The following are key findings from a survey of 400 likely voters in the February 26th special primary election. Interviews were conducted on February 4-5 and respondents were reached on both landlines and cell phones. Results for the survey carry a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval.
• Kelly moves into first place. After sitting behind both Halvorson and Hutchinson in an early January survey, Kelly now leads the pack at 26 percent of likely voters.
o Kelly has wide base of support. Kelly’s lead is broad as she expands her support in every corner of the district. She now leads among African American voters across the district and throughout Cook County—both in the city and the suburbs.
o Kelly’s leadership on gun control resonating. Among those voters who volunteer that they have heard Kelly’s message on preventing gun violence and taking on the NRA, she wins a whopping 65 percent of the vote.
* On guns…
• The NRA remains toxic in IL-2. Just 16 percent of likely voters have a favorable impression of the NRA here, with 60 percent holding a negative impression. No voting bloc—racial, regional, or ideological has a favorable impression of the group. Even self described conservatives have a negative view by a 2:1 margin.
More troubling for Hutchinson and Halvorson is that a solid majority (56 percent) of voters say they would be “not at all likely” to support a candidate who they agreed with on a majority of issues, but who earned an A from the NRA. Another 15 percent said they would only be “a little likely” to support such a candidate.
• Hutchinson’s true record on guns not out yet. This week’s Chicago Tribune story detailing Senator Hutchinson’s responses on her NRA questionnaire that earned her an A rating has not yet penetrated the public’s perception. More than one in five (21 percent) of voters who say they would not support an A-rated candidate are currently voting for Hutchinson—support that is likely to disappear as the campaign continues.
• Halvorson’s standing upside down. Halvorson’s vote share declined from 25 to 22 percent over the last month. While not a precipitous fall, Halvorson’s personal standing has taken a serious hit in recent weeks. In January, 2nd District primary voters viewed Halvorson favorably by a 34 – 18 percent margin. Halvorson’s negative standing has more than doubled in that time (29 percent favorable – 37 percent unfavorable). Her decline among African Americans is particularly steep.
* Keep a close eye on our live session blog for full coverage of Gov. Pat Quinn’s State of the State address today at noon and its aftermath. Let’s look at some previews…
Sneed has learned that Gov. Pat Quinn plans to propose an increase in the state minimum wage in Wednesday’s State of the State address, which would raise it to at least $10 an hour over the next four years.
Gov. Pat Quinn will announce today in his State of the State speech that the Urbana-Champaign-based school, in partnership with its National Center for Supercomputing Applications and private companies, will be forming an Illinois Manufacturing Lab likely to be located in the central area of Chicago.
The facility will be a somewhat smaller, more applications-based version of the UI Labs tech-research center that was announced in January by U of I President Robert Easter and others. The prime goal will be to make the state’s manufacturers more competitive, something that has become increasingly challenging as overseas firms take control of many of the world’s factories.
Military veterans who have special skills could get a leg up when it comes to landing a job under an initiative expected to be formally unveiled by Gov. Pat Quinn Wednesday.
The Lee Enterprises Springfield Bureau has learned the governor will issue an executive order requiring state agencies to consider skills learned by veterans when they apply for licenses for various jobs.
The move, for example, could streamline the process for a former U.S. Army medic who wants to be licensed as a nurse by eliminating the need for training in areas where the veteran already has experience.
* The Question: What one word would you use to describe the current State of the State?
Illinois state government has budget problems. Governor Quinn and other politicians say these problems are caused by public employee pay and pensions that should be cut. Public employees say they are middle-class workers like teachers, police, and caregivers, and the budget problems are caused mostly because rich people and big corporations don’t pay their fair share. Which do you agree with more?
The budget problems are caused more by public employee pay and pensions… 34%
They are caused more by rich people and big corporations not paying their share… 50%
Not sure… 16%
You may know that the pension funds for retired public employees like teachers, police, caregivers, and nurses are $97 billion short of the amount they owe to current and future retirees. What do you think is more responsible for the pension debt: public employees with overly generous benefits or politicians who skipped pension payments?
Overly generous public employee benefits are more responsible for the pension debt… 27%
Politicians skipping pension payments are… 64%
Not sure… 9%
There are different ideas about how to solve the pension problem. Governor Quinn and many other politicians support cutting pension benefits earned by retired public employees. Do you support or oppose cutting public employee pensions?
Support…. 31%
Oppose… 58%
Not sure… 11%
…The most significant change proposed by Governor Quinn and other politicians would reduce the pension cost of living adjustment, or COLA, that protects retired public employees from inflation, similar to the COLA earned by Social Security recipients. Politicians say the provision is not affordable. Retirees say they need it to keep up with rising costs. Do you think the cost of living adjustment should be cut or preserved?
The question loads up the description of the parties involved with heavily biased terms. The public generally has a positive view of teachers, police and caregivers. Not so much school administrators, state bureaucrats and DMV workers (although I’ve received very good service at the DMV the few times I’ve renewed my Illinois license). Why not just ask about “public employees,” a neutral term?
And “rich” people, “politicians” and “big corporations” aren’t exactly popular these days. It’s as biased (and inaccurate based on recent job creation numbers) as the right calling them “job creators.” So it’s no surprise that people sided with the teachers, caregivers and cops.
* But it’s not as simple as that. First, that’s the language the unions are using in their public arguments against the changes. So, the poll is basically just testing their arguments.
Second, the numbers are pretty close to this October, 2012 Tribune poll…
The poll found that 51 percent blamed the state’s politicians alone for Illinois’ pension problems while only 2 percent said it was just the fault of public workers. Another 32 percent said they believed it was a combination of state workers and politicians who created the problem. […]
Voters across the state were even more divided on another plan pushed by Democratic leaders that would alter benefits for current retirees and existing state workers.
Under that plan, workers and retirees could choose to forgo an annual compounded 3 percent cost-of-living increase to their pension in exchange for being able to have access to the state’s health insurance program. Workers and pensioners who choose to keep the cost-of-living increase would have to find their own health insurance. […]
The poll found that 32 percent of the state’s voters favored the plan, while 35 percent opposed it — within the survey’s 3.7 percentage-point margin of error. Another 33 percent of voters didn’t know enough about the proposal to take a side.
And asked whether workers should be forced to choose between paying 3 percent more or losing their state-provided retirement health care, Illinois residents are split 42 percent against and 40 percent in favor.
So, the percentage who believe the politicians messed things up is very similar. The percentage in favor of the pension reform COLA plan is similar. The percentage against is higher in the labor poll, but that’s to be expected with such wording.
So, yeah, some biased wording, but it definitely served its purpose.
* Meanwhile, the NFIB released the results of what it calls a “member ballot”…
Illinois members of the National Federation of Independent Business overwhelmingly oppose any legislation that would increase the state’s minimum wage.
That’s according to the results of the 2013 NFIB/Illinois Member Ballot, released today. Unlike other business groups, NFIB doesn’t have a board of directors that dictates its public-policy positions. NFIB’s positions are based solely on input from its members; the Member Ballot is the most important part of that process.
“When we asked our members whether the General Assembly should raise the minimum wage, the answer was ‘absolutely not,’” said Kim Clarke Maisch, state director of NFIB/Illinois, the state’s leading small-business association, with over 11,000 dues-paying members representing a broad cross section of the state’s economy.
According to the 2013 Member Ballot:
88.4 percent of members oppose a wage increase, compared with 5.5 percent who favor an increase and 6 percent who were undecided or didn’t answer.
81.7 percent said they oppose tying the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index to allow for automatic annual increases, compared with 9.5 percent who support the idea and 8.8 percent who were undecided or didn’t answer.
* Voting against a supplemental appropriations bill because it uses money saved from closing a state facility in your region in order to fund DCFS operations is understandable. But, what’s done is done…
The Democratic-sponsored measure, endorsed on a mostly party line 63-52 vote, would allow the state to hire workers to check on abused children, boost spending on road and bridge construction projects and finance employee health insurance programs for the remainder of the current fiscal year. […]
State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said Quinn’s money-saving move to close the Tamms Correctional Center, for example, has triggered violence elsewhere in the state’s overcrowded prison system.
“I’m telling you, what we’re using is blood money,” Bost said.
We have confirmed that earlier today multiple inmates with possible gang connections assaulted two staff members and the chaplain at Menard Correctional Center in Chester. One of the guards has been taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
According to Illinois Department of Corrections Spokeswoman Stacey Solano, the assault took place in the chapel of the facility, with one guard the target of the assault while the chaplain and the other guard injured while coming to his aid.
Early reports indicate 13 members of the Latin Disciples attacked the guards while in the chapel. The facility is reportedly now on a level one lockdown, which is the highest level of security. […]
The 13 inmates allegedly involved in the assaults of the guards have reportedly been transferred to the facility’s segregation unit, the location of an inmate death last week that union officials are calling murder.
This is the second staff assault at Menard in less than a month, and the fourth reported staff assault in that same time period for the entire system.
I hope this doesn’t mean that IDOC is losing control of the prisons. It’s tough to gauge from media coverage, because the Tamms closure has resulted in a whole lot more stories and media interest. I’d like to see some overall numbers here. But that Latino gang attack is mighty worrisome on its own.
On Tuesday, Illinois House members approved spending over $2 billion on road building and transferred money from the department of corrections to child welfare and mental health services.
The “supplemental appropriation” was pushed through by majority Democrats and Republicans said the bill was included “millions in unnecessary and irresponsible spending”.
GOP leader Tom Cross argued against the bill.
“When you come before this chamber and say ‘We want to appropriate all this money’, and not focus on a single reform, yes, it’s cause for pause. Yes, we have concerns, and yes, we are not going to support it,” said Cross.
As I explained to subscribers, it’s not really $2 billion. And it’s not new money. From the bill’s Balanced Budget Impact Note…
HB 190 (H-AM 4) provides supplemental appropriations for a net increase of approximately $603,266,600 in general revenue fund appropriations, approximately $1,516,909,900 in other State fund appropriations, and approximately $48,757,100 in federal fund appropriations. The bill provides for no new revenue sources, nor does the bill requires any additional State spending. This Bill does not directly have any significant fiscal impact. The supplemental appropriation to the Department of Central Management Services for group insurance was expected to be included in the fiscal year 2013. Therefore the fiscal impact to the General Revenue Fund is negligible. Supplemental appropriations provided from other State and federal funds are provided on the basis of the availability of moneys in those funds.
* There are projects in the bill, but it’s mostly this stuff…
The legislation would put $675 million to work on road construction this spring after an unanticipated infusion of federal money and freed-up state funds. It moves $25 million saved from closing prisons to child-welfare services and authorizes a half-year’s payment for state employee health insurance.
The measure includes more than $600 million that will cover the health insurance costs of state workers during the second half of this fiscal year. The General Assembly approved that money last spring but only appropriated enough money for pay the costs for the first six months of the year.
Lawmakers hoped by now there would be new state-employee contracts that would incorporate provisions such as higher health-insurance premiums they agreed to last year, but contract talks still haven’t yielded a new pact.
Facing resistance from Republicans, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie urged legislators to “do the right thing” and approve the bill that could save as many as 1,900 jobs at the Department of Children and Family Services. The agency has shuffled staff and eliminated middle-management positions; officials will use the $25 million to put 138 more child-abuse investigators on the street.
But GOP legislators cried foul, saying Democrats invariably “demonize” them for opposing such measures.
“I’m tired of the other side telling me I don’t care about anything,” said Rep. Dennis Reboletti, a Republican from Elmhurst. “Don’t tell me I don’t care about people with mental health issues.”
Reboletti challenged Currie to present a “clean bill” without what he said are new expenditures, and he would cooperate.
* It takes five signatures among the 19 state central committeemen to call for a special Illinois Republican Party meeting. Jim Oberweis couldn’t even get that…
Despite reserving a hotel conference room on his own dime, a Saturday meeting to oust Illinois GOP party chair Pat Brady for statements supporting gay marriage won’t be happening as a suburban state senator has hoped. At least not yet.
And, now that he is spending a bulk of his time down in session in Springfield, dairy magnate Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove is hoping some others, including Congressman Randy Hultgren’s former chief of staff will step forward to organize a meeting “as soon as possible.”
In an admonishing Feb. 3 email to fellow state central committeemen obtained by the Daily Herald, Oberweis noted that “I was hoping someone would take a leadership role when the need became apparent but no one stepped up to the plate.” Instead, Oberweis himself attempted to organize a meeting, reserving a conference room at an Aurora Hampton Inn at his own expense, for what he described as “less than a couple hundred” dollars.
But, without the required five signatures of committeemen, hopes for a meeting were dashed.
“It’s now too late to call a meeting for Feb. 9. I’m hoping someone else will pick up the gauntlet,” Oberweis said Tuesday.
It looks like that conservative revolt against Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady has fizzled.
Yep.
* The gay marriage proposal passed the Senate Executive Committee again yesterday. But the Right isn’t giving up yet. From Illinois Review…
Alliance Defending Freedom’s legal counsel Joe LaRue, who testified in the committee hearing on SB 10, said,
The bill to redefine marriage provides inadequate safeguards for religious liberty. It leaves churches and religious organizations at the whim and mercy of the courts, who will have to interpret the marriage redefinition law and how it interacts with Illinois’ public accommodation and employment non-discrimination laws.
Simply put, this bill does not protect churches and religious organizations from having to rent their facilities to same-sex couples for wedding ceremonies, even when doing so violates the church’s religious beliefs. Nor does the bill protect churches and religious organizations from being forced to hire employees from same-sex marriages. The bill also provides no protection for individuals, like wedding photographers, who object to same-sex marriages but may be asked because of their business to participate in same-sex ceremonies.
This law does not protect religious freedom as it claims. Rather, it promotes religious intolerance, bigotry and discrimination.
Danielle Cook of Farmer City, who already has a civil union with her partner, Suzie Hutton, told state senators Tuesday that she wants a full-fledged marriage because “marriage is the standard in our society.”
The Senate Executive Committee, in a 9-5 party-line vote, approved a bill (SB 10) allowing gay marriage in Illinois. It now moves to the full Senate, where passage is considered likely. But it may find a tougher time in the House.
“In numerous settings and in ways big and small, we learned that a civil union is not the same as being married,” Cook said. “It’s not really recognized or understood as marriage is. After getting a civil union, for example, we decided to add Suzie to the health care plan at my work. Everyone and my employer knew that Suzie and I had been together for years. Everyone knew that we were getting a civil union. When I contacted the human-resources department, I was told that we would have to produce the civil-union certificate before Suzie could be added to my plan. That department does not ask anyone for a marriage license, but they asked us for a civil-union certificate.”
Further, she noted that forms at doctor’s offices have boxes for “single,” “married” and “divorced,” but not for civil unions.
“The message was sent in other, more personal ways as well. It even came in how individuals responded to learning that we had gotten a civil union,” she said.
But the Rev. Keith Williams of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church of Country Club Hills said he was in “vehement opposition” because same-sex marriage goes against basic tenets of the Bible.
“This bill puts the state very much in the church’s business, and I think we find ourselves deteriorating to a level of immorality that will lead this nation to a high level of judgment,” Williams testified.
Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, maintained churches will be “dragged into a court” until judges have “delineated every line possible” on religious freedom and public accommodation. Proponents said current laws on human rights and religious freedom would prevent a major flurry of lawsuits from being filed.
The same Senate panel approved similar legislation during the lame-duck legislative session in early January. But that plan stalled when backers acknowledged absences of three key votes kept them below the minimum 30-vote threshold needed to pass the Senate.
A central question before the committee then was how institutions receiving public funding would be required to receive same-sex marriage ceremonies. But that language has been dropped from the bill this time, Steans said.
“We didn’t do anything with public funding in this bill,” she said. “There have been concerns about that in the original language. That language is all removed. We’re not touching that.”
Tuesday’s debate focused on whether churches are defined as public accommodations under the state’s Human Rights Act, which says the availability of public accommodations shall not be determined on the basis of sexual orientation.
Though the word “church” does not appear under that section of the law, one definition of a “public accommodation” comes close, describing “an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall or other place of public gathering.”
Some of the bill’s opponents say a lack of clarity in this area could cause trouble in the courts. Joseph La Rue, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, testified before the committee that the bill doesn’t clearly exempt churches from renting out their facilities such as in other states like New York.
* The governor’s State of the State address is at noon today. Check out the House’s live feed here [fixed link] or the CMS feed here.
You can watch me do the pregame show on your local Public Television station. Our friends at BlueRoomStream.com will have live Internet coverage of the post-speech reactions by the legislative leaders, which you can watch here. You’ll also find archived video at that link if you can’t watch it live.
Radio stations WUIS at 91.9 FM and WMAY at 970 AM both plan to carry live coverage of the speech. Public television stations WILL and WSEC also will cover the speech live.
WICS-TV will offer a podcast of the speech at WICS.com.
* OK, now on to our ScribbleLive coverage. Blackberry users click here…
* Gov. Pat Quinn will introduce his concealed carry proposal today, which is combined with lots of gun control stuff. The NRA described the proposal to me yesterday as “Only on the sidewalk” - meaning that concealed carry permit holders wouldn’t be able to carry their loaded weapons just about anywhere except the sidewalk. That appears to be an overstatement, but not by a whole lot.
In a broad-brush manner, Quinn and his administration are expected to offer a framework of what he wants included in court-required concealed-carry legislation, including making applicants undergo fingerprinting and banning concealed guns in malls, schools, polling places, hospitals, bars, libraries, sports stadiums and government buildings, according to one source familiar with the governor’s plan.
Quinn also will renew his push for bans on the sale and possession of military-style, semi-automatic guns and the ammunition that feeds them, according to a source familiar with the governor’s gun platform.
He will call for a ban on gun purchases over the Internet without background checks and a new requirement on gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons within 24 hours, the source told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The governor also is expected to push circuit clerks across the state to more thoroughly report to the state when someone is adjudicated as mentally ill. That information is used by the Illinois State Police in screening gun-permit applicants.
I’m told there is a FOID processing backlog right now of about 75,000 applications. They’re gonna need a bunch of money to cover all this concealed carry stuff.
Also, and I really hate to bring this up, but Quinn opposed fingerprinting applicants for the undocumented resident driver’s license permit program.
Needless to say, the NRA is gonna fight this proposal tooth and nail.
The Illinois House of Representatives has created a new committee to address inequalities in the state’s criminal justice system, while the chairman of the new committee faces his own legal problems.
State Rep. LaShawn Ford is the chairman of the new Restorative Justice Committee.
He’s also been indicted for bank fraud.
Hey, this is Illinois, people.
* But there does seem to be a legit reason to create the committee…
Ford’s fellow Democratic committee members also expressed a desire to use the committee to discuss the variety of issues that relate to the criminal justice system.
“We’ve seen in the debate after the terrible shooting incident in Connecticut how issues of criminal law and mental health and, you know, other different categories sort of intersect,” said State. Rep. Greg Harris. “And I think we need to take a holistic look at all of those things.” […]
“I think often in government, things tend to go in silos where you look at things based on the source who uses the funds and there’s a lot of interrelationships between levels of education and levels of job preparedness and the availability of jobs in the community along with mental health issues and substance abuse and crime,” he said. “So to look at them just in a - isolate the little box may not give you the whole picture.”
After figuring out that she had gotten on the wrong South Side bus last March 9, Cook County Judge Cynthia Brim got off somewhere on 47th Street and “marched for justice towards downtown.”
It was one in a bizarre series of events in a day that ended with her arrest on battery charges after allegedly shoving a sheriff’s deputy outside the Daley Center court complex. That story was told in the testimony that Judge Liam Brennan heard at Brim’s trial Monday at the Daley Center. He decided that Brim — who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type — was not guilty by reason of insanity. […]
Brim, 54, didn’t talk with reporters after the verdict, but her attorney, James D. Montgomery Sr., said she was eager to get back to work.
Cook County Board President did a robocall for Brim and other judges last year to urge their retentiion.
* I’m not as averse to pork projects as some are. The debilitated, deadlocked US Congress is an example of what happens when you remove pork projects from the legislative give and take. It’s a long tradition, and it works…
An emergency spending proposal being debated in the Capitol this week isn’t just about building new roads and protecting vulnerable children.
Rather, tucked into what could become a package worth more than $1.3 billion is $115,000 to help launch a high school basketball hall of fame in Danville.
The 92-page spending blueprint also contains $1 million to help build a new children’s museum in downtown Springfield, despite the failure of a similar facility just blocks away several years ago.
And, it has $167,148 for a museum in the Southern Illinois town of Rosiclare dedicated to the region’s fluorspar miners.
In a vote Monday, a House panel endorsed the added spending, which is designed to patch holes in the state budget in the second half of the state’s fiscal year. It includes $675 million for various transportation projects, $25 million for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and $12 million for community mental health programs.
Walnut Point State Park north of Oakland and Lincoln Trail State Park south of Marshall have temporarily stopped taking reservations for camp sites due to a staffing shortage but are otherwise open for use.
The two state parks stopped taking reservations about a week ago, said Tom Hintz, who is site superintendent for both Walnut Point and Lincoln Trail. Hintz said he does not have the staffing available at this time time to handle reservations, adding that he is the only full-time employee available for both sites. Hintz said reservations made before last week are still being honored, adding that Walnut Point already has some camp site reservations for the spring. He said Lincoln Trail does not have an reservations in place.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris McCloud said Walnut Point and Lincoln Trail, like other state parks, have been affected by the DNR’s land staff being reduced by 50 percent during the last 10 years due to state budget cuts.
McCloud said staffing, facility maintenance, and other needs at Illinois state parks will receive a financial lift later in 2013 when the state starts to collect proceeds from a $2 increase in license plate fees that will generate an estimated $18 million to $22 million for natural resources usage.
A proposal before the state legislature could keep shoppers from having to pay more when using credit cards. Chris Slaby reports.
The plan would prohibit Illinois retailers from adding an extra fee to purchases made with credit cards. It comes after a federal settlement gave businesses the go-ahead to charge up to four-percent extra on credit card transactions, unless states prohibit them from doing so.
So far, ten states have banned the surcharge. […]
David Vite is president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. He says Illinois consumers have nothing to worry about, because Illinois stores will not implement the surcharge.
VITE: “Their interest is in lowering prices to their customer, not increasing costs to the customer.”
Consumer groups, though, say they’re concerned retailers will wait for things to cool down before implementing the fees.
* The Question: Despite the assurances from IRMA, should Illinois ban retailer credit card surcharges? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
The son of one of Illinois’ most powerful political families said the plans of a daughter of another political dynasty won’t affect his bid for governor.
Bill Daley told the Daily Herald Monday that “what the attorney general does or what she doesn’t do, that’s not going to affect my decision.” However, he acknowledged, “I know people don’t believe that.” [Emphasis added.]
We’ll see.
* Was there a meeting between Daley and Speaker Madigan to discuss the race? Brown’s not saying…
Steve Brown, Michael Madigan’s spokesman, would not say whether he and Bill Daley have met to discuss who would be on the Democratic primary ballot. Madigan “makes a practice of not commenting on private meetings,” Brown said.
Daley told the Daily Herald that he’d make a decision by April.
* By the way, check out Lisa Madigan’s campaign Twitter page. Her posting frequency has increased a lot in the past few weeks. Not saying this is a sign of anything. Just saying.
* The Tamms super-max prison kept inmates isolated almost all the time. That treatment led human rights groups to label the incarceration torture. When I visited some prisons several years ago, including Tamms, I couldn’t help but notice that the super-max prison was cleaner than the other prisons and, also unlike the other prisons, had decent climate control, wasn’t crowded and was quiet.
So, now that the super-max prisoners have been transferred to Pontiac, some have declared a hunger strike…
The Chicago-based Uptown People’s Law Center said an estimated 10 prisoners are participating in the strike, which comes about a month after the inmates were transferred out of Tamms and into the older facility in Livingston County.
Key among their grievances is a lack of heat because of some of the retrofitting that was done in order to prepare Pontiac for the prisoners from Tamms. The prisoners are complaining that plexiglass panels installed on their cell doors block heat from entering their living areas, said Brian Nelson prison rights coordinator for the law center. […]
Nelson said the prisoners are upset that they don’t have televisions, radios, cleaning supplies, legal-sized envelopes and razors. In addition, he said they also are being forced to share nail clippers even though some men have illnesses.
“They are requesting that the clippers be sterilized after every use,” Nelson said.
The group says just ten former Tamms inmates are on hunger strike, but the Department of Corrections says that 47 inmates at Pontiac have recently declared they’re on hunger strikes.
* Unlike House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton will send a delegate to the We Are One Ilinois’ pension “summit” this month. But Cullerton had some harsh words for those who believe that tax hikes are the answer to the pension problems…
“This notion of having to have no sacrifice from the pensioneers and have us just raise taxes and then spend it on them …,” Cullerton said. “What if we had $2 billion in new revenue? Why not do a capital bill? Why not spend more money on human services or pay old bills?”
[Cullerton] also singled out Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, for blaming lawmakers for underfunding pensions.
“He forgets about the fact he was negotiating what some would say were generous contracts eating up the money instead of putting it in the pension fund,” Cullerton said.
The relationship between legislative leaders and public employee unions is strained, Cullerton said, “because the unions are opposed to any changes in the law that’s going to go anywhere toward solving the problem.”
State Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Belvidere) on Monday introduced a constitutional amendment, House Joint Constitutional Amendment 11, that would strike a 38-word paragraph of the Illinois Constitution that prohibits the reduction of public employee pension benefits.
A key stumbling block in the search for any viable legislative formula to restrain the costs of Illinois public pension costs is the language in the Illinois Constitution that states that public pension benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired.”
* I played football in high school and the coach forbade us from having long bangs that he said could interfere with our vision. Hey, it was the 70s and our coach wasn’t exactly a hippie. But I still wanted long hair, so I had to get what is now called a mullet. From 1977…
Man, I loved that shirt.
Best comment wins a $20 gift card at Grab-a-Java in Springfield.
* The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s latest monthly report includes a history of Illinois’ bond ratings dating back to 1973…
So, the last time Illinois’ bond ratings were upgraded was in June of 2000 - but only one agency did so. You have to go back to the Thompson administration to see the last Illinois AAA rating.
* State Sen. Toi Hutchinson has refused to release her NRA questionnaires, undoubtedly because she used to be pretty solidly pro gun rights and is now running as a mostly gun control candidate who supports a ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
The questionnaire shows Hutchinson was asked if she would support “state legislation restricting the private possession, ownership, purchase, sale and/or transfer of any semi-automatic firearms.” She responded, “No, I would oppose such legislation.” The question also included the issue of large-capacity ammunition magazines.
Additionally, when asked by the NRA if Hutchinson would support “legislation making it a crime to fail to report the loss or theft of a firearm,” she replied: “No, I would oppose such legislation because it has no demonstrated affect on crime and creates an unwarranted legal presumption that gun owners should answer to the police for their own victimization or misfortune.”
But last week at a forum in Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Hutchinson announced she supports a state bill requiring the reporting of lost firearms. […]
Hutchinson maintained that [Robin Kelly] was running “a single-issue campaign” and trying to score “more political points” marketing the state senator’s gun-rights positions “as though they’re the positions that I have right now. And, I’m saying very clearly I’m moderating my positions.”
If that gun issue is resonating with special primary voters, Hutchinson could be in trouble. You gotta figure it’s polling well since the Kelly campaign has so completely latched onto the issue. We’ll see soon enough.
*** UPDATE *** Robin Kelly has issued a response…
“After refusing to release her NRA questionnaire for weeks, we know what Senator Hutchinson was hiding. She didn’t want voters in Chicago and the Southland to know that she promised the NRA that she would oppose an assault weapons ban. That she would oppose outlawing high capacity magazine clips.
“Toi Hutchinson says that Newtown, CT changed her perspective, but she agreed with the NRA’s extreme positions despite the killing happening on our own streets. The only thing that ‘changed’ for Toi Hutchinson is that she entered a race for Congress where her past support of the NRA’s agenda was no longer politically convenient.
“It’s clear now that we can’t trust Toi Hutchinson or Debbie Halvorson to protect our communities against gun violence because both were willing to stand with the NRA when we needed them most. I am the only candidate in the race ready to stand with President Obama to stop the NRA and their pro-gun agenda.”
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Meanwhile, in other CD2 news, complaints have surfaced that Anthony Beale may be requiring political help from those who want to be contractors on the new Walmart construction project…
[Contractor Reginald Rooks] said Beale’s congressional campaign has asked him to distribute flyers.
Rooks and leaders of the African-American Contractors Association suspect a connection between the hiring consultant and Beale’s political organization.
“I’m handing out your literature,” Rooks said. “Yes, I should get a job.”
Critics blame it on the culture of corruption that Chicago politics is infamous for.
“Its’ just a culture of corruption going on,” the Save Our Community Coalition’s Bob Israel said. “You know how long I’ve been fighting that. It’s just a culture of corruption.”
Beale denied any connection between his political organization and Maurice Williams.
“There’s no connection between my office and Mr. Williams other than he has a company and we direct people to his particular company,” Beale said.
* The conservative Jobs and Progress Fund Super PAC isn’t just running TV ads blasting Congressman Aaron Schock, it’s also sending out mailers whacking the potential gubernatorial candidate. Here’s one [Fixed link]…
* From a Daily Herald story about the legality of pension reform…
Just as Gov. Pat Quinn has used an orange cartoon snake named Squeezy to try to illustrate the harm the state’s pension debt does to the state budget, a 1960s report on the same topic included a tornado, sucking up cash.
And your little dog, too!
* I’ve never heard this General Assembly reform ever suggested before the Alton Telegraph did so…
What we find objectionable is that the “leaders” get an extra $20,000 just for serving in purely party posts. If these duties are so important to the goals of the individual parties, why shouldn’t the party organizations be responsible for the compensation, rather than taxpayers?
No extra leadership stipend? Well, that would sure make things different.
Set for trial in less than nine months, indicted state Rep. Derrick Smith dipped into his campaign fund to pay at least $37,500 to the criminal defense lawyers representing him in his federal bribery case, newly filed state campaign records show.
Smith made that expenditure to the Henderson Adam law firm on March 29, 2012, just days after being arrested for allegedly accepting a $7,000 cash bribe from an undercover FBI informant in exchange for offering to help a fictitious daycare center operator in his district obtain a $50,000 state grant.
He waits until now to reveal this payment to his lawyers? Over nine months after he was required to report it? What the heck?
* The media will probably have a field day with the proposed Sneaker Tax…
The cost of a new pair of basketball shoes could jump by 25 cents under a proposal floated this week by anIllinoislawmaker.
State Rep. Will Davis, D-Hazel Crest, wants to create a new tax that would generate an estimated $3 million annually for a youth job preparation program. He said the added cost would likely go unnoticed by most consumers, while helping finance a program for kids during tight budget times.
It’s not necessarily a horrible idea, if you don’t mind taxes, but I just don’t see it going anywhere. Why? This…
Rob Karr, senior vice president of Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said the organization will fight the proposal because it would create an unnecessary amount of additional paperwork for store owners.
“It imposes significant administrative burdens on the retailer,” Karr said.
Don’t mess with IRMA.
Also, it’s just a bill. Remember that. It ain’t a law. Bills get introduced all the time and never go anywhere. For example…
“I think we need drug testing for welfare recipients. I think the savings to the state can be tremendous, in the multimillions, for sure,” [State Rep. Adam Brown, R-Decatur] said.
Halvorson addressed the issue while speaking at a candidates forum organized by local clergy and church leaders and held Saturday at Lax Mortuary in Kankakee. Halvorson, along with state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, were the candidates scheduled to speak at the forum. Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds made an unscheduled speech at the end of the event.
That’s two spit-takes in one graf. They debated at a mortuary? And Mel Reynolds unexpectedly showed up to give a speech?
Wish I’d seen that one.
* The Question: What would be the “best” place to hold a candidates’ debate?
The death of a friend he made on a quest to learn more about the needs of black communities has inspired a suburban state senator to look into authoring legislation regulating the use of Tasers.
“It rips my heart apart,” state Sen. Dan Duffy, of Lake Barrington, said of the death of Philip Coleman, a 38-year-old hospice executive and Rainbow/Push coalition member. Coleman died Dec. 13 after police, called by Coleman’s mother, used a Taser on him twice to restrain him.
Duffy, a Republican, hopes to build off previous stun-gun legislation that was introduced by Chicago Democratic Rep. Monique Davis but failed to move out of the Illinois House in the last General Assembly session.
“We need to look at stricter guidelines and training regarding the use and power of these weapons,” Duffy said, noting his research after Coleman’s death made him aware of higher stun-gun use against minorities. […]
But with questions surrounding Philip Coleman’s death, Duffy is calling for “better judgment and discretion before you’re out playing with a Taser.”
“Even though it’s not a gun, it’s just as powerful,” he said.
I happen to agree that stun guns are a lot more powerful than some law enforcement agencies will admit and that they appear to be used disproportionately against minorities.
Just call me stunned that a pro 2nd Amendment guy like Duffy would be willing to impose such restrictions on what the police deem to be a self-defense weapon.
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that a poll taken Jan. 30 of 1,255 likely Illinois Democratic primary voters shows Attorney General Lisa Madigan leading Gov. Pat Quinn by a very large margin.
Madigan also leads Quinn and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley in a three-way contest, according to the poll, but Quinn leads Daley in a one-on-one race.
And a large plurality of Democrats disapprove of the governor’s job performance. The We Ask America Poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. About 18 percent of the results came from non-landline users.
In the poll, Madigan leads Quinn by 25 points, 51 percent to 26 percent. Among women, who almost always comprise a majority of Democratic primary election voters, Madigan’s lead is 53-22, while she leads among men 46-30.
Madigan’s lead over Quinn in Chicago is 46 percent to 30 percent and it’s 51-28 in suburban Cook County, while she leads Quinn 53-23 in the suburban collar counties and by a massive 53-21 downstate, according to the poll.
Madigan has not yet decided whether she’s going to run for governor. People close to her are divided over what they think she will do. She reportedly plans to take her time with her decision.
A Public Policy Polling survey taken in November had Madigan leading Quinn 64-20, but that poll was of just 319 “usual” Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent.
Still, PPP does excellent work, so if you average the two polls you get a 57 percent to 23 percent lead for Madigan over the governor. If Madigan’s decision is heavily weighted toward whether she can win the primary, she will give it a go.
Quinn has a better shot against Daley — a white, Irish Democrat from Chicago who may not bring much more to the table than Dan Hynes did in the 2010 primary.
According to the We Ask America poll, Quinn leads Daley by five points, 38 percent to 33 percent. November’s PPP survey had Daley leading Quinn 37-34, so average those two results and you get an essential tie at 36 for Quinn and 35 for Daley.
We Ask America found that Quinn leads Daley in the city 45-30, but Daley leads in suburban Cook 40-36. Quinn has a narrow half-point lead in the collar counties and leads by less than two percentage points downstate. The Daley name ain’t what it used to be.
Could Daley be a spoiler who helps Quinn in a three-way race? Not according to the We Ask America poll. It says Madigan leads a three-way contest with 37 percent to Quinn’s 20 percent and Daley’s 15. Public Policy Polling did not test a three-way race in November.
Madigan’s lead among women in a three-way contest is pretty big. She gets 38 percent to 17 for Quinn and 13 for Daley. Among men, her lead is a bit smaller at 34 percent to Quinn’s 24 and Daley’s 18.
Madigan leads Quinn and Daley in Chicago by 35 percent to 22 to 17. Her lead in suburban Cook is 35-18-18. She leads 36-17-16 in the collars and is ahead by a very big 40-19-11 downstate.
Public Policy Polling had Quinn’s job approval rating among Democrats at 40 percent, with a 43 percent disapproval. Last week’s We Ask America poll had Quinn’s approval among Dems at 37 percent, with a 42 percent disapproval.
Women give the governor a slightly lower disapproval rating than men — 41 percent of women disapprove, 46 percent of men. But just 36 percent of Democratic women and 37 percent of Democratic men approve of the way Quinn is handling his job.
Quinn won the 2010 primary and general elections despite low approval ratings. So, he’s been here before.
What he didn’t have to do back then, however, was take on one of the most popular politicians in Illinois. PPP’s November poll pegged Lisa Madigan’s favorable rating at 68 percent among Democrats, while just 16 percent had an unfavorable view of her.
If Madigan runs, she likely wins the primary election. Daley is another story. Like 2010, a Daley-Quinn race will be a hard-fought and bloody battle that could end up being pretty close.
If Quinn has to get a single primary opponent, Daley is the one he wants.
Subscribers have crosstabs.
* Related…
* Illinois attorney general collected $1.1B in 2012: Of that amount, more than half came from collections litigation, including funds from child support, damage to state property, unpaid educational loans, fines and penalties. The rest was split between tobacco litigation and estate tax revenues.
* AFSCME has declared today and tomorrow to be action days on its contract. From the union’s Facebook page…
Anything going on in your office or shop?
* Meanwhile, the Southern Illinoisan, which forcefully opposed the closure of the Tamms state prison, ran a recent editorial about a couple of assaults on prison guards, including this one…
Less than two weeks ago, on Jan. 19, Menard Correctional Center in Chester was placed on lockdown after an inmate assaulted a correctional officer. Fortunately, the staff member’s injuries were limited to bruises, but a spokeswoman for the department of corrections expressed concern about the attack. […]
You may also recall Tamms was defended by some as an appropriate home for the “worst of the worst” state inmates before falling victim to protestations of inhumane conditions and excessive costs. Opponents of Tamms’ closure also said the super-maximum prison helped control inmate violence throughout the correctional system because prisoners did not want to get sent to the facility as punishment.
Ty Peterson, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the bargaining unit for prison staff, said the employee attacked at Menard recently was transferred to the correctional center from Tamms, which still housed some inmates until the end of the year.
Are you beginning to see a disturbing pattern? Is what we are seeing at Pontiac and Menard the “new normal” for correctional centers in Illinois?
Wait. The guard was transferred from Tamms to Menard, not the prisoner. I’m not sure I get it.
* I don’t know how you first reacted, but a wave of dread enveloped me when the announcers suddenly fell silent and the lights began extinguishing during last night’s Super Bowl blackout. It was kinda like the feeling I used to get during the Cold War at the start of those “We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin” announcements.
* I had to turn to Twitter after a couple minutes because CBS just wasn’t giving anybody any information about what was going on. Thankfully, ABC was on the case…
ABC News reporting Dept. of Homeland Security says “nothing nefarious” about Superbowl power outage #superbowl#abc7chicagonews
* After feeling a sense of relief that we weren’t under attack again, I noticed that lots of people I follow retweeted the Johnny-on-the-spot Oreos post…
The Oreo graphic was “designed, captioned and approved within minutes,” according to Sarah Hofstetter, president of the cookie brand’s digital agency of record, Dentsu-owned360i. All the decisions were made in real time quickly because marketers and agency members were sitting together at a “mission control” center, or a social-media war room of sorts, at the agency’s headquarters in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. Among those who were there were two brand team members from Oreo, and nearly a dozen creatives, strategists, community managers and social-media listeners.
* I have to admit that I was confused at first about the #SB47 hashtag, thinking it must be a bill number. I even looked it up. Nope, that couldn’t be it.
Apparently, I spend way too much time thinking about Illinois politics.
Your own thoughts?
…Adding… My favorite Super Bowl ad also had a local angle. Ram Trucks used the late, great Illinoisan Paul Harvey in its moving spot…
Share the video and Ram will make a donation to “support FFA and assist in local hunger and educational programs.”
Hutchinson also has the endorsement from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. On Wednesday state Sen. Napoleon Harris dropped out of the race and put his support behind Hutchinson.
Yes, Hutchinson was endorsed by Preckwinkle, but Sen. Harris endorsed Robin Kelly.
Everybody makes mistakes. Things happen and it’s usually no big deal. And I know there are a lot of candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race, but that story was really messed up.
* The AP wasn’t the only confused media outlet. The Hill…
While Hutchinson has high name recognition in the district following her 2010 primary challenge to Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), having no money is a bad spot to be in heading into the home stretch of the campaign.
No. Halvorson ran against Jackson.
Yes, the two names are similar, and Hutchinson once worked for Halvorson and got her Senate seat. And I’m always worried that I’m gonna screw up those names myself. But doesn’t the Hill have a ton of editors?
* Anyway, feel free to discuss the AFSCME endorsement, which I told you about over the weekend…
The progressive union AFSCME today announced their endorsement of Toi Hutchinson in the upcoming special election in Illinois’s Second Congressional District. AFSCME cited Hutchinson’s strong record of looking out for middle class interests in making its decision.
“AFSCME Council 31 is proud to endorse Toi Hutchinson for Congress,” the union’s executive director Henry Bayer said. “Toi has a strong record on retirement security, affordable health care, tax fairness and other issues vital to union members and all working people. AFSCME will educate our more than 7,000 members and retirees in the Second Congressional District about her leadership, and encourage them to get out and vote on February 26.”
AFSCME Council 31 is a leading voice for working families throughout Illinois, with 100,000 active and retired members who provide the essential public services that residents rely on. AFSCME is the nation’s largest and fastest growing public-service union with more than 1.6 million active and retired members, including nurses, corrections officers, caregivers, EMTs, sanitation workers and more. With members in hundreds of different occupations, AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.
“When I’m in Congress, I’ll keep working with AFSCME and stand with President Obama to protect the services and programs that people across the country need and depend on,” said Hutchinson. “For too long, Congress has focused on the budget deficit instead of the opportunity deficit. When I’m elected I’m going to work hard to invest in exactly the kinds of initiatives that empower people and communities.”
* Meanwhile, a Kelly partisan wonders about Sen. Hutchinson’s 2012 NRA questionnaire. Hutchinson received an “A-” from the group last year..
The National Rifle Association’s 2012 questionnaire for Illinois state legislature candidates directly addresses questions about assault weapons bans and bans on high capacity ammunition magazines:
• Question 10: Do you support state legislation banning the lawful manufacture, possession, ownership, purchase, sale and/or transfer of any firearms?
• Question 11: Would you support state legislation restricting the possession, ownership, purchase, sale and/or transfer of semi-automatic firearms used for hunting, competitive shooting, collecting and self-defense?
• Question 12: Would you support restricting or banning magazines that hold more than ten rounds?
How does Senator Toi Hutchinson answer those questions? Can we conclude those answers were to the liking of the NRA.
Unless proven otherwise by the Toi Hutchinson campaign, the answer is “yes.” The answers were to the liking of the NRA.
*** UPDATE *** There wasn’t a lot of media coverage. AP…
A state representative from Chicago says lawmakers across the state must work together to craft a rational and “common sense” concealed carry law.
Democratic state Rep. Ken Dunkin told an audience at a town hall meeting in Chicago Saturday that concealed carry “is coming” to Illinois. He and other Chicago lawmakers held the meeting to gather input from constituents about proposed firearms legislation.
But when long-time Chicago resident Gus Philpot asked for a show of hands he found 30 in the crowd of 80 who said they would seek concealed-carry permits immediately.
State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) said Chicago’s international reputation once again has become associated with gun violence, and said he wants to find a compromise that gives gun owners what they want with protections built in. He said Illinois is the last state to enact concealed-carry legislation because of one man, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).
“The Speaker of our House knows, like most of us know, that if it hit the House floor it would pass,” Dunkin said.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* A town hall on Chicago’s West Side is discussing the concealed carry issue. The forum is being hosted by Sen. Mattie Hunter and Rep. Ken Dunkin and moderated by WVON’s Cliff Kelly. The NRA’s Todd Vandermyde has spoken so far, and Congressman Bobby Rush is in attendance. You can watch BlueRoomStream’s live video by clicking here. [UPDATE: Use that link for archived video.]
Let’s go to the ScribbleLive thingy, because BlueRoomStream is also live-Tweeting the event…
* For the most part, organized labor has stayed out of the 2nd Congressional District primary. AFCSME is the first major union to jump in…
The progressive union AFSCME today announced their endorsement of Toi Hutchinson in the upcoming special election in Illinois’s Second Congressional District. AFSCME cited Hutchinson’s strong record of looking out for middle class interests in making its decision.
“AFSCME Council 31 is proud to endorse Toi Hutchinson for Congress,” the union’s executive director Henry Bayer said. “Toi has a strong record on retirement security, affordable health care, tax fairness and other issues vital to union members and all working people. AFSCME will educate our more than 7,000 members and retirees in the Second Congressional District about her leadership, and encourage them to get out and vote on February 26.”
AFSCME Council 31 is a leading voice for working families throughout Illinois, with 100,000 active and retired members who provide the essential public services that residents rely on. AFSCME is the nation’s largest and fastest growing public-service union with more than 1.6 million active and retired members, including nurses, corrections officers, caregivers, EMTs, sanitation workers and more. With members in hundreds of different occupations, AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.
“When I’m in Congress, I’ll keep working with AFSCME and stand with President Obama to protect the services and programs that people across the country need and depend on,” said Hutchinson. “For too long, Congress has focused on the budget deficit instead of the opportunity deficit. When I’m elected I’m going to work hard to invest in exactly the kinds of initiatives that empower people and communities.”
