* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best campaign staffer - House Democrats goes to Travis Shea…
There’s no doubt Travis is one of the hardest working guys on staff and he won one of the biggest races this cycle. Trump won that district and somehow Travis still pulled out a win for Katie.
Not to mention that the Democratic Party in general did horribly in Madison County this year. Travis also ran an innovative race, which should definitely be rewarded.
*** UPDATE *** The above award was rescinded on March 6, 2019. Click here for more info.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
Highly honorable mentions go to Julia Larkin and Anne Schaeffer, two of the very best.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best campaign staffer - Senate Democrats goes to Sam Hobert…
He is an obsessively dedicated young guy who ran one of the most professional campaigns the caucus has ever seen. When the GOP shifted late resources towards Michelle Smith, he didn’t panic. Throughout October, Sam rallied the troops and the candidate, which resulted in a 5+ point victory in an area where Republicans always seem to be on the cusp of breaking through.
Honorable mention goes to crowd favorite Reena Tandon.
* Let’s move on to today’s categories…
* Best Nonpartisan Legislative/Agency Staffer
* Best Government Spokesperson
The first category is new and is posted by popular demand. So, you can nominate somebody from LRB, LRU, LIS, COGFA, etc., or you can nominate an agency/administration staffer (except for liaisons because they have their own category).
Make sure to explain your vote or it won’t count and make sure to nominate in both categories. Thanks!
“A good place to begin, good place to begin would be the level we were at before the income tax expired,” Madigan said, referring to the 5 percent individual income tax rate and 7 percent corporate tax rate set in 2011 as part of a four-year temporary tax hike.
“And starting there, you can go in whatever direction you want to go,” Madigan said.
* The SJ-R’s Bernie Schoenburg called Rauner out on it today. Their exchange…
Bernie: He said up or down. He said a starting point and then you go up or down from there.
Rauner: OK.
Bernie: You keep saying he did it one way, but he said something different than what you say.
Rauner: Income tax hike without reforms.
Bernie: Is your administration OK with 4.75 percent because that’s been reported?
Rauner: A year ago he said he wanted to do an income tax hike without reforms, without reforms. And, now he’s not talking about that, in fact he’s trying to go like this on new revenue. And he’s just saying ‘Let’s just do a budget like we’ve done seven times… What were those seven? What were those seven? Do you know? Have you asked? What were those seven? Those seven were all stopgap, short-term, incomplete spending plans. That’s what they were. And they didn’t include any reforms. We can play word games if you want, it’s a waste of time.
Progress, I suppose, but notice how the governor avoided that last question?
Illinois group homes for adults with disabilities will face tougher licensing standards and enforcement and they will be graded for the first time on quality and safety, a top official for the Illinois Department of Human Services vowed to state legislators Tuesday.
Secretary James Dimas told Senate and House lawmakers that his department has launched more than a dozen reform measures to heighten enforcement of 3,000 group homes statewide and increase public transparency involving the care of 12,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
He spoke at a bipartisan Senate and House hearing convened in response to a Chicago Tribune investigation, “Suffering in Secret,” which exposed how Illinois has steered thousands of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable residents with disabilities into a network of state-funded group homes, then routinely obscured evidence of harm from the public.
One of the most sweeping reforms outlined by Dimas would provide limited public access to previously sealed investigative files. The department is working with the Illinois attorney general’s office to provide group home addresses and full enforcement histories to families and guardians. […]
The Tribune reported that Human Services’ enforcement arm, the Office of Inspector General, had sealed thousands of investigative files, redacted group home addresses from public records and concealed the oversight process so thoroughly that outsiders could not determine when or where investigations occurred or what action, if any, was taken.
* Sen. Daniel Biss ran the committee and this is part of his press release yesterday…
“I appreciate the testimony of Secretary Dimas and Inspector General McCotter, as well as the action they already have taken to address problems and their recommendations for changes going forward.
“However, I am disappointed that some of my colleagues in the legislature view this crisis as an opportunity for political finger-pointing rather than a moment for bipartisan cooperation to save lives and pave the way for a better future for vulnerable Illinoisans.
“Let’s not pretend that the solutions to this very serious problem lie in the past. The solutions can only be found in partnership with the current governor and his administration – one that went to great lengths to conceal important information about group home abuse and neglect from the public, from the victims’ families and from the media.
“It is incumbent upon Gov. Rauner to give this crisis the attention it deserves, to put forth a budget for the state of Illinois and to ensure financial and staff resources are put where they’re most desperately needed today.
“Not only does that include working with the Legislature to designate money to properly pay group home caregivers, it also means immediately filling the lapsed gubernatorial appointments on the board that oversees these group homes for developmentally disabled adults.”
* Three House Democrats who are suing over their withheld paychecks appeared on “Chicago Tonight” last night. Rep. Silvana Tabares (D-Chicago) made by far the best argument…
“The fact of the matter is that the governor, the executive branch, is trying to apply pressure to lawmakers to give in to his corporate demands… and selling out our constituents for a paycheck. I’m not going to support the governor’s corporate demands and sell out my constituents. I was elected to fight for working men and women and not hurt the middle class. And this is a bullying tactic that the governor is doing to bully and squeeze lawmakers to pass his corporate demands.”
That’s a good reframing of this issue. The interviewer just wanted to talk about the budget, but this ain’t about the budget, it’s about agreeing to the governor’s preconditions to a budget. And those preconditions are simply unacceptable to many, many Democrats, including Tabares. I don’t care who the House Speaker is, that’s just the way it is.
* Tabares made this point more clearly and succinctly when she was asked at the end of the interview if she thought there’d be a budget his fiscal year. Her response…
“Social service agencies are suffering throughout the state because there’s no budget, and there’s no budget because the governor will not discuss it with Democrats until we pass his corporate demands.”
* Meanwhile, Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) was asked on the program about all the harsh newspaper editorials on the topic, including one that called for a legislative uprising. His response…
“I think that’s what’s going on with this lawsuit. There’s a legislative uprising toward the billionaire governor who directed the multi-millionaire comptroller to try to starve the legislature. He’s trying to starve us because we’re going to run out of money a lot sooner than he will. He made $188 million last year alone. He’s sitting in his mansion laughing and eating and paying his bills on time while people are just struggling to make ends meet.”
That’s not as good as Tabares’ argument, but the class conflict stuff does work. They should probably find a way to combine the two arguments.
* By the way, Illinois legislators make just shy of $70,000 a year. As Welch noted, Gov. Rauner made $188 million last year, or about $15 million a month. An average work year, without vacations, is 2,080 hours (40 hours a week times 52 weeks).
So, Gov. Rauner made $90,385 an hour last year. That means he made more in a single work-week hour than state legislators make in an entire year.
There are 177 legislators in the General Assembly. 177 times $70K equals a total annual payroll of about $12.4 million, without other stuff.
The governor therefore made $2.6 million more in a month than the entire General Assembly makes in a year.
A federal grand jury has indicted City of Chicago Alderman WILLIE B. COCHRAN on charges he pocketed money from a charitable fund that was intended to help families and children in his South Side ward.
The 15-count indictment alleges that Cochran used money from the 20th Ward Activities Fund to pay his daughter’s college tuition and to finance his gambling expenses, as well as to purchase items for use in his home. The indictment also charges Cochran with extorting money from a lawyer and a liquor store owner in exchange for Cochran’s aldermanic support.
The indictment was returned Tuesday in federal court in Chicago. It charges Cochran, 64, of Chicago, with eleven counts of wire fraud, two counts of federal program bribery, and two counts of extortion. An arraignment date has not yet been set.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI initiated the investigation after receiving information from the former City of Chicago Legislative Inspector General’s Office, which was headed at that time by Faisal Khan.
“When an elected official uses public power for personal gain, the average citizen pays and our democratic system suffers,” said U.S. Attorney Fardon. “We will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute any elected official who attempts to use their office to enrich themselves.”
According to the indictment, Cochran corruptly solicited and demanded $1,500 from an Illinois attorney who represented real estate developers with properties in Cochran’s ward. Cochran solicited and obtained the money for his continued and future aldermanic support of the developments, which included a property developed under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, according to the indictment.
The indictment also charges Cochran with corruptly soliciting and demanding payment from a 20th Ward liquor store owner who sought an amendment to the Municipal Code of Chicago to allow package goods licenses on the store’s side of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Shortly after soliciting the payment, the City Council of Chicago in April 2015 passed a Cochran-sponsored amendment that allowed for issuance of the licenses on that block, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Cochran was the sole signatory on a bank account for the 20th Ward Activities Fund, a charitable endeavor that purported to host ward events such as a summer back-to-school picnic, a Valentine’s Day party for senior citizens, and events during the holiday season. In reality, Cochran used a portion of the money contributed by donors for his own personal use, the indictment states. These expenses included $5,000 toward his daughter’s college tuition, and approximately $25,000 that Cochran withdrew from automated teller machines in or near casinos where he gambled, according to the indictment.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charges in the indictment are punishable by a total maximum sentence of 280 years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather McShain and Christopher Stetler.
Court records hint at recent financial troubles for Cochran. He has been the target of three foreclosure lawsuits over his personal home and laundry businesses he held a financial stake in.
State records show that since January 2015 Cochran has filed an unusually large number of revisions to his campaign finance paperwork — around 80, including 10 since early last month. Over the previous eight years, Cochran had filed only six amendments to his campaign records.
In some of the amended campaign finance reports, Cochran revealed he had paid himself out of his campaign fund. In several instances, Cochran did not report those payments until well after he filed his campaign reports with state elections officials — in some cases more than a year or two later.
From 2012 through 2016, Cochran spent $397,574 in campaign funds. About one-third of that — $128,297 — went to himself, the records show.
* This is starting to remind me of the last year or so of the Blagojevich administration, when the warring parties were too involved with their fight to notice the national trend. From The Hill…
State tax revenue growth slowed in the first several months of the new fiscal year, forcing legislators and budget officials in states across the country to slash projections and spending plans while raising concerns that the next economic recession is just around the corner.
A new report from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) found that half the states have experienced revenue shortfalls in the early months of fiscal year 2017, which began in August. The shortfalls come as sales and personal income tax growth slows and corporate income tax declines.
Those shortfalls forced 19 states to enact mid-year budget cuts in fiscal year 2016 — more than any year outside of a recession since 1990. Some budget analysts fear slowing sales and income tax growth can be a leading indicator that an economic downturn is right around the corner. […]
States expect to bring in a total of $808 billion in revenue, up 3.6 percent over the year before. But 12 states — Alaska, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming — experienced revenue declines in 2016, and eight more expect revenues to drop this year.
With almost half of the fiscal year completed, base receipts are down $607 million through November. Last month’s briefing mentioned concern with FY 2017 revenue performance—that concern continues to grow. Unfortunately, the weakness is in the largest revenue sources such as income and sales taxes, thereby limiting the State’s ability to engage in reimbursable spending, resulting in very poor federal source performance.
Gross corporate income taxes are off $297 million, or $260 million net of refunds. Gross personal income tax, despite a good November, is still down $96 million or $144 million if refunds and diversions to the education and human service funds are included. As mentioned, sales taxes are weak and have fallen $1 million. Overall transfers are down $79 million to date. Only the one-time nature of this month’s SERS repayment has allowed other sources to post a $103 million increase.
With a dramatic falloff in federal sources in November, receipts are behind last year’s dismal pace by $200 million. Growth will have to increase dramatically over the remainder of the fiscal year even to hit the Commission’s very modest projection.
“We will continue to highlight Pritzker’s ties to both Rod Blagojevich and Mike Madigan until he makes a final decision concerning a run for the Democratic nomination for governor,” said Aaron DeGroot, a state GOP spokesman. He said the robocall was being made to “Democratic donors, Democratic elected officials and Democratic Party activists.”
Christopher Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, said the state GOP’s effort — and the depth to its early opposition research — may represent a pre-emptive strike to Pritzker and other Democrats considering a challenge to Rauner.
“This could be an attempt at a chilling effect for people to read between the lines and see how much money they have and how willing they are to go negative so early,” Mooney said. […]
“Normal rules would say it’s a big waste of money, coming during the holidays, with fatigue from the last election, with it coming so far in advance of the next election,” Mooney said. “But it’s only a waste of money if money matters to you. Even if they get a little bit of benefit out it, maybe it’s worth it because they don’t care about the money.”
Meh. That Blagojevich-related oppo was all basically just based on Google [and LexisNexis] searches. The real stuff isn’t out there yet.
And making a few hundred, or even a few thousand robocalls costs almost nothing. Something like 2 cents per call.
But he’s right that Team Rauner is signaling that it’s more than willing to go negative extremely early. This is unheard of stuff here, campers. [ADDING: From Wordslinger in comments: The dark-money negative spots started on Aaron Schock in January 2013] And we’re in for two solid years of it no matter who gets in. Other potential candidates are surely paying attention.
Many are questioning the unusual timing of the attacks — prior to official announcements to run. Democratic political strategist Pete Giangreco said links to Blagojevich by the party didn’t work in Democrat Tammy Duckworth’s successful run for Republican Mark Kirk’s U.S. Senate seat.
“I frankly think the Republicans are scared to death of J.B. Pritzker, and I think that they made up this fake narrative with Blagojevich because that’s what they do whenever they can’t beat somebody,” Giangreco said. “They tried the Blagojevich attacks on Tammy Duckworth, and she beat Mark Kirk by the largest margin that any incumbent senator has been beat by in Illinois since World War II. So if they want to keep talking about Blagojevich, keep going because we’ll keep beating them by record margins.”
The Republicans also targeted Democrat Chris Kennedy last week, criticizing his contributions to a super PAC to support Illinois House Democrats in their November campaigns. Kennedy, former chairman of the University of Illinois board of trustees and son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is also considering a run for governor.
An advisor to Kennedy called the attacks on both Kennedy and Pritzker a distraction from the GOP’s record.
“It’s telling that the Illinois Republican Party and Bruce Rauner are going to be afraid to run on their record of having decimated our state,” the advisor said. “I think that is telling as to why they’re engaging in this kind of back and forth and digging things up. I think they should focus on their record at the end of the day, not talking about something that happened 10 years ago. Give me a break.”
Mark Kirk basically ran out of money and was running in a state that went overwhelmingly Democratic. Not a great comparison for 2018. Neither of those guys will be short on cash and the 2018 turnout will be different, although it’s not yet certain how different. If it’s another 2006 (the last Republican presidential midterm), Rauner better watch out. If it’s more like 2002, he’s got a good shot.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
During his latest Facebook Live event, Gov. Bruce Rauner said the only way to get an agreement on ending the budget impasse is for both sides to come to an agreement.
Rauner said stopgap budgets are the wrong approach because it just kicks the can farther down the road.
“We’ve been kicking the can in Illinois, not paying our pensions, not paying our bills, for decades, and it’s created the mess that we’re in.”
Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills is over $10 billion, the unfunded pension liability is nearly $130 billion, and deficit spending is more than $5 billion this year alone.
The answer, Rauner said, is controlling government spending and passing reforms, such as a property tax freeze and workers’ comp reforms to grow the economy.
“We’ve been flat economic growth on jobs for years; meanwhile, our government spending has been on a rocketship,” Rauner said. “That, by definition, always results in unbalanced budgets and deficit spending for the long term, and we’ve got to change that.”
David Tewksbury, who studies political communications at the University of Illinois, says politicians are always trying to shape the narrative.
“Whoever frames what this issue is about is the one who’s probably going to win it, at least as far as the public opinion is concerned,” Tewksbury says.
Rauner wants voters to think the budget impasse is the fault of Democrats fighting to hold onto power, while Democrats say Rauner is trying to force radical changes on Illinois.
Help me out. I watched Gov. Bruce Rauner’s 30-minute Facebook Live event Tuesday on the state of the budget impasse, and I didn’t get it. To me, it seemed like a waste of time.
The event was billed as an opportunity for citizens to directly ask the governor questions about the budget. Rauner read printouts of questions apparently screened from queries submitted in advance.
I heard a lot of blaming and little substance about how the Republican governor would work with Democratic legislators to solve the state’s problems. […]
We roll along, not so merrily, toward an inevitable tax increase to raise revenues. Democrats and Republicans alike seem most concerned not with balancing the budget but with making it appear the other side is chiefly responsible for the tax increase. So, voters know who to blame in 2018. […]
I don’t understand the governor’s demands that a property tax freeze and term limits are needed for a budget deal, and his Facebook chats aren’t providing much insight. It seems to me that the best way to achieve a budget deal would be if the governor fulfilled his constitutional duty to present a budget proposal.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Rauner shouldn’t expect such a proposal anytime soon. He noted that it’s the executive branch that actually spends the state’s money.
“The logic would dictate that the people who are going to spend the money should tell everyone how they’re going to spend it and how much,” Brown said.
Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the Senate president continues to be disappointed that the meetings were called off.
“We’re hopeful that the governor will come back to the table and we can resume negotiations,” Patterson said.
While the leaders aren’t currently meeting, groups of rank-and-file lawmakers have resumed discussions on areas of the governor’s policy agenda, including workers’ compensation, an issue Rauner addressed on Facebook. Although Republican leaders publicly criticized restarting the so-called “working groups,” members of both parties and both chambers are participating.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party added J.B. Pritzker to BossMadigan.com as part of the party’s ongoing effort to shed light on the people that empower Mike Madigan.
“J.B. Pritzker’s inherited fortune is the financial muscle behind Mike Madigan’s Chicago political machine. Just this year, Pritzker gave Madigan’s political front group almost one million dollars in an attempt to force a tax hike with no reforms and stop Gov. Rauner’s plans to improve Illinois through term limits, a property tax freeze and economic growth. J.B. Pritzker’s financial disclosures show his true loyalties lie with Mike Madigan.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
J.B. Pritzker and Madigan sit at the top of the Chicago political machine that has nearly bankrupted Illinois. Madigan runs it while Pritzker feeds Madigan his inherited fortune.
Just this year, Pritzker gave Mike Madigan’s political front group, Leading Illinois for Tomorrow, nearly one million dollars in an attempt to force a tax hike with no reforms and stop Gov. Rauner’s plans to improve Illinois through term limits, a property tax freeze and economic growth.
But Pritzker’s record of backing the political machine doesn’t stop with Madigan. Pritzker was a key ally and fundraiser of disgraced and imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
J.B. Pritzker cut his political teeth as a fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich. Over the years, Blagojevich supported Pritzker’s political endeavors, and Blagojevich relied on J.B. for campaign cash.
In fact, Pritzker was one of Rod Blagojevich’s largest individual donors, contributing over $120,000 to help elect the most corrupt politician in Illinois history.
J.B. Pritzker was also at the center of Rod Blagojevich’s criminal scheme to sell Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat. Pritzker told Blagojevich he wanted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate, and in exchange Blagojevich wanted Pritzker to personally raise tens of millions of dollars for him.
The Pritzker tape was used to help send Rod Blagojevich to jail.
Before you know it, every Democrat in the state is gonna be on that list. I mean, if they’re gonna put Rep. Elaine Nekritz on the enemies list, they might as well add everyone. Remember this?…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has spent the past couple of weeks trying to put pressure on Democrats to approve his so-called turnaround agenda items by suggesting that many in the opposition party privately support his ideas.
He did it again Monday at a news conference in his Capitol office. “The exciting thing is, Democrats in the General Assembly, in private, many of them — not all — many of them agree with the reforms,” Rauner said.
Asked to name one or two such Democrats, Rauner said most “are unwilling to say much publicly because they don’t want to get retribution.” But the governor did name Northbrook Democrat Elaine Nekritz, who he contends publicly declared support for his ideas months ago.
Elaine Nekritz has voted 7 times to make Mike Madigan the Speaker of the House. In return, she was selected by Madigan to serve on his leadership team. Only the most loyal legislators are named one of Madigan’s top lieutenants, and taxpayers have paid a steep price for Nekritz’s loyalty.
Nekritz voted for Mike Madigan’s reform-free, 67% income tax hike, the largest in state history. She joined Madigan in teaming with Rod Blagojevich on a pension scheme that increased debt by up to $22 billion. And Nekritz even voted for legislation that makes sure she gets paid even if there is no state budget. Now, legislators are using the Nekritz-backed legislation to sue so they get paid before social services receive their funding.
It’s time for Elaine Nekritz to break with Mike Madigan.
As of Sunday, according to Sun-Times reporter Dan Mihalopoulos, the Chicago Police Department has brought on 409 recruits this year but seen even more officers — 547 — retire. Another 100 recruits joined the police Training Academy on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mihalopoulos reports, police districts in which people must wait the longest for the police to respond are mostly on the South Side, while all the districts with the quickest response times are on the North Side.
The only fair conclusions to be drawn, then, are that we’ll just have to see it to believe it that Chicago’s really getting many more cops, and Chicago had better deploy that larger police force more fairly, assigning more officers to where they are needed most. A handful of extra cops won’t make Chicago safer, especially if they are not dispatched to where the crime is.
As of Oct. 19, there were 6,244 rank-and-file police officers working in Chicago’s 22 police districts. That’s down more than 800 cops from the 7,047 working beats shortly after Emanuel took office in 2011.
Or look at the numbers this way: At the start of 2011, the year Emanuel won his first term, the Police Department had 12,737 members. Now, that number is below 12,000. Compare that with a decade ago, when overall Police Department staffing was more than 14,000.
Illinois’ economy will suffer for years because of the ongoing budget stalemate.
That’s according to a man who was once responsible for leading Illinois — former Governor Jim Edgar.
“The damage is … the worst damage I’ve seen. I mean even the bad years of Blagojevich and the image he gave of Illinois, I don’t think has done anything as much damage as we’ve seen.” […]
He says there are huge, long-term consequences of students choosing to attend out-of-state universities. And Illinois businesses are threatened by the government instability.
Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan seems happy enough to let universities and social services twist in the wind if a budget can’t be reached by Dec. 31. Imagine that.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton have both been more open to discussion, but Madigan’s intransigence is beginning to suggest a sinister strategy of gridlock that could continue until an election showdown with the governor in 2018.
Which brings those of us living in the present, we who worry about what will happen to the state in the next two years and beyond, back to that vacuum. We’d like to fill it now with a union-style protest of 177 rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties marching on Springfield with signs and pitchforks and no per diems, demanding something supportable to vote on. We’d like to see a rebellion by resolute suburban Democrats refusing, however quixotically, to support Madigan’s re-election as speaker.
Sound like the impossible dream? Maybe. But, if the leaders don’t fill the void soon, they’d better brace for an onslaught of even crazier ideas than these.
Recent data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics shows candidates for state House and Senate seats in Illinois alone raised more than $95 million this past election cycle.
Illinois ranks second in the nation for money raised to support state legislative races. […]
There are 12.1 million people in Illinois, and there were 61 contested races. The only state to top fundraising in Illinois was California, with $118.9 million raised. But the population of that state is three times larger than Illinois and it had a greater number of contested races in the 2016 general election.
* Your morning holiday song from VanillaMan. If you need to refresh your memory about how “Here We Come A-wassailing” goes, click here…
Here we come a-borrowing,
For funds that are so green!
Here we come a-ho-oeing,
For loan rates so obscene!
When you run this silly state,
Filled with squabbling silly hate,
We can’t be taken seriously
By bankers who accrue,
All we know is-whom we’re going to sue!
Here we come a finger-pointing,
Campaigning door to door!
But we aren’t the one whose disappointing,
Performance you abhor!
That would be the other guy,
I-would never let Illinois die,
And I need you to know I tell the truth,
It’s that-Republicans lie!
Every fact they say-they falsify!
Here we come a-waffle-ing,
From Cairo to South Beloit!
If you let Boss Madigan rule,
Illinois becomes Detroit!
So here’s what we ought to do,
Lower our wages, live on stew,
And take all the money that we saved,
And bid Democrats adieu!
Then you’ll witness an Illinois anew!
Here they go a-promis-ing,
They’ll fix everything just right!
But there will be no compromising,
And no budget will be in sight!
Hang in there! Hold your breath!
He has two years in office left,
And pray for a Happy New Year,
New Year!
Until then, hope your paychecks clear!
* We started our day with a VanillaMan tune, so let’s wind up the day with another one. Click here if you want to listen to Dean Martin’s version of “Let it Snow” while reading VanillaMan’s, um, “highly” appropriate lyrics…
Oh the news tonight is frightful,
But this mulled wine is so delightful,
And since our politics is a no-go,
Let it flow! let it flow! let it flow!
Yeah - State budget talks are flopping,
So it’s time for a little bar hopping,
Drink up and drop your ammo,
Let it flow! let it flow! let it flow!
During these extra-long Illinois fights,
We’ve got to keep our spirits high!
Drink enough and you’ll get tight,
Making compromise easier to try!
Yeah – the other guys are evil elves,
But these kegs won’t empty themselves,
Drink up until they become your amigo,
Let it flow! let it flow! let it flow!
When you finally end the night,
And perhaps an end to the partisan show
Remember that no one’s wrong or right,
After you finish off the last Bordeaux.
Functioning government is so delightful,
There’s no room to be so spiteful,
Look! Sheila brought along her banjo!
Don’t go! Don’t go! Don’t go!
Let it flow! let it flow! let it flow!
Find the dough! Pay what we owe! LET’S GO!
J.B. Pritzker Can’t Hide from His Deep Ties to Rod Blagojevich
Pritzker following the Madigan Playbook - dodge and distract when you can’t handle the truth
“Now that J.B. Pritzker is desperate to hide his deep ties to Rod Blagojevich, he’s dusting off the Madigan Playbook - dodge and distract when you can’t handle the truth. Pritzker is attempting to whitewash history by calling his dealmaking with disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich “crazy rantings.” The truth is that J.B. Pritzker and his family have a decades-long record of cutting deals with Rod Blagojevich and bankrolling his campaigns, while subsequently facing subpoenas from a federal grand jury.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot
Moments ago, J.B. Pritzker’s spokesman attempted to whitewash the long record of Blagojevich-Pritzker dealmaking by calling Blagojevich’s propositions to Pritzker “crazy rantings.”
Unfortunately for Pritzker, his ties to Blagojevich go back decades.
J.B. Worked as Campaign Fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich
J.B. Pritzker fundraised for Rod Blagojevich’s campaign for the U.S. House, working alongside “North Side political boss” Dick Mell, Blagojevich’s father-in-law. The Chicago Sun-Times reporter visited Blagojevich’s campaign office and reported that J.B. worked there.
“’I’m J. B. Pritzker; I help with fund-raising,’ said the man in a dark green suit.”
(Chicago Sun-Times, In Mell’s World, It’s Politics as Usual, Jorge Oclander, March 23, 1996)
After Raising Money for Blagojevich, Pritzker Remarked That Blagojevich Would Be “very helpful” In His Own Campaign for U.S. House Crain’s Chicago Business reported, “Fresh from installing one junior congressman-son-in-law Rod Blagojevich-Alderman Richard Mell (33rd) apparently has his eye on another: J. B. Pritzker, 32, who wants Rep. Sidney Yates’ lakefront seat. Mr. Mell says any behind-the-scenes role won’t be official until Mr. Pritzker’s ‘98 campaign is official. The Pritzker family scion, who aborted a challenge to Mr. Yates, 87, two years ago, raised money for Mr. Blagojevich’s ‘96 race. Demurring about Mr. Mell’s future role, Mr. Pritzker, right, says, ‘I know Rod is going to be very helpful.’
Blagojevich Even Considered Giving Up His Seat to Pritzker, If Pritzker Would Help Fund His Gubernatorial Campaign
The Chicago Sun-Times reported, “Sneed hears Pritzker would help fund the gubernatorial race of Mell’s son-in-law, Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) and Mell, in turn, would throw his weight behind Pritzker for his son-in-law’s North Side congressional seat.”
Pritzker Fulfilled His End of the Bargain
J.B. and his family contributed over $160,000 to Rod Blagojevich’s campaigns. (Source: IL State Board of Elections)
Patti Blagojevich Uses Ties with J.B. In Job Search
Patti Blagojevich met with J.B., looking for job, just as Rod Blagojevich was trying to sell Illinois’ US Senate Seat.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported, “On Oct. 6, Blagojevich met with officials of the Pritzker Family Foundation, which has $65 million in assets. Among those at the meeting was foundation president J.B. Pritzker, one of several candidates the Chicago-Sun Times has reported the governor was considering to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate.”
J.B. Pritzker’s Connections to Blagojevich were Subpoenaed by a Federal Grand Jury
Read the subpoena here.
An Illinois state representative is preparing to call a bill that would expand abortion access for women on Medicaid and some state health insurance plans.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz says the bill, which has been floating for two years, has renewed urgency in light of anti-abortion comments made by President-elect Donald Trump while he was on the campaign trail.
Currently, Medicaid covers abortion in the cases of rape and incest, as well as in some cases where the health of the mother is at stake. But pro-choice advocates say the exceptions are narrow, subject to the agreement of an auditor and that current law discriminates against low-income women who are on Medicaid plans, when more expensive private health plans cover the service fully. […]
Another bill sponsored by Feigenholtz may be largely political. She is proposing to protect the legality of abortion in case the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade law is overturned. […]
The bill would abolish Illinois’ so-called ‘trigger law,’ that states that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would become illegal in Illinois, as would several forms of birth control. […]
Feigenholtz says she is close to having the required number of votes to pass both bills, but she does not believe she’ll have a veto-proof majority. That means the bills are contingent on Gov. Bruce Rauner supporting them and signing them into law.
Some supporters have been saying that they want to put Rauner on the hot seat. Either make him veto whatever they can get to his desk, or if he signs them it could gin up a credible primary opponent.
* But, always remember, suburban women have historically decided statewide elections and Rauner fully understands this. It’s a good bet that he signs whatever the sponsor can move to his desk, particularly that second bill, which doesn’t cost any money. We’ll see if they can pass the other one.
An attorney for a Rockford pregnancy care center and a host of Downers Grove medical centers argued in a Winnebago County courtroom today that an amendment to state law will serve as “a sword” should they be forced to hand out information about abortion services.
The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford, Anthony Caruso, A Bella Baby OBGYN in Downers Grove, Best Care for Women in Downers Grove and Aid for Women filed suit in August against Gov. Bruce Rauner regarding an amendment to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act. Bryan A. Schneider, secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, also was named in the suit. […]
Bowman argued the amendment violates the free speech rights of anti-abortion medical professionals. If they don’t refer patients to those who provide abortions, or hand them a written list, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation “can fine you $10,000 and take away your medical license,” he said.
And a primary opponent? Who’s gonna fund it? And who you got? Also, too, history.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Campaign Staffer - Senate Republicans goes to Nick McNeeley hands down…
(T)here’s something to be said for campaigns that understand that embracing the new doesn’t mean forgetting the old. When someone can run a campaign that has the good ole fashion ops and have a field operation to bring home a victory, then a person that can make a huge difference in an outcome.
Nick McNeeley has a reputation by doing just that, with Sen. Anderson just a cycle ago, and putting again his skill and political savvy to a test to bring Dale Fowler home. McNeeley’s work in the field and orchestrating significant support from officials that could make a difference continue to make him shine, proving once again that the science and art of campaigns can also include the old and the new. Nick McNeeley proved he has the skills to make art, science, old and new equal victory.
I can’t add to that. He’s the best they have.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Campaign Staffer - House Republicans goes to Kyle Haevers…
Haevers was one of the top Rauner field staff in 2014 managing Lake County. This year, for reasons mentioned above, had the unenviable task of dealing with Madigan’s number 1 target. Haevers pulled off a big win despite millions spent against them and Madigan sending his top guys. Haevers went toe to toe with Marty Quinn and handed “The General” his first defeat in the city.
Ald. Quinn pulled his crew out in the final days to save Rep. Yingling’s behind, but, yeah, he supposedly “never loses.” For a while there, that was a ground game like no other.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
What should be a resolved labor dispute between the state and its largest public employee union is instead costing taxpayers an additional $3 million each day, Gov. Bruce Rauner said.
AFSCME has been without a contract since July 2015. Although the state labor board ruled over a month ago that the two sides were officially at an impasse and Gov. Rauner can enact his “last, best, and final” offer, the union continues to challenge that ruling.
Rauner said last week that there’s a daily cost from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union’s appeal to a higher court of the state labor board’s ruling that the talks had reached an impasse.
“Every day that we delay through these court actions costs the people of Illinois almost $3 million per day,” Rauner said. “Think of how much we could do for our children in poverty, think of how much we could do for our schools and our human services if we weren’t wasting almost $3 million a day on this contract.”
$3 million a day seems kinda high, so I checked in with AFSCME. I was told that if you look at just the people on whom Rauner is attempting to impose his contract demands, that’s “about 25,000 employees.”
$3 million per day divided by 25,000 unionized workers is $120 per person, per day.
That’s a huge cut. Gigantic, even. I mean, that’s $600 a week, man.
Just got robocalled by the Republican Party on pritzker. They play rod tape of how much he thought jb could raise if he got appointed to the senate seat
I heard that this could be coming so I did a little homework in advance.
* Here’s part of the raw audio of the exchange between Blagojevich and his aide Doug Scofield…
* And here’s the full transcript of the conversation. It’s on pages 6-7 on the Tribune’s site…
Notice how Scofield says it would be hard to get JB to do that and Blagojevich agrees.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party released a robocall highlighting potential gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker’s deep ties to Illinois’ most corrupt political insiders, including Rod Blagojevich and his criminal scheme to sell President Obama’s US Senate seat.
“For years, J.B. Pritzker has worked behind the scenes to screw Illinois taxpayers. Pritzker provided nearly a million dollars to Mike Madigan’s political front group and inserted himself into Rod Blagojevich’s criminal scheme to sell Illinois’ US Senate seat. J.B. Pritzker is just another corrupt political insider.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
JB Pritzker wants to run for Governor. But how well do we really know Pritzker?
We know that political boss Mike Madigan likes Pritzker and his billion dollar fortune as much as disgraced and imprisoned Governor Rod Blagojevich did.
Pritzker told Blagojevich he wanted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate and in exchange Blagojevich wanted JB to personally raise tens of millions of dollars for him.
Here’s Blagojevich on FBI tapes talking about it….
[Audio] I betcha JB can raise me money like that … If I can get JB to do somethin’ like that is it worth, ah, givin’ him the Senate seat? Incidentally, he, he asked me for it. Don’t repeat that.
JB Pritzker. Just another crooked insider who seeks to screw over Illinois taxpayers.
[Audio] $10 million dollars, $15 million dollars … JB can do it, couldn’t he? … Don’t repeat that.
Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party. 872-216-3791
Mess with a guy worth close to $4 billion and you’re essentially inviting him to start spending money soon.
Stay tuned, campers.
*** UPDATE *** From Pritzker’s spokesman…
“You would think a governor who has failed to pass a budget for two years and has allowed human services to be gutted would have better things to do with his time than to dredge up the crazy rantings of Rod Blagojevich.”
* Pastor Corey Brooks and Hermene Hartman, both Bruce Rauner campaign supporters, were at the governor’s minority business event and were interviewed by CBS 2’s Derrick Blakely…
Both Brooks and Hartman say they still believe in Rauner’s vision of economic growth to benefit black communities.
“Lack of economic opportunity is directly tied to the violence in our communities,” Rauner said.
Brooks says he has no regrets [for supporting Rauner despite several threats] and criticizes black legislators in Springfield.
“A lot of people in our community want them to stand for us, and not just stand for Madigan,” Brooks says, referring to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, the political rival of Rauner.
Hartman did not foresee the state budget stalemate and the damage to social services.
“Some of these agencies are going out of business,” she says.
She doesn’t blame the governor for that?
“I blame all of them for that because they’re all responsible. That’s their job. Their job is to give us a budget,” Hartman says.
Three points:
1) Economic development is vital to stemming violence, no doubt. But it’ll take a whole lot more than Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda to accomplish that goal on the South and West Sides. He shouldn’t just be let off the hook here;
2) Speaker Madigan has truly become the be-all, end-all excuse for anyone in the Republican Party to avoid answering any sort of tough or even softball question; and
3) Yes, the governor has never proposed a truly balanced budget, but the Illinois Constitution also requires the General Assembly to pass a balanced budget, which it has not yet done under this governor. So, Hartman is correct.
Three Added to BossMadigan.com
Time for Sente, Fine and Mussman to Stop Empowering Madigan at Our Expense
The Illinois Republican Party today added three more legislators – Reps. Carol Sente, Laura Fine and Michelle Mussman – to BossMadigan.com.
“Mike Madigan has run Illinois as a political boss for over three decades. Madigan’s only motivation is to increase his own political power at our expense. The middle class, the voters, and honest, transparent government fall by the wayside in Madigan’s Illinois,” said Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe.
“By repeatedly voting for Madigan for Speaker, empowering Madigan instead of standing up to him, Reps. Carol Sente, Laura Fine and Michelle Mussman bear responsibility for how far Illinois has fallen.
It’s not too late for them to do the right thing and pledge to oppose Madigan for Speaker this time.”
Carol Sente is a consistent vote for political boss Mike Madigan’s disastrous tax-and-spend agenda. Mike Madigan has channeled $1.5 million to Carol Sente over the years, and in exchange Sente has supported Madigan three times for Speaker. She backed Madigan’s plan to nearly double the income tax on many Illinois families. Worst of all, Sente voted to make sure she gets paid if the government shuts down, ahead of social service organizations and higher education. It’s time for Sente to finally break from Madigan and oppose his bid for Speaker.
Laura Fine has been a staunch Madigan ally in the House, supporting Madigan for Speaker at every opportunity. This should not come as a surprise, since Madigan has directed hundreds of thousands in special interest cash to Fine’s campaigns. Instead of standing up for fiscal sanity in Springfield, Fine helped Madigan ram through a budget that was $8 billion out of balance. She even voted to ensure that she is paid ahead of critical social services and schools. Fine has backed Madigan’s agenda for too long, but she can demonstrate her independence by refusing to support Madigan for Speaker again.
Michelle Mussman is one of Madigan’s most loyal legislators, having supported him for Speaker three times. Madigan called on Mussman to vote for the most unbalanced budget in Illinois history, and Mussman obliged, supporting a budget that would have required a $1,000 tax on Illinois families to balance. Mussman even voted to make sure she gets paid before schools and social services. It’s no wonder Michelle Mussman has backed Mike Madigan’s agenda, since he has funneled close to a million dollars into her accounts. Mussman now has a chance to break away from her support of Madigan by refusing to vote for him for Speaker for a fourth time.
To borrow a concept from Wordslinger, if Madigan’s “only motivation is to increase his own political power at our expense,” then why is the governor currently demanding that he present a budget plan? After all, if that stuff is true, then shouldn’t the governor completely mistrust anything Madigan proposes?
Joe Topinka, son of late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, has filed a lawsuit in Sangamon County Circuit Court seeking more than $60,000 in contributions she made to her state retirement system while serving as comptroller.
The suit seeks to overturn a ruling by the General Assembly Retirement System that because Topinka was paid more in retirement benefits than she contributed to the system over her life, no refund is due.
But Joe Topinka, 48, the late comptroller’s only child and a married father of a 6-year-old daughter, said his mother had said the money she put into her pension fund could help her grandchild with education expenses. […]
According to the written decision of the retirement system’s board, after Topinka’s death, the board issued an interpretation of state law. That interpretation stated, in part, that when a retiree goes back to work and becomes a participant in the system again, the death benefit “will equal total contributions made by the participant during all periods of active service, less the total amount of retirement and survivor’s annuity payments received by the participant and the participant’s survivor. If the total amount of … benefits paid is greater than the total contributions, no death benefit is payable.”
JBT’s total payments into the GARS pension system were about $262,000 and she collected almost $533,000. GARS has by far the worst unfunded liability of all the state’s pension systems.
Bernie also reports that Joe Topinka filed suit over his mother’s campaign fund, but that was dismissed and he’s appealing. He also filed suit in probate court to gain control of the campaign fund, but that, too, was dismissed and he’s appealing it as well, Bernie writes.
State lawmakers from both political parties are calling for an investigation of how the Illinois Lottery managed scratch-off games in response to a Tribune report showing the lottery didn’t award many of the biggest prizes in the biggest games.
“I just don’t think we should promise people things we don’t deliver,” said state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. “And if we say we have a game that’s going to pay X and it doesn’t pay X, then we’ve lied to the people who bought the tickets.” […]
Illinois handed over management of its lottery in mid-2011 to a private firm, Northstar Lottery Group, and the Tribune studied the 17 biggest-prize instant games that were begun and ended in the five years since.
Reporters found most of those games did not award all of their grand prizes and some did not award any. In all, those games awarded less than 60 percent of their grand prizes — a rate lower than other states studied by the Tribune, and lower than when Illinois managed its own lottery. The Tribune also found that, because of how the games ended, the lottery often paid a lower percentage of revenue than the games were designed to pay.
One $30-a-ticket game, for example, pitched the biggest instant grand prize in Illinois history: $46 million in periodic payments. But it was pulled from store shelves before it awarded either of its two grand prizes. Its designed payout rate — nearly 78 percent of sales — ended at 61 percent of sales. Had it paid out at its designed rate, players would have won an additional $10 million, the Tribune found.
The original story is here. I didn’t post it on Friday because I wasn’t quite clear on what the alleged scam was all about. You have to kinda read between the lines. For instance…
Take the game The Good Life: $30,000 A Week For 30 Years.
Based on internal design documents kept by the lottery, the game was designed to award 78 percent of its revenue — most of it in smaller prizes but anchored by two mammoth grand prizes.
It was pulled after selling less than 15 percent of the tickets printed; no grand prizes were awarded.
On an Internet bulletin board devoted to core lottery players, one poster lamented to his peers: “I don’t know why they are pulling it, but … I was playing this game for months and feel they must have made a whole lot of money and paid out very little.”
Indeed, by then, the game had raised about $63 million in sales.
It awarded about $38 million in smaller prizes.
The payout rate ended up being just shy of 61 percent, 17 percentage points less than the designed rate of 78 percent. […]
Because of when games were ended, and payout rates being lower than designed, the excess money was counted as profit — a metric for which Northstar was judged.
So, if I’m reading this right, the company apparently ordered far more scratch-off tickets printed than could possibly be sold, which would greatly lower the odds that somebody actually buys a winning ticket. Then, the game was canceled without any big payouts.
If that is the allegation, the Tribune doesn’t clearly spell it out. But it sure makes it look that way.
Also, for grand prizes that cost $1 million or more to fund, Illinois’ payout rate was about 60 percent, while New York’s was about 80 percent, Pennsylvania’s was 83 percent, Texas’ was 88 percent and the rate was 100 percent in Florida, Massachusetts and Ohio.
The Illinois budget ball appears to be in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s court, and he should take advantage of the opportunity to show real statesmanship and leadership.
On Friday, Republican Rauner canceled a budget discussion meeting with legislative leaders — including House Speaker MIchael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Democrats — when he learned the lawmakers did not plan to present a balanced budget proposal.
Rauner said he would not schedule another meeting to discuss possible ways of hopefully ending the state’s ongoing budget impasse until lawmakers could present a balanced budget.
There’s only one problem with the tactic: It’s Rauner’s job to propose a budget.
The Governor shall prepare and submit to the General Assembly, at a time prescribed by law, a State budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The budget shall set forth the estimated balance of funds available for appropriation at the beginning of the fiscal year, the estimated receipts, and a plan for expenditures and obligations during the fiscal year of every department, authority, public corporation and quasi-public corporation of the State, every State college and university, and every other public agency created by the State, but not of units of local government or school districts. The budget shall also set forth the indebtedness and contingent liabilities of the State and such other information as may be required by law. Proposed expenditures shall not exceed funds estimated to be available for the fiscal year as shown in the budget.
The governor should lay political concerns aside and do the job dictated to his office by the Illinois Constitution. No one else in Springfield appears to want to do what is necessary to fix this ongoing fiscal mess. Rauner should lead the way.
* Meanwhile, we’ll be covering this live today, so check back…
* Another holiday song from VanillaMan. This one’s pretty darned dark, but VMan thought it was necessary. He does promise more light-hearted material next time. Click here if you’re unfamiliar with the tune, “Infant Holy Infant Lowly,”…
Governor’s goal he, starves us slowly
For his political wins, we fall
Unions suffer, incomes rougher
Government collapses in downfall
Cold winds stinging, state wards clinging
Without means, ruled by Philistines
The government of our sad state
Kills our dreams and suffocates
Progress slowly, politics lowly
Overtaxing, prevents relaxing
Underachieving, jobs are leaving
Government budgets take an axing
Chicago Looping, Mayoral regrouping
City’s teachers’ backs astooping
Communities crying out for saving
Instead its leaders are misbehaving
Always hoping, perpetually coping
Illinoisans await a joyous Spring
New day coming with factories humming
Our great state, once more will sing
And both parties, will be very sorry
For what they’ve done, to our happy home
That they’ll work forever harder
Or face wrath under Springfield’s dome
What’s the lesson, we’re confessin’
Over what we’ve seen transpire?
It’s that whether or not you like government
We cannot be led by crooks or liar
Doing nothing, will get us nothing
And with nothing, we fall on our face
It matters not what ere your party
It matters not what ere your race
* Gov. Rauner was asked today if he had a contingency plan in place in case he doesn’t get a full budget or a stopgap budget…
We’ll get, we’ll get things done.
“How can you say that?” a reporter asked…
Because I think in the end a majority of members of the General Assembly will do the right thing. Everything that we’re advocating has strong bipartisan support… We haven’t yet, but change is hard… I’m frustrated. I’m not the most patient person in the state, but I’m very persistent.
And then he went on to talk yet again about how raising taxes won’t solve anything and how growth is a must. And then he claimed, yet again, that several Democrats privately support his ideas without naming anybody. And then he changed the subject.
However, subscribers know a little about his fallback plan - and it’s all bad for Chicago and for certain Democratic legislators with state facilities.
Join me for my next Facebook Live tomorrow.Please submit your questions about the budget now or ask them live tomorrow at noon. #Raunerlivepic.twitter.com/NwA1UIRx7V
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State Senate Staffer - Non Political, Republican goes to Jo Johnson…
She does it all and knows how to get along with people on both sides of the aisle.
Yep.
* The 2016 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best State House Staffer - Non Political, Republican goes to James Sherwood…
Lots of staffers are smart. James is that but also a genuinely good guy whose head isn’t so big it will explode. He proves that you can be a good staffer without sacrificing a pleasant personality
Congrats!
* Now, on to today’s categories…
* Best campaign staffer - House Republicans
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Republicans
Make sure to explain your vote or it won’t count and do your very best to nominate in both categories, please. Thanks.
* The latest from VanillaMan. Click here if you’re unfamiliar with the tune…
Angels we have heard on high
Pleading, begging o’re our plains
But Raunerites in reply
Berates them over budget strains
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
Democrats only live to STEAL
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
Without Turnaround there’s NO DEAL
Legislators feeling glum
With no pay, there is no plum
The Speaker whom ’er he be
Would never give in to Brucie
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
We’d rather listen to Brucie’s SQUEAL
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
“Right To Work” is Right To STEAL
Come to Chicago and see
Lootings, shootings across the town
Duck and dive on bended knee
Mayor Emanuel, who wears the crown
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
I’d rather have no sex APPEAL
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO Deal
Chicago’s Rauner’s Achilles’ heel
What can poor Illinois do now?
Whose government ignores angels pleas?
Illinois citizens come, let’s vow
We won’t succumb to government squeeze!
NO-Ooooooh-Oooooh-NO GOOD!
We’re tired of all your FALSEHOOD!
GO-Oooooh-Oooooh-LET’S GO!
Time for ANGELS to RUN THIS SHOW!
Raoul and the legislative black caucus have said they don’t want to increase mandatory minimums, which have drawn criticism for putting nonviolent drug offenders behind bars for decades - something even Obama is trying to undo in his final days through commutations and other actions.
Instead, Raoul says, he’ll propose directing judges to use the higher end of the sentencing scale when someone has a prior gun-related conviction. Judges would keep their discretion in sentencing, but Raoul’s bill may require them to explain their rationale.
As is, someone with a previous felony weapons conviction faces 3 to 14 years; Raoul’s measure might have judges consider more than 10 years. Currently, someone with a 3-year sentence can be freed after serving half their term with good behavior.
“The question is … whether (repeat offenders) are incapacitated long enough to create a breather for some neighborhoods that are just ravaged by gun violence, and long enough to create a deterrence,” Raoul said.
But such an effort could turn into a “war on guns” that would resemble the war on drugs of the 1970s and 1980s, according to Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli, whose staff represents many of the accused. It didn’t lead to a drop in drug usage, but to the “demonization” of mostly young African-American and Latino men, she said.
I’m not sure what the exact answer is here, but comparing this to the war on drugs is a bit on the specious side. That war was touted as a way to prevent people from putting what were believed to be harmful products into their own bodies, or selling those products to others. Guns used in the act of a felony would seem to be an entirely different matter.
One of Richard Nixon’s top advisers and a key figure in the Watergate scandal said the war on drugs was created as a political tool to fight blacks and hippies, according to a 22-year-old interview recently published in Harper’s Magazine.
“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people,” former Nixon domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman told Harper’s writer Dan Baum for the April cover story published Tuesday.
“You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities,” Ehrlichman said. “We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
IVAN MORENO, 34, who has been supervisory correspondent with The Associated Press at the Statehouse for about a year, will become the AP’s supervisory correspondent in Milwaukee. […]
SETH PERLMAN, 61, has been an AP photographer in Springfield for more than 33 years, and was laid off Friday. Perlman said there is severance pay involved and he’s happy with his situation. He also turned in his equipment to the company and has no plans to freelance. He certainly has been around to help showcase a lot of history. He’s a Miami native, got a journalism degree at the University of Colorado, and worked places including the Denver Post before coming to Springfield. […]
And one of WCIA-TV’s Statehouse reporters, KELSEY GIBBS, 28, is leaving in January to become a general assignment reporter for KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City. She’s a Springfield High grad who got her master’s in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield. Gibbs said it will be her first time living outside Illinois, so she expects to have “a little homesickness” with her family still here. But she said she’s excited about the “jump to a bigger market.” […]
Other Statehouse reporters who recently announced departures are AMANDA VINICKY, going from Illinois Public Radio to WTTW-TV in Chicago; MIKE RIOPELL, who had been in Springfield for the Daily Herald, based in Arlington Heights, and took a job in Chicago with the Tribune; and WCIA-TV’s ED CROSS, who is becoming spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources.
* The Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, passed in the wake of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, with emphasis added…
It is the intention of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois to reasonably regulate abortion in conformance with the decisions of the United States Supreme Court of January 22, 1973. Without in any way restricting the right of privacy of a woman or the right of a woman to an abortion under those decisions, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois do solemnly declare and find in reaffirmation of the longstanding policy of this State, that the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person for purposes of the unborn child’s right to life and is entitled to the right to life from conception under the laws and Constitution of this State.
Further, the General Assembly finds and declares that longstanding policy of this State to protect the right to life of the unborn child from conception by prohibiting abortion unless necessary to preserve the life of the mother is impermissible only because of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court and that, therefore, if those decisions of the United States Supreme Court are ever reversed or modified or the United States Constitution is amended to allow protection of the unborn then the former policy of this State to prohibit abortions unless necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life shall be reinstated.
I bring this up because a Republican president who campaigned on repealing Roe v. Wade has a Republican US Senate.
* But the Tribune looked into this matter back in 1991…
Anti-abortion groups would likely go to court to get the 1975 law reinstated [if Roe v. Wade is overturned], but whether they would succeed remains a question. […]
“Abortions will not be illegal because there is no statute in Illinois that makes abortions generally criminal,” [Attorney Paul Linton, counsel for the anti-abortion Americans United for Life] said.
The Illinois Legislative Research Unit of the General Assembly also shares that view. It would take a new law to outlaw abortion here, the research unit concluded in a 1989 study. […]
[Colleen Connell, director of the reproductive rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois] of the ACLU maintained that both the preamble and the law are unenforceable.
“The law has a unconstitutional vagueness,” she said. “It doesn’t specifically tell physicians which acts are prohibited and which are not. There’s a long-standing and unquestioned doctrine of criminal law in Illinois that says the law must be very specific.
“What the preamble says is the General Assembly didn’t like abortion, but the preamble has no legal, binding aspect.”
Category two includes a variety of midrange Democrats. Each has a following but would have to scramble to widen their base.
For instance, state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, reminds me of the late Dawn Clark Netsch with his focus on fiscal probity and thoughtful backing of progressive causes. He raised $10 million for an anti-Rauner TV blitz this fall but insists it’s not about money. “I really don’t like the theory of ‘we’ll pit our billionaire against their billionaire,’ ” he says.
Two downstate officials are known to be considering a run, too, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of western Illinois and state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill. Both have been successful in regions that the Democratic Party statewide has all but abandoned in recent decades.
But Bustos recently accepted a job in House Democratic leadership that will be difficult to walk away from, even if she has Durbin’s rumored backing. That could make Manar, the former chief of staff to Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, the man to watch in a crowded field, especially if he’s able to consolidate labor behind him.
Sen. Manar is up for reelection in two years, so he’d have to give up his seat to run. I’m not saying he wouldn’t do that, I’m just saying that hard fact will definitely play a role in his decision-making.
Mike McClain, a Quincy attorney who has been described as “the most trusted and respected lobbyist in Springfield,” has announced his retirement.
McClain, 69, said he told his wife, Cinda Awerkamp McClain, two years ago that he would retire at the end of 2015 as an anniversary present for her.
“Then we had the Exelon bill come up, and my friend Mike Madigan was facing some tough times, and so (the retirement) kind of got put on hold” for another year, McClain said, referring to a bill to extend subsidies to the utility to keep two nuclear power plants in the state operating.
He kept his retirement plan secret until it was revealed Friday by Rich Miller in the Illinois political newsletter and blog Capitol Fax. The announcement caught many by surprise.
“He was extremely successful and really, really will be missed,” said state Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville.
Former state Rep. Art Tenhouse, R-Liberty, said McClain worked behind the scenes and could “cross over the partisan divide” on almost every issue that came up in the Legislature.
“Most people don’t realize what an advocate he’s been for Western Illinois and how many things he’s gotten accomplished for this region,” Tenhouse said. […]
Wrote Miller on Friday:
“McClain has been a vitally important sounding board and strategist for the Speaker. He’s never been afraid to clash head-on with other members of Madigan’s inner circle when he’s believed they’ve given his guy the wrong advice. McClain also participated in Madigan’s conference calls every Sunday during campaign seasons, including this past one.
“The extent of his influence with Madigan probably can’t be overstated and will likely never be known. Neither man is the type to write tell-all autobiographies. Madigan doesn’t always take McClain’s advice, of course, but, like pretty much everyone who comes into contact with McClain, he most definitely always listens to him and respects him and, perhaps most importantly, trusts him.
“He’s also been a valued private conduit to members of Team Rauner, who may not love Madigan, but can always talk to McClain.”
On Friday, McClain said “a Springfield old-timer” told him early in his career as a lobbyist that with his connections, McClain could make a lot of money and retire in five years, or make a more modest living compared with other people and keep lobbying for a long time, while keeping his reputation intact.
The FBI notified the Illinois Republican Party in June that some of its email accounts may have been hacked, but party officials were not told that it was part of a wide-ranging federal investigation of Russian activity in the nation’s political system, the state GOP’s executive director said Sunday.
Nick Klitzing said the state GOP on its own found 18 of its emails on the website DCLeaks.com. The New York Times reported the website was an outlet that U.S. intelligence officials and private cybersecurity companies believe was created by a unit controlled by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency.
Klitzing said FBI agents raised questions about emails involving the state GOP accounts during their visit. The four email accounts involved were inactive or rarely used, and the hacked emails dated to 2015, long before the 2016 contests for president and Illinois offices, Klitzing said.
A review of the emails provided by the state GOP shows the messages were largely rudimentary in nature, ranging from requests for training and local party event invitations to reports and discussion that U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton should be considered a “dark horse” candidate to replace House Speaker John Boehner, a contest ultimately won by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
The disclosure of the hacked email accounts comes amid reports by the Times and Washington Post that assessments by American intelligence agencies, including the CIA, concluded that Russia acted to influence the 2016 presidential election in favor of Republican President-elect Donald Trump and to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton’s chances.
* Two years ago Saturday I got a call in the middle of the night telling me that Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka had died. Everyone who knew her was shocked. She just seemed so indestructible.
Her untimely death undoubtedly changed the course of Illinois history. While she was a good Republican, she would’ve undoubtedly stood up to newly elected Gov. Bruce Rauner’s constant demands for “right to work” and other anti-union legislation, providing a balance to that party which simply doesn’t exist these days. I also believe she would’ve sharply criticized the Democrats for obstructionism, bringing some sensible balance to that fight as well.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it until I no longer have breath in my body: Never before in the history of any state has the death of a comptroller had such tragic consequences.
Top folks in the governor’s office said they didn’t quite understand last week why the Senate Democrats and House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman were so upset with them about canceling last Thursday’s leaders meeting to discuss ending the long Statehouse impasse and finishing up an incomplete budget.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s chief of staff reached out to Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) last Wednesday to see whether he’d finished up a budget framework. Harris, who Madigan refers to as his “chief budget negotiator,” had reportedly made it clear earlier in the process that he wanted to get input from House Democratic membership before moving forward with any budget proposal. He hadn’t yet been able to do that, which led to the decision by the governor’s office to cancel last Thursday’s meeting.
Trouble is, the press release announcing that cancellation was sent at almost exactly the same time as top Democratic staff were informed of the news. And that led to internal confusion and more than a little anger.
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“I’m seriously floored by this,” said one clearly ticked off top Dem involved with the negotiations. “Every time we start to make progress they pull the plug.”
Public comments by Madigan’s spokesman (who is not involved with negotiations) were a bit harsh: “Somehow they had it in their heads that we’re going to take over some executive action [by proposing a full budget]. I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Steve Brown told the Chicago Sun-Times.
But the real reason the Democrats haven’t presented a plan after almost two years of demanding that Rauner propose one is that if they do lay out an actual spending plan, they’d have to essentially reveal the size of the tax hike they’d prefer, which is why Rauner hasn’t done it, either.
It wouldn’t be difficult for the governor to take the Democrats’ spending proposals, subtract out expected state revenues and then label what wasn’t yet funded as “the Democrats’ tax hike plan.” Or, more likely, “the Mike Madigan tax hike plan,” since the Republicans truly relish whacking the unpopular House Speaker.
That may not happen, but the complete lack of trust among Statehouse leaders exacerbated by the governor’s year-round campaign style pretty much makes that expectation a reality.
After all, I already get more than a dozen e-mails almost every day from the Illinois Republican Party slamming individual House and Senate Democrats for being Madigan’s minions. A “tax hike proposal” from Madigan could exponentially increase those attacks.
Not to mention that the governor’s state party sent a video “tracker” to the Statehouse this month to harass a few politically vulnerable House Democrats. The party posted video of one somewhat embarrassing encounter on YouTube. This stuff is, at the least, inanely juvenile and, at most, darkly autocratic. The governor’s party shouldn’t be paying people to follow opposing party legislators around Springfield with a camera. Period. And it could easily escalate out of control if the other side starts responding in kind.
In the past, the leaders and the governor would all figuratively hold hands and jump off the tax hike cliff together. But, in the past, nobody was blasting out campaign press releases just days after the campaign ended and hounding legislators with video trackers. So, nobody trusts anyone enough to do that now.
And that’s why Senate President John Cullerton went on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight” program last week and said, “It’s not a matter of who’s going first,” but then firmly and repeatedly demanded that Rauner had to be the one to go first.
Even so, they actually appear to be making some slow progress behind the scenes.
Despite public comments by Republican leaders that reconstituting the rank and file legislative working groups was a waste of time, a small group planned to meet last Friday with the governor’s people to engage on a workers’ compensation reform plan. Cullerton said earlier in the week that he was confident a deal could be struck, particularly if it focused on weeding out fraud and abuse. Speaker Madigan said after last Tuesday’s meeting that he was willing to negotiate on that topic.
Another small working group was also scheduled to talk about local government consolidation and state mandate relief. Madigan said he was willing to engage on that topic as well. Madigan also said last week he was willing to talk about pension reform, which is another major Rauner demand and for which Cullerton already has a proposal.
They just need to find a way to trust each other enough to make it all happen. Don’t bet on it yet.
