Question of the day
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I received several calls, texts and e-mails yesterday after writing about the life and death of my grandmother. I knew some of the folks who reached out, I didn’t know others. Thanks to everyone for their sympathy and for their admiration of a woman I adored, respected and loved. Many of them also shared their own stories about loss and grief and hope.
I closed comments on the post because my feelings about Grandma’s death were just too raw. I didn’t want to discuss it. I wrote what I wrote and that’s that.
But some of the replies I received yesterday were so beautiful and touching that I figured we should do something about that today. So…
* The Question: Did yesterday’s story make you think of one of your own family members? Tell us about that special person, please.
* By the way, this is Grandma’s obit in the Kankakee Daily Journal…
Lucille Arnold Miller “Gramma Cuz” Cousin, 93, of Martinton, passed away Sunday (June 1, 2014) at Sheldon Healthcare.
She was born Oct. 13, 1920, in London, Ky., the daughter of George and Etta Arthur Arnold. Lucille was married to LaVerne Miller from 1938 to 1963 and Maurice Cousin from 1964 to 1965. After they were married, she farmed with her husband in Limestone Township. She retired from General Foods, Gaines Division, and had previously worked at Bear Brand Hosiery, both in Kankakee.
She loved her children and their families more than anything else. She enjoyed traveling, whether to Europe, throughout the U.S., or on the roads around the Kankakee area. She was a great storyteller, providing facts and remembrances such as staying warm under a buffalo robe in the family’s open touring car and riding her horse to school along with her brother, Welty. The details she provided made her stories come alive to those who would sit and listen, learn and remember. A good joke and a hardy laugh were her trademarks.
A lifelong Cubs fan, she tried to attend at least one game a year in Chicago. She enjoyed going to the “boats” once gambling opened up in Illinois. And, she was an expert dancer who could keep up with the younger generations until her early 80s. Her hobbies included spending time with family, reading, crocheting, talking on the phone daily and doing word puzzles.
Surviving are sons, Richard Wayne (Barb) Miller, of Geneseo, Dennis Ray (Lynne) Miller, of Bradley; daughters, Phyllis Ann (Gary Billadeau) Redman, of Kankakee, Marilyn Rose Schultz, of Watseka, Marsha Lynn (Marlon) Gersky, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; sisters, Dora, Dorothy and Mardene Arnold, all of Watseka; brother-in-law, George Wingerter, of Martinton; best friend, Pearle Peterson, of Chicago Heights; and 22 grandchildren.
Lucille was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Vernon Luther “Bill” Miller, of Martinton; two brothers, Welty (Martha) and George “Berle” Arnold, of Kankakee; four sisters, Gertrude (Everett) Martin, of Pittsfield, Tevis Wingerter, of Martinton, Edith Palmero, of Kempton, and Velma Blanton, of Crete.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee, where funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Kankakee Memorial Gardens, Aroma Township. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Arc of Iroquois County.
They just had to get that Cubs reference in there.
* My Great Aunt Mardine (Grandma’s sister) has Down Syndrome and has been in an Arc of Iroquois County CILA for the past few years. They make some really cool furniture, which you can check out by clicking here. Aunt Mardine loves the programs the organization provides. You can donate to The Arc of Iroquois County by clicking here. Thanks.
* Also, I’m leaving for the wake in a few minutes, so don’t expect any posts the rest of the day. Grandma’s funeral is at 10 o’clock tomorrow, so I doubt there will be any posts Thursday, either.
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Fun with numbers
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he’s “extremely disappointed” with the private company that runs the state lottery.
Cullerton says lawmakers believed a private firm would operate the lottery better than the state. He says financial reports indicate Northstar Lottery Group “is unable to live up to its commitments.”
Reports filed with the Lottery Control Board show Northstar is projected to be $716 million short of its $3.5 billion required sales target this fiscal year. The company must make “shortfall payments” to the state when it misses targets.
* But this is also a state failure. Scroll way down in this Tribune story and you’ll see this…
The firm became the nation’s first private manager of a state lottery in 2010. The selection process itself was not without controversy, prompting a scathing report from the state auditor general, which highlighted some irregularities and questionable practices. In one instance, a member of the evaluation team chosen by the governor to review and recommend a winner reportedly read nearly 2,000 pages of bid proposals in a single day. […]
Shortly after the company took over the lottery in July 2011, it began requesting that the state lower the net revenue promises set forth in the contract.
And scroll even further and you’ll see this…
In an appearance last month before the Lottery Control Board, Northstar CEO Timothy Simonson defended the company’s performance. He said the lottery has brought in an additional $450 million to fund education and capital improvements and such charitable causes as breast cancer research and veteran support programs.
The increase shows the firm has grown sales at a rate of 12 percent annually, compared with the 3 percent growth the lottery experienced under state control, Simonson said.
By the state’s own estimate, it would have taken a decade to reach the net revenue figures that Northstar achieved in the first year after taking over day-to-day operations of the lottery, he said.
This bid was goofy from the start. Northstar obviously over-promised and a cash-starved state fell for it hook, line and sinker. Northstar should be punished for its behavior, but spare me the outrage because there’s also no doubt whatsoever that moving to a private manager has considerably increased state revenues.
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Cross wants budget veto
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Tom Cross voted against the new state budget. Sen. Michael Frerichs voted for it. Cross is now trying to make this a campaign issue in the race for state treasurer. From a press release…
Illinois State Representative and candidate for Illinois State Treasurer Tom Cross today released a letter he sent to Governor Quinn urging him to veto the unbalanced budget approved by the Illinois General Assembly. Cross also informs Quinn that should the legislature’s budget become law, and should he be elected State Treasurer by the people of Illinois, his first official will be to challenge the legality of the budget by defending the state’s constitutional requirement for a balanced budget.
Excerpts from the Letter
“The General Assembly’s inability to honestly address the budget situation has led to the passage of an unbalanced and irresponsible budget that relies heavily on borrowing, one-time revenues and delaying the payment of bills. The budget approved by the General Assembly exacerbates Illinois’ worsening fiscal condition while increasing our state’s backlog of bills and creating a multi-billion dollar budget deficit for FY16.
“I strongly urge you to use the powers given to the Governor and reject the budget as passed by the General Assembly. Now more than ever, Illinois needs a responsible and honestly balanced budget. If this budget is signed into law and should I be so fortunate to be elected Illinois State Treasurer, my first act upon taking the oath of office will be to immediately seek to protect Illinois taxpayers by asking for the courts to declare the budget in violation of the state’s constitutional requirement of a balanced budget.”
* Meanwhile, Frerichs voted to expand the sales tax to services a few years back, and he’s talking about it again…
Frerichs says he would work to create a more fair revenue stream… in part by pushing to expand the sales tax to include services, while lowering the overall rate to make it a more progressive tax.
* Frerichs’ campaign supporters basically say [changed because the campaign isn’t actually saying that, but some supporters are - I was moving too fast when I wrote it] three things…
1) Illinois is a “blue” state
2) Statewide Democrats who outspend Republican opponents never lose
3) Frerichs has outraised Cross and will outspend Cross
Except that ever since Cross voted against the state pension reform bill that he helped negotiate, there’s been rampant speculation that Cross essentially traded that vote for bigtime monetary support from Team Rauner.
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Today’s number: 0
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bob Starks, a professor emeritus at Northeastern Illinois University….
I’ve been watching, with great interest, Bruce Rauner’s TV ads, and it certainly creates the impression that he places a high value on diversity. Several African-Americans, Latinos and women appear in the ads. […]
So I reviewed GTCR’s website, the private equity firm founded by Rauner in 1980, and from which he retired in 2012. By my count, of the 51 people on the GTCR staff website, http://www.gtcr.com/who-we-are/, I found:
▪ 0 African Americans
▪ 1 Latino
▪ 3 Asians
▪ 6 Women
Discuss.
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Failed gubernatorial candidate Tio Hardiman has more delusions of grandeur…
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Smith “hounded for weeks” by federal mole
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The pile of 70 crisp $100 bills had been neatly stacked into bundles.
“One, two, three, four, five — damn, stuck together, six, seven,” the federal mole counted out loud, as he handed over an alleged $7,000 bribe to state Rep. Derrick Smith, D-Chicago.
“You don’t want me to give you yours now?” Smith replied as they sat together in his parked car on a West Side street.
“I’ll get at you later,” the mole told him, splitting without taking his cut.
Played in court for jurors Tuesday, a devastating audio recording of that March 10, 2012, conversation could land Smith in prison.
* But Eric Zorn points to this Tribune excerpt…
State Rep. Derrick Smith had been hounded for weeks by a campaign worker intent on bringing him a $7,000 bribe from a day care worker who needed a letter of support to win a state grant. In secretly recorded conversations, the campaign worker – a felon named Pete who was cooperating with the FBI – had asked Smith repeatedly when he was going to write the letter and how he wanted to receive his kickback. …The recordings depicted a frazzled Smith who was trying to win his first election since his appointment to the legislature a year earlier. Many of the conversations played out over the phone while Smith was either headed to or from Springfield. He expressed disappointment and mistrust of other campaign workers and also frustration over Pete’s continued push for the letter of support, even though he hadn’t given Smith the details about the project.
That story has since been rewritten and no longer appears on the website as it is above.
* But here is one excerpt from the re-written piece along those same lines…
[FBI Special Agent Bryan Butler] also acknowledged that Pete didn’t always play by the rules. He used up to five different cell phones during the investigation despite the request by agents that he use only one. Pete also met with Smith without telling agents and many conversations went unrecorded, Butler said.
Besides capturing the alleged bribe in progress, the conversations that jurors have heard offer a glimpse into Smith’s campaign. In several calls, Smith expressed disappointment and mistrust of other campaign workers and worried about the correct strategy against his opponent, Tom Swiss, whom Smith described as “white and Republican.”
But by March, Smith seemed optimistic that his campaign had gained traction and he would prevail. But in other calls, he seemed frustrated over Pete’s continued push for the letter of support even though he hadn’t given Smith the details about the project.
“This stuff is serious,” Smith said in another conversation.
Later, Smith was given a draft letter that purportedly was from the day care operator but had actually been written by the FBI. Smith balked at the lack of detail in the draft and sent it back to Pete asking for it to be fleshed out. After a second try, the FBI got it right – Smith’s office sent an email back to the day care saying his signature would be on it soon.
* Zorn’s conclusion…
I’m not a lawyer but I do know enough law to realize that the entrapment defense is usually a stretch. Even still, gee, from what I read it looks an awful lot like this informant hassled Smith until Smith yielded to the temptation of some easy “cheddar.”
Look, Smith probably deserves whatever he’s gonna get.
But Zorn does have a point. When is enough enough? Don’t the feds have more important things to do than repeatedly dangle cash in front of somebody over a period of several weeks until he finally takes the bait?
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Tribune: Meh
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not surprisingly, considering the source, the Chicago Tribune editorial board rules that Bruce Rauner has plenty more time to talk about specifics…
Quinn wants Rauner to issue an austere budget plan so Quinn’s plan isn’t the only politically perilous one on voters’ radar.
Rauner plainly sees no reason to oblige for now. He’s surely relishing last week’s projection by the political numbers geeks at FiveThirtyEight.com: Early polling suggests that Quinn has a 25 percent chance of winning — and a 75 percent chance of losing — on Nov. 4. Of all the states with elections for governor this year, only Pennsylvania now has a higher likelihood than Illinois of switching parties.
Rauner will have to get more specific about his spending priorities. Voters aren’t paying much attention in June to an election to be held in November. But come fall, if Rauner doesn’t get into the dirty details, he’s going to invite comparisons to 1968 and Richard Nixon’s so-called secret plan to get the nation out of the Vietnam War.
So, because Rauner has a good chance of winning and voters aren’t paying much attention yet, he doesn’t have to say what he’ll do if elected.
Check.
* But about that projection. Here’s what FiveThirtyEight.com recently published…
Illinois’s Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, has trailed in nearly every single early poll against Republican businessman Bruce Rauner. This is one state where early polling may not be telling the whole story. Almost all the polls in Illinois have been conducted by automatic dialers that use a recorded message, which tend to overstate the GOP position (though the only live-interview poll we have also had Quinn down). Moreover, Quinn managed to win in 2010, despite trailing in most surveys during the campaign; it was probably the biggest general election polling blunder of the past six years.
The website back then had Quinn with almost no chance of winning because it made the very same mistake that many pollsters did. Instead of asking voters about all the candidates running, most pollsters cheaped out and just asked about Quinn and Bill Brady. But it turned out that third party candidate Scott Lee Cohen was taking more votes away from Brady than from Quinn. Garbage in, garbage out. The blunder wasn’t in the polls, per se, it was that the pollsters tried to short-cut the process and FiveThirtyEight failed to see what was going on. So, in the end, it was as much a blunder by the famed prognosticator and his computer program as it was by the pollsters. And now they’re trying to rewrite history.
Gov. Quinn has also been trying to rewrite history by repeated pointing to FiveThirtyEight’s horribly wrong prediction in 2010 as proof that he’ll be fine this year. But I wouldn’t be too sure of that if I were him. The website was wrong because the pollsters made a huge mistake and it didn’t catch that mistake, and still apparently doesn’t realize how badly it screwed up.
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Cubs, WGN Radio split after 90 years
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cub games are moving to WBBM after appearing on WGN Radio since Calvin Coolidge was president…
The move to CBS marks the end of a 90-year relationship with WGN-AM 720. The Tribune Co.-owned station reportedly was losing money on the broadcasts and chose to exercise an option to reopen its radio contract with the team last fall. Station executives cited low ratings after losing 197 games over the last two seasons as contributing to revenue declines.
The previous deal was valued at $10 million, according to earlier reports in the Tribune. WGN had the right to match the new CBS offer, but chose not to, according to sources.
* More on the ratings decline and WGN’s losses…
WGN has faced cutbacks because of broad industry changes and fewer advertising dollars rolling in for poor Cubs baseball.
Advertisers typically pay for ads before a season starts based on the most recent ratings, but they can claim free air time when stations don’t live up to promised ratings. That has decimated WGN’s margins for airing Cubs games.
* Can Ricketts be more of a disaster as an owner? Well, yeah. Sam Zell was pretty darned awful, too…
The deal made by former Tribune Co. chairman Sam Zell when he sold the Cubs to Tom Ricketts in 2009 has been a financial disaster for WGN, which has lost $6 million a year, according to some estimates. “The economics of the deal that we inherited did not make business sense,” [Jimmy deCastro, president and general manager of WGN] told me. […]
“The economic terms just don’t make sense for us,” deCastro said. “So it’s really not us saying we don’t want them anymore. It’s the Cubs saying that the economics they need are much greater than what we think they’re worth or what we’ll pay. They chose to go another way economically and made a decision to move on.”
* WGN TV is also dumping Cubs baseball from its national cable broadcast, so fans who’ve moved away will not be able to watch their team. And the fate of the Cubs on the local station is also up in the air…
The Cubs last year opted out of their TV deal with the network, giving it a chance to either pay more for broadcasting rights beginning in 2015 than it currently does or lose the games to a rival network.
Those negotiations continue while the team shows few signs of promise on the field and while local TV ratings remain in a slump.
* Related…
* Wrigley rooftops go on offense, say Ricketts has ‘buyer’s remorse’
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* Gov. Pat Quinn in the Sun-Times…
“I’m the only one running for governor who has a plan to invest in education,” Quinn said. “The other people have nothing. It’s a sham. I think it’s time we call those folks out.”
At the news conference at Jane Addams Elementary School, Quinn added: “The other person is too timid, too fearful to lay out a plan.”
Quinn said he and staff are still going through the budget lawmakers sent his office and promised that education for this fiscal year would not suffer.
That could not be promised in future years without the help of the extension of a temporary income tax hike, which Quinn unsuccessfully pushed in his budget proposal.
“Now to be honest, if we don’t have the resources, in future fiscal years, we’ll be in trouble,” Quinn said. “So it’s important we win this battle.”
* But…
While Quinn criticized Rauner for failing to make his positions clear, the governor refused to say what he’d do with a bill that would put in place changes for portions of City Hall’s pension systems. The proposal is backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has said he would seek a property tax increase to pay for the extra $250 million the city would have to make in pension contributions over five years. […]
Quinn refused to say if he’d sign the city pension bill, which he must act on by Monday. He also declined to discuss whether the 911 fee measure could be a viable alternative to a property tax increase, therefore making him more inclined to sign off on the pension measure. […]
The governor also demurred on whether he’d sign the budget lawmakers sent him, which he has described as “incomplete.” Quinn said he’d have to review it carefully, but may consider making a few changes.
Thoughts?
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Lucille Arnold Miller “Gramma Cuz” Cousin
Tuesday, Jun 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My grandma died Sunday night. Grandma had been in a nursing home for several years after it became clear that she wasn’t safe living alone, even with family in the same small town and regular visits from a nurse.
I thought I had prepared myself. She was 93 and had been in hospice for over a year. But something has stuck with me from the phone call I got soon after Grandma died.
Grandma’s breathing was labored for a while, then she took a deep, final breath and tears rolled down her cheeks as she passed away.
* Grandma was a huge music fan and told me once that she saw Glenn Miller and his big band. I was blown away by that. I was just starting to get into that man’s awesome sounds (go watch “Orchestra Wives” and you’ll get a real sense for how the kids went crazy for Miller’s music), and Grandma told me how wild and loud the show was and how everybody was dancing their hearts out.
Grandma drove to Nashville numerous times to soak up performances at the Grand Ole Opry She saw everybody, everywhere. I’m convinced that she attended triple the concerts that I’ve ever seen. Grandma’s brother was a guitar player in a country/bluegrass band in Kankakee back in the day, and I’m pretty sure I get my love for music from her.
She loved to dance. And she could cut a rug with the best of them until well into her 80s. The woman stomped on the terra every day of her life.
* Grandma was constantly on the go and traveled all over the place. She came to my high school graduation in Germany. She visited us when we lived in Utah. She went out to California I don’t know how many times. And if she didn’t have a destination, she’d make one by driving around until she found something to do. Maybe a garage sale. Maybe an old friend.
Grandma traveled regularly to her original home near London, Kentucky to see family and friends. They lived in the hills, and Grandma rode a horse to school when she was growing up. She used to tell stories about wearing a buffalo skin blanket in the back of the family car.
She was an unbelievably good cook. I used to go to her house sometimes just so I could beg her to make me some liver and onions - something nobody else could do as well as her. The first time I ever ate rabbit was when grandma cooked it for me. She’d bought it from a co-worker at the General Foods factory in Kankakee.
Grandma worked hard at that factory, which made dog food. She worked hard her entire life, from Kentucky to Kankakee. But I never heard her complain and she made great friends at that factory. We’d always run into them when we went out on the town together. She was one of those special people who seemed to know everybody and everybody loved her. It was like hanging out with a working class celebrity, I kid you not. She had a real presence that everyone around her could feel. People were naturally attracted to her.
* Grandma loved to go out to the taverns with her friends. She wasn’t against going to the riverboats on occasion, either. She didn’t live in a big house, quite the opposite. She wasn’t into conspicuous consumption, except for making sure she always got her hair done just so.
Instead, she wanted to have fun. And, man, did she ever have fun. I once laughed so hard at one of her stories that I dropped my beer can on her floor, which made her laugh. She didn’t drop her beer, though.
* Grandma treated her 22 grandchildren like they were all her favorites. I was the oldest male grandchild, so maybe I got extra special treatment every once in a while. At least, I felt so.
I’m told I’m the one who came up with the “Gramma Cuz” nickname for her. All her grandkids and great grandkids called her that. She was married briefly after divorcing my grandfather and kept her second husband’s name Cousin for reasons I never really asked about. Some things, you just don’t discuss with a lady.
Grandma taught me how to crochet once. I was spending a Christmas break from college with her and we couldn’t go anywhere because the weather was bad. Some of my friends made fun of me when I told them what I did over break, but, truthfully, it wasn’t about the crocheting. It was about spending time listening to my grandmother tell her stories and feeling as close to her as I’ve ever felt to anybody in my life.
* I think I told you already that Gramma Cuz met John F. Kennedy. I believe it was 1959, and my grandfather was a Teamsters guy. He took Grandma to a union event in Chicago and Kennedy put his arm around Grandma, kissed her on the cheek and told my grandfather that he had a beautiful wife. To the day she died, nobody could ever say a bad word about JFK in front of Grandma. Ever.
* Years ago, we were in her kitchen in West Kankakee and we talked for the first and only time about growing old. Grandma got really angry as she explained how she absolutely hated the idea of slowing down with age. She wanted to grab hold of life by the throat each and every day and and have fun, damnit. No slowing down for her. That just wasn’t her way. Aging was an enemy, something to be fought.
Watching her slowly fade away, first at her house and then in the nursing home, broke my heart. When dementia finally occupied her almost non-stop, I had to force myself to go see her. But she always knew who I was, even at her most distant. Her eyes would light up when I walked in and she’d hold my hand. But she was soon gone again, lost in an incomprehensible world that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I knew she was suffering. I knew how much she despised the fate that ultimately overcame her. And so it was almost a relief when she passed. At least she will have peace, were my first thoughts.
But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about those tears running down her cheeks at the end. She’d lost her fight. The fun was truly over. No more traveling, no more new experiences, no more children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, no more crazy fun music, no more of life’s simple pleasures and beauties.
I’ve been haunted by those thoughts for days. But Grandma is indeed finally at peace and no longer suffering. So, I’m trying now to focus on how grateful I am for the love she gave her family, for the example she set of hard work and harder play and for always being there for anybody who ever needed her. She was one of the finest storytellers I knew. It’s not so much what she said, but in how she told those stories. I write a lot like she talked. I’ve been blessed to have her genes.
Grandma’s wake is Wednesday afternoon and her funeral is Thursday. So, don’t expect many posts.
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* Remember when the House voted last month for a budget that included tax hike extension revenues but against a budget which didn’t include those revenues? Well, that’s not the only directly contradictory stance taken by the chamber in May.
As you probably already know, the Obama administration unveiled new rules this week to force states to lower carbon emissions by power plants. Those emissions are significant in Illinois…
Only five other states emitted more greenhouse gases from power plants than Illinois in 2012, according to the EPA. And while the Obama administration is saying that the proposed rule requires a 30 percent reduction of carbon from the power sector by 2030 based on their emissions in 2005, the reductions don’t fall equally state by state. Illinois is being asked to cut its power-plant emissions by 33 percent from its 2012 emissions. Only two other Midwestern states, Wisconsin and Minnesota, are being asked to do more. Strangely, neighboring Indiana, which emits more greenhouse gases than far larger Illinois thanks to its heavy dependence on carbon-heavy coal, must cut its emissions by only 20 percent. […]
Assuredly, coal plants will close because of this. Coal accounted for 41 percent of the power generated in Illinois in 2012 and is by far the biggest source of carbon emissions. But Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy Inc., which recently bought four coal plants serving the Chicago area out of bankruptcy, could argue for converting at least some of them to cleaner-burning natural gas as a way to lower emissions rather than simply maintain current carbon-free power generation through keeping nukes open.
* Last week, the House passed a resolution on a voice vote which strongly backed the idea of nuclear power to balance the greenhouse gas emissions of coal-fired plants…
WHEREAS, Closing even a few nuclear power plants could make achieving State and national carbon reduction goals difficult or impossible; after the January 2012 shutdown of a nuclear power plant in California, the state’s carbon dioxide output increased by 35% in the first year, according to the California Air Resources Board, and increased generation costs in the state by about $369 million, equivalent to a 15% increase in total generation costs, during the 12 months following the January 2012 shutdown, according to a working paper issued by the Energy Institute at Haas
The resolution was pushed by Exelon, which sold its coal fired plants years ago.
* The very same day, however, Rep. Brandon Phelps successfully fought to get his own pro-coal resolution out of the House Environment Committee, where it had been stuck for months. Phelps’ motion to discharge passed with 71 votes. He passed his resolution the next day…
State Rep. Brandon Phelps’ (D-Harrisburg) resolution passed the Illinois House Friday, calling for the Obama Administration to allow Illinois to set its own time table developing energy standards. The state’s abundance of coal and dependence on coal makes Illinois unique, and the state should be allowed to move into renewable energy sources at a different rate than other states, the lawmaker said. […]
State Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) blasted the resolution as a work of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank, and called for a “no” vote, saying Obama’s home state should not balk at the president’s efforts to protect the climate.
“These restrictions that are coming will drive coal companies out of business,” said Republican House member Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelien). He said shutting down coal businesses in Illinois will cause power bills to skyrocket.
The resolution also asked that the IEPA be given more time to phase in the compliance schedule.
* From Crain’s…
“The House has passed two resolutions that point in two different directions that are hard to reconcile in a policy way,” says Howard Learner, executive direction of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, which has battled coal plants for years.
So who is likely to win in this shootout at the OK Corral, Exelon or coal-plant owners?
Never, never bet against Exelon in Illinois.
That’s correct.
* The coal industry has fought pollution regs tooth and nail, which will likely be their ultimate undoing. From a new Washington Post-ABC News poll…
Fully 70 percent say the federal government should require limits to greenhouse gases from existing power plants, the focus of a new rule announced Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency. An identical 70 percent supports requiring states to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions within their borders.
Democrats and Republicans are in rare agreement on the issue. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans, 76 percent among independents and 79 percent of Democrats support state-level limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Strong tea party supporters are most resistant to limits on emissions by states and power plants; 50 percent say the federal government should impose caps, while 45 percent say they should not.
The cross-party agreement extends to a willingness to pay for such limits with higher energy bills, a flashpoint for debate and a key area of uncertainty in new regulations. Asked whether Washington should still go forward with limits if they “significantly lowered greenhouse gases but raised your monthly energy expenses by 20 dollars a month,” 63 percent of respondents say yes, including 51 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats.
Americans living in coal-heavy states are supportive of limiting greenhouse gas emissions in the poll, even as their states will be forced to make bigger adjustments to meet the EPA’s new emissions targets. Among those in states where a majority of electricity is produced by burning coal, 69 percent say the government should place limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Support is a similar 71 percent in states where less than half of electricity comes from coal.
* Related…
* Illinois officials applaud new EPA rule on emissions
* Illinois coal industry concerned about Obama’s call to tighten emission standards
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Robin Eulaine Lorimor
Tuesday, Jun 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My former intern Barton Lorimor has a brand new baby girl. Robin Eulaine was born 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 20 inches long. She’s “Very healthy,” according to Barton, and his wife Jenny is doing well, too.
What a cute little baby…
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* This video is by far the best and funniest explanation I’ve ever seen of “Net Neutrality” and why it’s so important. It also includes some hilarious digs at online commenters. The most offensive swear words have been bleeped, but there’s still some naughty bits, so beware. Either way, you absolutely must take the time to watch the whole thing. John Oliver is a genius…
* Related…
* FCC Comment Page Buckles To Its Knees After John Oliver Asks Everyone To Comment
* Rep. Latta Breaks New Ground In Introducing Anti-Net Neutrality Bill Where Almost Every Claim Is Laughably Wrong
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* I just got an e-mail from Moody’s with the headline “Illinois Risk of Accounts Payable Growth Caused by Unbalanced Budget is Credit Negative”…
Moody’s has issued a short comment detailing the State of Illinois’ (rated A3/negative outlook) failure to extend income tax rates sunseting on Dec. 31 will reduce revenues in the next fiscal year by an estimated $1.8 billion (4.7%), leading to a structural deficit that could cause the lowest-rated state to rely on credit negative practices. This could include increasing an already large backlog of unpaid bills to achieve balanced financial operations, reversing the progress of recent years.
Illinois has used an estimated $26 billion of increased income tax revenues since 2011 to address its pension contribution requirements and to reduce a large backlog of payments to vendors, municipalities, public universities and other entities. The $5.6 billion backlog the governor’s budget estimated for June 30, 2014, would represent a 43% drop from a $9.9 billion peak set in 2010. Renewed growth in the backlog could put financial pressure on rated entities, such as public universities, awaiting payment from the state. Maintaining pre-existing tax rates was central to a five-year plan included with the governor’s budget that showed accounts payable falling to a more manageable $2.2 billion in fiscal 2019. Such gains will become harder if the fiscal 2015 budget encourages bill payment deferrals.
If not reversed or offset in some way, the expected tax revenue losses will be more pronounced in fiscal 2016 and beyond. According to the governor’s three-year financial forecast released in January, if income tax rates decline and no offsetting actions are implemented, the backlog would almost triple to $16.2 billion in the next three years.
Moody’s declaration of “credit positive” or “credit negative” does not connote a rating or outlook change. It is indicative of the impact of a distinct event or development as one of many credit factors affecting the issuer.
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Jun 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* House Speaker Michael Madigan after session adjourned Friday evening…
“As usual, this has been a difficult session; maybe a very difficult session.
“Over the last few years, nothing seems to be simple; nothing seems to be easy. It’s just one difficult, complicated issue after another.
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* A bill passed by both chambers to “fix” the so-called “Amazon Tax” may have some unintended consequences for one of Chicago’s most famous tech companies…
llinois is poised to re-impose sales taxes on some Internet purchases, seven months after the state’s so-called Amazon tax was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Brick-and-mortar retailers hailed the move while online firms expressed dismay.
“It’s obviously extremely disappointing,” said Brian Littleton, president and CEO of Chicago-based ShareASale.com Inc., a provider of affiliate marketing network software. He said firms that started offering coupons again in Illinois since October’s ruling will again be forced to leave the state or shut down.
This time around, he said, it could affect Chicago’s Groupon Inc., which started offering coupons last fall. A Groupon official said in an email that “we are indeed looking closely at the implications of the law for our new Freebies business.” […]
When Illinois first enacted its Amazon tax, hundreds of Web marketerssuch as Coupon Cabin moved from Chicago to Indiana or Wisconsin, and hundreds went out of business after roughly a thousand retailers nationwide stopped doing business with some 9,000 Illinois-based affiliated websites offering coupons or promotional codes.
* Groupon’s stock is falling because of this bill…
Shares of Groupon Inc. (GRPN_) are down -4.74% to $5.60 after it was reported that an Illinois sales tax law originally targeting Amazon.com (AMZN_) could be brought back after it was struck down by the state’s top court.
Groupon has been struggling for a while, however. From TheStreet…
We rate GROUPON INC (GRPN) a SELL. This is driven by some concerns, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover.
The company’s weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.
* But retailers have been suffering as well because of untaxed online competition…
Brick-and-mortar retailers, which are left with pricing challenges when their e-commerce counterparts are not taxed, naturally welcomed the move. Rob Karr, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, had this to say about the proposed law: “This legislation is another step in leveling the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers along with residents of Illinois who are being unfairly penalized for purchases made out of the state.”
The sales tax immunity that Internet retailers currently enjoy has been subject to criticism by traditional retailers, who argue that it puts them at a distinct disadvantage. Amazon, by far the biggest beneficiary of this tax exemption, has accumulated a huge customer base by offering prices that are lower than traditional retailers’.
Best Buy Co Inc (BBY), which has strategized its turnaround plan around a price-matching policy, has been quite vocal about this “discriminatory” tax policy. Hubert Joly, the French veteran leading the electronic retailer’s turnaround, said that he did not think the government should “pick the winners.” Speaking at the Economic Club of Minnesota, Joly disagreed with the government’s policy to “subsidize” Amazon and eBay, and said that the former enjoyed an 8-10% price advantage over brick-and-mortar retailers as a result of this tax exemption.
After Florida imposed a sales tax on Amazon last month, it became the 21st state to collect taxes from the electronic giant. According to research from Ohio University, Amazon lost an estimated 9.5% of revenues in the states where taxes were enforced on the company, as customers switched to those online retailers that were not required to pay taxes. The research does suggest that this exemption of sales taxes creates a slanted retail environment that provides an unfair advantage to online retailers.
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The Cam Brady impersonator
Tuesday, Jun 3, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yesterday, Bruce Rauner was asked for the kabillionth time where he stood on gay marriage…
“I do not have a social issues agenda,” said Rauner.
OK, so he doesn’t have a social agenda, even though his spokesman has repeatedly touted Rauner’s endorsement by GOProud, a group that went out of business a few days after issuing that endorsement.
* Well, then what does Rauner want to talk about?…
He told the crowd his agenda is focused on economic and educational issues, not social issues, garnering applause from the group.
Huzzah! Applause all around! Finally, we have somebody who wants to talk about the “real” issues! Forget those silly social distractions! Get to the meat of it! He made it through the primary without talking about social issues, so why is everybody picking on him now?! Bruce doesn’t want to talk about those gay people and their marriages, Bruce wants to explain to us how he’d fix the state’s economy, schools and budget! So listen up, you twits and leave Bruce alooone!!!
* Alright, I’m down with that. Let’s start with economic issues. Check his website. There’s nothing there but a thin list of platitudes. Education? Not much more. And he had more platitudes yesterday…
Rauner said he believes his economic and educational goals are common concerns across the state.
Um, OK, we all have concerns. But what are his actual plans? He’s never said.
* More from yesterday’s speech…
When asked how he planned to win the Democratic vote, Rauner separated himself from other Republicans.
“We’re not doing what most Republicans do, and that is going to a few country clubs and going to a few farm events,” he said.
Dude, you did not just dis farmers, did you? Aren’t they the backbone of Illinois? Are you one of those uppity Chicagoans or something? Oh, right. I forgot.
* So, to sum up, Rauner has no social agenda, except for that much-ballyhooed endorsement by a discredited and now defunct LGBT tea party group. He says he has an economics agenda, but won’t expand on his tiny outline. He says he wants to cut taxes, but won’t say how he’ll deal with the deficit. He says he’ll improve schools, but won’t say how he’ll pay for it, especially with those tax cuts of his. And he apparently thinks he’s gonna win by not hanging out on farms.
Got it.
* Rauner is also faithfully sticking to Cam Brady’s script of praising everybody he speaks to as being the “backbone” of Illinois, without ever saying much else, and he did it again yesterday…
He called small business owners the backbone of Illinois’ economy
So, we got that going for us.
* The New Yorker had this to say about Will Ferrell’s mega hit…
Despite some funny bits, the movie ultimately undercuts its laughs with its rampant cynicism.
That reviewer ought to visit Illinois for a few days because we’ve got all the rampant cynicism of “The Campaign” without any of its humor. It’s like we’re living through a horribly botched sequel.
* But there are consequences to all this dodging of his. Take, for instance, today’s Tribune headline…
Rauner leaves door open to repealing gay marriage law - Rauner says he’s open to referendum to overturn
Oops.
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* The pro-gay rights tea party group GOProud is shutting down, just days after endorsing Bruce Rauner for governor…
In 2004, GOProud was born when Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron split from the Log Cabin Republicans. Fast forward to today: both have stepped down from the organization and it is shutting down for good.
GOProud has been mired by several controversies since the departure of their founders. The group has bled donors since the widely reported departure of Jimmy LaSalvia from the Republican Party earlier this year. […]
Finding it difficult to continue without securing more funding, GOProud will be shutting down immediately - an homage to an era gone by. The shuttering is undoubtedly necessary as the organization’s full effectiveness has been tarnished.
The organization may rebrand and regroup later, but for now, the organization will no longer be functioning. Co-director Matthew Bechstein stated in an interview that the “brand is broken” and a rebrand is necessary.
* More…
After Andrew Markle’s story yesterday that the far-right conservative LGBT group GOProud was shutting down, the organization’s leadership took to Facebook to deny the reporting saying, “Nothing could be further from the truth” and “GOProud is not closing. It is growing.”
Today, however, the group confirmed it plans to kill the GOProud brand and will attempt to reorganize as a grassroots online organization with a new name.
A “grassroots online organization” is not a political committee.
So, is the Rauner endorsement now essentially worthless? Seems so.
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A new record
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* According to statistics generated by my web hosting company using Apache log files, we reached a milestone last month. CapitolFax.com had nearly 5 million page views in the month of May (not including spiders, spambots, etc). That’s more than double what it was in May of 2012.
I don’t usually share this sort of data because my advertising sales are based on the target audience, not the quantity of clicks. But that’s a pretty darned amazing stat and I figured you ought to know. Also, the number of unique IP addresses using this site in May grew by more than 57 percent compared to the same month two years ago.
* More importantly (for advertising purposes), a check of the top IP addresses found that at least 20 percent of those May page views - or at least a million - came from within the Capitol Complex, which is my target audience during session. That’s about 50,000 Statehouse/Stratton Building-area page views per session day. And that doesn’t count all the cell phones, etc. which aren’t connected to the LIS wi-fi system.
Not bad for a little state politics website, eh?
* Anyway, thanks so much to all you subscribers and readers out there. And thanks to the commenters who truly help make this site live and breathe. And many, many thanks to the advertisers who allow me to keep this little monster of a website going strong.
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More defining Statehouse moments
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Doug Finke…
“I haven’t read the language of the amendment.” Speaker Madigan in response to a question about a bill he sponsored making the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum its own state agency.
Oy.
* On the other hand, this could very well signal some real progress on the city’s pension reform bill. Somebody was apparently using his or her noggin…
As Mayor Rahm Emanuel waits for Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision on a measure that would partially fix the finances of city worker pension funds, the mayor isn’t saying whether a 911 fee increase on phone bills would allow him to avoid a property tax hike. […]
Emanuel has talked about raising property taxes to come up with the city’s share, but that puts Quinn in a tight spot. The Democratic governor is running for re-election against anti-tax Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.
Meanwhile, the legislature last week gave Emanuel and Quinn a possible escape route by approving a bill that would allow the city to raise a 911 tax on landline and cell phones by $1.40 a month to $3.90. The resulting $50 million or so a year from the 911 tax could allow the City Council to put off raising property taxes until after next year’s city elections. […]
“I don’t think we should be subsidizing (OEMC) from” other revenue sources, said Emanuel, who added that the 911 budget “should be self sufficient and independent.” But Emanuel did not address the property tax portion of the question during his news conference.
The city claims it was subsidizing 911 services out of general revenue. So, this tax hike frees up that general revenue cash, which could, indeed, postpone a property tax hike until after election day.
So, sometimes, we can have positive defining moments.
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A selective conspiracy?
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an e-mail sent yesterday by Michael Kolenc, the campaign manager for Yes for Independent Maps, which is pushing a constitutional amendment for remap reform and doesn’t yet have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot…
We knew it would come to this. The status quo in Illinois was not going to let this process be easy…and because of that, we have been hard at work trying to rehabilitate signatures the state threw out in their rushed, uneven and back-room validation process. In fact, we are working today – checking signatures in the voter file, preparing lists of certified voter registration cards we need to obtain; having notaries collect signed affidavits.
This work is tedious, but with the support of over 500,000 petition signers, we know you have our back. Can you continue to cheer us on by making a $25 contribution today?
That’s a nice little conspiracy theory, but you’d think the Board of Elections would’ve been at least as “unfair” to Bruce Rauner’s term limits petition drive. Nope…
Illinois election officials say a group that supports eight-year term limits on legislators appears to have enough signatures to let voters decide on the issue in November.
Illinois State Board of Elections Director Rupert Borgsmiller told The Associated Press on Monday that about 60 percent of the group’s tested signatures were valid. The Committee for Legislative Reform and Term Limits turned in nearly 600,000 signatures. That’s about 370,000 eligible signatures. Illinois ballot measures need about 300,000 voter signatures.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner backs the proposal. It also would also change the size of the Legislature and make it harder for lawmakers to override a governor’s veto.
* From Rauner’s term limits group…
“Today we also extend our gratitude to the State Board of Elections for their impartiality and professionalism throughout the petition process,“ said Executive Director Mark Campbell. “Today the Board has made official what we have known all along – that the people of Illinois want term limits.”
Bottom line, Rauner appears to have run a professional operation.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Your choice for biggest losers of the spring legislative session?
We’ll do winners tomorrow.
…Adding… Please explain your choices. Thanks.
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Today’s quotable
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Jeanne Ives complained bitterly last week during debate on the election reform bill that I told you about earlier today…
If you can’t listen to audio at work, here’s some of what she said about the voting changes…
“Let’s set it up at Chicago State University with a less than 20 percent graduation rate. I’m sure those guys know exactly what they’re doing.”
She always chooses her words so carefully.
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Unclear on the concept
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate might wanna change his script…
Vallas said that he is “bothered” by a return to the bad budgeting practices, and the lack of a budget alternative from the Rauner campaign. […]
“It bothers me that we’re borrowing again and we seem to be relapsing into the same kinds of practices that got us into this position in the first place,” he added.
Emphasis added because the borrowing he speaks of was in Gov. Quinn’s own budget proposal. From the Civic Federation…
Although the budget recommended by Governor Pat Quinn for FY2015 proposes extending current income tax rates to avoid a massive revenue cliff, it also relies on borrowing $650 million to close a budget gap and pay down a portion of the State’s backlog of unpaid bills.
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Big changes for November voting
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The General Assembly sent this bill to the governor’s desk last week…
The Chicago Democrat’s proposal would extend in-person early voting hours and allow voters to register on election day.
It also would remove identification requirements for in-person early voting and allow public universities to serve as locations for election day in-person absentee voting.
The changes would be in effect for [only] the November election. [….]
Republicans say the move is an attempt to drive Democratic turnout in a close, nationally watched governor’s race.
* From a Chicago Votes press release…
What happened Friday is a big deal. The legislature approved a pilot program that allows Illinoisans to register to vote until the end of Election Day at designated polling locations across the state! This is a great step towards permanent precinct-wide Election Day Registration, which we will continue to fight for in the coming months.
We also got some bonuses:
* University of Illinois at Chicago, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U of Ilinois at Springfield, U of I Carbondale, U of I Edwardsville, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, Western Illinois University at Macomb and Western Illinois at Moline will allow students who are registered, but haven’t switched their registration location to vote on Election Day.
* Employers may not require employees to use earned vacation time or paid leave to serve as an election judge!
* We also got extended hours and more days for early voting.
Fewer folks will have to deal with an arbitrary 28 day registration deadline before an election, (or scramble to the few spots that offer registration 3 days before), or worry about not having their provisional ballots counted, or be excluded from the voting process because they moved just before Election Day.
The full bill is here.
* The bill also includes this…
Provides that Cook County Commissioners and the president of the board are not eligible to hold office if he or she has been convicted in any court located in the United States of any infamous crime, bribery, perjury, or other felony.
Hmm.
…Adding… From Think Progress…
Election Day registration is, in many ways, the anti-voter ID. Voter ID laws, which have been en vogue among conservatives recently, could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters (though different studies have reached different conclusions regarding how many voters will be disenfranchised by voter ID, even conservative estimates suggest that 2 to 3 percent of registered voters will be impacted). Election Day registration, on the other hand, tends to boost turnout between 7 to 14 percentage points, according to scientific studies. These gains come predominantly from the very groups that voter ID tends to discriminate against: minorities, young voters, and low-income Americans.
There are a few reasons why Election Day registration has such a significant impact on turnout. Requiring people to register before they actually cast a ballot presents an extra hurdle to voting that necessarily depresses turnout. In addition, many Americans don’t begin paying attention to an election until just before Election Day, at which point it is too late to register in many states. Finally, nearly one in eight Americans move in an average year. Unless they remember to update their voter registration before Election Day or live in a state with Election Day registration, they can’t vote.
Election Day registration has grown increasingly popular in blue states recently, likely in response to the rash of voter suppression laws since 2010. In the past two years, four other states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Hawaii — have enacted Election Day registration, bringing the total number of states to 13, plus the District of Columbia.
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Why did they do it this way?
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
The latest state budgetary meltdown got me wondering: Why did the Democrats decide four years ago to allow the income tax hike to expire in the middle of a fiscal year?
The trouble caused by the Jan. 1, 2015, tax hike expiration has been tremendous.
By putting in that particular “sunset date,” state revenues are scheduled to drop almost $2 billion in the second half of the new fiscal year, which starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2015.
To prevent that dramatic loss of revenue, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed in March that the Illinois General Assembly permanently extend the income tax hike. Fellow Democrats House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton both publicly agreed.
Trouble is, statehouse tax hikes almost never get passed before an election. Former Republican Gov. Jim Thompson twice pushed for post-election tax hikes, claiming he’d badly misread the fiscal tea leaves while he was campaigning on a solemn pledge to never raise taxes.
And, sure enough, the combination of an off-year election that’s already going to be bad for Democrats and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner’s endless supply of campaign cash has scared the living daylights out of House Democrats. The tax extension idea was dropped.
Instead, the Democrats passed an alternative budget that kicks a very expensive can down the road, blowing a gigantic, multibillion-dollar hole in next year’s budget.
So why did the Democrats lock themselves into such a mess?
Mr. Cullerton told me a few weeks ago that he’d been asking himself that same question.
Go read the whole thing to find out what Cullerton said.
* Meanwhile, Doug Finke…
[Gov. Pat Quinn] didn’t get the tax extension, he didn’t get the $500 pre-election checks for property taxpayers (another of his proposals), he didn’t get an increase in the minimum wage (although he’ll get an advisory referendum), there’s no increase in the earned income tax credit, and most of his budgetary priorities went down the drain. He did get a new capital program of sorts, all of $1 billion for roads and bridges.
But like the Chicago Cubs, there’s always next year and the hope it will prove more successful. Except, depending on the November election, this could have been Quinn’s last spring hurrah.
* Umm…
“This was a successful session,” the speaker continued. “The governor didn’t get everything he wanted, but that’s the nature of the Legislature. That’s the nature of American government. But going forward, the Democrats will be together because they’ll be brought together by Republicans.”
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Stuff you may have missed
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Let’s take a quick look at some legislation that has been overlooked…
Unpaid interns would be included in the state’s ban of sexual harassment in the workplace under one measure. Currently, Illinois law only prohibits the harassment of paid employees. The bill would require employers to act on all reports of sexual harassment.
Two bills would expand protections for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. The first measure would give the Illinois Department on Aging legal protections from being sued for enforcing bans against the abuse of disabled adults. The second proposal would enact new penalties for the abuse of disabled children. The measure would allow police to seize property, such as boats or cars, of adults who abuse children 13 or younger who have severe mental disabilities. […]
In another effort to give people a fair shake and broaden the workforce pool, lawmakers passed a bill that would bar employers from asking on initial job applications if a person has a criminal record. After the applicant has been found qualified for a position and scheduled for an interview, the employer would be able to ask for criminal record disclosure.
* More…
In an effort to undo a previously approved law that had over-enforced poker runs, the House and Senate signed off on changes to the rules governing this popular fundraising tool for motorcycle enthusiasts, in which bikers ride from one tavern to another collecting poker hands. The new rules take enforcement out of the hands of the state and gives counties the authority to issue licenses for the events. […]
A proposed new law will require schools to address electronic bullying, even if it doesn’t happen on school grounds. […]
In an effort to stop cities from over-regulating farmers’ markets, a proposed new law would preclude municipalities from passing regulations that are stricter than state laws. […]
In a move that could drive up the cost of school construction, a proposed new law would require all new schools to have storm shelters.
* Money for solar…
On May 30, 2014, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 2427, which unlocks $30 million of roughly $54 million in existing state funds for investment in new renewable generation. The $30 million comes from the Renewable Energy Resources Fund (RERF), which is administered by the Illinois Power Agency (IPA). The $30 million is anticipated to be targeted at solar generation, with a focus on “distributed” solar generation, or generation with a name-plate capacity of less than two megawatts. To date the IPA has only made one procurement using the RERF and committed less than $3 million, even though the RERF is anticipated to grow to nearly $130 million this September.
* This bill passed both chambers…
A measure, passed by the Illinois House or Representatives [Friday], specifically exempts the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the northwest suburb from the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which prohibits smoking in public places. The exemption would last until Oct. 1, 2015. […]
Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo, which drew about 4,000 people to its annual meeting in Las Vegas in January, has already held preliminary talks with village officials about holding a second show, said Susan Reuter, president of Branford, Conn.-based Reuter Exposition Services LLC, which puts on the Expo. A Rosemont meeting would likely attract about the same number of people, she said.
Smoking is a necessary part of the show, which is limited to distributors, wholesalers and retailers and other people in the industry, she said. “It’s a type of sampling people do, whether they’re sampling cigars or a new cigarette.”
* And, finally…
Republican Bruce Rauner doesn’t have a specific budget plan of his own yet ripped pieces of the Democratic budget Friday, including one spending package that contains $500,000 for a YMCA bearing his name. […]
Yet, one of the bills that makes up the spending package now headed to Gov. Pat Quinn contains a reappropriated $500,000 state grant “to the Rauner Family YMCA for costs associated with capital improvements at the facility.”
Rauner campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf said “the Rauners’ have no personal benefit from the Rauner YMCA.”
“It’s called that because of their generosity in helping fund it,” Schrimpf said of the facility.
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UNO charged with defrauding investors
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced it had charged charter school operator UNO with defrauding investors in a $37.5 million bond offering for school construction work by failing to disclose conflicts of interest.
The SEC alleged that UNO Charter School Network had failed to disclose a multimillion dollar contract with a windows company linked to one of its top executives, Miguel d’Escoto.
D’Escoto, resigned in February last year, days after the Sun-Times reported that UNO gave $8.5 million of business to companies owned by two of d’Escoto’s brothers with money from $98 million in state school-construction grant funding.
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Defining Statehouse moments
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This buried little nugget in a Tribune roundup is the most overlooked story of the session so far, but I’m betting that won’t last…
During the last few years, lawmakers each were supposed to take 12 unpaid days a year as a recognition of the state’s rocky financial condition. On Friday, lawmakers decided to keep that money when the new budget year starts July 1, providing a minimum $3,100 boost that would return the base salary for their part-time jobs to $67,836, though most lawmakers get an additional $10,000 or so for committee posts.
Yeah, because they did such a great job.
Sheesh.
* And if this next bill is signed into law, those legislative paychecks can never be blocked again…
House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton gave a little political payback to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday as the spring session headed toward the finish line […]
(L)ast summer, Quinn vetoed the money for lawmakers’ paychecks after they ended session without sending him a bill to reform the state’s government worker pension systems. On Friday, Madigan and Cullerton passed a measure that would keep lawmaker paychecks flowing.
“You’ll remember the governor vetoed our salaries in the middle of last summer,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, Madigan’s top lieutenant who maintained the paycheck move was not personal but rather an issue of “separation of powers.” “We didn’t like that very much, and a court said the governor couldn’t do it. But in order to make sure our governor doesn’t try it again, this will ensure that our paychecks come as they are supposed to come.”
What they did was create a continuing appropriation. So, if there is ever another veto, paychecks will still be issued.
* The roof problems at the governor’s mansion are also indicative of the bass-ackwards way our government is run…
Over at the Governor’s Mansion, the 44-year-old roof is gasping for life. Water is coming in. Plaster is falling down. Antique furniture has been yanked out of the third-floor Lincoln and Yates bedrooms and stored for safekeeping. Called the “people’s house,” this is the most irresistible metaphor for the neglect and corrosion of our fiscal state. […]
According to Rep. Brauer, there is money in a $3.7 million appropriation to make repairs, though the administration disputes that. Nobody disputes that this is an emergency that has only gotten more expensive by waiting.
Like every other state problem you can think of. […]
While the governor lives in a money-pit fixer-upper, Speaker Mike Madigan operates out of a gilt capitol palace, the renovation of which was downright reverential in its attention to detail. Copper doors, sconces and chandeliers. Nice digs for a Legislature that gets nothing done.
* And speaking of those nice Statehouse digs…
In September, Quinn blocked spending on Capitol renovations after questions were raised about how money was spent, from big chandeliers in lawmakers’ offices to newly installed maidens on the grand staircase to three wooden double doors coated in glistening copper that cost nearly $670,000. On Friday, Madigan and Cullerton passed a bill that would take away Quinn’s ability to block spending on Capitol renovations.
Sigh.
* And speaking of Madigan…
The budget also included language that authorizes $35 million in school construction in Chicago, funds that will be used to pay for a 1,200 student school in Madigan’s political home turf in the 13th Ward near Midway Airport.
“It’s a new school that’s planned,” Madigan said after the House adjourned shortly before 8 p.m. Friday.
Asked if it would be named in his honor, the longtime speaker smiled and said, “It doesn’t have a name. It’s a brand new building…. There’s severe overcrowding on the southwest side of Chicago.”
The big dogs always eat first here…
Renovating the historic Uptown Theatre is the “missing piece” to creating an entertainment district in the North Side neighborhood, proponents say. And that effort just got a $10 million boost.
A House Bill which included the appropriation for the theater — pushed by Senate President John Cullerton (D) — passed both houses of the Illinois Legislature last week. It’s the first major investment in the theater since it was purchased by JAM Productions in 2008.
“We’re happy to help jumpstart that project. Of course we know it’s just upward of $70 million for the theater’s full renovation but he still wanted to jumpstart it,” said Rikeesha Pheon, a spokeswoman for Cullerton. “He thinks it could be the centerpiece of Uptown.”
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Caption contest!
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ormsby…
Governor Pat Quinn yesterday appointed a new communications director.
Quinn on Sunday announced that Grant Klinzman will immediately assume the role of Acting Communications Director for the Governor’s Office.
Klinzman has been serving as Deputy Communications Director. The Governor’s chief spokesman and Communications Director, Brooke Anderson, is leaving the Governor’s Office to join the Quinn for Illinois campaign.
* From Grant’s Facebook page…
He almost looks like he’s being renditioned by the CIA.
Have fun and let’s welcome him the right way.
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A huge hole
Monday, Jun 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
On the bright side, I suppose you could argue that last week’s budget passed by the General Assembly will lead to the largest tax cut in Illinois history come January, when the 2011 income tax increase partially expires on schedule.
But that’s about the only bright side. And, really, pretty much nobody expects that some sort of tax hike will be avoided after the election, no matter who wins come November.
The new Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal had to be based on the partial expiration of the tax hike on January 1st, when it will drop from 5 percent to 3.75 percent. House Democrats claim they couldn’t find enough votes to permanently extend the tax hike.
But this new budget will blow close to a $6 billion hole in the following year’s budget, according to my own back of the envelope analysis that top Senate Democrats said looked accurate to them.
I based what follows on what what I know about how the budget was crafted. But whatever the final number ends up being, it’s crystal clear that whoever wins the governor’s race will face a monstrous challenge after he’s sworn in next January.
Borrowing $660 million from special state funds, as this new budget does, is a one-off affair. The money is being put into the state’s spending base and will have to somehow be replaced the following year. A two-year repayment plan means another $330 million will also have to be found in the next budget, for a total hole of about a billion dollars.
Using about $500 million in one-time revenue increases from this fiscal year to pay forward some bills in next fiscal year means that same $500 million will have to be found again in when the next budget is crafted.
Not funding employee salary and health insurance benefit cost increases kicks another $380 million down the road. So, now we’re at $1.9 billion.
And then, of course, there’s the approximately $3.6 billion in full-year revenue lost after the income tax hike partially expires. That puts the hole at around $5.7 billion.
Also, Rep. Greg Harris, who chairs a House appropriations committee, told reporters last week that the new budget could create as much as a “couple of billion” dollars in past-due bills in the coming fiscal year. If that’s accurate, then the FY16 hole becomes much, much worse, plus there’s all that new debt owed to providers which will eventually have to be paid back.
Not to mention that some state agencies have been given lump sum operating appropriations. Gov. Pat Quinn could conceivably try to avoid cuts before the election by putting off decisions until after the election. Doing so, of course, would blow a big hole in the second half of the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1st.
And that brings us to Bruce Rauner, the Republican nominee for governor.
Gov. Quinn’s campaign has been pushing Rauner hard lately to divulge his “secret” plan to balance the budget. The reason for that is they may have him caught in a trick bag of his own making.
Rauner has hinted more than once that he’d like to taper off the income tax hike over a period of time. But he can’t do that now because last week’s legislative inaction means that most of the 2011 tax hike will automatically disappear on schedule this coming January 1st.
Because of that legislative failure, if Rauner follows what was widely believed to be his original plan, the Republican would actually have to raise taxes in order to lower them again.
Needless to say, don’t bet on that ever surfacing as his plan now.
So, he’s gonna have to come up with a new idea. And that won’t be easy, because as I explained above this “kick the can budget” has planted a multibillion dollar nuclear time bomb that is so massive Rauner won’t possibly be able to simply cut his way out of it.
The other option is to do what he’s doing now: Refuse to answer any questions about his secret plan. But after promising for a year and a half to deliver one, he’s going to find himself dogged on the campaign trail from now on if he tries to stay mum.
Either way, though, it’s Quinn who has the most problems. He’ll have to deal with a big budgetary hole during the campaign while attempting to convince voters to reelect him so that he can try once again to raise their taxes. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
We’ll have more on the budgetary fiasco later today.
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* Conservative Republican gay rights group GOProud’s endorsement of Bruce Rauner on the eve of the official start of legal gay marriage here sparked a major backlash among gay rights organizations which pushed the bill. From a press release…
A robust debate occurred last year over whether all Illinois couples and families should be treated equally and with dignity under the law. Today, as we celebrate the official commencement of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, we honor those officials who stood for freedom and equality.
We also remember those public figures, like Bruce Rauner, who chose the side of bigotry and intolerance.
Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, claims to be a social moderate. In public and in the media, he claims not to “have a social agenda” and that “it doesn’t matter” how he feels about marriage equality.
Rauner can’t have it both ways. A real leader takes a stand. But we now know how he really feels. Last year at a Tea Party gathering in Quincy, he had this to say about marriage equality: “They haven’t approved it in a referendum, so if I were governor I would veto.”
Rauner opposes the freedom to marry. If he had been Governor, the many couples across Illinois who today are celebrating new families would still be relegated to a second-class legal status. Bruce Rauner, as he said in Quincy, has no problem with that.
We know the real Bruce Rauner. His administration would very likely be working behind-the-scenes to block new legislation and erode the existing laws protecting our families.
Just look at the GOP “top of the ticket” and the elected officials Rauner surrounds himself with, like running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis, both of who strongly oppose the freedom to marry, LGBT family adoption rights and other legal protections. Moreover, he has given tens of thousands of dollars to anti-LGBT candidates throughout our state.
* Sun-Times…
“They haven’t approved it in a referendum, so if I were governor I would veto,” [Equality Illinois] alleges Rauner said.
Rauner’s campaign could not verify the account or provide a response to the letter because they could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday evening.
Earlier Sunday, campaign spokesman Mike Schrimpf declined to reveal Rauner’s personal feelings on same-sex marriage because “Bruce does not have an agenda on social issues.” But he said Rauner is not in favor of overturning the new law unless a referendum on the ballot calls for it. The campaign also noted Rauner was endorsed by GOProud, a Republican pro-gay rights group.
And Schrimpf added that Rauner does wish the best for newly-married same-sex couples.
“He wishes them congratulations and many years of happiness together,” Schrimpf said.
* That’s no mere allegation. It’s a fact. I posted the audio of Rauner’s tea party event comments on December 19th…
* From the Quinn campaign…
Throughout the campaign, Rauner has sought to downplay his position on the wrong side of history, telling one reporter: “My view is irrelevant. Why does that matter?”
At other times, he has ducked the issue altogether, acting as if it weren’t important. According to one report, during a press availability in Peoria, when a reporter asked, “Should Illinois legalize gay marriage?” Rauner responded: “I guess we’re done,” and abruptly walked out of the room.
While Rauner sought to downplay the significance of his position on the matter, people across Illinois visited their county clerks’ offices to apply for marriage licenses, a right they would undeniably not have had if Bruce Rauner were governor.
Thoughts?
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It was a wild and crazy one. Some really good times, some really bad times, some really bizarre times. Overall, it was pretty much a bust. But at least now it’s over, thank goodness…
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right
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