Even as parts of the Chicago area clean up from torrential rains that deluged waterways, streets and basements, the worst could still be yet to come for some areas as stormwater flowing from the north could bring with it record flooding in the coming days.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Thursday that unprecedented water levels flowing downstream from Wisconsin are expected to cause problems in northern Illinois in the coming days — even if there’s no additional rainfall.
“Flooding of this magnitude has not been seen before,” a statement from the department warned. [Emphasis added.]
* You would think the governor’s new crack PR team would be all over this. As the old saying (from Gov. Rauner himself) goes: “Crisis creates opportunity.” Yeah, he just vetoed the budgets for IEMA, ISP and IDNR, so that might be tough to explain, but I doubt any local reporters will bring it up.
As a former Rauner staffer said today, going to Lake County would allow Rauner to look like he’s “in control” and “gubernatorial,” and could help deflect questions about his recent staff hires.
The governor has only one event on his schedule today, an appearance this afternoon with the First Lady at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital (no media availability, by the way). But even if he wants to avoid Lake County to let people do their work, he hasn’t sent out any statements about the flooding, even though Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital was evacuated yesterday. I mean, he hasn’t even mentioned the floods on his Twitter page.
…Adding… As a buddy of mine points out, he could also just fly over the area in the state helicopter.
* To give you an idea of the usual protocol, this is what the governor’s office sent out on May 1st…
Governor Rauner this morning activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield to ensure state personnel and equipment are ready to be quickly deployed if needed to help local emergency responders with flooding-related public safety issues in several areas of the state.
“Several inches of rain has caused our rivers to swell, which has caused flooding in some communities. In order to expedite any state assistance to protect residents and critical infrastructure, I activated the State Emergency Operations Center with personnel from several key agencies to quickly react to any requests,” said Governor Rauner.
Representatives from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Illinois State Police (ISP), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Red Cross (ARC) have reported to the SEOC to coordinate deployment of state resources and personnel to assist communities preparing for or already battling floodwaters.
Nothing like that was issued either today or yesterday as far as I can tell.
Shortly before 3 o’clock, I asked the governor’s office whether the State Emergency Operations Center had been activated and what else the governor is doing. I delayed this post for an hour to allow them time to respond. I’ll let you know if they ever reply.
…Adding… From a “senior Illinois Republican leader”…
He’s replaced major leaguers with single A amateurs. What do you expect from them?
*** UPDATE 1 *** From a link posted in comments…
* Gov. Scott Walker called for National Guard in southern Wisconsin to help with flooding cleanup: Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard to assist residents in parts of Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties in dealing with flooding after yesterday’s historic rains. Eighty-five National Guard members were helping at various areas in southern Wisconsin, including Burlington, which was heavily flooded.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Mary Ann Ahern tweeted she’s hearing Rauner may show up in Lake County tomorrow, days after the flooding started on Wednesday.
During his 2014 campaign, Bruce Rauner repeatedly bragged about the “superstars” he would bring into state government. With these “superstars,” he claimed he would “drive a result” and revitalize state government with an outsider perspective.
Fast forward to present and Rauner’s new team of “superstars” is actually a group of radical right-wing Illinois Policy Institute staffers with limited government experience and fantasy budget proposals. The only result they’re going to achieve is further devastation and more crises as schools and working families continue to pay the price.
“The only thing this new team will be super at is dragging Illinois down a right-wing path of economic destruction,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “In the backward fantasyland they’ve proposed, Illinois children will be left with shuttered school buildings and public universities will shut down. With these ‘superstars’ charting the course, it’s clear that Bruce Rauner is looking to retire with a bang.”
We need to assemble the most talented team of leaders and executives who’ve ever turned around a state government, and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. Every time we start a business or invest in a business or build a business, we try and put the most talented team that really knows that industry or that sector. That’s what we do. That’s what I’ve done for 32 years. I’ve assembled dozens and dozens and dozens of super talented teams. That’s how we succeeded. Evelyn and I are committed to assembling talent. The most talented people from around Illinois we want to bring them into here, into Springfield to turn the government around.
You know, Mitch Daniels is my role model. Mitch Daniels brought in 30 superstars from the private sector around Indiana and around America into Indianapolis and had them put in charge of the government to run the government efficiently and effectively and transparently, and that’s exactly what we want to do here.
Now be careful. If you raise your hands during this, I may actually recruit you to come in and work for the government, so be slow to raise your hand. But I want to assemble… we’re very blessed. We’ve already had many executives come to us and say ‘Bruce, like your leadership, like your message, love the state of Illinois, and I’d be willing to work for a dollar a year too. I’ll give back for a few years. We’ll come in, and we’ll work for the government and help transform it.’ We need expertise in pensions, expertise in Medicaid, expertise in tax strategy, expertise in business policy, expertise in workers comp.
We need brilliant people who are doing it for the right reasons to drive a result.
I wonder whatever happened to all those business executives who said they’d work for a dollar a year?
* The Illinois Policy Institute has a new post entitled “Understanding why the new budget fails Illinoisans.” Here’s point 5…
It sets up Illinois for another unbalanced budget in 3 years
Illinois’ budget will still end up underwater in just a few years, even with $5 billion in tax hikes.
Even if all the 2018 budget’s assumed savings are successfully implemented, the state will be back to deficit spending again by 2021 based on conservative projections of the state’s revenues and expenditures.*
Pension costs could rise due to new actuarial assumptions or a downturn in the stock market. Department spending on core government services could eat into planned budget balances. Tax revenues could fall as more people leave to avoid paying the 32 percent income tax hike.
Deficits will occur because the budget doesn’t fix the state’s true problem: out-of-control government spending.
*The Illinois Policy Institute assumes both revenues and expenditures will grow 2 percent annually. If the presumed savings ($1.1 billion of pension savings and $814 million of “unspent appropriations”), revenues or additional expenditures (up to $700 million in additional annual debt service to pay down the backlog of bills) are off in any way, the state could be deficit-spending as soon as fiscal year 2019.
Good point. But if our governor actually proposed and then worked to pass a legitimate and reasonable budget for once, he could get in front of problems by controlling some state spending. He also doesn’t have to spend all the money appropriated in the new budget. He can choose to not sign leases and contracts, and he can work to lower those and other costs.
That’s what governors are supposed to do, not just sit back and let everything run on auto-pilot and then demand that the General Assembly craft a budget plan for him - and then veto the end product when that finally happens.
Rauner’s New Right-Wing Staff Not as Silent as the Governor on Health Care
Will Rauner’s Right-Wing Reset Include Siding with IPI, and Calling for Ending ACA’s Expansion?
This morning, the Senate Republicans released their newest version of Trumpcare, and will look to vote on the measure in the coming days. Last time the Senate offered legislation it failed in part due to pressure from Republican and Democratic Governors…not named Bruce Rauner
Despite the calls for leadership from the public and press, Rauner refused to comment on Trumpcare. Rauner was ridiculed for his silence. The Sun-Times called Rauner “AWOL” while Lynn Sweet wondered if Rauner had any “guiding principles.” Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago said Rauner’s silence was “lame” while other Governors forcefully spoke out.
Trumpcare has the potential to devastate Illinois’ budget and people. Its cuts to Medicaid would blow a $40 billion hole in the state’s budget. Rauner, fresh off his latest bipartisan budget defeat, has chosen to ignore this ax hanging over the fiscal future of the state.
One Illinois group has an idea, though; The Illinois Policy Institute has called for ending the Medicaid Expansion in Obamacare, currently providing coverage to 650,000 Illinois residents, to cut the budget.
Does Governor Rauner agree with his new staff that Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion needs to be rolled back?
“For months, Rauner kept his silence on Trumpcare for political expediency,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “He has failed to lead in the Trumpcare debate and abdicated responsibility for standing up for the welfare of Illinois’ residents. Trumpcare would drive up premiums for middle class families while stripping protections for people, and blowing a hole in the state budget. While other Republican Governors have stood up and made their voices heard, Rauner’s silence on Trumpcare helps it succeed.”
Central Illinois state legislators returned to a familiar target early and often while addressing Twin City business leaders on Thursday at Illinois State University.
“(House) Speaker (Michael) Madigan inserted a clause into the budget bill that holds schools hostage,” said State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet. “No one in this room would ever say, ‘This is a legitimate negotiating tactic, let’s hold schoolchildren hostage.’ … Those type of tactics from the speaker not only aren’t right, but make it almost impossible to find some sort of consensus.”
Rose joined Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, State Sen. Jason Barickman and State Rep. Dan Brady, all Bloomington Republicans, in blaming Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, for many of the state’s ills during a forum with the McLean County Chamber of Commerce at the Hancock Stadium Club.
* As the Pantagraph story clearly notes, “No one in this room” included Bill Brady. It just so happens that Sen. Brady sponsored the Republicans’ “Capitol Compromise” budget package. The appropriations bill in that package included this language…
The following amounts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the Illinois State Board of Education for Evidence-Based Funding, provided for in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code:
Payable from the Education Assistance Fund ………71,349,300
Payable from the Common School Fund ………….3,611,012,300
Payable from the General Revenue Fund ………..1,863,211,200
Payable from the Fund for the Advancement of Education:……….641,000,000
* Now, look at the approp bill that passed both chambers and became law…
The following amounts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the Illinois State Board of Education for Evidence-Based Funding, provided for in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code:
Payable from the Education Assistance Fund……..243,349,300
Payable from the Common School Fund………….3,611,012,300
Payable from the General Revenue Fund………..2,203,098,300
Payable from the Fund for the Advancement of Education……….619,000,000
Those highlighted “for Evidence-Based Funding” passages are what Rep. Rose was talking about. Billions of dollars can’t be spent on K-12 until the state has an evidenced-based funding law on the books. SB 1, which hasn’t yet been sent to the governor, includes that needed language.
* Not only that, but Sen. Rose himself publicly supported Brady’s bill. If you click here, you’ll see a Sen. Rose press release touting his support for the “Capitol Compromise.”
* But despite its obvious shortcomings, the above Pantagraph story is hugely insightful. Buried way down is this passage…
“No one’s more disappointed than the four of us” about the lack of reforms, said Bill Brady.
He added education funding reform “is a leverage point we have that we hope we can use to get the reforms that were on the table.” The budget requires a new state funding formula for K-12 schools before they receive any more money — the tactic Rose criticized.
So, it appears that Sen. Brady wants to do exactly what Sen. Rose said no one should ever do. According to Brady’s own words, he wants to use the pending crisis of schools not opening because of the current lack of an evidenced-based model as “leverage” to pass the governor’s reforms.
* This money has been piling up unused in special state accounts for months. The House Democrats included the cash in their “Lifeline Budget” in May, which the governor opposed and which went nowhere in the Senate. Appropriations from that fund were included in the bipartisan budget deal that the governor vetoed but Comptroller Mendoza supported, so she took the opportunity to announce the disbursement…
Using over $695 million in existing education funds, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza announced today the first release of funds to state colleges and universities in more than seven months.
The recent override of Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of the state’s first comprehensive budget in over two years provided appropriation authority to utilize existing higher education funds.
State colleges and universities had not received funding since the expiration of the “stopgap” budget on Jan. 1, 2017.
Comptroller Mendoza met with Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman Thursday morning as her office expedited a payment of $5.7 million to the school. EIU, Western Illinois University in Macomb and Chicago State University had been among those hardest hit by the budget impasse.
President Glassman showed Comptroller Mendoza some of the deferred maintenance on campus. Like other Illinois universities suffering through the last two years without a state budget, Eastern had to lay off more than 400 staff, Glassman said.
The release of $327 million for the MAP program will go toward an estimated 110,000 students from all over Illinois who qualified under the need-based award program for the 2016-17 academic year that just ended this Spring. These funds will fulfill the state’s commitment to those students attending public and private universities, colleges and community colleges who had to worry all year long whether the state would honor its commitment.
Comptroller Mendoza had been urging legislators and the Governor to deliver these funds for several months as the budget impasse stretched into its second year.
“The state’s institutions of higher education were devastated by the budget crisis and their mistreatment proved to a be a breaking point for legislators on both sides of the aisle. Delivering this money will provide immediate aid to students, parents, faculty and administrators who have struggled for more than two years to pay their bills.”
“Like the many legislators who supported a bipartisan budget solution last week, my office is committed to helping our colleges and universities recover from the unprecedented – and unnecessary – wreckage,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
Under Governor Rauner, state funding to public colleges and universities over the last two years was cut more than 60 percent. During this time, the credit rating of five major state colleges and universities dropped to junk status.
The funds released today will provide for payments that were owed to universities, colleges and to students eligible under the need based Monetary Award Program (MAP). They will benefit Chicago State University; Eastern Illinois University; Governors State University; Illinois State University; Northeastern Illinois University; Northern Illinois University; Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and Edwardsville; the University of Illinois system and its schools in Chicago, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign; and Western Illinois University; as well as other schools with MAP grant students in attendance. State universities will receive $327 million in funding. The remaining $36 million will be delivered to state community colleges.
Overall, the new bipartisan budget provides about $1.1 billion to higher education for the past fiscal year.
Additionally, the Comptroller has directed her Office to work with the universities and colleges to begin issuing another $160 million to public universities and community colleges for operational support from the state. Payments have already begun to be released as vouchers are submitted to the Office.
Many public institutions had to exhaust their local reserves to the point that it has threatened their ability to even make debt service payments. The release of these payments will ensure that these institutions can open the fall semester on time without disruption to staff and operations.
“Our schools and our students need stability. These desperately needed past-due payments will bring more stability to operations going into the fall semester and provide a reassurance to the accrediting and credit rating agencies that state funds are on the way,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
Our state’s public institutions provide benefits that extend well beyond their campuses. Every $1 invested in Higher Ed generates $4 in economic activity for the state.
* Related…
* Chicago Tonight: Comptroller Susana Mendoza on State Budget
* What does $15 billion in overdue bills mean for doctors and hospitals in Illinois?: Having a budget doesn’t put everyone at ease. Dr. Timothy Wall’s pediatric practice is one of the largest private providers of Medicaid managed care in DuPage County, and insurers owe it more than $1 million. He’s put off vaccinating children after their first birthdays because the insurers stopped paying for the expensive shots, and he’s stopped taking patients covered by Family Health Network, one of the biggest Medicaid insurers in the state. He might do so soon for patients covered by Meridian, another large carrier.
About 185 low-income, older adults who receive state assistance to remain in their homes in McLean County will transition to another service provider as YWCA McLean County ends its long-standing, state-assisted home care services.
Home-care services for 24 private-pay older adults will remain.
“It’s true that we now have a state budget,” Liz German, YWCA McLean County vice president of operations, told The Pantagraph on Wednesday. “But the damage has been done. We can’t turn back the clock.”
YWCA is owed $500,000 by the state and $300,000 of that is for state-assisted home-care services, German said.
YWCA’s last day providing state-assisted home care services for people 60 and older will be Aug. 5, German said.
The agency has been been providing state-assisted home-care services for 45 years and has been the largest provider in McLean County, said Vicki Hightower, YWCA senior director of adult services. Two companies — Addus HomeCare and Help At Home — also accept state-assisted home-care clients in McLean County. Several companies work with private pay clients, who aren’t affected by the transition.
* From the Pritzker campaign…
“As Rauner staffs up with a radical right-wing team determined to cause more devastation, our most vulnerable communities are still reeling from the damage of round one,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner’s actions are salt in the wound and Illinois seniors, children, and families can’t afford his callous leadership any longer.”
* Related…
* Women’s Center in Carbondale still in need of state funds despite end of budget impasse: “How long are we gong to be able to survive? Because we don’t know when the money is going to start coming,” said McClanahan The Women’s Center took out a $250,000 loan because of the budget stalemate. “That’s money we are going to have to pay back with interest,” said McClanahan
Some Illinois and Washington party officials think the contest might run well in excess of $300 million, blowing away the current record-holder for statewide office — the $280 million California governor’s race between former eBay executive Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown in 2010. […]
The $250 million to $300 million figure includes expected spending from candidates, super PACS and outside groups. […]
Several people close to Rauner said he was willing to withdraw as much as $150 to $200 million from his own personal fortune, and that he was determined not to let Pritzker outspend him. […]
One thing is clear, [said Curt Anderson, who helped to run Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s race in 2010, when over $150 million was spent]: it would be a mistake to begin airing slash-and-burn commercials anytime soon — a step, he said, that would badly turn off voters.
Um, Curt, they’ve already started.
*** UPDATE 1 *** If you click here, you’ll see Pritzker explaining why he isn’t raising money…
“One of the things you may or may not like about my candidacy is I’m not raising money. The reason that I chose not to do that was predominantly because Bruce Rauner, who people think self-funds, actually takes tens of millions of dollars from the Koch brothers. His largest contributor, $20 million, Ken Griffin, the wealthiest man in Illinois… And there’s going to be much more, probably the Uihleins and probably lots of others because they did this in 2016. And I want you to know that when I stand up in front of you and tell you that I’m for a progressive income tax, and that I’m gonna fight for 15 and that I’m gonna make sure we legalize marijuana, that those are the things I really believe and there’s nobody who’s gonna call me in the middle of the night who backed me, who wrote me a check or something, who’s gonna say to me ‘You can’t do that thing you said you were gonna do because we won’t back you in the next election.’”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity…
Rich,
I hope you ask Pritzker what he means by his statement that Rauner has actually taken tens of millions of dollars from the Koch brothers.
Is he saying that Rauner is taking illegal unreported contributions? As the person who has run a Koch-affiliated organization, Americans for prosperity, in Illinois, I can say that his comment is completely false.
Perhaps he should be a bit more careful before leveling accusations of illegal Blago-like activity.
Regards,
David From
On it.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the Pritzker campaign…
“We appreciate David’s feedback, but unlike Bruce Rauner, our campaign doesn’t take cues from shady, dark money networks and radical anti-union crusaders. Since AFP is having trouble connecting point A to point B, we’re happy to spell it out. Rauner’s new extremist ‘superstar’ team comes from a Koch funded policy institute. Rauner’s donors come from the Koch network, with Ken Griffin and his $20 million leading the charge. And, Rauner’s agenda of forcing pain to make anti-union gains is right out of the Koch playbook. You don’t get a state government this devastating for working families without the Koch brothers lurking in the background.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** From AFP Illinois…
Rich,
I’m sure you’re not interested in an extended back-and-forth. But but for your future use, I wanted to set the record straight on a few things the Pritzker campaign said in their response:
1- IPI does not receive Koch network funding. They raise plenty of money on their own but do not receive Koch money.
2- Ken Griffin is not a Koch Bros. They do not direct Griffin’s political giving. And he does not direct Koch funding.
i’m sure the Pritzker crew will try to make these claims again as part of their boogie man narrative.
Thanks for posting the initial response.
Regards,
David From
*** UPDATE 5 *** From Galia Slayen of the Pritzker campaign…
When attempting to “set the record straight,” David might find it helpful to consult the actual record:
The Illinois Policy Institute Received Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From The Koch Brothers, Koch Groups, And Koch-Related Donors Like The Knowledge And Progress Fund. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Illinois Policy Institute received funding from the Donors Trust that was funded by The Knowledge and Progress Fund, The Charles Koch Foundation, and Koch-Related Donors. [Center for Public Integrity, accessed 7/10/17]
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is hardening his anti-tax stance as he readies a re-election bid following a major legislative defeat, replacing key staff with leaders of a conservative group that blasted the Republican just a few weeks ago for even considering a tax hike to end a years-long budget impasse.
Rauner’s new chief of staff and a top policy aide, among others, come from the Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that has advocated for deep cuts to the Medicaid program for the poor and mass layoffs of state workers to fix the state’s finances without new taxes. The overhaul also has included Rauner’s communications director and other communications staff and longtime loyalists, and more changes are expected this week.
If you’re a solid anti-taxer, that’s a pretty darned good lede. If you’re more moderate than that, then it is probably a bit disconcerting.
Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said appointing former organization President Kristina Rasmussen his chief of staff is an “unmistakable signal” that Rauner intends to fulfill a promise to make Illinois “prosperous and free.”
“With the governor’s decision to add Kristina to his team, Illinois taxpayers and families have an effective and proven champion on their side,” Tillman said.
We’re all gonna be prosperous and free now that our champion is on our side. Hooray!
Some people will rejoice, others may scratch their heads and wonder what that dude is talking about.
“Everyone was in shock,” said a Rauner staffer who asked to remain anonymous.
“I mean everyone came to work Monday morning. But when we were told Richard [Goldberg] was out, we had a feeling if he could do that to him — who was a leader and fiercely loyal — who wouldn’t they do that to?
“Over the next 24 hours everyone was a wreck,” the source added.
“Staff fear was at its height. Doors were shut. People were crying. We then watched one person’s head roll after another. When you see a friend you respect who has worked so hard get dismissed just like that, it’s very difficult.” […]
“It’s been tough. The morale is bad. People are afraid. It has been a coup d’etat type of environment. The conservative Illinois Policy Institute has taken charge.”
Sneed hears Rauner and his wife, Diana, were planning on making these changes earlier — especially in the communications department — but surprised some of their advisers on how quickly they moved to do so.
…Adding… Something Sneed left out was that Goldberg insisted on staying in the office all morning until he had the opportunity to walk the entire 16th floor and personally thank every staff member for their hard work on the governor’s behalf. That classy move may have led to some of the crying.
The administration of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner issued layoff notices to eight employees of the Illinois Department of Transportation Wednesday, saying there was a “lack of work” for them to do, but also saying the action is part of “cleaning up past hiring mistakes and personnel practices.”
Don Craven, a lawyer representing the members of Teamsters Local 916, said the union would “take all appropriate actions to defend the rights” of the members.
Notices informed the workers their last day would be Aug. 15. Those being laid off include the wife of the business manager of Laborers Local 477, and the wife of Bill Houlihan, state director for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Bill Houlihan is also an elected member of the Democratic State Central Committee. […]
Another layoff notice was sent to Cindy Houlihan, 60, of Springfield, whose salary is listed as $85,464 annually. She said she has been on disability due to multiple sclerosis since April, but has hoped to return to work. She said her job has been statewide coordinator of the adopt-a-highway program. She didn’t comment directly on the layoff notice. Comptroller’s records show she worked for the state since 1998.
* Also, by way of contrast, I’m told that Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady has asked Phil Draves to stay on as chief of staff and asked Patty Schuh to remain as press secretary.
* Related…
* Bernard Schoenburg: Some new hires, like Rauner, challenge public unions
* In late June, Chris Kennedy called out what he believed at the time to be a Republican “tracker” at one of his events. But he did it in a pretty unusual way. Kennedy said people need to “show up” in politics and get involved, “like this young fella over here,” he said while pointing at the young man tracking him.
The audience laughed, but Kennedy said, “At least he’s showing up, he’s doing something.” Video…
The campaign didn’t share the video at the time because, a spokesperson said, “We weren’t sure it was a Republican tracker, but have since confirmed that he is.”
* Last night, Kennedy ran into the tracker again at the Independent Voters of Illinois’ Independence Day Dinner Candidate Forum. They reportedly chatted for a minute, with the tracker asking if Kennedy could hold an event in Malibu so he could get a free trip out there. Kennedy asked the tracker if they could take a pic of Kennedy posing as a tracker. “He was nice enough to go along with it,” a Kennedy campaign spokesperson said…
Sources tell NBC 5 that the governor may opt not to veto all of it, but may instead choose to use an amendatory veto on provisions involving a pension fix for the city of Chicago.
While House Speaker Mike Madigan was able to corral the votes, including numerous Republican defectors, to override Rauner’s veto of the budget bill, doing so on SB-1 may be a much harder sell.
If he just vetoed the Chicago stuff, it would, indeed, make an override more politically difficult. I think they’re looking at other options.
The Democratic plan would provide more money to all school districts, with CPS getting at least $286 million more for pensions and general state aid. The competing Republican plan would take away grant money going to CPS and spread it to suburban and downstate districts, with city schools seeing either a $38 million funding cut or $177 million in additional money, depending on whether pension help materializes.
Adding to the complicated dynamics: Rauner’s recent decision to replace his senior staff with people from a conservative think tank that opposes the underlying concept of both school funding formula bills. That means the governor’s office could end up being an incubator for a third competing plan, albeit one that would have the greatest difficulty winning buy-in from lawmakers at the Capitol.
* The Pritzker campaign dug down a bit…
With an influx of new radical staff coming directly from the Illinois Policy Institute, it’s worth taking a look at where the right-wing propaganda machine stands on this bill.
A March 2017 post on their website declares, “evidence-based education funding doesn’t work.” After the bill passed, they posted another article urging Rauner to veto the bill and perpetuating the myth that it is a Chicago bailout.
Rauner and the new far-right members of his administration staunchly opposing SB 1 — legislation that will allow schools to open in the fall — leaves the state on the verge of a new crisis. .
“When you have a track record as bad as the governor’s, you need to create something to alarm people,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy said. “He’s taking a page out of Donald Trump’s book, a page of divide and conquer and hatred. He wants to separate our state and say that downstate is against Chicago.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Emily Bittner at CPS…
Rich:
Three points on the Trib’s stories on ed funding this morning.
1 - The state increased funding for downstate and suburban teacher pensions by $500M this year alone and no one in Chicago called that a “downstate bailout.” The VAST majority of this money is going to the state’s unfunded liabilities, i.e, making up for the State’s own past skipped payments, which were more severe than Chicago’s.
From TRS on next year’s increase for downstate and suburban teacher pensions: “The total projected employer contribution for 2018, including State, Federal, and School Districts, is $4.72 billion. Of this amount, $1.05 billion, or about 22%, is for the employer portion of the normal cost and 78% is for unfunded actuarial accrued liability. The required State contribution for 2018 is $4.56 billion, an increase from $3.99 billion for 2017.”
In other words, 78 percent of this underfunding is directly because of past underfunding from the state – exactly what the Republican objection to funding Chicago teacher pensions is. Pretty hypocritical to fund suburban and downstate unfunded pensions but not fund Chicago’s lesser liability.
2 - Downstate and suburbandistricts are feeling tremendous pressure and uncertainty about whether they’ll open on time and stay open. I want to reiterate the mayor’s point that CPS is opening on time and staying open.
3 - Deep in the main bar on SB1 is this important point: if school funding were treated equally, Chicago students would get about $500M more from the state.
From the Trib: Republicans count only general state aid and grant funding, which includes the extra $250 million for CPS. Viewed through that lens, CPS gets 23.6 percent of all the money the state provides for K-12 education, even though the district’s nearly 382,000 students represent just 18.8 percent of Illinois public school students.
But city school officials say that calculation is misleading because it fails to include what the state spends on teacher pensions. That’s $4 billion, about a third of the total education pie. Include that money, and CPS gets just 15.3 percent of state education dollars.
CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said he’d gladly give up Chicago’s extra grant money if the state covered his district’s pension costs the same way it does for other school districts.
“Pension subsidies are no different than general state aid or any other form of educational assistance,” Claypool said during a recent interview. “They all go to the same thing, primarily paying for the salaries and retirement benefits of teachers.”
That Claypool would make that trade is not so surprising. The math shows that CPS would have received about $500 million more from the state during the last school year. (emphasis mine.)
This single point cuts through the confusion and clutter on education funding – if you add up all the sources of funding and treat all the districts the same, Chicago students are getting dramatically shortchanged by $500 million. This is grossly unfair, but all the more pernicious because of its racial implications–which are at the core of CPS’ civil rights lawsuit.
Thanks,
Emily
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Adam Collins in the mayor’s office…
We’ve known for a while that the governor didn’t care about the social safety net for those living in poverty around the state, but we hoped he might still care about the education of black and brown children living in poverty around the state. Guess that’s out the window now too as Rauner pivots from the right-wing to the far right-wing.
* From John Tillman at the Illinois Policy Institute…
In the past several days, the Illinois Policy Institute has been accused of introducing elements of incivility, aggression, and discord into Illinois’ public discourse. The accusers are uniformly tax-hiking lawmakers and their enablers in media.
Their accusations are false.
We are on record urging the members of our community to act with decency, civility, and candor — and we have an unblemished record of doing the same ourselves. This is not pro forma: it is central to our identity and mission.
In the aftermath of a destructive 32-percent income-tax hike, in a state budget that achieves nothing beyond worsening the already-staggering burden on Illinois families and taxpayers, the Springfield elites are desperate to talk about absolutely anything else. They know they are the epicenter and cause of a series of cascading failures that have engulfed our once-great and once-prosperous state.
The real threat is not to lawmakers who enact policies that drive out our jobs, impoverish our communities, and diminish our dreams. The real threat is to average Illinoisans who suffer the consequences of those lawmakers’ serial failures to responsibly govern. Illinoisans have a lot to be upset and even angered about. Yet even now, with one of America’s great states brought to the brink of insolvency and ruin, the overwhelming majority of Illinoisans are still showing more respect for their lawmakers than their lawmakers have shown them.
Click here for a reminder about their decency and civility.
Do not believe the recent poll that Chris Kennedy paid for to make his numbers look bigger than everybody else. Pritzker and Kennedy are not the only candidates in the race for Governor on the Democratic side. Tio Hardiman is currently polling at 18 percent and the numbers will continue to grow.
I’m not sure how he paid for that alleged poll because his campaign committee has been shut down since 2014.
* Moving right along…
(2/2) @GovRauner, we stand ready and willing to work with you to negotiate on your non-budgetary demands and #LiftUpIL.
A high-ranking official in a Chicago-area labor union threatened a local business with economic loss if it didn’t pay him quarterly cash payments of $25,000, according to a federal indictment returned today.
JOHN T. COLI SR. used the threat of economic harm to extort quarterly payments of $25,000 from a local company, according to the indictment. The attempted extortion occurred from approximately October 2016 to April 2017, while Coli served as President of Teamsters Joint Council 25, a labor organization that represents more than 100,000 workers in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana. The organization has approximately 26 local union affiliates, including Teamsters Local Union 727, where Coli also served as Secretary-Treasurer during the time period referenced in the indictment.
The indictment was returned today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. It charges Coli, 57, of Chicago, with one count of attempted extortion and five counts of demanding and accepting a prohibited payment as a union official. The indictment seeks forfeiture from Coli of at least $100,000.
Arraignment in federal court in Chicago will be held at a future time to be set by the Court.
The indictment was announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General in Chicago.
According to the charges, Coli accepted a $25,000 cash payment on July 7, 2016; two cash payments totaling $25,000 on Oct. 4, 2016, and Nov. 29, 2016; and $25,000 cash payments on Dec. 22, 2016, and April 4, 2017. The indictment does not identify the individual who made the payments nor the company Coli allegedly extorted.
Coli previously served as International Vice President of the Central Region of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the indictment states.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Attempted extortion is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Each count of demanding and accepting a prohibited payment is punishable by up to five years in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu and Abigail Peluso.
Despite the budget, “The state almost certainly (will) suffer an extended hangover” from two-year impasse that preceded it. “Revenue spent on servicing and retiring the roughly $15 billion in unpaid bills is unavailable for contribution to the state’s severely underfunded pension systems or to fund state services. It also crowds out fiscal capacity the state might otherwise use to accommodate a reduction in tax rates.”
“Nevertheless,” it concludes, “despite being fractured and delayed, passage of the budget represents an affirmation of lawmakers’ collective willingness to prioritize the state’s fundamental claims-paying ability at an investment-grade level.”
S&P’s action won immediate praise from Senate President John Cullerton. Said his spokesman, “The entire point of this balanced budget was to end the chaos and move the state toward the stability it desperately needs. Those efforts appear to have been recognized and appreciated, but obviously more work is needed to get Illinois back to greatness.”
No word yet from Rauner, who in recent days has lost or pushed out almost all of his media team, or House Speaker Michael Madigan.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Wednesday after Standard & Poor’s reacted positively to passage of a bipartisan balanced budget:
“S&P’s action today is a strong signal that the balanced budget enacted by Republicans and Democrats is an important step in the right direction. At the end of June, I wrote to the rating agencies and asked that they temporarily withhold judgment and give legislators more time to enact a budget, and I’m grateful for the legislators on both sides of the aisle who used this time to work together and make the difficult decisions needed to start getting Illinois back on track.
“There is more work to be done, and it’s clear from S&P’s statement that rating agencies, like all Illinois residents, are hoping Governor Rauner will work in good faith with legislators to address these challenges rather than rejecting compromise by turning further to the extreme right.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
We can all be thankful that S & P recognized the brave votes by legislators of both parties to put our state back on the right path to fiscal responsibility. The markets can be confident the state will meet its obligations on debt service and pensions. Much more work is needed to fix the state’s finances — and Democratic and Republican legislators proved last week they can work together — with or without the governor — to get necessary reforms done.
Nothing yet from the governor’s office, which has been silent pretty much all week.
The 2011 tax hikes passed on a straight party-line vote, with Democrat majorities in both chambers and a Democrat in the governor’s seat.
This time, 15 House Republicans rolled over for Madigan, allowing him to protect vulnerable Democrats. A lone Republican cast a “yes” vote on Madigan’s tax hike in the Senate, Dale Righter of Mattoon. Righter’s was the deciding vote that sent the tax hike to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk. He was also the deciding vote to override the governor’s veto.
Analysis of the House’s last-minute amendment to the budget revealed Righter was showered with $4.8 million in earmarks for his district.
Madigan wins again.
* From Dan Proft’s East Central Reporter newspaper…
State Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) made a trade.
He’d cast the decisive vote and give the Chicago Democrats what they wanted– large individual and business income tax hikes and a $700 million bailout for Chicago’s bankrupt public schools– if they would just agree to send a few more state dollars to his district.
And so it was.
Page 508 of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s 638-page budget lays out the $4,757,100 that Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in Charleston will receive “for remodeling of the HVAC in the Life Science Building and Coleman Hall.”
EIU will also get $59,282 “for upgrading the electrical distribution system” and and $10,790 “for renovating and expanding the (EIU) Fine Arts Center.”
All told, Righter received a little less than $5 million for EIU. And his vote will result in $5 billion more in tax dollars sent to Springfield from voters in his district and across the rest of Illinois.
This project was originally appropriated in FY 2010 but is not yet funded. This request is to recognize the inflation needs for the project from the original request date.
The HVAC systems in the Life Science building (1963), the Life Science Annex building (1964), the Coleman Hall East building (1965) and the Coleman Hall West building (1968) are original equipment and are failing to provide adequate levels of comfort in seasonal service. Air handling units that fail to deliver acceptable indoor air quality compromise the normal delivery of education to our students. In addition, poor temperature control and air delivery are energy inefficient. Also, the building heating and chilled water distribution systems have experienced numerous leaks due to internal and external corrosion and thinning of pipe wall thickness. The deterioration has made the piping systems virtually impossible to repair due to insufficient pipe material remaining to thread. During the past several leak events, faculty offices had to be evacuated and important academic work interrupted. In the event of longer - term system outages, research occurring in the Life Sciences complex could be compromised. The building infrastructure requires an entire mechanical upgrade. [Emphasis added.]
* This story is making the rounds on social media, but it’s not accurate…
When state lawmakers approved the Illinois budget last week that included a provision to raise the state income tax rate to one of the highest rates in the history of Illinois, state lawmakers, under the direction of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D), snuck in another tax increase, that will hit you every time you fill up your car or truck.
Yes, a gas tax increase of 5 cents a gallon. Rockford Senator Dave Syverson, took to social media on Monday night to remind his constituents that “back door gas tax increase” was approved. So how does this work, according to Syverson, the back door gas tax is:
a tax at the wholesale level, which raises the retail price. This move will add approximately 5 cents a gallon. ($95 million total)
Yet another reason why this budget plan was wrong.
So, if you fill up a 20 gallon tank when you go to fill up, it will add a $1.00 on to the average fill up. If you fill your car. If you fill up once a week, this new back door tax will add about $52 to you gasoline bill, every year. Truck divers and transportation companies will notice it even more as their gas consumption levels are much higher. Those costs, of course will be passed on to the cost of good the consumer will pay.
* This new law is actually about ethanol blends, not “pure” gasoline.
Current state law taxes “gasohol” (10 percent ethanol blends) on only 80 percent of the sales price. Biodiesel and E85 (85 percent ethanol) are exempt from all sales taxes.
All three sales tax incentives were scheduled to expire on December 31, 2018. If no legislative action was taken by then, all three fuels would be taxed at 100 percent of sale price.
The new law accelerates the sunset of the gasohol tax break to July 1 of this year. So, from here on out, 10 percent gasohol blends are taxed at 100 percent of purchase price.
So, if you don’t use gasohol (E10), you won’t see any price increase.
According to the Department of Revenue, 4.6 billion gallons of gasoline were sold in Illinois last year, compared to 5.1 billion gallons of gasohol and 517 million gallons of E85. Thanks to an eagle-eyed commenter, I now realize I misread that particular chart. That’s the fuel blending amounts. Thanks!
* The new law also extends the total sales tax exemption on biodiesel and E85 through the end of 2023. The ag community understandably likes the idea of extending these exemptions…
“One of those being that the biodiesel sales tax incentive was extended until 2023,” said Mark Gebhards, Illinois Farm Bureau’s executive director of governmental affairs and commodities. “The E-85 sales tax incentive was extended as well until 2023.”
The revenue bill also included a sunset provision on the E-10 sales tax incentive.
“So that was the trade-off of giving up something that at least from the renewable fuel industry, they feel that E-10 is well on its way and didn’t need the incentive that was needed for E-85 and biodiesel,” Gebhards said.
The city of Chicago may be able to end junk status on much of its debt—potentially saving $100 million or more in interest charges each year—thanks to a clause that was quietly tucked into the state’s new budget.
The provision will allow home-rule entities such as Chicago to separate out money they get from the state from other receipts and use that dedicated revenue to pay for new debt, or to pay for retiring old debt.
The city now gets well over $1 billion from the state each year, including $630 million in sales taxes collected by the Illinois Department of Revenue on the city’s behalf, the $368 million city share of local income tax receipts, and $71 million in motor fuel taxes.
City officials hope the provision will allow them to save as much as 3 full percentage points—300 basis points—compared to what junk-level city general-obligation debt now costs. With more than $8 billion in outstanding general-obligation debt, the city would save $30 million a year on each $1 billion that could be refinanced, assuming it indeed can sell such “statutory lien” debt at the lower rates. […]
The Illinois Municipal League was aware of the provision and “didn’t have any issue with it,” according to Brad Cole, the league’s executive director. The provision mostly will affect Chicago, though some other large cities around the state could take advantage of the clause, he added.
Built into legislation that passed last week is a $293 million increase in the bonding capacity for the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority. The agency maxed out its borrowing limit two years ago.
Despite a gargantuan long-term debt burden that totaled $3.7 billion as of June 2016, McPier officials plan to take advantage of the new line of credit immediately to change the way they pay for the 1,205-room Marriott Marquis hotel going up on the Near South Side convention campus.
The agency plans to sell the bonds “as soon as possible” and will use $250 million of the proceeds to repay its construction loan for the Marriott, said McPier Chief Financial Officer Larita Clark.
* Family PAC describes itself as the “leading pro-family, anti-tax political action committee in Illinois.” From a member action alert…
Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna, a Chicago Alderman of old, once said: “Chicago ain’t ready for reform.” Last week, aided and abetted by 10 “sellout” Republican House members, Illinois Democrats proved that “Illinois ain’t ready for reform”…despite the near bankruptcy status of state government.
Governor Rauner for 2 ½ years has demanded fundamental reforms in the way Illinois does business…runaway pension costs…an end to collection of public employee union dues by the state…ridiculous workmen’s compensation laws created to benefit trial lawyers, etc., etc., etc., etc.
Rauner was doggedly consistent. He would consider a modest tax increase in return for these and other badly needed reforms so that Illinois finally could be moving in the right direction and stop the mass exodus of taxpayers and businesses from our state.
As a result of the perfidy of 10 House Republicans who caved in to the “fake” budget and 32% tax increase dictated by Mike Madigan…the Governor’s veto of the tax increase was overridden by a single vote.
Here are the Republicans who must take personal responsibility for the “Illinois Train Wreck:” […]
Family-Pac worked to sustain the Governor’s veto. Last Wednesday, we made 25,000 calls to voters in these districts demanding support for the Rauner veto. Our Family-Pac lobbyist, Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch, encouraged pro-family legislators to support sustaining the Rauner veto. The “sellout” Republicans ignored us and their own constituents.
But don’t give up all hope for Illinois at least not yet. Here’s why: 1) We now have a great opportunity to replace each and every one of these “sellouts” with real pro-family conservatives next March (if not sooner). 2) In 2018, as the Madigan “fake” budget falls apart, Madigan will need to again seek help from Republicans as Illinois falls further into financial crisis.
Please call each of the “sellout” Republicans who made the “Illinois Train Wreck” possible. Say one word, “sellout,” and hang up the phone.
When the times get tough, the tough get going…so let’s get going. Grassroots power can still save Illinois.
Blessings,
Paul Caprio, Director of Family-Pac
Gee, that’ll be such fun for the secretaries who answer the phones.
Also, notice how Paul says Rauner would accept a “modest” tax increase, but then describes that exact same income tax hike as a “32% tax increase dictated by Mike Madigan.”
Not only that, but the bipartisan plan that passed didn’t include other revenue streams that the governor wanted, like a new tax on services and a tax on cable TV and streaming and a sugary beverage tax.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Three-quarters of Illinois’ state lawmakers will be accepting their per diem for last month’s 10-day special session, which will cost taxpayers at least $145,000.
According to a response to an Illinois News Network Freedom of Information Act request, of the 177 state lawmakers, only 46 denied the .39 cent-per-mile travel reimbursement and a $111 a day per diem for the special session that started June 20 and ended June 30. Although lawmakers were in Springfield for a few days in early July, they were not eligible for the per diem because that was not special session called by the governor.
Because the per diem and travel reimbursement vouchers have not been sent from the House and Senate to the comptroller’s office, the comptroller’s doesn’t have an exact total of what ultimately will be paid out to lawmakers from the 10-day special session.
But, excluding the 39 cent per mile travel reimbursement – which only covers one round trip per week – all state lawmakers who will accept the $111 per day per diem will cost taxpayers at least $145,410 for last month’s special session.
In the Senate (6 Democrats, 10 Republicans): Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island; Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington; Daniel Biss, D-Evanston; Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg; David Koehler, D-Peoria; Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill; Iris Martinez, D-Chicago; Sam McCann, R-Plainview; Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines; Christine Radogno, R-Lemont (retired); Sue Rezin, R-Morris; Tom Rooney, R-Rolling Meadows; Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo; Heather Steans, D-Chicago; Jil Tracy, R-Quincy; and Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria.
In the House (2 Democrats, 28 Republicans): Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale; Avery Bourne, R-Raymond; Daniel Brady, R-Bloomington; Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro; Tim Butler, R-Springfield; John Cabello, R-Machesney Park; Jerry Costello, D-Smithton; C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville; Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs; Mike Fortner, R-West Chicago; Randy Frese, R-Paloma; Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville; Sheri Jesiel, R-Winthrop Harbor; Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove; Jerry Long, R-Streator; Michael McAuliffe, R-Norwood Park; Tony McCombie, R-Savanna; David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills; Charlie Meier, R-Okawville; Thomas Morrison, R-Palatine; Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg; Lindsay Parkhurst, R-Kankakee; Reginald Phillips, R-Charleston; Nick Sauer, R-Lake Barrington; Dave Severin, R-Benton; Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee; Keith Sommer, R-Morton; Ryan Spain, R-Peoria; Daniel Swanson, R-Woodhull; and David Allen Welter, R-Morris.
A union-backed bid to buy the Chicago Sun-Times is moving forward, according to sources involved in the deal.
Wrapports, which owns the newspaper, had given the union-backed group a Monday deadline to put “north of $11 million” in an escrow account, according to Bill Brandt, a restructuring expert and one of the private investors on board with the bid.
“The money is there,” Brandt said late Monday. “I believe there will be a transfer of ownership.”
That money is not the sale price of the paper, Brandt said.
“The real issue was what does it take to make sure that you can operate the paper and pay off its obligations in the future,” he said.
The sale price has been reported as being a dollar.
The potential ownership group includes several local labor unions, including the CFL, and about eight individual investors, including corporate restructuring expert Bill Brandt.
“I think it’s a worthwhile challenge,” Brandt said. “It’s a money-losing venture, but this is one of those things where you take a gulp and you do it for the good of the city. Chicago needs two newspapers.”
Eisendrath and Brandt declined to identify the other investors, but Brandt said the group included several people “well-known in the political scene.” […]
On Tuesday, Sun-Times publisher and editor-in-chief Jim Kirk sent an email to his staff that reminded them, “…This is not the last step in the process. The parties continue to negotiate to see if a deal can be completed. In addition, the offer from Tronc still remains active.”
An investment group led by former Chicago Ald. Edwin Eisendrath along with a coalition of labor unions is poised to acquire the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader, Eisendrath and others familiar with the transaction said on Wednesday.
The deal was expected to be completed by Thursday morning, with a press conference to take place at some point that day.
There’s a sense among some Rauner loyalists that the governor, discouraged by defeat in the Illinois legislature, is now being influenced to go to the right rather than the middle. “It was one thing when nobody cared what they have to say it will be interesting to see how they perform outside the simulator,” an insider said.
That is a very good point. Rauner’s new hires are mostly from outside government. They’ve spent their careers criticizing government, particularly Illinois’ government, from the relative safety of a “think tank.” And now the government’s success (and failure) is all on them.
And I’ll bet you a dollar that Rauner is surprised to hear this new and growing media hot take that he’s behaving like someone who just suffered a traumatic defeat. Just days ago, the view was Rauner “won” the budget fight because he was handed new revenues to run his government as well as the popular political issue of opposing a tax increase.
Before joining the Rauner administration in 2015, Clark was Cook County Commissioner Tim Schneider’s chief of staff. Schneider is the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and a fierce Rauner loyalist, so this is a most interesting development and we’ll see how it plays out.
…Adding… From a buddy on the Clark ouster…
The guy who carried Bruce’s water getting local governments to endorse the turnaround agenda.
*** UPDATE 1 *** As you can see, Mary Ann has deleted the tweet. I’m told that her report may have been premature. Stay tuned…
Looks like I was told info before it happened, but stand by earlier tweet #ILGov18
* I cannot ever remember a time when this much focus has been placed on a governor’s staff changes. But it’s most certainly news and therefore political fodder. From the Pritzker campaign…
The Rauner administration is going through a tumultuous transformation following a resounding defeat of the failed governor’s agenda. Rauner ousted top advisers who have been loyal for years and replaced them with a group of fresh faces with radical conservative views.
Let’s meet the new and radical hires making their way to the top of the Rauner administration:
* Kristina Rasmussen was named Chief of Staff. She comes to the Rauner administration following eight years at the Illinois Policy Institute, most recently as the president and CEO. The right-wing think tank is known for proposing radical cuts to state services and programs in their fantasy budgets.
* Michael Lucci is in as Rauner’s new Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He also comes directly from the Illinois Policy Institute, previously the Vice President of Policy. In that role, he wrote 147 propaganda posts decrying fair policies like a progressive income tax while pushing top items on the Koch brothers’ agenda like right-to-work.
* Laurel Patrick will serve as the administration’s Director of Communications. She left her short post at the D.C. version of the Illinois Policy Institute — the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity — and previously worked for union-busting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
“Bruce Rauner is cleaning house and welcoming a who’s who of radical right-wing extremists into the governor’s office,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “This is the Donald Trump playbook of playing to the worst extremes of your base when you have nothing left to lose. It will have deep and damaging repercussions for the people of this state.”
* DGA…
The Democratic Governors Association releases the following statement, attributable to Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro, regarding the news that Governor Rauner spent most of Tuesday firing old staff and hiring right-wing Illinois Policy Institute staffers into his administration:
“Bruce Rauner’s operation is in chaos. Fresh off a stunning bipartisan rebuke of his uncompromising policies, Rauner has turned inward, firing seemingly everyone to be replaced by right-wing ideological staffers. These moves should be concerning for Illinois families. Rauner has surrounded himself with the same uncompromising group of people who would rather see the state fall off a fiscal cliff than pass a bipartisan budget. Two and a half years in and Rauner has doubled-down on the same failed leadership style that earned him the nicknames ‘Governor Junk’ and ‘Most Vulnerable Incumbent.’”
*** UPDATE *** From Ameya Pawar…
“Gov. Bruce Rauner is clearly losing his grip on the system he has propped up to benefit the billionaire class and corporate special interests after he lost the Illinois budget battle last week. Now, he’s trying to compensate for that loss by replacing his staff with even more conservative political ideologues who only seek to destroy our public institutions and preserve the system that only benefits the wealthy.
“When Bruce Rauner promised to shake-up Springfield, we didn’t expect just how far he would go to put his extreme agenda over the health and welfare of our state. Gov. Rauner clearly has no interest in governing. Instead he is doubling down on a failed agenda and waging war against working families, collective bargaining, livable wages and social services in Illinois. Any facade of executive leadership, collaboration and compromise has been thrown out the door.”
