* Dan Hynes threw a big punch at Gov. Pat Quinn today. He claimed the governor played politics with the capital bill so long that the state missed the construction season…
“Pat Quinn had the opportunity — and the responsibility — to put the people of Illinois back to work, but he failed,” the three-term Democratic comptroller said in his prepared remarks.
“Pat Quinn had a choice. He could have signed the capital bill immediately, created jobs and given the economy a jump start. Or he could use this essential legislation as a political chip, holding its passage over the heads of lawmakers reluctant to pass his misguided 50 percent income tax increase on middle class families,” Hynes said.
“Pat Quinn chose to play politics. So in this time of economic uncertainty and record unemployment, after yet another construction season has ended, not one job has been created from the capital bill. And future jobs are in doubt because the funding mechanism doesn’t seem to work.”
Hynes is right that Quinn tied up the capital bill after explicitly promising not to try and hold it hostage to other issues, like his tax hike. Speaker Madigan and others warned the governor not to break that pledge, but he did it anyway. Hynes wants him to pay the price for it.
The “not one job has been created from the capital bill” line might not be accurate. I don’t know. I’m asking the guv’s office for some info, and I’ll let you know what they say.
Speaking of the funding mechanism which “doesn’t seem to work” (according to Hynes), more communities are opting out of video poker. Arlington Heights is about to say thanks, but no thanks, and McHenry County is doing the same. As I noted below, the horse racing industry is offering to host the video terminals at their tracks, but the idea is a long shot at the moment. They gotta do something, though.
*** UPDATE 1 *** We’re finally getting some hard numbers on when video poker will start and how these opt-outs are impacting the cash flow. The answers: About a year and no big deal yet…
It’ll be at least a year before legalized video gambling machines will be online in bars, restaurants and truck stops across Illinois, state gambling regulators said today.
News of the delay in video poker came as regulators also said that the number of communities opting out of video gambling is not large enough yet to impact revenue projections. The state estimates it will rake in anywhere from $288 million to $534 million once video gambling is fully implemented.
Eric Noggle, a senior analyst for the revenue forecasting group, said the communities that have opted out only represent about 10 percent of the state’s population. That number would have to creep closer to 20 percent before revenue projections would have to be reevaluated.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the governor’s office…
The assertion by Comptroller Hynes that no jobs have been created by the state’s capital construction program is incorrect.
We estimate that approximately 4,000 jobs have been created or retained to date by the early phases of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program. In fact, approximately $360 million has been awarded to capital projects to date.
Governor Quinn signed the first components of the Illinois Jobs Now plan into law in April to ensure that projects started and jobs were created this year.
That was the “jump start” capital program from April, however, not the capital bill signed in the summer.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Is the train starting to move on video gaming at tracks? Maybe…
llinois Gov. Pat Quinn a few minutes ago told reporters in Chicago that he thinks the state should “take a look” at a controversial proposal by the horse racing industry to have slot machines at the tracks as a means of helping pay for a huge new infrastructure program.
“As far as the race tracks go . . . they have a proposal and we ought to take a look at it,” Quinn said in the news conference, which was piped to the Statehouse in Springfield. “I don’t think categorically I’m going to say `no’ to that.”
It may not sound like much of an endorsement, but in the on-going debate over expanded gambling, it’s a major opening of a long-shut door — and another indication of just how nervous Quinn and other leaders are about the failure of the state’s new video poker law to generate the kind of anticipated revenue they had hoped for.
[ *** End of Updates *** ]
* As expected, the Cook County Board voted to override President Stroger’s veto of the partial sales tax rollback. From Tony Peraica’s Twitter page…
The County Board proved today that it is not the City Council or the State Legislature, but that it is truly a legislative body. Congrats!
That prompted a follow-up Tweet from Rep. John Fritchey…
@tonyperaica Before you start knocking the Legislature, remember who gave you the ability to do what you did today.
The GA, of course, lowered the threshold for veto overrides in Cook.
…Adding… How they voted.
* From a press release by Democratic comptroller candidate Clint Krislov…
I am pleased to announce that the objection to my ballot petition will be withdrawn, ending any doubt that I will be on the ballot for the Democratic Nomination for State Comptroller.
That said, it has now been a week since my lawyer notarized the withdrawal, and the State Board of Elections has not yet received it from the Miller campaign. Although I presume Mr. Miller will actually file his withdrawal, it’s unfortunate that they chose such a slow way to file it, unlike the haste with which they filed his objection
Which brings me to the main reason for this press conference.
The current batch of challenges is just one part of what’s wrong with Illinois politics, but it’s an important problem. Owing to the shortness of time for this primary, and the fact that Illinois is one of the few states in which candidates may challenge each other’s petitions, this year we have a record number, more than 180 at someone’s count, of people trying to pre-empt voters’ choice of candidates.
1. Converting the ballot process into intramural Dodgeball to the Death, is not good. How do we hope to get good people to run for office, knowing they will be tied up in baseless accusations of fraud, forgeries or “pattern of fraud”, lodged against each other, and each other’s family and friends; all with no downside risk, done solely to drain resources, and eliminate competition. And, while the objection in my race is an annoyance that will pass, look at the judges races, with lawyers baselessly accusing each other and each other’s families of being criminals. This is wrong, and it is something I will address, both inside the campaign and by other avenues.
2. We need candidates with courage. Candidates, like Mr. Miller, who conduct these objections under the name of some campaign worker, do not display the courage we need in a Comptroller. How can we expect someone to stand up to the special interests in Springfield, if they’re too timid to even put their own name on their own challenges.
3. Can’t Count. Finally, Mr. Miller’s challenge should never have been filed. As we asked the election board to dismiss the objection, because as bogus as it was, it never even challenged enough signatures to drop me below the necessary 5000 signatures. If he can’t count to 5000 reliably, what’s he going to do when he’s dealing with a budget in the billions?