Some Democrats say Governor Rauner is 'personable' when he's not gutting services for the poor and infirm

Some Democrats say Governor Rauner is 'personable' when he's not gutting services for the poor and infirm

Posted By Mick Dumke on 06.12.15 at 07:30 AM

• Peter Holderness / Sun-Times
• Alderman Danny Solis (above) says Governor Bruce Rauner is pretty friendly for a "conservative, right-wing Republican."

Governor Bruce Rauner scheduled time to meet with Chicago alderman Danny Solis on Friday, January 23, just a week and a half after he was inaugurated.
Solis says a Rauner aide got in touch and asked him to have a chat in the governor's office at the Thompson Center. Like almost every other elected official in Chicago, Solis is a Democrat, while the governor is a Republican who campaigned by attacking entrenched Democratic leaders in Springfield.
Still, members of the two parties have been known to speak before they start cursing each other's children, and the alderman welcomed the meeting. "I thought it was a good idea," Solis says.
Solis says he sat on a couch in the governor's office as they talked casually and agreed to keep the lines of communication open. "He told me there were a lot of issues that we were going to have different positions on, and he understood that I would be publicly against him, and he would appreciate some contact with his staff," Solis says.
When Rauner asked Solis for his input, the alderman says he advised him not to attack President Obama's immigration reforms, as other GOP governors have done. Rauner appeared to listen. "He is very personable," Solis says.
Unless, he adds, you're house speaker Michael Madigan or senate president John Cullerton. Rauner is ripping them by name as he tries to turn the state budget impasse into a referendum on machine politics.
"I feel that he is definitely a conservative, right-wing Republican," Solis says. "And on the issues I'm going to be more with the speaker and John Cullerton."
While Rauner pushes his "turnaround" agenda of restricting union rights and workers' compensation, he's filled his daily schedule with meetings, briefings, and phone calls around the state. And he's made it clear that he's interested in hearing from a range of elected officials.
That's the part of the story he wants you to know.
Here are the parts he doesn't: the governor is also consulting people whose names he wants to keep secret. As Ben Joravsky and I reported this week, Rauner redacted more than 150 appointments from the copies of his daily calendar that he released publicly—and that's just for the first three and half months of his tenure.
At the same time, elected officials from both parties are listed by name on his meeting schedule. But that's not all it appears to be either.
Reaching out to legislators and local officials is something Rauner should do as the state's chief executive. It's also something he wants to do as the state's political blamer in chief: it allows him to claim the high road while blasting Madigan, Cullerton, and "the legislators they control" for putting politics ahead of Illinois.
Several of the Democratic pols who met with the governor describe him as friendly and attentive—and committed to scoring points against the Democratic leadership.
A couple weeks after his talk with Solis, the governor sat down with freshman state rep Pamela Reaves-Harris, another Chicago Democrat. She says she requested the meeting after Rauner proposed axing $6.7 billion from the budget, including funds for day care and mental health services.
Reaves-Harris grew up in the former Cabrini-Green public housing development before working her way through the University of Illinois and becoming an attorney. "I wanted him to see me as evidence of what government can do," she says.
She says Rauner seemed concerned when she spoke of how social service cuts would hurt people in her near-north and west-side district. But he noted that state finances are a mess, and "he made it clear that he has an issue with legislators who have made a career out of politics."
Reaves-Harris argues the state needs to bring in more money, yet the governor won't discuss it while his probusiness proposals flounder in the Democratic legislature. "Most of the conversations he's having in the public are more about his turnaround agenda, and I have a problem with him holding the budget hostage."
Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin also made the governor's appointment calendar, on March 13. Boykin says he too requested a meeting so he could ask the governor not to cut mental health funding.
He was pleased when Rauner agreed to declare May 31 "No Stigma Sunday" as a way to encourage people to seek help for mental health issues. "He not only responded to me verbally—he responded in deed," Boykin says.
But when May 31 came around, the governor was fighting with Madigan and Cullerton as the deadline to pass a budget came and went. His office didn't even send out a press release about "No Stigma Sunday."
Boykin argues that legislators should give the governor something he wants—as long as he agrees to sign off on a tax increase on the wealthy to pay for social services. "That's called compromise."

FROM:  http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/06/12/some-democrats-say-governor-rauner-is-personable-when-hes-not-gutting-services-for-the-poor-and-infirm

Governor Rauner Blacked Out 150 Appointments On Official Schedule

Governor Bruce Rauner, champion of transparency and efficient government, has apparently censored at least 150 appointments on his official schedule.
Following repeated requests for copies of Gov. Rauner's public schedule under the Freedom of Information Act, the Chicago Reader finally received a copy. The results were not exactly what the reporters expected, as they were sent a heavily redacted version of the governor's schedule from inauguration day through the end of April with more than 150 individual appointments blacked out.
When the Reader pushed back on the governor's staff, they were told by Associate General Counsel to the Governor Donovan Borvan that the redacted events were covered by two general loopholes in the FOIA law: one which exempts "preliminary" records and another which allows governments to withhold documents protected by attorney-client privilege. The Reader, doing their due diligence, asked how these provisions applied, but did not receive a response from Gov. Rauner's staff.
The Governor is currently pushing his "Illinois Turnaround" agenda, which has been more or less boiled down to being anti-union and pro-spending cuts. Interestingly, Rauner's schedule lists meetings between him and various elected officials to discuss his agenda, as well as members of the press. Which leads one to wonder what, exactly, is so important about these meetings that they had to be redacted from the copy of the schedule.
One of Gov. Rauner's first acts in office was to sign an executive order which publicly listed the state's political hires on the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal website. In a statement at the time of the signing, he said:

"The IDOT hiring scandal proved the public deserves a way to easily find out who are all the political appointees in state government. We need to restore faith in state government if we expect the people of Illinois to help the government in its mission. This Executive Order is a first step towards earning back the people's trust. Taxpayers at every level of government deserve to know more about how their money is being spent. The action we are taking today will help build a more open and accountable government."

In six short months, we've gone from Illinois residents deserving to know more about what their government is doing to the state denying our ability to know what the chief executive is up to. What could be on tap for the next six months?

FROM:  http://chicagoist.com/2015/06/11/governor_rauner_blacks_out_150_appo.php

Courier and Smith seek Republican nomination for States Attorney

Two women to vie for Boone County State's Attorney seat for first time in county history

By Ben Stanley
Rockford Register Star

Posted Jun. 10, 2015 at 10:48 AM
Updated Jun 10, 2015 at 11:46 AM

BELVIDERE — Two candidates emerged this week in the race for Boone County state's attorney and for the first time in county history, both of them are women. Incumbent Michelle Courier and challenger Tricia Smith, a former County Board member, announced their bids Tuesday for the Republican nod in the November 2016 election.

The Republican primary will be held in March.

Courier is the first woman to be elected state's attorney in Boone County. Her second term in office will end in 2016. She announced her candidacy for re-election Tuesday night at the Belvidere VFW, 1310 W. Lincoln Ave.

Courier emphasized her track record prosecuting gangs and child predators over the past eight years. In 2009, Courier successfully sued the Latin Kings organization and more than 30 known members in Belvidere and Boone County under the Illinois Street Gang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act. The lawsuit prohibited gang members from spraying graffiti on public and private property, meeting in public, and possessing guns.

"My priorities have remained the same for the last two terms," Courier said Tuesday. "Making sure we aggressively prosecute drug dealers, child predators … those areas aren’t going to change for the next four years.”

Courier said she also plans to coordinate with the judicial system to expedite prosecution in cases of domestic violence and expand diversionary programs designed to allow certain offenders to avoid criminal charges by attending preventative education classes, paying restitution and performing community service if they are unlikely to become repeat offenders.

Smith is running with the support of former Boone County Sheriff Duane Wirth, and John Maville, who served three terms as Boone County state's attorney from 1968 to 1980.

Smith said on Tuesday that the results of Courier's lawsuit against the Latin Kings have been overstated: "These people ... remain in our community and continue to commit crimes."

"The incumbent state's attorney has chosen to address gang activity in our community by suing alleged gang members for fines," Smith said in a statement released Tuesday. "To combat gang activity, I will emphasize vigorous and effective prosecution of crimes committed in Boone County to send gang members to prison."

In addition to her law degree, Smith also has a master's degree in public administration and a degree in administration of criminal justice. She has served on the Boone County Board, spent nearly six years as a Rockford police officer and has worked as both an assistant state's attorney and a defense attorney.

Smith said she isn't necessarily opposed to expanding diversionary programs.

"Sometimes people do make a one-time mistake," Smith said. "I don't want to overburden our criminal justice system if we can divert people into those other programs, but they have to be effective."

 Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/article/20150610/NEWS/150619950#150619950/?Start=2&_suid=143403659308606504728687259658

Rauner budget guru to stay on board through August

 

SPRINGFIELD — A $30,000-per-month consultant brought in to help Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner craft a budget will remain on the job even though her original contract called for her to be finished by May 31.

In a brief announcement, Rauner's office said the contract of chief financial officer Donna Arduin would run until a final budget is signed, or by Aug. 28, whichever is first.

In addition, her new contract cuts her salary in half to $15,000 per month, meaning she will earn an estimated $45,000 this summer.

"She will continue working with the Governor's Office of Management and Budget on enacting a balanced budget," the governor's office said.

The extension is just one more example of the ongoing fallout from the failure of the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to agree on a budget plan by the Legislature's scheduled May 31 adjournment date.

The two sides are locked in a contentious battle over Rauner's insistence that parts of his business-friendly agenda be put in place before he agrees to any kind of tax increase designed to balance the budget.

Arduin was among a handful of high-profile hires made by Rauner, who took over in January as the first Republican chief executive in a dozen years. Before her Illinois hiring, Arduin helped prepare budgets for Republican governors in New York, California, Florida and Michigan.

Arduin, the president of Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, is noted for "simplifying property taxes and reducing the size of state governments" — two issues that have kept Rauner and Democrats from reaching a budget agreement.

Rauner previously called Arduin "the smartest state government budget person in America."

Rauner budget guru to stay on board through August

Washington's Most Expensive Speakers

 

After finishing a long term in public office, many politicians earn healthy amounts of cash through speaking engagements. Indeed, booking one of America’s more recognizable public figures comes with a hefty pricetag. Even though speaking engagements can prove highly lucrative for politicians, they can also be risky. The extortionate prices charged by some speakers have, somewhat unsurprisingly, sometimes led to accusations of greed.

So who are the costliest public speakers in the United States? ABC News took a look at some of the country’s highest speaking fees with Donald Trump coming first by a huge distance. The billionaire earned an incredible $1.5 million for each of his 17 speeches (where he was contracted to speak for an hour) at The Learning Annex’s “real estate wealth expos” in 2006 and 2007. According to ABC, The Donald will make a speech for $200,000 and up so his price may not always stretch into the millions.

Economist Ben Bernanke makes up to $400,000 per speaking engagement, placing him second on the list while Bill or Hillary Clinton would cost somewhere around $200,000. Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner would also pick up $200,000 per speaking engagement while the bill for availing of George W. Bush and Condoleeza Rice’s speaking skills would come to $150,000. If you intend hiring one of America’s more recognisable public figures for a speech, you should start saving.

*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)

From:  Washington's Most Expensive Speakers [Infographic]

"Taking a Break at Illinois State Legislature"

Pritchards Perspective 6/2/15

June 2, 2015 - Gov Watch - 5 comments

Observations and comments about state government by State Representative Robert W. Pritchard.
June 2, 2015
In This Issue:
Taking a Break
Bipartisan Legislative Achievements
Higher Education Executive Report Released
Taking a Break
The tug-of-war between Governor Rauner and Speaker Madigan–or put another way, between turning Illinois around or business as usual—reached the end of regulation “play” on Sunday so the legislature is going into overtime. After a short break, play will resume this Thursday, but legislators will not be paid their per diem compensation or travel expenses as a penalty for failing to get their work done by May 31.
The Governor was elected by a majority of our citizens to change the direction our state is headed, but he has been blocked all session by those who helped create our current fiscal problems. They are unwilling to seriously consider his Turnaround Agenda or negotiate improvements to it.
Of course one of the big unresolved issues is the budget. Partisan majorities in the House and Senate have passed 18 bills dealing with spending, but the total exceeds expected revenue by nearly $4 billion. This follows the FY2015 budget that over spent revenue by $1.5 billion and resulted in many programs being cut this spring so that prison guards, court reporters and day care centers could be funded.
Governor Rauner has stated he’s unwilling to continue ignoring the Constitutional requirement that the legislature pass a balanced budget. The budget bills are being held in each chamber, which delays any action the Governor might take. Many legislators just want to increase taxes to balance the budget, but the Governor understands that reforms must be negotiated first or there will be no changes that will make Illinois a more attractive place to do business and generate more revenue through job growth.
Bipartisan Legislative Achievements
With all the negative news and tales of gridlock coming out of Springfield, some of the bipartisan efforts can get lost in the shuffle. A number of significant measures were passed by both chambers last week:HB 1 contains a number of provisions to address heroin and opioid abuse and addiction in Illinois. The bill requires availability and training in use of opioid antagonists, information on unused drug disposal, and reporting of drug overdose.
SB 1304 is a compromise police reform bill which includes guidelines for police body cameras, the requirement of two independent investigators in officer involved shootings, and bans police chokeholds. It condenses and consolidates some of the 200 police reform bills that were submitted this session in response to national incidents of police shootings.
SB96 implements the transition to a statewide 9-1-1 emergency system and upgrade to the Next Generation 9-1-1 system by 2020. It also phases out the required wireline local calling packages among other provisions.
HB3887 is an effort to reduce the bureaucratic red tape that is hampering small businesses. The bill states that every five years each state agency must scrutinize its rules and regulations that pertain to small businesses to identify those that are unreasonable, unduly burdensome, or duplicative.
SB1630 allows Kane County to add a small facility fee to civil and criminal cases to help finance badly needed repairs and an expansion of the current courthouse facilities.
HB3428 is an effort to recognize that the cost of college is a significant barrier to those seeking to achieve higher education. This bill provides that a student who takes an AP exam in high school and receives a score of 3 or higher on the exam is entitled to receive post-secondary level course credit at a public institution of higher education.
SB836 combined a number of Senate and House bills which clarify the intent of the original gun conceal carry law passed in 2013. It also allows individuals with “mild” developmental disabilities to file an appeal with the Illinois State Police upon having their FOID card revoked.
SB455 represents an agreement after nearly two years of negotiations to allow pharmacists to substitute interchangeable biologic products licensed by the Food & Drug Administration. Physicians still need to agree to the substitution for the cheaper product.
SB1441 amends the vehicle towing law with provisions about who can tow a vehicle. It also allows for the towing and impoundment of an uninsured vehicle if the driver has a prior conviction for driving without insurance in the past 12 months. I requested the towing of uninsured vehicles after numerous complaints from citizens involved in accidents with drivers who had no insurance.
HB165 provides that students during non-instructional times of the school day may engage in prayer, religious-based meetings, and study.
HB3122- creates the Illinois Veteran’s Preference in Private Employment Act, which allows a private employer to adopt a voluntary veterans’ preference employment policy. Current Illinois law already allows public sector employers to show a preference for veteran’s and I proposed this bill so the private sector could benefit from the skills and dedication of veterans too.
Over the past several years I’ve worked with the U.S. Department of Defense to sponsor a number of successful initiatives to help our active military, their families, and veterans.
SB1246 clarifies that a law passed in the last General Assembly regarding manning levels of fire departments does not affect an arbitrator’s ruling on manning language in a bargaining agreement.
Higher Education Executive Report Released
Following public controversy over the retirement package for the College of DuPage president, the Senate Democratic Caucus has released a report of executive compensation at all 9 public universities and 46 community colleges. I find the report, which is available on my website, instructive but also puzzling.
One has to question why the Democratic Caucus conducted the study rather than passing a resolution of the entire Senate to study the issue. Republicans often conduct such studies when the Democrats, who control the chamber, refuse to participate. This issue should not be political.
The study reveals a great diversity in the way elected and appointed boards manage executive compensation for their institutions. Regardless of whether compensation packages should be more uniform across institutions, the report suggests some best practices that trustees for the institutions should take to heart.
First, boards that oversee operations should demonstrate more accountability for the spending of student and taxpayer dollars. Boards should spell out clear compensation, bonus and severance agreements for their administration. Second, the board should be more open with the public in their compensation deliberations, agreements, and records.
Finally, all Boards of Trustees should conduct administrator performance reviews, set measurable goals for performance and vote on bonuses, contract extensions and pay raises. Administration may comprise a small portion of the college or university expenditures, but when the cost of higher education has reached unaffordable levels for many families, we need to pinch every penny a little harder.
I hope to see you as I travel around the district in the next few weeks. I will be volunteering at the Palmer Cup on June 12-14 at the Rich Harvest Farms near Big Rock. Admission is free. The Palmer Cup, named after Arnold Palmer, is an annual team golf competition between American and European college golfers. The teams are selected on the basis of nationality, not according to the location of the players’ universities. This is the first time in its 18 year history, that the competition has been held in Illinois.
Bob Pritchard
http://www.pritchardstaterep.org/  District Office 815-748-3494 or E-Mail to bob@pritchardstaterep.com

Above is from:  http://dekalbcountyonline.com/2015/06/pritchards-perspective-6215/

Rauner vs. Madigan means lots of collateral damage - Miller - Crain's Chicago Business

 

seems to be an article of faith on the right that if Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner declares war and spends millions of dollars on TV attack ads targeting Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, Rauner will “win” and Madigan will “lose” and the speaker will be forced to negotiate with Rauner in good faith.

But I don't think Madigan is going to cave any time soon.

When Senate President John Cullerton wanted to send the governor a separate education budget bill that exactly matched the governor's own proposal, Madigan shot down the idea, reportedly because he didn't want to take the chance that Rauner might sign it and schools would open on schedule this August.

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In other words, the man appears serious about crashing the government if the governor declares all-out war.

In 2007 and 2008, when the world's economy started to tank, Madigan ignored the growing economic and state fiscal disasters because he was determined to continue his fight with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Madigan's unwillingness to make peace is one reason the state was so ill-prepared to deal with the global crash.

Rauner has far more resources at his disposal than Blagojevich ever did, so the right's firm belief in victory over Madigan seems unshakable. We've seen it in editorials, columns and press releases over the past several days, and we're sure to see more.

But after talking with some top Rauner people, I don't think talk of a TV ad campaign is about forcing Madigan to negotiate with the governor this year, or even next year. Instead, this is about the “war to end all wars.” It's about finally getting rid of the man who has been perched atop this state's General Assembly for decades.

Madigan has bent every governor, every legislative leader and just about everyone else in Illinois politics to his will. He has made an inordinate number of enemies over the years. Most of them would love to see him gone at almost any price. And some of his biggest haters also happen to be some of the wealthiest people in Illinois, who not coincidentally also are Rauner supporters.

One of the wisest men I've ever known is Otto Boxberger, my parents' next-door neighbor in Germany. He was drafted into the German army during World War II, was captured by the Americans and quickly became a model POW.

When Germany decided to deploy combat soldiers for the first time since World War II to Kosovo, I asked Boxberger how he felt about the move. In World War I and World War II, he said, Germans sang as they marched into battle. In Kosovo, the Germans had so much terrible experience behind them that they thought things through before dispatching troops.

Madigan's budget for the next fiscal year is as much as $4 billion out of balance. Without an agreement with Rauner to raise taxes, an unthinkable number of programs and services would be slashed. And the fiscal carnage likely would last until the end of the governor's first term, and perhaps his second, if Madigan survives politically.

The government has to make pension payments, it has to pay Medicaid bills and it has to do a few other very expensive things. Which means everything else, including education, would have to take gigantic hits. If that happens, we probably can forget about the governor obtaining any sort of compromise on his proposals for a freeze on property taxes, changes to workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and tort reform.

Before loudly belting out battle songs, everybody—the sideline cheerleaders, the billionaires, the governor and Madigan himself—should stop and consider the very real consequences here. Once the war begins, it will be almost impossible to stop.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

Rauner vs. Madigan means lots of collateral damage - Miller - Crain's Chicago Business