Illinois Review

Daughter of Obama's pastor guilty in fraud scheme

A federal jury on Friday convicted the daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of money laundering and making false statements in connection with the alleged misuse of a grant from the state of Illinois.

Jeri L. Wright of Hazel Crest was accused of participating in a fraud scheme led by former Country Club Hills police chief Regina Evans.

Prosecutors alleged Wright took about $30,000 in state money, purporting to do work related to the grant's purpose, but deposited most of that money back into bank accounts controlled by Evans. Wright then lied about her involvement to law enforcement and a federal grand jury, prosecutors said.

More HERE

Illinois continues to trail national jobs recovery

By Michael Lucci - 

Illinois policies continue to smother the job prospects for people in the state. Yesterday, the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, reported that the state lost jobs for the second month in a row. Illinois lost 27,600 payroll jobs in January, compared to 129,000 jobs gained nationally.

The Illinois unemployment rate for January is 8.7 percent, more than 2 percentage points higher than the national rate of 6.6 percent.

Pro-life leader Jill Stanek endorses Bill Brady for governor [video]

MOKENA - Prolife leader Jill Stanek breaks with Illinois Citizens for Life PAC and Illinois Right to Life PAC which have endorsed state Sen. Kirk Dillard for Governor. In a video released this week, Stanek endorses Bill Brady and Maria Rodriguez in the March 18th primary.

Speer responds to Rhoads: Winning Elections in 2014

By Pete Speer - 

In response to Mark Rhoads' 3/2/14 commentary "Does the GOP label mean anything in Illinois?, I don't see you objecting to Republican support of the merde being being thrown by Democrat statists at Bruce Rauner. 

The Republican Party has been tarnished. Conservative political principles have been ignored.  Conservative economic objectives have been silenced. The Tea Party grew based on these principles and objectives. It succeeded in 2010 on the national level by drawing in social liberals who recognized the primacy of conservative political and economic principles. We acquired  a majority in the House of Representatives and closed the gap in the Senate.

In 2012, we lost many of those gains. Why? Tea Party caucuses to increase their vote accepted the plea of the Social Conservatives to incorporate their views. The Party of Statism spent time and money luring the social liberals back to its nest. They did this through a concentrated social media effort designed to tag the opposition as wanting to rule from the top (national level) down.

Ives pushes bill to make union contracts available to public before approval

SPRINGFIELD - This week in Springfield, State Rep Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) testified on behalf of a bill she introduced to make union negotiations available to taxpayers before local governments commit.

Although HB 4268 remains in the State Government Administrative Committee, an amendment has been introduced that would provide that no collective bargaining agreement would be binding on any government agency until it has been ratified by a majority vote of the agency's governing body, with that vote taking place after the public meeting. A hearing is scheduled for March 20th on the amendment.

Propagandizing our children: YA book review of Wise Young Fool

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

Title: Wise Young Fool I Author: Sean Beaudoin I Publisher: Little Brown & Co.

Young Adult literature is defined by the American Library Association as fiction that would be appropriate for children between the ages of 12 to 18. A branch of the American Library Association known as the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) offers the following synopsis for Wise Young Fool:

Wannabe rock star Ritchie Sudden is spending 90 days in juvie – just enough time to tell his tale of lust, loss, and, of course, rock-and-roll.

Actual Plot Summary: This is a flashback/flashforward story told in first person from the perspective of a high school senior (Ritchie Sudden) who starts a rock band with his best friend in order to compete in a "battle of the bands" contest.

Illinois employers warn state of another 1,000 private-sector job cuts

Eight companies have informed the state that they may shed a combined 1,061 jobs in Illinois in coming months. The largest losses come at three locations of Passages Hospice. Last month Passages' Lisle cut 118 positions, while its downstate Bloomington location lost 88 jobs. A third location in Rockford shed 74 jobs.

Accretive Health Inc. also announced it will shed approximately 148 Illinois jobs, and Graham Packaging Co. will close a South Side plant and lay off about 170 people.

American TV & Appliance of Madison Inc., will close its two Illinois stores in Rockford and Peoria. The company said 137 jobs will be lost at the two locations.

Sodexo Inc., will be eliminating 127 jobs here in Illinois, and Hart & Cooley Inc., a heating and air-conditioning equipment manufacturer, is closing its west suburban Carol Stream facility and will shed 112 positions.

PolyOne Designed Structures, a plastics manufacturer will shutter its Evanston plant and eliminate 75 jobs. And MacPherson's, an art and office supply company, said it will lay off 25 workers as it closes its west suburban Elgin office.

H/T: Crain's

Lawsuit challenging Illinois' caps on campaign donations unlikely to affect 2014 election

SPRINGFIELD - A lawsuit challenging Illinois' caps on political donations is unlikely to be resolved before the 2014 elections. That means limits put in place after Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment will probably remain in place for the rest of this election season.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports that a federal judge this week dismissed most of the challenges brought by the Liberty Justice Center.

The judge kept one element of it alive for debate, but an attorney for the Chicago-based group says it will take months to play out.

As a result, attorney Jacob Huebert says it's unlikely it will be settled by November.

The group argues the donation limits in the 2009 law are unconstitutional because contributions from legislative leaders are not capped in general elections.

Liberal Mayors of four major US cities confab at Axelrod's Institute of Politics

In a talk that spanned a range of topics, the Democrat mayors of four of the nation's largest cities spoke about the challenges they face and the role of teamwork in overcoming those challenges, in what was called an “unprecedented” event.

Mayors Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Kasim Reed of Atlanta, Bill de Blasio of New York City, and Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles took part in a discussion on Thursday evening at International House, sponsored by the Institute of Politics (IOP) and the International House Global Voices Program and moderated by IOP Institute Director David Axelrod.

More HERE

Ruberry: As Illinois remains frozen, Schakowsky clings to global warming

By John Ruberry - 

I'm a reluctant constituent of US Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), possibly the most liberal member of the House. You name the lib cause--and you betcha she's for it. Including so-called human-caused global warming. In a statement yesterday, she said this:"As I said to my Congressional colleagues, history will not be kind to climate change deniers."

But there has been a 17-year pause in global warming. If Schakowsky walks a mile east from her Evanston home, she'll see a frozen Lake Michigan. And the Chicago area is enduring its third-coldest and third-snowiest winter ever.

More HERE

Turning Point USA at CPAC

WASHINGTON - Turning Point USA, an Illinois-based nationwide group of college and high school-aged conservatives, has gathered at the annual CPAC conference in D.C. They're doing radio and TV appearances, meeting conservative superstars and raising hopes for the next generation. The group is led by Wheeling High School grad Charlie Kirk.

Scathing audit of Quinn anti-violence program sent to U.S. Attorney

SPRINGFIELD - A scathing audit of an anti-violence program launched by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2010 has been sent to law enforcement authorities.

Republican lawmakers released a letter Friday from Auditor General William Holland. It indicated the audit of Quinn's $55 million "Neighborhood Recovery Initiative" went to James Lewis, U.S. attorney for the central district of Illinois, and Ricardo Meza, the state's executive inspector general. The legislators had asked Holland to forward his findings.

The Democrat Quinn initiated the Chicago-area anti-violence program in the fall of 2010. But Holland's audit found "pervasive deficiencies" in the program which Republicans believe could involve criminal activity.

Durbin, Gutierrez demand Obama stop deporting illegals

Sens. Durbin and Menendez accept awards at recent NCLR event. Photo: durbin.senate.gov

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is encouraging calls from left-wing immigrant-rights groups pressuring the Obama administration to halt al deportations of illegal aliens.

Durbin told reporters Wednesday that he has been urging Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and to reduce the number of deportations of individuals who are in the country illegally.

The increased number of deportations under Obama is a sore spot between the White House and progressive groups who politically organize people who are in the country illegally. The administration is poised to mark 2 million deportations under Obama sometime this spring.

Janet Murguia, president of the extreme left-wing National Council of La Raza (NCLR) called Obama the “deporter-in-chief” in her gala speech Tuesday. Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez continued on that theme on the House floor Wednesday, when he posed a “quiz” meant to make the case that Obama has deported and detained more immigrants than his two predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

(video below)

Former Governor Jim Thompson endorses Ron Sandack

DOWNERS GROVE - State Rep Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) announced Friday via Facebook that former Governor Jim Thompson has endorsed him for re-election in the 81st House seat. Sandack is in a heated contest with GOP challenger Keith Matune.

Independent expenditure group funds ad for Bert Miller

A group called the New Prosperity Foundation is running an ad for Republican congressional candidate Bert Miller.

The New Prosperity Foundation is an independent expenditure organization created by Greg Baise, who is the president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturer's Association (IMA).

Miller is a former chairman of the IMA, and generally considered a moderate Republican.

Miller is running against state Rep. Darlene Senger, Gundy County Board Member Chris Balkema, and radio host Ian Bayne.

University of Illinois adds sex-changes to insurance

URBANA - University of Illinois trustees have voted to add coverage for sex-change operations to the health insurance plan used by students.

About 28,000 of the Urbana-Champaign campus' 40,000-plus students use the insurance and will see costs rise by 15 percent. Undergraduates will pay $291 a semester starting next fall. That's an increase of $37.

But university officials argue that only $2 of that amount is to added for sex-change coverage. The other $35 is due to Obamacare.

Victim who fought for concealed carry gets permit

ANNA - Mary Shephard, the elderly Illinois woman who fought the state's illegal ban on carrying concealed weapons, has finally received her permit to have a handgun in public.

Shephard was severely beaten by an intruder in 2009 while working at her church in Anna, Illinois (photo above).

Unable to defend herself because of the state's ban on carrying handguns, she sued the state for the right to protect herself. 

After years of fighting to deny citizens second amendment rights, the state was finally forced to lift the ban following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was the last state in the nation to do so.

Cardinal George faces another bout with cancer

CHICAGO - Cardinal George announced Friday in his weekly column published on the Chicago Archdiocese's website that tests show he is facing another bout with cancer. 

...If I may speak personally, this Lent finds me once again in poor health. My cancer, which was dormant for well over a year, is still confined to the area of the right kidney, but it is beginning to show signs of new activity. After many tests, scans, biopsies and other inconveniences, the settled judgment is that the best course of action is to enter into a regimen of chemotherapy, with drugs more aggressive than those that were used in the first round of chemo. This treatment will take place over the next two months, when my reaction to the chemo will be evaluated.

AFP Illinois targets Amanda Mancke on her progressive tax position

NAPERVILLE - Republicans in the 97th House District are getting mailers blasting Republican candidate Amanda Mancke for supporting a switch from Illinois' longtime flat tax system to a progressive system. Americans for Prosperity - Illinois' director David From said their effort hit district mailboxes Thursday.

Two other Republicans - Richard Chapman and Mark Batinick - are also running to fill State Rep. Tom Cross' (R-Plainfield) vacancy in 2015.

House Republican Organization releases court docs on Sandack's GOP opponent

CHICAGO - Republican donors should be frustrated that money they thought was going to be used to shrink Democrat House Speaker Mike Madigan's majority is being used to beat up other Republicans, 81st House District GOP candidate Keith Matune told Illinois Review Friday.

"I thought 'HRO' stood for House Republican Organization, not 'hit squad,'" Matune said. "Instead, they're out beating up Republicans that dare to challenge the establishment. The rank and file get what going on. They're not going to be fooled by HRO and Ron Sandack's desperate antics."

Matune was speaking in response to HRO's effort to defend incumbent 81st House District State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) Thursday, releasing court documents to the media showing Matune has been arrested three times and convicted once.

The court documents released by HRO show that 23 years ago, Matune wrote a bad check for $500 in the state of Virginia. Matune was stopped for driving with bright headlights, and the Dupage County Police ran a warrant search to find the Virginia warrant. Matune settled the complaint by paying restitution.

HRO also reported that while attending Purdue University, Matune was arrested and convicted for public nudity and two years later for climbing through a women's dorm window. Matune fulfilled a year of probation for the conviction and paid $100 fine for trespassing.

Another document HRO obtained via FOIA shows that when applying for a position at the Indian Prairie School District 204, Matune told the school where he now teaches that he had never been convicted of a crime. Matune says what he put on the 2013 application lines up with Illinois State Police records, and doesn't fear losing his job.

"No, I've checked with the administration, and they understand what's going on. They like have a teacher of the year on their staff, and my answers lined up with the Illinois State Police records," Matune said.

Unions back Dillard to stop Rauner and punish Madigan and Quinn

CHICAGO - While the names of union coalitions and political action committees have changed over the past few weeks, their efforts are becoming more focused as the March 18 primary gets closer.

Pro-union groups such as Republican Fund for Progress & Jobs, the Fund for Prosperity & Jobs, the Illinois Freedom PAC and the Democrat Governors Association are raising money, running ads, and preparing to put boots on the ground - all to try and stop Bruce Rauner from winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

For teachers and public sector unions, stopping Rauner in the primary would prevent them having to spend possibly historic amounts of money on the November General Election.

Insiders tell Illinois Review it would also allow the unions to teach Gov. Quinn and House Speaker Madigan a lesson after they passed and signed a pension reform bill over the objections of the unions.

If state Sen. Kirk Dillard wins the GOP nomination, the teachers unions and AFSCME (which have endorsed Dillard) will, we are told, sit out the General Election and let the chips fall where they may.

Supposedly the union polling shows the race between Rauner and Dillard "within a few points."

How truthful those reports are is debatable. But there are indications there may be some truth to it.

Meanwhile the anti-Rauner groups continue to raise money. The Republican Fund for Progress & Jobs recently raised another $485,000 from four union-affiliated groups: the Prosperity and Jobs Fund, Chicago Federation of Labor, the Illinois Education Association and the Operating Engineers Local 150.

Powerful union players are also getting involved:

Brokerage to get $20.7M in taxpayer-funded incentives to stay in Illinois

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has promised more than $20 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to keep its headquarters in Illinois.

The firm will get an estimated $20.7 million in tax credits and other state incentives over 10 years, contingent on retaining 825 jobs and adding 500 jobs, which comes to Illinoisans paying $15,622.64 per job.

Gallagher's headquarters search had supposedly included Indianapolis and Kansas City, Mo.

Does the 2010 GOP Primary tell us anything about the 2014 election

Last month, Illinois Review ran a story entitled: 2010 Redux: Polls Show Undecided GOP Voters Could Determine 2014 Gov Nominee.

The Illinois Manufacturer's Association's polling company - We Ask America - followed up on this particular idea writing yesterday: "...a number of people have contacted us about whether our latest poll for the Illinois GOP governor’s race is “projectable” (meaning, can those results mathematically be manipulated to project the final outcome). ...Maybe."

We Ask America provided the following chart from the 2010 GOP tracking polls (click to enlarge).

As WAA noted, the 2010 Primary Election was held on February 2. Kirk Dillard led the field going into the final week before the Primary. But Andy McKenna had been running negative ads against Dillard and Ryan for weeks. As a result, both Dillard and Ryan dipped in the polls.

At the same time, Bill Brady was largely ignored. His downstate ads spoke directly to the Republican base, and circumstances put him in an ideal position win in a photo finish in the end.

The question in 2014 is can the same kind of thing happen. The answer seems to be yes. But as with all elections, each one is unique with different candidates and variables.

Rauner is leading in all the polls, but continues to pour money into his campaign, which seems to indicate his internals are not as positive as the public numbers. Dillard seems to be trending and is likely hoping to get enough cross-over union votes to get him over the top. Accomplishing that would be historic. But this is Illinois politics. Anything is possible.

Rasmussen: The progressive tax hike stokes envy in Illinois

By Kristina Rasmussen - 

Proponents of a progressive income tax hike want to set into motion one of the largest transfers of wealth in the history of Illinois. Not from the wealthy to the poor – but from the general public to government unions.

Under the progressive tax scheme, vast sums of money would be sucked out of the productive private sector, laundered through the political elite and deposited into the pay, perks and pensions of the public sector.

But to amend our state constitution to give politicians more power to pick winners and losers, the “divide and conquer” crowd will need to pit Illinoisans against each other.

Why? Because our current fair, flat tax asks us all to share a similar proportional stake in funding our government. Everyone has skin in the game.

GOP senators step up pressure to eliminate "unfair" Chicago schools block grant

SPRINGFIELD - On the heels of yet another scathing public funds audit, lawmakers today began a renewed push to prioritize education funding and eliminate the Chicago Public School block grant which allows CPS to end-run the school aid formula.

“Schools in my area – and every other area of the state -- are owed $500 million in backlogged payments, but Chicago schools get at least $230 million in ‘extra’ funding from the state,” State Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said. “Couple that with the most recent report from the Chicago Board of Education Inspector General that shows a rampant pattern of waste, fraud and abuse.” Rose is a former prosecutor.

Two more Illinois counties issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples

CHICAGO - Two more counties say they will start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples before the state’s new law takes effect on June 1.

Following Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's directive to ignore the law and issues same-sex marriage licenses, St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook and Cass County Clerk Michael Kirchner announced they will start accepting applications immediately.

They join Cook and Champaign Counties. Most other county clerks seem to be waiting out of concern that issuing licenses before June 1 might open them up to lawsuits.

GOP Lieutenant Governor candidates debate one another

CHICAGO - The four GOP candidates running for lieutenant governor faced tough questions from WTTW Chicago Tonight's Phil Ponce Thursday evening:

New poll shows Quinn in trouble with Democrat voters

We Ask America polled 1,162 likely Democratic voters asking two questions.

QUESTION: In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is doing?

Approve	56.76%
Disapprove	31.42%
Neutral	11.83%

QUESTION: Do you agree, or disagree with the following statement? “I will probably vote to re-elect Pat Quinn as governor no matter who is running against him in the fall.”

Agree	49.63%
Disagree	34.25%
Undecided	16.11%

The crosstab below showing those responses to the re-elect question by location:

State Rifle Association celebrates Illinois legalizing Concealed Carry

SPRINGFIELD - At its eighth annual I-GOLD Rally in Springfield Wednesday, gun rights activists marched on the state capitol and celebrated Illinois' new concealed carry law.

The effort, sponsored by groups such as Illinois State Rifle Association and GunsSaveLife.com, started at the Prairie State Capitol Convention Center, where GOP gubernatorial candidates Dan Rutherford, Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard confirmed their Second Amendment support. 

The fighting 48th: Pihos vs. Breen

The normally quiet 48th Illinois House district has come alive in what may be shaping up to be an anti-incumbent election year.

The GOP primary in this solidly Republican district is a hotbed of activity, with newcomer Peter Breen pitted against 10-year incumbent state Rep. Sandy Pihos. According to polls, the race is neck-and-neck.

The majority of Pihos' support seems to be coming from teachers unions (HERE and HERE). With little help from the House Republican Organization, Pihos has launched the following television ad:

Breen has received financial support from Illinois Liberty PAC (HERE and HERE), and the Liberty Principles PAC (HERE and HERE), which is running television ads and doing mailers on Breen's behalf (below).