One Man's Thoughts

SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T14:38:00.000-06:00

Not much to say lately but I will say this, if you vote for SOPA or PIPA suffice to say I will not vote for you, circulate petitions for you, put up a yard sign for you, find other locations for yard signs for you nor donate $1 to your campaign.ThanksOneMan

Some Graphs Related to Illinois Income Taxes

2012-01-02T12:24:00.002-06:00

Blagojevich and The Tourists...

2011-12-01T07:01:00.001-06:00

The Trib has this about the defense and Rod's sentencing.

”His family is close to bankruptcy,” the defense wrote. “He has suffered every kind of public ridicule and humiliation imaginable – to the point that foreign tourists can often be found posing for photos on the outside staircase to his family home.”

You know, I suspect the tourists wouldn't be stopping by if you had not made yourself such a clown between the reality TV, the pronouncements, the autograph shows and the like. If you had kept a low profile during everything I suspect you would not have ended up with tourists on your doorstep.OneMan

The Trib Is Reporting That Ohio Is Offering Sears $400 Million

2011-12-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

If that's true, let em go to Ohio, if someone wants to offer that much to a company with the kind of losses Sears posts then more power to them

Let it begin

2011-11-28T13:05:00.001-06:00

Well Lauzen and Burns have filed for County Board Chairman in Kane County.

When all is said and done it is going to be a fight for the heart and soul of the Kane County Republican Party.

Not 100% who is going to win, not really sure if I care who is going to win. Kind of glad we are finally going to have the fight

Mr. Perry...

2011-11-10T07:59:00.002-06:00

Thanks for providing an example for political science classes for the next 20 years.

Pat Quinn And "Buttongate"

2011-10-28T07:37:00.001-05:00

Make any other big discoveries lately Pat like there is this Sandwich in Springfield called the horseshoe.

Kane County Cares About Charging Stations

2011-10-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

The Beacon has the storyHere is the reason they are giving...

There are two purposes for this, according to members of the Kane County electric vehicle ordinance working group, which met Monday. One is that information needs to be accessible to the public so that they know where they can charge their vehicles. That information also needs to be documented by the utility companies, so they can account for the increased use on their generators.

Really, so ComEd knows where additional power draws are going to come from? Does the county do this with anything else that might draw power, I highly doubt it? Do you think ComEd depends on counties to identify power draws? Doubt it For some reason however the county feels it needs to know about charging stations.... My guess, tax purposes, looking forward to the charging station tax or the power tax for charging stations to replace lost gas taxes.OneMan

I have an idea...

2011-10-27T13:43:00.001-05:00

From the Trib

Following two failed attempts to stay overnight at Grant Park, Occupy Chicago announced that representatives of the group are meeting with city officials today to discuss where the protesters can set up permanently

I suspect the city is going to suggest someplace on the South or West sides...

You Know It Is Going To Be A Fun Race When...

2011-10-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

You have two candidates running for County Board Chairman on the Republican side.One a local Republican State Senator who has not always gotten along well with the power structure in the state party.The other a local Mayor who ran against the state senator and another candidate for a time in a GOP congressional primary.The State Senator announces his campaign committee consisting of several area officials and some county board members.The Mayor announces his campaign chair is the Republican State Party Chairman, that's right we have the state party chair chairing a campaign in a primary.There is a reason we are called the circular firing squad. Then again this is what makes Kane County fun...

When you ask them to let you do something against the law...

2011-10-24T13:47:00.001-05:00

Without there being consequences, then it isn't really civil disobedience anymore is it? It's camping...

Interesting Info On Student Loans

2011-10-20T14:52:00.002-05:00

Hover over to see the graphic
Via: HealthcareAdministration.com

A Decent Amount of America Is Ticked Off

2011-10-20T09:37:00.001-05:00

If you can figure out how to take advantage of that politically you would be set

In Order for Free Markets to Work

2011-10-11T21:43:00.001-05:00

There have to disincentives to fraud besides no one will do business with you again. At the end of the day these disincentives have to be legal and financial.

Saw my first yard sign of the season...

2011-10-11T21:40:00.002-05:00

I think it was the candidate's house, if so she has a nice house.

Something to Consider When Looking At The Illinois Casino Numbers

2011-10-11T21:30:00.002-05:00

That in 2010 vs 2011 they were still doing work at the Hollywood Casino Joliet's pavilion that was damaged in a fire. So the decrease in the numbers for Harrah's Joliet vs. a year a go may be related to that as well not just the River's casino. That may also be why the numbers for Hollywood Joliet may have gone up 2011 vs 2010.

Here are the numbers

2011-10-09T21:32:00.003-05:00

I would like someone explain this to me...

So here is a question gang...

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000-05:00

If you are running for a higher office (state rep) and have a social media presence do you engage with people from your own party who have a question about a position you took in your current office (Alderman)?Aurora recently voted to charge people a 'booking fee' when they are arrested and booked to help cover the costs of that process, the thing is you are still charged (and owe) the fee if it turns out if you are found not guilty. Not sure what happens if they book you and then find out you are not the Bill Smith they are looking for.A local Democrat asked the Alderman about this on Facebook and it seems the question was removed and the local Democrat says she was blocked by the same candidate.So if you are a candidate in a run for a smaller office (it isn't governor) should you avoid questions on facebook, is it smart politics?OneMan

It's been two years...

2011-10-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

In the past I blogged about someone I knew who lost a daughter to cancer. For the past month she has been blogging the story of Donna's fight with cancer. Knowing how to story ends and knowing in particular how the last few months went does not make reading it any easier. But it is really a story about hope. So like I have asked in the past, please keep her family in your prayers, and regardless of your political stripes, I would ask when it comes to life, chose hope, because anger sucks.OneMan

Why At The End Of The Day I Make A Terrible Libertarian...

2011-10-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

Because when the idea that we would let children die because it isn't necessarily going to be cost effective to try and save them offends me as a human being. At it's core no political philosophy nor any philosophy in general should have the idea of 'it sucks to be you' at it's core.

Some Data On the Last Election For Governor

2011-09-28T21:49:00.000-05:00

The Overall Theme of the GOP in 2012 Should Not Be...

2011-09-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

Well then I guess it sucks to be you...

Just sayin....

Well here is a question for you kids...

2011-09-14T21:49:00.002-05:00

If the local paper gives an elected official a column, should the paper let the elected official talk about their re-election plans and qualifications (residency in the district) in the same column?

The Other Side of The Rivers Casino...

2011-09-13T23:42:00.000-05:00

There has been lots on the impact on the boats in Illinois that Rivers has had, but how the Indiana numbers look...Using the Aug-2010 and Aug-2011 numbers of Turnstile Counts of Lake Michigan Boats
2010 2011 Difference

Ameristar 283,128 263,749 (19,379)
Blue Chip 233,217 218,573 (14,644)
Horseshoe 540,525 468,823 (71,702)
Majestic Star 128,735 120,430 ( 8,305)
Total (114,030)

All Indiana Casinos Total Tax was 52,467,532 in Aug-2011 and 56,766,094 in Aug-2010 so they were down 4,298,562 in tax receipts over last August.

Another Democrat in the Race in the 11th

2011-09-13T23:24:00.001-05:00

So it appears the Orland Fire Protection District guy is going to run as a Democrat. So at least two of the announced candidates do not live in the district as it is currently drawn under the remap.

So Jay Mariotti gets to plead no contest again

2011-09-13T15:31:00.001-05:00

So he has that going for him, which is something. He avoids jail so no chance for him to talk baseball with Rod

Based off what I have seen...

2011-08-29T21:30:00.003-05:00

It appears Dick Cheney's new book should have been named

I was right, everyone else was wrong and I am sorry I shot that guy in the face.

Really

2011-08-23T22:26:00.002-05:00

From a press release from the Chicago Teachers Union (the emphasis is mine)

More than 40,000 homes are foreclosed in Cook County each year. Combined with the illegal lay-off of teachers these foreclosures contribute to housing insecurity for thousands of CPS employees and students. As part of its ongoing negotiations with CPS, the Union requested that the Board turn up the pressure on Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Deutsche Bank until these institutions agree to write down the mortgage principals and interest rates for all homeowners facing foreclosure within the school district to market value as a part of an affordable and sustainable loan modification program.

"The decline of safe and secure homes greatly impacts the overall well-being of the children, educators and their families in our public schools. Their interests are our interests," said Lewis. “We urge the school board to stop doing business with the “big five” banks whose policies adversely impact our schools and neighborhoods.

Really, the banks should eat all of that? In order to do business with CPS? I think mathematically alone the losses the banks would suffer do not even come close to what they make doing business with CPS. So what happens if there is a subsequent gain in home prices, I am betting the homeowner gets to keep all of that. How low should mortgage rates go, CTU?

In terms of reality, this ranks right up there with Hans Gruber asking for the freedom of the nine members of Asian Dawn in Sri Lanka , it isn't going to happen and it's irrelevant to what they are trying to do.

What does it say about the GOP presidential field...

2011-08-21T20:29:00.001-05:00

When I am thrilled to at least have one candidate admit that he thinks we should listen to scientists...

Stay Classy Dick Durbin

2011-08-05T08:12:00.002-05:00

During the Daily Show last night we got this from Dick Durbin The quote is from the WSJ (I was watching as well and had was blown away for a minute)

In a discussion about the debt ceiling, Durbin said he was “going to point the finger at my Republican colleagues for a moment.” He went on to say “Many of them have said they like war. They like waging war. They like the notion of staying in war. They think we should spend a lot of money in war.”

Stewart gave him a chance to back away from it a bit, but he didn't much. Even John Stewart seemed a bit surprised by his statement.

Way to promote the bi-partisan thing there.

This Walsh Thing...

2011-07-28T22:34:00.002-05:00

If he loaned his campaign dollar one while he was in arrears on child support he should be done with value voters, full stop. He should be done with every voter, even the biggest budget hawks ever.

A campaign (and I don't care how much of a budget hawk you are) should never, ever, ever, ever trump supporting your kids as a court tells you should do.

If you owe back child support you should be eating ramen noodles for breakfast lunch and diner. Putting your kids and family first is the ultimate family value.

It's one thing to be behind on your child support because you are broke, it's another to give your campaign a loan when you are behind on your support.

More Thoughts on Gaming Regulation In Illinois.

2011-07-24T20:39:00.002-05:00

Considering his comments to the news media about the gambling expansion bill as well his comments about video poker I think I have figured out Aaron Jaffe's issue with gaming in this state.

I don't think he like to be told what to do, having been a legislator and a judge he was used to telling others what to do and now he is being told what to do via legislation and he does not like it one bit. Between the complaints about political donations by gaming interests (what industry that is regulated by government does not give to candidates and parties?) but for some reason there is an issue with the gaming folks doing it, no problem with the alcohol distributors giving, the tobacco folks giving money, but that gaming money is ruining the whole process.

Would be interesting to see who gave to him when he was a candidate? Did he ever get any money from horse racing interests? Can't seem to find him on the electronic system at the board of elections. Would be a good question for a reporter to ask him if you ask me.

So The Trib Discovers Gaming and Gambling Interests Give to Politicians...

2011-07-24T16:30:00.002-05:00

Along with folks in just about ever other regulated industry ...

The Trib reported that over the past 10 years about 10 million has been given by gaming interests including casino folks, racing interests and video poker interests..

Ummm, so what...

That unnerves Aaron Jaffe, the state's top gambling regulator, who says it's time that Illinois follows the lead of six other gambling states that don't allow political contributions from certain gambling interests.

"We should ban it," said Jaffe, chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board. "My job is to protect the public interest, and I would hope that legislators know that is their responsibility, too."

Jaffe, a former Democratic lawmaker and judge, said so much money entering the political process gives the industry outsize influence on rules and regulations.

Besides for the fact that I think that Jaffe may be one of the first regulators in the history of the state who seems to dislike the industry he regulates. It begs a bigger question. Is there any industry that is regulated by the state that has 'outsize' influence on rules and regulations concerning that industry? Be it liquor distribution, race tracks, health care, etc. I would argue that each of those industries has an 'outsize' influence on their own regulation, it's the nature of state regulation and any regulated industry.

Just Back From Wisconsin...

2011-07-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

The area I was visiting is having a state senate recall, but it's the Democrat who is being recalled. Some PAC was running negative ads against the challenger about her taxes and other stuff. The challenger was running ads with campaign money against the incumbent about him wanting to raise taxes. They had the primary for the GOP challenger when I was up there.

Didn't see anything from him about why the incumbent should stay in office.

Also besides one radio ad that mentioned endorsements from GOP county chairmen, not a single mention of party from either one of them.

Is it wrong...

2011-06-28T20:08:00.001-05:00

To hope somehow that Rod Blagojevich would have to serve time in the same cell as Jay Marrioti.

So they convicted him...

2011-06-28T20:05:00.001-05:00

Glad a jury got it right.

I have to admit I feel sorry for his kids however. Patty, not so much.

Campaign Pro-Tip Of The Day

2011-06-14T21:43:00.003-05:00

What can we learn from State Representative Fred Clark, a Democrat from Baraboo WI

When doing campaign calls, don't say

"OK. I feel like calling her back and smacking her around."

after someone hangs up on you...

Because....

A) You never talk about 'smacking around' anyone during a campaign

B) Some folks might take issue with you threatening what sounds like violence against a woman

C) Even though she hung up her answering machine may still be going.

Stay classy Wisconsin Democrat running in a recall election to remove a state senator.

Updates on the 11th

2011-06-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

Well Atkinson is out and endorsing Foster and I have to say that is surprising. He would have given Foster a race at the least and I think he could have won the primary. Now he is out and it does not seem to make much sense. I know Foster did a poll a little while back that showed he had better name recognition (not a big surprise) I would be curious if there were some negatives on Atkinson that were polled as well....

Is is going to be just a Leasch and Foster, I doubt it, but unless an elected official with some sort of base runs it looks like any additional candidate just helps Foster.

So who is going to run in the 11th...

2011-06-12T22:39:00.003-05:00

Some early handicapping on who might run for the 'open' seat in the 11th congressional district in Illinois.

Democrats
Who John Laesch
Odds 1/3

Ran for the seat before and almost beat Foster in the primary the last time around, with his wife has built a bit of a base within the local party.

Who Jenifer Laesch

Odds 1/4

State Central Committeeman and wife of John, she also served briefly on the Kane County board. One of the Laeschs are going to run. Part of me thinks it will be her.

Who Bill Foster

Odds Even Money or better

Former congressman in the 14th, does not live in the 11th but said he would run where ever Aurora falls (the 11th) has picked up an early endorsement from Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. Has released some early poling showing him having better name recondition that John Atkinson. Last time Foster ran he put a large amount of his own money early into the race to try and keep folks out (it worked), has not announced such a move yet and his last FEC statement showed some significant campaign debt (likely to himself). It will be interesting to see if he makes a big early personal money move again.

Who John Atkinson

Odds 2/3

Had looked like he was going to run against Lipinski in a primary but the redistricting has put him in the 11th (you don't have to run where you live, just ask Foster). Has been described as a "Wealthy Businessman" not sure how wealthy, but might be able to put more into the race than Foster. Also since the 11th is an open seat it would seem to be a smarter move gain going against Lipinski. If he gets in the race, it gets much harder for Foster.

More to come

Bill Foster and the New 11th District.

2011-06-01T21:26:00.002-05:00

Well Bill Foster appears to have been missing congress, so he is going to be running again. This time in the new 11th district that contains, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet and Naperville.

The Beacon has a story here. I am going to take parts of it and offer some additional insights.

Well #1 he doesn't live in the district and it appears he has no plans to move into the district

Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, who lost to Walsh in 2010, never lived in her district and it was not an issue, Foster said.

Ummm, Bill there is a reason she is Former U.S. Rep., she lost, just like you did. So I am not sure you can say that is wasn't an issue.

Foster’s press release included an endorsement from Tom Weisner, the mayor of Aurora — the largest city in the 11th District.

That's nice, not sure how some Aurora Democrats feel about him, also at the end of the day, politically Tom is about Tom. I don't seem to recall him busting his hump for you in the fall. This endorsement is as much about the next mayors race as anything else.

He lost a close election to then-state Sen. Randy Hultgren of Winfield in 2010.

Well, lets look at the results of the special that got Foster into office (please note the election was held on a Saturday)

FOSTER 52205 52.53%
OBERWEIS 47180 47.47%

Now lets look at the 2010 general

HULTGREN 112369 51.31%
FOSTER 98645 45.04%
KAIRIS 7949 3.63%
MARKS 50 0.02%

So in fact Fosters victory in the special was closer than the defeat in the 'close' election.

Also keep in mind this from the 2008 primary

FOSTER 32410 20.88%
LAESCH 32012 20.62%

.26% seperated Foster who spent a fortune compared to Laesch and he barely beat him. (How close this was still blows my mind).

So unless he moves a lot of his own money into the race again (like he did the first time he ran) he may not be able to keep a serious primary challenger out.

Why, well the only part of the district that is really the same from last time is Aurora the rest of it is new, so they were not getting the slick franked mailers he used to send out. Also the ethnic breakout of the district is different so a Hispanic Democrat might have a real shot in a primary.

So I think he is moving early, just like he did before to try and clear the field, it will be interesting to see if it works this time. I suspect he might face a challenge from at least Laesch, it might be Mrs. Laesch but a challenge all the same.

Suffice to say it is going to be fun to watch.

Help or No Help Sears Would be Foolish to Move...

2011-05-18T21:15:00.002-05:00

The recent talk about Sears looking at different locations for the corporate headquarters got me thinking about if Illinois should offer them continued tax breaks to try and keep them or not.

But I then realized that isn't really the question to be asking, the better question is why would Sears think it was a good idea to move?

To get an idea of the state Sears is in I would suggest this article. Suffice to say in what looks like an improving economy Sears seems to be quite the laggard.

Gary Balter, an analyst for Credit Suisse, was blunt in his response, telling clients that the results signal "increasingly dire prospects for Sears."

So you have a large company with a significant corporate staff (about 6,200) is now, when you are going to consider moving, with the costs associated with that, the staff losses associated with that, the loss of experience and talent (at this point I am assuming after all of the changes at Sears there is not a lot of 'fat' at corporate) you are in the middle of a retail environment that might just be starting a recovery that you are not participating in and you are going to put a move in that mix. All so you can save a few bucks on your property taxes?

If you are Sears your problem isn't your taxes it's sales, you have to fix that and everything you do needs to focus on that and that alone, moving your corporate HQ isn't going to help you sell one Kennmore appliance or a single Craftsman tool.

Solve your big issues, then hold up some state for cash.

Sometimes They Get It Right...

2011-05-10T21:10:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the Aurora City Council for getting one right tonight, after initially not getting enough votes to approve the proposed specialty poultry butcher shop in town.

Yes, the butcher shop would kill and process poultry on site in town. After intelligent arguments from the guy who owns the building (it is an industrial site in the city) about how his American manufacturing business will be helped by the additional capital as well as an argument from the head of the Hispanic Chamber of how it will help all businesses in town.

So our two Alderman At Large changed their votes, one even said he got 12 phone calls about the issue and the other one talked about he used to chase chickens around the yard in the 70's.

So for a change the City Council did not try to social engineer our business environment. However I suspect if you want to sell fancy clothes (quinceanera dresses), SR-22 compliant insurance, tattoos or haircuts downtown you are still more than welcome to do so without narry a word from the city.

Just haven't had much to say lately....

2011-04-24T19:39:00.001-05:00

With the media treating Trump like a real candidate, it's been hard to try to top that in terms of surreal.

It seems there are still issues at Chicago State

2011-04-12T22:45:00.003-05:00

Like not sending out Spring tuition bills... The audit does not appear to be on the auditor web site yet. Looking forward to reading it.

Meanwhile read the Trib story, it's an eye opener.

Before you get your shorts in a bunch about the count issue in Wisconsin.

2011-04-10T22:30:00.003-05:00

I think of something I heard an election official I know say once.

"I never met a candidate who was worth me ending up wearing a jumpsuit for"

Also if it is like the vast majority of voting systems it has a paper trail, one for each ballot cast.

2011-04-05T20:49:00.001-05:00

All pcts in at the election commission

2011-04-05T20:27:00.001-05:00

Tons of pcts came in at the same time

2011-04-05T19:48:00.001-05:00

Not even 50 minutes and several polling places are in

2011-04-05T18:19:00.001-05:00

40 minutes until the polls close

Well it's an election day in two days...

2011-04-03T20:49:00.002-05:00

Ran into a candidate for Alderman At Large today, asked me if I thought door to door was the best campaign approach. I pointed out it was likely better than robocalls and direct mail in this case.

When it comes down to winning the race for Alderman at Large in Aurora, it is going to come down to which candidate has the best turnout in those wards where there are contested aldermatic races. Because that is really the only races that are going to attract any attention in the city, yeah there are school board races, but you have to be really hard core to go vote for school board and there is a tax thing from the county but it will only add about 10 a year to tax bills, so I don't see that driving a big anti-tax vote. So the only real driver of turnout is going to be local adermatic races, with several incumbent aldermen facing challenges it is going to make sense for them to campaign and build up turnout (since that is another race where turnout is key).

So if I were running for Alderman At Large, I would have focused my efforts on those wards with contested races. I think that is going to be key.

My turnout guess, 27% in the city as a whole and lower in some areas.

Got a notification

2011-03-20T16:19:00.002-05:00

Join the Kane County Democrats and OFA on Tuesday, March 22nd at 2:00 pm, as we visit Randy Hultgren's office to show our support for the Affordable Care Act and to let him know that if he continues to attack health care reform, his constituents will hold him accountable in 2012.

At 2 PM on a Tuesday? I guess folks who work during the day are not welcome to protest.

Seriously GOP...

2011-03-10T22:58:00.002-06:00

Can we just focus on getting the economy going for a while, not making public school teachers look like the cause of all the problems in the world. I am as big of a fan of education reform as anyone, but come on, the answer is taking away bargaining rights. That's the answer?

I suspect if you polled teachers most of them would be cool with getting rid of the losers in their profession as well as long as you figured out a way to do it that really identified losers. Heck most students realize what teachers shouldn't be teaching and I suspect most teachers realize which of their co-workers would be better suited to something else.

A thought from governor Mitch Daniels

2011-03-10T22:46:00.002-06:00

We must display a heart for every American, and a special passion for those still on the first rung of life’s ladder. Upward mobility from the bottom is the crux of the American promise, and the stagnation of the middle class is in fact becoming a problem, on any fair reading of the facts. Our main task is not to see that people of great wealth add to it, but that those without much money have a greater chance to earn some.

The GOP would do well to listen to him, if we appear to be the party of jerking people over then we are truly and rightfully screwed.

Also Congressman Barton, as Republicans I thought we were against subsidies? Shouldn't we just let the free market come into play.

Pressed repeatedly by Jon Karl to stake out a position on tax credits enjoyed by offshore oil companies, Barton argued that the subsidies represent equal treatment, and are required to keep the companies like Exxon-Mobil from going out of business.

"Over time if you put so many disincentives against any U.S. manufacturing or production company, or oil and gas exploration company, they'll go out of business," Barton said.

So it was because you were so tied up in the love of your country...

2011-03-09T21:53:00.002-06:00

Newt, it's one thing (and wrong) to cheat on your wife, it's another thing to cheat on your wife then leave her for the other woman (still wrong). It's yet another to lay blame in part due to how much you love your country and how hard you work.

Is this really the best we can do at this point....

Ugh

Consolidating School Districts...

2011-03-03T22:34:00.002-06:00

It's an interesting idea for smaller districts but the logistical issues would be a nightmare on a large scale.

For example..

The two districts have different tax rates, which one do you use? Can you impose a tax rate on a district that did not vote for it in referendum?
How do you resolve any seniority issues between teachers?
What if you unify two districts that teach at different levels (for example a Cook County HS district and a Cook County elementary district) then what do you do with tax rates? Do you keep both rates?
One district is paying off a bond, the other district isn't do all the taxpayers in the newly formed district now pay off the bond?
What about districts with Special Service Areas (areas that pay extra school taxes to retire bonds) will the SSA stay intact if the newly formed district ends up having kids outside the SSA attend the school funded by the SSA?

There are more questions...

Releasing FOID information...

2011-03-01T21:09:00.002-06:00

Seriously?

There isn't a privacy protection on this? If nothing else haven't you succeeded in exposing every cops home address?

Why the Dems running from WI Shouldn't Surprise Anyone...

2011-02-23T21:32:00.002-06:00

Well Public Employee unions have traditionally been big supporters of Democrats and Democrats have been supportive of organized labor in general and public employee unions in particular. So it makes sense that the Democrats would do what they can to protect the interests of one of their prime support groups, that is in essence in some ways what democracy is about.

I would fully expect that if there was some issue that eviscerated the influence, power or rights of a core Republican constituency (for example if a law was going to be passed that gun owners could not give money to any candidate) that Republicans would do the exact same thing.

No run off for you....

2011-02-22T20:22:00.002-06:00

Looks like it is going to be a cakewalk for Rahm. It will be interesting to see how much CMB ends up with.

OneMan

Groupon...

2011-02-06T22:22:00.003-06:00

A ad that references Tibet and the challenges to their culture but then changes tact to the fact they make tasty food...

Wow, that was stupid Groupon.

Bet Google had a bit of a laugh at this. But seriously no one at their ad firm or at Groupon or even Timothy Hutton agent didn't think this might cause a bit of controversy (and I don't mean GoDaddy.com type controversy). It isn't like there about 100 different ways you could have gone with this.

Looking forward to their Falun Gong ad during the Daytona 500

Sorry Mary but you are wrong...

2011-01-30T15:40:00.002-06:00

Mary Schmich has a column in today's Trib with this title.

Lura Lynn Ryan shouldn't be punished for her husband's crime

Which sound nice, but isn't in touch with reality. Our jails are filled with people who have families, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, parents all of who are being in a way 'punished' for the crimes of others.

Families who have lost providers, children separated from parents by great distances. That is what happens when people go to jail, others suffer. It's sad, but it is the way it is.

Do I have a problem with George getting to so see if wife in jail, no. Do I think he should get some sort extended release, no.

If nothing else...

2011-01-27T22:46:00.001-06:00

Stop and think about the odds you could have gotten back in 1981 that the place kicker for the Bears was going to write a court opinion that decided if a guy could run for mayor of Chicago.

Perhpas the folks challenging Rahm

2011-01-27T22:40:00.001-06:00

Should have hired Wirtz's attorneys.

What does this mean for video gaming....

2011-01-26T21:15:00.002-06:00

With the court tossing Public Law 96-34 it has all sorts of implications on video poker.

Assuming the state Supreme Court even offers a stay while the appeal is going on this is going to slow everything up.

It looks like 77 companies have applied to be terminal operators, so if you are one of these guys are you going to acquire machines while this is up in the air? How much are you going to invest in machines, staff and the rest while this is up in the air? So regardless this going to slow everything up.

If the court does not offer a stay then I am not even sure if the background checks and everything else can continue at all. If nothing else I doubt they can accept any new applications.

This makes things interesting.

A little more on video gaming...

2011-01-18T21:56:00.002-06:00

One of the interesting things to come out a bit more recently is the updated technical standards for Video Gaming Terminals (which can be found here)

Page 19 has this for rules of play Section 2.2

For VGTs, the cost of one (1) playable credit shall be 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, or 25 cents, and the maximum wager played per game shall not exceed $2. The $2 dollar maximum bet limit must be ensured at all times and may not be bypassed by any extended features such as double up, double down, splits, extra credits wagered during bonus, etc.
No cash award for the maximum wager on any individual game shall exceed $500.

The bold is in the original.

One interesting thing about the max payout and the max bet is that many video poker variations pay out better than 250 to 1 for royal flushes so in some ways the max play on a machine at least for some games, may not be the best bet. Also if you are playing some sort of game that allows you to double down, the max bet of $2 may not also be the best pick for you.

I have some updated numbers on play rates and loss rates that I plan on putting in some new spreadsheets shortly.

So is the director of the state police done...

2011-01-17T21:29:00.002-06:00

The State Journal Register says his term ended with the new legislature starting last week.

They have a pdf of a letter and everything. Do you think Quinn will renominate him or is he done?

Remember Video Gaming?

2011-01-17T19:09:00.003-06:00

Just a reminder that Governor Quinn signed the bill on July 13, 2009. It's now been 553 days and not a single machine is on line, nor according the Illinois Gaming Board web site has a single license been issued.

I think you hit it out of the park Mr. President...

2011-01-12T20:38:00.002-06:00

I am glad you did...

"All of us, we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations."

What more can we look to do as a nation.

If you are curious, the scripture the President quoted at the beginning, is from Psalm 46:4~5

If we argue, if we hate as a result of what the shooter did, he wins, lets deny him that.

Amazon Warns Illinois Affiliates After Tax Law Passes

2011-01-06T21:24:00.002-06:00

Since this was not marked private or confidential I am guessing I can share it.

Greetings from the Amazon Associates Program:
We regret to inform you that the Illinois state legislature has passed an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that, if signed by Governor Quinn, would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with Illinois-based Associates. You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of Illinois. If our records are incorrect, you can manage the details of your Associates account here.

Please note that this not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Amazon Associates Program. But if the governor signs this bill, we will need to terminate the participation of all Illinois residents in the Associates Program. After that point, we will no longer pay any advertising fees for sales referred to amazon.com, endless.com and smallparts.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates Program from Illinois residents.

The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on Illinois residents like you were explained to the legislature, including Senate and House leadership, as well as to the governor's staff.

Over a dozen other states have considered essentially identical legislation but have rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states' residents.

Governor Quinn's office may be reached here.

We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you continued success in the future.

Sincerely,

Amazon.com

This e-mail was sent to xxxxxxx.

Please note that you must use this e-mail address to access your account in Associates Central or when contacting Associates Customer Service.

To manage your e-mail preferences, update your account settings.

Message Category: Possible Termination Because of New Illinois Legislation

© 2011 Amazon.com. All rights reserved. Amazon.com is a registered trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, 1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98144-2734, USA.

Ambassador Organics

2011-01-05T20:36:00.004-06:00

Go check out the web site I think buzz word wise they are fully Whole Foods compliant.

Interesting Numbers

2011-01-05T20:32:00.001-06:00

Davis drops out...

2010-12-31T20:29:00.001-06:00

Carol Moseley Braun is your consensus candidate? Seriously?

Congratulations Mayor Rahm

A different way of looking at educational achievement..

2010-12-21T21:50:00.003-06:00

The Education Trust took at look at the pass rate (that is those who get a good enough score so they can join the Army). Besides for being an interesting way to measure achievement, it provides a useful metric that is valuable in all 50 states.

The full report his here. Suffice to say the results are disappointing, in Illinois 24% of test takers who have high school degrees fail to get a high enough score to join the Army. FYI, Illinois is worse than average.

So think about that almost 1 out 4 young people who get High School diplomas in this state are not able to pass the test to join the Army. If you want your statistic on why we need to take a look at education reform in this state. I think that is it.

Also we do worse than the national average.

The Care Act will now be law...

2010-12-04T16:48:00.002-06:00

Pat's line item veto as overridden, so it is going to become law.

I have blogged about the Care Act in the past, so I am not going to go into again too much besides to say it is a good law, the line item veto was stupid and likely directly related to the objection of a major donor to the Quinn campaign.

OneMan

NIU back in the top 25...

2010-11-28T13:52:00.000-06:00

Top rated team in the state!

Woot!

So Burris is going to run for mayor...

2010-11-22T20:34:00.002-06:00

Assuming he stays on the ballot, this should be entertaining.

Illinois Pension Debt Service 1.7 Billion dollars in FY2011

2010-11-21T20:16:00.002-06:00

The Chicago Civic Federation is out with their analysis of the states proposed FY2011 Budget, quite an eye opening read.

There is a lot in the document, but for the moment I am going to just focus on the costs of current and proposed pension borrowing (page 28 of the PDF file, 24 of the document).

The 2010 pension borrowing is going to cost the state $1.147 Billion dollars in FY2011 or roughly about 100 million more than the state expects to make off of the lottery and casino gaming.

But that is just the 2010 borrowing, we still have the pension borrowing from 2003 that we are still paying off, and that adds $543 million to the total so it comes to about 1.6 Billion.

If you include the proposed borrowing for FY2011 you end up with average yearly spending on pension debt service at over 1.5 billion FY2018 (it dips to $1.45 billion in FY2016 before going up another 140 million in FY2017. Why in part because the 2011 borrowing will be back loaded to the later years (be thankful for that otherwise the payments starting in 2012 would really be a problem).

So next time someone says "The lottery and casino gaming is used to pay for education, point out it is going to be used for a while to pay for the states inability and lack of desire to fund it's pensions properly"

Is Rahm a Resident...

2010-11-21T20:10:00.000-06:00

He likely is by most logical definitions, however please remember that Illinois election law is not always logical.

Late Payments Have A Ripple Effect...

2010-11-10T20:44:00.002-06:00

Making debt more expensive for every government entity in the state..

For example the Chicago School District..

The Sun Times is reporting that Fitch took the district's credit rating down a notch to single A+ (still investment grade, but every time it goes down it makes debt more expensive) one of the reasons cited was late state aid.

How late, the state still owes CPS $164 million from last year and is late on $206 million this year.

The City of Chicago...

Bond Buyer is reporting that

Chicago has stepped up its investor-relation efforts as it seeks to minimize the premium demanded by buyers of paper from Illinois-based borrowers, due the state's liquidity and budget crisis

Chicago also put a $804 million bond issue on hold waiting for a more 'Opportune Time'. So it would seem thee city was not happy with the rates it was looking at. The other part of this is that $214 million of that (according to Bloomberg) was going to be taxable Build America bonds.

There is a chance the Build America bond program may not be extended (read the whole story), if it is not extended during the lame duck session. Then it will be up to a Republican controlled congress to extended it, which is going to be less likely.

So imagine that it is not extended during the lame duck session, there will likely be a host of government entities who may try to issue these bonds before the program ends, creating additional supply that Chicago will have to deal with and may get priced into the bonds (the interest rate).

So there you have it, the late payments might be handy for the budget but they are hurting the rest of the state.

OneMan

Metra Soot...

2010-11-08T21:11:00.002-06:00

The Tribune has a story today about soot on metra trains. The soot issue is very real (I take a train where it is bad enough to set off the smoke detectors in the bathroom in the car).

But, kids the problem when it comes down to it is not the locomotives. It's the stations. I am going to use Union Station as my specific example.

The problem kids is one of ventilation, it isn't the locomotives. You run a locomotive in a poorly ventilated area, with the train car doors open (so people can on the train) then folks are surprised there is an issue with air quality.

It would have been interesting if the Trib had tested trains at the LaSalle street station since those are diesel engines as well but it is much better ventilated.

I think the response of Amtrak (who owns Union Station) was weak...

But Metra and Amtrak officials said they have little control over ventilation systems designed to suck diesel exhaust out of Union Station's train tunnels. The giant vents and fans are supposed to be maintained by the owners of eight skyscrapers that rise above the tracks.

Well then guys, I suspect that the fans are part of their contracts that got them the air rights over the tracks, correct? If so why not deal with it that way.

Since Amtrak is a federal entity Senator Durbin, perhaps you should start there.

OneMan

Well I think one question comes up immediately...

2010-11-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

Did Quinn and Kirk hitting the they didn't pay taxes thing end up hurting their own guy as well by reinforcing the argument their opponent was making?

I think Brady is about done...

2010-11-03T21:08:00.002-05:00

Don't see how he overcomes the vote difference at this point.

2010-11-02T22:35:00.001-05:00

So all that money to make Hultgren look bad and he still wins. Epic Fail Foster!

2010-11-02T19:40:00.001-05:00

First pct is in Aurora

I may be misreading or misunderstanding this...

2010-11-01T17:30:00.001-05:00

But did the state party give Mike Madigan's campaign committee printing?

I thought he had good money in his account.

Interesting Timing Alexi...

2010-11-01T15:10:00.003-05:00

Got some Bright Start documents in the mail today about some changes in Bright Start that take effect today.

Who's name and state logo were on the front cover? That's right, Alexi's...

Interesting timing, sending something to arrive the day before the election.

OneMan

We Will See

2010-10-31T21:05:00.001-05:00

If blogger prevents you from serving on a jury....

We Get Calls...

2010-10-31T21:00:00.002-05:00

Today

From a group that talked about vouchers and mentioned Scott Lee Cohen, Quinn, Brady, Meeks and Rahm. Mentioned Quinn and SLC were against vouchers and talked about how Brady would support Meeks move for city vouchers.

From Newt Gingrich (rather generic) Hello Illinois, did not listen to the whole thing.

From Jim Ryan about the tone of the campaign and in support of Brady, paid for by the Brady campaign.

Dear Phillip Morris...

2010-10-29T08:51:00.002-05:00

I appreciate the cards you send me every day about Tobacco Issues and voting and the phone call yesterday, but just for your reference.

I don't smoke, never have, don't consider my vote based on tobacco issues.

Thanks

Today we got phone calls

2010-10-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

Mark Kirk was robo call #1, sharing about upcoming get out to vote rallies....

Robo call #2 was Sarah Palin encouraging me to vote for candidates who share my values, did not mention anyone by name but did say "Hello Illinois" couldn't catch who paid for it (that was said by a different voice and really fast).

OneMan

The Alliance For America's Future

2010-10-26T20:33:00.003-05:00

Was nice enough to send me three cards (all addressed to the exact same name and address with the same numeric code above the name) today about voting absentee.

Good use of resources there guys.

They say a mighty wind is coming...

2010-10-25T20:27:00.002-05:00

Consider how often weather stuff gets hyped and it turns out to be nothing. I am not holding my breath... Lowered the basketball hoop and put some stuff in the garage, but not holding my breath.

On the plus side a lot of roadsides will be clear of Scott Lee Cohen signs...

We get mail....

2010-10-25T20:25:00.002-05:00

Another Brady for Nurses piece featuring his daughter and talking about license fees being used for non-nursing related activities.

My wife feels it is effective and it was sent to her.

OneMan

Here is another question...

2010-10-24T20:24:00.001-05:00

If you can't file a D-2 on time how in the heck are you going to fix the states problems Scott Lee Cohen?

Still No D-2 on the ISBE Website From Scott Lee Cohen

2010-10-23T22:42:00.002-05:00

Check here to see if anything has changed.

At this point it is a getting the information together or a logical tactical response.

CapitolFax reported that the campaign said they would file by Friday, well it appears that Friday has come and gone without that happening.

So anyone want to venture a guess on when the Scott Lee Cohen campaign will file a D-2, might be useful to clear up some questions that have come up in the last few days.

Pat Quinn Talks Movies with John Candy and Steve Martin

2010-10-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

Pat Quinn Knows High Speed rail

2010-10-21T22:25:00.000-05:00

A Story On The Front Of The Trib's Website

2010-10-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

Emanuel setting up political fund, buying voter records Hollywood to lend a hand at November event

A candidate for office is buying voter records, stop the presses....

Seriously, we have an election in less than two weeks and this is the stuff you are covering politically?

Seriously?

Come on...

It's been a year...

2010-10-19T22:04:00.002-05:00

Since Donna left us. She was the daughter of a high school classmate and she died way too young. There is a foundation that was started on her behalf and has continued on doing good things. So today as we argue about politics and stress about those things we have no control over, remember Donna and her family.

For more information

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/donnaquirkehornik

Thanks

OneMan

What is so bad about elites?

2010-10-14T22:43:00.002-05:00

Interesting piece by Clarence Page of the Trib today about the "backlash" against elites.

A few thoughts that come to mind on this are....

Bashing the elite is not something that has magically appeared during this election cycle. There was bashing of Bush for his background 10 years ago and the same was true for his father, however I don't seem to recall much hand wringing about that. Also it seems to me populism and the idea that a candidate 'is one of you' goes at least all the way back to Huey Long

It's election season and most people run for office to win, not to make a good showing. So it makes sense if you are the less educated candidate to try and make the other guys education as disadvantage for him instead of it being a disadvantage for you. One thing you can fix if you are running for office is the fact you didn't go to Harvard, so you can turn this disadvantage into an advantage. Read your Sun Tzu or your Boyd you want to dictate the battle so if you can define your negative as a positive and it will work, you are going to do that.

If you told a candidate that they would win if they dressed up like Batman, you would have a run on Batman costumes. If a message/concept/theme seems to work for one candidate then everyone is going to try it.

Finally, considering how the media and politicians of all stripes have worked to make Wall Street as a generic concept the bad guy in our current economic situation is anyone surprised that this might have had an impact on the perception of elites in general? If you ask an 'average Joe' on the street what is an example of an elite is I suspect you would get a lot of folks saying 'Wall Street Banker'.

Yes anti-intellectualism is dumb, I am not disagreeing with that. I am just trying to point out it's nothing new and it isn't really that surprising.

GENENTECH: GIVE MAX NUNN Hope.

2010-10-14T09:00:00.000-05:00