NEW BUILDING UPDATE:
Photos taken Friday, March 26, 2016
Photos taken Friday, March 26, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Why Wisconsin is the new New Hampshire
Why Wisconsin is the new New Hampshire
First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.
O
ne week out, all eyes on the Badger State Battle
Spring break is officially in the rearview mirror for the 2016 candidates, with every remaining presidential hopeful hitting the trail in Wisconsin. The Badger State is almost taking on a role like New Hampshire: Because it’s the only state voting in an otherwise empty stretch, it’s less about delegate math than it is about momentum on both sides. It feels like we’re coming out of halftime and the next scoring opportunity offers the team that seizes it a chance to reset. For Republicans, the #NeverTrump movement has to prove it’s got the juice to slow the frontrunner’s momentum, because they’re going to have a much harder time stopping him if they don’t change this narrative fast. Meanwhile, Trump hopes to make plays in areas like Green Bay and Paul Ryan’s hometown of Janesville to flex his muscles with traditional and non-traditional GOP base voters alike. By the way, watch for the complex rules of GOP delegate allocation to influence how the campaigns operate. While 18 of the state’s 42 delegates will be awarded to the statewide winner, the majority - 24 delegates - will be allocated to the winners in specific congressional districts. That means that candidates are likely to hammer away at the areas of the state where they feel they have best chance of racking up a CD win. And, of course, keep an eye out today too for Gov. Scott Walker’s “formal decision” in the GOP primary.
And on the Democratic side, Sanders needs a big win
Coming off of his big wins in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, the burden will be on Bernie Sanders to continue his momentum with a big win in Wisconsin. If we’re looking at the state as a sort of “second-half New Hampshire,” Sanders needs a New Hampshire-style double-digit win. With delegates split proportionally between the two candidates, a small victory doesn’t push Sanders closer to closing the gap with Clinton or bolster his argument about his ability to chip in her lead.
Turf play
Yesterday, reporters were treated to dueling conference calls from the Clinton and Sanders campaigns about their strategies going forward. While Clinton’s team called her delegate lead “nearly insurmountable,” Team Sanders noted that much of that lead comes from states that the Vermont senator “didn’t contest.” It’s absolutely true that Sanders spent few or no real resources in some states where Clinton ran up the score, like Georgia (Clinton net gain of +45 pledged delegates), Texas (Clinton +70 pledged delegates), and Florida (Clinton +68 pledged delegates). But it’s also true that he spent not-insignificant sums on TV and radio advertising in states where Clinton walked away with more pledged delegates. Here are states where Sanders spent $500,000 or more on the air, and their respective net pledged delegate results.
Where the Democratic delegate race stands
The NBC News Decision Desk allocated additional super delegates in the Democratic race yesterday afternoon. Here’s where the contest stands now:
In pledged delegates, Clinton holds a 259-delegate lead over Sanders (it was 294 before Saturday)
Sanders must win 66% of overall remaining delegates to reach the 2383 magic number.
Trump scrambles on delegate strategy
While he’s the unquestionable frontrunner (our new NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll out today shows him flirting with 50 percent among Republicans nationwide), but Donald Trump still has a big problem: Delegate strategy is complicated, and it’s hard work. Over the weekend, he threatened to sue over Ted Cruz’s maneuvering to secure additional delegates in Louisiana, and yesterday his campaign told NBC’s Ari Melber that it plans to challenge the state’s delegate slate with the RNC. What’s more, Trump’s campaign is hiring veteran political hand (and 1976 convention guru for Gerald Ford!) Paul Manafort and opening a DC office to streamline its delegate efforts. While those are serious moves, the Trump effort is also earning some snickers for suggesting that Louisiana’s delegate slots were allocated at a “secret meeting” - at the publicly scheduled state GOP convention, which Trump’s two state co-chairmen attended. There’s no question that Cruz is currently outgunning Trump on this front. If Trump is going to blow it, this may be how he ultimately goes down: Dropping the ball again and again on seemingly small-ball delegate fights with big consequences in the aggregate.
Obama chimes in on political journalism and 2016
In perhaps his harshest critique of the media during his presidency, President Obama lit into the “carnival atmosphere” of the 2016 campaign and chastised journalists for failing to adequately fact-check candidates who “can’t possibly deliver his or her own promises.” Speaking at the Toner Award Ceremony in D.C., Obama said that “a job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone.” And he complained that “just because something is substantive doesn’t mean it is not interesting.” We’ll just point out here that many folks who have covered the Obama White House for seven years may have been rolling their eyes a little bit at the president’s remarks, wishing that perhaps he had practiced what he preached a little more throughout his whole administration.
On the trail
All the 2016 candidates are barnstorming in Wisconsin. All three Republicans will appear at a CNN townhall in Milwaukee after holding various events in the state, while Clinton and Sanders will both rally supporters at several campaign stops.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
O
ne week out, all eyes on the Badger State Battle
Spring break is officially in the rearview mirror for the 2016 candidates, with every remaining presidential hopeful hitting the trail in Wisconsin. The Badger State is almost taking on a role like New Hampshire: Because it’s the only state voting in an otherwise empty stretch, it’s less about delegate math than it is about momentum on both sides. It feels like we’re coming out of halftime and the next scoring opportunity offers the team that seizes it a chance to reset. For Republicans, the #NeverTrump movement has to prove it’s got the juice to slow the frontrunner’s momentum, because they’re going to have a much harder time stopping him if they don’t change this narrative fast. Meanwhile, Trump hopes to make plays in areas like Green Bay and Paul Ryan’s hometown of Janesville to flex his muscles with traditional and non-traditional GOP base voters alike. By the way, watch for the complex rules of GOP delegate allocation to influence how the campaigns operate. While 18 of the state’s 42 delegates will be awarded to the statewide winner, the majority - 24 delegates - will be allocated to the winners in specific congressional districts. That means that candidates are likely to hammer away at the areas of the state where they feel they have best chance of racking up a CD win. And, of course, keep an eye out today too for Gov. Scott Walker’s “formal decision” in the GOP primary.
And on the Democratic side, Sanders needs a big win
Coming off of his big wins in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, the burden will be on Bernie Sanders to continue his momentum with a big win in Wisconsin. If we’re looking at the state as a sort of “second-half New Hampshire,” Sanders needs a New Hampshire-style double-digit win. With delegates split proportionally between the two candidates, a small victory doesn’t push Sanders closer to closing the gap with Clinton or bolster his argument about his ability to chip in her lead.
Turf play
Yesterday, reporters were treated to dueling conference calls from the Clinton and Sanders campaigns about their strategies going forward. While Clinton’s team called her delegate lead “nearly insurmountable,” Team Sanders noted that much of that lead comes from states that the Vermont senator “didn’t contest.” It’s absolutely true that Sanders spent few or no real resources in some states where Clinton ran up the score, like Georgia (Clinton net gain of +45 pledged delegates), Texas (Clinton +70 pledged delegates), and Florida (Clinton +68 pledged delegates). But it’s also true that he spent not-insignificant sums on TV and radio advertising in states where Clinton walked away with more pledged delegates. Here are states where Sanders spent $500,000 or more on the air, and their respective net pledged delegate results.
- South Carolina - $972k (Clinton net +25 pledged delegates)
- Oklahoma - $1.1m (Sanders net +4)
- Ohio - $2.3m (Clinton net +19)
- North Carolina - $972k (Clinton net +13)
- New Hampshire - $10.2m (Sanders net +6)
- Nevada - $3.6m (Clinton net +5)
- Missouri - $1.4m (Clinton net +1)
- Minnesota - $1.1m (Sanders net +15)
- Michigan - $2.9m (Sanders net +7)
- Massachusetts - $1.6m (Clinton net +1)
- Iowa - $8.5m (Clinton net +2)
- Illinois - $1.3m (Clinton net +6)
- Colorado - $1.4m (Sanders net +10)
- Washington - $1.3m (Sanders +16 so far, with more delegates to be allocated)
Where the Democratic delegate race stands
The NBC News Decision Desk allocated additional super delegates in the Democratic race yesterday afternoon. Here’s where the contest stands now:
In pledged delegates, Clinton holds a 259-delegate lead over Sanders (it was 294 before Saturday)
- Clinton 1237 (56%)
- Sanders 978 (44%)
- Clinton 1686 (63%)
- Sanders 1007 (37%)
Sanders must win 66% of overall remaining delegates to reach the 2383 magic number.
Trump scrambles on delegate strategy
While he’s the unquestionable frontrunner (our new NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll out today shows him flirting with 50 percent among Republicans nationwide), but Donald Trump still has a big problem: Delegate strategy is complicated, and it’s hard work. Over the weekend, he threatened to sue over Ted Cruz’s maneuvering to secure additional delegates in Louisiana, and yesterday his campaign told NBC’s Ari Melber that it plans to challenge the state’s delegate slate with the RNC. What’s more, Trump’s campaign is hiring veteran political hand (and 1976 convention guru for Gerald Ford!) Paul Manafort and opening a DC office to streamline its delegate efforts. While those are serious moves, the Trump effort is also earning some snickers for suggesting that Louisiana’s delegate slots were allocated at a “secret meeting” - at the publicly scheduled state GOP convention, which Trump’s two state co-chairmen attended. There’s no question that Cruz is currently outgunning Trump on this front. If Trump is going to blow it, this may be how he ultimately goes down: Dropping the ball again and again on seemingly small-ball delegate fights with big consequences in the aggregate.
Obama chimes in on political journalism and 2016
In perhaps his harshest critique of the media during his presidency, President Obama lit into the “carnival atmosphere” of the 2016 campaign and chastised journalists for failing to adequately fact-check candidates who “can’t possibly deliver his or her own promises.” Speaking at the Toner Award Ceremony in D.C., Obama said that “a job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone.” And he complained that “just because something is substantive doesn’t mean it is not interesting.” We’ll just point out here that many folks who have covered the Obama White House for seven years may have been rolling their eyes a little bit at the president’s remarks, wishing that perhaps he had practiced what he preached a little more throughout his whole administration.
On the trail
All the 2016 candidates are barnstorming in Wisconsin. All three Republicans will appear at a CNN townhall in Milwaukee after holding various events in the state, while Clinton and Sanders will both rally supporters at several campaign stops.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
Belvidere aldermen defeat motion to return utility tax revenues to original purpose
By Susan Vela
Staff writer , Rockford Register Star Posted Mar. 28, 2016 at 9:07 PM
BELVIDERE — With a 5-3 vote, Belvidere aldermen defeated a motion tonight to separate utility tax revenues for street and infrastructure improvements from the general fund.
Ald. Mark Sanderson was disappointed after the vote at the Committee of the Whole meeting. His "yes" vote, along with similar "thumbs ups" from Aldermen Clinton Morris and Clayton Stevens, weren’t enough to enforce stricter use of the utility tax dollars.
They wanted itemized tracking of revenues from the 5 percent tax in the proposed $19.2 million annual spending plan. A new budget year starts May 1.
The utility tax — placed on gas, electricity and telephone usage — was established 16 years ago to help pay for road repairs. Once the Great Recession arrived, there was an official decision in 2010 to place utility tax revenues in the general fund coffers.
“(But) we need to know where it’s being put, not just in the general fund,” Sanderson said. “I’m going to keep fighting to try to get clarity for the taxpayers so they know where their money is going.”
In response to Sanderson’s arguments, Mayor Mike Chamberlain read a memo from Becky Tobin, the city’s budget and finance officer. She indicated that the utility tax revenues should stay in the general fund because they’re still needed to help fund day-to-day operations.
Without the dollars, aldermen would have to deal with some tough decisions, including how to solve a $1.2 million to $1.4 million shortfall. That shortage could force layoffs, higher property taxes or both.
“We are obligated to pay almost $2 million annually for police and fire pensions alone, and this number is only increasing,” Tobin said in her memo. “The local economy is showing some signs of improvement, but our revenues are nowhere near what they were before the Recession, and it is unclear at this time if they will ever fully recover.”
“I feel it is important to keep the utility tax reserves and future revenue in the general fund at this time.”
Tobin’s memo convinced Ald. Daniel Arevalo to vote against the motion.
“We’re not being irresponsible to our citizens,” he said.
Tobin has said that about $6.25 million in utility taxes went to police, fire and public works salaries between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2015.
The tax has generated more than $30 million for the city, and almost $21 million has been spent on infrastructure since the tax was approved, Tobin said. Less than $100,000 has gone toward infrastructure projects since 2011, and motor fuel tax revenues have paid for some repaving, she said.
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