This is gonna be a heck of a primary
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn tied Bill Daley to his brother today when responding to criticism over Frank Zuccarelli’s appointment to the CTA board…
“People who are complaining about Frank Zuccarelli, they should look at their own family,” Mr. Quinn said. “The campaign manager of our former mayor was appointed to the CTA board, right after the campaign was over.”
His reference was to former alderman and Chicago Housing Authority chief Terry Peterson, who indeed was made CTA chairman in 2009.
But that was about 2 1/2 years after Mr. Peterson managed Mr. Daley’s 2007 re-election campaign, and it came at a time when the CTA was facing lots of fare-hike turbulence and the job was not considered much of a plum.
Mr. Quinn also strongly defended Mr. Zuccarelli as “a man of the people” who faces no legal impediment to joining the CTA board.
“I’m not going to allow him to be a punching bag,” Mr. Quinn said. In fact, Mr. Zuccarelli is a military veteran who came back to dedicate his life to public service, deserves the pay he gets for running “the largest township in the state” and will provide needed representation to the south suburbs on the CTA board.
As I’ve told you before, the Daley name is one of the biggest polling and focus group negatives that Bill Daley faces in this primary, so we’re likely to hear much more of this from the governor.
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* Taxpayers United President Jim Tobin, who believes Abraham Lincoln fought the Civil War over taxes and has long wanted to abolish the Illinois State Police also believes that Illinois will declare bankrupty in 2015…
“Illinois will be the first state to go bankrupt, unless pension reforms are implemented,” said Tobin.
And Tobin’s numbers suggest it’ll be sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, 2015 is about right,” said Tobin.
Tobin totaled up lifetime salary and pension costs to assert a plan for hiring 200 new Illinois state police could cost $38 billion as he called for a state hiring freeze until the state’s pension system is reformed.
States can’t declare bankruptcy, and pension costs are projected to rise $200 million in FY 2015, a far cry from the recent billion dollars a year increases of the recent past. But, other than that, yeah, we’ll be Detroit in two years. That’s about right. For sure.
* The far more likely event, I think, is that Mayor Emanuel might “encourage” one of the city’s pension funds to declare bankruptcy. He refuses to raise taxes to make up for years of zero-funding the city’s pension systems, and a legislative solution doesn’t yet appear in sight.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn and Thornton Township Supervisor/Democratic Committeeman Frank Zuccarelli at a February event…
* The Question: Caption?
Funniest commenter wins a free Illinois State Fair beverage with yours truly.
Yesterday’s winner was “Hopeful“…
“Think it’s funny? I can stop your pay too..”
The winner should contact me via e-mail.
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Feds indict former IDPH chief of staff
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I really don’t like the idea of federal prosecutors leaking indictment details ahead of time. Yesterday at 5:15 pm, I received this e-mail from the US Attorney’s office in Springfield…
James A. Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, will be joined by representatives of the federal investigative agencies that comprise the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Public Corruption Task Force: the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Chicago Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Chicago Field Office; and Illinois Secretary of State Office of Inspector General to announce the indictment of the 13th defendant, to date, related to the task force’s ongoing investigation of state grant/contract fraud.
* By late last night, the Tribune and Sun-Times both had detailed stories posted about the indictment of Quinshaunta Golden, the former chief of staff to Dr. Eric Whitaker when he ran the Illinois Department of Public Health.
* But, whatever. It’s out there now, and man it’s a whole lot of alleged criminality. From the Tribune story…
Golden, the niece of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, is the 13th person to be charged in a federal task force’s ongoing investigation of state grant and contract fraud. The probe already has claimed the political career of former state Rep. Connie Howard, who pleaded guilty last month to diverting as much as $28,000 from a scholarship fund she created to benefit needy students.
According to the new indictment, starting in 2006, Golden directed grants to an unidentified security firm to do background checks on potential residents of nursing homes, which are overseen by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Under Golden, the state agency also issued grants to nonprofits run by Leon Dingle Jr.
Golden is alleged to have had Dingle hire a person, identified in the indictment only as “Individual A,” as a paid consultant. Individual A also was a paid consultant of the security firm.
The consultant collected more than $1 million in grant and contract money originally given to Dingle’s groups and the security firm, the indictment states. The consultant was supposed to kick back half of the money to Golden, who collected $433,000 in the scam, according to the indictment.
* Sun-Times…
Part of Golden’s alleged scheme involved getting kickbacks from a security company that employed Roxanne B. Jackson, who worked under both Whitaker and Golden as human resources director for the health department in 2003 and 2004. Jackson then left that job and became “director of legal services” for V.I.P. Security & Detective Services, which got about $2 million in health department money starting in 2006 to do criminal-background checks on nursing home residents under a new state law.
The indictment identifies the company only as “Security Firm A,” but details within it make clear that the company is V.I.P. Security. The document also cites an unnamed “Individual A” who was “an associate of defendant Golden” and “an associate and paid consultant” to the security firm.
V.I.P. was paid $300 per background check, but “Golden required Individual A to pay Defendant Golden kickback payments of approximately $35 to $40 for each” check. All told, Golden got about $109,500 through that arrangement.
* From today’s press release…
In addition to the charges of bribery and taking kickbacks and mail fraud (five counts), the indictment charges Golden with one count of obstruction of justice. Golden allegedly met with Individual A on multiple occasions and falsely denied receiving improper kickback payments from A. Further, the indictment alleges that Golden encouraged and instructed Individual A not to tell the truth concerning the kickback scheme and to conceal the truth from Individual A’s attorney, and to create a false story by saying that Individual A used the grant and contract funds for gambling and other personal expenses.
The indictment includes one count of criminal forfeiture seeking forfeiture of property Golden derived from any proceeds obtained as a result of the alleged offenses, as well as a money judgment in an undetermined amount representing the net proceeds obtained as a result of the alleged offenses.
If convicted, for the offense of bribery and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, the statutory penalty is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. For each count of mail fraud (five counts) and for the single count of obstruction of justice, the statutory penalty is up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 as to each count. The defendant may also be ordered to pay restitution to victims of the alleged offenses.
The U.S. Clerk of the Court will issue a summons to Golden for her initial appearance date, scheduled for Aug. 23, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron G. Cudmore in federal court in Springfield.
Whitaker is not charged, and there’s no indication yet that he knew anything, but he’s a very close friend of President Obama, and Obama wanted Whitaker appointed to the state job, so the story will probably go national.
Discuss.
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A lack of interest
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yesterday was a light blogging day because I was on the road, speaking to a large group of insurance agents in Rosemont for their annual legislative/political conference.
During the speech, I asked for a show of hands of who reads the Chicago Tribune editorial page.
Just three people raised their hands, out of a hundred or so participants.
I was shocked. These were not liberals, and they’re politically engaged or they wouldn’t have taken time off from work to attend the conference.
Just for fun, I asked how many of the people who read the Trib’s editorials actually believe them. Nobody raised their hands.
Heh.
* As fun as that story is, anecdotes ain’t data. So that brings me to a Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll I commissioned back in early June. One of the questions I asked was “How would you describe the influence the Chicago Tribune’s endorsement of a candidate has on your voting?”
Just 11 percent of subscribers said the paper’s endorsement was “very influential,” while 45 percent said it had no influence and 41 percent it was somewhat influential.
Only 9 percent of non-subscribers said it was “very influential,” 62 percent said it had no influence and 18 percent said it was “somewhat influential.”
How can non-subscribers be influenced by the Trib? Well, they can buy a copy or read it online. They will also likely see such an endorsement in campaign advertising.
There were 1,489 respondents for a margin of error of +/- 2.85 percent. 41 percent of the universe were self-described Tribune subscribers.
* I also asked this question…
Recently, the Chicago Tribune endorsed a state public pension reform bill that would save taxpayers billions of dollars, but which public employee unions claim is unconstitutional and cuts too deeply into their pensions. The unions have proposed an alternative plan that doesn’t save as much as the Tribune-endorsed plan, but which they claim is constitutional. Do you agree, or disagree with the Tribune’s endorsement?
49 percent of subscribers agreed with the Trib’s endorsement, while 27 percent disagreed and 23 percent were uncertain.
Among non-subscribers, just 24 percent agreed with the Trib, while 36 percent disagreed and 39 percent were uncertain.
* So the next time you see the Tribune editorial board assert things like the failure to enact its own favored pension reform plan is “thoroughly disgusting the people of Illinois,” well, take it with a big grain of salt.
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Trouble ahead
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bill Daley called today for Gov. Pat Quinn to withdraw his possibly illegal appointment of Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli to the CTA board. Quinn has so far refused to do so, claiming a loophole allows Zuccarelli to bypass laws prohibiting local government officials from drawing a paycheck while serving on a transit board.
From Daley’s press release…
“We all thought Pat Quinn, the self-styled reformer, would rise about this kind of politics, but when a powerful Cook County pol needed a paycheck, Governor Quinn was there for him. Today I call on the Governor to rescind this blatantly political and possibly illegal appointment, and if he continues to refuse to do the right thing, then the Senate must act to vote down this appointment,” said Daley.
Zuccarelli, who also serves as Thornton Township Democratic Committeeman, is expected to vote to endorse Quinn for re-election as governor at next week’s Cook County Democratic Party slating committee.
If and (most likely) when Zuccarelli votes for Quinn, this story could get a lot more intense.
…Adding… WLS Radio…
But isn’t a patronage allegation from a Daley dripping with irony?
“You may think it’s ironic. I’m talking about what I believe, not about what others may have done or believed about patronage,” Daley said.
But in a nightmare for Daley’s image-makers, a garbage truck backed into the alley behind Daley to pick up a load when he said it.
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* Treasurer Dan Rutherford supported the gay rights bill in the 1990s, back when the bill didn’t have nearly enough votes to pass. He also voted for civil unions just before he left the Illinois Senate and after he was elected treasurer. But he told Windy City Times that he’s still opposed to gay marriage…
WCT: But you have not supported same-sex marriage.
Dan Rutherford: If you don’t mind, let me put the info in-between there. Civil unions came up, and this is one of those things that I stepped back, and I really analyzed it. The part I don’t think a lot of people understand is it’s not just for same-sex but for opposite-sex.
I voted for it, of course. I was the only Republican in the Senate to vote for it. Did I get some grief? Yeah. But it was one of those things that I thought in my heart, it was the right thing to do.
Now, we’ll go to gay marriage. The difference for me there is the religious component.
Now, I think something else has happened with regards to the bill. I think the Supreme Court’s ruling did add a very fair, debatable component in this. The tax consequences, I think that is a consideration to have weighed in. So what happens is, that has added a further component to this that lends itself to discrimination.
Now, I am what I am. I support civil unions. But the religious standpoint of marriage, it’s just not where I’m at.
WCT: But we’re talking about civil marriage, here, not religious.
Dan Rutherford: I just think that it’s just not at that point yet from a religious standpoint that I can support it.
WCT: What religion do you practice?
Dan Rutherford: I grew up as a Methodist.
WCT: It sounds like you are evolving on same-sex marriage. Is that a fair statement?
Dan Rutherford: I think that there’s a lot of things evolving out there. I think that when the Supreme Court ruled, and this is a matter-of-fact accounting sensitivity… but I think that did add a component with regards to the tax situation.
* This is a pretty good interview, so let’s excerpt some more…
Dan Rutherford: …So to answer the question, yes, I think my party needs to be more tolerant. I think they need to be more tolerant of the gay and lesbian community. They need to be more tolerant to the ethnic minority community. I think they need to be more tolerant with regards to the immigrant community.
I’m not saying that to be negative on my party. I’m just saying that if we allow gay rights, guns and abortion to be the definition of the difference between a good Republican and a bad Republican, we will be the party of the perpetual minority.
WCT: So what makes a Republican a Republican?
Dan Rutherford: I’ll tell you exactly what it is; government, stay out of my wallet and out of my purse. The difference between the Democrat Party and the Republican Party needs to be about government spending and economics and maybe start to get into some of these social benefit programs.
You know what I think we got to do to help the crime rate in the City of Chicago? I think we need get the employment rate down in African American wards below 80 percent. What do we need to do about school funding? I think we broaden the tax base, get more people to work. You got a bigger tax base, then you don’t have to go out and raise taxes.
* And then there was this…
WCT: Your support for the LGBT has put you in the spotlight. Conservative bloggers have speculated you are gay. How do you define your sexual orientation?
Dan Rutherford: I’m not gay.
WCT: Can you talk about your relationship to the community?
Dan Rutherford: I get it. This kind of thing happens in politics. I’ve been when I’m invited. Equality Illinois has their reception in Springfield. I’ll go to that. They hosted receptions and Republican National Conventions before. I’ll go to that. There’s an annual gala. I’ve been to it, I haven’t recently, but I’ve been to it. I haven’t been in the gay Pride Parade but I’ve been to the elected officials’ reception prior to it. I’ll go where I’m invited and be there.
Take a deep breath before you comment, folks. We don’t usually get into stuff like this here, so tread very, very carefully.
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The Chicago way
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When people complain how difficult it is to start a business in Chicago without the right political grease, this is what they mean. A proposed $57 million, 102,000-square-foot Ford dealership has been held up for months because of one Chicago alderman…
City Council Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis, 25th, has twice held up a vote on a needed rezoning, requesting that Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co. provide another dealership opportunity for a Latino — a specific Latino, who just happens to be a large campaign contributor to Mr. Solis’ ward organization. But Ford says it isn’t awarding new dealerships to anyone, and Fox, a division of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based FMG Holdings LLC, is a relatively small firm busy on the proposed 32nd Ward project.
* But the dealership company has had enough of the games and has set a deadline, according to Greg Hinz…
“Oct. 1 is the final deadline,” Monica Sekulich, senior vice president and general counsel at Fox Motors, told me in a phone conversation. “This entire situation has been quite surprising to us.”
Yeah, surprising. To an outsider, these stupid games are stupefying. Chicagoans have learned to live with it, but that’s ridiculous.
Mayor Emanuel has finally stepped in and is pushing for approval, so this project should be a “go.” But why would it need the big dog’s intervention in the first place? How many other job-creating Chicago projects are being held up for political reasons that fly below MRE’s radar? I’m betting lots.
…Adding… Via a commenter, an example of how the Chicago way is not always confined only to Chicago…
An effort by Gail Simpson to keep another business from selling alcohol in Ward 2 was defeated by her fellow aldermen Wednesday night.
By a 7-1 vote, the Springfield City Council approved a liquor license for Scandals at its new location at 1031 S. 11th St. in the old Touch of Class Sports Bar and Grill location. The bar/restaurant has been open only for food service for weeks.
Scandals used to be downtown.
Last week, Simpson put the brakes on the liquor license by chiding the other council members for thinking they knew better than her what’s best for her ward. […]
Brenda Protz, who identified herself as a friend of the owners, told the council she was concerned the anti-license effort was based on discrimination.
Protz pointed out that both owners of Scandals are gay.
Simpson, who is black, rejected that contention, saying her opposition had nothing to do with the business catering to gay people and was strictly about alcohol.
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Rate the video
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Sheila Simon campaign e-mail…
Last week was an amazing experience. I drove from Chicago to Springfield and then home to a rally in Carbondale with my husband Perry and my campaign team to announce my candidacy for Illinois Comptroller.
We saw many old friends and met even more new supporters. People in Illinois are ready for accountability.
You can see our first official video in the comptroller campaign by clicking the image below:
I am so fortunate to have such amazing support all across Illinois. I’ve been working hard to respond to all the messages and emails I received after the announcement - to everyone out there, thank you!
* Rate the video…
* Other stuff…
* VIDEO: Bruce Rauner: 20,000 Miles
* VIDEO: State Sen. Kirk Dillard - Public Affairs - 2013-08-03
* VIDEO: Roeser: Using Social Media
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Not soon
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Speaker Madigan was initially opposed to creating the pension reform conference committee, saying it was “an effort by the governor to distance himself from the process.” After Gov. Quinn assured him that he would stay very involved, Madigan relented.
But the Speaker still believes that this is the governor’s baby, and as subscribers already know, the governor is gonna have to round up the votes to pass any solution that the conference committee comes up with.
ABC 7…
(O)n an ominous note, he warned that if the House-Senate conference committee presents a compromise pension reform bill in the next week or so, it will not necessarily mean he’ll lead a rush to Springfield to vote on it.
“I’m prepared to go to Springfield whenever we have 60 votes in the House and 30 votes in the Senate to do pension changes,” Madigan said. “So it doesn’t make much sense to go there and to consider a bill if you don’t have the required number of votes to pass it.”
I wasn’t all that upbeat about the conference committee at first, either, but its members appear to be doing their job. The governor explained in June that while calling legislators at the end of session he’d heard over and over that there needed to be some way to find common ground between the then-deadlocked House Speaker and Senate President.
So, he should get more credit for the conference committee, especially if it succeeds in coming up with an agreement. But when Madigan says “It’s your baby,” it often means he won’t be working on behalf of the bill. He did that last year when Quinn persuaded him to hand sponsorship of the pension bill to House GOP Leader Tom Cross. The proposal crashed and burned as Madigan’s members got the hint and backed away. Quinn isn’t much of a lobbyist, so don’t expect him to find House majorities right away.
* Meanwhile…
The conference committee on pension reform may be close to an agreement, according to State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington).
“I don’t see any reason that we haven’t received enough scoring to be able to come to a consensus on a reform package that we could present as early as next week to the General Assembly,” Brady said.
The big question now is whether they slow-walk the bill until they get the legislative salary veto issue resolved. Forcing the governor to put votes on the bill alone would be one way of doing that.
* Speaking of the pay veto, the Speaker wasn’t thrilled with the judge’s hearing schedule…
“I would have appreciated a quicker schedule, a more expedited schedule, I would have appreciated that, but it’s the judge’s decision,” Madigan said.
That September 18th hearing date was a clear indication that this judge doesn’t want to get involved. Those who believed the case was a slam dunk because Madigan supposedly “controls” so many Cook County judges were just flat-out wrong. The mid-September hearing date for oral arguments was a big setback for Madigan’s case.
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Trouble in paradise
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Monique Garcia at the Tribune…
When Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan publicly pulled the plug on a run for governor, she announced that she “never planned to run” for the state’s top office as long as her father remained House speaker, given the inherent conflict.
On Wednesday, Speaker Michael Madigan indicated his continued presence on the political stage shouldn’t have been much of a surprise to his daughter.
“Lisa and I had spoken about that on several occasions, and she knew very well that I did not plan to retire,” the speaker told reporters before delivering remarks at a closed-door meeting of real estate appraisers gathered at the Union League Club of Chicago. “She knew what my position was. She knew.”
The comments by the powerful Southwest Side Democrat added some less-than-flattering context to Lisa Madigan’s political maneuvering. Knowing her father’s intent to stay didn’t stop her from securing $1.5 million during the first half of the year from political donors who thought she might run for governor. The attorney general didn’t tell the world that she had nixed a governor campaign until after the second fundraising quarter had ended.
The attorney general’s re-election campaign declined to comment Wednesday. Lisa Madigan has denied that she misled donors who hoped she might challenge Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, saying she was upfront that she hadn’t yet made up her mind.
The lesson here is that if you publicly throw Mike Madigan under a bus, even if you’re his daughter, it had better be one big bus. Lisa obviously needed a bigger bus when she tried to blame her decision not to run on her father.
Also, if she had told donors and the voting public up front that she wouldn’t run for governor if her father stayed on as Speaker, then I doubt most of us would’ve believed that she’d actually make the race. He ain’t going anywhere.
* Charles Thomas…
Michael Madigan would not say how long he plans to remain speaker.
Yeah. Infinity is difficult to describe.
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Aug 7, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As you already know, Gov. Pat Quinn attended yesterday’s court hearing over the challenge to his legislative salary veto. From the Trib…
Keep it clean, folks.
Funniest commenter wins a free Illinois State Fair beverage with yours truly.
* Yesterday’s winner was OneMan…
The winner of Governor Quinn’s I’ll appoint the person closest to me at 12:47 PM to run a state department contest celebrates her good fortune.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Aug 7, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Kurt Erickson…
In agreeing to hire a former aide to Gov. Pat Quinn to lobby on its behalf, the town of Normal on Monday joined an estimated 140 other units of local government using tax money to try and gain a toehold in the Capitol.
According to a study by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, local governments and public agencies in Illinois spent more than $7.4 million on outside help in 2010 to try and heighten their profiles and gain better access to the policymakers in the Statehouse.
David Morrison, acting director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said he launched the study thinking that lobbyists for local governments were unneeded because local state lawmakers would be looking out for the communities in their districts.
But, he said, there are some factors that appear to make it a reasonable expense for some local governments.
For example, a city may be represented by two Republicans at a time when Democrats control state government.
“A city may think they need to hire someone in order to get face time with the people in charge,” Morrison said.
* The Question: Do you think hiring Statehouse lobbyists can benefit many local governments, or is it mostly a waste of taxpayer money? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
online surveys
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Excuses, excuses
Wednesday, Aug 7, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Yikes…
A month after reporting that Southern Illinois University had lost 257 computers in 2012, Auditor General Bill Holland found a similar situation within the state’s sprawling adult and youth prison systems.
In audits released Tuesday, Holland said 156 computers were deemed “lost” at the Illinois Department of Corrections, and another 84 were unaccounted for at the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.
The loss of 240 more state-owned computers within the state’s penal systems is problematic, Holland said.
* The DoC was rather blasé about the whole thing…
According to a new audit,there’s a risk confidential information stored on the computers could be exposed.
But D.O.C. spokesman Tom Shaer says that’s not likely.
“We don’t believe that these computers are laying around somewhere compromising security.”
Shaer says per the audit’s recommendation, the department is working to track them down.
“We’ll show, we believe, that these computers are either still in inventory and possibly service. Or were properly wiped clean, no security risk with information, and were discarded or properly disposed of. We just didn’t complete the paperwork due to human error during a time when the department was short-staffed. And it still is short-staffed.”
Shaer’s “explanation” is what a citizen might call “typical stupid government.”
Meh, so we lost some computers. I’m sure there’s no problem. Don’t worry. Trust us, they’re around here someplace. We’ll find them, just as soon as we get more money to hire more people.
Good managers find a way to make do with less. Bad managers blame budget cuts for everything that goes wrong.
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The juvenile banana republicans strike again
Wednesday, Aug 7, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Another day, another ill-informed, adolescent temper tantrum over pension reform from the Chicago Tribune editorial board…
There’s a conference committee of House and Senate members working on a solution. If all the legislators on that committee were serious — we know some of them are — they would have crafted a bill by now to present to the public and the governor.
But they haven’t done so. Some members of the committee appear to be in no hurry, especially now that Quinn has taken away their paychecks. They’ll show him! They’ll … just … keep … stalling.
Most exasperating is the slow-walk on pension reform by the conference committee’s chairman, Sen. Kwame Raoul. Not that Raoul hasn’t been busy … sizing up a run for governor. Gov. Raoul — excuse us, Sen. Raoul — your handling of this conference committee isn’t building confidence in your case for a political promotion.
The state’s pension liability grows by $5 million every day. Debt is piling up, up, up.
The committee has to produce a substantial bill, one that comes close to the $187 billion in savings promised by the pension reform bill that passed the Illinois House but was crushed in the Senate.
What’s it going to take? We’ve even come to miss Squeezy the Pension Python, the cartoon character that Quinn created to try to prod the legislators to own up to the disaster they’ve created. Where’s Squeezy, trapped in a smoke-filled room in the Capitol? Lured to the beach for bikini gazing and Mai Tais? Maybe he joined the conference committee — a guarantee that he would never be seen again.
Only the We Are One negotiated pension plan could receive three-fifths votes in both chambers to give any pension reform bill an immediate effective date. Otherwise, we’re looking at July 1, 2014 for an effective date on a simple majority roll call But to hear the Tribune tell it, we’ll drown if something isn’t done right this very second!!!
These people write like they’re tweenie girls whose parents won’t buy them One Direction concert tickets.
Take. A. Breath.
* Also, if they’d bothered to actually check, they’d know that the conference committee is actually making lots of progress. What’s the holdup? Well, every tweak they make has to be sent off for actuarial analysis, and that takes time.
Again.
Take. A. Breath.
* And I seriously doubt that Sen. Raoul cares whether the Tribune thinks he’s gubernatorial material. Threatening the guy ain’t gonna work.
* Also, too, the Tribune has proved over and over again that it has zero concerns for the state Constitution. Perhaps their editorial board members have moved to another state. I dunno. But pension reform is made extremely difficult because of our Constitution. And the obvious separation of powers questions raised by the governor’s veto seem not to bother the Trib, either.
They just want those concert tickets, man, and they don’t care how it’s done. Missing Squeezy? C’mon. Grow up, already.
[And for my more partisan commenters, please note that the word “republicans” in the headline is not capitalized.]
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* RTA Chairman John Gates piled on against Frank Zuccarelli’s CTA appointment late yesterday in a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn…
Gates said Zuccarelli’s dual roles on the CTA board while serving as Thornton Township supervisor violate “the intent of Section 19” of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act.
Zuccarelli makes more than $100,000 a year in his role as Thornton Township Supervisor, according to a report by the Better Government Association.
Gates urged Quinn to withdraw Zucarrelli’s nomination.
The full letter is here. Make sure to read it.
* The governor’s office is refusing to back down…
Quinn’s office responded Tuesday night, saying that the state law in question wouldn’t prevent Zuccarelli from serving in both positions.
Zuccarelli has no transportation background, but his appointment could help Quinn. Thornton Township has a long history of turning out Democratic votes in Cook County.
Zuccarelli was appointed in early June. The political benefit at the time was obvious. He is a campaign powerhouse with thousands of African-American votes and Quinn desperately needed his support if Lisa Madigan decided to run.
So, Zucc got the nod.
And now… Oops.
The problem here is that Quinn loves to cover himself with a reformer’s coat. But when it comes to patronage, that coat covers something quite different. We’ve discussed this before.
…Adding… Best comment so far…
The idea that Gates — who put Madigan’s son in law on his payroll — would lecture anybody about “transparency” and “integrity” is the joke of the day.
Heh.
True.
* Meanwhile…
Kane County’s representative on the Regional Transportation Authority is stepping down amid concerns he can’t legally serve both on the transit agency and a state commission.
Nabi Fakroddin sits on the RTA board and the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
Advertisement
RTA Chairman John S. Gates Jr. wrote Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday saying that an internal review turned up the dual roles. “It is my belief that according to the law, it may not be permissible for (Fakroddin) to continue to serve on the RTA and Mr. Fakroddin agreed,” Gates wrote.
Quinn appoints members of the human rights commission.
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* From a press release…
“Before a friendly audience behind closed doors in March, Ty Fahner claimed credit for driving down the state’s bond rating–and thereby raising costs to all taxpayers. Now, under growing public scrutiny, he says that wasn’t true.
“Fahner’s delayed attempt to deny that those efforts took place results in more questions than answers. If there’s nothing to hide, why is he trying to backtrack now? Why would he mislead the public in the first place?
“Did members of the Civic Committee speak to the ratings agencies — as Fahner clearly stated initially? If so, what transpired? Did any Civic Committee members profit from these actions? How did the role of Fahner’s law firm as state bond counsel and the role of many Civic Committee members as bond underwriters impact their efforts to lobby to reduce the state’s rating?
“Ultimately, which story should the public believe? Every Illinoisan deserves to know what really happened. We urge elected officials and the news media to demand answers to these lingering questions, uncover what occurred, and examine whether formal consequences are warranted.”
Investigation needed or no?
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* This may be a politically dumb move in a Democratic primary, but give him props for saying what he believes…
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bill Daley is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to withdraw his appointment of a powerful south suburban Democratic leader to the Chicago Transit Authority board.
“The only transportation experience Frank Zuccarelli has is walking people to the polling place,” Mr. Daley told me, responding to my story this morning about how, thanks to Mr. Quinn, Mr. Zuccarelli will be able to benefit from a double-dip loophole in state law.
“It’s the same old Springfield game. It’s been like this for 12 years, first under (convicted ex-Gov. Rod) Blagojevich and now under Quinn,” Mr. Daley said in a phone interview. “Here we have a transportation crisis, he just appointed a blue-ribbon panel to review transit, and he goes and does this sort of thing.” […]
Mr. Daley said he is not worried Mr. Zuccarelli heads a large and influential political organization, serving as Democratic committeeman in Thornton.
“I’ll worry about the election next March,” Mr. Daley said. “Someone needs to worry about the transportation system and the credibility of government.”
Yikes.
Background here.
* Bruce Rauner also responded…
“I’d call this is a blatant insult to every taxpayer, but it’s clear Pat Quinn and the Democratic machine don’t care about the taxpayers at all,” Mr. Rauner says in a statement. “In fact, there is now a pattern of Pat Quinn handing out taxpayer-funded salaries and benefits to key cogs in the Democratic machine. This is exactly why voters are eager for a governor who can’t be intimidated or influenced by the special interests and political machines that try to control politics in Illinois.”
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
Former White House chief of staff Bill Daley is featuring a White House photo of the day Osama bin Laden was killed and touting his “key role” in the operation as an example of leadership in his campaign for governor of Illinois.
On his campaign website, a link just above “donate today” reads: “This is what leadership looks like.” When users click, it brings full screen the official White House photo of the Situation Room on May 1, 2011, where President Barack Obama’s national security team is getting an update on the mission to kill bin Laden.
The caption on Daley’s website reads: “As President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Bill played a key role in the operation that captured Osama bin Laden.” […]
In the bio section of his site, Daley highlights his stint in the Obama administration from January 2011-January 2012, saying Daley “was involved in all aspects and issues faced by the president and the administration, both domestic and foreign.”
* The iconic photo…
* The Question: Will Bill Daley’s involvement with the killing of Osama bin Laden be significantly persuasive in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
online survey
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Quinn the reformer
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn has railed at politics eroding public confidence in the Chicago area’s mass transit agencies. Yesterday, he proposed a blue-ribbon panel to propose ways to clean things up.
But check out this fascinating twist from his recent appointment of Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Frank Zuccarelli to the CTA’s board…
Brad O’Halloran recently resigned as chairman of the Metra board, at least in part because of reports that he’d violated state law by accepting compensation both as a Metra board member and as an Orland Park village trustee.
But Mr. Zuccarelli is different. At least, so says Mr. Quinn’s office.
The state law establishing the CTA says that “no member” of the CTA board “shall hold any other office or employment under the federal, state or any county or municipal government except an honorary office without compensation or an office in the National Guard.”
But Grant Klinzman, a spokesman for Mr. Quinn, cites a different provision of law, which says: “‘Municipal’ or ‘municipality’ does not include a township, town when used as the equivalent of a township, incorporated town that has superseded a civil township . . . or any other similar governmental district.”
“The statute prohibits anyone who is paid by a municipality, county or state government (not a township),” Mr. Kinzman said in a statement. “Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli is an elected leader and strong advocate of a region that is quickly growing . . . (and) will be made significantly more accessible to public transportation by the proposed Red Line extension.”
Zuccarelli is also the local township Democratic committeeman and his township has the highest Democratic turnout in suburban Cook County. Zuccarelli was looking for another second job after Toni Preckwinkle let him go from a part-time county post, so the Quinn appointment was seen at the time as a way to help lock in the Z-Team’s support for the governor next spring. Now, it could backfire on Quinn.
Oops.
*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz updates…
State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, a longtime critic of how public transit operates here, is ripping the double-dip, and says he’ll try to make it illegal.
“The governor is basing his decision on a technicality, to help a political operative,” said Mr. Franks in a phone call. Before making “a political move,” Mr. Franks acerbically added, “I’m sure the governor did a nationwide search to find the best candidate.”
Mr. Franks says a pending bill of his would close the “township loophole” for a variety of posts. But he now intends to submit separate legislation aimed specifically at those who hold both transit agency and township-paying jobs.
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kirk Dillard also has words for Mr. Quinn, telling him to withdraw the Zuccarelli appointment.
“This is hypocrisy beyond belief,” Mr. Dillard told me. “Gov. Quinn’s appointment of a political insider may technically be legal, but it sure is a total violation of the spirit of the law” — particularly at a time when the mess at Metra has shaken public confidence in public transit generally, he added. “At a time when one in 10 Illinoisans is out of work, (Mr Zuccarelli) is on multiple payrolls.”
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ALEC to be met with Chicago protests
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The American Legislative Exchange Council is meeting in Chicago this week to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and opposition groups are gearing up. From a Common Cause and Center for Media and Democracy press release…
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is running a secretive, multi-million dollar slush fund that finances lavish trips for state legislators and has misled the Internal Revenue Service about the fund’s activity, two government watchdog groups charged today.
Common Cause and the Center for Media and Democracy said the “scholarship fund” scheme also raises serious questions about ALEC’s compliance with state gift and disclosure laws, and the ethics of lawmakers who accept ALEC’s travel payments.
The watchdogs said that by funneling money through ALEC, that group’s corporate sponsors are able to take a federal tax deduction for the cost of wining, dining and housing lawmakers and their families at resorts and events like ALEC’s 40th anniversary meeting this week at Chicago’s posh Palmer House Hilton (August 7-9). Meanwhile, ALEC conceals the sources of the funds from the public and hides the amount of spending from the IRS by claiming that it only holds the funds in “trust,” while writing lawmakers’ checks to cover their trips.
Common Cause and CMD laid out details of the fund’s operation in an IRS tax whistleblower complaint and letter to the IRS Commissioner.
The groups have built their case based on documents obtained through open records requests, and are taking a number of actions this week to urge a crackdown on the ALEC
The IRS tax whistleblower complaint is here. The letter to the IRS Commissioner is here. An investigative report, Buying Influence, is here.
* A protest is planned for Thursday. From a Center for Media and Democracy press release…
According to ALEC, up to 2,000 state legislators and lobbyists are expected to be meeting behind closed doors inside the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago. Although ALEC’s leaders have told the press its meetings are open to the public, reporters have been blocked from meetings where corporations and politicians vote as equals, bounced from other meetings, denied credentials, and even threatened with arrest.
In its latest move to shield its activities from pubic scrutiny, ALEC has begun stamping legislation and materials it gives to lawmakers as exempt from state open records laws. It has also resorted to using a drop box service Box.com in an attempt to evade legislators’ open records obligations. CMD is litigating this issue in Wisconsin in a suit against ALEC’s National Treasurer. Read more here.
Outside the ALEC conference, protests are planned for noon on August 8, led by the Chicago Federation of Labor.
* For background, this is from a December, 2012 Bloomberg report…
ALEC this week released its 2013 state legislative priorities and proposed legislation to accomplish them, including ending traditional pensions for newly hired public employees, repealing requirements that utilities buy electricity from environmentally friendly sources, using taxpayer dollars for religious schools, and limiting lawsuits by consumers injured by faulty products.
There was a small protest at the Palmer House yesterday and a handful of people were arrested. The big event is Thursday. Fred Klonsky has video.
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Fahner: “I misspoke”
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an e-mail I received yesterday from Civic Committee President Ty Fahner…
Regarding my comments at the Union League Club in March, I misspoke.
First, while I may have said so, I didn’t call the ratings agencies, nor did any of our Civic Committee staff. My response to the questions was very confusing and inarticulate. If you notice, at the end of my answer, I close by saying it wouldn’t be the responsible thing for me to have done so with our members being the state’s largest employers. But I did say it.
He misspoke? That’s a pretty long story for a simple misspeak. Here’s the complete Fahner quote…
“The Civic Committee, not me, but me and some of the people that make up the Civic Committee, some of the same names I mentioned before, did meet with and call, in one case it was in person, a couple of calls to Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, and say, ‘How in the hell can you guys do this? You’re an enabler to let the state continue. You keep threatening more and more and more.’
“And I think now we’ve backed off, because we don’t want to be the straw that breaks the back, But if you watch what happened over the last few years, it’s been steadily down. Before that, it’s been the blind eye, and that’s a whole different topic, as you know, about how the rating agencies act and don’t act. That’s more in your field and stuff. It has been irresponsible. We have told them that we thought they were being irresponsible, but we stopped that a couple months ago. I do know that we suggested that they talk to the governor, the governor’s staff to see if he could give them comfort on where the state was going, and I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re really close now. I hope we’re close.”
“Inarticulate,” maybe, but not really confusing. He said what he said, and it was pretty darned detailed.
* Anyway, Fahner told me nobody from staff spoke with the ratings agencies, so I followed up with a question about whether any Civic Committee members had meetings and here’s his e-mailed response…
Rich, to be clear, I am not aware of anyone connected with the civic committee that contacted the rating agencies to urge Illinois be downgraded or for any other reason.
So, he made the story up out of whole cloth? And this guy is running the most powerful business group in Illinois?
* Back to Fahner’s original e-mail…
Finally, if there’s any good news in this, it’s that even a cynical political columnist like you now cares about pension reform, something we’ve been screaming about for a while now. We appreciate that. Stay on it. Illinois is in critical condition and we need everybody’s hands on deck.
Whatever.
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* Sun-Times…
Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office confirmed Monday it will have a direct role in the legal dispute over Gov. Pat Quinn’s move to cut legislative salaries despite the fact her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, is a plaintiff in the case.
The three-term attorney general will represent Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in the case that pits her and Quinn against the House speaker and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who sued the governor and comptroller.
“There’s not a conflict of interest because of the familial relationship,” said Natalie Bauer, a spokeswoman for the attorney general. Cullerton and Speaker Madigan “filed in their official capacity as the legislative leaders, so there is no conflict.”
The case is scheduled for its first hearing Tuesday before Cook County Associate Judge Neil Cohen, who is being asked to grant a preliminary injunction that would set aside Quinn’s line-item veto and authorize Topinka to resume paying legislators, who missed their first paychecks last week.
The motion for a preliminary injunction is here. The governor’s general counsel was served with the papers as well.
*** UPDATE *** From the Twitters…
Keep an eye on our live feed for more updates.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Twitters…
That means two paychecks will be missed and likely no pension reform until after Sept. 18th unless they can somehow convince the judge to issue an order beforehand.
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Caption contest!
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a recent bill signing event…
Now, y’all know that I really don’t like violent imagery in comments, so make sure you don’t get weird on me today. Take it easy. Thanks.
Funniest commenter wins a beverage with yours truly at the Illinois State Fair.
* Yesterday’s winner was Arthur Andersen…
“Forget Chicago, just gimme that countryside”
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* Sun-Times…
Governor Pat Quinn today said he is preparing to appoint an independent panel of experts to offer ways to restructure the RTA and scandal-ridden Metra.
“I am anxious to work on a fundamental overhaul of Metra and the RTA,” Quinn said at a news conference. The governor had signed three bills today strengthening traffic safety.
Quinn hasn’t appointed the panel members yet but mentioned the names Ann Schneider and George Ranney as possibilities.
Quinn said he would take recommendations from an inspector general’s report — which is still under way — as well as from the new panel.
The governor, who has in the past called for a new Metra board, said he will give legislators an overhaul proposal by Oct. 22.
* Tribune…
The governor would not say when he plans to officially name the group, but said he hopes they can begin working soon in order to produce suggestions for lawmakers to act on when they are scheduled to return to the Capitol in October. Quinn said he thinks the panel would be able to do its work at the same time the inspector general’s office is looking in to any potential wrongdoing without compromising that investigation.
Just like pension reform. Craft a solution before getting the full analysis back.
* More Trib…
Still, creating a group to take on the Metra scandal could play well in mailers and advertisements as Quinn runs for re-election next year.
That might work, except Gov. Quinn believes direct mail is a complete waste of money and won’t send it.
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The stonewalling continues
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Progress Illinois tried to do a follow-up to the coverage of Ty Fahner’s comments that he and members of the powerful Civic Committee met with ratings agencies in an apparent attempt to jaw down Illinois’ credit ratings.
The PI folks didn’t get very far. Those refusing comment included…
* Gov. Pat Quinn
* The Civic Committee
* Fitch Ratings
* Moody’s Investors Services
* Standard & Poor’s
* From their story…
(T)he government has an “obligation to shine some light” on the Civic Committee’s apparent lobbying of the three main credit rating agencies to ensure no illegal activity occurred and that “these corporate giants didn’t profit in some way by this back-room phone calling,” said Bill Looby, a spokesman with Illinois AFL-CIO.
“This is wrong on a lot of different levels,” Looby continued. “If it’s not illegal, it should be. And we should find out what happened, and who did it, and how it was accomplished, and whether or not there was anyone that benefited from it.”
Overall, Lindall says it is “repulsive” to see Fahner furthering the Civic Committee’s “misinformation campaign” to portray the modest and well-deserved $32,000 average pension of a retired employee as “what’s wrong with state government.”
“It goes much further when it appears that, by their own admission, these tremendously powerful CEOs and lobbyists are working behind closed doors to manipulate the creditworthiness, and therefore the cost to taxpayers of the state and the people of Illinois,” he said.
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Today’s best e-mail
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
On Tuesday, August 6, State Representative Jeanne Ives will host a Health and Fitness Boot Camp for children in her district. The event will be held at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Rd., Winfield, IL from 9am to noon.
When asked how she came up with the idea to conduct a boot camp, Representative Ives stated that, “Long ago, I recognized that children have a great deal of natural energy and are drawn to physical activity and events that challenge them. I certainly enjoyed the physical fitness challenges in my Army training. This camp is designed to let kids see how well they can complete some fun, age-appropriate fitness tests. I have hosted similar events for my own children and their friends and I wanted to broaden these activities to a wider group.”
State Representative Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) is a West Point Graduate who served in the United States Army and comes from a family for whom military service is a tradition.
It is free and open to all who wish to attend.
What Boot Camp Will Look Like:
· At 0900 (9:00 a.m.): Recruits will be signed in, currently 70 children, ages 3-12, have enlisted.
· Rep. Ives will lead the way, completing the fitness test, obstacle course, climbing wall, and BMI testing
· Recruits will:
o Complete an Obstacle Course by FTX Crossfit
o Scale a Climbing Wall
o Participate in a Fitness Test
o Earn personalized, commemorative dog tags
o Receive BMI testing and learn safe stretching from Advanced Healthcare Associates
o Take part in basic First Aid Instruction from Cadence Health and Edward Hospital
o Join in activities and presentations on proper nutrition from Juice Plus and FORWARD of DuPage County
o Receive samples of healthy snacks from Whole Foods
· At 1200 (12:00 p.m.): Recruits will be dismissed.
· Rep. Ives will be available to speak with media before and after the event.
You gotta love the “commemorative dog tags” part. But I sure hope that Sgt Hartman from “Full Metal Jacket” doesn’t show up.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anybody campaign for governor in short pants with an untucked, long-sleeved, button-down collar blue business shirt. Bill Daley recently notified the world via Twitter that he was “In Woodstock IL at the McHenry County Fair“…
Click the pic for a larger image.
Wow.
* The Question: Caption?
Funniest commenter wins a free beverage at the Illinois State Fair - likely not in combination with a golf cart ride (oops).
Last week’s winner was Calhoun Native…
There’s only one me in Metra.
CN should contact me via email so we can work out our beverage time.
*** UPDATE *** Daley just called, and after saying he wore the beat-up shoes he wears every day, he joked that he was wearing black wingtips.
Like his father and his brothers, he doesn’t always finish his sentences, so while he was joking about his attire, he said “I get it, but I am not gonna play…. I’m not going to suddenly be Bruce Rauner and try to be…” You get the idea. He’s not gonna do the costume thing. OK, all respect, I guess.
After he hung up, he called back to ask “What if I tied a red bandana around my neck?”
He does have a good sense of humor. I’ll give him that. He also answered questions about the FERC stuff from another post today. Check that one in a bit.
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No immediate concealed carry ruling
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The 7th Circuit will hear the case, but it hasn’t yet schedule any arguments, so this could take a while…
A Chicago federal appeals court isn’t letting Illinoisans immediately tote firearms in public under the state’s fledging concealed-carry law, but says it will give the matter a speedy review.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week turned down the emergency injunction request by gun-rights advocates who wanted Illinois gun owners to be able carry concealed weapons now instead of waiting months for the permitting process to be set up.
Mary Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association say the wait is unreasonable and unconstitutional.
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* Phil Bradley writes that he won’t be supporting Bruce Rauner. One reason: Rauner wants to start at the top…
My work in government and my campaigning for and holding public office taught me many things that are unknown by most who haven’t paid their dues by being involved.
I remember my first run for the Lincoln Land Community College board. I put up yard signs all over several counties, met the editors of all the papers, sent out mailings and spent time in many small towns shaking hands. In those days few people had even heard of the college. Fewer still knew it was run by an elected board. And no one had heard of me.
But in a grubby little bar in Ashland, I walked up to a disheveled, grizzled guy, shook his hand and asked for his vote. And learned more than any political science class ever taught me.
“How do you feel about the semester system?” the man asked. Totally unexpected. (At the time, Lincoln Land was considering changing from a quarterly calendar to semesters.)
What followed was a long conversation about academic calendars and how the change would benefit his work schedule and his ability to get the degree in agriculture that his future job depended on.
Right there I understood that what government does affects people’s lives in big ways.
In fact, what I praise is experience. As a candidate, as an officeholder, as someone doing the day-to-day work of government, one builds experience. You learn that many different people have many different ideas. That you need to listen. You need to understand. You need to compromise.
You learn that there are few easy answers, no quick answers. And sometimes there aren’t right answers, just better ones.
I totally get Phil’s point, which has been made one way or another by several commenters here over the past few months.
But Rauner has been traveling Illinois, so give him credit for trying. And I don’t think that everybody always has to run for a lower job first.
Adlai Stevenson, II held some appointed US government positions before he was elected governor. And he was a good governor. Jim Thompson was a US Attorney before he was elected governor. I think he was one of our best governors.
Is experience with grassroots campaigning helpful? Yep. No doubt. But there is something to be said for a fresh face.
Then again, Dan Walker was a fresh face who’d never been elected to anything before he won his gubernatorial campaign, and we know how that turned out.
So, also, beware. Everybody’s different.
* Speaking of Walker, I excerpted this 1980 Illinois Issues story last week…
Walker was accused of attempting to disguise how he had expanded the number of employees in the governor’s office because of his campaign pledge not to do so.
Pat Quinn was one of those guys who Walker sneaked onto the payroll.
Governors do this sort of thing all the time, of course. And it continues under Quinn, who constantly boasts about trimming his own office budget.
For example, this is from the Illinois Civil Service Commission’s May, 2013 report…
As to Item E, this request is for a Legislative Liaison or Legislative Staff Person at the Department of Children and Family Services, a position that reports to the Chief Legislative Liaison who reports to the Director. The position description contains
language that this position will be performing “back office” responsibilities in the agency’s legislative office as well as more traditional legislative liaison responsibilities. Staff had a concern because historically the Commission has indicated it would not
extend principal policy exemptions to positions in the legislative office that perform administrative duties. However, a check of this position description to other already exempt legislative liaison positions in the agency revealed that they are, for the most part, similar. The agency has also indicated that this position has not been included in any bargaining unit. For those reasons, Staff recommended approval of this request provided the Commissioners are comfortable with the agency having six Section 4d(3) exempt legislative liaison positions. Commissioner Krey inquired whether any of the legislative liaison positions are vacant. Michelle Jackson indicated they were not.
Commissioner Cummings inquired why the agency needs six legislative liaisons as five seems excessive. Michelle Jackson replied that two of the positions are currently assigned to the Governor’s Office by Interagency Agreement, doing similar work on behalf of the agency as well as multiple other agencies. Chairman FitzGerald inquired which agencies were involved. Michelle Jackson indicated she was unsure which specific agencies were involved.
Emphasis added.
* And this June, 2013 Civil Service Commission report, pointed to by a commenter last week, looks a tad suspicious as well…
As to Item F, this request is for a Legislative Liaison at the Department of Public Health, a position that reports to the Deputy Director who reports to the Director. This was also continued from last month due to concerns over whether it was simply performing clerical work or true liaison responsibilities. The agency submitted a clarified position description which confirmed the latter so Staff recommended approval of this request since it is presently excluded from a collective bargaining unit and so long as the Commission is comfortable with the agency having six exempt legislative liaisons. Commissioner Krey inquired how many of these were presently filled. Executive Director Stralka responded that his best recall was four of the six were occupied.
IDPH has six liaison positions? Six?
…Adding… I meant to put this here and forgot. Bill Daley, of course, has never been elected to anything. So, his past associations need to come under strong scrutiny. For example…
U.S. energy regulators are accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co. of manipulating electricity prices in California and the Midwest in 2010 and 2011.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in an enforcement notice Monday that the bank used improper bidding strategies to squeeze excessive payments from the agencies that run the power grids in California and the Midwest.
This happened during Daley’s tenure at JPMorgan Chase. The bank settled…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today approved a stipulation and consent agreement under which JP Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation (JPMVEC) will pay $410 million in penalties and disgorgement to ratepayers for allegations of market manipulation stemming from the company’s bidding activities in electricity markets in California and the Midwest from September 2010 through November 2012.
Under the agreement, JPMVEC will pay a civil penalty of $285 million to the U.S. Treasury and disgorge $125 million in unjust profits. The first $124 million of the disgorged profits will go to ratepayers in the California Independent System Operator (California ISO), which operates the California electricity market. The other $1 million will go to ratepayers in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator includes Ameren’s Illinois territory. So, while there wasn’t a huge disgorgement for the Midwest, it was still something and it impacted Illinois and, therefore, could very well come up against Daley in the spring primary campaign.
*** UPDATE *** Daley called and made something clear: “I wasn’t involved in the trading business in any way shape or form,” adding that he hadn’t yet read the FERC complaint or details of the settlement. He said he was mainly aware that JPMorgan Chase was involved in the electric trading business through media reports.
It was, I’m pretty sure, way out of his purview. But it was still his company, so it’s probably fair game in a campaign.
* Related…
* GOP candidate Rauner visits Lakewood: “I don’t think there should be tenure in the schools,” Rauner said. “That doesn’t exist anywhere else in our society. If you’re a good teacher, you should get rewarded. If you’re an ineffective teacher, you should be helped and try to improve. But if you don’t improve, do a different career.”
* Governor candidate Rauner talks jobs creation, pensions in Aurora: “I’m not a politician, I’ve never run for office,” he said. “I didn’t even run for student council in high school.”
* GOP governor candidates make a stop in Elburn: Rauner said his business background as a venture capitalist will help run government more like a business.
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* AP…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says Wisconsin should follow the lead of other Midwest states and legalize gay marriage.
Quinn said Aug. 3 during a break at the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee that gay people should not have more rights in some states in the region and less in others.
Gay marriage became legal this week in Minnesota. Quinn says he would sign a bill to legalize gay marriage in Illinois, but it is tied up in the Legislature.
He called on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature to follow the lead of those states.
Dude, how about focusing on passing the Illinois bill first?
*** UPDATE *** The governor was asked about his comments today. Listen to his response…
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Daley blames Quinn for gay marriage failure
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bill Daley has a new “Issues” section on his updated campaign website. Here’s some of his take on gay marriage…
One of the most unjust failures of Governor Quinn administration is the failure of Illinois to pass Marriage Equality, even though we have big Democratic majorities in both the State Senate and House.
Just days before the vote in the House, President Obama was in Chicago. Yet Governor Quinn failed to use this opportunity to have the President, a powerful voice on marriage equality, sit down with wavering legislators to get the votes we need to join 13 other states who have passed laws that recognize the simple idea that love is love.
I’m not sure you can blame that all on Quinn. Daley was Obama’s former chief of staff, as was Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said gay marriage was one of his top three legislative priorities this year.
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* From a June, 2013 report by the generally anti-tax Heartland Institute…
Cigarette tax revenue in Illinois is falling far short of the amount projected last year, state officials say.
In May of 2012, state legislators approved a $1-per-pack increase on the price of cigarettes, nearly doubling the state’s tax rate to $1.98 per pack, the 17th-highest state tax rate in the nation. However, the tax delivered only $212 million of the expected $350 million for the fiscal year ended June 30.
Governor Pat Quinn (D) said the cigarette tax increase would help sustain the state’s Medicaid program, as well as the School Infrastructure Fund, while also discouraging smoking. But The Heartland Institute, Illinois Policy Institute and other public policy groups predicted the state would fail to receive the projected increase in tax revenue. They noted the likelihood that consumers would try to avoid the tax by buying cigarettes out of state, where taxes are lower.
* Also from June, we have this from the Illinois Policy Institute…
Remember when the state of Illinois said its new $1 cigarette tax would bring in $350 million in additional revenue?
Unless this tax garners an additional $138 million in the next 10 days, these lofty projections are about to crash and burn.
The cigarette tax hike, which took effect a year ago this month, is only on track to bring in $212 million in revenue for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, according to a report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA.
* The AP explained the shortfall in June…
There’s typically a decline in cigarette sales after a tax increase, as some people stock up before the rate hike, while others use it as a chance to stop smoking.
“This tax was discussed and talked about quite some time before it actually went into effect, so individuals went out and purchased in bulk a bunch of cigarettes, so more of those packs were sold under the lowered tax rate,” said Jim Muschinske, the commission’s revenue manager.
Total cigarette tax revenue for the year is expected to reach almost $788 million, up 37 percent from the previous year. The money from the cigarette tax is used for the state’s general fund, Medicaid program and School Infrastructure Fund.
* Well, the July revenue report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability was released this morning. COGFA reports that cigarette tax revenue last month was up 150 percent over July of 2012. From the report…
While cigarette tax posted an $18 million increase, the gain was due to last July’s falloff related to the “stockpiling” effect of that year’s rate increase. This year, cigarette taxes to the general funds returned to statutory levels.
Discuss.
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Raoul’s path
Monday, Aug 5, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) was apparently taken aback a few weeks ago when his standard public comments about not ruling out a race for governor were taken as a dramatic sign that he might very well run.
The reaction should’ve been predictable. The most recent Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll, taken in mid-July, had Gov. Pat Quinn getting just 38 percent of the Democratic primary vote. That’s pretty awful for an incumbent. Bill Daley, who made his exploratory candidacy official last week, was at 33 percent.
That leaves a lot of wide open space for a new challenger. There is a very definable path for Raoul to do well here. And while he might not win, he’d likely set himself up for a future statewide race - possibly the 2016 US Senate primary - if he runs a credible campaign. There really just isn’t much of a downside, so let’s look at his path.
Race - African-Americans make up a huge segment of the Democratic primary vote, so Raoul, who is black, should do quite well as long as he’s seen as a credible candidate. Gov. Quinn is counting on winning the black vote in order to defeat Bill Daley, pretty much the same way he defeated Dan Hynes in 2010. Without that all-important constituency locked up, Quinn would be in very big trouble, indeed.
Quinn is not overwhelmingly popular with black voters. Just 47 percent back Quinn against Daley, according to the July poll, and Quinn’s job approval rating in a June poll among black Democrats was a mere 28 percent, while 40 percent disapproved.
Geography - Rumors abound that Quinn and Daley are looking at the possibility of choosing urban minority running mates. Raoul, however, would be free to choose a white Downstater or suburbanite, possibly giving him the only geographically “balanced” ticket on the Democratic side.
To say that Quinn is unpopular Downstate would be the understatement of the year. And Daley isn’t trusted by Downstaters. In the recent Democratic primary head-to-head poll I commissioned, “Undecided” led among Downstaters with 36 percent.
Money - Raoul raised $400,000 in the second quarter for an aborted attorney general bid. While his fundraising total trails the other two Democratic candidates, Raoul has far more money in the bank right now than state Sen. Kirk Dillard, who is touted as a serious Republican gubernatorial contender.
Public employee unions are desperate to back a candidate in the primary, but they don’t yet have anyone they can trust. Quinn and Daley both want pension reforms that they oppose, for instance. So it’s possible they could wind up in his corner, which means big bucks.
Also, if Raoul convinces black voters that he’s a credible candidate, then history shows he doesn’t really need to raise as much money as his opponents. Barack Obama, who was vastly outspent in the 2004 US Senate primary, is just one example of this.
Infrastructure - A late start in any statewide race is not a good thing because Illinois is so large and diverse and complicated and you don’t just pop up and run for something without having any infrastructure in place. But Raoul already started putting together a statewide race, so the beginnings of an infrastructure are there.
He could also very well have the strong support of Senate President John Cullerton, who has all but privately declared war on Quinn since the governor’s veto of state legislative salaries. Cullerton’s formidable organization could help Raoul set up a statewide organization. Most of Cullerton’s members, who are also Raoul’s fellow legislators, could be expected to pitch in as well.
If the unions jump in on his side, that would also be a big infrastructure help. Cook County African-American Democrats are some of the most well-organized and politically aware ethnic group in the state, which could give Raoul a built-in infrastructure advantage.
The Downsides - Raoul has never won a contested race, and experience at taking and throwing hard punches is crucial in a high-level contest like this one. While known to and respected by much of the media and the political establishment, he likely has close to zero name recognition amongst the voting populace. If he runs and ends up tossing the victory to Daley, he’ll likely upset several powerful black politicos. And since he hasn’t been on the radar screen, nobody knows what an opposition report might find.
He’ll need plenty of fire in his belly just to survive the day to day ordeal, but it’s not there yet. If he finds that fire, I think he might be able to pull this off.
Discuss.
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