pretty good start…
Republican Party leaders in the 87th District have selected Tim Butler of Springfield to fill former state Rep. Rich Brauer’s vacant seat.
The replacement committee chose Butler at a meeting Saturday afternoon in Springfield. He received a unanimous vote from the GOP chairmen of Sangamon, Tazewell, Logan and Menard counties. Butler is the district chief of staff for Republican U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis of Tayorville.
The committee chose Butler from a pool of 15 hopefuls after it received two late applications by fax on Friday. He was the only candidate formally interviewed.
Dave Bender, Logan County Republican Party chair and head of the committee, said Saturday that Butler’s experience, education and political background gave him the advantage. He said they didn’t discuss specific policies.
* He’s also a big Pearl Jam fan…
* The Question: Caption?
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* A subscriber sent me this e-mail today. My mom also received one of these in mid February…
From: DanRutherford@danrutherford.org
Date: March 2, 2015 at 11:36:15 AM CST
To: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Rutherford Asks You to Weigh in on Taxes some want to raise
Xxxx,
The financial health of our state is my top priority and was as State Treasurer. People have expressed concern that no one asks their opinion or takes it into consideration, especially when it comes to taxes. I am going to change that.
There are those in Springfield who are looking to raise taxes and fees, again. I am NOT a supporter of tax increases or creating new ones. I am posting a survey on my website for you to express your position on this matter.
I am NOT advocating these raises. I am providing this survey as an outlet for you to express yourself. I appreciate you taking time to participate. The link to it is http://danrutherford.org/survey/income-tax/
All information provided is confidential. Results will be posted as a cumulative of those who respond.
If you participate in the survey, you will receive an email letting you know when the results are posted. The cumulative results will be known to the media and public policy makers.
Thank you for your participation.
Sincerely,
Dan Rutherford
Illinois State Treasurer
(2011-2015)
The results are here.
I called Rutherford today and left a message. I’ll let you know if he responds and tell you what he says.
*** UPDATE *** Rutheford just called me back and said, “I’ve been doing this for years.” I asked whether this was any indication of any future political plans and he said, “No, my gosh, no.”
“I’ve only been out of office two months,” said. “I’m taking some time, I’m relaxing, I’m doing some travel… By no means should anyone read into this any future plans.”
He said he has an “extensive database” and this was just a way to use it to test some issues for those who are still in touch.
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Ploy or not, Chicago has to administer exams
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was inevitable…
Reversing its decision to limit a new state standardized test to just 10 percent of Chicago Public Schools students, CPS officials said Monday that with a week to go before the PARCC testing window opens, all CPS students in 3rd through 8th grade will take it.
CPS had tried to buck state regulations for every public school student to take PARCC — the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — saying that Illinois’ largest district would instead do another year of pilot testing in about 66 schools. Chicago children lacked the technology and technological skills to take the exam, which is largely given on a computer, officials said.
The state resisted, telling CPS officials repeatedly that the district had to offer the test to all eligible students — or jeopardize the entire state’s federal funding for poor children, which tops $1 billion. The latest warning from the state came Friday in a letter. […]
Some have accused CPS officials of playing politics with the test, appealing to a swath of parents who say CPS tests their kids too much and who were also disenchanted with many of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education policies. CPS’ announcement Monday came less than a week after Emanuel was forced into a runoff with Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
As we’ve discussed before, the feds threatened to withhold all education money from Illinois if the state allowed Chicago to skip the exams. The state held firm and threatened to cut off the city’s money to save its own money. The CS-T report above could be right about this being a political ploy which was only designed to be played out through the first round, which Rahm was supposed to win… and didn’t.
Oops.
* Tribune…
(T)he district began an effort to administer the test to just 66 of its more than 600 schools. All schools were still told to prepare for the test, while a district spokesman insisted through late last week that CPS was still pursuing a limited rollout.
But at a sometimes heated hearing last week in Springfield, a CPS official said all district schools have been ordered to prepare for the exam and that all but about two dozen schools are technologically prepared to give the computer-based test.
Still, CPS Chief Accountability Officer John Barker told lawmakers: “We feel like the implementation of PARCC for this year is going to be extremely problematic for our district and others across the state.”
Parent groups and the Chicago Teachers Union have opposed the exam amid broad debate over rigorous Common Core educational standards and so-called high-stakes testing.
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The master of understatement strikes again
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sigh…
Anyone who compares Chicago to Detroit hasn’t spent any time in Detroit and/or hasn’t looked at that city’s many problems, which have festered for decades upon decades.
If there’s any comparison for Chicago, it might possibly be New York City, which teetered badly in the ’70s and came roaring back because of its sizable built-in advantages.
Detroit is a special case. St. Louis also dealt with massive population loss (for the same sorts of reasons) and poor leadership in the 1960s and 1970s, but it has avoided Detroit’s fate. If you’ve been to STL in the past few years, you know that its revitalization - which still has a ways to go - has been remarkable.
* That said, it’s probably a fairly smart move for Kirk, who won’t have an easy race in 2016…
The senator portrays himself as the reasonable moderate in unreasonable Washington, the “bipartisan bridge between two warring tribes,” as he puts it.
It’s a powerful argument, and I wouldn’t dismiss it lightly. “Anybody who thinks it will be easy to beat him is fooling themselves,” says consultant Eric Adelstein, who helmed Alexi Giannoulias’ 2010 race against Kirk. “He’s a very savvy politician.” […]
Problem One for Kirk is Rauner. If organized labor and other Democratic constituencies are looking for a candidate to take it all out on after two years of dealing with the new governor, Kirk is likely to be their top target.
Problem Two is that walking the line between being a moderate sometimes and being a regular Republican at others requires quite a bit of balancing.
“His rhetoric has not been helpful,” says northwest suburban U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who is considering a race against him but has not yet made up her mind. Her reference in part is to an episode in February in which one day Kirk threatened to pile “coffins” outside the doors of Democratic offices if the Department of Homeland Security shut down, but then the next day broke with GOP leadership to urge passage of a funding bill without any anti-immigration-reform riders.
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AG Madigan’s “top 10″ list
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan released her list of top ten consumer complaints in 2014 today…
1. Consumer Debt (mortgage lending, debt collections, credit cards) 3,655
2. Identity Theft (fraudulent credit cards and utility accounts, bank fraud) 2,617
3. Telecommunications (wireless service, local phone service, cable/satellite) 2,162
4. Construction/Home Improvement (remodeling, roofs/gutters) 1,900
5. Motor Vehicles/Used Auto Sales (as-is sales, financing, warranties) 1,305
6. Promotions & Schemes (sweepstakes, pyramid, work-at home scams) 1,199
7. Mail Order (Internet purchases, catalog ordering, television/radio) 868
8. Fraud Against Business (consulting, directories/publications) 762
9. Motor Vehicle/Non-Warranty Repair (collision/body, engines) 608
10. Utilities (electric, natural gas/propane, water/sewer, waste removal) 566
* From a press release…
“Identity theft has long been a top concern for Illinois residents,” Attorney General Madigan said. “But in light of last year’s massive data breaches, it is clearer than ever that much more must be done to protect sensitive data while ensuring that people know when their information has been compromised and what they should do to minimize the damage.”
Madigan’s office received 21,791 complaints in 2014. For the seventh year in a row, consumer debt ranked as the top complaint filed with Madigan’s Consumer Protection Division, with 3,655 complaints involving issues such as mortgage lending, abusive debt collection practices and predatory payday loans. Number two on the list for the seventh year is identity theft, with Madigan’s office receiving 2,671 complaints.
While identity theft has long been a top complaint to the Attorney General’s office, Madigan attributed last year’s ranking to the numerous major data breaches reported in 2014, which many have termed “The Year of the Data Breach.” Madigan’s office is leading multi-state investigations into the data security practices of a number of entities that have suffered breaches, including Target and Neiman Marcus.
To help Illinois residents, Madigan’s office has an Identity Theft Unit and Hotline (1-866-999-5630), run by a team of experts who provide one-on-one assistance to victims of identity theft and data breaches. Since the creation of the hotline, the Attorney General’s office has helped remove more than $27 million worth of fraudulent charges on over 37,000 Illinois consumers’ accounts.
Madigan also has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in recent years to stress the urgent need for stronger laws to address the epidemic of data breaches nationwide, including her testimony last month on Capitol Hill about the importance of strong data notification laws both at the federal and state levels.
In Illinois, Madigan recently drafted legislation to strengthen the state’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Originally passed in 2005 at Attorney General Madigan’s direction, PIPA made Illinois among the first states in the country to require entities that suffer a data breach to notify Illinois residents if the breached information included residents’ drivers’ license numbers, social security numbers, or financial account information. Since the law’s enactment, the extent of sensitive information collected about consumers has expanded and the threat of data breaches has increased significantly, necessitating the need to update and strengthen the state’s law.
Madigan’s bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Daniel Biss and Rep. Ann Williams, will expand the type of information that requires a company to notify consumers of a breach, including medical information outside of federal privacy laws, biometric data, geolocation information, sensitive consumer marketing data, contact information when combined with identifying information, and login credentials for online accounts. The bill also requires entities holding sensitive information to take “reasonable” steps to protect the information and requires entities to notify the Attorney General’s office when breaches occur. Madigan said her office would create a website that lists every data breach that affects Illinois to increase awareness among residents.
Discuss.
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The battle for Willie Wilson
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Willie Wilson made an unusual announcement yesterday…
The African-American businessman, who was knocked out of the contest in the Feb. 24 primary, says he had private meetings over the weekend with the two candidates who will be on the April 7 ballot: incumbent Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
Wilson tells CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov he’s already decided he’ll vote for Garcia. That’s based in part, he says, on his dissatisfaction with public school closings under Emanuel’s administration and also the city’s continued use of red-light cameras.
“My personal vote is for anybody except for this mayor,” Wilson said Sunday.
Still, he said, he could end up publicly endorsing Emanuel, depending on what members of his own community tell him. Wilson insisted his personal vote is separate from who might be best for the city as a whole.
So, what weight would an endorsement carry if he’s actually voting for Garcia?
* From Sneed last week…
Sneed hears Gov. Bruce Rauner has called former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson twice to encourage him to endorse Mayor Rahm Emanuel in April’s runoff election.
Rauner and Wilson are expected to meet Saturday. Wilson supported Rauner in his gubernatorial campaign last year, and in turn Rauner appointed him to his transition committee. […]
On Thursday, Wilson announced he was retracting the promise he made on the eve of Election Day that he would endorse Garcia in the event of a runoff.
Wilson said he will consult with his supporters to determine whom he will endorse.
* But…
Gov. Bruce Rauner met Saturday with former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, but the manager of Wilson’s campaign said Rauner did not seek an endorsement for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Rev. Gregory Livingston, Wilson’s campaign manager, also denied a previous report that Rauner called Wilson twice to encourage him to endorse Emanuel in April’s runoff election. […]
Rauner confirmed Sunday that he met with Wilson. But he declined to say what they talked about, and he chuckled when asked about the Emanuel endorsement. […]
Livingston denied that Rauner had called Wilson seeking the endorsement. He said Wilson met with Rauner to discuss budget cuts proposed by the governor that would hurt social service groups.
* And check this out…
The ongoing tug-of-war over landing businessman Willie Wilson’s endorsement in the mayoral race took a different turn on Saturday when Wilson met with powerful union leader Tom Balanoff.
Wilson and Balanoff, president of SEIU Local 1 and the state council, had a “productive and friendly meeting,” said Jerry Morrison, a top political operative in the group. Morrison said Wilson reached out to SEIU about having a sit-down meeting. A Wilson representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
SEIU local 1 is likely to make an endorsement in the race in upcoming days, reversing its pledge before the Feb. 24 election to remain neutral. SEIU health care has already been part of a coalition that has backed Garcia.
I’m told Wilson was invited to speak to the union’s executive board this week.
* Along this same front, the mayor’s campaign is pushing hard against Garcia over the city’s presidential library bid…
STATEMENT ON CHUY GARCIA CONTINUING TO JEOPARDIZE COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO BRING THE BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY TO CHICAGO
Attributable to Steve Mayberry, Emanuel Campaign Spokesman
Huh?
Thirty-six hours ago, Chuy Garcia repeated his opposition to landing the Barack Obama Presidential Library on the South Side. Today’s statement from Garcia doubles down on his opposition to using park land - continuing to jeopardize community leaders’ efforts to bring the library home.
It’s time for Chuy to take a clear stance:
Does he fully support the existing South Side locations for Barack Obama’s legacy library?
Will he actively defend the lawsuit that is likely to come from preservationists who do not represent the South Side?
If he does now support the South Side locations, what is the rationale for the flip flop in the last 36 hours when he told the Chicago Sun Times that “Just because some interests with important connections want it there doesn’t mean it has to go there”?
* And…
Emanuel angrily slammed [Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget] plan, saying, “Do not think you’re gonna do this — not only on the backs of families and children, but on the resources that . . . pay for our police and firefighters and first responders.”
Garcia said he didn’t believe Emanuel and wanted to make sure the public knew the mayor and the governor had a high-flying backstory.
“He and Rauner are good friends,” Garcia said after Emanuel’s comments on the budget. “They apparently share expensive wines together. They talk on a very regular basis. I’m sure the mayor had advanced notice that these cuts were coming down. The mayor should have ensured that the governor wouldn’t have the audacity to even think about draconian cuts.”
Voters’ biggest beef with Emanuel was over closing 50 schools and for his reputation for making decisions unilaterally. So now isn’t the time to be seen hanging out with the governor, whose budget proposes cuts to the CTA and other city entities.
* And…
A Chicago polling firm is calling the city’s runoff campaign between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia a “dead heat.”
New numbers from Ogden & Fry show Garcia, a member of the Cook County board of commissioners, within reach of the one-term Emanuel. And the firm warned that the Hispanic population under-polls, meaning that population is underrepresented in the data.
“They’re likely dead even,” pollster Tom Swiss said Sunday night.
Ogden & Fry conducted two one-question polls for The Illinois Observer on Wednesday and Saturday. Emanuel had 42.7 percent support in the earlier poll of 1,058 likely voters one day after voters denied Emanuel a second term outright. Garcia had 38.7 percent support in that poll. The margin of error was +/- 3.07 percent.
In the Saturday poll of 979 likely voters, Emanuel had 42.9 percent support to Garcia’s 38.5 percent. The margin of error was +/- 3.2 percent.
Both polls show 18.6 percent of respondents were undecided.
Crosstabs are here.
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* The Daily Herald looks at more proposed budget cuts and, in one case, an increase…
• Illinois’ Cycle Rider Safety Training Program, which provides free lessons for motorcycle owners and operates a public safety campaign, would get an extra $633,000 under the 2016 budget. The program was allocated $11.2 million in 2015 but is expected to use only $3.6 million this year. Next year’s allocation would be $11.9 million. […]
“Why protect those things and cut services for the disabled?” asked state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat. “To me, that’s not the right balancing act.” […]
• As the senior population grows, so does the demand for paratransit, the transit service for seniors and people with disabilities. Pace, which runs paratransit in the region, estimates ridership will jump about 5 percent a year. Rauner’s budget recommends dropping $8.5 million from paratransit, but that action is also subject to General Assembly consent. […]
• In 2008, Gov. Rod Blagojevich implemented a free-fares-for-seniors program. Transit agencies sounded the alarm after costs soared. It was scaled back to low-income seniors and disabled riders, and the state kicked in a reimbursement worth about $34 million to Metra, Pace and the CTA in 2014. The subsidy was scaled back to about half that in 2015, and under Rauner’s plan, the remaining $17.5 million would be eliminated in 2016.
The governor is an avid motorcyclist. I could be wrong, but I kinda doubt he’s an avid public transit rider.
* And speaking of transportation…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed state budget would cut 40 percent from Illinois’ funding for Amtrak trains during a time when ridership has been climbing.
Passenger numbers and ticket revenue have grown during the past five years.
The Lincoln Service train between St. Louis and Chicago, for example, saw more than 633,000 passengers during the most recent federal fiscal year. That’s a 25 percent increase from five years earlier.
Ridership on the Illini-Saluki line between Carbondale and Chicago went up 22 percent to nearly 316,000 passengers during the same period. The Illinois Zephyr between Quincy and Chicago saw nearly 215,000 riders in the most recent year, up 6.2 percent from five years earlier.
* And speaking of cuts…
Illinois hunters and outdoors enthusiasts see Gov. Bruce Rauner as a potential new ally in Springfield as they eye legislation this session that includes measures to ban the use of drones to track wildlife, allow silencers at gun ranges, expand coyote hunting to crossbows and resurrect a bobcat hunting season.
They’re hoping Rauner, a hunter and fisherman who frequently touts his love of the outdoors, will bring a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and dozens of proposed new laws related to guns and hunting. […]
At the same time, the sportsmen fear the state’s budget crisis will cast a cloud over the management of state parks and agencies that regulate their activities. They are banking on promises they say Rauner made to address problems at the Department of Natural Resources, encouraged by his appointment of former state Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, a fellow hunter and sportsman from Morrisonville, as the new DNR chief.
Under Rauner’s proposed budget for the coming year, the DNR’s operations budget would be reduced by $8 million, with most of the savings coming from managing staffing levels. The budget for conservation police would be reduced by $3 million. Grants that help pay for forest stewardship would drop by $2.1 million.
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* Expect more stories like this one as the news media moves through the governor’s proposed budget…
Without the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Janna Sullivan says she almost certainly would have delayed or avoided getting the screening X-ray that found cancer in her right breast and led to successful treatment nearly five years ago. […]
Sullivan joined other women’s health care advocates in criticizing Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed 71 percent cut in state funding for the program in the fiscal year that begins July 1. They called on the General Assembly to turn down or soften the proposed $9.8 million reduction.
If put into effect, they said, the new Republican governor’s proposal would lead to almost 50 percent fewer low-income women being screened by the program and longer waiting lists, all resulting in delayed diagnosis of cancer and earlier deaths. […]
The State Journal-Register requested an interview with a member of the Rauner administration. Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly instead responded with an emailed statement: “With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, women who may have used the program have now migrated to expanded Medicaid or to the Illinois Marketplace where they can find comprehensive health care and not just a stopgap measure.” […]
Despite the Affordable Care Act, the cancer society says more than 192,600 women in Illinois lacked access to cervical cancer screenings in 2014, and more than 80,000 women lacked access to breast cancer screenings — all because of lack of insurance or high out-of-pocket costs in insurance plans.
*** UPDATE *** From this past December…
Chicago designer Barbara Bates will design the gown for Illinois’ new first lady, Diana Rauner.
In October, Bates held her annual fundraiser fashion show in which the models are breast cancer survivors. It was also during the closely-contested race for governor.
When Rauner took the microphone it wasn’t for politics. She shared her mother’s battle with breast cancer and promised to call Bates if her husband won the governor’s seat. […]
Bates has been raising money for breast cancer awareness since she was diagnosed in 2006.
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Rookie mistakes
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
Gov. Bruce Rauner hasn’t been on the job for even two months, and the spring legislative session isn’t scheduled to end until the last day in May. Lots and lots of things can happen between now and then.
But I’d been hearing for a while that House Speaker Michael Madigan already was predicting that the spring legislative session would lapse into overtime and that the Illinois General Assembly could wind up spending the entire summer stuck in Springfield trying to pass a budget and dealing with other issues.
So one evening, I purposely bumped into Madigan, who was sitting in a quiet corner of a Springfield restaurant.
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please.
* And here’s my weekly syndicated newspaper column…
A rookie mistake has led to some big problems.
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton both believed that Gov. Bruce Rauner would ask to postpone the scheduled Feb. 18 budget address.
The current fiscal year’s outlook was so incredibly dire (by the Democrats’ own making), that the veteran Democratic leaders figured Rauner would want to first tackle that problem before moving on to the mess in next fiscal year’s budget, which begins July 1.
Rauner declined, declaring that a deadline was a deadline.
He should’ve asked for a delay.
Rauner claimed during his budget address that a deal on the current fiscal year’s problem was just “days away.” Madigan agreed with the governor’s prediction immediately after the speech.
In reality, though, the governor’s address undercut his negotiating stance so badly that Cullerton told Reuters two days later that the negotiations had gone completely off the rails.
The problem is very real and twofold.
First, Democratic legislators were open to giving the governor wide authority to move money around in this fiscal year’s budget to patch the gaping holes that they themselves caused last year when they passed the monster after failing to come to terms with the expiring income tax hike.
But then Rauner revealed that he wanted to do pretty much exactly the same thing in the coming year’s budget as this year’s, and the bitter pill of those cuts woke legislators up to some very harsh realities.
By now, you know the litany. Slashing municipal revenue sharing in half, eliminating a $165 million state heating assistance program funded by utility ratepayers, cutting higher education funding by 31 percent, seriously chopping Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes, not to mention the long list of cuts to relatively tiny social service programs added by individual legislators over the years.
Democrats reacted by saying they might be willing to allow Rauner to do some of that this fiscal year, but letting him do it again next fiscal year would be dangerously close to making those drastic cuts permanent.
Second, Rauner failed to even mention the possibility of new revenues during his address. By law, the governor cannot base a budget proposal on revenues that don’t yet exist under state statute. But there’s nothing in the statute books barring him from at least mentioning a few revenue options that he could live with.
For example, Rauner said repeatedly during the campaign last year that he wanted to eliminate corporate tax loopholes and put forward a modest plan to tax some services. He also adeptly refused to rule out the prospect of raising the income tax a bit before walking it down over four years.
* The Tribune has a story along those same lines…
“We still need more information,” said Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago. “There certainly have been conversations, but we’re still trying to mine out relevant information.” […]
“I think the easiest thing to do is for the governor to be specific,” [Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan] said. “We haven’t seen a full bill. When the governor provides a full bill, then maybe something can move forward.” […]
Timing for the deal was better before last week’s budget address, when Rauner laid out his agenda for sweeping cuts to programs favored by Democrats, Phelon said.
It was during that speech that Rauner said a deal on the current budget crisis was imminent. Madigan agreed at the time. Negotiations appear to have stalled.
“Once (Democrats) got a picture of how he intends to manage and how he intends to prioritize, that just made it harder for them to grant him a blank check or to grant him expanded authority to do the same thing in this current year,” Phelon said.
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Today’s number: 2
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Wow…
Late-arriving absentee ballots have moved Northwest Side Ald. Deb Mell above the benchmark she needs to avoid a runoff — at least for the moment, according to city election officials.
When polls closed Tuesday, Mell sat just below the 50 percent-plus-one vote number required to win outright the Northwest Side 33rd Ward City Council seat her family has controlled since 1975. But Mell has received the vast majority of the votes on absentee ballots that arrived at the Chicago Board of Elections since Election Day, pushing her above the threshold, according to James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
Unofficial results on Friday put Mell at 4,037 votes — or 50.03 percent of the 8,069 ballots cast in the three-way 33rd Ward race. That’s two votes more than the 4,035 needed to avoid the runoff election April 7 against Tim Meegan, a high school teacher backed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
That Tribune story was published late Friday afternoon. About an hour earlier, this e-mail was sent by the city’s election board…
We received more than 1,200 ballots in the mail today from across the city.
That amount, plus the possibility of more ballots arriving Saturday and Monday, will mean that we will be processing absentee ballots again on Tues., March 3, in addition to Tues., March 10.
* DNA Info…
“I’m a little disappointed,” Meegan said of the latest turn of events.
His campaign would be filing for a recount, which is allowable up to five days after an election.
The deadline for contesting results falls on Sunday, and on Monday the Board of Elections is closed for Pulaski Day, so candidates have until Tuesday to request a recount, Allen said.
“This is all new territory,” said Meegan, who remains committed to his campaign.
“If we’re in the run-off, we can win it,” he said.
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Two more problems for Aaron Schock
Monday, Mar 2, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lynn Sweet has the latest in an ever-continuing drip, drip drip campaign…
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., used taxpayer money to pay for a private plane to travel from Peoria to Chicago for the Bears-Vikings game on Nov. 16, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
And a Sun-Times examination of House disbursement records and campaign finance reports suggests that Schock used taxpayer money to help underwrite a September trip to New York, where a political action committee he controls spent $3,000 for Global Citizen Festival concert tickets.
The use of $20,855 in taxpayer money for the Chicago and New York trips will raise more legal and ethical issues for Schock. […]
Schock chartered an aircraft to take him from Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia, about 30 miles from the Capitol, to Peoria on Friday, Nov. 14. The return trip to Reagan National Airport was set for the next Monday. The side trip to Chicago was tucked in between, on Sunday, according to the pilot who flew the plane.
The newest official House disbursement records show a November payment of $10,802 to pilot Keith Siilats for “commercial transportation.”
Siilats told me in an interview on Sunday, “That whole weekend was paid by the government.” The only invoice Siilats said he submitted was for government payment.
Go read the whole thing.
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How can we miss you if you won’t go away?
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Former Gov. Pat Quinn says pushing consumer rights and organizing are in his immediate future during his first public appearance since leaving office.
Quinn addressed students and lawyers Friday at a Loyola University School of Law panel on forced arbitration.
The Democrat later told reporters that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget is the “worst” he’s seen in Illinois history because it’s unfair to “everyday people.”
There wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place if A) Quinn hadn’t made the income tax hike temporary, or had at least ramped it down in a more responsible manner; or B) Quinn hadn’t signed this fiscal year’s horrifically irresponsible budget into law.
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Stu Ellis at the Decatur Herald and Review writes about Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed elimination of the $1.8 million funding line for agriculture education…
The elimination of that line item in his proposed budget apparently was made because his staff could see no need for agricultural education, despite the recommendation by the State Board of Education that the line item be raised to $3 million in the next fiscal year. So called “shared sacrifice” might diminish $1.8 million by several thousand, but it should not lead to total elimination.
The $1.8 million line item stimulates over $11.8 million in net earnings of agriculture education students in their yearly, work-based learning and agri-science projects. It generates another $2.1 million in partial matches from a statewide partnership. It spawns $1.7. million in funds and volunteer hours generated for local school vocational-agriculture programs. It pays for curriculum development that is used by over 50 percent of vocational agriculture teachers nationally. And it provides a pipeline for students to enter agricultural careers.
Elimination of the funds would mean deterioration of the agriculture education network which provides the structure to one of the top vocational programs in the nation. Data collection of programs, teacher information and student achievement will be lost. Professional education opportunities for vocational-agriculture teachers would be eliminated. Program growth would stagnate and would no longer provide employees for an important part of the Illinois economy.
The loss of the agriculture education line item would eliminate $620,000 in incentive grants that go to 321 local agriculture programs taught by 381 teachers at the secondary level. That money provides local programs with funds to meet goals for success and continuation of their program. While a local vocational agriculture program may not close in a school district due to the loss of the incentive grants, it would negatively affect program quality and the number of programs would deteriorate and decline.
* This will have a big impact on local FFA programs…
First-year Flanagan-Cornell FFA Advisor Jessica Collins has a reason to be nervous about the upcoming annual auction on March 7. That’s because Gov. Bruce Rauner recently submitted his proposal for the 2016 fiscal budget for Illinois.
Among the proposed budget cuts is the elimination of crucial agricultural education funding. When the Flanagan-Cornell FFA program says it relies on the success of these auctions to fund future activities, nothing could be more truthful.
* From the Twitters…
* The Question: Caption?
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Supreme Court justice ordered to testify
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier has been ordered to give testimony in a civil case that accuses State Farm Insurance of fraudulently concealing the extent of its involvement in his campaign.
Karmeier and State Farm had fought against requiring the justice to give a deposition in the case, which was filed in 2012 in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis and seeks $8 billion in damages. But Judge David Herndon rejected those arguments.
The plaintiffs can question Karmeier under oath “as to his knowledge concerning all aspects of his campaign including his decision-making process for running for the position in the first place and the persons with whom he consulted to make that decision, how the campaign was managed, how the campaign was financed, who was involved in the decision-making and strategy of the campaign,” Herndon ruled yesterday. “Without allowing the inquiry, there will never be light on the facts of this case and the federal rules will be thwarted.” […]
Herndon also granted the plaintiffs’ request to depose an attorney for State Farm, Robert Schultz, who served as a member of the judicial evaluation committee for the Illinois State Bar Association when Karmeier was elected to the Illinois high court in 2004. Schultz now works for State Farm.
Karmeier’s opponent in the election had written a lower court opinion upholding a $1.05 billion verdict against State Farm. After winning election, Karmeier cast the crucial fourth deciding vote to overturn that decision.
There’s whole a lot of smoke in this case, but nobody has yet even come close to proving that a fire actually exists. It’ll sure be interesting to see what he says under oath.
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Chicago downgraded
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
In a blow to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, one of the major bond-rating services today downgraded Chicago’s credit to just two levels above junk, saying the city has not been able to adequately control the soaring cost of worker pensions.
In a statement, Moody’s Investors Service moved city debt to Baa2 from Baa1, and kept the city on a negative outlook. The latter means that there is a likelihood, though not a certainty, that its credit will be further downgraded in coming months.
In response, Emanuel’s office today noted that two other ratings services, Fitch and S&P, have affirmed the city’s credit rating, and characterized the Moody’s view as an outlier “out of step with the other rating agencies, (and) ignoring the progress that has been achieved.”
But the action adds another element of uncertainty for the city and Emanuel just days after the mayor was forced into an April 7 runoff election for a new term.
Moody’s, which also lowered its rating on some sales-tax and water debt, said it acted because of “expected growth in Chicago’s already highly elevated unfunded pension liabilities and continued growth in costs to service those liabilities.”
* Tribune…
Even if recent state pension changes survive a court challenge, the ratings statement said, “we expect Chicago’s unfunded pension liabilities — and the costs of servicing those liabilities — to continue to grow, placing significant strain on the city’s financial operations.”
The drop, to a rating of Baa2, could drive up borrowing costs for the city and cause problems with some of Chicago’s current interest-rate swap contracts.
Those problems with the swap contracts could be severe.
* To the Moody’s report…
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATINGS GO DOWN
• Determination by the IL Supreme Court that the State of Illinois’s pension reform package is unconstitutional, which, depending on the court’s rationale, could increase the risk that the city’s own pension reform would be overturned
• Determination by a court of law that the city’s reform of its Municipal and Laborer plans is unconstitutional
• Continued growth in the city’s unfunded pension liabilities
• Growth in direct and overlapping debt
• Narrowing of the city’s financial reserves
Those first three are very likely. That last one is likely, too, if the state takes Chicago’s income tax revenue sharing cash.
Budget proposals have consequences, folks.
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Today’s number: 4-6 weeks
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Derrick Rose had surgery Friday morning to repair the torn medial meniscus in his right knee. The Bulls said the surgery went well and Rose walked out after the procedure.
Bulls GM Gar Forman said Rose is expected to return in four to six weeks. […]
Unlike his previous two surgeries, Rose was “full weight-bearing” after this one, meaning rehab will begin Saturday.
Many folks thought he was gone forever after his latest injury.
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Stating the obvious
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A Bloomberg story quotes some Illinois’ “debt investors” as saying the state can’t rely solely on budget cuts alone…
“I’m very skeptical that his budget will be able to achieve balance by doing what he’s doing,” said Jim Schwartz, head of the municipal credit research team at New York-based BlackRock, which oversees $116 billion in munis. “The best way from his view is let’s cut spending, and I just look at it as very aggressive.” […]
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to get to the level that they need to with budget cuts alone,” said Dan Heckman, a senior fixed-income strategist in Kansas City at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $126 billion. […]
Moody’s Investors Service said in a Feb. 24 report that the state’s political landscape will make it tough to enact the governor’s proposals without raising revenue. […]
“There’s going to have to be some balance between revenue enhancements and cutbacks on spending,” said Heckman, whose firm holds less Illinois debt than indicated in its benchmark. […]
“The feeling out there is that they have a lot of room to raise taxes, and theoretically they could,” said Peter Hayes, head of munis at BlackRock. “Eventually there will be some moment, some day of reckoning which makes everybody wake up and say we really need to pass something.”
* Related…
* $167M cuts to DCFS include major foster care program
* Home services program loses millions in Rauner’s proposal
* Social-service agencies fear painful cuts under Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget plan
* Gov. Rauner proposes hard-hitting budget cuts - University administration prepares response to proposal
* Western to ‘wait and see’ over Rauner’s budget proposal
* Supporting Efforts to Advance Adult Dental Coverage and Access in Medicaid
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* The same editorial board which defended candidate Bruce Rauner’s refusal to talk specifics about his magic beans budget ideas during the campaign, and has since refused to write about specifics of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts, is now demanding to know specifics about Chuy Garcia’s budget ideas.
* And that very same editorial board, which was so unconcerned about specifics during the 2014 campaign and the FY 2016 budget, is now demanding that Mayor Rahm Emanuel get specific and “tell us the whole truth” about how he’ll keep the city’s finances on an even keel.
Care to guess which editorial board that is?
*** UPDATE *** The editorial board doubled down this afternoon with a little ditty entitled: “Emanuel, Garcia: Tell voters how you’ll fix CPS”…
We’ve been waiting — along with voters — to hear mayoral candidates tackle the budget issue head on, with specifics. […]
The campaign debate so far has focused on hot-button education issues — charter schools, the closing of those elementary schools, student standardized testing and whether to elect a Chicago school board. All of those are important. But none matters as much as the looming budget crisis.
Hilarious.
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Crain’s: “Market-based” solution is rigged
Friday, Feb 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Exelon argues that its bill to keep its nuke plants open is a “market based” solution. But is it? An analysis by Crain’s is highly skeptical…
The measure would slap an electric-bill surcharge of about $2 a month on the average household served by Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois, creating more than $300 million of extra annual revenue to be distributed over the next five years to low-carbon energy sources. Those include obvious examples such as wind and solar—but also nuclear energy, which, unlike coal or natural gas, emits no carbon.
The legislation effectively would funnel most if not all of the $300 million to Exelon’s Illinois nuclear plants, the largest state fleet in the nation. But Chicago-based Exelon, which also owns ComEd, went out of its way to argue that the bill allows low-carbon sources of all types to bid for the special credits to be made available via an auction conducted by the Illinois Power Agency. […]
But the bill places such great limits on bidders other than Exelon’s Illinois nukes that Exelon is highly likely to win most if not all of the credits.
For example, generators with contracts of five years or longer to sell their output can’t bid. That keeps out most existing wind farms and utility-scale solar, which have such contracts. For those few wind farms that sell into the wholesale markets, they’re only eligible if they don’t already have renewable energy credit from Illinois or some other state. That’s a relatively small pool of projects, renewable industry representatives say.
The bill also limits eligible hydro producers to no more than 3 megawatts. The capacity of Exelon’s Illinois plants collectively is more than 11,600 megawatts. There are no nearby clean coal plants to speak of, so those won’t be bidding. […]
Once again, as it has before, Exelon refused to say whether its Illinois fleet as a whole is profitable. (In an analysis, Crain’s showed previously that it is.)
Discuss.
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* Drip, drip, drip…
Rep. Aaron Schock attended dinner and drinks in 2011 at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and at a swank nightclub London — and never disclosed receiving a single gift on his financial disclosure form.
This past September, the Illinois Republican held a golf fundraiser — the “Aaron Schock Golf Classic” — at Anne Arundell Mannor in Maryland, but never reported a payment for use of the golf course and facilities on his campaign finance forms. […]
On the multi-day trip to London in June 2011, Schock attended several elaborate dinners as the guest of a person invited by the Prince of Wales Foundation. Guests were also given a customized china plate with a personalized inscription on the last day of the festivities.
Schock cannot accept a gift — including food and beverage — exceeding $50 from any source. There is an exception for close personal friends. He would have had to get approval in writing from the House Ethics Committee for any gifts worth more than $250 from personal friends, and he would have had to report accepting a gift on his annual financial disclosure forms. […]
“It is the PAC’s understanding that all required expenses in connection with this event have been paid,” a spokesman for Schock said in a statement. “However, if it is determined at the conclusion of the review that any required expenses remain unpaid, the PAC will make prompt payment. Congressman Schock takes his compliance responsibilities seriously which is why he has initiated a proactive review of this issue and others.”
Schock’s trip to London is also part of his internal audit. His office is reviewing compliance procedures in his official office, campaign and leadership PACs, it has said.
* And if you missed it the other night, click here for the Daily Show’s take.
*** UPDATE *** What kind of a guy bills taxpayers for a $40,000 job to make his office look like Downton Abbey? Sheesh…
Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock repaid $40,000 from his personal checking account for redecorations to his congressional office in the style of the TV show “Downton Abbey,” according to financial records reviewed by The Associated Press.
Schock paid $35,000 earlier this month to the owner of the Illinois decorating firm Euro Trash, and $5,000 more on Thursday, the records showed. His official House expense account had previously paid the group for its services.
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It’s just a bill…
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* But I like it…
State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) has filed legislation that would give entrepreneurs and startup founders a kick-start into the market. House Bill 3091 allows the use of intrastate crowdfunding, a new investing concept that is capable of generating greater access to capital, allowing for entrepreneurs with ideas to make them into reality.
“Crowdfunding will be the way of the future and is the next step in evolution for startups and small businesses,” said Rep. Demmer. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs out there who have great ideas to start a business, but have no capital. This bill will give those people the opportunity to bring new and innovative business ideas to Illinois.”
The legislation creates an exemption from certain filing and registration requirements under the Act for intrastate securities offerings that meet certain conditions.
“We have to be competitive with surrounding states,” said Rep. Demmer. “Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan have already enacted this legislation, while Missouri and Kentucky currently have bills drafted. We have the opportunity to join these states to spur innovation, economic activity, and small-business job creation.”
The legislation is here.
…Adding… Some folks are a bit unclear on this concept. Currently, startups can only legally raise donations through online services like KickStarter. This bill allows contributors to become investors.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The third chapter in this extraordinary Illinoisan’s public life is about to come to a close…
Winston & Strawn announced Tuesday that former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson will step down in early 2016 after 25 years with the high-powered law firm. The 78-year-old Republican served four terms as governor before joining Winston & Strawn after he left office in 1991. […]
Winston & Strawn says Thompson, as a chairman, played key roles in its expansion in the U.S. and abroad. Thompson will continue to work as a consultant for the law firm for two years after his retirement.
US Attorney, popular and accomplished four-term governor and then one of the top lawyers in the state.
* The Question: Your fondest Big Jim memory/story?
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What would toys be like without the civil justice system?
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Since 1974, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued more than 850 recalls for toy products, many for hazards like magnets, lead and other dangers hidden in our children’s toys. In the face of such risks, and with so few resources at hand, American parents have come to rely on consumer groups and the civil justice system to serve both as an early warning system and an enforcement mechanism against negligent corporations.
Between 1990 and 2007, 196 children died from choking on toy parts, small balls and balloons. Nearly a quarter of a million children are treated at U.S. emergency rooms for toy-related injuries every year. A series of lawsuits in the late-2000s not only helped remove lead-tainted toys from store shelves, but also helped establish quality assurance programs overseen by the courts. A lawsuit filed by the family of a toddler who died after ingesting tiny magnets brought awareness to the hidden dangers of magnetic toys.
Civil actions by parents across the country have consistently forced corporations and regulators to take action. For more information, click here.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While the state budget crisis increasingly hits struggling Illinois families, Exelon demands a corporate bailout. This is exactly the wrong thing for Illinois’ citizens and businesses.
Exelon is a successful, profitable company. While we appreciate success, when they claim they need more of OUR MONEY, it’s time to be skeptical.
EXELON 2014 PROFITS: $2,068,000,000.00
That’s two BILLION with a B. And yet this wildly profitable company is asking US for a bailout while Illinois struggles. So let’s review:
In 2014, EXELON made $5,665,753 per day or $236,073 per hour
When legislators are being asked to slash everything from education to healthcare to mental health services, and when Crain’s Chicago Business says Exelon actually MADE money from its Illinois Nuclear Fleet, how can anyone think having struggling Illinois businesses and families bail out a highly profitable company is a good use of OUR money?
It just isn’t fair.
Just say no to the Exelon Bailout.
www.noexelonbailout.com
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Dueling press releases
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Exelon folks…
A bipartisan group of legislators, along with business, labor and community leaders, today announced their support for legislation creating a state Low Carbon Portfolio Standard that establishes Illinois as a national leader in efforts to reduce carbon emissions with minimal consumer impacts.
Introduced in both the Senate as SB 1585 and the House as HB 3293, the legislation would help reduce carbon emissions, increase renewable energy and maintain affordable, reliable electricity for consumers and businesses. In addition, the measure will ensure continued operations of the state’s nuclear power plants, which are responsible for nearly half of all electricity produced in Illinois. The market-based solution is modeled after findings from a recent HR 1146 report prepared by four state agencies that analyzed the economic, environmental and reliability impacts of premature nuclear plant closures in Illinois.
Under the proposed legislation, certain electric utilities would be required to purchase low-carbon energy credits to match 70 percent of electricity used on the distribution system from qualified sources, which include solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, tidal, wave and clean coal. The legislation includes safeguards to protect consumers similar to those for Illinois’ other clean energy programs. For example, a consumer price cap would limit the impact to a 2.015 percent annual increase compared to 2009 rates, or about $2/month for the average Illinois residential electricity customer, less than the increase customers would face if the nuclear plants close early. In addition, if wholesale electric prices exceed a certain level, any excess revenues would be rebated to all Illinois electric customers on their bills.
* The opposition responds…
AARP Illinois and the BEST Coalition are urging state lawmakers to reject legislation written by Exelon Corporation lobbyists that would increase electric bills in order to bail out Exelon’s nuclear plants. Introduced Thursday, Exelon’s “Low Carbon Portfolio Standard” would force ComEd and Ameren customers in Illinois to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in additional charges on their electric bills.
The legislation is opposed by many groups including AARP Illinois and the Better Energy Solutions for Tomorrow (BEST) Coalition, a grassroots coalition advocating for smart energy policy in Illinois.
“This bill rewrites Illinois energy policy to increase costs for public and private entities statewide and benefits only Exelon,” said Steve Davis, Legislative Co-Chair for Illinois Association of Wastewater Agencies, a BEST Coalition member. “Policy like this will increase the cost of doing business in Illinois and make Illinois less competitive.”
“Exelon made more than $2 billion last year, and here they are begging for a bailout on the backs of working Illinoisans,” said Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois State Director. “This bill would increase rates for older adults living on fixed incomes, working families and small businesses in order to pad Exelon’s profits. We will work on behalf of our 1.7 million Illinois members to urge legislators to vote ‘no’ on this bill.”
An analysis by Crain’s Chicago Business in 2014 found that Exelon’s Illinois nuclear fleet is profitable. Despite seeking a bailout, Exelon has refused to disclose any data to verify its claims that the company’s Illinois nuclear plants are suffering unsustainable losses. In recent earnings announcements, Exelon CEO Chris Crane stated “Exelon had a strong year, both operationally and financially…our generation fleet and utilities continued to perform at high levels.”
“It’s unfortunate that Exelon has chosen to scare local communities by threatening to close Illinois nuclear plants when in fact those plants are profitable and about to get a huge infusion of additional ratepayer money from struggling Illinois consumers and businesses. Exelon simply does not need a bailout,” said Dave Lundy, spokesman for the BEST Coalition. “Exelon claims they’re not asking for a bailout. But you know what they say about a duck. If it looks like a bailout and acts like a bailout and quacks like a bailout, it’s a bailout.”
Even if Exelon has financial issues with its Illinois nuclear fleet, which is contrary to publicly available information, those issues will be resolved when Exelon begins receiving hundreds of millions more ratepayer dollars each year because of changes in grid regulation pushed by Exelon. Additionally, a recently approved rate increase for Exelon’s subsidiary ComEd took effect in January 2015 that will increase ComEd revenue by approximately $232 million.
The groups also have a fact check that you can read by clicking here.
* Crain’s tries to sort it out…
The new low-carbon credits would establish a revenue stream between $200 million and $300 million, or perhaps more, according to sources who have been briefed. That would aid operators of existing plants like Exelon’s that are seeing revenues decline due to persistently low natural gas prices. Wholesale power prices correlate strongly to natural gas costs, particularly now with gas accounting for a greater percentage of power generation in the regional grid in which Exelon competes.
DISTRIBUTION COSTS INCLUDED
Utilities would be charged with collecting the surcharge for generators like Exelon on the portion of the electric bill that covers distribution costs. That would be a marked contrast with the set-aside for renewables, the cost of which is embedded in the part of the bill that covers the cost of energy itself.
That distinction has crippled the effectiveness of the renewable law. The Illinois Power Agency is supposed to ensure that increasing percentages of consumers’ electricity come from clean sources. But with a majority of households getting their power from suppliers other than Commonwealth Edison or other utilities, the IPA has been unable to spend much on renewable purchases.
In recent years, renewable energy companies have pushed for a change in the law to have the money collected via distribution charges the same way Exelon is proposing to collect the new funds for low-carbon sources. But those bills died, largely due to opposition from politically potent Exelon and its Chicago utility, ComEd.
…Adding… From the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
“There is only one comprehensive energy bill that costs less to consumers, promotes a cleaner environment and will create tens of thousands of new jobs in every part of Illinois — that’s the Illinois Clean Jobs bill. Introduced by Sen. Don Harmon and Rep. Elaine Nekritz with bipartisan support, when fully implemented the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill will create 32,000 new clean energy jobs per year by growing renewable energy and raising energy efficiency while giving Illinois a greater set of tools to help consumers, including the option of market-based strategies to reduce carbon pollution.
“The Illinois Clean Jobs Bill sets a long-term clean energy policy that creates jobs — rather than sunsetting soon, missing opportunities to create jobs and raising the risk that consumers will again be asked to pay more in just a few short years.
“We look forward to reading Exelon’s proposed bill more closely. But mostly, we look forward to discussing this issue in the months ahead, and we will continue to urge lawmakers to join their colleagues from both parties who have sponsored the bipartisan Illinois Clean Jobs Bill to enhance our environment and to create 32,000 new jobs per year.”
They also have a video. Click here.
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Hello, I must be going…
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Illinois’ new Governor is sending a strong message to his cabinet, saying they have a moral obligation to report problems to his office. During a cabinet meeting at the capitol Wednesday afternoon Governor Bruce Rauner said the challenges facing Illinois are enormous and he encouraged department heads to look outside the box for solutions. Rauner says the team he’s put in place must report to him things previous executives may not have wanted to hear.
“You have a strong feeling in your heart as what’s right, you say so. You do not hold it back. And if you see something going on that you know is wrong you have a moral obligation to say so and bring it up. Don’t hold it back, bring it up. Let’s fix it. I can’t fix a problem I don’t know about. And I want to empower you. I’ve got your back. We’ve got to break some china, we’ve gotta change some things.”
Rauner said he wants his cabinet members to bring their disagreements forward so they can work through the problems facing the state. He also reiterated that he wants to reward employees who find taxpayers savings. The Governor says his job is to make his cabinet more effective and that in two years the state will be on a different trajectory.
* Tribune…
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday convened what was billed as the first meeting of his Cabinet, telling agency leaders that they’ll be asked to do more with less, but that he’s willing to “take the arrows” along the way.
“I wish this year was going to be all happy, and you know, happy feet. This is not going to be a happy feet year,” Rauner told the group of about 50 officials gathered in a Capitol meeting room. “This is going to be pretty rough, but we’re going to get through it. And I tell you, in 24 months we’re going to be on a very different trajectory as a state.” […]
“I’ve got your backs,” Rauner said. “You do what’s right, you take tough decisions, you do what you know in your heart is in the best interest of the people, I will protect you. I will work for you. I will make sure you get support, and in time, resources.”
Rauner spoke for about 10 minutes with cameras rolling but then left the meeting, which was taken over by his deputy governor, Trey Childress.
* WUIS…
At the end of his nearly ten minute, unscripted speech, the officials applauded. Then Rauner took off — more meetings, he said.
What the cabinet talked about next is hard to say.
Upon exciting, one of the attendees said they’d just been “instructed not to talk to the media.”
* Give the governor credit for generating positive media coverage of that dog and pony show. And ordering his cabinet members to keep quiet meant that nobody stepped on his message.
But, geez, that whole thing was nothing but a bunch of empty staged hype. Have a look…
I want to listen. Come to me with your problems. I’m here for you, except I gotta split without taking any questions. Now, turn off the cameras and be quiet while my guy tells you what’s what.
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Digging into the mayoral numbers
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Our old pal Scott Kennedy looks at the mayoral results…
* In majority AA wards (by census) Emanuel (42%), Garcia (26%), Wilson (22%), Walls (6%), Fioretti (5%). In wards with an AA majority 32% of the vote went to candidates that will not be in the runoff so it will be interesting to see where these voters fall.
* In majority Hispanic wards (by census) Garcia (52%), Emanuel (37%), Fioretti (7%), Wilson (3%), Walls (1%). Only 11% of this vote went to candidates not in the runoff.
* In wards with a white majority (by census) Emanuel (52%), Garcia (34%), Fioretti (10%), Wilson (4%), Walls (1%). 15% of this vote went to candidates not in the runoff.
* In wards with no majority (by census) Emanuel (49%), Garcia (35%), Fioretti (9%), Wilson (5%), Walls (1%). 15% of this vote went to candidates not in the runoff.
* Reminder, the “2011” numbers in my tracker were reconfigured to match the current ward maps. In the majority AA wards the 2015 numbers for Emanuel were about 12-20 points lower than 2011.
* It was harder to draw conclusions about the Hispanic majority wards, some showed Emanuel improvement (10/13/14/31), others big drop (22/25/33/35).
* In only a very few wards did Emanuel improve over his 2011 numbers but somehow in the 13th ward he did almost 15 points better. Interesting.
* It appears that 19 aldermanic races are headed to an April runoff (2, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 29, 31, 33, 36, 37, 41, 43, 45, 46). So while the overall numbers were Emanuel (45%), Garcia (34%), Wilson (11%), Fioretti (7%), Walls (3%), if my math is correct in just the 19 wards that are headed to aldermanic runoff the numbers were Emanuel (46%), Garcia (31%), Wilson (12%), Fioretti (8%), Walls (3%). The Mayor did slightly better than average in these 19 wards but there is also 23% of the vote in these 19 wards that went to candidates that won’t be in the runoff so it will be interesting to see where those voters fall. Obviously these 19 wards are likely to have higher turnout in April than the wards without Aldermanic elections.
Speaker Madigan didn’t work his 13th ward for any of the mayoral candidates four years ago, but he pushed hard for Emanuel this year, which explains hizzoner’s much-improved result. I’m told, however, that Madigan’s captains had to practically beg for sign placements. That wasn’t in any way an easy get for an organization which is accustomed to easy gets.
* More…
There has been a lot of attention given to the fact that turnout last night was significantly lower than four years ago, which is true, however that year was a bit of an outlier and this year’s numbers track pretty closely to the 2007 and 2003 Chicago Municipal elections:
With some valid late arriving vote by mail ballots left to be counted the total votes in the Mayor’s race last night currently stands at about 466K (very close to my projection last night) and a participation rate of a little under 33% on about 1.4 million registered voters. You can see that over the last four cycles the number of citywide registered voters has stayed within a band of 30,000 so it’s held pretty flat. The total vote last night held remarkably similar to 2003 and 2007. In other words last night’s election was nothing special, wasn’t a big turnout like 2011 and wasn’t a horrible one either, it just tracked well with other recent elections with an incumbent Mayor.
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Feb 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* For whatever reason, Gov. Rauner repeated his claim yesterday that a fix for this fiscal year’s problems was just days away. He was promptly disabused of that notion, however…
Gov. Bruce Rauner said again Wednesday that he is very close to reaching an agreement with legislative leaders to give him emergency powers to plug holes in the current state budget.
However, a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said there are still “major issues” that must be resolved with the administration before the Senate will cede power to the governor to rearrange the current spending plan. […]
“To a large extent, the governor is asking for us to simply trust him,” [Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon] said. “That is a relationship that is going to have to be built.”
After Rauner’s budget speech last week, House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said an agreement with Rauner on giving him emergency budget powers was days away. On Wednesday, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown referred to that statement, but he added, “No one has defined how many 24 hour segments that is.”
Emphasis added for obvious reasons.
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