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* UPDATED x1 * They’re back!

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* The last press release I received from the Illinois Republican Party on state issues was July 7th, the Friday before the Monday Rauner purge began…

On Monday, the Chicago Machine tipped its hand on SB1.

After months claiming that SB1 was about fixing the school funding formula, Chicago Public Schools started making the unsubstantiated argument that an amendatory veto of the bill to remove the Chicago bailout would change the “fundamental purpose” of the legislation.

It’s a clear admission by the Chicago Machine that the “fundamental purpose” of SB1 is a Chicago pension bailout, and not school funding reform.

It’s time Madigan Democrats in the General Assembly either send SB1 to Governor Rauner for an amendatory veto to remove the Chicago bailout, or pass true bipartisan school funding reform that excludes a multi-hundred million dollar bailout of Chicago at the expense of schools across the state.

Otherwise, this is just another case of Mike Madigan and his machine holding Illinois hostage for his Chicago agenda.

*** UPDATE *** From Do Your Job, Inc…

On Monday, Governor Bruce Rauner tipped his hand on SB1.

After claiming in his State of the State address that “we have the largest gap between funding for high income schools and low income schools in the country, both across the state and within the city of Chicago”, Governor Rauner tweeted that SB1 “helps public schools in IL get equitable and adequate funding.”

It’s a clear admission by a man elected to govern that he’s willing to veto a bill he overwhelmingly supports for political reasons and not because it doesn’t overhaul our school funding formula for the better.

It’s time for Governor Rauner to do his job and sign SB1.

Otherwise, this is just another case of Governor Rauner holding Illinois hostage for his extreme agenda.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 10:48 am

Comments

Did they just write this or find it in an old filing cabinet?

Comment by Blue Bayou Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 10:52 am
They must have a book of madlibs where the only words in them are “madigan” and “chicago machine” and the rest are blanks to fill in.

Comment by Montrose Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 10:56 am
This is Joe Biden stuff. A noun, a verb and Mike Madigan.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:01 am
Haven’t they been outsourced to IPI yet?

Comment by Northsider Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:02 am
Are they sure it’s safe to come out of the storm cellar?

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:08 am
So Madigan is the hostage taker now?

In light of recent reports, why do North Shore cocktail parties hate Chicago so much?

Comment by hisgirlfriday Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:13 am
Alderman Vito Marzullo is behind this tax increase. /s

Comment by James Knell Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:16 am
I am really fed up with this intentional wedge-driving. People downstate and people in Chicago want a lot of the same things — their kids to have good schools to go to being one of them. Continually dog-whistling Chicago is counter-productive and terribly ironic from a party led by a guy who is far more economically and socially tied to the city than the rest of the state.

Comment by Actual Red Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:19 am
Did anyone get purged at IL GOP HQ?

Comment by Whatever Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:20 am
I wonder if the last stuff the Whigs sent out was as predictable and dull.

If Rich banned cliches, we’d never hear from ILGOP again.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:20 am
=== - Oswego Willy - Monday, Jul 17, 17 @ 6:43 pm

It’s exciting how this IPI takeover is going…

You have Tillman and IPI taking over the Executive Offices.

You have Proft and IOP (Ken Dunkin’s Money Crew) running Rauner’s Campaign operations…

Who gets the ILRaunerite State Party?

I hope Griffin and Uihlein get the ILRaunerite State Party. They deserve something for their support of Raunerism.===

Maybe Griffin and Uihlein like the people at the ILRaunerite State Party.

This is the typical drivel. It’s important to have Rauner not only look inept, but begging to divide a whole state and whining he (Rauner) can’t hurt Chicago students.

So, the Raunerite State Party is, indeed, back.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:24 am
This is a much better press release than most from IPI.

It actually makes an argument.

Comment by winners and losers Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:30 am
I’m glad to see the ilgop box in CPS on their claim that CPS pension aid/reform/bailout was fundamental purpose of SB1.

No one is against funding reform. What folks are against is giving money to a pension system where the teacher participants make no contribution to their own pension and even keep their fica 7%, on a median $78,000+ set of salaries.

Talk about a gravy train…

Comment by cdog Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:39 am
===What folks are against is giving money to a pension system===

From the governor’s website…

===the Governor’s plan number accounts for CPS’ tier funding, FY18 new pension pick-up, and net result of Chicago Block Grant elimination.===

https://www.illinois.gov/gov/SitePages/SchoolDistrictFunding.aspx

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:41 am
cdog, CPS doesn’t pick up the entire employee contribution for the pension system, it picks up a portion (granted, a large portion). And it is being phased out.

At the same time, about two-thirds of districts under TRS pick up the employee contribution to TRS, while those districts rely on the State to pick up the overwhelming share of the employer contribution.

Comment by Juice Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:48 am
Do CPS teachers pay FICA? Other Illinois teachers don’t.

Comment by Ajjacksson Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:50 am
In spirit of trying to sort out contradictory “messagings”…

GOP plan gives CPS some new pension funds in lieu of block grant, but GOP claims SB1 gives CPS too much, therefore, the AV.

Is this correct?

Also, how many other teachers’ unions have contracts which do not require any employee contribution to their pensions, like CPS’ contract does?

Comment by cdog Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 11:55 am
Does constantly pitting downstate against Chicago help either location attract jobs or economic development?

This fight just gives partisans more reason to badmouth every part of Illinois and this state doesn’t deserve that from our political leadership.

Downstate has not prospered under Rauner and even in the immediate years prior to that. In addition to the public employers downstate, there has been the transfers of jobs/layoffs from Decatur with ADM, Peoria and elsewhere with CAT and Bloomington with State Farm. Also the ag economy is currently in a slump.

What does Rauner and Illinois Republicans have to offer downstate Illinois but Chicago/Madigan resentment?

Another thing I am curious about with this framing is if suburban voters hear anti-Chicago Dem rants the same way they did when DuPage County was ruby red Republican territory every election.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 12:30 pm
“… amendatory veto to remove the Chicago bailout, or … funding reform that excludes a … bailout …”

With such reasonable options, it is difficult to pick one. My, oh my, which one to pick? /s

Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 1:10 pm
ha! well done, Do Your Job!

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 1:37 pm
At some point the sleeping beast named Chicago will awaken to the fact that cash flows from the greater Chicago area to downstate and not the other way around. Any true fight between Chicago and downstate will not end well for the downstate rural folks. This is no different than the screamers in so many of the red states which are federally subsidized by blue state taxes.

Comment by former southerner Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 1:39 pm
==What folks are against is giving money to a pension system where the teacher participants make no contribution to their own pension==

Those people are ignorant. They seem to think it makes a difference if the school says, “We’ll pay you $50,000 a year and withhold $5,000 for your pension” and if it says, “We’ll pay you $45,000 a year and pay the $5,000 pension for you.” Often the pick-up was given in lieu of a pay raise or as part of a reduced pay raise. No matter how you phrase it, the teachers’ “contribution” to their pension is teaching.

Comment by Whatever Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 2:08 pm
== cash flows from the greater Chicago area to downstate ==

That depends greatly on one’s definition of “downstate”.

Comment by Downstate43 Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 3:35 pm
Aflac, CPS teachers don’t pay into FICA.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Jul 19, 17 @ 4:33 pm