When politicians manipulate district maps, they skew results in their favor, no matter the consequences to fair representation.
* But if you click here, you’ll see Scott Kennedy’s 2014 gubernatorial election results by Illinois House district. Those districts were drawn, of course, by Speaker Madigan.
As you’ll recall, Bruce Rauner won 50.8 percent of the popular vote in 2014. Yet, by my count, Rauner won 69 of 118 House districts that same year, or 58.5 percent.
So, the Republican candidate for governor won 22 more House seats than the Republicans currently hold.
That’s why Gov. Rauner thinks he has a real shot at picking up some House seats this year. His operation is focusing like a laser on the districts he won.
* Now, it’s not as simple as this, of course. Once somebody is elected, it’s difficult to pry them loose. The House Democrats picked up seats after the 2011 remap, but besides drawing a map that certainly favored their candidates, the wins were also due to 2012 being a hugely favorable (to them) presidential election year.
By the time the national GOP wave swept through two years later, it ran smack dab into Democratic incumbents who’d been working their new districts hard for two years. And not all of those newbies had credible (or any) challengers.
But it didn’t work out that way for Congressional Democrats, who lost some seats here in 2014.
This year, the trend will likely be the Democrats’ friend yet again. If Rauner doesn’t net some gains, he’ll likely blame the map, but that won’t be totally true.
* If you go back to 1991, the last time the Republicans drew the map, Madigan’s Democrats held on to control in 1992, when Bill Clinton and Carol Moseley Braun swept the state. The Democrats lost the majority two years later in a big national GOP landslide, but gained it back in 1996, when Clinton ran again, and managed to hold onto their majority until they drew the map in 2001.
Yet, during that same time period, the Senate Republicans held the majority throughout, even with the heavy African-American migration into the south suburbs which helped upend the House GOP’s hold. Senators, however, don’t run every two years, so some lucked out and missed unfavorable wave elections.
Lots of things play into why stuff happens in politics, which is why I love it so much. It’s not a black and white, either-or game, except on election day itself, when it’s winner take all.
* And, again, let me say I think that a non-partisan map would be a good thing here. But so would California’s open primary system, where the top two vote-getters battle it out in November even if they’re from the same party. I’d love to see that brought to Illinois.
There are lots of things we can do to reform the process. But a single reform probably won’t solve all our problems. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, because they’re living in an overly simplistic cartoon world. I prefer the real world.
* Kyle Hillman was at the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services’ “transformation stakeholder presentation” today. A major topic, of course, was the lack of a state budget…
A speaker just said that her wait list for children mental health services has ballooned to over 900. / Illinois failed these kids.
* Meanwhile, Madigan’s members are back in their districts attempting to explain to constituents why their leader broke his promise. That cannot be an easy task in this environment.
State Rep. Jack D. Franks, D-Marengo, is calling on the Illinois Lottery to suspend online ticket sales since its statutory authority to do so expired in March, and is urging Lottery officials not to make prepayments to be able to take part in multistate lottery games – like they did last June – because of the state’s ongoing budget impasse.
“I find it troubling that the Illinois Lottery continues to sell tickets online while they no longer have the authority to do so,” Franks said. “That’s why the Lottery must suspend these sales immediately unless the state legislature grants them to the ability to continue selling online permanently.”
Franks is concerned that Illinois residents are still able to buy lottery tickets online, despite the expiration of a pilot program in March that allowed the Illinois Lottery to sell these tickets legally. In addition, in light of a recent report by the Auditor General showing that the Illinois Lottery improperly prepaid $20 million in June of 2015 to take part in future multistate lottery games, like the Powerball and Mega Millions, Franks is calling on the Lottery to not make any future prepayments due to the lack of a state budget.
Franks is calling on the Attorney General or the Governor’s Office of the Executive Inspector General to investigate the Illinois Lottery in response to the audit’s findings and the issue of online lottery sales.
“Without a state budget the Illinois Lottery does not have the legal authority to make these prepayments for next fiscal year,” Franks added. “Like any government agency, the Lottery has an obligation to follow the law, be transparent and protect taxpayer dollars, and I want to sure that they are taking these responsibilities seriously.”
* The governor’s office responds…
Hi, Rich:
Representative Franks has gotten both the facts and the law wrong. The Lottery has the legal authority to continue its online subscription program and monetary transfers to the multi-state clearinghouse that administers the Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery games. Neither is affected by the General Assembly’s ongoing refusal to do its job. We encourage Representative Franks to return to work and pass the stopgap budget rather than sending inaccurate, misguided, politically motivated press releases.
* He’s also right that the online pilot project expired months ago. The Lottery, however, contends its new rules, which changed the definition of “subscription,” allow the program to continue. And the GOPs point out that the program is bringing in $30 million for the school fund.
But Franks brings up a possible problem with those new rules. What if two people win a multi-state lottery game - one from out of state and an online buyer from Illinois? The out of stater might be able to claim that s/he should take the whole jackpot because there is no statutory authority for the Illinoisan’s winning ticket. And if that person wins the case, could state fraud be alleged by the Illinois “loser”?
* The House Democrats, by the way, are holding off making the pilot project permanent because, some of them claim, they’re worried that the Lottery wants to essentially allow online “drawings” every couple of minutes or so - kinda like having a casino on your mobile phone or personal computer.
Democrats should just announce that they have heard from a lot of constituents that are opposed to raising taxes since returning from Springfield…
…and demand the governor introduce a budget that includes no new revenue or borrowing that can be voted on by July 1.
Not a stop gap budget, or a partial budget, but a balanced, 12-month budget like he was supposed to submit 4 months ago.
That will stop the games.
Their targets and others could very well do that. It wouldn’t be a bad idea.
* But they could also run tons of advertising claiming that the numerous Republicans who sent this anti-tax hike mailer want to slash [insert much-beloved, poll-tested government spending programs] to death. Considering history, that’s highly likely…
* The Democrats believe that Sen. Mark Kirk’s new TV spot is designed to distance himself from Donald Trump. Kirk’s campaign won’t confirm. We’ll see tomorrow. From an internal Democratic e-mail…
Competitive update -Kirk buy in Chicago
June 23-30, 2016
Chicago
Broadcast $230,860 500 GRPs
Cable $28,000
Totals $258,860
Awful early for this sort of thing, particularly since he doesn’t exactly have a boatload of cash. But this is not your usual year.
“I had a conversation with one of the members in the workers compensation committee meeting,” said Bennett, “and the adjective used was insatiable. We’ll come and say that we’ll work with you and do this and this and this. And then when we have a deal all of a sudden the sand shifts and it’s a totally different deal at the end. Now they want more.
“The governor has made a lot of money by being a good negotiator and he’s used the word leverage over and over and over. I’m not putting words in his mouth. He said it. The budget is good leverage to get the things he wants.”
Bennett said Rauner “knows we’re sitting in here talking about cuts. That bothers us a lot, which puts him in a pretty strong negotiating position. I made the analogy of the way you negotiate to buy a car. And imagine the last thing as you’re handing over the keys, he says, ‘You’re going to throw your spouse’s car in too, right?’”
The Democrats are also doing this in the workers’ comp talks.
A state senator from suburban Chicago plans to move forward with a bill that would ban the trapping of bobcats and the sale of their pelts ahead of the state’s first legal hunting season for the once-threatened species in more than 40 years.
Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he was holding his bill because he’d reached an agreement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that would have reduced the number of permits available for hunting and trapping the small wild cats and further restricted where they could be hunted. But he said the department’s director, Wayne Rosenthal, walked away from the agreement toward the end of the General Assembly’s spring session “for reasons unknown to me” […]
“[We’re] proposing a very small number of permits, relatively speaking, according to the department,” he said. “And with trapping, there’s really no way to gauge how many animals you might take. If you set a half a dozen traps and you have a permit for only one bobcat, what happens if you take two?”
To be clear, Harmon specifically wanted to limit the trophy pelt business angle before new rules were promulgated ahead of hunting season. They worked on the bill for months.
The department says Harmon shouldn’t be surprised that it’s moving forward with the rules as proposed because the senator didn’t uphold his part of the agreement. He had agreed to advance a bill that would do away with registration requirements for small boats, which would save money, according to the department.
IDNR also wanted Sen. Harmon to get that proposal through the House, but wouldn’t hold off on its new rules.
* Gubernatorial recall is a stupid, spitting-into-the-wind, utter waste of time idea. It’s practically impossible to accomplish with the constitutional amendment voters approved. I’ve even banned the word in comments (and it’s still banned, so don’t try to “debate” it today, either) because it’s usually only mentioned by ignorant, hyperpartisan, hyperbolic goofballs (and that goes for Quinn’s administration, too).
* Remember yesterday when I suggested that prison-town mayors might want to consider banding together to keep the Rauner administration from singling them out? Somebody may be reading…
A City Council in the tiny western Illinois community of Mount Sterling may have voted to keep the water on at the local state prison despite Illinois’ budget impasse, but the payment battle may not be over.
Vada Yingling, city administrator in the community of about 2,000 people, said in an interview with WFMB-1450 AM in Springfield that officials may discuss organizing with other towns also faced with nonpayment of bills from the state. […]
“I think that, you know, as a city, our biggest fear is that our governor would make an example out of the first city who would make a stand,” Yingling said, noting about 100 people packed into the council chambers, many associated with jobs at the prison.
“We had gotten some phone calls from the governor’s office — not from he, himself, but from (the) governor’s office — saying that, you know, ‘Well, it’s a possibility if we have to move those inmates out because of the water being shut off, they may not be moved back and those jobs could be compromised. Do you understand that?’” she told the radio station. […]
Yingling said Mount Sterling buys water from a local water district, and almost half the water the community purchases is for the prison. On the day of the vote, she said, the town shut off seven homes for nonpayment and “their bill is nowhere near the prison’s and the prison is still getting water, so that’s hard to justify.” […]
“I would like to see if it’s somehow possible for all of us (owed money) to come together as a unified front and stay together … that we could somehow join forces and make a mightier stand together rather than individually,” she said. “Maybe the governor can’t say ‘no’ if we stand unified.”
Good luck with that.
* And speaking of mayors, this is from the governor’s office…
As the House of Representatives cancel another planned day of continuous session, more than 40 mayors penned an op-ed urging lawmakers to pass the GOP Leaders stopgap budget proposal and education budget.
This is an excerpt of the op-ed that was published this morning in the State Journal-Register:
As the Illinois General Assembly departed Springfield on May 31 without passing a budget, we now face a very uncertain future that affects not only our government, but more importantly, our citizens. As this budget stalemate continues, we need a plan to ensure funding for schools and local government until a comprehensive budget resolution can be reached.
[…] as of today, schools around the state have received no appropriation for state funding for this upcoming school year. Without this appropriation, schools are left in the precarious position of trying to figure out how to fill the hole the state budget dollars has left. […]
Thankfully, a bill introduced in Springfield by State Rep. Jim Durkin and State Sen. Christine Radogno will fund early childhood, elementary and secondary education for the upcoming school year and ensure our schools open on time this fall. Unlike previously floated education plans, this proposal is fully funded and would not require any additional revenues or add to the state’s ever-increasing bill backlog. Additionally, the bill contains a hold-harmless provision which ensures that any school which would have lost dollars under the current funding formula will at least receive the same amount as they did last year. […]
Another bill introduced by leaders Durkin and Radogno serves as a bridge to keep government functioning and protects public health, welfare and safety. As mayors, it is critically important that we have much-needed funding to address our local infrastructure needs. This fully funded stopgap budget funds the state’s full road construction program in Fiscal Year 2017, including bridge repair and local government road allocations, which are funded predominantly out of motor fuel tax funds and vehicle registration fees. […]
This common-sense plan serves as a bridge that allows schools to open, protects public safety and avoids a government shutdown. This plan is fiscally prudent and fully-funded, contrary to the numerous unfunded, out-of- balance spending plans we’ve seen come out of the legislature this session.
* From SW Illinois News, which is one of those Dan Proft newspapers…
Approaching the November elections, Republican Paul Schimpf aims to bring “common-sense” legislating, conservative values and integrity to the state Senate in District 58, which covers Monroe, St. Clair, Randolph, Perry, Jackson, Union and Jefferson counties. […]
Former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon (2011-2015) is the current Democrat opponent in the Senate race, but Schimpf is confident that he is the right candidate to address the issues Illinois and his district are facing. […]
What makes Schimpf the best candidate for the district?
“Leadership abilities versus political lineage,” he said.
Schimpf explained that Simon comes from a tradition of politicians who do very little to serve the state; instead, they are more likely to serve themselves. He also argued that he can be a leader for everyone, not just for one party.
* Simon responds…
“I’ve expected a good debate in this campaign, but I sure didn’t expect to have to defend my father’s reputation,” said state senate candidate Sheila Simon.
Simon’s opponent, Paul Schimpf, recently referred to Simon’s lineage claiming, “Simon comes from a tradition of politicians who do very little to serve the state; instead, they are more likely to serve themselves.”
“People all over southern Illinois have fond memories of my dad. Most often, folks say they appreciated dad’s honesty,” Simon said.
“The Paul Simon I knew and respected was a Lutheran minister’s kid who drove an old Chevrolet and knew a lot more about where to find a cold Pepsi than a vintage wine, “said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Paul Simon’s successor in the Senate. “He even bargained his SIU salary down when he started the Simon Institute. Sheila’s opponent will have his hands full trying to smear the reputation of one of the most honest and caring politicians in our state’s history. ”
“I respect my dad’s record of public service,” Simon said. “He did it in uniform overseas, as a newspaper editor, and in Springfield and Washington. That’s a tradition I’m proud to be a part of.”
After promising that the House would be in continuous session and meet each Wednesday, Mike Madigan announced yesterday that session would be canceled for the third week in a row.
Mike Madigan is hiding behind the working groups. He is using them as a stall tactic in order to create a crisis so that he can ram through a massive tax hike with no reforms.
Meanwhile, statehouse Republicans and the Governor have two ready-to-go bills that would ensure that schools open on time in the fall, critical government services function and prisons continue to operate.
Madigan and House Democrats might have the luxury of taking a vacation from reality, but parents and public safety officials do not.
The calls will target Reps. Beiser, Bradley, Cloonen, Mussman, Phelps, Skoog, Smiddy and Yingling.
As subscribers know, those “ready-to-go bills” aren’t actually ready because college-town legislators (including Republicans) wanted more higher ed spending.
There’s nothing State Rep Sam Yingling likes more than a little fun in the sun this summer at taxpayer’s expense.
Instead of doing their job, House Speaker Mike Madigan and State Rep Sam Yingling are playing hooky again by cancelling session.
Yingling is too busy worrying about his tan to be concerned with putting public safety, vital services and schools first.
With their shades on and umbrella drink in hand, Madigan and State Rep Yingling continue to hold the budget hostage while trying to force through a massive tax hike with no reforms.
You can help end State Rep Sam Yingling’s summer vacation early by visiting www.rebuildillinois.com to sign the petition telling Yingling to get off the beach and get back to work. Put public safety, our schools and the needs of our district ahead of Chicago political boss Mike Madigan’s taxpayer funded getaway.
Paid for by The Illinois Republican Party. xxx-xxx-xxxx
According to Trump’s latest report to the Federal Election Commission, his campaign had $1.289 million on hand on May 31. At the same time, Democrat Hillary Clinton had $42.461 million in her presidential campaign fund.
But Trump doesn’t trail just Clinton in campaign funding. Here are some other political candidates with more money in their funds than Trump had on May 31:
Local School Council members from more than a quarter of Chicago Public Schools are urging city leaders to come up with local solutions to the district’s budget crisis.
As CPS has stared down a $1 billion budget shortfall, city officials led by CPS chief Forrest Claypool have pushed for increased funding from the state to fill a chunk of the yawning budget gap. But lobbying and demonstrations downstate won’t be enough to prevent cuts at city schools, according to restive LSC members from across the city. More than 500 LSC members from 141 CPS schools signed onto a petition demanding action that doesn’t require approval from Springfield including shortening the school day and year; draining funds from TIF districts; and canceling plans to build a new high school to be named for Barack Obama. […]
The statement did not mention local revenue sources or cuts suggested by the LSC group.
They’re right that the city needs to stop waiting on an ultimate solution from the state.
But cutting the length of school days and shortening the school year just don’t make sense when CPS is making significant progress with its graduation rate. CPS used to have one of the shortest school days and school years of any district in the country (and even much of the developed world).
It’s beyond me why school council members would suggest such a thing, other than they’re shilling for the CTU.
* Brownie responds to Gov. Rauner’s off-handed remark the other day that he’ll run for reelection…
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Rauner’s quiet announcement made it look like the decision was unplanned.
“He blurted it out. It was hardly a well-prepared statement,” Brown said.
When asked which Democratic might face off against Rauner come 2018, Brown said he’s not entirely convinced the current governor would automatically get the GOP nomination.
“After trashing (Donald) Trump, Rauner’s going to have to go up against other Republican candidates in a primary,” Brown said. “And there’s no surety he’ll be the candidate.”
I’d put the likelihood of Rauner losing a 2018 Republican primary at less than one percent, because the likelihood that he’ll even draw a viable GOP opponent is probably almost as low.
I mean, which prominent Trump supporter would make the governor pay for his anti-Trump words come 2018? Heck, is there even a single prominent Trump supporter in this state who could mount a realistic bid? I can’t think of one.
Beyond that, who wants to go up against tens of millions of dollars and a hugely negative oppo machine? Sure, Jim Edgar is making the occasional speech and giving the occasional interview, but that’s a far cry from a full-blown, all-out, big-dollar primary challenge to his party’s sitting governor (which would undoubtedly feature a re-opening of some old wounds, including MSI). Plus, he’s already passed on how many statewide comeback bids?
Until I see a real name, I’ll just repeat the old phrase: You can’t beat somebody with nobody.
* This bill, introduced today, has bipartisan co-sponsorship, including some NRA supporters and a bunch of liberal Chicagoans. Emphasis added…
Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Provides the annual training of police chiefs must include at least one course on the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, and firearms investigations. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. In the definition of “clear and present danger” that the person demonstrates threatening physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior, adds that it includes any act that is intended to cause or create a risk and does cause or create a risk of death or great bodily harm to one or more persons. Permits the Department of State Police to notify the FBI if a person on the Terrorist Watchlist submits an application for a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID card). Requires the Department of State Police to, within 3 business days, provide notice and reason for the disqualification of a person from a firearm purchase or FOID card revocation to all law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction to assist with the seizure of the person’s FOID card. Adds as grounds to deny an application for or to revoke or seize the person’s FOID card that the person is charged with making a terrorist threat or soliciting or providing material support for terrorism under State law or a similar offense of another state or under federal law. Provides if the Department of State Police has not received the FOID card or Firearms Disposition Record from the person, the Department shall send notice of noncompliance to the sheriff and law enforcement agency where the person resides.
It’s obviously not a panacea, but it’s a whole lot more than DC has been able to do so far.
That’s how IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn describes the current state of affairs. IDOT will send notices out to contractors tomorrow. No more destructive work will be allowed starting tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22. If there is no budget authority by June 30 there will be a “complete shutdown.” All engineering will stop. State let local projects will stop. Locally let projects will have to decide if they will continue — their MFT dollars will go through July. There will also be a shutdown of rail, transit, and airport projects. All shutdowns will commence on Thursday, June 30 if the stopgap budget is not passed.
IDOT will award contracts from the June 10 letting if there is a budget. At this point, IDOT does not intend to rebid if there is no budget. IDOT will not advertise the July letting until July 1. If there is no budget, IDOT plans to consult with industry as to whether or not they should even go through with that letting. Lapse spending (from the end of the fiscal year) will be paid.
The Tollway program will be impacted on IDOT jobs such as 290/390 interchange, Cumberland Flyover, and on the Kennedy add-lanes.
An IRTBA official says this information was gleaned from a meeting with IDOT today. He said he was “told I could release immediately…no embargo. Notices going out tomorrow to contractors.”
I’ve asked the Rauner administration for comment.
…Adding… From IDOT…
“We have started to inform our industry partners that all of our projects in both construction and engineering phases will be shutting down starting June 30 due to the majority party in the legislature’s failure to pass a balanced budget. The conversation about how individual projects will wind down is continuing.
“The stopgap proposal is a fiscally responsible solution proposed by the Republican leaders that can be voted on today. There will be no interruption in our projects and programs if the General Assembly returns to Springfield and passes HB 6585/SB 3435.”
…Adding More… Text from a pal who represents the industry…
Blankenhorn is making calls telling people about shut down all projects, 25k jobs gone. He called me & I could tell he was running through his list
* If you go to about the 7:20 mark in this audio, you’ll hear a Springfield reporter (Bruce Rushton) ask Gov. Rauner today why we haven’t seen, “a solid budget proposal out of you for a year and a half.”
The reporter made the mistake of throwing in some stuff about the Turnaround Agenda, so Rauner said he disagreed with much of what the reporter said and focused solely on the “non-budget” angle.
* At the 8:45 mark, the reporter cuts Rauner off and rightly points out: “We’ve heard that before. It’s your issue now. Why have you not produced a budget that is balanced that includes realistic proposals for revenues and cuts? Why not?”
Rauner said he’d like to answer the question “if you would not interrupt.” And then he went right back to his standard lines about how “every reform we’re advocating has bipartisan support. We can’t just raise taxes and think we will solve the problem.”
* And on and on the governor went until the 11:45 mark when the reporter spoke up yet again, saying “We’ve heard this same campaign speech for a year and a half. Why have you not put forth a balanced budget?”
Rauner interrupted the reporter before he could even get his question out. “So… So… OK. Somebody else. Yes.”
And that was the end of that.
* The answer is actually pretty simple. State law prohibits governors from proposing a budget with revenues not yet in statute, so he put forth two budgets with billions of dollars in holes because he doesn’t want to wear the jacket for massive spending cuts. He also didn’t want to follow Pat Quinn’s example by proposing two budgets at the same time, a “non-recommended” budget with huge cuts and a “recommended” budget with new revenues.
It’s a politically understandable predicament. But, of course, he doesn’t want to admit to a lack of courage. And he’s apparently prepared to filibuster to the end of time to avoid answering the question.
…Adding… From a reporter pal…
The guv was redirected from Rushton by Lance, whose voice is not on the audio. Lance called, “Move on! Move on!”
The guv next called on WAND’s Ed Cross, whose question was something like, “Isn’t the Chamber of Commerce a special interest?”
The governor, holding his first public office after years as a private equity investor, said voters are fickle when it comes to the government they want versus the government for which they want to pay.
“Voters want conflicting things. They want a lot of government spending, but they don’t want higher taxes,” he said. “So what do unprincipled politicians do? Give ‘em what they want, stay in office long enough and bail when the crisis hits. Well, that’s what’s happened.”
Hard to disagree with most of that. It’s exactly what has happened at the federal and state levels for decades. Except, in Illinois, some folks don’t ever leave office.
[State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington] added, though, social service agencies waiting for a year on state money might not get all they are owed, even if lawmakers approve a spending plan for the new budget year in July.
“I believe there will be direction to do some backfilling, but I don’t know that there’s going to be money to refill your contracts to the level you would like to have them,” Brady said.
The Chief Operating Officer of Chestnut Health Systems Alan Sender responded by saying its a failure of lawmakers and Governor Rauner.
“You can’t treat businesses like that,” Sender said.
* A new Anzalone Liszt Grove Research poll taken June 9-14 of 601 likely voters found that 60 percent rated Gov. Rauner’s job performance as negative, with “Not so good” at 21 percent and “Poor” at 39 percent. Just 33 percent said he was either doing a “Good” (26 percent) or “Excellent” (7 percent) job.
…Adding… It should be noted that this is not a “traditional” way of asking about approval ratings. But there are different ways of asking the question.
50 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Gov. Rauner, including 35 percent who had a very unfavorable opinion. Just 35 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Rauner, with a mere 11 percent saying they had a very favorable opinion of him.
By contrast, President Obama’s fave/unfave numbers were 63/34.
* The poll also had some bad news for ComEd and Exelon’s energy proposal and for legislators who vote for it as-is. The wording of the polls seems more professional than the one released earlier this month by Exelon, but they are quite negative. Still, as an issue test, they’re interesting. But the sample size for the competitive legislative district over-sample is probably too small to rely on here.
* After all the push questions, they found that 81 percent oppose the Exelon bill’s “demand charge.” No surprise, considering the loaded questions, but that’s actually the same result as before the final question was asked. But check this out…
Which of the following reasons do you think a legislator in Springfield is most likely to support this law?
They think it will benefit average utility customers 13%
They think it will be good for the environment 8%
Total Positive Reason 21%
They think it will be good for big corporations 21%
They took campaign cash from a big utility company 41%
Total Negative Reason 63%
[vol] Don’t know/Refused 17%
Which of the following reasons do you think Bruce Rauner is most likely to support this law?
He thinks it will benefit average utility customers 14%
He thinks it will be good for the environment 6%
Total Positive Reason 19%
He thinks it will be good for big corporations 31%
He took campaign cash from big utility companies 28%
Total Negative Reason 59%
It may take a crisis of epic proportions to resolve the state’s budget impasse, members of a panel discussing the effects of the year-long stalemate said Monday. […]
The situation led Richard Winkel, director of the Office of Public Leadership at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois, to say it may take a high-profile emergency to finally bring attention to the damage being done by the state not having a permanent spending plan in place. That sort of emergency could occur if a budget for K-12 education isn’t approved and schools can’t open this fall, he said. It could be the closure of Chicago State University, or Western Illinois University or Eastern Illinois University announcing they can’t continue operating for another semester.
Or it could be a court ruling that state workers can’t be paid without a budget.
“When that happens, collapse,” Winkel said. “I think people will notice that. It’s going to have to take, unfortunately, a crisis to get us out of this situation.”
* The Question: What specific crisis or crises do you think will have to happen to finally force an end to the impasse? As always, explain your answer.
The State of Illinois has told the Federal Railroad Administration that it is moving forward with the Chicago to Quad-Cities passenger rail project, an official said Tuesday.
The decision may well keep in place $177 million in federal funding that was awarded in 2010 for the connection, but that will be up to the Federal Railroad Administration, which had said the grant would expire June 30. Local officials have been lobbying Gov. Bruce Rauner to ask for an extension.
“The Illinois Department of Transportation has informed the Federal Railroad Administration that it will be proceeding with the proposal to reintroduce passenger rail service between Chicago and Moline. As we move forward, we remain strongly committed to looking out for the best interest of all Illinois taxpayers,” Guy Tridgell, a spokesman for the Illinois DOT wrote in an email Tuesday morning.
The state’s initial match for the grant amounts to $45 million, and in the midst of the budget impasse, the governor’s office only has recently said that the project is under review.
The primary provider of outpatient mental health services in DeWitt County will begin shutting down July 1, a casualty of the state budget impasse, the agency executive director said Monday.
The board of the DeWitt County Human Resource Center (HRC) voted to cease providing services after June 30, Executive Director Lynn Scoville said.
But HRC is working with other Central Illinois health providers to determine whether they can assume responsibility for HRC programs.
“Our goal right now is to make sure our clients are taken care of,” Scoville said. Then she paused to cry. “And to make sure they are taken care of in our community. That’s our goal.” […]
HRC serves about 500 people in DeWitt County. Services include outpatient mental health therapy and counseling, case management to assist clients to live independently, 24/7 crisis intervention for people experiencing a psychiatric emergency, psychiatric services, mental health and substance abuse early intervention and developmental training/day programming for people with developmental disabilities.
Yeah, because what we need right now are a bunch of people who can’t get crisis psychiatric services.
The governor said he remains focused on getting the Democratic leaders back to Springfield to vote on two bills - one for education funding, and another for essential services. It’s the only way, he says, to avoid near-term chaos.
“Speaker Madigan and the supermajority, I believe they wanted to create a crisis. I believe that they’d like to force a tax hike without any reforms,” Rauner said.
“The supermajority is trying to create a crisis, and my sense is, they would like to force a bailout of Chicago Public Schools,” [Gov. Rauner] said. “The other issue is, Speaker Madigan would like to put pressure to force a tax hike at some point without doing any reforms. And creating a crisis now, where government services melt down, where people are yelling and upset, can create the leverage and the push that he has on that side.”
Rauner believes a majority of rank-and-file Democrats agree with what is left of his so-called turnaround agenda. The changes he seeks are not radical. They are not union-busting. They are not out of line with what other states are doing. Democrats support him, privately. But they don’t have the guts to call out their leadership and get behind the Republican governor whom Madigan loves to describe as “extreme.”
Let’s be clear: One side is being extreme. It’s the side that is in power. It’s the side that could call its members back to Springfield to fix this. It’s the side that could cut a deal and send it to the governor’s desk within days. It’s the side that claims to represent the interests of the middle class but is doing so, apparently, from political fundraisers at local country clubs with a shrimp skewer in one hand and a cocktail in the other.
If you don’t like Rauner and you blame him for the state’s mess, well, we’ve got some bad news for you. He’s not going anywhere. He’s in this to fix Illinois.
“It could certainly happen,” Rauner said of Democrats gaining seats this fall. “The speaker’s senior staff told me they think that this could be a Democratic tidal wave year in Illinois and that they’ll pick up three or four seats” from House Republicans.
“The speaker will move from the most powerful politician in this state to the dictator of the state,” the governor said of such a result, adding later, “I feel very bad for the people of Illinois.”
If Madigan picks up seats, Rauner said, “Then they’ll be in a position where there probably ain’t going to be much in the way of reforms and … they’ll be able to jam through whatever it is their particular goal is.”
* So, to sum up…
1) The Democratic supermajority is currently all-powerful and is attempting to create a crisis to bail out Chicago schools and force through a tax hike;
2) According to the governor, a majority of Democrats actually support the governor’s Turnaround Agenda;
3) If the House Democrats pick up seats, well, then they’ll finally “be able to jam through whatever it is their particular goal is.”
…Adding… One more, thanks to a commenter…
1) Madigan is all powerful;
2) Madigan’s members “don’t have the guts” to call him out;
* Centerstone describes itself as “one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of community-based behavioral health care, offering a full range of mental health services, substance abuse treatment and intellectual and developmental disabilities services in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.”
From Centerstone CEO John Markley…
For the last 11 months, Centerstone has, in good faith, offered services we were contracted to provide by the state of Illinois, but because our state officials have not passed a budget, we have not been paid for these services. Today, our state owes Centerstone more than $6 million.
We, along with other organizations, have warned public officials for months that we could not sustain the losses the state of Illinois was imposing on us, but our concerns have been ignored.
With no end to this state contract crisis in sight, the viability of our entire organization is being threatened. So, after careful review of the situation, we are enacting difficult measures to protect Centerstone, our 600 employees across the state and the 16,000 people of all ages who depend on us.
In the coming fiscal year, we will eliminate several state contracts because of the risk involved. These contracts represent vital services in our communities, but we cannot sustain them in such uncertain times. This means, as of June 30, 2016, the following services will close:
· Comprehensive Community Based Youth services (CCBYS) in Franklin, Jackson, Perry and Williamson Counties;
· Crisis Stabilization services at the Centerstone Crisis Center in Williamson County, a service which has saved our state more than $4 million in healthcare costs;
· DMH Juvenile Justice services in Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson and Williamson Counties;
· Homeless Youth services in Franklin, Jackson, Perry and Williamson Counties;
· Psychiatric Medication funds used in Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson, Jersey, Madison, and Williamson Counties;
· Supported Residential services (one group home) in Alton; and
· Teen Pregnancy Prevention services in Franklin County.
Additionally, Halfway House beds in Marion will be reduced.
A total of 700 clients and 39 staff members will be affected by these changes. The loss of our colleagues and services is painful, but our state has offered us little choice.
It is our sincere hope that our Governor and legislature finally do the right thing and act in the best interests of all of their constituents by ending this state budget crisis.
Water will remain on at the Western Illinois Correctional Center after the Mount Sterling City Council voted 6-0 Monday against disconnecting service.
The council meeting was packed with prison supporters who told the council that if water was turned off, it could devastate the local economy because the state could decide to shut down the facility. More than 400 people work for the prison.
The state was about eight months behind in payments.
The city said it is owed $369,350 from the state, though a $55,000 payment for November 2015 arrived Monday.
As I told you yesterday, this was not at all unexpected. No way did they want to be responsible for losing all those jobs.
Another facility that has failed to pay its bills to the city is the Illinois Department of Corrections Pittsfield Work Camp, which owes the city more than $100,000 for nearly a year of utility services. Hayden said the prison utilities would not be shut off because of the hardship it would create.
In Jacksonville, which is home to a minimum-security prison and two state schools, the state owes the city about $350,000 in water bills since August, according to Mayor Andy Ezard.
Of that amount, the state owes a little less than $300,000 for water for the Jacksonville Correctional Center and about $30,000 apiece in water bills for Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.
“At this point, we are not concerned about payment from the state because all of these facilities have been major employers in the city for many years, and we have enough money allocated for our current projects that it’s not an issue,” Ezard said. “We have a good rapport and working relationship with our state facilities, and we certainly understand that it’s not the fault of the state facilities that the bills aren’t getting paid.”
If the Illinois Municipal League helped organize mayors with major state facilities, that could put some pressure on everyone to come to the table. But since the IML was so involved with the governor’s failed local government “right to work” resolutions, I wouldn’t bet on that.
Either they get organized on their own, or they’re gonna continue to be picked off one by one. Expect the latter. Nobody wants to rock the boat.
* More from that fascinating and very insightful Tribune interview of Gov. Bruce Rauner…
But Rauner saved his sharpest school-related criticism for Emanuel, a one-time vacation friend and business associate, for having “caved” to the CTU during the last strike and saying the mayor would do so if the union walked out again.
“It takes someone with a unique background to stand up to the threat of a strike, and win. And win. You’ve got to have the children and the students be able to go somewhere safe and a learning environment, and he’s not willing to do that,” Rauner said.
“So the teachers union gets to dictate terms. This is going on all over Illinois and around America. And if you can’t take a strike and come out the other side and win, the union is the dictator. They dictate the terms,” he said.
He’s only talking here about teachers unions, but one can’t help wonder if he feels the same about AFSCME.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot about this. Rauner also had a message for AFSCME…
The re-election pledge came as Rauner accused the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the state’s largest employees’ union, of trying to wait out his term before working toward a new contract.
“The union wants nothing. They just want to delay. They want to delay (contract talks) for another two-and-a-half years and hope that I’m gone, but I’m going to run again, so, you know,” said Rauner, who is seeking a state labor board ruling stating that contract talks are at an impasse.
“The bipartisan working groups of legislators will meet three times this week, continuing their efforts to achieve a compromise on the state budget. Governor Rauner has been supportive of these groups’ efforts, and I agree with his recent comments that until there is a compromise budget, lawmakers should not be brought back to Springfield.”
“The working groups’ efforts should be allowed to move forward, continue their progress toward compromise, and work to end the budget impasse as soon as possible. ”
“It’s become painfully obvious that Mike Madigan’s declaration that the House will remain ‘in continuous session’ and meet each Wednesday was a lie. Madigan is hiding behind the working groups because he is afraid that rank-and-file Democrats actually want to compromise and work with their Republican colleagues. If Madigan were interested in getting a deal done before the election, he would call legislators back to session immediately. Instead, he has decided that holding school children, government operations and prisons hostage is okay if it means he can force a massive tax increase and a bailout of CPS with no reform. Madigan has driven Illinois into the ground for three decades – it appears he is content to do that for yet another year.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
After learning the House canceled Wednesday’s session, Rauner said lawmakers are shirking their duties.
“They’ll come back if we demand, if we the people of Illinois, demand they come back,” Rauner told an audience in Bloomington Tuesday. “They should be doing their jobs. They should be there today, tomorrow, Thursday working this out.”
Rauner has said the House should be in session more than once a week in June. He has also threatened to call special sessions to force lawmakers to return but has not said anything about that option recently.
Rauner repeated his contention that Democrats don’t want to pass a budget before July 1, which is the start of the new fiscal year. He also said Madigan wants to keep schools in limbo with no budget.
* Gov. Rauner was asked yesterday where he stood on the “non-budget” talks. Kim Geiger at the Tribune fills us in…
Changes to the rules on civil lawsuits, commonly referred to as “tort reform” is “off the table, for now,” Rauner said.
“The biggies,” Rauner said, are changes to workers’ compensation, the property tax freeze with collective bargaining provisions and legislation to alleviate the pension problem. Asked if that would be enough for him to strike a deal with Democrats, Rauner said: “Yeah, sure.”
That Rauner has set his sights on those items is no secret. There are working groups of lawmakers debating those topics now, and he’s focused much of his public comments on the three items in recent weeks. Still, it was the first time we’ve heard Rauner say specifically what would satisfy his general call for “reforms” alongside a budget deal that includes spending cuts and tax hikes.
Rauner’s answer might provide more clarity to casual observers of the budget impasse, but it’s unlikely to motivate Democratic lawmakers, who say they’ve lost trust in the governor because of his shifting rhetoric over the past year. Also, many Democrats are opposed to the workers’ compensation and collective bargaining proposals, which they contend would hurt the middle class.
Subscribers know more about the workers’ comp talks.
* Senate President John Cullerton probably thought that blaming Gov. Rauner for the lack of school funding at a school council meeting in his district would be a crowd-pleasing no-brainer. But, as Stefano Esposito of the Sun-Times reports, the parents at one of the city’s best schools weren’t buying it…
“I believe in my heart that nothing is being done on our behalf,” said Coonley parent Tracy Stein. “And that is so insulting and disingenuous to the people in this room and this community.” […]
“It just feels like there is a lot of finger-pointing at Gov. Rauner, who is a very easy target to point fingers at — his ideas are radical, as far as I’m concerned,” said parent Julie Greenberg. “But you guys have been there when this problem was coming.” […]
When asked what they could do to help Cullerton push his agenda, the Senate leader suggested they publicly sing the praises of Chicago schools. […]
“You’re telling us there is nothing you can do for us except encourage us to cheerlead our schools,” [Coonley school council member Jeff Jenkins] said. “With all due respect, that stinks. We deserve better.”
The crowd of about 60 people clapped loudly.
Oof.
* The Democrats can point to Rauner’s unpopularity and Donald Trump’s coming Illinois political disaster all they want. But it doesn’t change the fact that there’s very real anger out there in VoterLand at everybody in power right now. And the Democrats have a whole lot more incumbents than do the Republicans.
So, keep whistling past the graveyard to your heart’s content. But this may not turn out to be the year you think it’ll be.
As I’ve said before, a budget agreement would get the Democrats out of the way of the Trump/Rauner political trainwreck. But they don’t want to listen, so they could very well be part of that wreck.
* Gov. Rauner sat down for a few interviews yesterday. The Tribune editorial board appears to have had the most detailed of any I’ve seen, but it’s so long and detailed that we’ll have to take it in chunks. Let’s start here…
Rauner, who described himself as a free-market conservative, went so far as to say that Illinois is being damaged by a “collectivist economy,” employing a term generally used to suggest communist or socialist influence.
“We’ve become a collectivist economy in Illinois. It’s crushing us. And no problem is going to get fixed unless we bring more economic freedom into the state. And I believe that very passionately,” the governor said.
“That’s going to kill us in the long run. I’ve got to change that. And the other issues, we can debate, but that one I have to stay very strong on,” he said.
“Economic freedom” is his favorite slogan, by the way. It explains most of what he is as a person and politician.
Along with mayors, many Republican politicians down the ballot in state and federal offices have been avoiding Trump. Republicans in endangered seats, like Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson or Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, have been particularly hesitant to endorse him, and in some cases have outright rebuked him. Struggling with a divisive nominee, The New York Times reported some GOP senators have even received fundraising help from an unusual source: former President George W. Bush.
Former President George W. Bush is lending a hand to vulnerable Republicans in competitive Senate races across the country this summer, CNN reported Friday, but Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk is not among them.
Either Kirk is viewed as not vulnerable or not competitive, no explanation was offered.
Bush has attended fundraisers for Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, and will attend upcoming events for Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, according to The New York Times.
Well, we know he’s vulnerable, so that’s not a good explanation. Maybe it’s as simple as no events are scheduled yet.
But another reason might be that W was (and likely remains) hugely unpopular here. He got clobbered by John Kerry in 2004, while a certain Chicago state legislator launched his national career by running a largely anti-Bush campaign for US Senate.
Bush’s second midterm in 2006 was an unmitigated disaster here, and wound up handing the state Senate Democrats a super-majority. Also, people tend to believe the “polka” footage of George Ryan dancing with Judy Baar Topinka tanked her campaign. But the people I know in the Rod Blagojevich campaign swore that the video they used of her appearing with Bush at a Chicago event did far more damage. Whatever it was, RRB won by ten points. The trend was most definitely his friend.
Dropping previous objections, Friends of the Parks now appears ready to negotiate with the city on a grand bargain that could bring the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to the South Side lakefront. […]
1 “A legally enforceable agreement to protect the lakefront from development (other than park recreation-related uses) for the next 100 years.
2 Unspecified changes in Lucas’ ground lease on the publicly owned site “to conform to that of the other public museums in Chicago.”
3 Development of DuSable Park, near the once-proposed Chicago Spire project just north of where the Chicago River enters Lake Michigan.
4 Creation of a “neighborhood parks fund” that would get 5 percent of museum revenues and be used to pay for capital improvements “in disinvested neighborhoods.”
5 Agreement on a community benefits deal in which “a significant number” of the jobs at the Lucas Museum will go to low-income and minority residents.
6 Conversion of that parking lot which was to turn the original proposed site of the museum into “a green event space” suitable for tailgating by Chicago Bears fans, among other uses.
The Chicago Park District on Sunday accused Friends of the Parks of issuing an “outrageous” list of demands that is “nothing short of extortion” and will likely be the “final nail in the coffin” of efforts to keep movie mogul George Lucas’ museum in Chicago. […]
The demands stunned City Hall for their audacity. The list was leaked to the press and has yet to be shared with either the Park District or Emanuel, who met privately with Irizarry, Board Chairman Lauren Moltz and key board members last month. […]
First and foremost is the demand that Emanuel abandon the Soldier Field site and return to his costly and controversial plan to tear down McCormick Place East.
That plan is clearly going nowhere in Springfield because it relies on $1.2 billion in new borrowing and extending the life of five tourism taxes to replace the lost convention center space. […]
Ruiz branded the demand for 5 percent of Lucas Museum revenue “completely outrageous and totally unrelated” to the “stated opposition” that prompted Friends of the Parks to file a federal lawsuit challenging the mayor’s original site on Soldier Field’s south parking lot.
* The governor flip-flopped last week on his budget proposal, which completely zeroed-out money for ag education programs…
When Governor Bruce Rauner’s advance team met with FFA leadership last week prior to his speech at the 88th annual Illinois FFA Convention, they discussed potential talking points, including eliminating smaller budget line items and raising the general education budget.
Mindy Bunselmeyer, Illinois FFA executive director, told them that would cause a “great deal of concern from the audience” – some 5,000 passionate agricultural education students.
“I didn’t want anything to happen that would be disrespectful of him and of the office,” she recalls.
Within a couple hours, the Governor had arrived and was escorted to the convention floor by FFA members. Bunselmeyer sat in the front row with him and they chatted about the motivational speaker and the talent act. He asked questions about FFA members and programs.
Then he took the stage, talked about his background and made an announcement.
“I listened to you and I told our budget guys, ‘We are going to put more money in our school system and we’re going to restore the special line item for agriculture education here in Illinois,’” Rauner told the convention audience, to rousing cheers.
“I’m all in for your success and it’s a privilege to be here with you all,” he added.
“Rather than invest in our state’s future, Governor Rauner seems hellbent on driving schools to the point of financial ruin – whether it’s CPS, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, or dozens of local school districts around the state. The governor should represent all of Illinois, and equitably fund the needs of every child, regardless of where they live or the color of their skin.
* The Tribune editorialized against a stopgap budget over the weekend…
What’s also ridiculous is that the taxpayers of Illinois, along with the schools, businesses and nonprofits, could get stuck with a temporary budget until after the election. A stopgap budget does nothing to bring desperately needed stability or reform to this state.
Worse, the state could end up with no budget at all. Again.
* The Question: Do you support a stopgap budget, or do you think the governor and legislators should wait until they forge a “grand compromise” and do a full-year budget? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Startups love disrupting old industries. But it can get messy and expensive when old industries fight back.
Opternative, a startup that developed an online eye exam, already has seen laws passed in three states looking to prevent it from doing business; two others created new regulations. The four-year-old Chicago tech company operates in 33 states.
Opternative’s 13th employee was a head of government affairs—brought on before it made a more routine hire like a controller, says CEO and co-founder Aaron Dallek. The company hired its first outside lobbyist last year and now has eight.
“They don’t teach you this in business school. There are very few startups who need to learn this stuff this early on,” says Dallek, 32, who has become familiar with state capitals such as Albany, Tallahassee, Lincoln and Sacramento.
As we’ve seen with Uber, Airbnb and fantasy sports games, professions that have had the playing field all to themselves will fight back hard against these “disruptors.” But, over time, it’s probably a losing battle.
* Uber and Lyft now have 90,000 drivers in Chicago, which would normally make them such a major player in the local economy that nobody would want to mess with them. Not so…
A Chicago City Council committee on June 17 approved regulations for ridesharing that would likely end the service as residents know it – and quite possibly drive Uber and Lyft out of town.
The proposed ordinance requires rideshare drivers, who already undergo company-required background checks, to submit to city-overseen fingerprinting and vehicle inspections and acquire a chauffeur’s license. Uber and Lyft warned aldermen that passing the ordinance would force them to cease operations in Chicago. The full City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance as early as June 22, mere weeks after the ridesharing platforms shut down in Austin, Texas, due to similar restrictions.
Beyond providing millions of safe rides for residents, the services have provided job opportunities for many Chicagoans struggling in a stagnant Chicago economy.
What the city should do is re-think its entire regulatory scheme for everybody. In the age of GPS, for instance, is it really necessary that drivers know all the intricacies of Chicago landmarks? And considering the fact that the Orlando terrorist passed two background checks, do they even work as advertised?…
Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10th) said the fingerprint checks were valid for ride-hailing drivers, just as for cabbies. “If Chicagoans are going to put themselves or their family members in the cars of strangers, they should be able to rest assured in knowing that driver has undergone a background check and that they will be safe as they travel,” she said.
Expect the heat to increase on the city council, now that a committee has forwarded a proposed ordinance.
* Along those lines, Vanity Fair published a glowing interview of Bradley Tusk over the weekend. Tusk was a higher-up in the Blagojevich administration who left for New York as fast as he could and wound up working for Mayor Bloomberg. He now runs “campaigns” for disruptive startups like Uber and FanDuel…
We’re campaign managers. So we do three basic things. We figure out how a business goal is going to be achieved, whether it’s fending off a piece of bad regulation, or selling your product into government, or being able to just write new regulations that will enable your product to exist or get licensed so that you can exist.
We figure out strategy to get from point A to point B. If necessary, we’ll build a team on the ground. That might mean lobbyists, that might mean P.R., it might mean polling, it might mean ads.
And then we run a campaign. During the 2009 mayoral campaign, I would send Mike Bloomberg an e-mail at five A.M. that said, “Here’s who’s endorsing you today. Here’s what we have on the air, and here’s what the polls say.” Whatever information he needed to know. And he then went about his day as mayor. And my view was, “Why can’t you run everything like this?” So every day at seven A.M., every company we work with, every client we have, gets an e-mail from us saying, “Here’s exactly what’s happening on every front, every issue, today.”
Our view is the more you run something like a high-stakes political campaign, the greater your chances of success.
* Related…
* ADDED: Emanuel wants to let precincts opt out of Airbnb
* Rep. John Bradley’s Republican opponent David Severin…
Severin supports Gov. Bruce Rauner’s reform agenda, including term limits for politicians. But Democrats argue making them part of budget talks has caused Illinois’ unprecedented stalemate to drag on. It’s a battle Severin describes as “worth it.”
“If we don’t fight, pretty soon we’re going to have nothing to fight for,” Severin said. […]
Severin remains critical of working groups, which Bradley is part of. Republicans and Democrats have held meetings via video conference in an effort to agree on a short-term budget deal. Severin argues they should be in person instead.
“So if you’re working together that means you’re going to sit down and look at each other face to face across the table, maybe even next to each other,” Severin said.
Severin said, if elected, he’d bring that negotiation style to Springfield.
Illinois is a very big state, and the governor shut down the air shuttle service last year, which doesn’t make it easier to attend face-to-face meetings. Plus, it’s 2016. Video conferencing is pretty widely used tool in business and governing.
I just don’t see that as a big dealio.
* Plus, with stark differences like these, does it really matter if they meet in person or via video?…
Legislative working groups have been trying to reach compromises, and [Sen. Don Harmon] said he participated in “procurement reforms which are largely buttoned up but waiting for whatever agreements have to be reached on other topics.”
But he said compromise comes when “nobody gets everything they wanted,” and he hasn’t seen “any real evidence of that” from the governor.
“I know that the governor likes to point to the things he is no longer pursuing, but he hasn’t compromised on the core issues before us,” including weakening prevailing wage and collective bargaining laws, Harmon said.
“These are just things a Democratic legislature is not going to approve in the form he would like them approved,” Harmon said.
Harmon told me today that while Republican legislators seem to agree that procurement reform is a mostly done deal, “The governor might not think they’re done.”
The House Republican Organization is continuing its cable TV ad buy for another week with a $95,389 purchase of time in several areas where the Rauner-funded GOP is going after House Democrats.
Based on the location of the buys, 3,197 spots appear once again to be aiming at such Democrats as Reps. Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg, Sam Yingling of Grayslake, Kate Cloonen of Kankakee and Andy Skoog of LaSalle. Skoog was appointed to fill the spot of Frank Mautino when he became auditor general.
The ads started Saturday and are to run through Friday. The continued ad barrage comes as Rauner’s Republicans are locked in a yearlong stalemate with Madigan’s Democrats over a state budget and the governor’s economic agenda.
* As we’ve already discussed, St. Sabina’s Fr. Pfleger went way over the top last week with his verbal attacks on Gov. Rauner. Pfleger also questioned why the Dusable Museum would allow Rauner to hold a Juneteenth event there. Yesterday, the governor canceled the event…
“It is unfortunate that special interests politicized what was supposed to be a celebratory event,” a Rauner spokesperson said in an e-mail. “Out of an abundance of caution and respect for the safety of visitors and the museum, we have regretfully cancelled the planned Juneteenth event at the DuSable Museum.”
A representative for DuSable said the museum was not affiliated with the event, claiming the governor merely rented the space for an hour Monday afternoon to host a Juneteenth celebration. The holiday commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery. […]
“Rauner should have never been allowed,” Pfleger told NBC 5 Sunday following the cancellation. “A person whose policies are keeping whole communities in bondage should not be allowed anywhere in the community unless he’s coming to say he’s sorry and sign a budget.”
Additionally, a coalition of 20 community activist groups, including Freedom First International, planned a protest of the event Monday “to send a clear message to the governor that a political narrative was not welcome on Juneteenth at the DuSable nor anywhere else in our community.”
“This is the guy who is crippling our community,” Pfleger said. As part of the state budget impasse, he added, “We’re watching social service organizations close up. We’re watching violence-prevention programs gone. We’re watching the South and the West sides dying. They’ve already been on life support. And under this governor they’re on hospice now.
“And then we’re gonna let him come speak in the pulpit? On Juneteenth weekend at the DuSable Museum?” Pfleger said. “It’s an insult. So I was glad that he canceled.”
June 19, 2016
Governor Bruce Rauner
Office of the Governor
207 State House Springfield, IL 62706
Dear Governor Rauner,
We are mayors who believe that our children’s future should be determined by their hard work and talents – not by their zip codes.
Unfortunately, our current school-funding system penalizes the children from our communities. Many of them come from families in poverty. This is both morally indefensible and a threat to the future of Illinois.
At a time of growing economic inequality in our nation, a strong public education is the great equalizer. It is the best means of providing each child in our state with the chance for a promising, productive future. Yet, for years Illinois has languished near the bottom of the 50 states in financial support for its schools and students. Our school districts must rely on local property taxes for the majority of their funding. The result for many children is that their zip code becomes their destiny. None of us as elected representatives can accept this reality.
We recognize that this school-funding situation is not of your making. It has been in place for decades, affecting generations of Illinoisans. But we cannot allow these terrible inequities to continue. Now is the time, and this is the session, to provide all of our children with the chance for a brighter future – no matter where they live or their family’s economic status.
Many of our school districts across the state have reached a tipping-point. Hard-won academic progress is endangered by a lack of state support and the resulting over-reliance on property taxes. Maintaining the current funding formula for another year will only exacerbate this crisis. Now is the time to put our schools and students on a new course – one that enables students to reach their full potential as individuals and as citizens.
From all corners of our state and from many diverse communities, we have joined together in urging you to address the school-funding inequities that threaten so many Illinois public schools and their students. Your full support for fair and equitable school funding in this session is necessary to offer hope and opportunity to millions of children while helping to secure a more prosperous future for our state.
Sincerely,
Mayor Rahm Emanuel City of Chicago
Mayor Tom Weisner City of Aurora
Mayor Barbara Piltaver Villlage of Schiller Park
Mayor Wayne Motley City of Waukegan
Mayor Jerry Bennett Village of Palos Hills
Mayor Dan McLaughlin Village of Orland Park
Mayor Eugene Williams City of Lynwood
Mayor Charles E. Tokar Village of Chicago Ridge
Mayor John A. Ostenburg Village of Park Forest
President Robert Kolosh Village of Thornton
Mayor Rod Craig Village of Hanover Park
Mayor Don A. De Graff Village of South Holland
President Sam Pulia Village of Westchester
Mayor Domingo F. Vargas Mayor of Blue Island
Mayor Beniamino Mazzulla Village of Stone Park
President Vernard Alsberry Jr. Village of Hazel Crest
President Stephan K. Pickett Village of Sleepy Hollow
The [group allied against the remap proposal] People’s Map has alleged, among other issues, that the [group pushing the remap reform] Independent Map proposal does not meet the narrow window for petition-driven initiatives, which is limited to making “structural and procedural” changes in the legislature.
In its response, the Independent Map group contended that since the court allowed the 1980 Pat Quinn-led effort to reduce the size of the Illinois House by one-third and create single-member House districts, its new redistricting amendment proposal also should be constitutional.
“If changes to the number and size of districts are ‘structural’ changes, then it necessarily follows that changes to the criteria for drawing those very same districts every 10 years would also be structural,” the Independent Map group said.
“Similarly, if a proposal to convert from multiple- to single-member districts addresses a procedural subject … then so too does a proposal to fundamentally alter the process by which redistricting is accomplished every 10 years,” the group said.
ICYMI: “Redistricting reform heads to court as Madigan forces try to block it from ballot”
Double-Talking Democrats Silent on Madigan’s Attack on Voters
“Illinois Democrats have a peculiar habit of saying one thing in their districts and doing another in Springfield. Now, they have turned to silence on Madigan’s effort to prevent fair legislative maps. Democrats cannot credibly claim to support redistricting reform when Mike Madigan, the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, is sponsoring a lawsuit to get the Independent Map Amendment thrown off the November ballot. Until this shameful lawsuit is dropped, Democratic candidates should refuse financial support from the Madigan-controlled Democratic party. Otherwise, it is clear that Democrats who claim to support redistricting reform are simply paying lip-service to get elected.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Reps. Mike Smiddy, Sam Yingling, Michelle Mussman and Kate Cloonen claim to be supporters of redistricting reform, but they have all refused to condemn Mike Madigan’s lawsuit to get the Independent Map amendment thrown off the ballot.
“We’re asking police officers to respond to failed public policy,” [Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th)] said.
The defunding of social services has in many instances turned officers into social workers, he said.
“We’re asking them to provide mental health care and medical care,” Pawar said. “We’re asking them to respond and be reactive to poverty.”
Either equip officers with the skills and tools to deal with more than crime, or elect representatives who prioritize funding social services, he said.
“If people want real change … the people we elect is a reflection of what we believe,” Pawar said.
Since civilization began, demagogues have used division to gain or keep power. It’s one of the ugliest aspects of human nature. And it’s why we collectively cherish historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, who spoke of the “better angels of our nature” and, almost exactly 158 years ago, said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
After George Wallace lost an Alabama election in 1958 because his opponent promised to be tougher than him on black people, Wallace vowed to never let that happen again and went on to become governor and the nation’s leading proponent of segregation.
As Donald Trump proved over and over during the Republican presidential primary, this division stuff works. The presumptive GOP nominee launched his presidential campaign by deriding Mexican immigrants as disease-carrying, violent rapists. He infamously wants to ban all Muslims from traveling here, insisting that allowing them in will result in the demise of America.
Divisiveness is a useful tool because it distracts those who are led from the mistakes or willful wantonness of their leaders. When the populace is angry over declining incomes, blame the immigrants. Worried about crime? Blame the blacks. Declining morality? Blame the gays. People would rather blame anyone other than themselves or their tribal bosses. They eat this stuff up.
But race, national origin and religion are far from the only things politicians use to divide us.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever thought that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration could ever keep state operations running for a year without an actual state budget.
State and federal courts have ordered about 90 percent of state spending since the General Assembly’s Democrats and the Republican governor deadlocked on a budget last year because they couldn’t come to terms on the governor’s pro-business/anti-union Turnaround Agenda. Because of those court orders, employees are getting paid and Medicaid payments are being made, among other things.
When Gov. Rauner put aside his demands for things like workers’ comp reform before he’d do a budget deal, he and legislators were able to agree on releasing funds for local governments and federal programs and they appropriated some money for universities and colleges.
But state government operations have been hammered. If the air conditioning goes out in a state building and it can’t be fixed in-house, too bad. Lack of money for postage and printing costs forced the Secretary of State to suspend sending out reminder notices for license plate renewals. Enormous overdue utility bills have been piling up. The Department of Corrections uses private contractors to provide things like food for prisoners, and none of them have been paid since last year.
Rauner bragged last week to reporters that keeping the state functioning is a result of “an extraordinary performance by the leaders in our team.”
“We’re doing heroic things,” Rauner claimed.
Ever since Rauner asked legislative Democratic leaders for a temporary “stopgap” budget for bureaucratic operations in April, the Democrats have viewed the request as a sign of potential weakness and have so far refused to comply. Rauner has claimed the Democrats are attempting to force a crisis via a state shutdown. The Democrats counter that Rauner, himself, has been trying to create a crisis to leverage passage of his Turnaround Agenda.
So, how is the administration managing to—literally—keep the lights on?
The Rauner administration has a team of people that works on these issues and has developed all sorts of contingency plans. One of the departments they really have to watch all the time is Corrections. Some little state board might go under and almost nobody would notice. But if the state can’t feed prisoners, well, that could be really bad.
The administration has been using a special loan fund to help some prison contractors get through this rough patch. The vendors can sell their debt to a company for most of what they’re owed, which can keep them limping along.
Every now and then, the governor’s office will get calls from mayors of Downstate prison towns, who sometimes seem to have been ginned up by the Democrats. A water shutoff or some such thing is threatened unless the towns receive payment on their overdue bills. The mayors are asked to please be patient while the leaders work on a budget.
If kindness doesn’t work, the mayors are sternly warned that the state won’t be able to operate a prison without water, so prisoners will have to be moved to other facilities. And once they leave, they won’t ever be coming back. Rauner, the mayors are told, believes we have too many people behind bars anyway. And, besides, once the facility is abandoned, the state would have to comply with much stricter building and safety rules if it wanted to reopen the prison. That would cost lots of money that the state simply doesn’t have.
And, of course, if the prison permanently goes away, so will all those local jobs and the facilities’ huge economic impacts. So, a mayor can shut off the water over a past-due bill, but that’ll turn out to be the most costly utility shutoff in the history of that town. So far, it’s worked.
As I write this, Mt. Sterling is facing this very dilemma. The tiny town of less than 2,000 people is owed $300,000 to $400,000 (depending on whom you talk to) for water service to the 2,000 inmates at Western Illinois Correctional Center. They’re desperate for the money, but they also, obviously, don’t want to lose those jobs.
We could be reaching a turning point. The Department of Corrections director predicted in an early June newspaper op-ed that prison vendors will eventually have to pull their services, which could, he warned, “cripple the department in a matter of days.”
The administration will have to get even more “heroic” if that happens.
