* Asked about Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision not to run again, Gov. Rauner had this to say…
I just heard about that this morning. I look forward to working with whoever is the next mayor.
* Asked if he had any comment on the timing of the mayor’s announcement (the start of the Jason Van Dyke trial), Rauner said…
I don’t. I will just work with leadership in Chicago. I work for everyone in Chicago. I want to make sure we got more jobs, we bring down our tax burden, we end corruption by getting term limits. I believe in term limits for all officials. So this is all part of a process. I look forward to working with the new mayor.
* Your one-word prediction for the immediate future of Chicago politics now that Mayor Emanuel has decided not to run for reelection? Hashtags allowed.
* It’s the day after Labor Day, so the new TV ads are rapidly filling up my in-box…
Today, Sen. Kwame Raoul’s campaign for Attorney General released a new television ad, “What Erika Harold Believes,” highlighting his Republican opponent’s shocking views on the safety of children and her consistent record of discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
“Erika Harold has repeatedly supported policies that discriminate against people like me,” said State Representative Greg Harris, chief sponsor of Illinois’ marriage equality law. “Prejudice has no place in our state, let alone the attorney general’s office. Kwame has a long history of protecting our families and fighting for equal rights, and I know he will defend the progress we’ve worked so hard to achieve.” […]
Harold, who claims her personal views don’t matter because she will simply “enforce the law,” didn’t feel that way in 2014 when she supported prohibiting the U.S. Department of Justice from undermining the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Supreme Court had already found unconstitutional.
“I would support an amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman,” Harold told the Champaign News-Gazette while running for Congress in 2014.
[Narrator] “You still won’t believe what Erika Harold believes. We know she’d discriminate against a loving, gay couple who want to adopt a child, favoring an abusive, straight couple instead. But she also supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and would even allow employers to fire workers, just for being gay.
“Kwame Raoul believes children must be protected from abusers, and everyone should be treated equally no matter who you love.”
[Kwame Raoul] “I’m Kwame Raoul. This is the work of my life. And I’m just getting started.”
Today, in the race for Illinois’ Sixth Congressional District, the DCCC announced a new television ad hitting Rep. Peter Roskam for falling in line with President Trump and endlessly attacking affordable health care for families, seniors, and women in his district. The ad will begin airing immediately in the district.
The ad, “Fallen,” highlights Roskam’s record of voting 94% of the time with President Trump, and his repeated votes to weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, make older Americans and women pay more for their health care, and leave 30,000 of his own constituents without health coverage.
“Rep. Peter Roskam is deeply out of step with his constituents, and they are the ones paying for it. Rather than put his district first, Roskam has fallen in line with President Trump and voted repeatedly to weaken protections for pre-existing conditions, raise health care costs, and leave 30,000 of his constituents without health care coverage.” – DCCC Spokesperson Jacob Peters
Not to say it won’t work. I have no idea on that front. President Trump ain’t exactly popular in suburbia. But the spot looks like everything the D-trip has ever done - and they don’t exactly have a wonderful track record over there.
Career Politician Peter Roskam’s supposed to work for us. Instead he’s been a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. Roskam voted repeatedly to gut health care…weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions…and to allow insurance companies to charge older Americans and women more for their care. Roskam even voted to kick 30,000 people in his district off their health insurance. Peter Roskam’s fallen in line with Donald Trump…and we’ve…fallen behind.
…Adding… I’m told his polling showed he either couldn’t win or that it would be extremely difficult to win…
…Adding… Huge pushback on that above insider leak by a much higher-level insider. They finally got him to a place where he could win and he decided not to pull the trigger is what I’m hearing now. He just figures he has nothing left to prove…
…Adding… Talked to another top dog and got the same thing. He was just done. Time to move on…
…Adding… Former Emanuel top dog…
I called this 5 months ago and people said I was crazy. Rahm doesn't do fights he might now win. The guy hates losing.
On Sept. 7, 2010, Richard M. Daley touched off the political equivalent of a Chicago earthquake.
After breaking his father’s longevity record, Daley chose political retirement over the quest for a seventh term. That touched off a game of political dominoes that saw Rahm Emanuel succeed his political mentor and Daley’s brother, Bill, replace Emanuel as White House chief of staff.
Nearly eight years later, Emanuel is approaching that point of no return himself.
He needs to decide whether to walk away or make the uphill climb toward a third term — and stick to that decision, no matter how difficult the campaign gets.
If Emanuel waits much longer, he will risk looking like his political future is being dictated by the outcome of the trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with the murder of Laquan McDonald.
The trial, scheduled to start next week, is certain to dredge up ugly memories of Emanuel’s decision to withhold the McDonald shooting video until after the 2015 election and release it only after a judge ordered the city to do so.
“I would make the decision before the trial starts. If the cop is acquitted or there’s a mistrial and he then decides not to run, he looks like he’s responding to something,” one political operative said.
“It’s an easier decision to run than walk away. But he needs to remember that third terms are a bitch to win and even harder to govern. Even if he wins, everyone will know it’s his last term. Whatever fealty or fear people have now will be gone. It’ll be a miserable four years.”
*** UPDATE *** Emanuel’s prepared remarks…
On my first day as Mayor of this great city, I promised to make tough choices and face the hard truths we had not confronted, even when it hurts. Every day for the past seven and a half years, that is what I have tried my best to do – to improve our schools, make our community colleges relevant, put our fiscal house on stable footing, confront violence and rebuild trust between police and community, modernize our transportation systems, invest in our neighborhood parks and libraries and grow our economy into an engine of jobs and opportunity for all. I’m not shy, and together we’ve never shied away from a challenge.
Today, the time has come to make another tough choice. As much as I love this job and will always love this city and its residents, I have decided not to seek re-election.
This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime. You hire us to get things done – and pass the torch when we’ve done our best to do what you hired us to do.
I have approached public service the only way I know how for the last 23 years—giving 100 percent, 24 hours a day, seven days a week—for President Clinton, in Congress and in its leadership, as President Obama’s Chief of Staff and finally as your Mayor. For the last seven and a half years I’ve given my all every day and left everything on the field. This commitment has required significant sacrifice all around. Now, with our three kids in college, Amy and I have decided it is time for us to write a new chapter together.
In a few moments, I’ll speak to my Cabinet, and tell them to get ready to sprint for the finish line in May. We have more to do, and from now until then, we’ll do everything in our power to get it done and walk out the door hopefully leaving Chicago and Chicagoans in a stronger place. We will stand ready and eager to work with whoever is lucky enough to come next and ensure a smooth and positive transition. We owe our city nothing less.
But today I want to thank the people of Chicago for the opportunity to serve. It will fill my eyes with tears to leave a job I love, and already my heart is full with gratitude. We have worked together. We have celebrated progress together. We have grieved together. Amy and I made friendships across this city that will last a lifetime.
I want to thank Amy for being such a remarkable First Lady. We’ve been together for 27 years. When we got married, I told her I would never run for office. Six elections later, she’s the only reason I have made it this far.
We’re blessed with three great children, and I owe them so much as well. Politicians always say they’re leaving office to spend more time with their family. My kids were smart enough to see that coming and scattered to the two coasts, so as of the other day we are now empty nesters.
Amy and I are still young – and Amy still looks it. And we look forward to writing that next chapter in our journey together.
I’ll always be here for the future of this city – not as mayor, but in the most important role anyone can play, as citizen. I hope I’ll find ways to answer the call I’ve asked of every citizen: to do my part to stand up for the next generation, who deserve the doors of opportunity to be open and the spark of hope to light their eyes.
I’m grateful to my parents for lighting that spark in me. And I want to thank my grandfather, who at the age of 13, took an enormous chance a century ago by immigrating here from Eastern Europe, fleeing the pogroms, to meet a third cousin he did not know in a city whose name he could not pronounce.
In four congressional runs on the North and Northwest Sides – and in two races for Mayor – you cast aside old history and voted for a Jewish kid with the middle name Israel. I will always be profoundly grateful for that and what it means to my family.
This morning, as we start a new school year, I went to Bronzeville Classical to welcome students back for the start of a new school year and to Perez Elementary to mark the opening of universal full day pre-K in Chicago. The changes we have made to our school system – universal full day pre-K, universal kindergarten and a longer school day and year will add up to nearly four more years of class time for Chicago’s students. In the end of the day what matters most in public life is four more years for our children, not four more years for me.
Together, since May of 2011, through thick and thin, we tried to do right by our city’s future. No matter how difficult the path we never wavered or shrunk from our responsibilities. And I will never forget the honor it has been to serve alongside you the people of Chicago every step of the way.
From the bottom of my heart: Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the people of Chicago.
…Adding… Sen. Durbin…
Rahm’s record of public service spans Congress, the White House, and the fifth floor of City Hall in Chicago. I have worked closely with him at every level of his public career. I always knew a call from Rahm was an invitation to join him in a bold, ambitious effort to make life better for those he served. It has been my honor to join him in these great ventures. Rahm has left his mark and I wish him and Amy the best in the days ahead.
…Adding… Speaker Madigan…
“I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for his service to our city as a member of Congress, as chief of staff to President Obama, and most notably as our mayor.
“Mayor Emanuel offered steady leadership through difficult times. His efforts to balance the budget, stabilize pensions, and make tough decisions consistently reflected his commitment to do what was best for the future of our city, not what was easy. As Chicago continues to move forward and grow as an international city, we will remain grateful for Mayor Emanuel’s leadership.”
…Adding… The Sun-Times is compiling more react. Click here.
…Adding… Comptroller Mendoza…
Mayor Emanuel and I had some lively arguments when I first took office as City Clerk. But we respected each other’s work ethic and were united by our mutual love for the City and the people of Chicago. He made tough choices that needed to be made and I admire his conviction and force of will that drove him to see many projects through for the good of Chicago. Knowing that there’s still so much more work to do and so many critical challenges that would require a 100% focus, his decision to not seek re-election means that Mayor Emanuel is putting the City before himself. I admire him for that. As Rahm said, “It has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.” I thank Rahm for his dedicated service to Chicago as its mayor and I hope we find a worthy successor.
* JB Pritzker…
“Mayor Emanuel has dedicated his life to public service and I want to thank him for his commitment to Chicago and to the nation. I also want to express my gratitude for his work expanding universal Pre-K, a priority that is personally important to me. Every elected official makes personal sacrifice to do this work and Mayor Emanuel honored the legacy of his family with his service to our city and our state. Illinois faces real challenges, and should I be elected governor, I look forward to working with the mayor in his final months in office and with new leadership to move our state forward.”
* And with Rahm out, I would expect several Latinx candidates to express interest…
22nd Ward Ald. Rick Munoz says on WGN just now that he's running for mayor
A good thing to do if you talk to a resident of the City of Chicago – just go ahead and ask if they're running for mayor so we can start crossing names off the list.
“I have not been running against Rahm Emanuel but rather to offer fresh and realistic ideas for the future of Chicago. From the outset of my campaign in April, I have been detailing with great specificity how I will address the unprecedented and complex problems facing Chicago. And I will continue to do so on issues including rebuilding Chicago’s forgotten communities on the South and West Sides, making Chicago safer for all its citizens and repairing the City’s tattered finances. As the only candidate with a successful track record of running multi-billion government agencies, I am the only candidate in this race who will be ready from day one to get Chicago on a new and more successful path.”
…Adding… Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady…
“I want to thank Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his service to the residents of Chicago, and for his decades of public service as a whole,” said Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington). “I wish him nothing but the best as he begins the next chapter in what’s already been an amazing journey.”
…Adding… Senate President John Cullerton…
“Rahm Emanuel has been a tireless advocate for the City of Chicago. His commitment to education will be felt for generations to come, as will his positive influence on our great city. I’m honored to have worked with him and proud to call him my friend. I wish him and his family the best in their next adventures.”
Even though, as the challenger in 2014, Rauner blasted Quinn as “a miserable failure on jobs” and promised “I’ll get results,” his employment results have been worse than Quinn’s, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Specifically, Illinois added 209,000 jobs in the first 42 months of Rauner’s administration, according to the most recent finalized figures from the BLS. In a comparable period — the last 42 months of the Quinn administration — Illinois added 241,500 jobs, or 16 percent more.
There was some pushback on that particular comparison.
Rauner’s excuse to [WCIA’s Mark Maxwell]: “We have had the headwinds of a tax hike from (Democratic House Speaker) Mike Madigan.” […]
With the higher tax rates in effect during Quinn’s last 30 months, Illinois added 173,500 jobs. With the lower tax rates in effect during Rauner’s first 30 months, Illinois added 151,600 jobs. […]
This doesn’t show that Quinn’s policies were better for business or better for jobs than Rauner’s are. There are too many economic crosscurrents and outside forces at work to credit or blame any governor for these sorts of movements in the job market. It simply shows that, by Rauner’s own standards, he’s a bigger failure than his predecessor.
An Illinois county has approved a memorial honoring three former governors from Kankakee, including convicted ex-Gov. George Ryan.
The Daily Journal reports the Kankakee County board endorsed it in a 10-to-2 vote last week. It’ll be on the Kankakee courthouse lawn. It’ll also be dedicated to Len Small, governor from 1921 to 1929; and Samuel Shapiro, governor in the late 1960s.
Member Michael LaGesse opposed it, saying he didn’t get one call in favor.
Board member Robert Ellington-Snipes expressed reservations, citing Ryan’s corruption convictions. But he said Ryan also did some “good.” He voted for the plan.
Hey, it’s their county, they can do what they want. And it is most definitely unusual for a county of 110,000 or so people to have been the home to three governors.
But while lots of folks may remember George Ryan’s tenure, Len Small was about as corrupt as they come.
Len Small was governor throughout the Roaring Twenties — that gilded age of prohibition and lawlessness.
Small was a close political ally of Chicago Mayor “Big” Bill Thompson, who was the Mafia’s chief enabler in this state. Small was also closely affiliated with Johnny Torrio, the guy who united the city’s innumerable rackets and gangsters under one umbrella during the beginning of Prohibition. Al Capone was Torrio’s top lieutenant, and when Torrio split town, Capone further refined his vast organization.
Len Small was known as the “pardoning governor.” He is alleged to have sold hundreds of pardons, mostly to gangsters. He even went so far as to pardon cop killers. In 1922, a group of Torrio’s bootleggers were on their way to Chicago when they shot and killed a motorcycle cop who was in full pursuit. Small pardoned the whole bunch.
Walter Stevens, the “dean of all Chicago’s gunmen,” was Johnny Torrio’s top trigger man. Stevens bumped off many of Torrio’s rivals. The murder of an Aurora policeman landed Stevens in prison, but Governor Small dutifully pardoned him. There were reports at the time that Stevens played a crucial role in helping Small beat an embezzlement charge. Some key evidence was “accidentally” burned by a janitor, who died soon afterwards.
The malfeasance charge alleged that Small, when he was state treasurer, loaned state money to an outfit-connected company at 6 percent interest, but turned over just half the profits to the state’s bank accounts. He was acquitted, but he lost a subsequent civil case and had to pony up several hundred thousand dollars.
Small was widely known as the “Roads Governor” because he passed a $100 million bond issue to build thousands of miles of roads. Not often mentioned is that the mob controlled many of the road construction unions and, by extension, the companies they organized. You can bet your house that Torrio and Capone pocketed a big chunk of that bond money.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker is hitting back at remarks made recently by Gov. Bruce Rauner on the campaign trail and through TV ads in which Rauner said Illinois will experience “higher taxes, more corruption and fewer jobs” if Pritzker is elected.
Speaking Monday at the Rock Island County Democrats’ annual “Salute to Labor” picnic, Pritzker said Rauner has been “an utter and complete failure, and now he’s lying. I put out a plan that will lower most people’s income taxes and lower property taxes, which is one of the biggest scourges we’ve got in the state. And it will help us pay for schools.”
Pritzker has not “put out a plan” on taxation. He hasn’t even put out an outline.
* Also, it’s never wise to count on your opponent to self-destruct. I don’t think that’s what he means here, but a whole lot of his supporters are putting a lot of faith in this happening…
“I believe in standing up for job creation and for workers,” Pritzker said. “I believe Bruce Rauner has been an utter disaster for working families across the state of Illinois. That’s why he’s going to lose in November.”
* Related…
* Word on the Street: Wondering about JB Pritzker’s tax rates, Bruce Rauner’s tax relief
* Fact-check: Pritzker won’t like this headline, but he’s wrong about Rauner ad: We checked the entire string of cited articles and located the quoted lines in all of them. So it’s clear Rauner isn’t pulling words out of thin air. When we asked Pritzker’s campaign to explain how Rauner erred, spokesman Jason Rubin wrote in an email that the ad “misquotes articles by repeating lines out of context and in a way that misrepresents J.B.’s vision for putting Illinois back on track.” … It’s a complicated scenario, and Rauner’s ad ignores all the nuance by suggesting Pritzker seeks to raise taxes across the board.
* Like four years ago, Illinois’ governor’s race could take nasty turn in stretch run: “This looks a lot like the Quinn-Rauner race in a sense that neither one of them really had a lot positive to say. When you’re the challenger without a record, and sort of a rookie candidate, all you’ve got is promises that anybody can make. So really, the only thing that has any meat to it typically is reading the record of the incumbent. That’s what this is all about, being in office and being held accountable,” Mooney said. “In both (2014 and 2018), the incumbent has little to show for and the challenger is a neophyte candidate who had nothing except promises to offer,” he said. “You knew at the beginning of that 2014 race, as soon as Rauner won the nomination, it was going to be just terrible negative ads the whole time because both sides, that’s all they got. And at this point, this time around, it’s probably going to be very similar.”
Today, the Rauner campaign is launching a new TV ad titled “No More Extra Money.”
The ad features Denise Smith, a lifelong Illinoisan who is worried about the potential for new taxes if JB Pritzker and Mike Madigan take total control of Springfield. Specifically, she focuses on the Vehicle Mileage Tax, a new tax that would force Illinois families to pay for every mile they drive. Pritzker expressed an interest in the idea during a Daily Herald editorial board.
Pritzker would not only raise income taxes on hardworking Illinois families, but also push new taxes like the Vehicle Mileage Tax, taxes Illinoisans can’t afford.
I have lived in Illinois all my life. Our taxes have been growing for decades. JB Pritzker wants to raise our income taxes, but worse yet he wants a car tax which will also come along with a tracking device. How much is that going to cost us, just to drive to a family member’s house? There’s no more extra money in my budget to start paying additional taxes. If JB Pritzker gets in office, I think we’re going to seriously consider leaving Illinois.
Pritzker has said he’d consider a pilot project, but voters don’t do nuance.
Have you heard of QAnon? It’s a bizarre conspiracy theory that’s turned into something of an online cult. Its adherents believe there’s a person with ultrahigh Q-level security clearance sending them messages on the internet.
They believe Hillary Clinton and other Democrats and Hollywood types are involved in a massive pedophilia ring. The first dispatch from “Q” claimed Clinton was about to be arrested. That didn’t happen, of course, but it didn’t deter the cultists. They’ve gone on to accuse a congresswoman of plotting to kill a party staffer. They think Clinton, George Soros and former President Barack Obama are plotting a coup against President Donald Trump.
As the online movement has grown, the QAnon conspiracists have been roundly and rightly ridiculed and criticized in news stories and on social media for their hateful gullibility.
You may not know this, but we’ve had similar conspiracy theories in Illinois politics for years, and its messiahs are the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties. Both parties routinely whack legislative candidates on the flimsiest evidence for cozying up to pedophiles and sexual predators.
I’ve told you about the non-binding referendums to be held in dozens of Downstate counties designed to entice pro-gun voters to the polls, but that’s not the end of the story.
“Shall the [local county board] pass a resolution that opposes any gun control legislation in the Illinois General Assembly?” most of the Downstate ballot questions will ask. The Illinois State Rifle Association, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign and several Republican legislators have all worked to get the question on ballots in Downstate counties.
But a ballot question like that in the suburbs would run the risk of backfiring by attracting voters who might not be voting for Republican candidates. So, a different tactic was required in that part of the state.
“Shall [the county] oppose the General Assembly instituting a property tax increase equivalent to 1 percent of your home’s value to help retire state debt?” is just one of the questions that will appear on ballots in Republican-controlled DuPage and Kane counties this fall.
The 1 percent tax surcharge was first broached by a few economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago back in May. The Illinois Policy Institute and its allies (including former Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Jeanne Ives) whipped up some public furor against it, but the idea wasn’t ever going anywhere.
Property taxes are already way too high in this state and are not based on the ability to pay. So, tacking on a state tax surcharge that could add as much as 50 percent to a homeowner’s local property tax bill would bring out the torches and pitchforks — and maybe even tar and feathers.
The Republicans need to counteract what looks to be a coming Democratic wave election. They have to do whatever it takes to get “their” people to the polls. And property taxes are most definitely a huge issue in the suburbs.
DuPage County will also ask its voters about a proposal to tax vehicle mileage — another tax that has so far gone nowhere in Illinois. Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker has said he’d consider a study of the idea, but it has not gained much if any traction in the General Assembly. Senate President John Cullerton briefly flirted with the idea, but dropped it because the state still didn’t have a budget (among other reasons).
And several suburban Cook County townships will ask their voters a version of this question being asked in Schaumburg Township: “Should the Cook County Board of Commissioners reinstate the Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax Ordinance (also known as the Soda Tax) to fill an $82 million county budget deficit?”
Elk Grove, Palatine, Lemont and Maine townships will also ask the question, according to a report in the Daily Herald last week (I’m told Palos is also on that list), even though the pop tax has been thoroughly killed beyond dead after the county board imposed it and then backed off in the face of a public uproar.
A Rauner campaign official told me last week that voters in more than 60 counties and townships will have a chance to express their non-binding opinions on hot-button issues favorable to Republicans.
So, will this work? Well, it likely depends on your meaning of “work.” This is just one piece in a much larger puzzle. But, either way, it probably can’t hurt. And if they put some money and effort behind it, some folks who might not be planning to vote could be convinced by the ploy.
“The statewide Republican operation is going to use paid advertisement to target Republican voters with this referendum to turn them out and vote for all of us,” according to a text sent by Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, to one of his local county board members, according to published reports.
House Speaker Michael Madigan has admitted to using non-binding statewide referendums to get Democrats to the polls, including in 2014, when he added questions about increasing the minimum wage, taxing millionaires and requiring insurers to provide birth control coverage.
Rauner and the Republicans couldn’t possibly put questions favorable to them on the statewide ballot because that would require the General Assembly’s approval, so they’ve had to improvise locally. If nothing else, it at least shows some gumption on their part.
Now, to a bit of housecleaning. A couple of weeks ago I told you that Comptroller Susana Mendoza didn’t appeal a court ruling on legislator pay. That was wrong. She did appeal. I’m sorry.
During that forum, Roskam also accused the Democrat of calling Republicans ‘pedophiles.’ After the debate, Casten told reporters he didn’t remember ever saying that.
This is the first time we’ve heard that he said this, but clearly he did.
He posted this tweet in December of last year and since he’s deleted all of his tweets prior to March of this year (presumably in an effort to get away from tweets like this one):
*** UPDATE *** From the Casten campaign…
“Peter Roskam is a 25-year career politician with practice showing faux indignation. When sexual abuse of students was reported at Ohio State University and that Jim Jordan knew about it, Peter Roskam didn’t call for an investigation - he welcomed Jim Jordan with open arms. Sexual abuser Dennis Hastert? He celebrates that he has his desk in his office. When asked to speak out against Roy Moore? He wouldn’t. When Donald Trump called Barack Obama the founder of ISIS? Crickets.”
“And when it comes to women’s health care, Peter Roskam wants to make abortion illegal, with no exceptions for victims of rape and incest and Sean finds that to be profoundly disturbing.”
Two low-slung industrial buildings, tucked behind a Target store in west suburban Willowbrook, are about as nondescript as they come. For years, they have been home to Sterigenics International, a company that has quietly gone about its business of fumigating medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food to kill bacteria and pests.
But a new federal study is putting a bright spotlight on the company, finding that people living nearby face some the nation’s highest cancer risks from toxic air pollution.
A gas used by the company, ethylene oxide, is far more dangerous than previously thought, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In one census tract near the plant, the EPA estimates the risk of cancer is more than nine times the national average.
Another federal agency concluded the cancer risks could be significantly higher. […]
The company also stands out because since 2011 it has been owned by a private equity firm co-founded by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who left the firm a year later to begin campaigning for public office. […]
“This is not an emergency. This is not a public health immediate crisis. This is something we are managing,” Rauner told reporters after a bill-signing event in Chicago. “We are going to work with the federal government to monitor this whole situation … and try to reduce exposures from this as much as we can.” [Emphasis added.]
* As Anders Lindall pointed out, the governor still has a personal stake in that company…
* Today, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, who represents Willowbrook, introduced this bill…
Provides that a facility emitting ethylene oxide at levels higher than federal or State standards shall immediately cease operations until the level of emissions are reduced below both federal and State standards. [Emphasis added.]
The leader apparently disagrees with the governor that this situation is “not an emergency.”
And while I seriously doubt that the bill is a direct result of Rauner throwing him under the bus at the Daily Herald yesterday, I don’t doubt that it probably felt just a wee bit satisfying to file this bill today.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) is joining local officials, including House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and Willowbrook Mayor Frank Trilla, in calling on Sterigenics International, Inc. to cease operations until further testing is completed.
“Recent news reports and discussions at a town meeting this past week have many people, myself included, greatly concerned about the safe operation of the Sterigenics facility. New research from the USEPA indicates that ethylene oxide is far more dangerous to the public than previously believed,” said Curran. “Given the new revelations about the dangers of ethylene oxide, I join with those encouraging Sterigenics to cease operations at the Willowbrook facility until further testing is done.”
The letter sent to the company on Friday, which was signed by state, local and municipal officials (see attached), notes that it is “imperative that the community be assured that Sterigenics is acting as a good corporate citizen and are taking all steps necessary to protect those who are potentially impacted by the emissions of ethylene oxide from their facility.”
Curran says today’s letter is just a first step in addressing the concerns residents have about this facility. “Next week I intend to file legislation in the Illinois Senate that will create new notification protocols that will alert surrounding property owners of an air emission leak, reopen the company’s current air permit for additional public comment and expand the public comment period for any future permit renewals.”
Throughout this process, Curran has also been conferring with the Attorney General, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency and will continue working with them to make sure they have all regulatory and enforcement tools necessary to protect the public health and safety.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Oof…
"Bruce Rauner's literally poisoned our community," one of many furious Willowbrook residents said at last night's town hall about a GTRC-owned company using a chemical classified as a carcinogen. (Can't be long before @JBPritzker turns this into an anti @BruceRauner ad) pic.twitter.com/8I6Wv77ke7
Under current law, should Sterigenics, or any other permitted facility, violate any condition of its permit such as an emissions standard, the Illinois EPA would initiate appropriate action, whether that be enforcement or other corrective action. The type of action depends upon the nature and severity of the violation. If such a violation involved an imminent threat to human health or the environment, the Agency would send that matter to the Attorney General for enforcement, including immediate injunctive relief.
And they’re not making that referral because the company is currently in compliance with both state and federal environmental regulations.
“Rod possessed none of the skills, work ethic, discipline, integrity, or focus to perform any real work once he won office,” Tusk wrote.
He described a typical Blagojevich workday as “a loose mix of a few phone calls, watching ‘Sports Center,’ reading long biographies of Napoleon, preparing for a run, going for a run, stretching after the run and then showering for at least 90 minutes after that.” […]
Tusk said the less-benign explanation [for why he was hired] came to him after Blagojevich’s indictment in 2009.
“I was still a naive kid. I didn’t understand the cesspool of Illinois politics. I didn’t know the players. And in retrospect, a few things were conspicuously absent from my job portfolio: hiring, grants and contracts,” he wrote.
“If you’re looking to execute a massive pay-to-play scheme — auctioning off jobs, contracts and grants to the biggest campaign donors — it’s all you care about. Rod and his cronies figured they could do what they wanted — and let me worry about running the state — and I’d never notice,” he wrote.
OK, but he also deliberately avoided that stuff. During an end of session party when Attorney General Lisa Madigan was investigating Rod for allegedly selling jobs, contracts and bill signatures, I asked him if he was worried about his own legal status. He made it a point to stress to me that he had nothing whatsoever to do with things like that. And then he split at the end of Blagojevich’s first term.
* Greg Hinz read the whole book and came away with this…
The core of Tusk’s book is the suggestion that just about everyone and everything in public life is crooked, conniving, dumb as a rock or an ideological zealot—this from the guy who more or less ran Illinois government for a few years, served as communications director for U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, worked for former Philadelphia Mayor (and later Democratic National Committee Chair) Ed Rendell, and not only worked for but ran re-election campaigns for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Of that crew, Bloomberg—and presumably himself—are the only ones that Tusk seems to have any fondness for. To quote just one of his many put-downs of the political class: “The vast majority of people who run for office are desperately insecure, often even self-loathing. They need attention and validation at all costs. Running for and holding office is the only way most of them can get it (since they typically lack the talent to meaningfully succeed at anything in the real world).”
His damnation of Blagojevich is particularly strong. The ex-state rep and congressman “possessed none of the skills, work ethic, discipline, integrity or focus to perform any real work once he won office,” he writes. It was so bad that when the governor was needed to act on pending legislation before a pending deadline, he couldn’t be bothered. “I’m picking out fabrics for three new suits (today),” Blagojevich supposedly said. “It’s gonna take a while.”
So Tusk pretty much took control of Blagojevich’s administration—too much control, the kind of thing a hungry young man would do, some others in the Blagojevich world tell me. But control nonetheless. […]
The gist of the book is advice to new-economy entrepeneurs—after leaving Illinois, Tusk made a fortune consulting for Uber—on how to get stubborn pols on the take to give them what they want. Given that, I’m not surprised by his overall conclusion.
* The Question: Your memories of or insight into Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s first term?
* The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board asks several good questions about the horrific fire in Little Village that killed ten children. Here are the state-related questions…
What interactions, in detail, did the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services have with the children and their families? One of the mothers, who lost five children, reportedly had been investigated by the department for 21 complaints since 2004. Two of those complaints, including a case in which the mother involved a 16-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old relative in a shoplifting scheme, were confirmed.
What services did DCFS offer to the children and their families? What services were accepted? Who made contact with the family, made the assessments and provided services — DCFS directly or a private contractor?
Charles Golbert, the acting Cook County Public Guardian, told the Sun-Times that the extraordinary number of DCFS complaints about the one family, even if most of the complaints were deemed “unfounded,” should have prompted DCFS to take more aggressive action, including bringing cases to court. How valid is that criticism?
Most of the children were school-age. Did local school districts — either the Chicago Public Schools or in the suburbs — notice anything? Were there red flags? Was there any communication among the schools, DCFS and police agencies about these children and their families?
In a statement, the Department of Children and Family Services said it tries to be as proactive as possible to prevent neglect when investigating struggling families.
Before the fire, the department already had been transitioning to a more holistic approach of evaluating families, which puts more of an emphasis on previous history, instead of reviewing complaints independent from each other, a spokesman said.
“This fire and this tragedy certainly confirms the need to do what we were already moving towards,” said Neil Skene, assistant to the department’s director.
Why did DCFS ever think it was a good idea to review multiple complaints about the same family “independent from each other”?
…Adding… A commenter…
DCFS gets taked over the coals either way. Anonymous@11:23 and Rep. Sosnowski are blasting DCFS for investigating a kid walking her dog alone, and then DCFS gets blasted for not separating this family.
My response…
When you think about it, those two examples you used go right back to the question I asked.
By deliberately not putting cases into a broader context, DCFS sets itself up for failure both ways. Either they go overboard on a silly one-off, or they don’t see the forest for the trees on a family with lots of issues.
* Related…
* DCFS drops bombshell as it investigates Little Village fire deaths: DCFS, in its news release, said: “None of these individual reports by itself rose to the level of our removing children from their parents. Our current direction at DCFS is to be as proactive as possible in dealing with struggling, vulnerable families.” Charles Golbert, the acting Cook County Public Guardian, said the report was shocking. “It’s an extraordinary number of investigations for any one family. And it’s an extraordinary number of investigations that were unfounded,” Golbert said. An unfounded investigation means the agency couldn’t find credible evidence of child abuse or neglect.
* Was Enough Done To Protect Children Killed In Little Village Fire?: In the last decade, DCFS has had seven directors. In roughly the same period, a state report found 19 children died for undetermined causes, while their families were under DCFS supervision. Another 10 were killed in their own homes, while families were receiving DCFS services. “It’s not possible to make consistent systemic types of changes at DCFS without consistent, high quality leadership and DCFS has not had that over the last decade,” Golbert said.
Three years ago this month, the Legionnaires disease crisis claimed a dozen lives at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. Today, as plans to build a new vets’ home in Quincy take shape, an Adams County man who lost his father to Legionnaires’ disease at the home speaks to WGEM News for the first time. […]
Eugene Miller tested positive for Legionnaires’ and official state emails later revealed at the time of his death, the state knew for nearly a week it was dealing with a Legionnaires’ crisis at the vets’ home.
“And we actually saw the dates of what was done and said, it just brought it home to us,” [Tim Miller] said. “Our dad could have maybe had a different outcome had we known that information when our dad was sick and beginning to show signs.” […]
“Our team has done, by in large, an excellent job,” Rauner said. “People aren’t perfect, occasionally they stumble here and there but the reality is we’ve done everything we were asked to do, immediately.”
When Miller heard that statement, he decided to speak out.
“What I think it really gets down to, the hardest thing is that he (Rauner) doesn’t want to give any thought to the fact that maybe the ball was dropped in a big way and that people died because they didn’t know what was going on,” Miller said. “It’s really a hard pill to swallow to see him say ‘we did it right, we did what we were supposed to do’ because that’s not the case.”
* Marni Pyke has been all over this story for the Daily Herald…
Gov. Bruce Rauner wants the Illinois tollway to get its act together regarding reports about nepotism, potential patronage and infighting among executives.
At a Daily Herald editorial board interview Wednesday, the incumbent Republican said he “was pretty upset” regarding the tollway’s hiring the sister-in-law of GOP House Leader Jim Durkin as engineering manager in 2017.
“I’ve troubled by some of the allegations that have surfaced,” Rauner said. “I’ve called the board and said, ‘Look, guys, If I have to send in some investigators, I’ll do it.’” […]
Rauner campaigned in 2014 on ridding Illinois’ government of cronyism, and he frequently excoriates Pritzker and House Speaker Michael Madigan on that subject.
Laura Durkin’s last job was in office furniture sales in 2001, the Daily Herald reported; tollway leaders contend she was the most qualified person for the $80,000-a-year engineering department job. The tollway also has a $6.6 million subcontract with Morreale Communications as part of a larger engineering contract. The firm is led by CEO Kim Morreale, who is married to Chicago’s only Republican state representative, Michael McAuliffe. Tollway officials say they follow state procurement laws and the Morreale firm was hired on its merits.
Investigators? Is he gonna send the state cops in or hire a private detective or something?
* The ban was probably unnecessary to begin with because, as explained earlier this week, two of the protesting cheerleaders didn’t return to SIUC this semester and the third had already decided to stop taking a knee during the anthem. And legally speaking, it was highly problematic, as explained by Brian Munoz at the Daily Egyptian…
SIU Athletics has rescinded new language in the Student Athlete Code of Conduct that said any displays of activism will not be tolerated and could lead to the individual’s removal from their respective program. […]
“However, some have interpreted the language to suggest that our aim was to restrict the free speech rights of our students – that was never our intent,” [Tom Weber, associate athletic director over communications] said. “We fully support the free expression of ideas and opinions among our students and the entire Saluki family.” […]
“The government can make neutral rules for students to follow and universities can set higher standards of conduct for athletes, cheerleaders and other student leaders,” [William Freivogel, a media law professor at SIU] said. “But in the process, the government can’t discriminate based on the content or viewpoint of speech.”
Freivogel said the university cannot punish a student leader for taking a knee during the anthem if the school is also not prepared to “punish pro-flag, pro-military or Tim Tebow-style religious gestures.”
Gregory Magarian, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said he shared similar sentiments.
“If we’re going to say there’s nothing political about standing for the national anthem then we are saying one of two things – we’re saying it’s meaningless, or we’re saying that we are absolutely forcing a consensus political view on everybody and it has political significance – and you will obey that political significance, or you are out.”
*** UPDATE *** Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy, ACLU of Illinois…
SIU has done the right thing by reversing this ill-conceived policy. Students at a public university should be able to weigh in on matters of public concern without threats of reprisals and discipline. This action represents an opportunity for the University to foster an active dialogue about a range of issues – including the need for police reform in our nation. We hope the University will embrace this moment and create an atmosphere where views can be expressed and exchanged in a thoughtful manner.
The political network created by the billionaire Koch brothers announced plans to support eight House Republicans on Thursday, pledging financial resources and activists to help re-elect several vulnerable congressmen deemed “principled” conservatives. […]
The announcement comes a month after Trump assailed the Koch brothers as “a total joke in real Republican circles.” Days earlier, network patriarch Charles Koch had condemned the increased government spending under the Republican president’s leadership and Trump’s push for import tariffs. […]
Despite the clash with the White House, the Koch network remains one of the most powerful political organizations in the country. The sprawling organization is on pace to spend as much as $400 million on politics and policy ahead of November’s election. And its coalition of trained activists across 36 states has no rival.
The candidates backed by the network’s political arm, Americans for Prosperity, include eight men from seven states: Reps. Rod Blum and David Young of Iowa, Dave Brat of Virginia, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Steve Chabot of Ohio, Will Hurd of Texas, Erik Paulsen of Minnesota and Peter Roskam of Illinois.
“The candidates we are supporting this fall have each been strong, principled leaders committed to removing barriers to opportunity in the federal government that are preventing people from realizing their full potential,” AFP President Tim Phillips said in a statement. […]
Last month, AFP announced it would not support Rep. Kevin Cramer in his challenge to Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota because of his views on trade and immigration.
That elicited a response from Trump, who called then the “globalist Koch Brothers” and their network’s influence “highly overrated.”
*** UPDATE *** Sean Casten…
“Two of the largest corporate benefactors of Peter Roskam’s tax scam have announced they’re returning the favor,” said Casten. “It’s understandable that the Koch Brothers, who stand to benefit from $1.4 billion in tax breaks thanks to Peter Roskam, would want to financially support him. But what is not factual are the policy positions they attribute to Peter Roskam as their rationale.”
“Peter Roskam voted to strip health coverage away from 30,000 of his constituents, eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions, added over $2 trillion to the deficit, voted against protecting Dreamers, and voted against increasing funds for veterans’ health care and post-traumatic stress disorder - that’s a record I’d be running from, not supporting.”
In their rationale for backing Roskam, the Koch Brothers erroneously attributed leadership to Roskam for his work on health care, budgets, Dreamers, and veterans. Casten highlighted where Peter Roskam is, in reality, bad on those issues:
Voted to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act 60 times, and voted for Paul Ryan’s bill which would have left 23 million Americans - including more than 30,000 6th District residents - without health care and raised premiums 20 percent.
Voted for a tax bill that adds $2 trillion to the deficit, with 83 percent of the benefits in Peter Roskam’s tax scam going to corporate special interests and the wealthiest one percent, while its $10,000 annual cap on state and local tax deductions will force thousands of middle-class families to pay more.
Voted against the DREAM Act as well as to restart deportations of undocumented immigrants protected under DACA and DAPA.
Voted against increasing funds for veterans’ health care and PTSD treatment.
* Employee Accuses Pritzker Group of Union-Busting: “If he’s going to be a businessman and politician who’s campaigning on a progressive platform, you’ve gotta prove that you’re progressive in your business as well,” Dean said Thursday. “He campaigns on unionizing. He says unions are a great thing, they’re what built the middle class. He wants to campaign on collective bargaining rights. And he’s actively union-busting at his own company.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** The person who runs the day to day operations of this little company really ought to have his or her head examined. I mean, nobody over there stopped to think that maybe, just maybe fighting a unionization effort might damage the guy who pays all the bills? Anyway, it appears the message finally got through what must be a very thick skull…
At Entertainment Cruises, we know our shipmates make our company great, and we are committed to open and transparent dialogue with our employees. We support the right of our shipmates to engage in organization activities and to make sure that all voices are heard in that effort. If a petition is filed with the NLRB, the NLRB’s process provides a fair mechanism for employees to vote in a secret ballot election. Entertainment Cruises respects this right and will conduct itself throughout the process with integrity and fairness.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Kathy Hanshew, Manager of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board, Workers United/SEIU…
We are deeply disturbed by the Pritzker Group and Entertainment Cruises’ response to the SeaDog workers’ recent demand for union recognition. Sending workers seeking workplace justice and union representation to Donald Trump’s NLRB for a fair process is akin to sending undocumented immigrants to Donald Trump’s ICE for a fair process. It’s a horrible idea.
Pro-union Democrats, including both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, support the Employee Free Choice Act or EFCA. EFCA would mandate that private sector employers recognize a union based on a simple authorization card count or card check. Bosses love NLRB elections because even though a solid majority of Americans approve of unions, only about 8% of Americans actually belong to them. The Millionaire and Billionaire class and the NLRB are to blame.
We continue to demand that JB and Tony Pritzker and Entertainment Cruises work out a fair process for organizing so that their workers gain union recognition through a simple card count. This was the process recently used by TRONC when employees decided to organize at the Chicago Tribune, and it will work just fine for Entertainment Cruises workers out at Navy Pier.
Will the real JB Pritzker please stand up?
*** UPDATE 4 *** I agree with the gist of this take…
Yeah, this is still Union busting. We are a seasonal company, and will be losing most of our staff over the next few weeks. A delayed vote is literally their only chance to still shut us down. In the meantime, they will continue their campaign of lies, rumors and intimidation.
* I have a gazillion press releases in my inbox from Jim Dodge and the ILGOP touting just one issue: Passing a constitutional amendment to consolidate the treasurer’s and comptroller’s offices into one. Dodge spent days on the road with Darlene Senger touting this single issue. And yet…
Republican state treasurer candidate James Dodge acknowledged Thursday he was mistaken over how a hallmark of his campaign — a proposed constitutional amendment to combine the offices of treasurer and comptroller — would go before voters. […]
In discussing the proposal, Dodge told the editorial board that he should be treasurer to act as a point person to assist voters on such a proposed amendment when it “comes out of the House and let’s say the governor signs it.”
Under the Illinois Constitution, governors don’t have signing or veto power over proposed constitutional amendments.
Asked about his comment afterward by a reporter, Dodge said governors “have to sign the legislation to put it in front of the ballot” before voters.
Told he was incorrect, Dodge replied: “OK. I stand corrected.”
#facepalm.
Not to mention that he didn’t even support the issue when he ran for comptroller against Judy Baar Topinka in 2010.
