Money-changers in the sports temples
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s try a late-night, non-political, non-Illinois post for a change. I napped twice today because I wasn’t feeling well, and was having trouble sleeping tonight, so, among other things, I read this story about how a former corporate CEO is ruining Michigan football…
If the people running college football see their universities as just a brand, and the athletic departments merely a business, they will turn off the very people who’ve been coming to their temples for decades. Athletic directors need to remember the people in the stands are not customers. They’re believers. Break faith with your flock, and you will not get them back with fancier wine.
If you treat your fans like customers long enough, eventually they’ll start behaving that way, reducing their irrational love for their team to a cool-headed, dollars-and-cents decision to buy tickets or not, with no more emotional investment than deciding whether to go to the movies or buy new tires.
Beware, Ricketts family.
HT: Zorn.
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Another Bost rant ad released
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Congressman Bill Enyart has a new TV ad highlighting the infamous Mike Bost House floor rant. The tagline is, “Mike Bost, 20 years yelling, 20 years being the problem”…
Since Bost has a new ad portraying himself as calm and reasonable, I’m figuring that Enyart believes this line of attack works well.
Your thoughts?
…Adding… Script…
This is the problem. That’s Mike Bost
That’s Mike Bost 20 year Springfield Politician
Bost voted for dishonest budgets and raised taxes, borrowed billions, and wasted money
And we’re paying the price
Mike Bost, 20 years yelling
20 Years being the Problem
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Uh-oh
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
A new subpoena seeking records about Gov. Pat Quinn’s botched 2010 anti-violence program has been issued, this time from a federal grand jury based in Chicago.
The request marks the first subpoena issued by Chicago-based federal authorities in the probe into Quinn’s $54.5 million Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. Numerous prior subpoenas had come from federal authorities in Springfield. […]
The new federal subpoena comes from a special February grand jury in Chicago. It was delivered to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a state agency that took over the anti-violence program two years after it started, according to a copy the Tribune obtained. […]
What’s unclear is how the two grand juries differ or if federal authorities in Springfield and Chicago are working in tandem. The Chicago-based district covers the city and the suburbs where the grants in the anti-violence program were distributed, but the central district has increased its focus on grant fraud over the past few years.
…Adding… I’m told the Chicago grand jury has subpoenaed the same records as the Springfield US Attorney. It appears they’re working together somehow.
Also, the grand jury already had the records via the state’s attorney, but they apparently needed the originals from the state.
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Bernie’s Sunday column…
[Professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield Kent Redfield] said he doesn’t think either candidate for governor is telling the real story [about the budget and taxes].
“The best we’re going to do is … end up with less services and higher taxes,” Redfield said. “And that’s not a great campaign slogan.”
Indeed.
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AFSCME goes with Quinn
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From WUIS…
The endorsement can be viewed less about support of Quinn, and more about fear, rejection, and even loathing of Rauner.
A statement issued by AFSCME, quoting its director, Roberta Lynch, is telling. There’s no praise for Quinn, but heaps of criticism of Rauner. Lynch is quoted as saying, “We won’t let our great state become the latest victim in this venture capitalist’s long line of hostile takeovers.”
“Although we have had serious differences with Governor Quinn in recent years …he acknowledges the right of workers to collective bargaining, advocates for the revenue needed to provide public services, and has pushed to raise wages for the lowest paid workers.The stark contrast between these two candidates—with Rauner so clearly opposed to the interests of working families—impels our union to support Governor Quinn’s re-election,” Lynch says.
Rauner has consistently pointed to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Indiana’s former Gov. Mitch Daniels as political role models; both leaders oversaw making their states “right to work” — a policy that diminishes unions’ strength. During the primary, Rauner consistently blamed “government unions bosses” for Illinois’ financial troubles — pointing to just these sort of scenarios: If Quinn does win, it would be thanks in part to AFSCME and its large campaign apparatus; the next governor will have to negotiate a new contract with the union.
* Here’s the official resolution…
* The Chicago Teachers Union was royally upset when Quinn picked Paul Vallas as his running mate, but the union endorsed the governor last week…
“I am proud CTU’s rank-and-file has made Governor Quinn their choice to lead Illinois. He is a consensus builder, will support public school educators and will continue his work to strengthen public education in Illinois and protect working families,” Lewis said. “Governor Quinn believes in public schools and I know he will fight to make sure every child has a great education.”
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Paranoia will destroy ‘ya
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Both campaigns have taken extraordinary measures in recent weeks to keep opposition “trackers” out of their events. But this was a bit much, if you ask me…
Oh, c’mon, man. That’s just overkill.
*** UPDATE *** Sun-Times…
“When I asked about future events, she said that it was their ‘policy’ that only credentialed press would be allowed in,” [Columbia College Professor Curtis Lawrence] said. “When I mentioned that some of the students were published in the school-sponsored website, ChicagoTalks, she reiterated that they too would need credentials. This has never been an issue with other campaigns and we do this regularly during campaign season.” […]
“It appears we just got a sneak preview of what it would be like to cover a Bruce Rauner administration: little access and no respect for young journalists,” said Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson. […]
“When I reminded some of the students that have taken classes with me before that this experience was totally different from when we covered Quinn’s press conference announcing Vallas as his running mate, one replied: “Yeah, they gave us candy.”
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* From the Bruce Rauner campaign…
Bruce Rauner today called for openness and transparency in the application process for Illinois medical marijuana licensing. Recent media reports have shined a light on Pat Quinn’s effort to block public access to information regarding Illinois medical marijuana facility license applicants. The legislation enabling the sale of medical marijuana makes the applications for companies vying for facility licenses “secret.”
“My message to Pat Quinn is this: Governor, the jig is up. Stop this rigged process before it moves forward any further,” Rauner said. “The application process for medical marijuana should not be held in secret where insiders win and taxpayers lose; it should be open and transparent.”
Under legislation signed by Pat Quinn, 22 licenses will be issued by the Illinois Department of Agriculture for “cultivation centers” that are legally allowed to grow medical marijuana. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will issue 60 licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries. By statute, Pat Quinn’s administration will get to pick the winners and losers for both types of licenses.
Enter Quinn’s former chief of staff, Jack Lavin. During Tuesday’s televised Chicago Tribune gubernatorial debate, Pat Quinn was pressed to explain who in his office recommended illegal patronage hires to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Quinn pointed the finger at his former chief of staff and best friend, Jack Lavin. A federal grand jury also recently subpoenaed Lavin’s email as part of the U.S. Attorney’s investigation into Quinn’s failed anti-violence program. After signing off on illegal hires at IDOT, Lavin is now representing one of the potential medical marijuana applicants. Last week, Bruce called on Quinn to direct all state agencies to refuse lobbying efforts from Lavin.
“The medical marijuana process is straight out of the Rod Blagojevich playbook,” said Bruce Rauner. “Instead of a non-transparent program manipulated by Pat Quinn’s cronies, we should auction off licenses to the highest qualified bidder, with full disclosure of each company’s financial interests.”
The Illinois General Assembly should pass new legislation authorizing a competitive and transparent process for pre-approved applicants to bid on medical marijuana growing and dispensary licenses, ensuring appropriate safeguards for intellectual property, financial and security capabilities and detailed information on the financial interests of bidders. Winning participants unable to meet the terms set forward by the state would lose their license, allowing the state to competitively rebid for services.
* But according to a Democratic backgrounder, Rauner has his own connections to med-mar investors…
Turns out 2 of Rauner’s top supporters - Steve Denari and Tom Cronin are trying to cash in on medical marijuana big time:
Steve Denari is on the Board of Democrats and Independents for Rauner SuperPac: http://www.bnd.com/2014/04/15/3162876_carl-officer-forms-superpac-to.html
Denari is also the Chief political strategist of Democrats and Independents for Rauner, Denari and Tom Cronin, the River Forest Republican Committeeman got together to start a fund to give loans to companies starting marijuana businesses. They are trying to raise between $50 and 100 Million [according to Crain’s Chicago Business]
…Adding… It doesn’t appear that the SuperPAC mentioned above (via the Belleville News Democrat) has yet been formed. However, Denali says in the article that he backs Rauner and Cronin is a Rauner contributor.
* From Crain’s…
Prairie Wellness Fund originally intended to raise about $50 million to meet demand in Illinois, but after announcing its plans earlier this month the level of interest among potential applicants has increased its goal to “somewhere between $50 million and $100 million,” said Mr. Denari, who is CEO of Political Action League and chief political strategist for Democrats and Independents for Rauner, a super PAC formed by East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer. In 1994, Mr. Denari was the Democratic opponent of former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert after chairing Texas billionaire Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign in the Chicago area.
The organizers of Prairie Wellness Fund are still gauging demand and aren’t yet soliciting investors until they prepare and issue a private placement memorandum, probably around Sept. 1. They plan to seek investors only from Illinois, primarily wealthy individuals and family-run investment pools.
In addition to the short-run opportunity of providing loans and letters of credit for applicants, there may be long-term financing needs to get marijuana businesses up and running. With plans to charge interest rates of about 24 percent, Mr. Griffin said returns to investors should range somewhere above 20 percent, net of fees and before taxes. […]
“If anybody can’t afford 2 percent a month in this business, you don’t want them,” Mr. Denari said. “There’s something wrong with their business model.”
That’s a pretty hefty vig, if you ask me.
*** UPDATE *** From Illinois NORML…
Illinois NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws) is appalled that Bruce Rauner wants to delay the application process for the dispensary and cultivation center licenses of the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program by having the Illinois legislature pass a new law regarding transparency and bidding in the application process. Medical cannabis patients have been waiting for years for the bill to pass and have now had to wait months for the agencies to adopt rules and regulations that would guarantee a professional program to help ensure that program will eventually be made permanent.
Dan Linn, Executive Director of Illinois NORML commented, “Bruce Rauner essentially told every cancer, ALS and Multiple Sclerosis patient in Illinois that they are now pawns in his political game. If he wanted to comment on this law or any aspect of the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program he could have done so during the public comment period of the draft rules or at any of the three town hall meetings that took place over the summer. By calling for a delay in the application process and the issuing of cultivation and dispensing licenses now, he is telling seriously ill patients that they should wait longer to get access to this medical treatment.”
The fact that Bruce Rauner wants to auction off licenses to the highest bidder shows how familiar he is with using his vast fortune to squash attempts for small businesses and entrepreneurs to gain a foothold in an industry. Medical cannabis patients should not have to wait any longer to get access to this medicine, as many are struggling to survive and are in constant pain; to use them as a tool for political leverage is disgusting. Furthermore, the pilot program is set to expire in less than four years and medicine will probably only be available for less than three years of that time, so any further delay is going to negatively impact the health of many patients who are eagerly awaiting safe and legal access to this medicine.
“Mr. Rauner has now demonstrated his lack of compassion for those who are seeking relief through the use of medical cannabis.” Linn added.
Illinois NORML also noted Rauner’s lack of familiarity with the law since as written it is designed to cost the taxpayers of Illinois nothing and must be financially self sufficient. By claiming that the application process will cost taxpayers he has revealed his lack of understanding of one of the basic aspects of the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program.
Illinois NORML Assistant Director added, “Many Illinois patients have died while waiting for legal access to this important medicine, including some who worked for years to help pass the law but were never able to take advantage of it themselves. This proposed delay is unacceptable and patient access should be provided as soon as possible.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Evelyn Sanguinetti…
“As a woman living with Multiple Sclerosis, I will not allow Pat Quinn’s allies to politicize MS or any other disease in order to mask his cronyism and corruption. There is nothing that prevents medical marijuana from proceeding in an open and transparent manner except the corrupt insiders who have something to hide.”
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Bost responds to “rant” ad
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Bost campaign…
The Mike Bost for Congress campaign released its latest ad “Standing Up” today. In the 30 second spot, Bost highlights the reasons he’s running for Congress and why do-nothing politicians, like Bill Enyart and President Obama, have neglected Southern Illinois families.
“This ad reinforces that Mike Bost is a leader who isn’t afraid of straight talk,” said Bost Campaign spokesman Jim Forbes. “In Springfield he stood up against Pat Quinn and in Washington he’ll stand up against Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and other liberal Democrats.”
The ad highlights Bost’s famous stand against Chicago politicians on the floor of the State House and the frustration he feels over Obamacare, EPA regulations and the economy. It will air district-wide beginning today.
Actually, the ad doesn’t “highlight” the rant at all. It merely has Bost showing the ad (without audio) on a laptop screen for a second or two, before closing the computer.
Bost smiles gently, and is cool, calm and collected throughout the ad. So, all the screaming from the right the other day about how the Democratic ad would backfire may not have been accurate. If the rant was helpful, Bost’s campaign would’ve used the actual audio and video.
* Rate it…
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* Dan Mihalopoulos looks at the GTCR sale of APS Healthcare to Universal American Corp. in 2012…
In a federal lawsuit filed against GTCR, Universal American says Rauner’s firm essentially sold it a $222.3 million lemon after APS and GTCR executives engaged in a “deliberate campaign to conceal the truth.”
In the suit, filed in November in Delaware, Universal American says it was told that APS estimated 2012 revenues of $44.8 million for 2012. Within six weeks of the deal closing, the revenue forecast dropped 40 percent. And four months later, projected revenues were down 90 percent. The final amount was a fraction of the initial forecast, according to court records.
Much of the lawsuit centers on APS’ dealings with an unspecified government agency, referred to in court records only as Customer A. The company’s deal with the agency represented nearly 42 percent of APS revenues, court records show. But Customer A officials allegedly told the company before the sale that it had failed to deliver promised mental health services and could lose the public contract.
Universal American says the gravity of the situation was hidden from the potential buyers by APS executives and by a GTCR managing director named David Katz, who left the firm recently. Katz is a defendant in the suit, which does not name Rauner personally. […]
“Bruce is not involved with this, and it is best to let GTCR’s motions speak for themselves,” Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said Tuesday. “Bruce was never on the board at APS, did not put together the deal and played no role in the management of the company.”
Reuters had this story back in October of 2013. Doug Ibendahl posted the complaint back in March.
* The Quinn campaign yesterday…
Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor Paul Vallas, State Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and Medicaid advocates on Monday questioned Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner’s credibility to run the state’s finances after he profited off fraud and abuse at one of his companies that led to an FBI investigation - and a $13 million penalty for defrauding Medicaid.
While Rauner was at the helm of GTCRauner, his company APS Healthcare, Inc. falsely billed the Georgia Medicaid program and lied about providing disease management care to the poor and the sick.
Following a criminal probe of APS Healthcare by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney said at the time that Rauner’s company “took Medicaid’s money for itself and left some of our most vulnerable citizens without the aid they deserved.”
A Health and Human Services Inspector General Investigator who worked with the said the Rauner company’s crime was compounded by the fact that the criminal Medicaid fraud diverted, “desperately needed resources from those who need it most.”
At a Monday press conference, Vallas said:
“Bruce Rauner has no credibility when it comes to addressing waste, fraud and abuse - in fact, he has profited from fraud and abuse at his company.
* The Quinn campaign today…
New information revealed Tuesday by the Quinn for Illinois campaign shows that a firm controlled by GTCRauner was giving campaign contributions to Georgia lawmakers at the same time it was defrauding the state of Medicaid funds.
It’s already been reported that, following a criminal probe by the FBI, GTCRauner-controlled APS Healthcare settled the charges in 2011.
What hasn’t been revealed, until now, is that APS Healthcare gave $25,150 in political contributions to lawmakers involved in maintaining a troubled contract that the Rauner company eventually lost.
Previous to GTCRauner’s control of the company in 2007, records show, APS had never made political contributions to Georgia lawmakers. This is consistent with Mr. Rauner’s record of pay to play, from Pennsylvania to Stuart Levine to contracts in Cook County.
The U.S. Attorney overseeing the investigation that led to the settlement said that the GTCRauner-controlled firm didn’t merely defraud taxpayers, but “took Medicaid’s money for itself and left some of our most vulnerable citizens without the aid they deserved.” […]
“While defrauding the most vulnerable, as well as the taxpayers, now we learn that yet another Rauner firm was paying lawmakers to keep the spigot open,” Quinn for Illinois Deputy Press Secretary Izabela Miltko said Tuesday.
“The revelations about this apparent pay-to-play arrangement raise new questions. Did Rauner personally approve the political contributions to preserve his contracts? Did he know about the criminal fraud taking place at the time of the contributions? When did he learn of it? What did he do about his own company systematically defrauding Medicaid and exploiting the most vulnerable?
“Time and again we see Bruce Rauner presiding over businesses that exploited the most vulnerable, while he took the profits. The Georgia records appear to show him using money again to get what he wants. Bruce Rauner must explain his role.”
Discuss.
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Rauner lashes out at Quinn over IDOT scandal
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Coming off a weekend where he’s reportedly down in the polls, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner launched one of the harshest attacks yet against Gov. Pat Quinn, likening Quinn to a crafty political patronage boss who heads an “Outfit” that’s steeped in cronyism.
Rauner described himself as decidedly different: “I’m nobody that nobody sent,” he said.
Looking down at prepared remarks, Rauner read off a lengthy attack on Quinn and a patronage hiring scandal at the Illinois Department of Transportation, saying Quinn has failed to fire more than 60 percent of those who were deemed political hires at the agency.
“This scam, perpetrated by Pat Quinn has got to end,” Rauner said. “Pat Quinn is not the folksy, bumbling fool he’d like us to think he is. He knows what he’s doing. He knows what he’s done.”
Rauner said if elected, he would partner with Michael Shakman to work out a settlement that includes a federal hiring monitor. His remarks came after Quinn on Friday released the names of more than 100 clouted state transportation employees who were part of what the state’s top ethics watchdog dubbed an improper hiring scheme. Quinn also said he would keep the 103 IDOT employees on the payroll.
* Video…
* Rauner’s comments referred to this Friday AP story…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration hired more than 60 percent of the Illinois Department of Transportation workers whose employment was deemed improper by a state watchdog, a document released Friday shows.
The IDOT document shows that 173 of the 245 people hired as “staff assistants” since 2002 still work for the state, including 161 at the transportation agency. […]
An IDOT spokesman said none of the remaining employees will be fired, as Rauner has demanded.
…Adding… The Quinn campaign notes a mathematical error in the AP story. They didn’t subtract the 58 “staff assistants” laid off by Quinn.
* And speaking of the Shakman case, this is also from the AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn contended in a federal court filing late Monday that a court-appointed monitor is not necessary to ensure compliance with political hiring bans, as suggested by an anti-patronage attorney.
In the filing by the attorney general’s office, Quinn says his response to allegations of political hiring in the Department of Transportation has been “prompt, appropriate and aimed at a long-term solution to preventing any such improprieties in the future.” […]
Quinn said he ordered that all Transportation Department executive-level staff members undergo training on proper hiring practices; that the department employees receive written performance evaluations on an annual basis; the creation of a merit board to “ensure the integrity of all personnel matters” and provide greater accountability and transparency, and a moratorium on the creation of positions that can be filled with political hires until the inspector general’s recommendations are implemented satisfactorily.
“Despite plaintiffs’ contentions, the uncontested facts do not demonstrate a widespread patronage problem,” the filing
* Rauner campaign response…
“This is a flagrant betrayal of the public’s trust,” Rauner said. “If Pat Quinn was willing to brazenly mislead a federal court, there is no reason to start trusting him now.”
Protecting cronies, public deception, misleading the courts - those are not supposed to be the actions of a governor.
Those are the actions of someone leading the outfit - and make no mistake about it, Pat Quinn is leading a patronage and cronyism outfit in Springfield and Chicago.
* Related…
* Tribune editorial: A management problem? Give us a break. This was a patronage hiring scam, pure and simple. And Quinn owns it.
* News-Gazette editorial: Gov. Quinn should have wiped the entire slate clean. The decision to allow some to stay reveals a disturbing double standard while the lawsuit challenging the layoffs demonstrates a deceitful political calculation. That’s exactly the wrong message to send to the public.
* Rauner’s call for firings of ‘illegal patronage hires’ would affect many in Springfield
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Dueling ads are no contest
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A friend sent me this text message Saturday evening. I enhanced it with links…
Just witnessed: Quinn’s van attack ad immediately followed by the Rauner van ad
Took ALL of the wind out of Rauner’s ad
An hour and a half later, from the same friend…
Dude. It just happened again but with the minimum wage ad
The more I think about it, the more I believe that van ad is a silly mistake on Rauner’s part.
* And speaking of the minimum wage…
The [Tribune] poll found 69 percent of Illinois voters back an increase in the state’s $8.25-an-hour minimum wage to $10 by Jan. 1 for adults over age 18. Only 27 percent oppose the proposal, while 5 percent had no opinion. The statewide poll, conducted among 800 registered voters Sept. 3-12, had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. […]
Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats favor a wage rate increase. Republicans are split, with 51 percent opposing it and 42 percent supporting it. But among independent voters, traditionally a swing voting bloc, 65 percent favor a wage rate increase and 30 percent oppose it.
Even a majority of voters who consider themselves either very or fairly conservative — 54 percent — backed a higher minimum wage in Illinois, compared with 41 percent who oppose it.
* Geography and race…
…Adding… Related…
* Bridge Project Video: Bruce Rauner: Adamantly Against What’s Right for Illinois
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Paying the price for making bad hires
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
“I’ve seen that DGA poll,” a friend of mine says about a survey showing Gov. Pat Quinn leading Bruce Rauner 43 percent to 40 percent.
My friend says the Democratic Governors Association survey, released Sept. 11, shows big-time danger for the GOP challenger. Voters will “move off him in droves when given the right nudge.”
What “nudge” would that be?
Several, he says. The allegations from the Republican primary about abuse in nursing homes that Mr. Rauner’s company once owned. Being a rich guy who didn’t pay payroll taxes two years straight was another.
And then there was “the fraud company thing.”
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
The Illinois House Democrats launched their direct mail and TV program weeks earlier than the House Republicans in an attempt to knock the GOP candidates down before they even had a chance to stand up.
The mail started going out not long after the mid-August Illinois State Fair. Four years ago, during a national Republican tidal wave, the House Republicans preemptively launched their advertising program in mid-September, catching the Democrats off guard. The Republicans won a few seats they might not have picked off had they started at the usual time. The Democrats learned a valuable lesson, raised an absolute ton of money, and began their mail and TV programs even earlier.
As a result, the Republicans, who don’t have much money, have been buried by hundreds of thousands of dollars in early Democratic advertising.
And the Democrats have also clearly beaten the Republicans to the punch when it comes to parroting the “message track” used by the current leader in the governor’s race, Republican Bruce Rauner.
Rauner’s been running his “Shake up Springfield” ads all year long. He’s spent millions building his anti-incumbent, outsider message of term limits, tax cuts and property tax freezes.
But if you look at what the Democrats are doing everywhere in the state, the long-entrenched super-majority party is running very similar ads to Rauner’s. They are, in one GOP operative’s view, protecting their members by portraying Republican challengers as tax-loving incumbents and “tying them to the dysfunction.”
“Mel Thillens in charge of our tax dollars is as reckless as a bull in a china shop,” blares the headline on a recent House Democratic mailer that attacks the suburban Park Ridge Republican.
“Mel Thillens never met a tax increase he didn’t like,” the claim is made on the mailer’s other side, noting that Thillens had voted to raise property taxes by almost 50 percent and voted for “deficit spending.”
Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) is “fighting against unfair property tax hikes” by pushing legislation to cap them, it continues. A concurrently running cable TV ad presses home the same message: Thillens loves tax hikes and deficit spending.
“Politicians get enough perks when they retire,” another pro-Moylan mailer states. “They shouldn’t get free health care, too.”
On the flip side, the mailer makes note of the fact that Moylan opted out of the legislative pension system and sponsored legislation to get rid of health care for retired politicians. “Marty Moylan will fight to make sure our tax dollars are spent on our priorities, not perks for politicians.”
The Republicans have a positive piece in the mailboxes for Thillens. It points out that Thillens “helps run a multi-million dollar family business,” and explains why he wants to work “60 hours a week as a state Representative.”
Um, in the age of Bruce Rauner’s $18 watch and an intense anti-Springfield mentality, the Thillens’ message track is decidedly different than Moylan’s. Suggesting your candidate is a millionaire and claiming he can’t wait to dive into the business of Springfield probably isn’t a good idea.
As a result, Rep. Moylan is doing almost as well as Rauner in the 55th House District, according to a new Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll.
The poll of 334 likely voters taken September 10th found Moylan was leading Mel Thillens 48-39. Rauner was ahead of Gov. Pat Quinn 52-39 in the district. The poll had a margin of error of +/-5.4 percent.
The early and quite expensive “independent outsider” messaging has attracted significant Republican support for Moylan. He’s getting 19 percent of self-identified Republicans, compared to Thillens’ 9 percent of Democrats. And the two are so far splitting the conservative-leaning independent vote, which made up 46 percent of the poll’s voter sample.
That can also be seen as a sign of trouble for Moylan, however. If Republican voters “come home” and independents break more heavily against the incumbent Moylan, this thing could tighten up. The House Democrats’ messaging is obviously designed to prevent that from happening.
Of course, this is just one poll - a “snapshot in time.” The House Democrats say their polling shows them “in the driver’s seat” in the district and the Republicans actually liked the We Ask America results.
But a poll taken near the beginning of the huge Democratic paid media onslaught found Rep. Moylan ahead 47-33, with Rauner leading 51-36.
That poll was done by respected national pollster Fabrizio Lee on behalf of WLS Radio talk show host Dan Proft’s political fund. The live-caller survey of 300 likely voters was taken the week of August 25th and had a margin of error of +/-5.5 percent. The House Democrats much preferred those numbers, of course.
Discuss.
…Adding… Greg Hinz…
* Mike Madigan pulls in $358,000 — in one weekend
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Starting to gear up a bit
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The antibiotics are starting to do their job. I’m still not feeling great, but I think I’ll be blogging some today.
It seems like half the people I know have been sick during the past week. So, we’ll make this an open thread about recent illnesses.
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I’m not buying it
Monday, Sep 15, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m still sick as heck. But I’m so weirded out about this new Chicago Tribune poll showing Gov. Pat Quinn leading Bruce Rauner 48-37 that I had to post something. I’m just going to point out two things because I’m nowhere near up to strength.
* First, the poll was taken using registered voters…
The poll, conducted Sept. 3 through Friday by APC Research Inc., featured interviews on landlines and cellphones with 800 registered voters.
I don’t know anybody polling registered voters in mid-September. Everybody is polling likely voters.
Also, the universe of registered voters is always going to skew more Democratic than the universe of likely voters (hence the Democratic Party’s huge push to increase turnout this year), so that explains a lot.
* Secondly…
Helping fuel Quinn’s early advantage was the poll’s finding that 43 percent of voters identified themselves as Democrats while only 24 percent called themselves Republicans and 28 percent said they were independents. The partisan split is identical to a Tribune poll in fall 2008, when home state Democrat Barack Obama made his first bid for the White House, and also represents a high-water mark for Democrats in Illinois in a nonpresidential year since 1998.
Everyone who thinks that this is an Obama ‘08 wave year in Illinois, please raise your hand.
The Tribune’s polls have been pretty good over the years. They were the first to point out how close the governor’s race really was in 2010, for instance. But this one, I’m afraid, appears to be a flawed outlier.
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Sick day
Monday, Sep 15, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I was trying to fight off something all week last week. A bunch of people I know were down for the count, but I somehow managed to carry on and thought I’d actually beat it.
Well, this morning, I woke up with a miserably painful ear and throat infection. I have a doctor’s appointment, but I’m really in no condition to blog until I get this taken care of. Sorry, folks, but no show today.
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gonna see these guys tonight at the Phases of the Moon Festival. I’ll post some stuff here over the weekend from the venue. I had planned on getting there Wednesday, but problems with my camper and the unreal busy work pace kept me in Springfield. Leaving momentarily, though. If you’re going, look me up…
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Davis ad responds to Callis ad
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Rodney Davis campaign…
.S. Rep. Rodney Davis’ (R-Ill.) campaign today released a new ad to point out the dishonest campaign being run by his opponent.
The ad, titled “Bull”, takes on some of the blatantly false claims made by Davis’ opponent in her latest ad.
“Negative ads are one thing, but ads that flat-out lie are another and are the calling card of a desperate campaign,” said Campaign Manager Tim Butler. “You’d think that our opponent’s campaign would be spending more time talking their own candidate, but so far they’ve shown no interest in discussing the issues facing our county, so lies and deceit are their only way forward.”
* The ad…
* Script…
I’m Rodney Davis and I approve this message.
VO: Ann Callis is running a dishonest campaign.
Attacking Rodney Davis with claims that fact-checkers have called “smarmy.” (Washington Post, 5/5/14)
The truth.
Rodney Davis voted to ban first class air travel and to stop Members of Congress from receiving taxpayer-funded health care for life. (Roll Call Vote #177, 4/10/14)
Rodney Davis has never flown first class on the taxpayers’ dime.
So the next time you see an ad from Ann Callis, remember, it’s…
Clip from Callis ad: “..a load of bull.”
That’s a pretty good ad, except I kinda jumped a little when it claims Davis voted to “ban first class travel.” I rarely fly first class, but I don’t want it banned.
/snark
The Callis ad in question is here.
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Question of the day
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Your one word summation of the Illinois governor’s race so far? One word only, please. And it has to be a real word. No profanity in any language.
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* Earlier today, when I posted the story about how Bruce Rauner’s campaign has a security guy with a troubled past, the commenter “Formerly Known As…” wrote this…
If background checks have not yet been completed on every Quinn campaign staffers and vendors, they are about to.
Better buckle up as the downward spiral rages on.
* Well, buckle up, campers. From the Rauner campaign…
QUINN EMPLOYS FELON WITH 2nd DEGREE MURDER CONVICTION
In June Of 1996, Kendall Moore And Another Man Beat Damenion Burnett To Death With A Baseball Bat. “A McDonough County judge refused Friday to reduce the bonds for two men charged with beating another man to death with a baseball bat last June. Darrell Mitchell, 22, of Robbins and Kendall Moore, 22, of Chicago are charged with first-degree murder for the death of Damenion Burnett, 21, of Chicago. Police reports state Burnett was beaten by two men, one armed with a baseball bat, about 1:15 a.m. June 15 in the 700 block of Linden Lane. He died in a Peoria hospital two days later. (A. Rahim Owens, “Judge Won’t Reduce Bond In Beating Case,” State Journal-Register, 1/4/97)
Moore And Burnett Got Into A Bar Fight In Macomb Illinois In The Late Hours Of June 14, 1996. “Damenion Burnett died as a result of blunt trauma to the head. Charges of first degree murder, armed violence, aggravated battery and mob action were brought against defendant and Darrell Mitchell, who were tried jointly. Testimony at trial centered around two fights in Macomb, Illinois, on the night of June 14 and early morning hours of June 15, 1996. The State’s evidence established that defendant, Mitchell, Steve Tinch and several college friends were having drinks at the Regulator Bar around midnight, June 14. Defendant and his companions belonged to a social fraternity known as the Omega Psi Phi fraternity (Q-dogs), which was affiliated with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority (Zetas). Members of both groups were in the bar, as well as other non-affiliated friends from the neighborhood. Eileen Tarjan and her boyfriend, Damenion Burnett, were not Zetas or Q-dogs but socialized with them. As the bar was closing, a Zeta accused Tarjan of burning her with a cigarette. The confrontation between the two women erupted into a fight which spilled out into the street. Defendant and Mitchell entered the melee, along with Burnett and his friends, Mike Hawkins and Delrico Nelson. The fight ended abruptly and the crowd dispersed when Hawkins fired two shots into the air from a nine-millimeter semi-automatic gun.” (People v. Moore, No. 4-97-0759, Opinion, 12/4/98)
Moore Followed Burnett To His Girlfriend’s Apartment And Beat Him With A Baseball Bat. “Hawkins’ gun was handed to Nelson as they drove away from the bar. Nelson next met Burnett at the apartment in Villa Westbrook where Tarjan and Burnett stayed. Defendant, Mitchell and Tinch went to Mitchell’s apartment in Villa Westbrook, one floor above Tarjan’s. Defendant took a baseball bat into Tarjan’s apartment and banged it on a stereo speaker. He was asked to leave, and he did. Burnett and Nelson started to fight with Tinch. Nelson retreated, and the confrontation between Tinch and Burnett moved outside, where Mitchell and defendant joined in. Tarjan testified that she saw defendant and another man fighting with Burnett. She said that Burnett was unarmed and was trying to stand while the two men beat him. She could not see if a weapon was used in the fight, but she saw Nelson fire a couple of shots into the air and the grass before she left the scene with a friend. On cross-examination, Tarjan admitted that she had lied to the police when she told them she neither saw nor heard any shooting outside her apartment. Nelson testified that he stood outside the apartment building and watched the fight. He said defendant went to his truck and returned with a bat to fight with Tinch and Mitchell against Burnett. He saw defendant club Burnett in the head. After Burnett fell, defendant struck again while Mitchell kicked and stomped on Burnett. Nelson yelled, “Stop!” and fired two shots into the ground and another into the air. Other witnesses heard between four and eight shots. Nelson said the fight was still in progress when he heard police sirens. He dropped the gun and ran from the scene.” (People v. Moore, No. 4-97-0759, Opinion, 12/4/98)
Burnett Was Declared Brain Dead A Day Later – He Suffered A Fractured Skull, Both Sides Of His Jaw Were Broken And His Liver Was Lacerated. “Burnett was declared brain dead on June 17, 1996. In addition to a fractured skull, both sides of his jaw were broken and his liver was lacerated.” (People v. Moore, No. 4-97-0759, Opinion, 12/4/98)
Kendall Moore, Of 835 Maple Rd, Flossmoor IL Appears On Taxpayers For Quinn’s Payroll. (Illinois Board of Elections, Accessed 9/12/14)
And away we go…
*** UPDATE *** The Quinn campaign sent over Moore’s bio from his WVON page…
Kendall Moore’s career in TV and radio dates back to the 1980s when he was one of the youngest DJs to mix records at a major radio station. Moore developed and honed his on-air personality on 89.3 WIUS College Radio for Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois. Moore became popular due to his quick wit, mannish style and ability to recognize new talent; he was a force to reckon with on the college radio circuit.
Moore’s commitment to informing and helping people lead him to work of the City of Chicago’s Department of Health. During his time with DOH, Moore assisted in the development and implementation of a city-wide program which provided re-entry services to former and recently released inmates. Becoming aware and sensitive to the struggles of people reentering society, Moore became a national and international orator, speaking on the hardships that follow incarceration and what is needed to once again become a productive member of society.
This power and real conversation took Moore throughout the United States, including Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia; The National Minority AIDS Council located in Washington, D.C.; Centerforce in Oakland, California, a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving the lives and communities of incarcerated people; and Rikers Island Correctional Facility in Queens, New York. His international engagement repertoire includes many countries, but Moore spent considerable time in South Africa, speaking about real life, real crime and the realities of American life for criminals.
Moore’s broadcasting resume includes serving as a host on Chicago’s CAN TV, and remains a popular and in demand host and speaker. Moore’s goal is to be the voice of the next generation of WVON politicians, community activists, entrepreneurs and entertainers.
Looks like he’s rehabilitated himself and then some. I’ve asked the Rauner campaign what they plan to do about their own guy. I’ll let you know.
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* North Riverside is filing suit to get out of its firefighters contract. From a press release…
Mayor Hubert Hermanek, Jr. of west suburban North Riverside, after yesterday announcing an impasse after six “good faith” negotiating sessions with Firefighters Union Local 2714, instructed the village’s attorneys to file suit today in Cook County Circuit Court asking that court to affirm North Riverside’s right to legally terminate the firefighters’ contract, which expired on April 30, 2014.
North Riverside, with a population of 6,672 in 2,827 households, derives most of its revenue from sales tax, thanks in large part to North Riverside Park Mall. However, the village is facing a proposed fiscal year 2014-2015 operating budget deficit of $1.9 million, with $1.8 million of this deficit being a direct result of the Village’s growing annual public pension obligation. All of this and more is evidence that supports the Village’s inability to sustain salary and benefits of over $200,000 per fireman and $230,000 per Lt. anymore.
Contracting firefighter services from Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI), which has provided paramedic services to North Riverside for the past 28 years, would save the village more than $700,000 annually and vastly reduce the adverse impact of future pension obligations imposed by the state. All PSI paramedics are certified as firefighters, as well.
* From a September 10th press release…
The Village has presented multiple compromise proposals to the union, including a progressive privatization plan based on an 11-year contract, during which 10 of our 14 current firefighters would reach retirement age and 25+ years of service. As they retired or with any attrition, firefighters would be replaced with firefighters/paramedics from PSI-the private company that has provided paramedic services to North Riverside for 28 years. As a result, by the end of this 11-year contract, Village fire and emergency protection services would be almost fully privatized, maintaining safe and reliable service, while achieving the cost-savings the Village must have to remain solvent.
The union rejected this innovative proposal, which would have reduced our future public pension obligations over time and stabilized North Riverside’s finances, while allowing nearly 90 percent of our current firefighters to eventually retire with their full, earned public pensions.
* The village’s attorney also sent along this link…
San Bernardino can cancel a union contract with its firefighters, a federal judge said in a preliminary ruling that may make it easier for the insolvent California city to cut debt and exit bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury in Riverside, California, said today that she will give the firefighters’ lawyer a chance to question a key city witness before making her final ruling.
“It is very unlikely they are going to convince me” that the contract is not a burden on the city’s recovery, Jury said while making her initial ruling.
* Meanwhile…
Voters in Hinsdale Township High School District 86 will have the chance in November to weigh in on an advisory ballot question related to teacher pensions.
The board voted 4-3 Monday to place the following question on the Nov. 4 ballot: “Shall the Board of Education of Hinsdale Township High School District 86 continue to offer eligible teachers the opportunity to earn six percent (6 percent) salary increases in each of four (4) school years prior to retirement?”
Discuss.
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DCFS changes policy on “unsafe sleep deaths”
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As the Tribune reports today on the front page, this change of policy “will likely lead to a drop in reported maltreatment fatalities”…
Hoping to better investigate such deaths [which occur when a parent falls asleep with a child or other unsafe sleeping conditions] statewide, DCFS in recent years began counting unsafe sleep deaths as neglect in cases where investigators could prove the adult caregiver was aware of the potential danger. Amid criticism over the increased child death tallies and disagreement on whether sleep-related deaths constitute neglect, DCFS now will investigate such cases only if suspicious circumstances are found. Those include physical injuries to the child, the caregivers’ admitted alcohol or drug use, a lack of supervision or prior agency involvement. […]
Child welfare officials in Indiana say they investigate all sudden and unexplained deaths. But Michigan, similar to Illinois’ new stance, does not count such sleep-related deaths as negligence unless a secondary factor becomes evident.
In a recent report on unsafe sleep fatalities, Illinois DCFS Inspector General Denise Kane said it is “ill-advised” to indicate that a parent is responsible for child neglect until lawmakers officially recognize it as negligent or medical experts agree on how unsafe the practice of co-sleeping with a baby really is. […]
The ACLU’s Wolf and child advocates such as SIDS of Illinois agree with Kane, especially in light of repeated state budget cuts when DCFS has limited resources.
“Yes, it’s negligence, but I don’t think that’s what the public thinks abuse is all about,” Wolf said. “We ought to reserve the category of abuse and neglect for the really horrible things that endanger kids.”
A Tribune review of several infant deaths involving co-sleeping in 2013 and 2014 highlighted the troubling conditions that sometimes exist in those homes. Records reviewed by the newspaper revealed instances where more than one child over time had died in the same family after being left in an unsafe sleep condition. In those cases, DCFS officials say, the agency still would investigate even under the new policy.
It sounds like we need more public awareness of this problem.
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* There’s more to this Northwest Herald story than first meets the eye…
The criminal record of the former campaign manager for McHenry County Sheriff candidate Bill Prim casts a pall on what he would do if elected, Prim’s challenger alleged Thursday.
Independent candidate Jim Harrison released police, court and witness records from two fights at two Iowa bars in one night in 2001 involving one-time campaign manager Matt McNamara. He grabbed one man by the throat in the first fight and punched two women in the second, dragging a third by the hair, according to documents Harrison mailed to Chicago-area media. […]
In the first, McNamara grabbed a patron by the throat, slammed him against a wall and threatened his life. Witness reports state McNamara was not provoked, appeared intoxicated and thanked people for separating them because he would have “killed that kid.”
McNamara and his companion went to another bar and got into another fight with a male patron, according to reports. Witness reports stated that McNamara punched two women in the face, and grabbed a third by her hair and dragged her through the parking lot.
The story goes on to say “McNamara, who lives in Huntley, is president of Liberty Elite Services, which specializes in executive protection.”
* The Quinn campaign notes this little nugget…
According to the State Board of Elections, the Rauner campaign has paid Matt McNamara’s Liberty Elite Services $2,400 ($1,200 Q1, $1,200 Q2) for “Security Consulting.”
Oy.
…Adding… The Quinn campaign also sent over this photo of what they claim is McNamara doing security for Rauner at an event the day before the March primary. “He has personally staffed Rauner all over Illinois,” they say…
…Adding More… That photo was a screen cap from this apparent tracker video…
*** UPDATE *** Statement from Rauner Spokesperson Mike Schrimpf…
Bruce met Matt McNamara on the campaign trail and learned that he had provided security for a number of high-profile individuals, including a presidential candidate in 2012 which involved clearance from multiple federal law enforcement agencies, and he had also worked for a number of local law enforcement agencies over the last two decades. While Liberty Elite Services has been used in the past, they will not be used for future events.
Background:https://www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-w-mcnamara/19/5a2/7b
That’s a pretty impressive bio.
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Finally, some good news
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz reports on a new study by United Van Lines…
According to the latest study of the four-month period of May through August, not only did considerably more people move to the Chicago area than away, but Chicago was the most popular locale for moves in the nation, trailed by Washington, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix and New York.
Chicago ranked sixth on the move-out list but the spread was wide, with 65.2 percent of those involved in any Chicago move coming in rather than leaving. That’s almost the exact opposite of the split a year ago, when 63 percent were moving out of the Chicago area. […]
[Michael Stoll, an economist and chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California at Los Angeles, who speaks about the study for United] underlined that two other cities whose industry breakdown resembles Chicago’s — Boston and New York — also had a relatively strong showing in the latest study. That suggests that sectors such as finance, professional businesses and technology, in which Chicago has a strong or growing presence, suddenly are doing well.
So does the fact that the move-ins included disproportionately high numbers of millennials, aged 25 to 35, and people with an annual income of at least $150,000 a year.
Greg reports this is the highest move-in rate since 2006.
* Look, we all know that this state and Chicago still have major problems. But it burns me to no end when people claim we’re in a “death spiral,” as if we’re all just trapped, helpless victims who have no initiative to turn things around. And it also greatly bothers me that some folks take such great joy in pointing out this or that negative report. I still run them, but I don’t have to revel in our troubles.
During the 1980s when so many of my friends and family fled south, I stayed here. I’d lived in another state and in Europe, but I wanted to make my stand in my home state. The only time I’ve ever regretted my decision has been during the winter (particularly in the winter of 1993, when I was flat broke and freezing). But while it’s nice to visit (especially during cold spells), you couldn’t pay me enough to live in the south. I prefer it here.
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A couple of reasonable ideas
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This sounds like a pretty reasonable idea from Sheila Simon…
Simon said that like her opponent she sees value in consolidation of the comptroller and treasurer’s offices. However, she said, there’s no reason to wait to start saving money, and advocates for combining some functions of the two offices.
That would simply take an intergovernmental agreement, she said. She likened it to how she currently shares certain functions with the governor’s office in her role as lieutenant governor.
“There’s no reason why the treasurer and the comptroller can’t do the same,” she said.
She may very well be right. Perhaps we should ask the two treasurer candidates how they feel about bypassing the constitutional issue by using intergovernmental agreements. As long as Speaker Madigan is running the House, consolidation ain’t gonna happen.
* And I’m pretty sure she’s right about this…
On the area of government consolidation, Simon acknowledged that Illinois is flush with local government entities but said consolidation is sometimes, but not always, the answer. She said intergovernmental agreements to share resources are also an effective way to save money.
Without a doubt, some consolidation can save taxpayers some money, but the services will still need to be provided.
* Meanwhile, this is behind a subscriber firewall, but nobody else has covered it so I thought you might wanna know. From the Illinois Observer…
Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka handed a no-bid contract to a former Republican Party chairman this year.
Topinka’s office paid Patrick Brady and his new lobbyist firm, Next Generation Public Affairs, $40,000 from March to June 2014 to liaison with Illinois law enforcement agencies, according to documents secured through a Freedom of Information Act request by Lt. Governor Sheila Simon’s comptroller campaign.
Brady is to form “strategic partnerships with municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies,” the contract states.
“Steering a huge no-bid contract to a Republican lobbyist who helped you get elected is exactly the type of back-scratching politics that Illinois cannot afford,” said Dave Mellet, Simon’s campaign manager.
Huge? Not so much. And I don’t think Brady played much of a role in JBT’s last election, but a hit is a hit.
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* From the Cheri Bustos campaign…
New TV Ad Features Local WWII Veteran Bustos Helped Cut Through Government Red Tape
Granddaughter of World War II Veteran: “We turned to Cheri Bustos. Once Cheri got involved, things were done like that.”
Today, Cheri Bustos for Congress launched “Pension,” the campaign’s second television ad. The ad highlights the story of World War II veteran William Thomas of Fenton, Ill. and his granddaughter, Kate Delaney, a Navy veteran also from Fenton, who turned to Cheri for help when the VA erroneously declared William deceased, which put his pension at risk. Within a month of turning to Cheri for help, William had his pension and peace of mind back.
* The ad…
* Script…
Kate VO: It makes me proud to think about my family’s service.
I served in the Navy.
William VO: And I served during World War Two.
Kate Sync: One day, grandpa told me he got a letter from the VA. They thought he had died, and he wouldn’t be receiving his pension.
William Sync: Well, I was kind of flabbergasted. I didn’t even go to my own funeral.
Kate Sync: So we turned to Cheri Bustos. Once Cheri got involved, things were done [snaps] like that. Within a month, he had his pension back. Cheri Bustos cares about veterans.
Bustos VO: I’m Cheri Bustos and I approve this message.
It’s a pretty darned good ad. But it just made me think of Bobby Schilling’s demand that Bustos keep her promise of giving up ten percent of her congressional salary by donating the money to a veterans’ group.
*** UPDATE *** From the Schilling campaign…
“Cheri Bustos voted to cut veterans benefits by $6 billion by voting for the Ryan-Murray budget in 2013. Six. Billion. Dollars. She can run commercials wrapping herself in the American flag all she wants, but veterans haven’t forgotten her heartless vote that cut benefits to veterans and their families by $6 billion.”
Going off on Paul Ryan? Interesting.
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Vampire capitalism or unlocking value?
Friday, Sep 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From avowed Bruce Rauner foe Doug Ibendahl…
Cherrydale Farms is a Pennsylvania-based company which survived the Great Depression and two World Wars. But it couldn’t survive Bruce Rauner.
Less than five years after Rauner and his investment group took control of Cherrydale Farms, the century old family business was in bankruptcy.
Cherrydale Farms was founded in 1907 by Esther Cherry who began selling hand-made candies and other items to her neighbors. In the 1930’s the company discovered a new distribution channel for its candies and related products when it began working directly with schools and charity groups and offered its services as a fundraising vehicle. The family’s decision helped the company weather the Depression and the fundraising specialty soon became the core of Cherrydale’s business model.
By 1986 the company had annual sales of $15 million and a new candy making plant was opened in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Annual sales would eventually approach $100 million.
Then in 1994 the Cherry family sold a majority stake in their company to Rauner’s private equity firm, then known as Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. – now simply GTCR, LLC.
As part of the take-over, Rauner put himself on the Board of Directors of Cherrydale Farms.
Catastrophe followed.
* From the Lehigh Valley Morning Call…
Cherrydale was a successful business, with sales growing from $4 million to $100 million, until 1994. That’s when it sold a majority stake in the business to an investment group made up of Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner Inc. of Chicago and Jackson National Life Insurance Co.
Then in March of this year — just five years later — Cherrydale filed for bankruptcy protection. […]
Cherry, who grew up working in the Cherrydale plant but cut ties to the company in 1997, declined to say specifically what went wrong.
“It’s something that never, ever, should have happened,” said Cherry, who called rescuing Cherrydale the “biggest emotional issue of my life.”
“It was just disastrous,” he said. “There will be no mistake again of that nature; I can guarantee that.”
Despite continuing strong sales, Cherrydale was $50 million to $100 million in debt, according to bankruptcy filings on March 15. “Different people operate companies in different ways,” Cherry said. “This company was very close to liquidation.”
Asked about the previous managers at the company, he said, “They will not be with the company, clearly. There’s no question about it. The old management team is back.”
* I asked a friend of mine who’s in the finance biz for his opinion. Here’s his e-mail…
At first blush, it looks like GTCR acquired the majority stake through a leveraged buyout: a little private equity and a lot of debt structured in such a way that Cherrydale’s cash flow and assets collateralized the debt. Pretty common in private equity. That’s how Zell got the Trib: put up a little money, have the target assume most of the risk (in the Trib’s case, the employees ESOP).
Some LBOs are also straight bustouts. Targets are usually in some trouble. Say GTCR got control of the company putting up a little cash and borrowing more based on the company’s assets: They run up lines of credit, stiff vendors, sell assets, all the while paying themselves sweet salaries and consulting fees and the investors — also themselves — dividends.
When it all falls apart, they file bankruptcy and walk away.
It’s what Mitt called “unlocking value” in a company, lol, and what Newt and Rick Perry called “vampire capitalism.”
Discuss.
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* From a press release…
Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that Rock Island County Sheriff Jeffrey Boyd resigned and pled guilty [yesterday] to attempted official misconduct based on attempted cyberstalking.
Boyd, 48, of Rock Island, pled guilty before Judge Jeffrey O’Connor earlier today to one count of attempted official misconduct based on attempted cyberstalking. As part of his guilty plea, Boyd resigned and has withdrawn his re-election candidacy in the November election. He has also forfeited the pension he earned during his term as Rock Island County Sheriff.
Madigan alleged Boyd used his position as sheriff to intimidate and threaten a woman he met at a Rock Island gym. Boyd pursued the woman, who is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, over repeated text messages. After the victim asked Boyd to stop and leave her alone, Boyd continued to pursue the woman, attempting to use his position in public office and as a law enforcement officer to intimidate and harass the victim. In June, Madigan said Boyd went further, leveling a threat against the victim in an anonymous text message, putting the victim in fear for her safety.
“Mr. Boyd was elected by the people of Rock Island County to serve as its top law enforcement officer, but unfortunately he attempted to use his position to intimidate and stalk his victim,” Madigan said. “My office sought his resignation and criminal conviction to ensure he can no longer abuse the power that the people of Rock Island County entrusted in him.”
Under today’s agreed sentence, Boyd is forbidden from contacting the victim.
Madigan’s Public Integrity Bureau prosecuted the case based on a referral from the Illinois State Police, which investigated the case.
Wow.
* The sheriff will actually resign today, and he doesn’t seem all that contrite…
“But I still believe in my heart of hearts I have not committed a crime,” he said during a news conference Thursday in front of the Rock Island County Justice Center, which he has overseen as sheriff since 2010. As part of his plea, he also must forfeit the pension he has earned in his four years as sheriff. […]
“There’s no public information to support any threats (were made),” he said. “I challenge that. It’s not accurate.”
Lang and Boyd also disputed Madigan’s characterization of the plea being based on attempted cyberstalking. County records also include cyberstalking as part of the charge, but Boyd said the record needs to be corrected. He also bristled at the suggestion that his case is similar to that of former State’s Attorney Jeff Terronez, who resigned in a 2011 scandal involving a minor.
“We’re here over Jeff Boyd’s legal problems,” he said, his wife, Ann Boyd, standing at his side. She is employed as director of advertising sales for the Quad-City Times.
* As noted in the story, the local state’s attorney resigned a few years ago after a sex scandal involving a minor. Both the former state’s attorney and the sheriff are Democrats.
I’m not attempting to make light of this crime by dragging politics into the story, but there are three important campaigns going on right now which include all or part of Rock Island County: Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, state Sen. Mike Jacobs and state Rep. Mike Smiddy. All three incumbents are Democrats. This latest scandal won’t be good for the local party at all. And if any of those races end up being close, this stunning resignation, coming so soon after another one, could be a factor there.
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* I asked the Rauner campaign if it had a transcript of the Tribune debate and if they would please pull out the back and forth over the IDOT hiring scandal. Check it out…
MODERATOR:…we are going to get budget questions but i want to talk about IDOT which we’re both going back and forth on. the outgoing Secretary says that a lot of the requests for staff assistants, the vast majority came from the governor’s office, is she telling the truth?
QUINN: The answer is recommendations were made but she was expected to follow the rules, and she told the inspector general the she did not know the Rutan rules, she said that and she is no longer working there
RAUNER: But you knew ‘em or you wouldn’t have recommended them, ’cause you knew the rules and you recommended ‘em.
QUINN: Anybody who is recommended from our office for a Rutan exempt position, the director is expected to follow the rules. If they don’t follow the rules, they have to be held accountable, i have a new director there. Now, after the inspector general who I appointed who is independent, and I gave him the jurisdiction over all this hiring issue, he made recommendations to our office, we’ve carried out every single one and gone beyond that. we’ve set up a merit board at the Department of Transportation, we’ve told all directors in all departments - they must review all exempt positions.
MODERATOR: This is all reactive to the inspector general’s report, so this has been going on. It took the inspector general and a whistle blower to bring this to your attention, why didn’t you know what was going on and how many of those recommendations came specifically from you and do you really expect your own secretary to not obey her boss?
QUINN: No, i expect her to follow the rules that I set down from the very beginning of this administration regarding hiring, and also the law. A matter of fact, I gave the inspector general authority to make sure that was carried out, and when that wasn’t carried out there was accountability. That is why the Secretary is no longer working there. I have a new Secretary who understands the rules, she’s going through reform she has an outstanding record of reform.
MODERATOR: The old secretary says she was taking orders from the governor’s office, who in your office was giving the orders?
QUINN: She wasn’t taking orders. If there were recommendations for positions, she was expected to understand there are exempt position and non exempt positions. You cannot put people from anywhere into non exempt positions, they’ve got to go through the proper personnel.
MODERATOR: Who was making the recommendations from your office?
QUINN: I don’t, they’re probably people on my staff that recommended folks
MODERATOR: I’d think that’s the first thing you’d want to know…
QUINN: Well the people on my staff said…
MODERATOR: whoever it was would be gone.
QUINN: Well the people who were involved in this are no longer working for the state, if that’s what you’re asking.
MODERATOR: Who are they? Who in your office was…
QUINN: You have the chief of staff, you have other people who are, deputy chief of staff and people like that
MODERATOR: They were the ones passing recommendations to IDOT, Mr. Lavin, who else?
QUINN: Sean O’Shea was one of the deputy chiefs of staff, yes
RAUNER: These are holdovers from the Blagovich administration, Pat Quinn got his start in politics doing patronage for Dan Walker who went to jail, he’s part of this system, it’s everywhere in state government and he’s part of it
Discuss.
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* The NFIB vigorously opposes Rauner’s service tax proposal and it “adamantly, adamantly” opposes an increase in the minimum wage, which Rauner also used to believe, but says he no longer does. Even so, the NFIB really had no other place to go in this race…
The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s and Illinois’ leading small-business association, has endorsed Bruce Rauner for governor. NFIB announced the endorsement at a Rauner campaign event at FlagSource, an NFIB member business in Batavia.
“Bruce Rauner is clearly the best choice for small business,” said Kim Clarke Maisch, state director of NFIB/Illinois. “Bruce Rauner comes from the business community. He understands that government mandates and high taxes make it even harder for small, family businesses to grow and create jobs.
“We need a governor who sees the big picture, who understands what it takes to keep people working and to make Illinois competitive again and build a strong economy,” she said. “We need Bruce Rauner.”
Before endorsing, NFIB carefully vetted both candidates for governor, their positions on key issues and performed a statewide poll of the NFIB/Illinois membership. The endorsement comes from the NFIB/Illinois SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust, the political action committee for NFIB/Illinois’ membership.
Today’s endorsement puts the considerable grassroots support of the state’s small businesses behind the governor’s campaign. Small business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to vote.
NFIB will encourage its 11,000 dues-paying members in Illinois to help turn out the influential small business voting bloc on Election Day.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the Rauner campaign video of the endorsement…
* From an accompanying press release…
Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner today called on Governor Pat Quinn to quit stalling investigations into his administration and release all documents related to both NRI and illegal patronage hiring.
“Pat Quinn continues breaking promises and refuses to come clean with the people of Illinois,” Rauner said at the NFIB endorsement press conference in Batavia. “After promising the people he would fully cooperate with the investigations, we learned just yesterday that he’s refusing to disclose emails to the Legislative Audit Commission regarding NRI.”
Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Governor Quinn is refusing to disclose emails regarding NRI, prompting the co-chair of the Legislative Audit Commission to request Attorney General Lisa Madigan to enforce the subpoenas.
“That’s not the sign of someone fully cooperating,” Rauner said. “What is this governor hiding and who is he protecting?”
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* This Sun-Times story is attracting some national attention…
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is invoking first lady Michelle Obama as a possible 2016 opponent in a recent fundraising appeal, citing the “press and rumor mills” as his source — even though she has shown no interest in running for elected office.
It’s even doubtful President Barack Obama and the first family will immediately return to Chicago after leaving the White House, since youngest daughter Sasha will still be in high school here in January 2017, when a new president is sworn in.
Kirk’s fundraising ploy comes as the notion of Michelle Obama running for a Senate seat from Illinois surfaces occasionally — as it did in June — triggering Michelle Obama, the president White House Senior Adviser and friend Valerie Jarrett to shoot it down in interviews during the summer.
But in the world of political fundraising, denials about running for office don’t count for much because folks deny interest in running all the time and then they go and do it. Kirk’s letter uses the fundraising rule that it’s more effective to ask for money if there is someone big going after you.
* WSJ…
“I’m not one to believe rumors or engage in political gossip,” Kirk says in the letter, “but when it comes to defending the Illinois Senate seat that I’m honored to hold, I take all potential threats seriously.”
Kirk asked for donors to contribute anywhere from $25 to $1,000.
Heh.
It’s probably a smart move as far as fundraising goes. It made me chuckle, anyway.
* CNN…
While the “rumor mill” has been active for some time, Obama has explicitly said she has no plans for elected office.
Asked by ABC’s Robin Roberts whether her next move will be political, Obama said, “No, it will not be political,” and went on to say her next role will be “mission-based” and “service-focused.”
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of the Obamas, flat out rejected the suggestion that Obama would ever run for political office.
“No. I’m absolutely 100 percent positive that will never happen,” Jarrett said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in June.
Other outlets ran stories as well, but I think you get the drift.
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Illinois Review, other media win appeal
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Thomas More Society…
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its decision to dismiss the appeal brought by Satkar Hospitality Inc. against Illinois Review, a conservative news blog. In 2011, Satkar sued Illinois Review for defamation. The U.S. District Court dismissed the lawsuit, but Satkar appealed the decision, and in May, 2013, Thomas More Society brought oral arguments in defense of Illinois Review before the Seventh Circuit.
“We’re very pleased that this blatant attempt to silence aggressive political reporting has been finally rejected by the courts,” said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society vice president and senior counsel. “Illinois Review has a First Amendment right to speak out on controversial issues, and frivolous lawsuits should not be permitted to shut down their free speech.”
In April, 2009, Illinois Review published documents of public record showing that former Illinois State Rep. Paul Froehlich sought campaign contributions from individuals who won property tax relief with his assistance. After the story ran, the Cook County Board of Review reversed the tax breaks. Satkar Hospitality, Inc., was one of the companies that Illinois Review reported as having donated to Froehlich’s campaign and later winning a property-tax appeal.
Satkar then sued Illinois Review, along with its editor, Fran Eaton, and publisher, Dennis LaComb, for defamation. After extensive briefing, the District Court dismissed the lawsuit against Illinois Review, Eaton, and LaComb on the basis of the Illinois Citizen Participation Act, which protects those engaged in First Amendment-protected speech from frivolous lawsuits. Satkar filed a late notice of appeal, with permission of the District Court.
Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected the appeal and ended the case, holding that Satkar had no good reason to file a late appeal and should not have been given permission to do so by the District Court.
Satkar Hospitality, Inc., and co-plaintiffs Sharad K. Dani, and Harish Dani, had also sued the Cook County Board of Review, Fox Television Stations, Inc., Fox Chicago News, News Corp., and Fox Television Holdings, Inc., along with multiple individuals from those entities.
“We have laws in this country that protect journalists and affirm the public’s ‘right to know’,” Breen added. “Our courts don’t want to waste time or taxpayer money on whiplash action that is thrown as a cover-up for practices of questionable legality.”
The decision is here. Good job by the lawyers, and good on the IR folks for standing their ground.
And, by the way, that Illinois Citizen Participation Act is a great thing.
…Adding… I probably shouldn’t have said the law was “great.” I’d like to see punitive damage awards here. Frivolous, SLAPP lawsuits are in essence libelous. There should be much steeper penalties for this stuff.
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YouGov poll has Rauner ahead by 3 points
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* An online poll from YouGov conducted for the New York Times and CBS News has Bruce Rauner leading Gov. Pat Quinn 44-41. Without “leaners” it’s a 41-37 Rauner lead.
Quinn is getting 77 percent of Democrats compared to Rauner’s 84 percent of Republicans. Independents go Rauner’s way 55-26, which ain’t good at all for the guv.
Just 66 percent of African-Americans (who tend to break late) say they’re with Quinn, compared to 14 percent who are with (12 percent) or leaning toward Rauner. That’s good news for Rauner, of course.
I dunno about these YouGov polls, but the NYT seems to dig them, so there you go.
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Quinn one for eight
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Thursday afternoon, Gov. Pat Quinn attended practice for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
While there, he participated in a short shootaround, where he tried to show off his basketball skills. It didn’t go very well.
* Video…
…Adding… He does make a couple in a row on a Facebook video, however.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Doug Finke reports that two state lawmakers want police to wear “body cams”…
Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, and Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, said that developments in Ferguson, Missouri, have given new impetus to the legislation that Gordon-Booth said has been in the works for months.
Under the bill, people convicted of criminal or traffic offenses would pay an extra $6 surcharge.
The estimated $4 million to $6 million a year the surcharge would raise would be split between grants for police cameras and funding for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
* AP…
Sen. Bill Haine, an Alton Democrat who also is sponsoring the bill, said the legislation will “remove controversies and remove doubt on what’s going on with a lawful arrest.”
Several law enforcement groups attended the news conference in support of the bill, including the Illinois Sherriff’s Association, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police and the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association. So did the NAACP.
Brian Towne, president of the state’s attorney’s association, said the bill would help in the review of evidence in issuing charges and in avoiding frivolous lawsuits.
…Adding… Our good friends at BlueRoomStream.com have posted the video from today’s presser here.
* The Question: Do you support this concept? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
online survey
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* Sen. Jason Barickman sent a letter yesterday to the attorney general requesting that a Legislative Audit Commission subpoena be enforced against a potential witness…
Dear Attorney General Madigan,
It is with appreciation that we begin the next phase of your representation of the Legislative Audit Commission and its audit of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI.)
I appreciate your staff’s research, professionalism and participation in multiple, lengthy conference calls with Representative Mautino and myself, and our Chief Counsels. Your assistance has already been helpful to our efforts to fulfill our statutory obligation under the Legislative Audit Commission Act and ensure the timely production of documents related to the NRI audit, especially in light of our upcoming hearing(s).
As you are aware, the Legislative Audit Commission unanimously approved using subpoena powers, as provided by law, to obtain information related to the NRI audit. In accordance with a specific request from the United States Attorney investigating the program, the Commission has delayed hearing from individual witnesses until October 8, 2014.
However, the U.S. Attorney specifically did not request any delay in information gathering and we have proceeded appropriately.
As of today, Dr. Toni Irving has not complied with the subpoena issued by the Legislative Audit Commission and served upon her attorney John King on June 27, 2014. Despite a show of significant patience by the Legislative Audit Commission, only a small portion of the information requested of Dr. Irving has been produced, and broad-based claims of attorney-client privilege claims have been raised by the Office of the Governor through Dr. Irving’s attorney.
I would like to begin the process of enforcing the subpoena and respectfully request that your office immediately take the necessary steps to compel enforcement of the subpoena in a court of law. It is critical that the court consider this action in an expeditious manner, so as to ensure the LAC an opportunity to review any documents prior to our scheduled October 8, 2014 hearing. Further, this enforcement action is necessary to preserve the integrity of the LAC’s subpoena request and in support of the legal obligation’s LAC members have in reviewing the NRI audit. It is worth noting that our initial subpoena was issued well over two months ago. While we have made multiple and reasonable accommodations of Ms. Irving’s continued request of more time to comply with our subpoena as it relates to her production of documents, there are legitimate concerns that any further delays will significantly jeopardize the LAC’s ability to fulfill our legal obligation to review the NRI audit.
In order to assist you and to expedite this process, Jane Stricklin, Executive Director of the LAC, and the Chief Counsels for the four caucuses are preparing to deliver you a detailed timeline of the facts leading up to this request. A summarized timeline is as follows:
· On May 6, 2014, the LAC adopted a motion to utilize subpoena powers by a vote of 10 -1.
· On June 23, 2014, the subcommittee created by the May 6 motion, by unanimous vote, agreed to issue subpoenas to compel testimony and production of documents by the following individuals: Ms. Barbara Shaw, Dr. Toni Irving, Mr. Jack Lavin, Mr. Malcolm Weems, Mr. Warren Ribley, Mr. Andy Ross, and Mr. William (“Billy”) Ocasio.
· On July 16, 2014, the LAC convened a hearing where the subpoenaed individuals were to testify and produce documents. Due to a request from the US Attorneys’ Office, no testimony was taken. As to production of documents, all of the subpoenaed individuals except for Dr. Toni Irving and Barbara Shaw, either provided documents in his/her possession or written confirmation that he/she has no documents in his/her possession within a few days after the hearing. The attorneys for Dr. Irving and Barbara Shaw indicated that they needed some time to properly respond to the subpoena and were given 21 days to comply. Barbara Shaw’s attorney provided the subpoenaed documents on August 8, 2014. Dr. Irving’s attorney, Jon King, indicated that Dr. Irving is in possession of over 100,000 emails from her time in state service that would need to be reviewed for responsiveness.
· On August 6, 2014, Dr. Irving’s attorney, Jon King, requested an extension of time. After a conference call with the Co-Chairs of the LAC, Mr. King agreed to provide a letter of explanation of the steps taken with regard to reviewing the emails. As a result of this conversation, the time frame for compliance was extended to August 29, 2014.
· On August 14, 2014, attorney Jon King provided the letter of explanation requested in the August 6, 2014 conference call. That letter summarized that Ms. Irving had 107,892 emails and attachments. Of those, Mr. King believes at least 7,366 were potentially responsive, although as many as 1,394 may be protected by attorney-client privilege claims being made by the Office of the Governor.
· On August 27, 2014, Mr. King communicated that he would need additional time and requested an extension until September 9, 2014. That request was discussed in a conference call with Mr. King and the Co-Chairs on August 28, 2014. Mr. King was admonished that he needed to produce at least some documents immediately and that the Co-Chairs did not agree to any further extensions.
· On September 2, 2014, 177 documents were received by the LAC.
· On September 9, 2014, Mr. King sent a communication to Ms. Stricklin indicating that roughly 2,000 emails had been reviewed and that approximately 951 emails were responsive to the subpoena and were immediately being transmitted to the LAC. We have confidence that those emails have been (or will be promptly) received by the LAC.
Throughout the process, Mr. King has indicated that he has been communicating with Mr. John Schomberg, counsel for the Governor, who is asserting attorney-client privilege on a subset of these documents. It is my understanding that Ms. Stricklin and the Chief Counsels will coordinate any efforts with you to solicit unknown information related to these attorney-client privilege claims.
From the communications we have already had with your staff, it is my understanding that no further action must be taken by the LAC to initiate this enforcement action. In fact, the May 6, 2014, subpoena motion specifically authorized the Commission to “summon and compel” the “production of documents”. Further, Ms. Irving’s subpoena instructed her as follows: “You are commanded also to bring all relevant documents in your possession or control…” to the hearings held on July 16, 2014 and July 17, 2014, or be subjected “to punishment as provided by the Illinois Constitution and Section 4 of the Legislative Audit Commission Act”. Regardless, if necessary, I will request a special meeting of the LAC to consider whether to enforce the subpoena. Ms. Stricklin has informed us that such a meeting could be convened on 24 hours’ notice.
Our next hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2014. Obtaining non-privileged documents promptly is crucial to our ability to prepare for this hearing. Therefore, we need to expeditiously take the steps necessary to obtain these documents from Dr. Irving and to resolve any claims of privilege by the Governor’s Office.
Your immediate assistance in this process is requested.
Very Truly Yours,
Jason A. Barickman
State Senator
Co-Chairman, Legislative Audit Commission
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* I’ve been asking the Rauner campaign the past few days for a copy of this ad, which is being targeted to suburban women on cable TV. They never sent it.
Illinois Review recorded it off a TV, and the conservatives over there ain’t happy with Rauner for so openly “being pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage”…
The ad, airing on [cable] television only, is titled “Why Are You Voting for Bruce Rauner for Governor.” It opens with Marjorie Shapiro, who is identified in other videos on the Rauner website as a “pro-choice independent.”
Shapiro states:
“Bruce doesn’t have a social agenda. He’s pro-choice and will leave the marriage equality law alone.”
Rauner has been recorded on several occasions saying he’s personally pro-life, but believes in a “woman’s right to choose.” He has also been quoted as saying he would repeal the same-sex marriage law if he were governor. The conflicting statements, coupled with the ambiguous and situational definition of “no social agenda” has many conservative Republicans questioning their support for Rauner.
* Watch…
* Script…
Male announcer: Why are you voting for Bruce Rauner for governor?
Caucasian woman: Bruce doesn’t have a social agenda. He’s pro-choice and he’ll leave the marriage equality law alone.
African-American woman: Bruce will fight for good schools for all of our children, no matter where they live, no matter what the power brokers say.
Latina: We need a clean break from the Blagojevich-Quinn machine.
African-American woman: It’s time for a change.
Female announcer: Bruce Rauner, shake up Springfield, bring back Illinois.
It’s actually a pretty well crafted ad, but, needless to say, it ain’t gonna be running in Downstate markets.
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* An e-mail from Rep. Dave McSweeney…
I just filed House Resolution 1267 (attached below) with 34 total sponsors. The resolution strongly opposes the local pension cost shift. The proposal has broad bipartisan support and is supported by the IEA. You can contact Will Lovett from the IEA if you want to get a comment from them.
The sponsors believe that a cost shift is unfair and would result in a massive increase in property taxes and damaging cuts to education.
Last year, Speaker Madigan made it clear that the pension cost shift is a top priority. Some of us have heard rumblings that the cost shift could come back as part of a modified education formula (eg, SB 16) comprehensive bill. Also, if SB 1 is declared unconstitutional, I believe that it’s likely that the Speaker will push the cost shift again.
We just began discussions on this effort last Friday afternoon and expect to get a meaningful number of additional members to go on record against the cost shift by signing on to the resolution.
Below is the current sponsorship team.
McSweeney (Chief Sponsor)
Lead Co-sponsors - Kay, Hoffman, Rosenthal, and Costello
Co-sponsors - Franks, Sullivan, Phelps, Hatcher, Brauer, Moffitt, Meier, Poe, Tryon, Cabello, Davidsmeyer, Hays, Mitchell, Reis, Halbrook, Sosnowski, Tracy, Bost, Hammond, Brown, Harms, Reboletti, Sandack, Wheeler, Verschoore, Demmer, McAuliffe, Pritchard, Cavaletto
* The “therefore, be it resolved” line…
(W)e state our belief that an educational pension cost shift is financially wrong and would only serve to shift pension burdens from the State to the status of an unfunded mandate
Discuss.
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I find this difficult to believe
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* For the past ten days or so, the DCCC has been trying to get reporters to write about the fact that the NRCC hasn’t yet reserved any TV time in the 10th Congressional District on behalf of their candidate Bob Dold.
The following is a backgrounder from a Dem operative that I received on September 5th, after the DCCC finally convinced WaPo to slip this factoid into a story. The e-mail has been reformatted to match this blog’s posting style…
* Washington Post: The 10 most vulnerable members of the House…
9. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.): Schneider faces former congressman Bob Dold (R), whom he defeated in an extremely tight 2012 race (51-49). It’s expensive to buy air time in this suburban Chicago district. The NRCC has not yet reserved advertising time here, but it says it still intends to spend money.
* What the NRCC said in May about what they were going to reserve…
IL-10: $800,000 (Chicago broadcast and cable) Brad Schneider
* Boehner in August…
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, predicted Monday that come November, Illinois Republicans will have the most successful year they’ve had in the Land of Lincoln in more than two decades.
* NRCC last week…
AP: “Prill singled out the Dold-Schneider race as a “huge pickup opportunity” for Republicans. Dold lost to Schneider in the independent-leaning district by about one percentage point in 2012.”
* What they have actually reserved…
* After growing weary of this line of pursuit, I eventually reached out to Katie Prill at the NRCC. Here’s her response…
Hey Rich -
You are about the 10th reporter who has reached out about this. I am guessing [redacted staff name because it’s incorrect] is still pushing this ridiculous story.
Anyway, our ad buy is coming. The DCCC doesn’t even go up here until the end of October. We will be playing in this race and a buy will be placed soon.
Our executive director was Mark Kirks’ chief when he was in this district so obviously this race and our investment here is top priority. Are you planning on posting on this or just curious?
The Dems are trying to make something out of nothing. Kind of like Brad’s “small business career.”
Katie
* Indeed, the DCCC isn’t planning to go up until October 21st…
Illinois’ 10th District: $800,000 on Chicago broadcast and cable from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27 to defend Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider.
So, I let it drop.
* Yesterday, the same Dem operative sent me another e-mail…
Saw you posted about the new poll out in IL-10 showing Brad leading Bob Dold by 5 points. A few additional points.
· The NRCC said in May it would place an $800,000 ad reservation for Mr. Dold, but the Washington Post reported Friday they have not followed through.
· As was reported in the article you cited, outside groups have already spent some $1.6 million on TV for Mr. Dold, and have not moved the needle.
· Now, there signs another outside group is getting cold feet about Mr Dold. Just recently the Congressional Leadership Fund previously said that it would spend on behalf of Mr. Dold, but their newly released spending plans, do not list Dold at all.
* I sent the operative Ms. Prill’s e-mail. His response…
The longer they wait the harder it is to buy in Chicago.
That’s true, too, particularly with the governor’s race we’re having.
But I just can’t believe that the national Republicans are gonna take a pass on this race. Schneider won by a mere 3,326 votes two years ago during a huge Democratic wave. There isn’t going to be a Democratic wave this year.
In other words, I’m posting this to get the DCCC off my back.
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Today’s number: 9 percent
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ugh…
Only 9 percent of chief financial officers surveyed in Chicago say they plan to add new jobs to their companies in the next 6 months, according to a report released Thursday by staffing firm Robert Half.
That means most — 79 percent of area finance executives surveyed — will only be adding staff to fill vacated positions, according to the firm’s “Chicago Professional Employment Forecast” report.
This market for new jobs falls short of cities such as Houston, where 24 percent of CFOs said their companies planned to fill new positions over the next half year. In Denver, 19 percent of CFOs said they have plans to create new jobs over the fall and into the winter months of 2015. Other cities, such as Salt Lake City, Ut. Des Moines, Ia., and the San Francisco Bay area also reported plans to ramp up job creation by more than 10 percent.
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Nothing, nothing, nothing… huh?
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rauner hasn’t wanted many debates, so no surprise here…
Republican Bruce Rauner’s campaign said Wednesday that the candidate for governor would not accept an invitation from The State Journal-Register and WICS-TV Channel 20 for a live debate in Springfield with Gov. Pat Quinn.
Quinn’s campaign had said last week that the Democratic governor would participate if Rauner agreed to take part.
* No way were the firefighters gonna sit this one out or be with Rauner…
Gov. Pat Quinn [this week] visited a downtown fire station to receive the endorsement of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, which has 15,000 members across the state, including 5,000 in Chicago.
Union President Pat Devaney said it was an “easy” choice between Quinn and Rauner, saying it’s clear the Democratic governor would fight for working people while Rauner takes stances that would hurt them, such as previous statements that he would support eliminating the minimum wage.
* The only surprise about this is that the state police commanders had never endorsed in a governor’s race before…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner announced today that he received the endorsement of the Illinois State Police Command Officers Association (ISPCOA).
“I have tremendous admiration for every member of our state police force. They are heroes who are willing to risk their safety for all of us, and they deserve the best in return,” Rauner said. “I’m humbled and grateful to have the support of the State Police’s top leaders with the endorsement of Illinois’ Police Command Officers.”
“Our Association strongly supports your effort to establish term limits for elected leaders in our state and sincerely appreciates your support of law enforcement and public safety,” ISCPOA President James Alexander wrote in the endorsement letter. “We enthusiastically support your candidacy.”
* But check out this headline…
Could State Rep. Jeanne Ives be the first IL female Governor? Watch Rep. Ives w/Berkowitz on Cable/Web and you decide
Watch…
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* You would think that US Sen. Rob Portman, the vice chairman for finance of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, would have at least passing knowledge of a race involving the Senate’s second highest ranking Democrat…
Portman was asked whether the committee would give Oberweis financial help or other assistance in his race. He also was asked to gauge Oberweis’ chances.
He said: “I don’t know what the NRSC decision will be there. I have been told that that (Illinois) race has closed somewhat. It’s a single-digit race based on some polling, but I just don’t know enough about it.”
Does he expect the committee to help Oberweis?
“I don’t know,” Portman replied. “I mean, frankly the playing field (for Republicans) is already very broad. I don’t think people would have been expected to be talking about Minnesota and New Hampshire and Virginia and Oregon, and we are, so the playing field is already quite broad.”
Thoughts?
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Rauner, Quinn both refuse to take the bait
Thursday, Sep 11, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner refused to throw Jim Bruner under the bus yesterday. As you’ll recall, a union-backed group tried to claim earlier yesterday - without proof - that Bruner was somehow involved in pay to play with Bill Cellini. But it was a major stretch, and to his credit, Rauner refused to back off…
Rauner and Christie later Wednesday appeared at the Brickhouse Grill & Pub in downtown Springfield. Asked about Bruner’s involvement in the Republican Governors Association event, Rauner said, “I don’t know the facts of what you’re describing. We have come from several fundraisers here in Springfield, and (I) was honored to have Jim Bruner be part-leader of that process.”
* Also yesterday. Rauner demanded that Gov. Pat Quinn order his staff not to have any contact with Jack Lavin, who hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing and made it through the Blagojevich administration untainted by that train wreck. Quinn refused to take the bait…
Quinn’s campaign said the governor has no reason to distance himself or his administration from Lavin.
“There is no disassociation necessary,” Quinn campaign spokeswoman Izabela Miltko said. “Mr. Lavin has not worked for the state for more than a year.
“And we don’t agree with Mr. Rauner’s ‘demonizing’ approach when it comes to campaigning. Whether it’s teachers, public employees or former state workers who have not been accused of any wrongdoing, Rauner will bully and smear anyone in his way,” she said.
Good for both candidates.
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* The Democratic Governors Association is touting a new poll showing Gov. Quinn actually leading Bruce Rauner. Here’s the polling memo from Global Strategy Group, which handled the polling for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign…
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn Leads in Re-election Race
Bruce Rauner’s lack of appeal to Democratic and Independent voters sinks his prospects
Incumbent Pat Quinn leads Republican challenger Bruce Rauner in the race for Illinois Governor, according to a recent statewide survey of likely voters conducted by Global Strategy Group. Democratic voters are consolidating behind Quinn and forming increasingly negative views of Rauner, severely limiting the Republican’s chances of victory in the Democratic-leaning state.
Key findings include:
• Quinn has taken the lead over Rauner. Quinn leads the race with 43% of the vote compared to 40% for Rauner and 5% for Libertarian Chad Grimm.
• Rauner’s popularity is sinking. Rauner is 13 points better known now (72% familiar) than in June (59%), but his favorability has held steady while his negative ratings have shot up by 13 points (34% fav/26% unfav to 33% fav/39% unfav). Rauner has become an unpalatable choice for the state’s Democrats and an increasingly divisive figure among Independents over the course of the campaign. As he has become better known, Rauner’s negative ratings have increased by 20 points among Democrats (16% fav/43% unfav to 9% fav/63% unfav) and by 13 among Independents (35% fav/21% unfav to 35% fav/34% unfav) with no increase in his positive ratings.
• Democratic support for Quinn leaves Rauner with no clear path to victory. In an electorate where nearly half of voters (48%) identify as Democrats and just over one-third are self-described Republicans (35%), Quinn has strong odds of holding on to the seat as long as he can consolidate his party’s voters. Quinn enjoys the support of 81% of Democrats, matching Republican consolidation behind Rauner (83%). Self-described conservatives are the only ideological segment of the electorate that afford Rauner an advantage in the race, while Quinn leads among moderate voters (40% Quinn/37% Rauner) and by a double-digit margin among non-conservative Independents (42% Quinn/31% Rauner).
The bottom line is this: The more Democratic and Independent voters hear about Bruce Rauner, the less appealing he becomes to them. Rauner’s sinking popularity among these voters demonstrates that advertising from Democratic groups is successfully defining Rauner negatively and making Rauner’s uphill task to overcome the state’s Democratic lean all the more difficult. Pat Quinn’s position has been strengthened significantly two months out from the election as Rauner has become an unappealing choice to all but the furthest-right voters in the electorate and Democrats are consolidating solidly behind Quinn.
That’s a large number for self-identified Democrats, but not outside the realm of possibility (Rasmussen had it at 44 in July, as did 2010 exit polling). This is a “D” state. Also, keep in mind that “non-conservative Independents” is a much smaller group than conservative independents.
* Democratic-sponsored polls have lately shown this to be a much closer race than all other polls done in Illinois. For instance…
Sneed hears that Gov. Pat Quinn just received his latest internal poll, which has the gubernatorial election locked in a virtual tie.
The poll of 600 people, taken by Quinn’s pollster Mark Mellman of the Mellman Group from July 27 to 29, shows Quinn at 38 percent, GOP candidate Bruce Rauner at 39 percent and 23 percent of voters undecided. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.
…Adding… Assuming for the moment that these two polls are within reasonable distance of accuracy, then it truly repudiates Rauner’s summertime strategy of spending little money on TV and not responding to either the union-backed ads or Quinn’s ads.
If Rauner ends up losing this race, his post-primary “go light” strategy will be to blame. Most figured he’d spend a fortune early on in an attempt to bury Quinn with a double-digit lead by Labor Day and dry up the governor’s money heading into the fall. That didn’t happen. And whatever poll you choose to believe now, the race has undoubtedly tightened to single digits. That one’s on Rauner.
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