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* A new Tribune editorial…
Arrogant politicians are gambling that, come November, Illinois voters who usually vote for familiar names won’t rebel against incumbent legislators. But given how shabbily majority Democrats once again have treated the citizens who pay their salaries, we wonder if many of the incumbents risk being replaced.
The edit board points to 1994 as evidence that voter rebellions do happen. But 1994 was an off-year, not a presidential year. The House Democrats won the majority back in the subsequent presidential year. This is a presidential year. Hey, I suppose stuff could happen, but, on paper, the Republicans haven’t even filed enough candidates to capture a Senate majority.
* Anyway, on to the middle of the editorial…
Now the leaders are in scramble mode. They don’t want voters to focus on the odds that schools will or won’t open this fall. Rather than earn their salaries (and, yes, their eventual public pensions) by balancing a budget and pointing Illinois’ economy toward growth, incumbents are focused on the election. They want it over.
Don’t be surprised if they cut a half-year deal and boast for the cameras that they did something big. They’ll blame and spin and preen like peacemakers, then explain in great fogs of detail why this was the best they could do. Heroes, all.
A half-year budget is better than none, we suppose, but not by much. It creates no sense of stability for people who rely on state spending. It creates no incentive for tax-wary employers to locate or hire here. It creates nothing but more slack time for lawmakers to collect salaries, month after unproductive month — their many paid vacations included.
Hmm. No mention at all of who is pushing hardest for a temporary budget deal: Gov. Rauner.
* But, what if Speaker Madigan decides he isn’t for a temporary budget? Those two constituent newsletters put out by his members that we discussed earlier today could give us a clue about MJM’s intentions. For instance…
Not only are we working to stop devastating cuts to social and public services but the University of Illinois is also being targeted. The Governor’s budget proposal would provide the U of I just 30% of the funding it needs for the next 18 months to the institution that educates over half of all public higher education students in the state of Illinois.
Some of the governor’s people believe this 30 percent number refers to Rauner’s stopgap budget proposal. And, as subscribers know, Madigan has only said so far that he is willing to support a stopgap for this fiscal year, not the next one which starts July 1st.
*** UPDATE *** I kid you not, the Illinois Republican Party just e-mailed that Tribune editorial around to reporters and actually used the excerpt about the temporary budget that their own party leader is supporting. Check it out.
Unbelievable.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:02 pm
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===It creates nothing but more slack time for lawmakers to collect salaries, month after unproductive month — their many paid vacations included.===
It almost sounds like Bruce Dold is jealous and wishes he ran for office instead of getting into the buggy whip business.
Also, just because Sam Zell ran off with your retirement, Bruce, doesn’t mean you need to begrudge others of theirs.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:07 pm
“Of all the tronc editorials that’s the tronciest!”
To the Post,
Governors own, “tronc”, you know that, and that’s why Rauner is pushing hardest, and why Social Service Gruops, Advocates, Clients, along with all of Labor are rallying around defeating Raunerites first, and looking to punish incumbents “1A”
A presidential voting universe isn’t going to help a Raunerite governor sitting on SB2038…
The Letters today are exactly how I think those Non-Raunerites need to unite if they are going to stave off the anti-incumbebt ferver that more Democrats will face due to the math. There’s just more of them.
This editorial… And TroncTowerChick… It’s about defeating Labor, Social Services, and Democrats.
“Simple”
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:10 pm
Ha ha ha ha, wow, boy do they think we are a bunch of dopes. You have Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, and a governor already under water and sinking further. And they think everyone and their mother is going to abandon the democrats?! Hi, this is Earth, have we met? Talk about a group of space cadets.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:11 pm
At what point do the hostages become the hostage takers? The dynamic seems to be shifting every day.
Comment by Delimma Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:12 pm
“No mention at all of who is pushing hardest for a temporary budget deal: Gov. Rauner.”
Well, now he is. To be fair to the Tribune, they couldn’t be certain what the Governor’s position might be by the time their editorial went to press.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:14 pm
It’s odd that the Republican party gave the House Republicans $2 million and nothing to the Senate Republicans. And then it was odd that the Senate Republicans didn’t even file enough candidates to take the Senate back. And now we’re seeing a bunch of ads run against House Democrats but none for the Senate. It almost seems like they’ve completely written off the chamber, I’m not sure why though.
Comment by The Captain Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:18 pm
Even some past Rauner supporters are starting to have ambivalent feelings towards his governin’.
One especially telling paragraph is about halfway through and asks a very pointed “Why?” question about his veto pen.
http://tinyurl.com/h9h52kt
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:21 pm
Voters have been ignoring the tronc editorial board for years and years. It’s really getting to them.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:27 pm
A short term budget does nothing except postpone the inevitable battle royale. It relieves any pressure to solve the problems of the State.
It gives 1.4% more time to campaign around the State and bash the Democrats and talk about his useless agenda.
The only way a short term budget does any good is when there is a general agreement with the final product and it takes a few more weeks to resolve the final issues. In this case, there is no agreement on anything.
A short term budget will only harden positions.
Comment by Huh? Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:28 pm
Boy “tronc” is all over the net, and not in a good way. Only issue is whether it settles int a derogatory noun, verb, or adjective.
The posted Ed piece is wishful thinking. Hard to argue that incumbents will lose uncontested races.
Comment by walker Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:30 pm
This partisan editorial brought to you by tronc, the freshest koolaid east of the Pecos.
Comment by The_Equalizer Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:38 pm
To be fair to the Tribune, they couldn’t be certain what the Governor’s position might be by the time their editorial went to press.
– MrJM +10
Comment by BumblesBounce Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:46 pm
To the update, I am starting to think the republican party is dangerous, given their propensity to outright lie in their own shameless promotion of alternate realities.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:53 pm
Re: the Update,
I think they call that “synergy” in the business world.
Or for Rauner and the Republicans, to paraphrase Hyman Roth:
“What I am saying is, we have now what we have always wanted, real partnership with the Tribune Editorial board.”
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:55 pm
==To be fair to the Tribune, they couldn’t be certain what the Governor’s position might be by the time their editorial went to press.==
Neither can the Illinois Republican Party. No snark.
Comment by Wensicia Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:55 pm
More ooda loops. Or just loopy.
Comment by Concerned Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 2:56 pm
Rauner will blame and spin and preen like a peacemaker, then explain in great fogs of detail why this was the best he could do. Our hero.
Fixed.It!
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:02 pm
In a press release about the change, tronc Inc. said that the new name stands for “tribune online content,” and that it “captures the essence of the company’s mission.”
Walker,
It looks like they are going for all 3 (a derogatory noun, verb, or adjective).
How does one know if they have been tronc’d or not?
Comment by WhoKnew Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:05 pm
To the Update,
Like I said yesterday…
The Rauner Shop is arguably the best I’ve seen in deflecting and then readjusting the narratibe to theirs.
It’s being covered. They are just better right now compared to the political Crew(s) they face in making public their narratives.
Unless Labor, Social Services and Democrats get better at owning the messaging…
It’s not the coverage, own that Rauner’s Shop is better and get better… faster.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:09 pm
Read Jim Edgar’s thoughts about a stopgap budget at Northern Public Radio.
Comment by sal-says Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:11 pm
So Rauner is both for and against a temporary budget now?
Comment by Tournaround Agenda Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:13 pm
Do these people think.more than 1/2 a news story ahead?
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:13 pm
To the update, those GOP staff folks have done too much Tronc
Comment by 100 miles west Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:19 pm
===So Rauner is both for and against a temporary budget now?===
Yes… and no… But mostly yes… But a great deal of no… Lots of no… But yes…
Waiting for the rebuttal(?)
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:22 pm
I bet Rauner actually cannot figure out why noone trusts him at all.
Comment by oldman Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:22 pm
OW…master
Grasshopper asks:
Where is the line between “deflecting and then readjusting the narrative to theirs” and perfidy/deceitful lies”?
Comment by Honeybear Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:27 pm
Trump beating sixteen candidates, including some highly regarded =establishment= types. Sanders giving Clinton a surprisingly tough race.
That would not comfort me as an incumbent looking at November.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:35 pm
- Honeybear -
….
“Salesmanship”
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:37 pm
Some really good “Wonderland” quotes on the first page of this link fit soooo perfectly for the Update news:)
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2933712-alice-in-wonderland-alice-s-adventures-in-wonderland-1
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:37 pm
Many, many people who are dissatisfied with how state government is, are still going to come out and vote against Trump.
Is that going to turn this election into an unprecedented election, I highly doubt it. But the narrative out there among many voters “we didn’t vote in the last election, and we got
Rauner, this time around we will go out and avoid a Trump.”
Again, not sure if this will be significant enough, but at least it’s a small wave.
Comment by Bleh Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:42 pm
More (effective) distraction from Rauner’s intentional destruction of our human service and higher education systems.
Comment by Earnest Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:54 pm
==- Formerly Known As… - Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 3:35 pm:==
Incumbents win overwhelmingly. In 1994, 90% of U.S. House incumbents won. That was actually an increase from 1992.
https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/reelect.php
Judges win most of the time too.
http://www.fed-soc.org/publications/detail/a-survey-of-empirical-evidence-concerning-judicial-elections
Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:04 pm
Grasshopper bows to master. Leaves master in garden sipping tea.
Grasshopper still allowing emotion and goo goo thoughts to trouble mind
Comment by Honeybear Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:05 pm
Man, that Trib is sooo one tronc over the line, sweet Jesus.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:05 pm
- Honeybear -
In golf, the tighter you hang on to the club, the less power it wields.
With your military background, how effective is a unit on High Alert 24/7, when being on Alert, prepared at a moments notice might be better for morale?
John Wooden…
“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
Even keel - Honeybear -, even keel
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:13 pm
Rauner Press Shop aka; Tin Men
Comment by Markus Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:15 pm
- Honeybear -,
You’re fighting your good fight, I’m on the sidelines.
Who’s the master? I’ll agree to equal, but not to master.
With respect.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 3, 16 @ 4:25 pm