BGA fundraises on MJM comments
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You knew this had to happen sooner or later. From a blast e-mail…
BGA dismisses Madigan’s bullying accusations, vows to continue watchdog work.
Dear Rich,
How do you know your watchdog work is having an impact? The most powerful lawmaker in the state writes a letter warning his colleagues about you.
Illinois House Speaker & State Democratic Chairman Mike Madigan is accusing me and the BGA of “using bullying tactics” to gather information for a Sun-Times story on the fact that as many as 29 of Madigan’s 30 campaign workers had or have government jobs that collectively pay nearly $2 million a year, and they’ve contributed more than $200,000 to political funds for Madigan or his daughter Lisa.
Madigan says, in a letter to dozens of state Democratic leaders, that the BGA is trying to “impugn the Democratic Party.”
Sorry Mike–we’re just doing our job, which is to shine a light on government and hold public officials accountable.
This is a story about the intersection of government, politics and money. Watchdogs tell those stories because citizens of Illinois deserve to know how their government works.
The BGA is a nonpartisan watchdog that investigates public officials and public policies, and recommends reform. We’ve been doing it for 90 years and sometimes our work ruffles a few feathers. Our only agenda is better government, and we invite everyone, including Mike Madigan, to join us in this effort.
Mike Madigan is a powerful political leader and we’re a small watchdog organization, so you decide who’s the bully. And if you believe Illinois government needs a strong watchdog, please consider supporting the BGA with a generous contribution.
Your watchdog,
Andy Shaw
President & CEO
Discuss.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Bill Brady and other Republicans have joined with House Speaker Michael Madigan to oppose appropriating money during the veto session to fund some state employee pay raises going back to 2011. Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, however, believes the money should be allocated…
“I think you’ll probably have to have a supplemental appropriation,” Topinka said at a Springfield news conference. “I don’t know how else you do it. Where else are you going to get the money? It’s not like it’s lying around. I don’t have bags of it sitting around the office.” […]
That includes $112 million needed to pay back wages — plus 7 percent interest — to about 25,000 union workers who were denied raises they were due under their previous labor agreement. Quinn suspended the raises, saying lawmakers did not approve money to pay them. The issue was taken to court, and a judge sided with the unions and said the state had to honor the back wages with interest. […]
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has balked at the idea of approving a supplemental budget to pay the wages. He has said agencies should cover the back wages out of the spending plan approved by lawmakers in May.
Keep in mind that the fiscal year revenue forecast has been revised upward by about $360 million.
* The Question: Should the General Assembly vote to appropriate $112 million plus interest to fund the back pay, or should agencies be told to find the money within their own budgets and the $112 million+ be used to pay off other old bills? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey tools
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* Bruce Rauner was interviewed on WJBC radio the other day. Listen to the whole thing…
* A couple of things stood out for me. He is apparently convinced that if he spends enough money and attends enough events, he will win this race.
According to Rauner, his polling shows him ahead by 20 points among people who’ve been exposed to his ads or seen him speak.
If he’s convinced of that, then we can expect a lot more spending.
A lot.
* He was also asked how he differed from failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, another rich guy in a similar business. His response…
“He was an analyst, I’m a salesman.”
Good point.
* He continued…
“I’m not Mitt Romney. You know, my grandparents lived in a double-wide trailer and didn’t speak much English. I drink a beer and I smoke a cigar and I ride a Harley, I use a gun, I’m a self-made guy. I still do ranching and farming myself and I come from a small-town farming family. I’m a very different person and I’m connecting with the voters and we’re going to win this race.”
Discuss.
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One way or another, you’re gonna have to wait
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I can totally understand why some folks want to try and pass the gay marriage bill next week. They’ve worked hard, and they want to finally know who’s with them and who’s against them.
But if you’re a gay couple eager to get married as soon as possible, then waiting until January to hold a vote is a better option.
Why? Well, there’s no way the bill could get three-fifths in both chambers next week, but three-fifths is a constitutional requirement for any bill with an immediate effective date. A bill requiring a simple majority with an immediate effective date can only be approved after the first of the year. Passing an amended bill now means waiting until next June for the law to take effect.
* So, if you’re more into politics, making a “statement” and revenge, then go ahead and keep pushing for a vote next week without knowing whether you have enough votes to pass it. The risk, of course, is that the bill might actually be defeated and won’t come back for a floor vote until well after next year’s election. Maybe you’re feeling lucky. If so, go ahead and roll the dice. Just know that your bill won’t become law for seven more months.
If, on the other hand, you want gay marriage to be the law of the land as soon as possible, then all you have to do is wait to call the vote until January, or even after the March primary.
* Meanwhile, as you’ll recall, Springfield Bishop John Paprocki claimed some marriage equality supporters intended to stage a “loud” action at one of his churches last week, so he banned them from the grounds…
The Rainbow Sash Movement has encouraged Roman Catholics to come to Springfield to “have a loud Catholic presence for marriage equality.” They have announced plans to gather at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 4:30 p.m. just before the 5:15 p.m. Mass to stand in the Cathedral and indicate that they are there to pray the rosary for “marriage equality.”
It is blasphemy to show disrespect or irreverence to God or to something holy. Since Jesus clearly taught that marriage as created by God is a sacred institution between a man and a woman (see Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9), praying for same-sex marriage should be seen as blasphemous and as such will not be permitted in the cathedral.
People wearing a rainbow sash or who otherwise identify themselves as affiliated with the Rainbow Sash Movement will not be admitted into the cathedral and anyone who gets up to pray for same-sex marriage in the cathedral will be asked to leave.
Of course, our cathedral and parish churches are always open to everyone who wishes to repent their sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. [Emphasis added.]
* Springfield radio commentator Jim Leach strongly supports gay marriage, but he also sees Paprocki’s side…
The people who sought to stage such demonstrations are not helping their cause and are lending credence to one of the biggest allegations of their opponents. The anti-marriage-equality crowd sees the movement as a threat to their freedom to worship as they see fit. They are sure that allowing same-sex marriage is just the first step toward requiring them to modify their dogma to conform to political correctness. An absurd fear, to be sure – but protestors who seek to disrupt Mass or demand changes in Catholic orthodoxy make it seem far less absurd.
There are plenty of reasons to object to the bishop’s views and plenty of appropriate venues to do so. But a Roman Catholic cathedral during Mass is not one of them.
The bishop was correct to protect the sanctity of his church and to defend the legitimacy of its teachings. Just as religious freedom does not give the bishop the right to deny equal rights to gay couples, neither does it give marriage-equality proponents the right to deny the bishop and his followers the right to their own beliefs.
If you disagree with his view, you may wish to seek out a church that doesn’t see loving gay couples as “evil incarnate.” But if marriage equality supporters want Bishop Paprocki and others like him to live and let live, we have to be willing to do the same.
* Greg Hinz also weighed in…
To the extent anyone was going to disrupt services—I know of no evidence of that—the bishop was perfectly correct.
* Greg is right that there is little to no evidence of that intent. The Rainbow Sash folks did, indeed, say they planned to have a loud presence at the rally itself…
The Rainbow Sash Movement is organizing for the March on Springfield. We are encouraging Roman Catholics in the Parishes who support Marriage Equality to join us in Springfield so we can have loud Catholic Presence for Marriage Equality.
* But the object of the organizers at the church was to pray in silence…
The Rainbow Sash Movement is calling for silent prayer to begin 4:30PM just before the 5:15PM Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A rosary for Marriage Equality will be said in silence. By standing up in the Cathedral you will indicate you are there to pray the rosary for Marriage Equality. Let us come together as a spiritual family in prayer after the March.
* A subsequent statement from the Rainbow Sash group…
The Rainbow Sash Movement event was to be a silent rosary to be held in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 4:30PM in Springfield,. This would take place after the March for Gay Marriage in Springfield on October 22. We wanted this to begin prior to the 5:15 Mass at the Cathedral. The silent rosary would take about 10 minutes to say those present were invited to stand at 4:30PM and begin the mental recitation of the Rosary which would end at 4:40PM.
While the Bishop Paprocki’s statement was alienating and threatening to Catholic laypeople who support Marriage Equality, such as the Governor and other supportive Catholic politicians the Rainbow Sash Movement firmly believes the Church is more than brick and mortar.
How Bishop Paprocki could misrepresent this event in such a manner only points to a man who is clueless. His statement was both uncalled for and most certainly not in the spirit of Pope Francis general tone that we should stop obsessing about such matters.
The only charitable thing that can be said about the Bishops hysterical response is that it is misinformed, and I am sure most reasonable people would agree with that.
It is our opinion, his statement to the press should be challenged because of his misrepresentation of the facts. It was never our intention to either wear Rainbow Sashes at the 5:15PM Mass, nor were we going to wear them at the Rosary for Gay Marriage. The primary reason we called for this ancient prayer of the Church to be said is because October is also the month of the Rosary around the Catholic World, and we thought this prayer was appropriate in this setting.
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Sun-Times sees optimism, Durkin says wait
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Sun-Times editorializes on pension reform…
Both scenarios being batted around by the state’s four legislative leaders and a 10-member pension committee rely on cutting retirement benefits, mostly by reducing annual cost-of-living increases for retired teachers, state workers, legislators and university employees.
The Republicans are right to push for more than $138 billion, to go for the greatest savings possible. This is the Legislature’s one chance to get this right. But push too hard and retirees are hurt unnecessarily and the final result will never pass.
The compromising begins with Senate President John Cullerton, who last week officially became one of the biggest impediments to getting a deal done. Cullerton said he embraced the $138 billion plan but he also made clear that he thinks pension reform is basically a waste of time. Cullerton said the state’s $100 billion unfunded pension liability wasn’t a “crisis” after all and suggested that Illinois could manage just fine without pension cost-cutting. That’s called talking out of both sides of your mouth.
But this week Cullerton is willing to play ball. He says he’s game for going higher than $138 billion — which is essential because that’s what the other three legislative leaders, including House Speaker Michael Madigan, want. Cullerton’s spokeswoman told us that “$138 billion seems to be the baseline” and “he’s looking for some fair way to get it higher.”
Getting from a baseline to a new, agreed plan is a delicate balancing act. But when we talk to lawmakers close to the negotiations we sense something almost unheard of in politics: optimism.
I didn’t hear a lot of optimism yesterday when I made a quick round of calls. But if the four leaders are committed to going higher than $138 billion, that could be a reason for some hope.
* Then again, maybe not…
“Next week, we got three days and I don’t anticipate yet again that much being accomplished,” said State Rep. Jim Durkin, minority leader. […]
Leader Durkin expects Quinn to miss several more paychecks.
“We can come back sometime before the first of the year or come back at the beginning of the year. I want to make sure we do it once, we do it right,” said Durkin.
What’s most interesting here is that Durkin appears willing to take the fall if nothing happens next week.
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New website unveiled, attacked
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I haven’t had a chance to play with this new site yet, but it looks interesting…
State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka announced the launching of The Warehouse, a comprehensive online database that puts local governments’ financial information and tens of thousands of records at a single location for taxpayer review.
Topinka explained that the Comptroller’s Office collects financial reports from 5,200 counties, municipalities and special taxing districts across the state. The Warehouse makes those records and other pertinent local financial information collected by her office immediately available to residents. […]
“This user-friendly database allows taxpayers to scour our office ‘Warehouse’ from wherever they are located,” Topinka said in a news release. “There is no reason that residents should have to file Freedom of Information requests or sort through mountains of paper to see how their money is being spent. That information should be at their fingertips, and that’s what The Warehouse accomplishes.”
Warehouse visitors are able to search records by report type, unit of government or community name. Once a local government is selected, users will be taken to a landing page where they can view a snapshot of local finances, Annual Financial Reports and Audits. The site also offers a “compare data” feature allowing visitors to see how one government stacks up against another.
* Background…
The comptroller’s office collects more than 9,200 reports from 5,200 local governments each year. Now, much of that information is available online. Dubbed The Warehouse, the site allows users to find financial reports and audits from counties; cities; special taxing districts, such as park districts; and other bodies of local governments. “We’re essentially allowing taxpayers to scour The Warehouse from wherever they are to seek whatever they want to learn,” Topinka said at a Chicago news conference. “It’s designed to be user friendly. In fact, we’re going to keep trying and trying and trying to make sure anything we put out [will] be as user friendly as possible.” She said the new site was made possible by a 2012 law that requires local governments to submit their information to her office electronically.
* The site could actually help local governments…
Sherman Mayor Trevor Clatfelter attended Tuesday’s news conference and said his town of fewer than 5,000 people has a limited staff available to deal with Freedom of Information Act requests that often seek the same information that will now be posted online by the state.
* Sheila Simon wasn’t impressed…
Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who is challenging Topinka for the comptroller’s office, has tried to lay recent cases of high-profile local corruption at Topinka’s feet because the comptroller’s office takes in local fiscal information. Simon said in a written statement today that the website would do little to prevent local problems. “It is the job of the comptroller’s office to be the fiscal watchdog over local governments. We’ve had far too many examples of corruption at the local level — along with missed opportunities to spot that corruption under Judy Baar Topinka,” said Simon. “Repurposing a Web address with the same information that could already be found on the comptroller website is too little and too late. Identifying and preventing local corruption will be a priority from my first day in office. It’s time we have a comptroller who provides not just accounting but accountability.”
* Topinka’s response…
Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka Tuesday said a new local government financial data feature on her website should not be considered a campaign event.
Topinka, who scheduled seven news conferences around the state over a three-day period to roll out the site, said it has been years in the making and is not a product of her re-election bid. […]
“That’s just not true,” Topinka responded. “There’s information here that you will not get anyplace else. I think it’s nonsense because we started working on this when Sheila Simon was still dreaming of becoming attorney general.”
Anyway, go check it out and tell us what you think.
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Another one
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chris Kelly, Orlando Jones, Michael Scott and Phil Pagano. For a while, suicides were an all too common “exit strategy” for Chicago-area people under investigation for alleged corruption. The Daily Herald wrote about this disturbing pattern in 2010…
Suicide experts say the one common thread is that the victims likely felt a sense of being cornered and were unable to see other solutions to their problems. In reality, anyone contemplating suicide should call 911 or immediately contact an organization like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at (800) 273-8255.
“They felt that they were boxed in, that their world as they knew it was crumbling,” says Maris. “There is a lot of similarity in all of these.”
Dr. Lanny Merman, director of the American Association of Suicidology in Washington, D.C., says such deaths are called “executive suicide.”
“They can’t tolerate the loss of face,” he says. “So death becomes preferable to public disgrace.”
* And now, another one…
A prominent Bridgeport businessman who wore a wire for the feds, helping convict a former Cook County commissioner and a former Chicago alderman, was found dead of an apparent suicide in his plumbing business, authorities said.
Michael DiFoggio, 58, was found with a single gunshot wound to the head around 10 p.m. Tuesday at his family business, Difoggio Plumbing in the 3200 block of South Shields Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
* Sneed tells us more…
DiFoggio had not been sentenced yet in his tax case and could have faced as little as probation given his critical cooperation.
Yet for that cooperation, DiFoggio had been shunned in his tight-knit community. He had been trying to sell his luxury home for about $1.5 million, which included an indoor pool, without any luck. He was no longer welcome at the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, a nearby hangout for local businessmen and mobsters that his father had co-founded, along with mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra.
DiFoggio also had been having difficulties in his marriage, sources say. His wife filed for divorce less than two weeks ago, and DiFoggio had been talking with his wife on the phone at his office before he apparently killed himself.
His cooperation with the feds was a source of widespread speculation in the neighborhood and whether more indictments were in the works.
“According to my clients on the street, there was a Second Act coming,” said prominent defense attorney Joseph R. Lopez, who has represented many organized crime figures over the years.
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* Sun-Times…
Stung by a weekend report on foot soldiers in his political army, House Speaker Michael Madigan delivered a harsh counter punch against a government watchdog group and its head, former broadcaster Andy Shaw, for engaging in a campaign to “impugn the Democratic Party.”
Madigan sent a letter on Democratic Party of Illinois letterhead to the 71-member House Democratic caucus and to members of the Democratic State Central Committee bashing Shaw and the Better Government Association for trying to “become a kingmaker in Illinois politics” and “tarnish Democratic candidates.” […]
In his Oct. 24 letter, which is only now arriving in mailboxes but was penned before the Sun-Times/BGA story was even published, Madigan targeted the door-to-door reporting on the project that aimed to verify that every petition circulator, in fact, accurately matched up with names contained on state, county and municipal payroll records, campaign-finance reports and pension records.
“Shaw has turned the organization’s focus toward the volunteer work of Illinois citizens who have exercised their First Amendment rights by circulating nominating petitions for me in previous years. The organization has gone so far as to harass these individuals at their homes,” Madigan wrote.
“Rather than work for positive change and reform in Illinois government, Andy Shaw has resorted to using bullying tactics against working men and women in an attempt to suggest they have done something improper,” the speaker and state Democratic Party chairman said. “The only thing these men and women have done is work to provide for their families while exercising their constitutional right to support Democratic candidates for office.”
* The BGA’s response…
The BGA is a nonpartisan watchdog organization that investigates public officials and public policies, and recommends reforms. We’ve been doing it for 90 years and sometimes our work makes people uncomfortable. Our only agenda is better government. We invite everyone, including Mike Madigan, to join us in this effort.
* Something quite interesting happened in comments yesterday. Several people claiming to be Madigan precinct workers posted comments about the original Sun-Times/BGA story. All of them had different IP addresses and none of them have commented here before using those IP addresses…
- Teddy - Tuesday, Oct 29, 13 @ 2:42 pm:
Remember when newspapers reported the news , not make it up ? How about you stick to your job, and stop harassing me and my family for your scoop . Last time I checked there is nothing wrong with helping out a candidate.
- Karen - Tuesday, Oct 29, 13 @ 3:28 pm:
These reporters are always trying to dig up dirt because they hate Mike Madigan. Well I don’t hate Mike Madigan because I know him, and that’s why I’ve knockef on doors and passed petitions for him. Have these people ever met him? He’s a nice guy who’s always been nice to me and appreciated my help. I thought reporters were supposed to be fair and unbiased, not pick out targets because they din’t like him.
- Ron Williams - Tuesday, Oct 29, 13 @ 4:21 pm
Now I am being harassed because I passed a petition for Mike Madigan. I have never been pressured to do so and have done it on my own time. I wonder why they didn’t include that fact even though it doesn’t fit the story they want to tell. These people don’t get it . Not everything is a scandal. Why don’t you go report some real news and leave me alone.
johnny o - Tuesday, Oct 29, 13 @ 5:02 pm:
these “reporters” just can’t stand that mike madigan outlasts and outsmarts everyone so they have to manufacture stories and theories to hurt working people like me. yes, i passed petitions for mike madigan because i wanted to. i was not forced too. can we expect these reporters to review the petitions of every other politician in illinois now? it would only be fair. if not, they’re nothing but a bunch of elitists with an agenda!!
- TMAC - Tuesday, Oct 29, 13 @ 10:12 pm:
I’ve passed a petition for Mike Madigan, I’ve passed petition for Mike Madigan for years. I was never pressured to do it. Interesting that they only report the “facts” that arer convenient for their story. They never report that I qork hard for my family and that I support Mike Madiganin my own free time. Last I checked we still live in America where I’m free to do this in my own time. I wonder when the article on other Illinois politicians will be published or if they’re only going to focus on Mike Madigan.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** Madigan’s letter in full…
Dear Friend:
Please allow me to take this opportunity to share some concerns with you about the apparent metamorphosis of the Better Government Association from a worthy, public advocacy group to an organization focused on partisan politics, lobbying and mustering opposition to Democratic candidates in Illinois.
Since 2010, the BGA has been on an unrelenting journey to become a kingmaker in Illinois politics through its campaign activities, despite rules prohibiting the group from engaging in political advocacy. Along the way, it has attempted to tarnish Democratic candidates while receiving financial support from my political opponents and opponents of the Democratic Party.
In 2010, the BGA’s top executive, Andy Shaw, made a self-admitted improper endorsement of a candidate for county office. More recently, Shaw has turned the organization’s focus toward the volunteer work of Illinois citizens who have exercised their First Amendment rights by circulating nominating petitions for me in previous years. The organization has gone so far as to harass these individuals at their homes. Rather than work for positive change and reform in Illinois government, Andy Shaw has resorted to using bullying tactics against working men and women in an attempt to suggest they have done something improper. The only thing these men and women have done is work to provide for their families while exercising their constitutional right to support Democratic candidates for office.
It is therefore not unreasonable to conclude that Andy Shaw has an agenda to impugn the Democratic Party. This hardly makes him an unbiased, impartial or independent observer.
Democratic candidates at all levels in Illinois will face many challenges in 2014, but I do not believe that these types of attacks from a government lobbying group posturing itself as a news organization should go unnoticed.
With kindest personal regards, I remain
Sincerely yours,
MICHAEL J. MADIGAN
Chairman, Democratic Party of Illinois
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“Murder Neighborhoods,” not “Murder City”
Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chicagoan’s probably already know this, or at least feel this, but out of staters, suburbanites and Downstaters who don’t spend much time in the city and who rely mainly on news reports probably don’t. The city’s murder problem is highly localized…
Over the last few years, violent crime in Chicago has made international headlines. Though the city as a whole has seen a significant drop in crime since its early-nineties peak, analyst Daniel Hertz has demonstrated that significant areas of the West and South Sides actually experience more murders than they did even at the peak of the crack epidemic.
Unlike New York, where former war zones such as the South Bronx have made radical improvements in safety, many of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods have only gotten worse.
Meanwhile, gentrified North Side areas are safer than New York City.
More here.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Chamber attacks judicial “activism”
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is ramping up efforts to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system, issuing a report today that takes aim at specific judges and court opinions for “activism” that the business group says has badly hurt the state’s economy.
In a 74-page report called “The Impact of Judicial Activism in Illinois,” the chamber details 19 cases in which it says decisions by the Illinois Industrial Commission that would have limited payments to injured workers instead were overturned or otherwise weakened by appellate and supreme court justices.
As a result, it says, at least some of the benefits promised in a major workers’ comp package adopted by the Legislature two years ago have not arrived. As my colleague Paul Merrion recently reported, medical payments for workers’ compensation dropped just 4.6 percent last year, even though Illinois has ranked near the top of the 50 states in system costs.
* But the chairman of the Workers’ Comp Commission Michael Latz hotly disputes that earlier Crain’s report. From an e-mail with emphasis in the original…
In reporting that the reform resulted in total pre-claim payments being reduced by only one percent, Crain’s relied on a report which only looked at injuries which occurred before the reform went into effect. On page 13 of the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) Benchmark Study for Illinois, WCRI reports that “overall cost per claim with more than seven days of lost time decreased 1 percent between 2010 and 2011.” As indicated in the sidebar of the WCRI graph, the medical data reported reflected only 7 months of services under the new fee schedule rates and, therefore, the results show a partial impact. The data does not report on injuries which occurred after September 1, 2011 – therefore the effects of the AMA impairment ratings are not considered. The Crain’s report also neglected to mention that WCRI also reports: “The maturity of the data does not allow for the assessment of the indemnity impact from the 2011 reforms, which is why the sidebar of the chart clarified that the impact was likely related to the economic recovery.”
Insurance industry actuaries excel at assessing data – and the actuaries report that the 2011 reform is working. The 2011 reform of the Workers Compensation Act has resulted in the National Council on Compensation Insurance recommending reductions in insurance premiums each of the last two years. Those reductions in the advisory rates for insurance premiums – which come to about $315 million in savings for businesses so far – are a better indication of how the 2011 reform is working than the early study which looked at injuries occurring before the reform was in effect. If Crain’s wants to be accurate, it can learn from the sports editors and wait at least until the eighth inning before predicting outcomes.
* Back to Crain’s…
The chamber does not want Illinois to join a “race to the bottom” in which injured workers are left to fend on their own, Mr. Whitley said. “I don’t want us to be Indiana.”
But Illinois has the fourth-highest premiums of the 50 states, when it used to be “somewhere in the middle, 24th or 26th or so.” As a result, employers in Illinois now pay $10.10 more in workers’ comp costs per $1,000 in salary than an employer in Florida and $12.30 more than an employer in Texas, he said.
* Anyway, the Chamber’s report can be read by clicking here. One of the cases cited in the report…
Mlynarczyk v. Illinois Workers Compensation Commission, 2013 IL App (3d) 120411WC.
In Mlynarczyk the Appellate Court unanimously ruled that a cleaning lady employed by a janitorial service to clean churches, offices and residences was a traveling employee because she did not work at a fixed job site and her duties required her to travel to various locations in the Chicago area.The Court held that injuries resulting when she slipped and fell on snow and ice at home as she was walking to the vehicle in her driveway that would transport her to her next cleaning assignment were compensable because, as a traveling employee, her “walk to the minivan constituted the initial part of her journey to her work assignment” and was both reasonable and foreseeable.
* Another case…
Cox v. Illinois Workers Compensation Commission, 406 Ill. App. 3d 541, 941 N.E.2d 961, 347 Ill.Dec. 92 (1st Dist. 2010).
In Cox, the Appellate Court applied the traveling employee doctrine to and that it was foreseeable that an employee, assigned an employer-owned vehicle 24/7, would use the truck to perform a personal errand. The Court agreed that the errand constituted a personal deviation from the employee’s scope of employment. However, the Court ruled the deviation was “insubstantial”because the claimant had completed his errand and was on the way home when he was injured in an automobile accident.
Consequently, the injuries sustained by the employee while he was conducting personal business were compensable.
* And my own, personal “favorite”…
Circuit City Stores v. Illinois Workers Compensation Commission, 391 Ill. App. 3d 913, 909 N.E.2d983, 330 Ill. Dec. 961 (2d Dist. 2009).
In Circuit City, the Appellate Court ruled that injuries sustained by an employee who shoulder-butted a vending machine in order to help a co-worker dislodge a bag of chips were compensable under the Good Samaritan doctrine adopted by the Illinois judiciary. In the past, the Good Samaritan concept has been used to provide benefits where employees left the scope of employment and were injured in efforts to provide assistance to another person in urgent or life-threatening situations. The Court held that “what the Circuit City case lacked in urgency, it made up for in familiarity and collegiality.”
Sheesh.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As long ago as July (maybe earlier), rumors were circulating that Gov. Quinn was looking at Chicago Treasurer Stephanie Neely as a potential running mate. Then in August, word was that Quinn may have started looking elsewhere. Is he back to Neely? Maybe. Tribune…
City Treasurer Stephanie Neely today acknowledged she’s talked to Gov. Pat Quinn about being his running mate next year but said she has not made a decision.
“I have spoken to Gov. Quinn” about the lieutenant governor opening, Neely said after first discounting such talk as “rumors.”
“I think public service is just honorable. I love the city of Chicago. I love the state of Illinois. So any way I can serve. I’m trying to be the best treasurer I can be, and if I ran for higher office, I’d try to be the best whatever I can be,” she said.
Neely, a former banker who lives in the North Kenwood neighborhood, has long been mentioned as a possible Quinn running mate. The Democratic governor is looking for a new teammate because current Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon opted to run for state comptroller.
Though Quinn faces no formidable challenge for renomination in the Democratic primary, selecting Neely, an African-American woman, could help the governor secure his connections with black voters in the general election. African-American voters in the Chicago area are key for Democrats to win statewide office and a female running mate also could help the ticket on social issues against a socially conservative Republican opponent.
* The Question: Would Stephanie Neely be a good running mate for Gov. Pat Quinn? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys
…Adding… Oops. Tyop. (Sigh.) Typo. “Np” = “No.” Sorry about that.
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* From a press release…
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced today that the Temporary Visitor Driver’s License (TVDL) for undocumented (non-visa status) individuals will be available — by appointment only – during a pilot program beginning in early December at four select Driver Services facilities, with a full rollout schedule in January. Joining Secretary White at the press conference were state legislators.
Beginning November 12, TVDL applicants may schedule an appointment by calling 855-236-1155 or visiting www.cyberdriveillinois.com. Advance appointments are required at all designated facilities; walk-ins will not be served.
In December, the first phase of the rollout begins at four locations that will serve scheduled appointments. As of December 3, the TVDL locations are Chicago West, 5301 W. Lexington Ave. and Springfield, 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy. Starting on December 10 locations at Chicago North, 5401 N. Elston Ave. and Bloomington, 1510 W. Market St. will be open. In January 2014, the second phase of the TVDL rollout will be available for scheduled appointments at 21 additional designated facilities statewide. For a complete list of locations, visit www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
* There are differences between the look of a drivers’ license and a TVDL. The TVDL has a different colored border and clearly marked “”Not valid for identification.” Also, the TVDL is not valid if the holder has no auto insurance.
Samples…
* Applicants also must follow certain guidelines, including…
• Scheduling an appointment with the Secretary of State Driver Services facility online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com or by calling 855-236-1155;
• Presenting various documents providing:
o valid passport from the applicant’s native country or a Consular Identification Card from an approved country.
o proof of name,
o written signature,
o date of birth,
o current address and
o 12 months of consecutive residency in Illinois,
• Purchase auto insurance upon receiving TVDL.
A photo of the applicant will be taken and then processed through the state’s facial recognition database. After the documents have been verified for authenticity, applicants will receive their TVDL through U.S. mail at a later date.
Thoughts?
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“You are not valued here”
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s political columnist and blogger Greg Hinz is a gay man with a longtime partner and an adopted son. He’s mostly sidelined himself on the gay marriage bill, but broke his silence with a column this week. You should go read the whole thing, but this was his rationale for speaking out in his particular publication…
(F)or those who might think that gay marriage is an odd subject for commentary in a business publication, I point you to what company after company has said in moving or expanding in Chicago: talent counts. And to the extent that legal gay marriage is the norm not only on the coasts but in the heartland states of Minnesota and Iowa, the message that’s going out to some talent is: Don’t come to Illinois. You are not valued here.
And if you think that we as a state might be sending the wrong messages because the House can’t yet find the votes to pass the gay marriage bill, what does it say when two viable Republican gubernatorial candidates speak at a Statehouse rally where gays were denounced by Jim Finnegan as “disease-filled” and “deviant”?
* Speaking of disgusting rhetoric, Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network wants Rep. Greg Harris to resign if he doesn’t pass the bill next week…
If Madigan is unwilling once again to buck the Catholic hierarchy and other religious bigots in Illinois and fails to push through a vote for marriage equality in the legislative session ending in early November, an embarrassed and politically impotent Harris should resign his seat in protest against his own Democratic colleagues, the same ones who in May promised to “return in November with their word that they are prepared to support this legislation.”
By refusing to give political cover for their cowardice, he would be doing the honorable thing. He would be a hero.
Andy Thayer is to the gay marriage proponents what Jim Finnegan is to the opponents. Screamers are almost always part of any controversial legislative proposal, and they can be useful to help move things along or scare legislators into submission. But these two guys are particularly outrageous and need to be marginalized.
* Meanwhile, some suburban and exurban mayors have announced their support for the gay marriage bill…
· Mayor Kevin Burns – Geneva
· Mayor Bob Hausler - Plano
· Mayor Stephan Pickett - Sleepy Hollow
· Mayor Dale Berman - North Aurora
· Mayor Ray Rogina - St. Charles
· Mayor Dave Anderson – Elburn
· Mayor Gary J. Golinski - Yorkville
Several other mayors have already announced backing for the bill.
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Bulldozer in a china shop
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* “Bulldoze the dirt out of Springfield” is the theme of one of Bruce Rauner’s Internet ads…
* The ad links to this page…
State government is broken, and businesses are leaving and taking Illinois jobs with them.
That has to change.
Bruce Rauner will bulldoze the dirt out of Springfield.
Wreck the big spending status quo.
And level the job-killing tax code.
Join Bruce today to get Illinois back to work.
Discuss.
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Bad and much worse
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
A new study predicts the state will continue to face deficits for years to come even if the temporary income tax increase is made permanent.
If a major portion of the tax hike is allowed to expire at the end of 2014 as the law now stipulates, the problems will be even worse, says the Fiscal Futures Project of the Institute for Government and Public Affairs.
“It seems clear that Illinois’ current revenue and spending policies are unsustainable,” the report concludes. “Illinois has a chronic structural fiscal problem and must either take action to reduce spending, increase revenue, or some combination to avoid fiscal imbalances for years to come.” […]
If the rates are allowed to drop, the report predicts the state’s deficit will increase by $13 billion by the year 2025, based on estimates of state revenue growth and spending. However, even if the tax hike is made permanent, the report concludes that the state’s deficit will increase by more than $6 billion over the same period.
Those would be annual deficit numbers, not accumulated debt. So, we’re looking at a $13 billion a year deficit by 2025 without the tax hike, but a $6 billion a year deficit if the tax hike stands.
* The full report is here. A handy graph…
In other words, if you read the report you’ll see that if the income tax is made permanent, there is still a lot of cuts which will need to be made, but if those cuts are made early it is somewhat manageable, although still quite painful. Significant baseline spending will have to be cut (even above and beyond what they do with pensions, if anything) and the growth of all spending will have to be extremely limited.
If the tax hike is allowed to expire, however, the cuts will have to be gigantic - the annual deficit in FY 2016 alone will be close to $7 billion.
…Adding… Fiscal and economic news roundup…
* State prisons’ overtime costs jump 34 percent
* Quinn is asking lawmakers for additional money
* Police, fire pensions face underfunding
* Moody’s downgrades CTA’s credit rating
* Strong increase in U of I Flash Index signals economic growth, but unemployment remains unchanged
* Where the housing recovery is only a faint hope: Prices in some south suburbs have dropped to where they were in 1992
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* Yet another bizarre twist…
Convicted former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. entered Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina just before 10 a.m. Chicago time today, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
“He is in our custody, as of about a minute ago,” bureau spokesman Chris Burke said.
Jackson had tried to report to the prison near Durham on Monday, four days earlier than a judge had ordered, but he was turned away. Burke did not know what transpired to let Jackson enter custody today.
A judgment signed by the sentencing judge in August had indicated that the former congressman shall surrender “no earlier than Nov. 1, 2013.” That is Friday. […]
The former warden at Butner, Art Beeler, told the Tribune earlier today that when a person shows up at a prison before his report date, the institution has no legal authority to hold him in custody unless the judge’s order is amended.
* The prison staff should be familiar with Illinois politicians from that part of the state…
Jackson is not the first former Chicago congressman to serve time at Butner. His Second Congressional District predecessor, Mel Reynolds, also served time there for bank and campaign fraud.
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Welcome to the machine
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dave McKinney took a look at House Speaker Michael Madigan’s 2012 nominating petitions and found that Patrick Ward was one of 30 circulators. Ward was at the center of the Metra controversy. Madigan tried to help him get a raise, and when the agency’s top dog balked all heck eventually broke loose. Ward ended up with a state job that appears to have been created especially for him.
Anyway, Ward wasn’t the only one of the 30 circulators who had a patronage job…
As many as 29 of the 30 people work or previously worked in government; a dozen acknowledge working for local governments. Another 17 appear either to currently be getting a government paycheck or to have been as of last year, based on payroll records that match their names and dates of birth or home addresses.
More about the circulators…
◆ In many case hold jobs for which politics isn’t supposed to be a factor in hiring, including sanitation laborer, plumber, truck driver, cashier and court reporter.
◆ Collectively were being paid roughly $2 million a year in their government jobs as of 2012.
◆ In some instances — Ward, for example — are drawing a government paycheck and a public pension.
◆ Contributed more than $200,000 altogether to political funds for Madigan or his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
◆ Work for arms of government including the Cook County sheriff’s office, the Chicago Department of Water Management, the City Council Committee on Finance, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the CTA, the Cook County recorder of deeds and the state comptroller’s office.
Discuss.
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Session impact
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The impact of session on local businesses can be huge…
Many downtown businesses look forward to session days because of the business they bring in.
We stopped by Porter and Hazel’s, a deli on Jefferson. Owner Jered Dennis told us he had extra stock ready for today, but was disappointed there was no session. He said session days can boost business there by upwards of 50 percent.
“Booming,” Dennis said. “Deliveries to the capitol several times per day. A bunch more business in here. It’s actually really good for business while they’re in session.”
As for what types of food are most popular with lawmakers, Dennis said they tend to go for things with beef.
No surprise about the beef. It’s what’s for dinner when you go out with a member or lobbyist.
Thoughts?
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Looking on the bright side
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kurt Erickson has a response for those who are upset at the General Assembly for doing next to nothing last week…
If you are a state retiree, the lack of action on pensions is a good thing. It means you will continue getting your current pension benefits.
If you are opposed to gay marriage or Emanuel’s tougher gun laws, the so-called “do-nothing state legislature” is perfectly OK. Gay marriage is still not legal. The controversial weapons law is not in effect.
The concept of gridlock, in other words, depends on your perspective.
Thoughts?
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* “What do you think I’d see / If I could walk away from me.”
Those lines from “Candy Says” pretty much sum up the late Lou Reed. Always struggling to get outside of himself to chronicle his own life and the rarely told stories of the untold thousands who lived existences beyond the “norm,” the losers, ne’er do wells and lowlifes who are routinely brushed aside as so much detritus.
More biting than Dylan, more painfully self-aware than Lennon, more accessible than Waits, less self-involved than HST and Bukowski. Lou Reed was one of our greatest underground American treasures.
* Consider, for a moment, his lyrics in “Heroin“…
Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it’s my wife and it’s my life
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I’m better off than dead
The song, as a whole, tells more about junky rationale than anything written.
* Or “Cremation,” written after the death of a close friend…
Will your ashes float like some foreign boat
or will they sink absorbed forever
Will the Atlantic Coast
have its final boast
Nothing else contained you ever
Morbid and touching at once.
* He was the embodiment of what the Beat poets used to only dream about - a bridge between poetry and music…
“One chord is fine,” he once said, alluding to his bare-bones guitar style. “Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.”
* “New York” will forever be one of my favorite albums. It starts with the hard driving guitars of “Romeo had Juliette“…
Romeo Rodriguez squares
his shoulders and curses Jesus
runs a comb through his black pony-tail
He’s thinking of his lonely room
the sink that by his bed gives off a stink
then smells her perfume in his eyes
And her voice was like a bell
* And moves to the horrors of poverty in “Dirty Boulevard“…
And back at the Wilshire, Pedro sits there dreaming
he’s found a book on magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
“At the count of 3″ he says, “I hope I can disappear”
And fly, fly away
* The climax comes with Reed’s roar at the injustices of everyday existence in the closest he ever got to a rock anthem, “Busload of Faith“…
You can’t depend on no miracle
you can’t depend on the air
You can’t depend on a wise man
you can’t find ‘em because they’re not there
You can depend on cruelty
crudity of thought and sound
You can depend on the worst always happening
You need a busload of faith to get by
The futility of life and the path to hope all rolled into one, perfectly summing up the Lou Reed canon better than anything I could ever write.
* I’ll close with this…
“All through this, I’ve always thought that if you thought of all of it as a book then you have the Great American Novel, every record as a chapter,” he told Rolling Stone in 1987. “They’re all in chronological order. You take the whole thing, stack it and listen to it in order, there’s my Great American Novel.”
No question today out of respect for the departed.
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Couple of the Week: Chai and Mandi
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Mandi Hinkley and Chai Wolfman met while working in a bagel shop during their sophomore year of college. Before they knew it, they were inseparable.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they moved to Chicago.
Since then, they have built a life together. They live in Sauganash Park. Mandi practices law; Chai, an artist, gave birth to the couple’s twin girls, Autumn and Violet.
“I’m so grateful to live every day with the love of my life,” Chai says. “Creating our family together and raising two thoughtful, curious, energetic, and loving daughters is a dream come true.”
But despite their 13 years together, the state of Illinois treats Mandi, Chai, Autumn and Violet as second-class citizens. Our state denies them the protections that only marriage can provide.
“Chai and I want to do whatever we can to love, support, and protect our family, and the fact is that there are many things we just can’t do if Illinois doesn’t recognize us as a family,” Mandi says.
It’s not just about the legal protections marriage affords. It’s about dignity. It’s about equality before the law. It’s about fairness.
It is time for the Illinois House of Representatives to get on the right side of history and pass SB10. It’s time to stop excluding same-sex couples from marriage. Illinois families can’t wait. The time is now.
Watch Chai and Mandi’s video…
For more information, visit IllinoisUnites.org.
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Attendance issues
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Attendance at Saturday’s protest outside Rep. Greg Harris’ office was sparse…
About 16 Members of Gay Liberation Network on Oct. 26 staged a protest in front of state Rep. Greg Harris’ district office, 1967 W. Montrose Ave.
GLN members have contended that Harris, the chief sponsor of SB10, is acting more out of loyalty to political colleagues than to the LGBT community by not yet calling for a vote on the legislation.
“Harris needs to represent the interests of LGBTQ people and not Mike Madigan and other Democrats across this state,” said GLN member Bob Schwartz.
GLN members are calling for a party line vote by the Democratic Caucus.
“They have a supermajority,” said GLN co-founder Andy Thayer. “They have the power to do a party line vote. They do it for any number of slimy, power-broking deals that are wildly unpopular.”
* And their demands were often silly…
The activists say that if Madigan won’t call the bill or it goes on to defeat, Harris should resign his seat in protest.
Yeah, that’ll help the cause. For sure.
Photos are here.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Review uses a second-hand account to challenge the official attendance figures at last week’s anti gay marriage rally…
Rev. Robert Vanden Bosch told Illinois Review that a fellow pastor who was in Springfield on Wednesday wrote him about his experience on the steps of the Capitol the day of the pro-traditional marriage rally. He explained to Rev. Vanden Bosch:
“When we went outside for the march around the capitol, there was a group of several capitol police officers standing on the front steps (about 6-7). A man dressed in a suit came out right after us,” …and “said to the officers: ‘So, the number we determined for yesterday was 3,000, right? [the officers nodded], well, then we are going to go with 2,500 today!’”
“I am not good at guessing attendance figures,” said Vanden Bosch. “But there had to be a lot more than 2,500 there. …With the official count of ‘3,000′ people at the Capitol on Tuesday [gay marriage rally], there was plenty of room for everyone. But strangely with the official count of ‘2,500′ at the Capitol on Wednesday [pro-traditional marriage rally], people were stopped at the door because the Capitol was ‘over capacity.’ It’s a good thing that there is no bias on the part of the Secretary of State’s office on this.”
The problem with Vanden Bosch’s theory is that most of the gay marriage supporters were at the outdoors rally.
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* At first, lots of GOP insiders were grumbling that Republican money bags Ron Gidwitz was somehow pushing Jim Oberweis for US Senate. The theory that Gidwitz was supposedly operating under was that Oberweis would burn himself out and so discredit himself that he wouldn’t be able to challenge Mark Kirk in the 2016 Republican primary.
And then came the pushback, and it was massive. Bruce Rauner’s people were appalled at the prospect of Oberweis being on the primary ballot (because he’d likely gin up the right wing turnout) and the fall ballot (because he’d possibly take down the ticket). Mark Kirk’s people were not amused, either, and Gidwitz told Oberweis he should back out.
Gidwitz all along denied that he had encouraged Oberweis to run, and recently asked Oberweis to stop saying so in public. It hasn’t worked, as Bernie reports…
Ron Gidwitz, a businessman and 2006 Republican primary candidate for governor, says he’s sorry he gave state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, results of a poll that Oberweis said helped convince him to collect signatures toward a possible run for U.S. Senate. […]
Oberweis remembers things in quite a different way. He said many people were encouraging him to consider a run, and Gidwitz “was trying to talk me into running” before the poll was done. Afterward, Oberweis said, Gidwitz sent an email saying “the poll was strong and he thought that was enough to encourage me to run.”
Oberweis thinks the Gidwitz story changed because some in the “establishment wing” of the Republican Party believe Oberweis on top of the ticket could draw more conservatives to the polls, helping governor candidates Bill Brady or Kirk Dillard. Gidwitz is finance chairman of Bruce Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign.
“I’m not sure having Oberweis on the ticket helps Rauner any,” Gidwitz said, but he’s not “terribly worried” about that. He also thinks that having Oberweis on next fall’s ballot “may not be helpful to some of the other people running down-ballot on the ticket.” […]
Oberweis said after he got the “stunningly strong” numbers, he did plan a more in-depth look. But a Washington polling firm told him people were so angry at the GOP over the government shutdown that results would be skewed at that time, “so we decided not to spend the money.”
Gidwitz said that among other potential Senate candidates, West Point grad Doug Truax from Downers Grove “looks to me like a solid guy” who would be “much more acceptable in a general election” than Oberweis.
Go read the whole thing.
Oberweis says he’ll need big help from donors if he’s to make this race. Gidwitz is now helping to block those big donors. It’s a fustercluck for sure.
*** UPDATE *** Well, it sure looks like Oberweis was at least partially correct about Gidwitz. Oberweis forwarded a Gidwitz e-mail that included the now infamous poll. From a buddy…
From: Ron Gidwitz [mailto:Ron_Gidwitz@xxxxx.com]
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 9:15 PM
To: Jim Oberweis
Subject: Fwd: Poll results, attached
Jim,
You need to give the Senate race serious consideration.
Ron
Hmm.
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Rutherford has to redo petitions
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As long he’s fixed them now there will be no lasting damage. But Dan Rutherford’s infamously tight grip on every dollar means he doesn’t have many staff members, particularly those who could catch something like this…
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who is running for the GOP nomination for governor as the experienced pro who can lead the party to victory, had to junk his nominating petitions earlier this month after his campaign found a fatal wording error in them.
Mr. Rutherford now has new petitions on the street and is expected to easily qualify for the ballot when petitions are filed next month. But in the process, nearly a month of field work was undone — a bit of an embarrassment for a contender whose campaign website describes him as someone with “the professional and governmental experience” that is needed to lead.
According to Craig Burkhardt, an election-law attorney who recently joined the Rutherford campaign, the wording problem was noticed by the campaign sometime in the first week of October, about a month after Mr. Rutherford added attorney Steve Kim as his lieutenant governor running mate and began circulating petitions.
The petitions failed to include a notarized statement that they had been circulated “not more than 90 days preceding the last day for filing of the petitions.” That boilerplate language is required by law.
Oops.
…Adding… To avoid any possible confusion, please make sure to note that Craig Burkhardt was brought in to fix the problem. He wasn’t around when the mistake happened.
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The disinformation campaign
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Sunday Sun-Times column…
“Where we go to church on Saturday or Sunday is under attack here,” insisted Rev. Lance Davis, pastor of Dolton’s New Zion Covenant Church, on Wednesday during a Statehouse rally against a gay marriage bill that’s languishing in the Illinois House.
Rev. Davis apparently has never read the legislation in question. There are no such threats in the bill, which specifically and unequivocably protects churches and pastors from all legal liability if they refuse to host gay weddings.
But, hey, let’s instill fear out there by violating a commandment against bearing false witness. Nicely done, pastor.
Jim Finnegan, the president of Illinois Choose Life, railed against homosexuality as a “dangerous, disease-filled, deviant and dead-end lifestyle” at the same Springfield rally.
Finnegan’s group (contributions, according to his website, are tax deductible) has been trying for years to convince and/or force the Secretary of State to issue “Choose Life” license plates. Money raised from the sale of the plates would be spent to promote adoption.
Apparently, Mr. Finnegan believes in only certain kinds of adoption.
But here’s a question for you: If you are truly convinced that all abortion is murder and are therefore committed to making adoption a far more viable alternative, then why limit adoptions only to heterosexual couples? Wouldn’t gay couples be doing the right thing by getting married and then adopting a baby, thereby lessening the chance that some women might have abortions?
I just don’t get it.
Rally participants brought lots of children with them, which boosted their estimated attendance to 2,500. One of those adorable little kids held a sign saying how he needed both his mom and his dad.
Well, of course he does. And I most definitely hope that little guy has both his parents for many long years to come.
But not all kids are so lucky. Sometimes, a parent dies. Sometimes, parents split up. Sometimes, one parent is never around. We don’t require as a society that all children always have both a mom and a dad. And, anyway, how does gay marriage take away either one of that child’s parents? It’s not like the state would be requiring people to marry somebody of the same sex. It just gives two consenting adults of the same gender the right to do so if they decide that’s the best option for them.
Plus, it would be pretty easy to find children who’d eagerly hold signs which read: “I need both my dads.” Should those kids be ripped out of the arms of their loving parents because some folks hate their “lifestyle”? And, if not, then why shouldn’t those parents be allowed to get married?
State Sen. Kirk Dillard also spoke at the rally. Dillard lost the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary to hardcore conservative Bill Brady by the slimmest of margins.
Since then, Dillard has decided to emphasize his social conservatism. He’s pledged to repeal the state’s civil union law, for example.
Dillard said at Wednesday’s rally that he was “honored and humbled” to be speaking that day and vowed to veto the gay marriage bill if it got to his desk as governor.
Dillard said the legislation would “denigrate marriage as we know it in this state.”
The last time I checked, the institution of marriage was chugging along fine next door in Iowa, where gay marriage is legal.
Want to live in a state with some of the nation’s lowest divorce rates? Well, move to Massachusetts, which has legal gay marriage. The same goes for New York and Minnesota and several others.
Let’s just ignore this disinformation campaign, pass the bill and join the 21st Century.
In retrospect, I shouldn’t have written “just ignore,” I should have written “challenge with actual facts and then move beyond.”
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Rahm adding substance to debate
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Back when Richard M. Daley was Chicago’s mayor, hizzoner would hold a big, splashy press conference every year with cops and prosecutors and crime victims to unveil his new state gun control legislation.
The Chicago media poobahs would shout their huzzahs, the NRA would fume and raise tons of money from angry members and then Daley would quietly go back to his job as mayor and nothing much would ever happen in Springfield.
Rahm Emanuel is not Rich Daley.
Mayor Emanuel’s Statehouse lobbyists are engaged in serious talks with the NRA and even the more strident Illinois State Rifle Association (something that Daley would never do, and vice versa) to try and work out a compromise on legislation to force convicted gun possession violators to remain in prison for a lot longer than they already are. Emanuel himself is said to be actively involved by phone.
It still remains to be seen whether Emanuel can succeed where Daley routinely failed. Some legislators said last week they believed the sides were closing in on a deal, but the NRA still had some objections.
The basic disagreement is over first-time offenders. Emanuel initially wanted some first-time gun possession offenders to do guaranteed prison time. The harsh reality is that too many people are getting light sentences for gun offenses, and then they’re coming out of prison to commit more gun crimes. The NRA, however, worries that otherwise innocent, law-abiding citizens who make a harmless mistake could wind up doing hard time.
One of the compromises currently on the table would force state’s attorneys to initially charge some first-time offenders with a misdemeanor but allow prosecutors to go through a detailed “felony review” process which could result in much more severe criminal charges.
But the NRA frets that hardline anti-gun Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez would abuse the process to lock too many of the wrong people behind bars.
Indeed, word from inside the talks is that the NRA brought up an example of a man with an out of state gun permit who has been fighting off a Cook County felony weapons possession charge for two years. The charges were reportedly dropped when the state’s attorney was put on the spot during negotiations.
The NRA understandably worries that Alvarez, who once said “I don’t believe that people should own guns,” and “I would favor a law that no one could ever buy a gun,” will continue playing hardball with gun owners who don’t have criminal records.
The NRA also finds itself in the somewhat unusual position of being allied with several African-American lawmakers who oppose additional mandatory minimum bills after seeing thousands of their constituents disproportionately locked up under current mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
But all of this is the way things work on just about everything else. It’s how things eventually get done. People on all sides with strong positions sit down and find a way to compromise. But up until last spring’s concealed carry negotiations, which were forced on Springfield by a federal judge, that hadn’t really happened on gun-related issues.
If they do come to some agreement, the next hurdle will be Gov. Pat Quinn. The governor has historically been loathe to offend African-American voters, so he has maintained an unusually low profile on Emanuel’s mandatory minimum proposals, not wanting to get caught in the middle.
Quinn told the Illinois Radio Network that he wanted a ban on high capacity gun magazines included in the sentencing bill discussions. Such a provision would be a deal-killer for the NRA and Quinn surely knows this.
The danger here is if Quinn tries to use a carefully crafted bill to grandstand on gun control, as he did this past summer with his splashy veto of the concealed carry bill after refusing to participate in the negotiations. If Gov. Quinn uses his amendatory veto powers to insert the magazine ban, he could quite probably tube the whole thing.
Then again, if somebody is murdered by a repeat gun offender after Quinn vetoes the bill, the heat on the governor would be enormous, and a vindictive Emanuel would undoubtedly fan the flames. Quinn needs to tread carefully here.
* The Tribune had a different take…
State lawmakers routinely paid little notice to former Mayor Richard Daley’s annual requests for tougher firearms laws, especially by the end of his tenure. While Emanuel’s rhetoric may be even louder, his effort is obstructed by a variety of factors: incarceration costs, geography, race, conflicting academic studies and the unknown effects of a new Illinois law allowing qualified gun owners to carry firearms in public. […]
No matter how negotiations turn out, the politically mindful Emanuel is in a position to gain at least a short-term victory. If lawmakers fail to act, Emanuel can blame the General Assembly for the city’s struggles in dealing with violent gun crimes. Should lawmakers reach a deal, the mayor can claim an important crime-fighting tool, though its actual effectiveness won’t be known for years.
“All of us are fully aware of that. That is what we all talk about,” state Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago, said of the political realities behind Emanuel’s gun-sentencing effort. The legislature’s black caucus is opposed to the mayor’s proposal as offered, however.
“We are 100 percent against the violent criminals who plague our communities,” Dunkin said. “We don’t want to see these urban terrorists. We detest them like a cancer … and we want them out of our community quick, fast and in a hurry. Locked up and in jail. But a mandatory minimum sentence across the board would have too many unintended consequences for nonviolent people.”
For Dunkin and other black lawmakers, the issue of gun violence is outweighed by a deep-seated mistrust of prosecutors using their discretion to pursue cases requiring automatic prison sentences rather than allowing judges to have some ultimate leeway. The city’s African-American community has seen high incarceration rates as well as a return of released offenders from prison unable to find employment, so black lawmakers traditionally support tougher regulations and restrictions on the availability of firearms. That approach has been gutted by the state’s new concealed carry law that prohibits larger cities including Chicago from enacting their own gun laws.
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* From the Gay Liberation Network calendar page…
Saturday, October 26 — Pass the Damn Bill NOW! Protest in front of Rep. Greg Harris’s district office in Chicago — 2 PM at 1967 W. Montrose Avenue. The House Democratic Caucus can pass the marriage equality bill if they insist on a party line vote, which so far Speaker Mike Madigan and Reg. Harris have refused to do. We will protest the continuing failure of the House Democrats to live up to alleged principles of supporting equality.
* TowleRoad has more…
GLN has been unique in publicly targeting the Democratic caucus, and especially House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), for the failure of the bill, SB10, during the spring session and its uncertain fate in the current session.
“Because Speaker Madigan is so powerful, controlling access to jobs and contracts, most organizations are afraid to take him on and bluntly place blame where it’s due,” said GLN co-founder Andy Thayer. “Madigan controls the House as surely as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel controls the City Council. When Madigan has wanted a party-line vote for far less popular measures, like gifts to the wealthy and well-connected, he’s had no problem ramming them through the House. Like it or not, and mostly not, that’s the way that politics works in this state.”
Unlike pension “reform” and subsidies to already wealthy businesses that pay few, if any taxes, legislation favoring equal marriage rights in Illinois is overwhelmingly popular, with proponents outnumbering opponents by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a February Crain’s Chicago Business poll.
* Ormsby provides some context…
In June, the group organized a protest of the Southwest Side office of House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), who supports the bill, drawing a puny assembly of 18 protesters. At the time, a group spokesman claimed success for that protest by the number of car “honks” heard on busy Pulaski Avenue. […]
On Tuesday, after the pro-equal marriage rights demonstration in Springfield, Thayer and his handful of followers dropped a banner “Pass Senate Bill 10 Now” in front of Madigan’s office in the Capitol Building rotunda.
It is unclear whether Thayer’s group plans to protest at the offices of bill opponents.
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