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Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)

Hi, I’m former Capitol Fax intern Barton Lorimor. You may remember me from such posts as “Rich isn’t here right now,” and “You’re stuck with me until he gets back.”

Two points to anyone who read that in Phil Hartman’s voice.

* State sales tax collection jumps 11 percent: Illinois sales tax collections soared by more than 11 percent in August, likely fueled by a surge in automobile sales…”It’s a little surprising,” said Jim Muschinske, revenue manager for the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “Certainly we’re above where we thought we would be. The caution is, however, that there’s still a lot of time for that to change.

* Tally in Illinois grant-fraud probe so far: 13 charged, $16M embezzled

* ComEd Rolling Out ‘Smart’ Meters, Ameren To Follow

* Exec: Fracking could change industry

* Illinois law to target cigarette flicking from cars

* Bill to speed income tax payments to local governments stalled

* Quinn: Chicago gets state loan to replace water pipes

* Sun-Times: Grounding Midway deal a smart move: Were Emanuel’s motivations pure? Did political considerations come into play? The possibilities are plentiful, including a potential rejection of any deal by a highly dubious City Council and the fact that Emanuel’s chief financial officer, who has been quarterbacking this process, is under scrutiny for recommending the city comptroller for his position.

* Behind the scenes as Midway privatization deal falls apart: “Usually, if someone is gonna withdraw, you pick up signs. They stop coming to meetings. Lawyers stop paying attention to documents. In IFM’s case, they were very engaged until the end. Then, quite suddenly, we had a process with only one bidder.”…But Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), the mayor’s City Council floor leader, insisted that the Midway deal would have passed and that Scott’s political troubles had nothing to do with Emanuel’s decision.

Nor did Ferrovial-Macquarie’s decision to hire lobbyist William Filan, who works together on some projects with former Ald. Mark Fary (12th), husband of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino. While the lobbying relationship might have created an appearance of a conflict, Andolino’s job — one of the lone holdovers from the Daley administration — is considered safe.

* Firm got city deals after hiring lobbyist linked to indicted Rahm aide’s deputy: Raussen and Colwell have ties going back more than a decade, Ohio campaign finance records show. Colwell was among the former Ohio legislator’s earliest political backers, contributing $1,500 to Raussen’s campaigns between 2000 and 2008. Raussen also got $4,153 in contributions from the Cincinnati Bell telephone company between 2000 and 2004, when Colwell was the company’s vice president of government relations.

As Raussen weighed whether Colwell’s client should be given more city insurance business over other companies vying for the work, it’s unclear whether he disclosed to Ahmad or other city officials that Colwell had given him campaign money, Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said. City ethics rules do not require him to do so, according to Hamilton.

* City sues convicted, formerly clout-heavy contractor over fraudulent contracts

* Rahm Emanuel picks ex-Ald. Martin Oberman for Metra board

* Ventra cards go on sale Monday at CTA stations, retail outlets, online

* Money, jobs on the line as CPS takes official student head count

* Aldermen Back $2M Settlement For Discriminatory Firefighter Exam

* Livingston County state’s attorney on sheriff resignation: ‘End of troubled time’

* Quinn Releases State Money For Local Road Projects

* Du Quoin Police Chief Retires

* Mayor wants new Caseyville police chief this month

* Cairo Residents Question New Tap Water Source: Officials at Illinois American Water apologize for the inconvenience of the water treatment plant repairs, but assure customers the water is safe. “It may be different than water from the Ohio River, but it is safe to drink,” says spokesperson Terry Mackin. “We made this decision because we wanted to ensure that Cairo had uninterrupted water services. We wanted to make sure the customers in Cairo turned on their tap and that water came out.”

* Policy group says 4 metro-east counties violate open government laws

* Does state law need to be changed to push governments to be more transparent?

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 7:05 am

Comments

*** State sales tax collection jumps 11 percent ***

Dear “The sky is falling crew”, ummm, guess we’ll be waiting a while before it hits the ground…just sayin.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 7:28 am
Depends on whether the pols act responsively with the new money or put it toward new spending.

Who’s got the over/under to expect more spending while the structural problems fester?

A valid approach to solving the State’s fiscal problems could be to freeze spending and allow growth to backfill the shortcomings. However, I bet we could not even agree on what a freeze would mean.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 8:52 am
Does anyone see the irony of governments being hectored about open government … by a group that refuses to disclose where they get their funding?

Comment by Anyone Remember? Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 8:58 am
==state sales tax collection jumps 11%==

More proof positive that whacking pensions/pensioners is an opportunistic tactic. If the economy never got better than this and we repealed the increase in state tax we’d have a gloomy forecast. But economists know better than that.

Comment by JC Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:03 am
That 11% bump in sales tax must be in U-Haul rentals for all the businesses and “refugees” fleeing the state that Kass and his ilk are always talking about.

Without a shred of evidence.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:04 am
=== Does anyone see the irony of governments being hectored about open government … by a group that refuses to disclose where they get their funding? ===

IPI is a private institution; governments are public institutions — big difference.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:12 am
All local governments do is complain about the FOIA. They complain that it is too time consuming and costly to comply with, but then they go ahead and spend money and time on non-critical services like fluffy newsletters, Easter egg hunts, firehouse tours for kids, etc. Local governments must recognized that FOIA is a fundamental government service and must take priority over many other government services.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:16 am
IPI may be private, but it’s attempting to have it’s point of view heard in the public square. If you’re going to exercise your free speech rights, you should have a problem disclosing where you get your cash from, so that we can really know who’s “free” speech we’re hearing instead of the ventriloquist dummy who is being used to front for the funders who are too afraid to speak for it on their own.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:31 am
===A valid approach to solving the State’s fiscal problems could be to freeze spending==

Or raise revenues to correct the structural lack of revenue to pay for the programs that our elected representatives have instituted…

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:34 am
Just Observing
==Local governments must recognized that FOIA is a fundamental government service and must take priority over many other government services.==

Which services are lower priority than FOIA? The jail? Police and fire? If firemen aren’t conducting tours for kids, they can do FOIA work? Where I live the Easter Egg Hunts are done by the park district, not city / county government.

Comment by Anyone Remember? Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:36 am
“Or raise revenues…pay for programs”

That is the disconnect. There isn’t enough money in the world to fund all the new ideas coming out of the legislature.

Damping down on new spending initiatives while the revenue streams rebound would prevent some of the draconian ideas currently being circulated from being implemented.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:40 am
==Local governments must recognized that FOIA is a fundamental government service and must take priority over many other government services. ==

Do you know how much time and money is spent on FOIA? And are you serious that FOIA should be put at the top of the list over other government services? That is laughable. In the FOIA world I deal in there is no interest in “keeping” anything from anybody. But you have no idea the mounds of requests that come in and we are small. I’m not suggesting that information not be released. But it’s really ridiculous to suggest that everything else should be put on the backburner while we search for some idiot’s request for information from 40 years ago (and, yeah, that happens more than you think) or those people who make apparently have nothing better to do than spam FOIA agencies (and I’m not talking about reporters).

Oh, and one more little tidbit. There is a ton of information already online. Short of installing a camera in the office so that the public can tell when I go to the bathroom I think things are pretty open.

And as far as spending money on those things? Are you joking? Yeah, that costs a whole lot of money. Those are the types of ridiculous things that people bring up just to complain. I think you need to go back on your front porch and continue yelling at those kids to get off of your lawn.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 9:58 am
13 people indicted for embezzling $16 mil. think about that. how many of those grants were awarded when jack lavin was head of dceo? if he wasnt dept director, he was chief of staff. he should have taken steps to tighten the administration of such grants, starting with a strong public purpose, rather than politics and favoritism. (i am not suggesting lavin was corrupt, just inept and/or comfortable with the status quo.)

any outrage over this? any editorials calling for more audits, hearings, and change? no? of course not, editorial boards are more concerned with the price of historically accurate doors that will last a hundred years, or a couple chandeliers. what do we hear from quinn on this? nada. no blue ribbon commission. no “reform” proposals. nothing.

and now the editorial boards are distracted by the latest shiny object, term limits. satisfied to go to a lot of effort to “send a message”, and muddy the waters, rather than getting behind a meaningful redistricting reform that might actually make a difference.

Comment by langhorne Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:05 am
Kid, you’ve got a good sense of humor. Keep it up.

Comment by too obvious Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:10 am
=== IPI may be private, but it’s attempting to have it’s point of view heard in the public square… ===

Fair point, but still they don’t have the same obligation as the government sector.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:16 am
Well Plutocrat, that is how a representative democracy works. You and I elect representatives that prioritize and fund public programs. Proper funding is what is lacking for those programs. That is the reason for the structural deficit. If you don’t like what they’re spending the revenue on, then elect enough people who will change the spending priorities. It seems to me that you’re the one exhibiting a fundamental disconnect here. The state, just as you and I, needs to pay for the products and services they have used/instituted. I don’t know about you, but I’d get a side job to obtain the revenue to pay my bills, if I didn’t have enough cash to meet my financial commitments. The state raises revenue through tax levy, and far from being overtaxed, Illinois has a regressive flat tax that benefits the plutocrats and overburdens the rest of us. That needs to change, and regardless of your “let them eat cake” viewpoint, tax reform is coming soon to an IL1040 near you.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:22 am
=== Which services are lower priority than FOIA? The jail? Police and fire? ===

The jail, police, fire, etc. are all on par with core mission government services.

=== Where I live the Easter Egg Hunts are done by the park district, not city / county government. ===

Some municipalities and counties to Easter egg hunts. And Park Districts are also on the anti-FOIA bandwagon. Still, the Easter Egg Hunt is just an example. Want a different example, Arlington Heights conducts an annual chair decorating contest:

http://www.vah.com/news/default.aspx?&ArticleId=352

Ironically, the former Mayor of AH was an executive officer with the Illinois Municipal League which regularly advocates that municipalities are stretched too thin to comply with the FOIA.

=== If firemen aren’t conducting tours for kids, they can do FOIA work? ===

Actually, yes. And if not the firemen, the administrators that are spending time sending press releases on the tour and adding the info to the website, etc. can work on FOIA compliance.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:27 am
=== ===IPI may be private, but it’s attempting to have it’s point of view heard in the public square… ===

Fair point, but still they don’t have the same obligation as the government sector. ===

So what. You complain about FOIA, and ignore the cost. If anyone wants to have their point of view heard in the public square they ought not be ashamed of identifying exactly who they are. If they don’t, they ought to be required to state that they are funded by sources that wish to remain unidentified in the same font and/or volume with the viewpoint that they are presenting. If they don’t, the viewpoint should be ignored.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:31 am
Troy McClure may be long departed, but apparently he left behind a large body of movie posters…

http://youmightremembermefrom.tumblr.com/

Comment by Elo Kiddies Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:51 am
@PublicServant — And the citizens of Illinois can judge on their own merit the value of IPI’s views, including in light of their disclosure policies.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 10:52 am
@Just Observing - Just as they can judge the opinion of someone who concludes that FOIA is a core government mission on a par with fire and law enforcement services.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:00 am
“how a representative democracy works”

That’s why it’s broken. Too many gifts for too many special people. (That includes the power-brokers and their multimillionaire friends.) The system is failing and you seem to be the one to want to eat more cake.

The Constitution calls for a balanced budget. People have pointed out that accounting tricks have been used for decades to subvert that part of the Constitution.

All I propose is to stop adding new expenditures and you seem to be offended that a mild amount of fiscal restraint is called for.

However if you feel the way forward is to eviscerate the current retirement system, I guess I can live with that.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:12 am
I think the Chicago Sun Times editorial missed the mark on the attempt to lease out Midway Airport and the Mayor taking that RFP off the table. The real issue here is that major investors are not overly interested in buying up various assets of Chicago on long term lease deals for cash payments and if they are interested they want deeply discounted deals.

These investors stand to lose billions if a City like Chicago fiscally collapses. Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code provides for the reorganization for the municipalities under a broad definition, which includes counties, taxing districts, municipal utilities and school districts. But Chapter 9 cases are rare and in Illinois they currently would have to be approved by the state.

Illinois, has receivership laws that are supposed to provide safety nets for cash-strapped cities. Illinois has one “financially distressed” city: East St. Louis. But it has languished under such status since 1990, when the state established the East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority to assist the city with its financial management. See Financially Distressed City Law (65ILCS 5/8-12-1 et seq.). The Authority will be dissolved in November, provided the City of East St. Louis satisfies its obligations regarding the Debt Restructuring Bonds. The fiscal situation of East St. Louis is currently so bad that in order to keep a McDonalds TIF funding is required.
It is simply hard to imagine East St Louis being fully released from some type of state supervision.

As Rich has pointed out before the Federal Courts threw out Washington Park’s chapter 9 filing several years ago because the town did not have authority to file under current state laws. But laws are meant to be changed and in Michigan the State is supporting the bankruptcy filing of Detroit. Specifically Michigan passed PA 436 – which “empowers the local government for which an emergency manager has been appointed to become a debtor under title 11 of the United States Code … as required by section 109 of
title 11 of the United States Code.”

I think selling off various assets of Chicago to the highest bidder has for the moment run its course. Once the Detroit situation settles down Chicago can return to selling off its various assets to stay afloat. Of course a simpler solution would be for Chicago to raise its absurdly low property tax rates to generate many millions of dollars by asking to go above the property tax cap. When Moody’s suggested that to the Mayor he effectively said you must be crazy why that would be political suicide. Chicago can take its poison one way or another. The bill for the Daley years will have to be paid.

Comment by Rod Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:18 am
=== @Just Observing - Just as they can judge the opinion of someone who concludes that FOIA is a core government mission on a par with fire and law enforcement services. ===

That might be a good argument if you were not wrong. It is not my opinion that the FOIA is a core obligation of government, it is the adopted law of the land.

The Illinois FOIA states: “The General Assembly declares that providing records in compliance with the requirements of this Act is a PRIMARY DUTY [emphasis added] of public bodies to the people of this State, and this Act should be construed to this end, fiscal obligations notwithstanding.”

Primary duty has been construed to mean core, critical function of government.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:23 am
Just Observing -

Police and fire are secondary, not primary, duties? FOIA is to be balanced with all other duties and responsibilities, and if the voters don’t like the “mix” they can vote people out of office.

Comment by Anyone Remember? Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:36 am
That very exciting story about 13 charged for stealing fails to include how much the G et. al. have spent pursuing these items, how much was missed during the Thompson, Edgar, Ryan Blagoof years. Heck Edgar’s MSI cronies got away with hundreds of millions before getting nabbed.

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 11:48 am
**IPI may be private, but it’s attempting to have it’s point of view heard in the public square. If you’re going to exercise your free speech rights, you should have a problem disclosing where you get your cash from, so that we can really know who’s “free” speech we’re hearing instead of the ventriloquist dummy who is being used to front for the funders who are too afraid to speak for it on their own.**

While I completely disagree with IPI on pretty much an issue, I find this argument to be total BS.

There is a huge difference between IPI and a governmental entity. Saying that IPI cannot demand government transparency because IPI doesn’t disclose its donors is just silly.

Comment by dave Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 12:03 pm
@JO:

You can choose to harp on this primary responsibility nonsense and continue to say that FOIA should take priority but it doesn’t make your opinion any less ridiculous just because you say it over and over. As others have said it’s a balancing act. It’s insane to say that other things should take a backseat. FOIA is important but not more important than anything else. I wish you could actually see first hand the FOIA process and then maybe you would change your tune just a little.

And, I would encourage you to look at the examples of FOIA abuse. There is a little town near where I grew up where FOIA has turned into a big joke. The town has 500 people and there is apparently somebody who has a grudge against the village because they send multiple FOIAs every week pretty much demanding to see every piece of paper or correspondence that happens inside that government. Should they put aside everything else they do so they can satisfy the whims of this one nutjob? I don’t think so. I know that’s an extreme case but they exist. For you to say FOIA should take precedence is silly.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 12:09 pm
=== There is a huge difference between IPI and a governmental entity. Saying that IPI cannot demand government transparency because IPI doesn’t disclose its donors is just silly. ===

Totally true demoralized, but I didn’t say that. I agree. They are different than government. They are certainly free to demand whatever they’d like. What I did say was that their viewpoint should be given about as much weight as that of a snake oil saleman, or any other entity that regularly pedals lies, half-truths and obfuscations.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 12:35 pm
Sorry Demoralized, I meant that response for Dave above.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 12:36 pm
===All I propose is to stop adding new expenditures and you seem to be offended that a mild amount of fiscal restraint is called for.===

Plutocrat, that’s not what you said. What you called for was a freeze, and, as you stated, that means different things to different people. Does a “freeze on new expenditures” mean freezing that wages and salaries of state employees while the prices of goods and services continue to rise? Does it mean freezing what healthcare providers charge for services, so that government payments to them don’t naturally rise from year to year? Please explain what you think a “freeze on new expenditures” means to you?

===However if you feel the way forward is to eviscerate the current retirement system, I guess I can live with that. ===

I’m sure you could live with that. However, I’m asumming you’re for the rule of law, and believe, as I do, in paying one’s bills. Or am I mistaken?

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 12:52 pm
@Anyone Remember -

=== Police and fire are secondary, not primary, duties? ===

No, they are primary duties too… you can have multiple primary duties.

=== FOIA is to be balanced with all other duties and responsibilities, and if the voters don’t like the “mix” they can vote people out of office. ===

That may be the way you want it, but that is not the way the General Assembly has adopted the law.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:21 pm
Just Observing, you do realize that fulfilling FOIA requests has costs associated with it, don’t you? Maybe Illinois needs an Office of FOIA Fulfillment (OFOIAF) with the appropriate staffing, and enough of a budget to reimburse other departments for the staff time needed to service the various requests. Just curious, but how much would you allocate to service those requests in a timely fashion? Ballpark it for me, if you can. Just looking for your opinion, of course.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:28 pm
@Demoralized –

=== You can choose to harp on this primary responsibility nonsense and continue to say that FOIA should take priority but it doesn’t make your opinion any less ridiculous ===

Again, it is not my opinion — it is written in the statute. Just because you don’t think it should be written in the FOIA doesn’t mean it is not.

=== just because you say it over and over. As others have said it’s a balancing act. It’s insane to say that other things should take a backseat. FOIA is important but not more important than anything else. ===

First, I think you are misinterpreting “primary” duty… governments can have multiple primary duties. Nobody is suggesting a municipality not put out a fire because the fire department is working on a FOIA request.

=== There is a little town near where I grew up where FOIA has turned into a big joke. The town has 500 people and there is apparently somebody who has a grudge against the village because they send multiple FOIAs every week pretty much demanding to see every piece of paper or correspondence that happens inside that government. ===

The FOIA has provisions to deal with this sort of nonsense.

=== And, I would encourage you to look at the examples of FOIA abuse. ===

I’ve seen and experienced all sorts of FOIA abuse by governments, including wholly ignoring requests, purposely evading requests, going out of their way to provide the information in as burdensome fashion as possible, concocting bogus arguments why they do not need to comply, etc.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:32 pm
@Demoralized –

=== you do realize that fulfilling FOIA requests has costs associated with it, don’t you? ===

Yep, and as a taxpayer I’m perfectly happy and willing to pay for those costs.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:35 pm
@JO:

I guess if you want to spend your time lamenting about FOIA then so be it. I’m not that concerned about it nor do I agree with your opinion. I’m not saying you don’t have a right to your opinion I just disagree with it.

I’m sorry you are so put out by the FOIA process. Feel free to come experience it sometime. I know it’s easy from the outside to complain about things you know nothing about.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:45 pm
==going out of their way to provide the information in as burdensome fashion as possible==

We had somebody request copies of over 300 files one time. We denied the request but told them they could come in to our office and view the files and bring their own paper if they wanted copies. They did so. I’m not sure if you consider that burdensome but nobody had the time to copy all of those files. If people want to see something bad enough then they will.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 1:51 pm
Just Observing -

==That may be the way you want it, but that is not the way the General Assembly has adopted the law.==

If you think FOIA is the only law not being enforced, please point out the appropriation in the state budget to reimburse local governments for costs under the State Mandates Act.

FOIA is important … but FOIA officers don’t work exclusively for the people like this.
http://yorkvilleinsider.org/sheriff/foiacost.pdf

Comment by Anyone Remember? Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 2:26 pm
Barton:

This seemed to be newsworthy too:

http://www.suntimes.com/22212263-761/watchdogs-tally-in-illinois-grant-fraud-probe-so-far-13-charged-16m-embezzled.html

Comment by None of the Above Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 4:03 pm
@None of the above - Agree. Also, looks like the system is working, since we’re reading about it in the papers…

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 4:14 pm
It is doubly interesting inasmuch as the case is being developed by the US Attorney in Springfield rather than Chicago. That is a switch.

Comment by None of the Above Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 4:27 pm
=== I know it’s easy from the outside to complain about things you know nothing about. ===

I wrote a 121 page graduate level research paper on Illinois’ FOIA. All you do is cite examples from your narrow agency view. Your agency may be exceptional at fulfilling FOIA requests… but there are about 8,000 units of government in Illinois — they are not all alike.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 4:45 pm
Just sayin.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Sep 9, 13 @ 7:23 pm