“Gimmie Shelter” is a song about fear; it probably serves better than anything written this year as a passageway straight into the next few years. The band builds on the dark beauty of the finest melody Mick and Keith have ever written, slowly adding instruments and sounds until an explosively full presence of bass and drums rides on over the first crest of the song into the howls of Mick and a woman, Mary Clayton.
It’s a full-faced meeting with all the terror the mind can summon, moving fast and never breaking so that men and women have to beat that terror at the game’s own pace. When Mary Clayton sings alone, so loudly and with so much force you think her lungs are bursting, Richard’s frames her with jolting riffs that blaze past her and take it back to Mick. Their answer and their way out matches the power of the threat: “It’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away … it’s just a kiss away, it’s just a kiss away.” The truly fearful omen of the music is that you know just a kiss won’t be enough. This song, caught up in its own momentum, says you need the other too.
I bet I’ve listened to this song ten thousand times, but it still gives me chills…
Caterpillar Inc. says it plans to lay off more than 460 employees this June at its plant in Decatur.
Rachel Potts is a spokeswoman for the Peoria-based company. She said Friday that Caterpillar is laying off the employees as part of an ongoing series of production cuts.
Caterpillar has said those cuts are in response to reduced global demand for mining equipment. The plant in Decatur builds products used in mining.
Cuts in some other locations have been temporary. Potts said the Decatur cuts are permanent.
As if Decatur doesn’t have enough problems already…
Decatur had the state’s highest jobless rate. It spiked from 10.9 percent in February 2012 to 13.7 percent.
It really looks like this state is going backwards.
* As noted below, the governor was quite pleased with himself for raising half a million dollars last month. Well, Lisa Madigan just filed an A-1 today totaling $740,315.
It’s on, campers.
…Adding… For perspective, AG Madigan raised $797,231 in the first six months of 2009.
* These two Chicago concert dates mean I won’t be able to go. Spring session will be in full swing…
The Rolling Stones, who rocked London and New York in 2012, announced that they will kick off their “50 AND COUNTING” Tour in LA and come to Chicago on Tuesday, May 28, and Friday, May 31, 2013. […]
Tickets for The Rolling Stones “50 AND COUNTING” Tour will go on sale on Monday, April 8 at 10:00 AM at the United Center Box Office, Ticketmaster Outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
A bit of advice from Jimmy M.: Maximum cycle characteristics and frequency response at high decibel level have been set according to standards suggested in the GUY STEVENS Producer Manual, chart R-357, in index, page 304. These recommended standards were compiled by the same authority having recently measured audible damage created by supersonic aircraft – if for any reason you do not agree with the standards, turn it up.
And I did. Oh, man, did I ever.
Sure, this is probably just a nostalgia tour, but Mick Taylor is worth the price of admission. Wish I could go.
* The Question: Your favorite Rolling Stones song? Explain.
* Doc Herrin claims that he might not have been the SIU Board of Trustees Chairman this week had an actual vote taken place…
Herrin told The Southern Illinoisan Thursday he didn’t go to Wednesday’s board meeting under the assumption he would be elected chairman. The bylaws of the board of trustees, he added, dictated it was time for the group to decide on a slate of officers.
“We were simply following the bylaws. The bylaws are clear,” Herrin said. “I have no idea who they were going to elect as chairman. I didn’t try to get appointed; I showed up for a meeting.”
The Board shall, at its first regular meeting following the third Monday in each January, elect by roll call vote from its own membership and by a majority vote of those voting members present, a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary, who shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. If only one person is nominated for an office the nominee may be elected by acclamation.
* But the two trustees who walked out of the meeting had been blocked when they tried to elect temporary officers…
Wiley moved to elect only temporary officers to serve for the duration of Wednesday’s meeting, which is allowed under the bylaws of the board.
The rest of the board, which includes Roger Herrin of Harrisburg, Don Lowery of Golconda and Donna Manering of Makanda instead began to call for a vote that would have seated a chairman, vice chairman and secretary for a full year.
That’s when Wiley left, followed by Hamilton. That left the board without a quorum and unable to do business.
To be clear here, Herrin and two other board members wanted to elect a permanent chairman with just three votes. There are supposed to be eight board members.
* And if this isn’t a foreshadowing of what was designed to transpire this week, I don’t know what was…
“I apologize to all of you for what’s about to happen,” warned Trustee Don Lowery as the meeting began.
* Lowery, by the way, was appointed to the SIU board of trustees by Gov. Quinn a couple of years ago. He was a tea party darling when he ran against US Sen. Mark Kirk in the GOP primary…
Most of the crowd’s disdain was aimed at the Obama administration, seen by TEA Party organizers as moving the country toward socialism. Loud applause greeted mention of Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. Shimkus walked out of a presidential address to congress last week. Wilson famously called President Barack Obama a liar during the same speech. […]
Several speakers referred to Wilson, including Don Lowery, a retired Pope County judge running for U.S. Senate.
“Joe Wilson is telling it like it is,” Lowery said.
TEA Party speakers all expressed frustration and anger with the direction of federal government under the Obama administration, saying the administration’s proposals on health care, energy, corporate bailouts, cash-for-clunkers and spending generally are running the country into socialism and bankruptcy.
“The goal of the Obama administration is to gut private industry and create a government that will control every aspect of your life,” Lowery said.
* Meanwhile, Carbondale-area legislators aren’t thrilled with Democratic Sen. Bill Haine’s plan to dump all the trustees and start from scratch…
“My problem with that bill – and I think even (Haine) understands this – it sets a precedent I’m not even sure the legislature wants to go down,” state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville said. “What I mean by that, if you can do that at SIU Carbondale, then any legislator in the future, who is unhappy with what is going on at their university, would have the right to do what they think ought to be done.”
State Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, said he’d have to talk more with Haine before making a decision on it, but expressed some concerns about singling out SIU’s governance with a piece of legislation.
State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said the SIU board’s problem is a result of politics in the system. You don’t solve that, he added, by introducing more politics.
“The reality is it shouldn’t be about the politics…it should be about the betterment for the students and the system as a whole,” Bost said. “We’ve been drawn into a fight that goes way beyond SIU.”
There is a real danger that the more this fight amps up, the more likely it’ll be that the General Assembly will finally accede to the wishes of Metro East legislators and split that university in two. And if that happens, the struggling Carbondale campus will be in deep trouble.
If we had a governor interested in moving this state forward instead of participating in crud like this, maybe we could get a solution to the problem. But Quinn has refused to meet with Metro East legislators about the controversy for months. That’s a real slap in the face. Appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Illinois Senate. He needs to come to terms with that. He’s the top dog, so because he stuck his nose into this it’s all on him, like it or not.
President Obama assessed the beauty of California’s attorney general Kamala Harris, calling her “the best looking attorney general,” during remarks at a fundraiser in Atherton, California.
“You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you’d want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake. She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country — Kamala Harris is here.”
“It’s true! C’mon,” he said as the crowd laughed, according to a report provided by a print reporter at the home of John Goldman, an heir to the Levi-Strauss fortune.
“And she is a great friend and has just been a great supporter for many, many years. She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated,” Obama said at a luncheon fundraiser benefiting the DNC.
AG Harris…
* I asked Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s spokesperson for comment. Unfortunately, AG Madigan is tied up in meetings, so we may not get a response.
Imagine that.
This is one of the better photos I could find of AG Madigan…
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** From Attorney General Lisa Madigan…
“Kamala is terrific. But if you ask me, I’d vote for Jack Conway. But let’s be honest, there’s not a lot of competition—there’s a reason people say elected office is ‘Hollywood for ugly people.’ Have you seen some of my predecessors??!?”
Oddly enough, Daley and Rauner may be the only two establishment candidates [for governor] who know enough about how business does business to actually govern Illinois.
* I told subscribers about this earlier in the week…
With a late-March surge of fund-raising, Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign chest amassed more than $550,000 in the first three months of 2013, narrowing the substantial lead in funds of potential 2014 Democratic gubernatorial challenger Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Quinn, who had just more than $1 million in campaign funds - a relatively scant sum for a mid-term governor - by the end of 2012, received more than $490,000 in contributions on three consecutive days in the last week of March, according to Illinois State Board of Elections data.
“It shows that Gov. Pat Quinn has a lot of support and will continue to have a lot of support as he gears up for re-election,” a Quinn campaign spokesperson said. “The governor will continue to make money as needed.”
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72%) say that in general, government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth. And when it comes to the question of whether the federal government should enforce marijuana laws in states that have approved marijuana use, a majority (60%) says it should not.
There is agreement across partisan and demographic groups that federal government enforcement of marijuana laws is not worth the cost. Fully 78% of independents, 71% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans say government enforcement efforts cost more than they are worth.
Similarly, there is substantial opposition to the federal government enforcing marijuana laws in states that permit the legal use of marijuana: 64% of independents say the federal government should not enforce federal marijuana laws in such states, as do 59% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans.
By 77% to 16%, most say that marijuana does have legitimate medical uses. In an ABC News survey in 1997, a smaller majority (58%) said it had legitimate medical uses, while 34% said it did not.
There are only modest partisan differences in views of the medical uses of marijuana: 82% of independents, 76% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans say it has legitimate medical uses. Age is also a factor in these views, but even among those 65 and older – who oppose legalizing marijuana use by nearly two-to-one – a majority (60%) says that marijuana has legitimate medical uses.
And we don’t have medical marijuana in Illinois… why?
Over the past three decades, there has been a substantial decline in the percentage saying that for most people marijuana leads to the use of hard drugs. Just 38% express that view currently; in a 1977 Gallup survey, 60% said marijuana led to the use of hard drugs. […]
The percentage of Americans who say that smoking marijuana is morally wrong also has declined dramatically since 2006. A survey earlier this year found that 32% of Americans say that smoking marijuana is morally wrong, down 18 points since 2006. Over the same period, the percentage saying it is not a moral issue has increased by 15 points (from 35% to 50%).
The bottom has almost completely fallen out from under prohibition supporters. The public is no longer with them. Now if only our state and federal legislators would start listening we could stop this insane drug war.
* An appendix…
Only medical marijuana is legal:
AZ, DE, DC, HI, MI, MT, NJ, NM, VT
Marijuana is decriminalized:
MN, MS, NE, NY, NC, OH
Medical marijuana is legal and marijuana decriminalized:
AK, CA, CO, CT, ME, MA, MS, NV, OR, RI, WA
Not decriminalized or medical:
AL, AR, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, NH, ND, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI, WY
* Methodology…
Most of the analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted March 13-17, 2013, among a national sample of 1,501 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (750 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 751 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 385 who had no landline telephone). The survey was conducted by Abt SRBI. A combination of landline and cell phone random digit dial samples were used; both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. Respondents in the landline sample were selected by randomly asking for the youngest adult male or female who is now at home. Interviews in the cell sample were conducted with the person who answered the phone, if that person was an adult 18 years of age or older.
[Roger Ebert], 70, who reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, and who was without question the nation’s most prominent and influential film critic, died Thursday in Chicago. He had been in poor health over the past decade, battling cancers of the thyroid and salivary gland.
He lost part of his lower jaw in 2006, and with it the ability to speak or eat, a calamity that would have driven other men from the public eye. But Ebert refused to hide, instead forging what became a new chapter in his career, an extraordinary chronicle of his devastating illness that won him a new generation of admirers. “No point in denying it,” he wrote, analyzing his medical struggles with characteristic courage, candor and wit, a view that was never tinged with bitterness or self-pity.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ebert blogged that he had suffered a recurrence of cancer following a hip fracture suffered in December, and would be taking “a leave of presence.” In the blog essay, marking his 46th anniversary of becoming the Sun-Times film critic, Ebert wrote “I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers hand-picked and greatly admired by me.”
“‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs,” he wrote, at the end of his memoirs. “No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”
* This whole idea that gay marriage ought to be decided via referendum, when Illinois has no binding referendum provisions, is basically just a dodge. Likely gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard is for deciding the issue by referendum, and so is Bruce Rauner. From his appearance on WLS Radio this morning…
Cohn: This has been an important topic that’s being discussed all around the country right now - gay marriage. Where do you stand on gay marriage?
Rauner: Gay marriage is, it’s an important issue. I think it’s best decided by the voters. Frankly either voter referendum or whatever format voters think makes sense. I think the voters should decide that issue.
Cohn: You don’t have a personal feeling about gay marriage?
Rauner: I really don’t. I think it’s best done by the voters. By society should accept it when the time is right for them. […]
I believe the voters should decide on gay marriage. That’s not lacking leadership, that’s saying voters decide. If, for example, the legislature passes gay marriage, I’m not gonna fight to reverse it. If they don’t pass it, I’m not gonna advocate for it. At the right time, the voters will make their views known. I think that’s a good outcome.
Rauner said he wants to focus like a laser on other issues that are important to him…
There are many very important social issues - reproductive rights, abortion, gay marriage, other issues - and the reality is, our state is in dire, dire condition. And if we argue among ourselves on social issues today rather than focusing like a laser on our economy, on the graft in the inefficiency and corruption and waste in springfield and on our education system - which is the future for our children and the Illinois economy - unless we focus like a laser on those three issues, if we allow ourselves to get distracted by other arguments, they’re important arguments, but if we allow ourselves to get distracted, we won’t fix the core problems of the state.
He’s running for governor, not office manager.
Just because a candidate wants to focus on a set of issues and avoid another set doesn’t mean he’ll be allowed to. Eventually, he’s gonna have to answer these questions.
* Meanwhile, yesterday’s post about some of Rauner’s past business dealings prompted an ally of one of his opponents to toss some opposition research over the transom. From that OR report about Rauner’s involvement in Lason, Inc. through his company GTCR…
After Gaining Control Of The Company, GTCR Installed William Rauwerdink As CFO Of Lason. “Ironically, shortly after GTCR’s original investment in Lason in the mid-1990s, the firm installed as CFO William Rauwerdink, who was fresh off of an SEC settlement related to insider trading charges.” (“Watercooler,” Mergers & Acquisitions, 8/1/11)
Rauwerdink Had Settled With The SEC Over Insider Trading Charges Shortly Before Being Hired At Lason. “Ironically, shortly after GTCR’s original investment in Lason in the mid-1990s, the firm installed as CFO William Rauwerdink, who was fresh off of an SEC settlement related to insider trading charges.” (“Watercooler,”Mergers & Acquisitions, 8/1/11)
In 2003, Rauwerdink And Two Other Lason Executives Were Indicted For Conspiring To Commit Fraud And Lying To The Securities And Exchange Commission.
Lason Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy In December of 2001. “Lason Inc., once a high-flying high-tech company, soughtbankruptcy protection Wednesday, after amassing more than $ 360 million in debt in recent years.” (“Troy, Michigan-Based High-Tech Firm Seeks BankruptcyProtection,” Detroit Free Press, 12/6/01)
Lason Had Burned Through $450 Million In Cash, $220 Million In Stock, And Amassed $320 Million In Debt By Purchasing 76 Companies In 4 Years. “The company’s road from rising tech power to bankruptcy illustrates the perils of growing too fast. Risher, who joined the company in November 2000 as chief financial officer, said Lason’s prior management team spent roughly $450 million in cash and $220 million in stock to acquire 76 companies in four years. The buying spree loaded Lason with about $320 million in debt, causing a flurry of troubles over the past several years.”(Cheryl Meyer, “Buying bing, faulty books drove Lason into bankruptcy,” Daily Deal,12/7/01)
Lason’s Disastrous Acquisitions Strategy Began While GTCR Was The Controlling Shareholder. “The company’s historical strength is as a printing company for automakers and companies who needed a company to print paychecks, bills and statements. Lason acquired eight companies before 1996, and Monroe estimates the company has purchased 50 more since.” (Brent Snavely, “Lason’sbuying binge sends company into stock free fall,” Crain’s Detroit Business, 7/3/00)
Rauner Served On Lason’s Board Of Directors For Nearly The Entire Period Of The Company’s Buying Binge.
GTCR Profited From Lason While Shareholders Lost Everything
Ordinary Shareholders Were Wiped Out By The Lason Bankruptcy. “The company will cancel its current stock, now trading under LSONQ over the counter on pink sheets at 3 cents per share, and issue 30 million new shares of common stock with the majority, 26.25 million, going to the remaining creditors. Current shareholderswill get nothing.” (Jeff Bennett, “Judge Approves Rescue Plan for Troy, Mich.-Based Tech Firm Lason,” Detroit Free Press, 5/1/02)
One Shareholder Reported Losing $50,000 He Had Saved For His Daughter’s College Tuition. “David Norman feels a little vindicated today, knowing the men who may have had a hand in making his $50,000 investment disappear have been charged for their involvement in the downfall of Lason Inc. Norman, 41, of Romulus bought shares of the Troy-based company’s stock through his 401(k) plan in 2000. He thought he was getting in on the ground floor, even though the stock was trading at $2 after hitting a high of $64.94 in 1999…As for Norman, he would like the chance to show Monroe and Messinger the red ink splashed across his portfolio. “I have a daughter who is 2 1/2, and I was going to use the money to send her to the University of Michigan, but who knows now if she will be able to go,” he said. “I am afraid to invest anymore because we have been burned. What company is going to do it to us next?”” (Jeff Bennett, “Troy, Mich., High-Tech FirmShareholders Take Solace in Executive Indictments,” Detroit Free Press, 5/16/03)
That could make a good TV ad. More to come, I’m sure.
* And this is from the Rauner campaign…
Bruce Rauner announced the addition of Dick Uihlein, Mike Keiser and Matt Kibbe to his Exploratory Committee.
Dick Uihlein and Mike Keiser are distinguished entrepreneurs and business leaders, and Matt Kibbe is a highly-regarded figure in the conservative movement. Brief biographies of each individual are below.
“Two things Illinois desperately needs are jobs and a fresh approach to government in Springfield. I am extremely excited to add to my exploratory committee respected leaders who know what it takes to create more jobs and shake up state government,” said Bruce Rauner. “All three bring great political and business insight to the committee. I couldn’t be more excited to have their support.”
Uihlein has been a huge backer of Dan Proft in the past. Kibbe is President and CEO of FreedomWorks.
* SJ-R on the income tax increase’s upcoming expiration…
University of Illinois economist J. Fred Giertz said he doubts lawmakers would be willing to forgo the money when the state already is in dire financial trouble.
“I don’t see people willing to do that,” said Giertz. “Even with the tax increase, we have a shortfall. If you add pension costs, they are not going to think seriously about getting rid of the tax increases unless they are willing to make horrendous budget cuts.”
Next year is an election year, including for governor. Giertz said elected officials might consider it easier to extend the rate than to raise rates in the first place.
“Maybe they believe the political cost of not letting them expire won’t be as great as increasing the rates,” said Giertz.
* The Question: Do you believe the General Assembly will pass a bill that is signed into law permanently extending the tax hike? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has released the coincident indexes for the 50 states for February 2013. In the past month, the indexes increased in 45 states, decreased in three (Alabama, Illinois, and New Mexico), and remained stable in two (Hawaii and Wyoming), for a one-month diffusion index of 84. Over the past three months, the indexes increased in 46 states, decreased in two (Illinois and Wyoming), and remained stable in two (Alaska and Alabama)
The coincident indexes combine four state-level indicators to summarize current economic conditions in a single statistic. The four state-level variables in each coincident index are nonfarm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and wage and salary disbursements deflated by the consumer price index (U.S. city average). The trend for each state’s index is set to the trend of its gross domestic product (GDP), so long-term growth in the state’s index matches long-term growth in its GDP.
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s brother doesn’t think the foes of Chicago school closings have a chance…
“Give in now. Give in now. Rahm will win. Rahm always does win,” Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel told The Huffington Post, when asked what advice he’d give the teachers union.
Emanuel said his brother’s policies are intended to decrease neighborhood crime and improve how the city educates its students. He offered little hope to those who want to fight the mayor’s administration.
“Like I said, you’re not going to beat him. … You can bang your head against the wall, but he’s pretty tough,” Zeke Emanuel said.
I really think this Emanuel family hubris is gonna backfire one day.
* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn is not all that ecstatic with the school closings and wants an elected school board…
Governor Pat Quinn offered a serious admonition to Chicago Public Schools leadership about closing 50-some elementary schools when he stopped by for a special edition of Chicago Newsroom on Friday.
“That has to be done with extreme care,” he warned. “I would recommend to the school board of Chicago to take this in a very careful manner and not to do anything that’s hasty or ill-conceived. To try and do it all in a very short period of time I think is dangerous.”
But he went further, saying he also feels that very board should be replaced by an elected body.
“Ninety five percent of the school boards in America are elected by the people,” he told us — in direct disagreement with Mayor Emanuel — “And I think the Chicago Board of Education which for years has been appointed, it would serve us well to have an elected school board… Don’t you think that if we had an elected school board in Chicago, where I live, that more of the issues of education would be debated by folks who are elected by their fellow citizens? I think that’s a healthy process.”
An effort to elect officers on the Southern Illinois University’s governing board short-circuited when two members walked out of the panel’s meeting.
Trustee Marquita Wiley and SIU-Edwardsville student trustee David Hamilton left just before the board’s expected vote Wiley had sought to delay. The vote didn’t happen because the board didn’t have a quorum after Wiley and Hamilton left the meeting.
Wiley says the vote shouldn’t take place until Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Senate sign off on three new members to replace a trio whose term has expired. The Senate recently rejected three of Quinn’s appointments to the panel.
Tensions on the university board have been high since trustees voted last year to remove Herrin as chairman of the group, a post several trustees and Poshard say he obtained at the request of Gov. Quinn upon being appointed to the board in 2011.
Things boiled over in February, when Quinn removed the three Metro East trustees and sought to replace them with three other individuals. Metro East lawmakers led an effort in the state senate to reject those appointments. Senators regarded Quinn’s removal of Simmons, Hightower and Hinrichs as retaliation for voting Herrin out as chairman, as well as a maneuver to put the Harrisburg resident back in the chairman’s seat.
* This thwarted move by Quinn’s allies was obviously intended to elect Herrin as chairman. Sen. Bill Haine, who is about the most chill legislator I’ve ever met, went fully ballistic after the meeting adjourned…
State Sen. Bill Haine said Wednesday he will file legislation to have all of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees removed from office after a board member tried to have himself appointed chairman. […]
“I find it to be disturbing, and I find it to be an insult to the Senate, and to SIU itself, that [Herrin] would attempt, with a rump board, to ensconce himself as chair of the board, rather than wait for the constitutional process to work through, and the negotiations between the metro-east legislators and the governor’s office to conclude,” said Haine, D-Alton. […]
He added, “I’m going to pursue a bill which eliminates all of the trustees, and gives the governor another shot at a clean slate, to appoint an entirely new board.” […]
Poshard said the metro-east legislators have been pleading to meet with Quinn since November and it has not happened yet. “Maybe Bill’s got the right idea here,” he said. “That’s probably what it’s going to take.”
* Rick Pearson at the Tribune rightly points to a very real problem with passing the gay marriage bill: African-American House members…
With the measure a dozen votes or less shy of the 60 required for final approval, advocates on either side of the issue consider the 20 black House members key swing votes in the spring session.
The traditionally liberal black caucus, however, has not uniformly lined up in favor of gay marriage, even as home-state President Barack Obama switched course and backed it. Only one of the 14 House co-sponsors is black.
Some African-American lawmakers are uncomfortable with characterizations of gay rights as the latest front in the civil rights movement.
Others fear political repercussions, saying ministers opposed to same-sex marriage have warned legislators who vote for it to never come back to their churches, where politicians traditionally campaign on the final Sundays before an election.
“To be honest with you, it’s a little disheartening,” said Democratic Rep. Will Davis of Homewood, a black caucus member who has not made up his mind as he works out whether gay marriage is a moral or public policy issue.
“There are so many large-scale issues important to the black community, but you’ve never heard from them,” Davis said of the churches opposed to gay marriage. “This doesn’t create jobs. It doesn’t create opportunities and, for the most part, they are silent on helping African-Americans getting job opportunities in this state. They are silent on the increasing prison population.”
* And on that same note, we have two competing press releases…
AFRICAN AMERICAN CLERGY COALITION TO MEET WITH CARDINAL FRANCIS GEORGE TO DISCUSS LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS AGAINST PENDING REDEFINITION OF MARRIAGE BILL
BISHOP TROTTER, PASTOR MEEKS AND BISHOP DAVIS TO LEAD OTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN DENOMINATIONAL LEADERS INTO MEETING WITH CARDINAL GEORGE
Friday, April 5th, 2013@ 11:30 AM (Press Conference)
Archdiocese’s Archbishop Quigley Center, 835 N. Rush St., Chicago, Illinois
Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago in his role as chairman of the Catholic Conference of Illinois and members of the newly formed African-American Clergy Coalition (AACC) will join to express opposition to redefinition of marriage legislation at a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 5, at the Archdiocese’s Archbishop Quigley Center, 835 N. Rush St.
Senate Bill 10, which changes the state’s legal definition of marriage from “between a man and a woman” to “between two persons,” has passed the Illinois Senate and is under consideration by the Illinois House. The House returns to session on Monday after a two-week spring break, while the Senate returns on Wednesday.
Cardinal George earlier this year issued a letter to parishioners on redefinition of marriage efforts, and also sent a letter with other faith leaders representing more than 1,700 faith communities to every Illinois lawmaker, urging a “no” vote on any redefinition of marriage legislation.
The African-American Clergy Coalition formed last month and announced a public relations/lobbying effort against redefinition of marriage that includes radio ads, a website, field operations and robo-calls. The Catholic Conference of Illinois supports AACC’s efforts. (africanamericanclergycoalition.org)
The following clergy are confirmed to be joining Cardinal George (in alphabetical order):
Bishop John Bryant, Presiding Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)
Pastor Byron Brazier, Senior Pastor of the Apostolic Church of Christ
Bishop Lance Davis, Senior Pastor of the New Zion Christian Fellowship Church of Dolton
Pastor Kenneth Giles, Senior Pastor of the Greater New Mount Olive Baptist Church
Pastor James Meeks, Senior Pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago
Bishop Horace Smith, Presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
Pastor Steven Thurston, President of the National Baptist Convention USA
Bishop Larry Trotter, Presiding prelate of the New Century Fellowship International
* And…
African-American Clergy Urge Immediate Passage of Marriage Equality Legislation in Illinois Pastors, Faith Leaders Call on General Assembly to Act Now in Approving the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act
Who: Prominent African-American Clergy and Faith Leaders
What: Faith leaders call on Illinois General Assembly to grant equal protection to all Illinoisans and their families.
Where: Screening Room II – 3rd Floor
Allegro Hotel
171 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
Conservative Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) — who was a chief critic of Illinois Republican Party Chair Pat Brady’s embrace of gay marriage — had a different take on U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s surprise backing of same sex marriage on Tuesday.
Oberweis said there’s enough room in the Republican tent to embrace differing beliefs.
Oberweis, who raised objections to Brady, said that was not due to the underlying issue, but because Brady on his own took a position against the party platform.
As for Kirk’s future in the party, Oberweis’ response: “Mark Kirk is a smart guy. I assume he made some political calculation that this was OK or would help him. I have no idea, I didn’t talk to him,” Oberweis said. “Mark is usually pretty careful, and pretty political. I assume that he made a calculation that he believes it helps him not hurts him.”
Following an Illinois tradition that resembles a Stalin-esque concentration of power, the incumbent political party of North Riverside kicked the Transparency & Accountability in Politics Party off the ballot — because the ampersand allegedly made its name too long to be there legally. […]
While laws limiting ballot access are necessary to weed out genuinely ineligible candidates, election panels and court precedent have transformed those laws into a labyrinth so favorable to insiders, so undemocratic, that Josef Stalin himself would blush with pride.
* Oh, please. Stalin would’ve scoffed at such silly notions as “ballot access.” He was a real live and awfully brutal dictator, not some powerful Illinois politician that a newspaper doesn’t like. Stalin would have had the offenders murdered, or if he was in a good mood, sent to concentration camps…
After the Soviet Union dissolved, evidence from the Soviet archives also became available, containing official records of 799,455 executions 1921-53,[112] around 1.7 million deaths in the Gulags and some 390,000 deaths during kulak forced resettlement – with a total of about 3 million officially recorded victims in these categories.
Stalin didn’t rely on electoral technicalities in Poland, either…
The parties at Yalta further agreed that the countries of liberated Europe and former Axis satellites would be allowed to “create democratic institutions of their own choice”, pursuant to “the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live.” The parties also agreed to help those countries form interim governments “pledged to the earliest possible establishment through free elections” and “facilitate where necessary the holding of such elections.” After the re-organization of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland, the parties agreed that the new party shall “be pledged to the holding of free and unfettered elections as soon as possible on the basis of universal suffrage and secret ballot.”One month after Yalta, the Soviet NKVD arrested 16 Polish leaders wishing to participate in provisional government negotiations, for alleged “crimes” and “diversions”, which drew protest from the West. The fraudulent Polish elections, held in January 1947 resulted in Poland’s official transformation to undemocratic communist state by 1949.
So, yeah, our election laws are goofy in Illinois. I don’t dispute that. But Stalin wouldn’t have been proud of us, he would have thought us weak and not sufficiently blood-thirsty. And to say otherwise is amazingly stupid.
* Sometimes, comments here can be quite interesting. For example, this comment about possible Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner was posted yesterday…
SEIU had something called GTCR watch.org but it is no longer online. Anyone know what they found?
I looked up the site on the Wayback Machine, but nothing came up. I used “.org,” “.com” and “.net.” However, I did find this press release via the Google…
A leading private equity firm with a history of investing in companies with poor corporate governance is being taken to task by SEIU of an indictment for fraud at one of its portfolio companies.
The latest edition of GTCR Watch, a newsletter for investors, details the fraud indictment at Lason, Inc., a document printing, imaging, and storage firm incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Troy, Michigan.
An indictment for fraud brought in May 2003 by a federal grand jury in Michigan, and civil fraud charges filed on the same day by the SEC, allege that this rapid growth allowed Lason’s executives to fraudulently inflate the firm’s reported revenue, expenses, and earnings from 1997 onward.
The indictment alleges that fraudulent managerial behavior occurred at Lason while GTCR principles Bruce Rauner and Joseph Nolan served on its board and on key board committees, costing shareholders over $900 million in lost equity.
“Any institution contemplating an investment in a GTCR fund should consider the performance of GTCR’s principals as public company directors before undertaking such a commitment,” said Steve Abrecht, Director of the SEIU Capital Stewardship Program.
The report has been posted on a website, www.GTCRWatch.com, which provides investors with detailed information about the corporate governance practices of GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC’s companies.
* The company’s CFO ultimately pled guilty and was sentenced to prison…
William J. Rauwerdink, the former CFO of Lason, Inc., was sentenced to 3 years and nine months in prison for his role in the company’s accounting fraud nearly 10 years ago, according to the U.S. attorney’s office
Rauwerdink pleaded guilty last November to conspiring to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud and making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and to filing a false and fraudulent quarterly report with the SEC — offenses which date back to early 1998 through late 1999. It was also not the first time Rauwerdink had run afoul of federal regulators — as CFO of Medstat Group, he agreed in December 1995 to settle charges of insider trading in Medstat stock and was permanently enjoined by a federal district judge from committing securities fraud. […]
“Rauwerdink was deeply involved in this accounting fraud,” said a press release from Stephen J. Murphy, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Rauwerdink, Murphy said, met with other Lason executives “to ensure that Lason’s reported earnings per share met or exceeded the estimates of stock analysts.”
According to the announcement, Lason reported its inflated earnings per share figures every quarter through press releases drafted by Rauwerdink, conference calls in which he participated, and quarterly and annual filings with the SEC that he signed.
I’m attempting to get the files from that now-defunct website. Stay tuned.
They actually “connect” Rauner to Ayers via the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which is without a doubt the most pro-corporate group in all of Chicago.
Curiously, Kirk, the top Republican in the state, did not use the occasion to explicitly call on the Illinois House to pass a pending gay marriage bill the state Senate already approved.
“I think from what I’ve seen in my talks with Chris Radogno, it would appear that it’s coming soon,” he said in the radio interview. “I do prefer states doing this. I would hope we would restrain our appetite for power in Washington and not take over marriage law for the whole country.”
I’ve said before that Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady’s support of gay marriage might have more to do with distracting from the few actual GOP votes for the bill than convincing Republicans to vote for it. Just one Senate Republican voted for gay marriage, yet Radogno is predicting ultimate passage. Just one House Republican has announced his support for the bill so far, but there appear to be a small handful of others waiting in the wings.
What Brady’s and Judy Baar Topinka’s - and now Kirk’s - endorsements do is attach high profile faces to a proposal that enjoys broad support, particularly among the young. Yes, it could give cover to some Republicans and let them vote for the bill, but the vast majority of votes for this thing will be Democrats.
Don’t get me wrong. This is a smart play by the GOP. They can have their cake and eat it too, as long as the bill becomes law.
* Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking lately that the “Lincoln” movie was somewhat of an allegory about the modern-day legislative push for gay rights. Sen. Kirk apparently saw the same message…
“I must say I was pretty influenced by the latest movie by Steven Spielberg about Abraham Lincoln. You just think as a Republican leader, my job is to make sure that each generation is more free and has more dignity as an individual which is a unique gift of the United states to the world. The thought of treating a whole bunch of people just because of who they love differently is in my view against that Lincoln tradition, which was brought so well to life by the movie,” Kirk said, according to audio of the interview IRN provided to the Sun-Times.
“I thought the country was ready for it,” Kirk said. “The gay community is larger than it ever has been before. And it’s not in the 1950s closet, so most of of us have gay acquaintances at work or at church and we know them. And the thought of discriminating against our own friends and coworkers is an anathema to me.”
Kirk and U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady can hide behind the utterly false rhetoric of equality and compassion and thus conceal from America and perhaps themselves their complicity in the destruction of this once great nation.
And what will this mean for America? Diminished religious liberty, diminished speech rights, diminished parental rights, increasing numbers of children denied their inherent right to know and be raised by their biological mother and father, and the ultimate destruction of marriage.
Wait a second. IFA is definitely a strongly pro-life group, and yet they’re bemoaning adoption? What the heck? I thought they were proponents of adoption? I mean, this is from their website…
(T)he truth is that conservative Christians lead the way in worldwide humanitarian relief efforts, they continue to build hospitals and orphanages and schools in many nations, they are active in drug and alcohol rehab programs in the inner cities of America, and they are at the forefront of the pro-life, pro-adoption movement. [Emphasis added.]
Dissing adoption just doesn’t make sense from the pro-life crowd. Seriously, if you totally believe that abortion is murder, then why quibble with who adopts those children and saves their lives as long as they’re law-abiding, loving parents?
* Related…
* Harris: ‘We’ll have marriage equality in Illinois by summer’
Some people apparently believe in magical fairies. You can’t just wish away the desire of investors to make money. Illinois has one of the strongest bond payment guarantee laws in the entire country. Smart bond buyers know they’re gonna get paid. And since Illinois’ fiscal troubles have driven up the state’s interest rates, savvy investors want to make some money.
Hoping for total chaos is not a plan. And it’s really, really wrong-headed.
Buyers awaiting progress on plans to overhaul the worst- funded state pension system demanded about 1.33 percentage points of extra yield above benchmark munis for 10-year tax- exempt debt that Illinois sold yesterday. That’s almost triple what California had to pay last month.
To raise public awareness of the pension burden, Democratic Governor Pat Quinn released a video in November showing a cartoon of “Squeezy the Pension Python” threatening to strangle the capitol building in Springfield.
To raise public awareness of the pension burden, Democratic Governor Pat Quinn released a video in November showing a cartoon of “Squeezy the Pension Python” threatening to strangle the capitol building in Springfield. Source: AP/Courtesy of Gov. Pat Quinn’s office
In sales about a year ago, the Illinois yield penalty was only double that of the most-populous state. Since then, Standard & Poor’s has cut Illinois twice, to A-, six steps below AAA, as legislators failed to advance a pension fix. Meanwhile, the company raised California’s credit for the first time since 2006, to A, one level higher, after Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, proposed a budget for the year beginning July 1 that would leave the state with its first surplus in almost a decade.
“It’s a different credit situation — California has definitely made some difficult steps,” said Robert Miller, who helps oversee $32 billion of munis in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, at Wells Capital Management. He said the company didn’t buy the Illinois offer because the spreads were too narrow. “Illinois at this point is more of the status quo.”
California’s governor is now predicting a surplus. He’s cut and cut and cut again and raised taxes. He’s also been lauded for pension reforms, but those reforms are only for new hires. Illinois did that in 2010.
Here’s a haunting statistic that we cannot repeat too often: Of all the school districts in the U.S., Chicago Public Schools has one of the longest waiting lists for admission to a charter school. There are 19,000 students on the list this year.
There’s just one problem with that number: it’s not accurate. It significantly overstates demand.
A WBEZ analysis found the 19,000 figure counts applications, not students, meaning if a student applies to four schools, he or she is counted four times. It includes kids who have turned down charter seats and are now enrolled in other schools.
Perhaps the most startling finding is that a significant chunk–about 3,000–are high school dropouts applying for alternative schools. What’s more, saying that 19,000 students are on waiting lists to get into charter schools ignores another figure: there are between 3,000 and 5,000 available seats in charter schools right now, according to charter advocates.
The waiting list number comes from a biennial report compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education in 2012. The figure is roughly calculated from a chart in that ISBE report that compares numbers for how many applications a charter school received with to the number of available seats. The numbers are from 2010-11, the most recent available.
But 19,000 applications is not the same as 19,000 students. [Emphasis added.]
Last year, state lawmakers were forced to slash those services to save money. They limited prescription drugs coverage. They curbed or eliminated some surgeries, dental and podiatric treatments and mental health services. There was real pain for people who belonged on Medicaid in part because of … those who didn’t. Every dollar Illinois spends on an ineligible recipient is a dollar not available to care for low-income people who rely on this program to keep them healthy.
The pain is not over. Those Medicaid budget cuts are still a work in progress. Hamos says the state will fall $464 million short of the promised $1.6 billion.
I, too, cited Hamos’ $464 million last month and then received this e-mail from state Sen. Heather Steans, an approp committee chairperson…
I just wanted to let you know that while savings are behind in SMART Act, the FY12 Medicaid liability came in $395 million under estimates, which makes up much of the difference.
The Bruce Rauner Exploratory Committee announced today that it raised $1.3 million since its inception on March 5 and carried forward more than $1.2 million into the second quarter. The fundraising figures include a $249,000 contribution from Bruce Rauner.
The fundraising haul comes amidst a statewide Listening Tour that has already included 20 stops. Bruce has visited with voters in Cumberland, Coles, DuPage, Effingham, Mason, McDonough, Richland, Shelby, Tazewell, and Washington counties, and Elmhurst, South Holland and Winnetka.
“The folks I’m meeting as I travel the state understand Illinois needs a political outsider willing to take on the failed status quo in Springfield, and I’m excited by their response to my exploratory committee,” said Bruce Rauner. “The amount of support we’ve received in less than a month exceeds expectations and underscores the fact that Illinoisans are looking for someone to bring a fresh perspective to solving the challenges facing our state.”
Bruce’s next stops on the Listening Tour this week include Rockford, Rosemont, and Monroe County.
“The more time I spend discussing both the hopes and the concerns of people who want to see a better Illinois, the more convinced I am that our state’s future is bright,” Rauner said. “The fact is Illinois’ greatest resource is her people. Unfortunately, they have been let down time and again by the politicians in Springfield. It’s time for an outsider.”
That $249,000 contribution from Rauner means he is just $1,000 under the self-funding law. Another grand in the calendar year and all contribution caps are off for all gubernatorial candidates.
* In other Rauner-related news, the possible GOP candidate is running a Facebook ad of a choked chicken. I kid you not…
Do your very best to keep it clean in comments, please. Seriously. Let’s not demean ourselves just because his ad is goofy. Go ahead and snicker first, make the joke in your own head, then proceed to comment in a very clean fashion. Thanks.
* National AFSCME President Lee Saunders lit into Gov. Pat Quinn again and promised retaliation…
He also chastised Democratic officeholders, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who have sought concessions by public workers such as pay cuts, higher health insurance premiums and lower pensions.
“It really does annoy me when we support candidates and after that election is over with, they have amnesia and they forget how they got there and who supported them, and they want to take us on rather than work with us to resolve problems,” Saunders said. “And when politicians do that, I think there should be a price to pay, and I think we need to be more aggressive in our approach in holding politicians accountable.”
He said a contract agreement was reached recently with the state of Illinois only after workers “put heat on the governor,” including staging protests at his public appearances.
So, was that a good contract or a bad contract? If it was a good contract, then that kinda undercuts his argument, no?
* Meanwhile, I didn’t see much new in this Sun-Times story about Lisa Madigan. Pat Brady and Don Rose obviously disagree about her candidacy…
“Honest to God, it is incomprehensible to me that you would have a speaker who is as powerful as he is and then have his daughter as governor,” said state Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady.
“It will be a big issue, it will be a national story, if that comes to pass. I cannot imagine the major donor community having the stomach for it. … What happened to checks and balances? On so many levels it is not good for the state — I believe. I think that’s a big, big issue that she’s going to have to address early.”
Rose said while the issue is a real one, he doubts it would gain enough traction to hurt Lisa Madigan’s run.
“The question would come up: Is this putting too much power into one family? It’ll affect the election, marginally, I think,” Rose said. “It’s not enough to defeat her by any means. It would probably be the only issue against her. Stacked up against the power of Mike’s organization and her own popularity, it would be a real issue, but it wouldn’t drag her down.”
“Have his daughter as governor,” is, to me anyway, borderline sexist. Brady is really gonna have to watch his mouth next year if she runs. Brady was full-on sexist about LMadigan in 2012, but almost nobody took notice because Brady couldn’t find a real opponent for the AG. That won’t be the case if Lisa runs for governor, however.
* And Bill Daley is apparently peeved that Lisa Madigan has been getting all the attention lately, so he penned an op-ed for the Tribune last week. But he said almost nothing new…
Like a lot of people across Illinois, I look at our state government and I am amazed at how dysfunctional it continues to be, year after year — same old political fights, same old bickering, nothing gets done.
Under the proposed four-year pilot program, Illinois patients would be prohibited from growing their own marijuana and would be limited in the amount of marijuana they could receive. Qualified patients would have to receive certification from their own physician with whom they have a “bona fide” physician-patient relationship. The physician must attest that the patient is suffering from a specified illness or condition, defined in the legislation, and would receive therapeutic benefit with treatment. The patient’s medical history would be turned over to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which would issue the patient an ID card, only if it verifies the information. All patients and caregivers would have to submit to background checks and convicted felons would be prohibited from obtaining an ID card.
The ID card would allow the patient, or licensed caregiver, to purchase a limited amount per month from one of up to 60 state-licensed dispensaries, or medical cannabis outlets, dispersed throughout the state. It would also: limit a dispensary’s location to certain industrial and commercial zones; prohibit them near schools, playgrounds, parks, libraries, churches, and other dispensaries; regulate hours and security, equipping them with 24/7 surveillance cameras; and prohibit on-site medical consultations. The state would track sales to monitor who’s buying medical marijuana and how much and oversee how much marijuana physicians recommend to their patients.
Up to 22 competing state-licensed cultivation centers operating separately from the dispensaries would grow marijuana and distribute an affordable product to the dispensaries. These secure facilities would be monitored with 24/7 cameras and grow only a specific number of strains to ensure patient safety and quality that law enforcement could easily track and determine if it was prescribed for medical use. The state would require the cultivation centers to employ state-of-the-art testing methods to produce controlled quality-controlled marijuana and cultivated to most effectively treat specific illnesses. All products would be tested and labeled accordingly, listing the active ingredients and their amounts to ensure safe dosage.
* This is definitely not a California type law, which is very nearly de facto recreational use. The sorts of illnesses that medical marijuana can be prescribed to treat are very limited. The complete list…
(1) cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia/wasting syndrome, muscular dystrophy, severe fibromyalgia, spinal cord disease, including but not limited to arachnoiditis, Tarlov cysts, hydromyelia, syringomyelia, Rheumatoid arthritis, fibrous dysplasia, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Arnold-Chiari malformation and Syringomyelia, Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), Parkinson’s, Tourette’s, Myoclonus, Dystonia, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, RSD (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type I), Causalgia, CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type II), Neurofibromatosis, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, Lupus, Interstitial Cystitis, Myasthenia Gravis, Hydrocephalus, nail-patella syndrome, or the treatment of these conditions; or (2) any other debilitating medical condition or its treatment that is added by the Department of Public Health by rule as provided in Section 45.
Some might say that the bill is just too restrictive. I wouldn’t argue. But, as Democratic as Illinois is, it ain’t totally liberal. Baby steps are in order.
Whatever the case, absolutely nobody can truthfully say that Illinois will be another California or Colorado if this bill becomes a law. You won’t be able to just pop by some 420 friendly doc and tell him that you’re depressed and immediately get a quickie weed script. Not gonna happen.
A second Republican senator has announced his support for gay marriage, with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) joining Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
Kirk, who recently returned to the Senate after suffering a significant stroke, suggested in a statement that his near-death experience has changed his perspective.
When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others.
Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back– government has no place in the middle.
*** UPDATE *** Despite all the hoopla during the past few months, Illinois got a pretty good price. From a press release…
The winning bid for the $450 million Series 2013 A tax-exempt bonds went to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a bid of 3.92%. This bid is 68-to-145 basis points over the corresponding AAA-rated municipal index. This rate matches the 20-year-low rate of 3.92% that Illinois received on a $525 million in tax-exempt bonds in its last competitive sale January 11, 2012.
The winning bid for the $350 million Series 2013 B taxable bonds also went to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a bid of 4.97%. This bid is 97-to-245 basis points over the corresponding U.S. Treasury rates. This is better than the 5.29% rate the Illinois received on its last offering of $275 million of taxable bonds, also on January 11, 2012.
Nine banks submitted bids on each offering Tuesday.
“While we are gratified by the attractive low all-in costs, the state continues to pay a significant penalty for its failure to address the shortfall in its pensions,” Illinois Director of Capital Markets John Sinsheimer said.
“Gov. Quinn has warned the General Assembly on many occasions that investors have told us we need to rein in our pension costs and that until we do, they would command a higher price for Illinois’ bonds,” Sinsheimer said. “Today’s rate is a direct result of the General Assembly’s failure so far to pass a pension reform bill. The good news is that members of the general assembly appear to be moving in that direction, passing several promising component bills in March.
“These bonds will help fund critical capital projects — roads, rails and schools — that might otherwise have to shut down. It will keep Illinoisans employed,” he said.
The state was advised by Public Resources Advisory Group with Mayer Brown and Burke, Burns and Pinelli as co-bond counsel.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* After a months-long delay, Illinois is about to sell a bunch of bonds…
With nearly $500 million in spring transportation projects planned, Illinois will sell $800 million of debt Tuesday with the hope that buyer demands for steeper interest rate penalties have softened after a two-month delay in the state’s first bond offering of the year.
The state will sell the general obligation bonds competitively through PARITY. Mayer Brown LLP and Burke Burns & Pinelli Ltd. are bond counsel and Public Resources Advisory Group is advising. Ahead of the sale, rating agencies affirmed the state’s ratings. The deal offers $450 million of tax-exempt paper and $350 million of taxable securities.
Proceeds will finance capital development, school building, and transportation projects included in the state’s ongoing $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now program. Gov. Pat Quinn announced $486 million in road and bridge projects last week. Capital fund coffers are running low. “Illinois has a world-class transportation system and we are making it even stronger by carrying out one of the largest spring construction programs ever,” Quinn said.
The deal comes after a series of downgrades due to the state’s massive unfunded pension obligations and bill backlog of up to $9 billion.
Buyers demand 1.3 percentage points of extra yield on 10-year debt from Illinois and its localities, close to the smallest since February 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
That spread will be put to the test [today] when the state offers its first issue since Standard & Poor’s cut its rating to A-, six levels below AAA.
Friedland and Wendy Casetta at Wells Capital Management said the state’s 10-year general-obligations will probably price to yield about 1.5 percentage points more than AAA munis, about where they’re trading in the secondary market. Both said they would consider adding the debt.
“We don’t expect to see them go below A-,” said Casetta, who helps oversee $32 billion in munis for Wells Capital in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. “We’ve been big buyers of Illinois debt in the past, and we’ll continue to support the state, particularly now that they’re trying to do the right thing.”
Keep your fingers crossed, unless, of course, you’re one of those folks who’d like to see a major crash.
* One of the most overlooked provisions in Illinois’ video gaming law is that possessing old, basically unregulated poker machines at your bar or truck stop is now a felony…
A Heyworth bar owner faces felony charges for allegedly having illegal video gaming machines in the business — the first such case to be filed in McLean County since the state approved video gambling last year.
David Rehker, 54, was taken into custody Friday after agents with the Illinois Gaming Board and the McLean County Sheriff’s Department seized seven machines from Circle II Bar and Grill at 503 W. Cleveland St. He was released after posting $325 on a charge of possession of an illegal gambling device.
According to a prosecutor’s statement, an agent with the state liquor control commission saw the machines during an inspection Thursday and reported the alleged offense involving machines with reset buttons, which are illegal because they allow local operators to run an independent payout system. Agents returned Friday to investigate.
The old machines, which were pretty much everywhere, allowed the mob to profit. So, this video gaming law is probably the biggest hit to mob profits in decades. That’s a good thing.
Governor Pat Quinn has already rejected several plans that would make way for five more casinos in Illinois. […]
But [a new version of a gambling package] also paves the way for Illinois residents to legally bet online. The legislation says “the Internet has become an integral part of everyday life” and that many Illinois residents already use the web to gamble using unlicensed, illegal sites. This would allow the state to regulate and profit.
Quinn isn’t sold.
QUINN: “I think that’s problematic. It’s a brand new idea and there hasn’t been much review on that at all. Anytime you have something brand new it shouldn’t just be thrown into a bill at the last minute.”
* Possible Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner has been assuring his bigtime donors that he has already done an opposition research project on himself, so no worries. He knows what’s coming. He can handle it.
A suburban venture capitalist who is openly exploring a Republican primary bid for governor improperly claimed three homeowner exemptions for a number of years, a Daily Herald investigation has found.
After being notified of the error Wednesday afternoon, Bruce Rauner on Thursday paid Cook County $1,616 to cover the extra tax savings he received, spokesman Chip Englander said.
Englander described the situation as “an oversight that was corrected immediately.”
County records show Rauner claimed homestead exemptions on a Winnetka home, a Chicago penthouse and a condo on a separate floor but in the same building overlooking Millennium Park. He claimed primary exemptions on the Winnetka property and the Chicago penthouse from 2008 to 2011 and on the second Chicago unit in 2010 and 2011.
By law, Illinois residents can claim the exemption only on the property that is their primary residence, even if married couples are residing in different homes. The exemption reduces the amount of property taxes owed by lowering a property’s assessed value.
Lots of politicians have been dinged on this very issue for the past few years. It’s a mistake made by a ton of people and not terribly horrible.
But what is unforgivable is that this should have been caught months ago, before Rauner ever began “exploring” a gubernatorial bid. It’s an amateur mistake, but Rauner has assured everybody that, despite his lack of experience he plans to run a first rate campaign.
Not yet, he ain’t.
* Related…
* Bernard Schoenburg: Rep. Aaron Schock visits controversial leader in India
