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Today’s number: $1,428.57

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Illinois

A Chicago big business group says it’s going to keep pushing Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Mike Madigan to negotiate a state budget deal, even though neither politician seems ready to blink and the effort itself may not be very popular with some.

In a joint interview, the two top executives of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, President Ty Fahner and Chairman Frederick “Rick” Waddell, said they think they’ve had impact with the $1 million spent so far on ads, billboards and other media, and intend to keep talking.

“I think the campaign has been pretty successful,” said Waddell, who on his day job is chairman and CEO of Northern Trust. Specifically, the committee’s LOL Illinois campaign has reached over 1 million people, they say, led to an active Facebook page with 38,000 comments, and generated 700 letters to Rauner, Madigan and other lawmakers. […]

Fahner said he’s spoken with both the governor and speaker, and he sees no sign yet they’re ready to do a deal.

Neither Fahner nor Waddell nor a third Civic Committee member, retired PricewaterhouseCoopers exec Jan Henderson, would say who’s more to blame, Madigan or Rauner. Nor would they lay out terms of a proposed compromise, with Fahner saying that’s up to the Springfield principals to accomplish.

A million bucks to generate 700 letters works out to $1,428.57 per letter. LOL really needs to work on its ROI.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 2:32 pm

Comments

Of course they are not going to lay blame, they don’t want to feel the wrath of either Rauner or Madigan, when it comes to corporate welfare.

Comment by ILGOV2018 Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 2:36 pm
lol indeed.

Comment by The Captain Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 2:37 pm
Speaking of ROI, $30 million for four new house members is $7,500,000 each. But unlike letters, the Governor gets to keep these folks for two years.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 2:53 pm
@47th - beat me to it!

Comment by illini Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 3:13 pm
Looks like they got a better ROI than the guv did …

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 3:25 pm
So many better ways to spend that $1 million, Chicago rich dudes. Try giving it to keep a soup kitchen open. Or to a senior citizen center. Or to a 4-H program. Etc… literally lighting that $1 million on fire in proximity to homeless people who can gather round it for warmth would be a better use of the money.

And yet IPI thinks these folks need estate tax relief? smh.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 3:29 pm
Waste of money on both sides. $31MM could have provided real help to those that need it. Instead it just got funneled to people/organizations that don’t need it. This budget issue is going nowhere until either K-12 funding gets put at risk or a democratic governor gets elected in 2018.

Comment by Markus Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 3:48 pm
==Speaking of ROI, $30 million for four new house members is $7,500,000 each.==

Include in there the seats that were held, including McAuliffe.

Also, do a quick calc on how much was spent losing 4 seats by the other side. Especially those particular 4. And don’t forget 2 in the other chamber.

The numbers are ridiculous no matter how you slice and dice them. But at the very least, use the blades on both sides of the knife.

Comment by A guy Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 3:50 pm
FACE PALM

Comment by Boone's is Back Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 4:04 pm
– negotiate a budget deal –

When did the budget become the issue?

That’s been the weirdness over the last two years; the idea that there is an “impasse” over “the budget.”

The governor has set pre-conditions to even considering a budget; a political agenda that, predictably, he can’t pass because it’s anathema to the majorty Dems.

So how is that a “budget impasse?” They’re not arguing taxes and spending. They’re not even talking about that stuff.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 4:41 pm
I think they would be better off picking a side and applying heat to the other. Personally, I think demand for constitutional repsonsility would dictate which side

Comment by wondering Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 5:05 pm
====”A million bucks to generate 700 letters works out to $1,428.57 per letter. LOL really needs to work on its ROI.”====

Maybe… that all depends on which people wrote the 700 letters. Perhaps they had a big return.

Comment by Maybe Tuesday, Nov 22, 16 @ 11:52 pm