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* I told subscribers about this earlier today. But since Greg Hinz has done a piece on it now, I’ll share this statement given by Chicago Teachers Pension Fund board of trustees President Jeffery Blackwell back in August…
I had the honor of being elected by my peers in 2010 and have taken my role as a trustee very seriously. As the first African-American male President of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund it has been my honor to serve as a fiduciary in a leadership capacity. After heavy reflection and much consideration I am making an announcement that cannot be delayed any longer. I ask my fellow trustees for their indulgence as what I am about to say will not be easy.
For the last year and a half I have been witness to some of the most abhorrent, disturbing and despicable actions by former and current trustees on this board. There is a culture of intimidation, intentional misinformation, discrimination, slander, misogyny, fear-mongering, blatant racism, sexism and retaliatory actions from trustees towards staff and vendors. I cannot and will not be silent anymore. My silence will no longer be used as complicity to enable unethical and terrible behavior from Trustees. I have reviewed audio of verbal abuse from trustees to staff during board and committee meetings. I have been on the receiving end of sabotage, intimidation, and racist comments from individuals that I believed were my colleagues and friends. I have witnessed former trustees slander, harass and defame vendors simply because they can. This behavior stops today. There are at least 12 active complaints that have been filed on behalf of staff against several current trustees. I am aware of documented harassment and targeted bullying from one former trustee and one current trustee to a vendor who represents us in Springfield. I am also aware of trustees being approached by members of the Chicago Teachers Union who want us as trustees to hire former Madigan staffers who are now contract lobbyists. Let me be clear. We are not in the business as fiduciaries of hiding Madigan lobbyists at the fund under the guise of an RFP.
To add insult to injury, several executive board members of this fund have received notice that trustees are deliberately and viciously targeting women of color. I have witnessed a Trustee who refuses to engage or legitimize a Director in her area of expertise without first corroborating her claims with her white subordinate. African American staff, particularly women, are subjected to inappropriate comments, insensitive behavior, and mental intimidation ON A DAILY BASIS. This is the type of behavior that we as teachers would never tolerate and fight against in our own grievances, mediations and arbitrations. As an African-American President, I have even been on the receiving end of gamesmanship that has stalled, delayed, and disrupted our meetings. According to Board policy, the Trustees establish the dates and times for meetings during our Annual Meeting in November. Regular Board of Trustees’ meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of January, March, May, August, September, November and December. This year, the published meeting schedule called for special meetings in February, April, June, and October. These meetings were to be primarily used for committee business. NO board meeting was scheduled for July at the Trustees’ request in recognition of summer schedules, and the difficulty of achieving a quorum due to vacations and holidays. According to Fund policy, special meetings maybe called by the President or by three Trustees provided public notice of the meeting is given in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. There were two special meetings called for in July by groups of three or more trustees. These special meetings were not included on the published schedule for the year, and they failed to achieve a quorum. Not all members will be able to attend every meeting, especially those scheduled on short notice. A lack of attendance by trustees at unplanned meetings is not a breach of fiduciary responsibility or fund policy. In fact, it was a direct act to protect our mental health from the barrage of inexcusable behavior at our participant’s expense. Systemic racism is a form of racism that is embedded as normal practice within society or an organization. Systemic racism is not always as blatant as using a racial slur or refusing service based on a person’s race, sexual orientation, or religion. Instead it can reveal itself as comments against African emerging managers as an unfounded suspicion that they will steal money. Systemic racism is a repeated coordinated effort by a former trustee to end a vendor’s contract WITHOUT CAUSE by pushing for an unnecessary RFP. It can rear its ugly head by abusing staff and intentionally blocking consequences for unethical and morally wrong behavior. Lastly, systemic racism can be perpetuated by the Chicago Teachers’ Union who has been made aware of the despicable discriminatory practices of trustees and who choose to remain silent. As I stated before I can no longer sit idly by while the morale of staff and vendors are destroyed. Ultimately it is the participants who suffer.
In a move that is unprecedented, but ultimately necessary I will be instructing the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer to compile all grievances, complaints, harassment claims, audio clips of verbal abuse, and recommended consequences from external counsel and submit them to the Public Access Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office, the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Legislative Inspector General and the Office of the Mayor for what I believe are violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act, the City of Chicago Human Rights Act, the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance, the State Official and Employer Ethics Act, and the Illinois Whistleblower Act. As trustees we cannot condone racism, harassment or targeted discrimination. We will no longer allow former trustees and active trustees to terrorize our fund with unethical behavior and acts. If we are not a part of the solution then we are part of the problem.
A link to the above was posted by a commenter on late Friday afternoon.
* On to Greg…
The political woes facing Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan expanded to a new front today with the disclosure of a gripe from the president of the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund that his board was asked to hire lobbyists close to the speaker. […]
Blackwell has not been available for comment today. Chuck Burbridge, the executive director of the $12.3 billion retirement system, said in an email only that, “The board will be looking into the governance issues Mr. Blackwell raised” and that day-to-day fund operations continue. […]
CTU had no comment, and Madigan’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
In a statement, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin said: “Once again, we see a pattern of Speaker Madigan trying to intimidate and abuse his vast power to award his allies with jobs. His reach and corruption know no bounds.”
* The ILGOP also issued a press release today…
JB Pritzker has a big problem. He hasn’t taken a position on whether Democrats should subpoena Mike Madigan to testify before a House probe investigating his corruption. He hasn’t called on Democrats to vote to issue that subpoena. He’s hoping this will all go away so he can stay friends with Madigan, his biggest political booster.
Predictably, however, the probe of Madigan’s corruption is about to widen beyond ComEd. It stands to reason (in line with longstanding Springfield rumors) that if Madigan pressured ComEd to hire his cronies in exchange for legislative considerations, he did this to others. We already knew that the US Attorney had issued subpoenas to other companies in Illinois. Now comes another bombshell.
From Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund Board of Trustees President Jeffery Blackwell:
I am also aware of trustees being approached by members of the Chicago Teachers Union who want us as trustees to hire former Madigan staffers who are now contract lobbyists.
To say that CTU and Madigan have played hardball in Springfield for years is an understatement. So it was a great surprise to read in the spring of 2019 that Madigan allowed a CTU-backed bill out of the House that repealed a 1995 law that had narrowed collective bargaining topics for Chicago public schools. During the Rauner years, Democrats had floated expanding the 1995 law statewide to help school districts save money and lower property taxes; now Madigan was giving the green light in the opposite, pro-CTU direction. Madigan followed with support for a CTU-backed school board election bill.
First ComEd. Now CTU. No doubt the list is endless if people ever came forward. It has always been a wonder that Madigan could operate a Capone-style machine without ever getting caught. But until now, he was considered unchallengeable, all-powerful, invincible. As Madigan’s power wanes, the drip-drip will continue.
The question for Pritzker: a smart politician would be running away at light speed and calling for Madigan to resign. What does Madigan have over Pritzker that the governor can’t even call for a subpoena?
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Are we missing the point?
Monday, Oct 5, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not one person has said this to me…
There’s a fantasy popular in certain Illinois Democratic circles that goes something like this:
Democratic legislative candidates wipe out suburban Republicans in the November election, allowing House Speaker Michael Madigan to expand on his party’s overwhelming majority.
Flush with his latest success, the nation’s longest-serving House speaker cites the election results as a repudiation of his critics, declares he’s done all he can for Illinois and calls it quits after 50 years as a state representative — to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Then, those engaged in this fantasy snap out of it and remember this is Mike Madigan, who gives up nothing without a fight, never voluntarily cedes power and ain’t going nowhere yet.
* And while this piece is a profile of Senate candidates, judging by my conversations over the past several days, the same can be said for House members as well…
Tell us what you hear most from constituents. What is their top priority of lawmakers in Springfield?
Sen. Rob Martwick: I hear many concerns from my constituents. People are worried about civil unrest, violence and creating a more just system of criminal justice. They are very concerned that the state ensures a smooth and stable, yet robust recovery from the pandemic that allows the middle class to thrive, but protects society from potential future outbreaks. Although, I come from a solidly middle class district and my constituents are a strong willed and hard working bunch and their greatest priority for me continues to be that every level of government work to provide opportunities to them and their families, and fix our financial problems.
Sen. Cellina Villanueva: Since March the #1 issue I have heard most from constituents is the IDES/Unemployment system in the state. My team and I have spent countless hours working to get every case that comes our way in front of the staff at IDES so that people can get their benefits and have one less thing to worry about during this pandemic. I do not believe there is ever going to be just one priority for lawmakers because this pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our lives. Dealing with the current effects and aftermath of COVID is going to have to be one of many of our top priorities as lawmakers. COVID has impacted jobs, small business, education, higher education, food accessibility, housing, and other social needs. Everything has been impacted and we have to focus on helping people in as many ways as possible.
Rep. Karina Villa: The primary issues in my house district when I first ran were property taxes, education funding and affordable healthcare. From a baseline perspective, that hasn’t changed but the economic reality of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic has forced unanticipated priority adjustments. My work with the manufacturing facilities in my district regarding essential worker safety is an example of an unexpected adjustment. It is also imperative that we must work diligently to protect our students, teachers and staff as we reopen schools, and do what we can to support our small businesses. The 2020 census success will be critical in obtaining the federal funding we will need to support these efforts.
Sen. Patrick Joyce: Lowering property taxes.
People are desperately trying to just get by during extremely difficult times.
* WBEZ…
WBEZ has been asking you what you want Illinois politicians to be talking about heading into November’s elections — and beyond. Our goal: Cover government and politics based on the issues that matter most to constituents, rather than covering politics like a game of thrones. […]
More than anything, you told us you want answers about how government officials are responding to the pandemic – both from the economic and public health perspectives. You also wanted them to address the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. About half of the responses dealing with COVID-19 had to do with how officials plan to keep the virus from spreading, especially among vulnerable populations like frontline workers. […]
You told us you want to feel safe in your neighborhoods from violence in all of its forms – including robberies, gang violence, and harassment from police. […]
The right to a quality education was top-of-mind for many of you. In particular, people wanted to hear their officials talking about ways to distribute school funding resources and educational opportunities equitably, from childcare to remote learning resources to affordable higher education. […]
You also told us you wanted to hear how elected and government officials plan to address the unequal investment in neighborhoods and areas around Chicagoland – particularly, through the lens of racial equity. […]
Even as the pandemic remains a major healthcare concern, we heard from many people worried about the cost and availability of healthcare beyond the pandemic.
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* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,853 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 14 additional confirmed deaths.
• Champaign County: 1 female 90s
• Christian County: 1 male 80s
• Cook County: 2 males 60s, 1 male 70s, 1 male 80s
• DuPage County: 1 female 80s
• Fayette County: 1 male 90s
• Knox County: 1 male 50s
• Monroe County: 1 male 80s
• Wayne County: 1 male 50s
• Williamson County: 1 female 70s
• Winnebago County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 100+
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 303,394 cases, including 8,805 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 28 – October 4 is 3.4%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 38,538 specimens for a total of 5,924,956. As of last night, 1,631 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 382 patients were in the ICU and 155 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IDPH is now reporting separately both confirmed and probable cases and deaths on its website. Reporting probable cases will help show the potential burden of COVID-19 illness and efficacy of population-based non-pharmaceutical interventions. IDPH will update these data once a week.
*All data are provisional and will change. In order to rapidly report COVID-19 information to the public, data are being reported in real-time. Information is constantly being entered into an electronic system and the number of cases and deaths can change as additional information is gathered. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
* Sunday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 1,453 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 17 additional confirmed deaths.
Cook County: 1 female 30s, 1 female 50s, 1 male 50s, 2 males 60s, 4 males 70s, 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
DeKalb County: 1 female 70s
DuPage County: 1 male 70s
Monroe County: 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Will County: 1 male 70s
Williamson County: 1 male 60s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 301,541 cases, including 8,791 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 27 – October 3 is 3.3%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 51,656 specimens for a total of 5,886,418. As of last night, 1,521 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 384 patients were in the ICU and 140 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
* Saturday…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 2,442 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 31 additional confirmed deaths.
Christian County: 1 male 80s
Cook County: 1 male 40s, 1 female 50s, 2 males 60s, 1 male 80s, 1 male 90s
Crawford County: 1 male 50s
Greene County: 1 female 70s
Kane County: 1 male 60s
Livingston County: 1 male 60s
Macon County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
Madison County: 1 female 80s, 1 female 90s
Mercer County: 1 female 90s
Monroe County: 1 female 60s
Morgan County: 1 male 80s
Peoria County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 90s
Rock Island County: 1 male 70s, 1 female 80s
Tazewell County: 1 female 60s, 1 female 80s, 1 male 80s, 1 female 90s
Vermilion County: 1 male 70s
Will County: 1 male 70s, 3 females 90s
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 300,088 cases, including 8,774 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 26 – October 2 is 3.4%. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 71,634 specimens for a total of 5,834,762. As of last night, 1,535 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 361 patients were in the ICU and 140 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
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Question of the day
Monday, Oct 5, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chicago Tribune endorsement…
Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, causes trouble in Springfield (in a good way) because he doesn’t go with the flow. He challenged Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-home directives in court as executive order overreach. He calls out members of his own party if he believes they’re leading the state in the wrong direction. On taking a legislative pension, which he declined, he says: “I believe that the position of representative and senator are not careers, but should be treated as times of service to our state. It is irresponsible to collect a pension for an elected position while the working-class pensions are in jeopardy.” Right on. Bailey faces Olney business owner Cynthia Given. Voters in this district should send Bailey to the Senate where he can continue to challenge the status quo. He is endorsed.
“Right on”?
OK.
Rep. Bailey is, of course, a member of the Eastern Bloc, which wants to kick Chicago out of Illinois.
* The Question: Should Rep. Bailey reject this Chicago-based endorsement? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
bike trails
And, yes, this is a snarky question.
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* Tribune…
Investors who won a chance for a license to sell recreational marijuana in Illinois have filed a lawsuit asserting it’s illegal to give other applicants a second chance.
The lawsuit sets up a potential court battle over when to hold a lottery to award 75 new retail licenses.
Three finalists filed a petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to order that the licenses be awarded without recent changes to the application process they say were made because of “political expediency.”
Last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced new procedures that would allow applicants to correct any deficiencies in their applications and get re-scored for a second chance at qualifying for the license lottery.
The lawsuit is here.
Keep in mind that the winners all had perfect scores. The losers are not allowed to change their applications to add, say, military veteran ownership or whatever. The losers can only challenge what they believe to be subjective decisions or errors by the company hired to do the scoring.
So, I kinda doubt that much will change even if the courts deny this legal move. As I told subscribers several days ago, though, politically speaking, it’s far better for the governor to be on the side of the multitude of losers than to be with the handful of winners.
* Related…
* Canopy to bring cannabis beverages to U.S. next summer - Canopy Growth, the cannabis company that attracted Corona beer producer Constellation Brands of Chicago as an investor, will first roll out the drinks in Illinois and California
* Naperville’s first recreational marijuana store to open Thursday
* The Winners of The Cannabis Cup Illinois: People’s Choice Edition 2020
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* What follows are the results from contact tracing efforts in Illinois between August 1 and September 29. “Other” is described as a catchall for anything not covered by the specific categories below, including things like vacations, family gatherings, weddings and college parties….
![](/wp-content/tracing2.png)
Click the pics for a larger image. The graph was provided by the governor’s office.
Discuss.
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* Mike Miletich…
Two former Illinois politicians have formed a bipartisan campaign committee to urge residents to vote against Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride’s retention.
Former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Congressman Ray LaHood joined former state lawmaker and political commentator Jim Nowlan to discuss their goals for “Citizens for Judicial Fairness.”
They feel Kilbride has been a “puppet” for House Speaker Mike Madigan over the last 20 years. The group claims he received more than $4 million from Madigan political committees during his first two campaigns.
* Jim Dey…
“Madigan is the issue, and I can tell you he is detested in downstate Illinois. People hate him,” said Jim Nowlan, a former University of Illinois faculty member who is leading the charge against Kilbride.
Labeling Kilbride as a “puppet” of Madigan, Nowlan likes to ask members of his audiences if they would like to vote against the 78-year-old Chicago politician.
“They come out of their seats,” said Nowlan, a former Republican state legislator who’s worked in the administrations of what he describes as three “unindicted” Illinois governors.
If they want to vote against Madigan, Nowlan says, they can vote against Kilbride’s retention.
* Capitol News Illinois has been distributing Nowlan’s column, so I reached out to CNI editor Jeff Rogers to see if that would continue…
After receiving requests from a number of editors, Capitol News Illinois agreed last year to distribute Jim Nowlan’s columns to Illinois newspapers. Jim has been writing those columns free of charge, and he is not an employee of Capitol News Illinois. After his Aug. 21 commentary, Jim voluntarily suspended the writing and distribution of his commentaries until at least after the Nov. 3 election.
Rogers is also the director of the Illinois Press Foundation, which is the “nonprofit, charitable arm of the Illinois Press Association.” The IPA is an association of newspaper publishers and lobbies in Springfield.
…Adding… Nowlan’s last column for CNI was about how the Republican Party needs a new Jim Thompson. One of Thompson’s last acts before he died was to endorse Kilbride.
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* Hannah Meisel…
The libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute on Monday filed suit in an effort to derail Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature policy proposal — changing Illinois’ constitution to allow for a graduated income tax — by forcing the state to issue “corrective notices” about the intent of the tax change, or declaring the vote on the amendment “void.” […]
Among other arguments, the suit alleges the explanation and arguments in favor of the amendment could “induce retirees into voting to impose on themselves a tax on retirement income.”
“If approved by voters, the [Progressive Income Tax] Amendment would eliminate important structural safeguards that deter legislators in the General Assembly from imposing new taxes on retirement income and deter legislators from imposing higher taxes on individuals with middle or low incomes,” the suit alleges.
Although Pritzker himself has repeatedly said he would not move to tax retirement income, and the pamphlet also explicitly says “This amendment does not tax retirement income,” opponents to the tax change have fixated on a comment made by Democratic State Treasurer Mike Frerichs this summer, in which he suggested the graduated income tax would open the door to taxing retirement income.
They look like they’re taking a political argument and trying to make it in court.
The suit is here.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks released the following statement in response to the lawsuit the Illinois Policy Institute filed in Cook County today:
“When the facts aren’t on your side, you’re forced to rely on blatant stunts and outright lies, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing from the Illinois Policy Institute today. This is just the latest attempt by an organization bankrolled by the wealthiest people in the state to ensure the burden remains on middle and working-class families, while millionaires and billionaires avoid paying their fair share. IPI is the organization that brought Illinois’ two-year budget impasse and 8 credit downgrades, but won’t support a policy that gives 97% of Illinoisans a tax cut. They can continue to waste their time with frivolous lawsuits – Vote Yes For Fairness remains focused on educating voters on how the Fair Tax will help them, their families, and their communities.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** John Bouman, chairman of Vote Yes for Fair Tax…
“The wealthy few who benefit from the state’s unfair tax system are desperate. They will do anything to prevent paying their fair share, even try to silence the voices of Illinois voters. The frivolous lawsuit filed by an extreme far-right front group is the latest example of their dirty tricks.
“The people of Illinois won’t be denied their right to vote Yes for a tax cut for everyone who makes less than $250,000, Yes for new funding for schools and health care, and Yes to make the very rich finally pay their fair share.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Jordan Abudayyeh…
Working families in Illinois are used to seeing lies from the billionaires and millionaires who don’t want to pay their fair share, and this latest desperate doozy from the Illinois Policy Institute is just more of the same to protect their wealthy donors and make the middle class pay. The Governor has been abundantly clear that Illinois will remain one of the few states that will not tax retirement income and retirees will get a tax cut under the fair tax plan. The General Assembly passed and the Governor signed into law the tax rates that would go into effect. Illinoisans can go online and see how the fair tax would impact them and the fact is that 97 percent of Illinoisans will see a tax cut.
…Adding… I just realized we are in the midst of Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week. I was tipped off by IPI’s affiliated news outlet. Such irony.
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Open thread
Monday, Oct 5, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No more Chicago/STL baseball and our NFL team was not exactly great yesterday. What off-topic stuff are we gonna talk about now? Whatever it is, let’s leave the national politics to other sites for the moment. Keep it local, be polite to each other and, above all, remain calm.
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* My Crain’s Chicago business column…
Alby Gallun at Crain’s Chicago Business recently reported that sales at Chicago’s bars and restaurants plunged 64 percent during the first half of 2020.
The worldwide pandemic crashed a lot of businesses. The city’s particularly tight restrictions in response to the crisis made things even tougher. In comparison, the six-county Chicago metropolitan area saw bar and restaurant sales fall “only” 30 percent.
This is not a criticism of the city’s restrictions. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team had to do what they had (and have) to do to keep the virus contained. Chicago was slammed hard by COVID-19 in the early going, and no sane person wants to risk a repeat or even an echo of that madness again.
But the restrictions, and the coming cold weather, mean the city’s bars and restaurants are facing annihilation. Something has to be done. But only a fool would depend on Congress for adequate help. Illinois’ coffers aren’t exactly flush with cash, and Chicago’s budget is deeply in the red.
So the city ought to let these barely surviving businesses help themselves by finally opting in to legalized video gaming.
The games were approved by the state over a decade ago, but Chicago has never allowed them. Some folks had moral objections, and others wanted to make sure a potential downtown casino would have a gambling monopoly.
The end result is that the perpetually cash-strapped city has left a ton of tax revenues on the table while it waited for a casino that never materialized.
And now, when a Chicago casino has finally been approved by the General Assembly, the city’s leaders are even more reluctant to approve video gaming.
City Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett said last month that video gaming “could have a ‘cannibalization’ effect on revenues the city is counting on from an in-the-works casino and cost thousands of jobs,” according to WTTW.
So, I reached out to one of the most trusted voices in all of Chicago’s hospitality industry, the @ChicagoBars Twitter account. The fact that a Crain’s editor gave me the go-ahead to interview a Twitter account should tell you how authoritative the source is.
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please.
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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
It’s well known that the Illinois House Republicans (along with pretty much all Illinois Republicans) are using House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bad reputation to bludgeon their Democratic opponents.
Madigan has been enormously unpopular in Illinois. And he’s probably more unpopular now because he’s been in the news so much during the long federal investigation into ComEd and the company’s resulting deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney in Chicago.
A special Illinois House investigating committee has been impaneled to take testimony about the federal probe and consider whether to discipline Madigan for “conduct unbecoming a legislator,” which is helping to keep him in the news.
Add the more recent news about Democratic Rep. Stephanie Kifowit’s announcement last week that she will run against Madigan for speaker in January, and it’s been a complete media circus for the longtime pol.
Kifowit has not yet identified any allies and isn’t exactly an odds-on favorite to defeat Madigan. She’s votes more conservative than many in the House Democratic caucus. She was the only House “present” vote on the minimum wage increase bill and she hired a public relations person who is raising money for the Republican opponent of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. That puts her at odds with her party, the Black Caucus and labor unions that fund the Democrats.
But the mere fact that she stood up and announced her bid is an indication that Madigan’s political strength is not what it used to be.
Anyway, the last time the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute polled Speaker Madigan’s job approval rating was last year. It found 71% disapproved of the way Madigan did his job while only 20% approved — a 51-point difference.
Those results weren’t all that different from the same poll’s question on whether Illinoisans supported a new state tax on retirement income. Seventy-three percent opposed it while 23 percent supported — a 50-point margin.
Normally, opposition to a retirement income tax is an easy layup for Illinois legislators in both parties. Just score some no-brainer points with the folks back home and move on to the next question.
But some brainiacs always want to start a “discussion,” and it often blows up in their faces.
This time, it’s blowing up in others’ faces.
“One thing a progressive tax would do is make clear you can have graduated rates when you are taxing retirement income,” Treasurer Michael Frerichs, a Democrat, told the Daily Herald back in June. “And, I think that’s something that’s worth discussion.”
Frerichs’ quote has opened the door to House Republican attack mailers in numerous districts against Democrats who voted “Yes” on the graduated income tax last year and also against Democratic House candidates in general.
“Mary Edly-Allen supports the tax hike amendment,” one recent HGOP mailer exclaimed about the freshman Democratic state Representative from Libertyville. “Her Springfield pals admit the amendment would open the door to a brand-new tax on retirement income. That means your pension, your 401(k) plan, and your retirement plan would be taxed and sent straight to Springfield.”
The mailers are being sent to other districts (Metro East and Southern Illinois, for example) where the tax is also not polling great. But, said one House Republican source of the tax issue, “We’re talking about that everywhere.”
The mailers have the added benefit of ginning up opposition to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Fair Tax” constitutional amendment, which House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has vowed to defeat. So, it’s a twofer.
“Politician Janet Yang Rohr wants to tax your retirement income,” another Republican mailer warns about Rep. Grant Wehrli’s, R-Naperville, Democratic opponent.
“Yang Rohr is backing the graduated income tax. This plan would not only raise taxes on the middle class, but also on retirees. The state treasurer has admitted this is a tax on retirees. There’s no question that ordinary people will suffer. Protect your retirement. Vote ‘No’ on Janet Yang Rohr.”
To be fair, if Treasurer Frerichs hadn’t said what he said, the Republicans would’ve found another way to make the same argument. But Frerichs did make their easier.
And Pritzker can’t really complain about taking somebody’s mention of a graduated tax on retirement income and twisting it into an attack on all retirement income taxation because he did the very same thing in the 2018 Democratic primary. His top two Democratic opponents, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss, both tentatively supported a tax on upper-income retirees, but Pritzker distorted that into TV ads claiming the two wanted to tax all retirement income.
Karma can be problematic.
…Adding… From Rep. Kifowit…
Good afternoon Rich, I had a busy Monday but I wanted to address some points you made in your post.
First, the public relations person that you reference in your post took time out of her dedication to making masks for her community to help facilitate my announcement. Due to a technological glitch in my Facebook live stream, she accepted a friend request from you to allow you to see the FB live stream on her page. It is disappointing that you would review her page and attribute her private views as a reflection of my record. In a democracy, private citizens are allowed to have different views. In this case, while I do not share this same view as hers, I appreciated her willingness to assist me with the announcement.
After my first year in office, I ended being on the “target program” which included the watch list (otherwise known as the watch chart or target list) which often listed IL House Black Caucus members’ bills as being “soft on crime” and intimidated “targets” to vote no. Since then, I have offered my support to I believe almost all, if not all, of the bills proposed by members of the IL House Black Caucus and I have spoken out about the need to end institutional racism without any time to reflect. As Speaker, I will eliminate the watch chart and the intimidation that is incorporated against new members to vote in accordance with it, and work with members to vote for the best interest of their districts and their views.
In addition, my labor voting record is solid. You mention the minimum wage bill, which I voted present on, as a feeble attempt to again sow division. I have a long-standing promise to my residents to not vote for legislation that is rushed through the process. I believe in our democratic system, and I hold fast that there should be constructive debate and discussion with regards to legislation, and the minimum wage bill in particular I had some concerns with. I was told there would be no changes to the bill - so while I did support raising the minimum wage, the manner in which the bill was presented was the reason I voted present.
As Speaker, I do believe that working together and treating members with respect on all manners is so important to our system of government. To have a separate and equal branch of government gives rise to a higher standard of integrity and a proper check and balance that our founding fathers established. When we stray from our principals, is when the public loses faith in our state.
Thank you,
Stephanie Kifowit
The PR person didn’t just facilitate the Facebook video, she sent out media alerts and a press release.
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[Bumped up from Friday to Monday for visibility and comments opened for discussion.]
* Click here for the A-1. He contributed $20 million a month ago.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Ken Griffin…
Every citizen has a right to the truth about what Governor Pritzker and Mike Madigan’s tax increase will mean for our state: the continued exodus of families and businesses, loss of jobs and inevitably higher taxes on everyone. Well informed voters are increasingly speaking out against this tax hike, and I am committed to ensuring each of us has the facts to make a thoughtful decision about this catastrophic constitutional amendment.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Vote Yes For Fairness Chairman Quentin Fulks…
With less than 5 weeks to go until Election Day, Ken Griffin is growing increasingly desperate to ensure he can keep the special deal he gets under our current tax system that allows him to pay the same tax rate as our essential workers. Mr. Griffin and his fellow opponents have already made clear they want to raise taxes on working families and retirees rather than pay their fair share.
Mr. Griffin’s now spent more than he would have paid additionally last year under the Fair Tax in an attempt to defeat it. This may be nothing more than a calculation to him, but the future of our state is at stake. We remain committed to passing the Fair Tax in this election and giving a tax cut to 97% of Illinoisans.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Coalition To Stop The Proposed Tax Hike Amendment spokesperson Lissa Druss…
It is clear people are responding to the message that giving Springfield Politicians more power to raise taxes in the midst of a health and economic crisis is the wrong direction for our state.
With each passing day, the people of Illinois realize that the actual tax rates are not what they are voting on, but rather they are being asked to trust Springfield Politicians with a blank check.
The Coalition’s support continues to grow from small businesses, family farmers, and middle-class families who all believe now is the worst possible time to raise taxes.
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