As Illinois budget approaches, most are nervous of another impasse

Updated June 2, 2018 at 2:46 p.m. (CSDT)

With an overwhelming bipartisan effort, for the first time during the tenure of Gov. Bruce Rauner, a budget has been passed: 97-18 in the House and 54-2 in the Senate, this past Wednesday.

The  $38.5 billion budget contains no new taxes, since there are true leftovers from last year's tax increase, and does not include the "turn around agenda" that promoted term limits and changes in workmen's compensation, and judicial abrogation.

"The plan is based on an assumption that the state will bring in about $38.5 billion in the budget year that begins July 1, including $300 million from the long-stalled sale of the Thompson Center in the Loop. The total revenue estimate was boosted this year by the higher state income tax rate and changes to tax policies in Washington, D.C., plus unexpected spikes in investment returns" reported the Chicago Tribune.

What remains are $6.6 billion in unpaid bills and the nation's highest unfunded pension debt, as we outlined below. Problematic is that "Moody’s Investors Service analysts warned that the state’s fixed costs for debt service, retiree health care and pension contributions are on track to consume 30 percent of the money it brings in and that “a failure to adopt mitigating strategies soon will greatly increase the state’s risk that these rising costs will become unaffordable without severe public service cuts," added the Tribune.

Public colleges and universities get  $56 million or a 2 percent bump; and $350 million extra for K-12 education.

"Caregivers who primarily work with the developmentally disabled will experience a 50-cent hourly wage increase under the budget, but other social service providers continue to wait for their rates to go up." and one provider "said her organization is pleased with the General Assembly for passing a budget, but the threat of noncompetitive compensation still persists.

According to a news release from FVOAS, the Legislature has not raised the reimbursement rate for adult day services, which are regulated by the state, in more than a decade."

The Daily Chronicle  also reported "Although Rauner introduced a phase-in proposal during his budget address for school districts to start covering their own Teachers’ Retirement System obligations, a move that would add millions of dollars in expenditures to some districts, no such provision was included in the budget bill."

What is left is an imperfect bill, but one that did show that partisanship could be put aside to do what is crucial to the livelihood of any state's finances. -- DG

For those whose memories are not imperiled by the Midwest’s extended cold weather, it’s budget time for Illinois, and with it brings all manner of anxiety, worry, and some justifiable concerns that this state constitution mandated effort could end in an impasse between the majority Democrats and incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner, much like the absence of one that held the state hostage for nearly two years.

Some lawmakers are saying that it can’t and won’t happen since the tax increase of last year, that stopped the stalemate, still has enough reserves to stem the tide of another fiscal disaster for the Land of Lincoln. That might be so, but it has still given many observers, lawmakers and economists pause, or should we say cause for concern, as Rauner, who was described by The National Review, as the worst Republican governor in the country, has waged war with the opposition, in the form of longtime nemesis and Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, and who he said in one ill-advised statement that it was not he, but Madigan that was in charge.

The Chicago Tribune reported recently that “The blame game is likely to accompany any budget standoff again this year. This time, though, lawmakers already enacted an income tax increase last summer, so Rauner doesn’t have the prospect of a new one to rail against or leverage to achieve his legislative goals. Rauner has campaigned on a pledge to roll back the new income tax rates and told voters Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker will raise them. But he hasn’t made lower taxes a condition of budget talks.”

With this budget that all are not looking forward to negotiating, Rauner has proposed that the pensions of public school teachers be redirected to the local school districts; a move that many educators and principals across the state say will destroy any gains from the new school funding proposal last year, that the he signed, under “duress” claiming that he did not want a bail out for Chicago schools, that he once described as crumbling prisons. And, while he later apologized for making it, the die was cast for him as a Scrooge for Chicago schools.

His recent stall on the budget until the tax credit program --- i.e. vouchers - was later wordsmithed to include all private schools; a move that showed a strong reserve of ill-will from the fact that it  was passed over his veto.

Against this drama lies the specter of over $15 billion dollars in unpaid bills from the impasse, and still underfunded pensions, that threaten to eat whatever leftovers can be reheated from the last deal.

A closer look at the details shows that there is more than one sword of damocles hanging over the heads of the governor and the legislature. As Bloomberg News reported in February: “$2.3 billion of deficit spending in the form of unappropriated liabilities held at state agencies as of Dec. 31; $8.4 billion of unpaid bills as of Feb. 7; $1.03 billion of late-payment interest fees incurred as of Dec. 31, 2017 (Note: At least $143m has been paid); and, a $1.7 billion general fund deficit, according to the governor’s office of management and budget.”

‘Still, many of the factors that complicated the budget negotiations of the past remain at play. Even with the extra tax hike money, the state is projected to run a $3 billion deficit . . . . and cutting spending can be difficult because much of what the state pays out is for programs required by law and education funding that neither side wants to reduce,” they also noted.

Still problematic, is that “Illinois also is struggling with $129 billion of unfunded pension liabilities as of June 30 across the state’s five retirement systems, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Illinois had $26.3 billion of general-obligation bonds outstanding as of July, according to Moody’s Investors Service, and the state sold $6 billion of general-obligation bonds in October to pay down some unpaid bills and $750 million of bonds in November for capital projects.”

The overall budget goal is to save$1.3 billion dollars.

Brian Mackey of NPR Illinois asked the question of another impasse by questioning lawmakers recently, and this is what some of them  had to say:  "That is the question," says state Sen. Chapin Rose, a Republican from Mahomet. And, he said, "'No' is the short answer to your question," Rose says. "But I think the next question you should ask is: 'Will it be a 12-month budget?' And I'm less convinced of that."

Talking the offense, “Rose and some of his Republican colleagues have been repeating this message — accusing Democrats of wanting only a short-term spending plan. The idea, Republicans say, is that Democrats hope to retake the governor’s mansion this fall, then pass the kind of wild tax hikes and spending that Republicans say Democrats would love to do”.

For the Dems, the response is a strong negative: “"No. We've been consistent in saying we need a full-year budget," says Rep. Greg Harris. He's from Chicago, and he's one of the House Democrats' top budget negotiators.”

Wresting away the steam from the GOP prediction, Harris says, "I don't know why the Republicans keep fantasizing about a six-month budget, but they do," or ,"Maybe it's wishful thinking on their part. I don't know."

To further complicate the process, there are other issues, as the Chicago Sun-Times noted, in a recent editorial, when they wrote: “House Speaker Michael Madigan told his caucus last week that he believes the governor wants an overtime session so he can blame the resulting gridlock on the Democrats. But Madigan told his House Democrats that he believes voters will blame both sides. This was taken by some of his members as a sign that Madigan finally realizes he needs to get something done one way or another. We’ll see. That assessment could be overly optimistic.”

Let’s take a closer look, as of this writing, at the following numbers: the nothing to sneeze at $16 billion dollars in unpaid bills that piled up from the impasse, and the aforementioned $129 billion in underfunded pension, a debt that must be met, by the state constitution’s standards and which looms large, and in Rauner's proposed budget is taken care of, in part, by deducting $470 billion in cuts from union negotiations.

Returning to the school pension funding proposal, there are some, like the editors of the Belleville News-Democrat, who agree with the governor, and say: “Rauner is right that school districts should be responsible for their own pension costs. The current system separates responsibility for paying a teacher's salary from paying most of a teacher's pension costs. That leads to inflated final salaries paid by districts encouraging teachers to retire in their 50s so they can bring in younger teachers and pay them less. Then the state pays the retired teacher an extra decade based on that higher salary plus another 4.4 percent bump if the teacher has two years of unused sick leave.”

The skies darken above Springfield when one looks at the impact of the pension change proposals, but especially in contrasting with the long sought school funding bill.

“The shift would cost school districts $490 million in fiscal 2019, with a $228 million hit to the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools. The Illinois Association of School Boards said this would revoke the promise of higher funding under a school financing law enacted last year.

Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a bipartisan think tank, said last month on “At Issue”, a radio program on local CBS radio affiliate WBBM that he does not think that this will have a chance of passing, but most importantly that Rauner's label of a balanced budget is fantasy and this it will increase the deficit from $9 billion to $10 billion. And, furthermore that these pensions are protected by the State Constitution, and that there might be a resort to higher taxes, or classroom cuts to pay the pensions.

“With the new pension burden, hundreds of school districts will be receiving a cut in education funding under the governor’s budget plan,” the group said in a statement,” reported Reuters, also in February.

With the bill, that received praise, from many educators across the country for the equal footing that it gave to lower income students, the die seemed cast for a new paradigm.

But, now, that could change.

‘Rauner's nemesis, House Speaker Mike Madigan, backed a similar plan in 2012 that ultimately failed. Rauner's plan calls for moving the cost of pension payments from the state to universities and local school districts over four years. However, the proposed pension shift is a non-starter for some in the governor's own party. State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, joined with the Illinois Education Association to gather widespread support for a resolution opposing any shift,” reported the Illinois News Network.

State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said he’s confident lawmakers will come to terms on various aspects of the governor’s proposed budget before the May 31 deadline. He also said Rauner’s budget tactic is on better footing than previous proposals. "It’s a large moving part of his proposal,” Manar said. “It involves several hundred million dollars and is, of course, very controversial.”

On Friday, in a developing news story, Reuters reported that “The junk-rated Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Thursday more than doubled a planned bond refinancing issue to $561 million and accelerated its pricing amid rising rates in the U.S. municipal market.”

CPS said it moved up the sale due to market conditions that allowed the debt refunding to meet savings targets.

“Today’s successful bond sale, which will save CPS $30 million next year and reduce debt costs in all years, is yet another product of the historic funding reform that our families and elected leaders worked so hard to achieve last year,” Janice Jackson, the school system’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Meanwhile looking at the tax-credit voucher program, a state legislator recently announced a plan for equitable distribution of school funds. State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) continues to push for proper funding of Illinois’ schools.

“A bill she sponsors will continue that effort by prohibiting the diversion of public funds to scholarship tax programs in any calendar year unless the state has appropriated the $300 million in added education funding required annually by the new school funding formula.”

“The state has a constitutional responsibility to fund public education, and this will do so without hurting private schools,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “The state must meet the minimum funding formula before we hand out tax credits to wealthy donors and corporations.”

Bertino-Tarrant introduced the bill in response to a 5-year tax credit scholarship pilot program which allows individuals and companies that donate to private school scholarship organizations to receive tax credits up to 75 percent of the amount donated.

Senate Bill 2236 prohibits those tax credits in any year the minimum funding level is not met. Bertino-Tarrant stressed this bill does not eliminate the Invest in Kids Act, it simply holds legislators accountable and increases transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars for rebates to wealthy donors.”

In a strongly worded statement on her website she said: “As a mother, educator and a product of Catholic schools, I am a fierce advocate of giving our children the best possible educational opportunities, but we should not be working toward weakening the infrastructure of public schools across our communities,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “This scholarship program, as it stands, is not a tax credit for working families to send their children to private schools – it is designed to incentivize donors.”

In an attempt to harness the unpaid bill, State Sen. Heather Steans proposed that debts 90 days old be paid to clear the state ledger and have the monies transferred back to to the communities that need then; the vote passed by a wide margin and went onto to the House for approval.

Despite these measures, Illinois still suffers from the fate of being rate by the bond agencies with the label junk meaning that any monies raised through bond ventures may be doubtful, at best.

The greatest threat said the Wall Street Journal is the political gridlock that led to the financial debacle, identified as Illinois.

Illinois bonds are considered risky, at best, and Moody’s gave them a shaky Baaa3-, and S+P Global gave them just above junk status at BBB- and BBB-; more than a go slow, a red flag for would be buyers.

Chris Brigati, of Advisers Assets Management said this: “It’s Illinois, and things don’t go easy.”

For local observers, this is understatement, and the state will have, if there is a repeat of last year, or even a budget passed again over his veto, as Martire noted, Gov. Rauner “will never have been able to negotiate a budget with the general assembly in for four years.”

Luis Gutierrez says to NEIU grads to fight bigotry and discrimination

For much of our nation’s history, one of the most inexpressible questions that has been repeatedly asked, is this: “What is an American?” In his commencement address to the 900 graduates of Chicago’s Northeastern Illinois University on Monday,  U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, perhaps gave the best answer, when he described his fifteen year old grandson, who shared his transnational identity by saying, “Grandpa, on this side I am Mexican, and on this side, I am Puerto Rican, and here - pointing to his heart - I am American.”

There was barely a dry eye in the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion, after the sixty-four year old Congressman, related this story. And, indeed, much of the nearly hour long speech was filled with references to identity; identity as an attribute, as a verb, and most importantly what being an American means to this fearless defender of immigration reform and the need to unite, not to divide, not only the Hispanic community, but for all citizens in helping to redefine what being an American means now, and in the future.

Is America, a melting pot, or has it become a mosaic? For the latter, the hope behind this, as many a graduate school class would debate, and even eulogize, was that identity, and its cousin, identity politics could be taken into a new context, or even a new future paradigm.

For Gutierrez, a 1977 alumni of the school, this was a homecoming, but also a farewell as he has announced his retirement from Congress,(in November of 2017), and his speech was also, largely, a biography; an atypical trajectory for many Hispanic families, who, unlike Gutierrez was not born in the U.S., but instead traveled to the mainland, for financial security, and other opportunities lacking in their home countries.

He has been a major force in immigration reform and has chaired the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force since 2009; but has also made a name for himself, as well as an advocate for LGBT rights, Native American, and worker rights, so much so that his influence with the Illinois Congressional House delegation has given him the official title of dean, of that delegation.

A tag line for the speech, which resonated with his convictions, was to “hold the door open, wide, for others to come in,” a phrase not frequently heard in these divided and partisan times, and as advice for the graduates to also “open the door a little wider for the next person.”

This acknowledged crusader cited his own example, as he exhorted the graduates with the following: “do not allow bigotry and discrimination without raising your voice,” and to once again, remember to “open the door wider to let those in that pray differently, and love differently.”

On the other side of town, ready to fulfill this legacy, was his daughter Jessica, who announced that she is joining the race for Chicago's 30th Ward alderman seat. Local ABC affiliate, Channel 7, reported that “Her father watched teary-eyed as she launched her first campaign and promised to be an independent voice.”

She will face Ald. Ariel Reboyras, an ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Determined to be her own person, it was also apparent that she took the family pride of hard work as her father also acknowledged, that he relied on the hard work of his mother and father.

In closing, he pledged, to thunderous applause, that he would “not rest until the job is done and you have your U.S. citizenship,“ and showing, for the rest of us, that his leaving Congress is really only the beginning of the journey.

A feisty Bridget Gainer considers a run for Chicago mayor

Despite the perils of what may be the least enviable job in America, being mayor of Chicago, America's third largest city, is very much on the mind of a field of contenders, from all manner of professions:  educators, business people, school administrators, and perhaps even more as we write.

Waiting on the sidelines is Cook County Board Commissioner, Bridget Gainer, the flame-haired, and outspoken scion of a working class Southside family, whose forthrightness seems a shoo-in for this city of strong shoulders, and even stronger opinions.

“Who else is in the race is irrelevant . . . It’s not about who is in the field and who is not in the field in this incredibly growing field. Pretty soon, we’ll have to rent a bus if the candidates have to go anywhere but it’s a big field. That’s not the reason. The reason is the motivation to have an impact,” Gainer told the Chicago Tribune, proving that she comes by that red hair honestly.

Taking on the top job means handling an economic crisis - albeit inherited -  that has at its basis, meeting mandated pensions, and a public school system, mired in debt, and where both the pensions, and the budget hole, have been met by borrowed funds, ensuing thousands of dollars in interest payments.

Take the added weight of a long legacy of racial intolerance, and segregation (some say the most in the nation) is often the source of some of the city’s more glaring problems with equity.

An example is the huge gap of distrust between the police force and many of the black communities Taken together, the die is set for a job that most would shun, as even tackling one problem creates another one, much like the proverbial Russian stacking dolls.

The incumbent, Rahm Emanuel, has been seen as out of touch with most residents, especially in the aftermath of the shooting of a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, shot 16 times, by a white police officer, who said he was fearful of being attacked.

The video showed the exact opposite but, only after it was ordered released by a local judge, which caused a public uproar and demands for his resignation, and the defeat of the states attorney.

In a revealing interview with Chicago magazine last year, as rumors began to swirl about her interest in becoming mayor, Gainer, seemed to set the stage as a scrapper, when she said: “I’ve thought about it. It’s something I’ll continue to think about. It’s still a couple of years in the future, but I love the city, I grew up here and I’m going to live here until I die, so I want to be a part of whatever is going to make it better.”

No one ever said that redheads are not feisty, and this note of spice may be just what the city needs, and also seems to be consistent with the recent entry of more women in state and local races; which some attribute to the #Me too movement, and to others the well augered defeat of Hillary Clinton for the White House.

The fact that Jeanne Ives came within three points of defeating incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner, for the GOP nomination, speaks volumes for the strength of female candidates.

With a resume that includes work in New York City as a community organizer it seems that alone might be a ticket for admission, considering another famous Chicagoan who had this on his resume.

That work led to intensive boots-on-the-ground labor, getting schools to be open later for low income people of color for much needed activites, and as she noted, “I did a year of volunteer work with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I made $400 a month, lived with five other people in a rectory in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. One of the people I worked for was Geoffrey Canada, who has gone on to do the Harlem Children’s Zone and Waiting for Superman. I was trained in Alinsky-style organization.”

As was Hillary Clinton.

For a white woman from the Southside, this may give her some cred in the black communities, whose need is just as great, right here in Chicago. Gainer has also showed some creativity as she adapted a program for abandoned properties to be sold for reuse in these same communities.

“So I’m reading through stuff one day, and I found this example of the land bank, started by a man in Flint, Michigan, when he was the county treasurer. I found money in my budget and I asked him to consult on how to create a land bank in Cook County,” as she described how the Cook County Land Bank was created.

Using examples from the land bank she said, in the interview, that she gained a lot from working with African Americans on bread and butter issues, and “from sitting together looking at neighborhood maps and determining how many young people we could employ if we bought 20 houses and used them as job sites. People and communities have most of what they need to help themselves. The role of government is to challenge the things that get in their way—whether it’s government, the court system, or the free market.”

Helpful also is her Catholicism, in a town where the Roman Catholic Church has long held power in politics, and her open admiration for Pope Francis gives her points with progressive Catholic liberals with whom she self-identifies.

“As a woman who’s a progressive, the Catholic church can test your faith sometimes. I am pro choice. At mass at the Vatican, I looked around and thought, we have a really universal church. Every corner of the world is represented, and the pope is up there, and he has done and said wonderful things. . . .I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but when you think we have this call to mission, to serve the poor, you realize we’re part of something that has lasted for centuries.”

Lest this all sound too perfect, Gainer has had to take it on the chin for missing a lot of Cook County Board meetings, and after some initial sparky comments, such as this one in January: “Have I missed some meetings? Sure,” Gainer said. “I’ve missed some of my kids’ games, too. And that bothers me more.”

She later tempered them - somewhat -  in an interview published in the Chicago Sun-Times, ““Being a working mother is part of who I am. Like starting the land bank is part of who I am. Just like encouraging women to run for office is part of who I am. I don’t think it’s something to hide behind,” and also added, “Sometimes, I have commitments in the neighborhood with constituents doing what I think to be a lot of work of the county board. As far as attendance goes, everyone can always do better. I can do better.”

Another sticking point: her admiration for the Daley's, père et fils, may cost her some votes, should she run, as many residents blame them for the pension holidays and parking meter privatization deal that cost the city millions of revenue that could have stayed locally, rather than in the coffers of New York bankers.

As we saw in the recent primary money means a lot, in modern political races, and as the Tribune reported, “If Gainer enters the Feb. 26 race, she will have a leg up on the competition. She has $804,142 in her campaign fund, second only to Emanuel’s revised total of $3.8 million after a flood of contributions reported Friday.”

Let’s wait and see what the lady decides.

After weeks of speculation and hopes, the last Saturday in July, Gainer decided to not enter the mayoral race, despite high hopes that in the year of the woman,  she would get those votes, "as well as residents of both the Northwest and Southwest sides," noted the Sun-Times, as well as the cash that she had, $843,265, second only to Emanuel's Midas Fortune of $7.56 million.

She will continue her focus on the Aon's Chicago Apprenticeship Network for young adults, as well as the Cook County Land Bank. She has told the media that "no deals were made to get her to drop out," the Sun-Times also reported.

Updated 30 July 2018 at 7:19 p.m. (CSDT)

Troy LaRaviere's passionate run to be Chicago mayor

If someone could determine the three ills facing Chicago, then they would be: crime, city finances, and the public schools. For the latter, it has become the cause that most residents want to see change the most; from fixing a bad physical plant (what Gov. Bruce Rauner described as “crumbling prisons”), to underfunded pensions, first, negotiated in good faith, and later subject to being de facto state government piñatas, to competition with charter schools, to mandated testing, to provisions for opting out of them.

Within this maelstrom, there was one central figure that famously battled the system, as principal, and community hero, and that was ousted Blaine Elementary School principal Troy LaRaviere, who has recently announced his candidacy for mayor in 2019.

During his tenure he took what was once a lackluster North side Elementary school and increased test scores, and worked tirelessly on behalf of students, as well, as parents to give students an equal footing with their suburban cohorts.

With an enrollment just under 900, Blaine was recognized by Chicago Magazine in 2010 as the 16th best elementary school in the city, and also the 6th best “neighborhood school.” But there were obstacles he said that prevented it from reaching the number one slot. And, in this struggle, public enemy number one, at least according to him, was Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose tenure has been marked by what he has often failed to do: keep city schools open in neighborhoods that need them and shore up the finances and the physical plant required for daily instruction.

When he resigned, or some say, was forced to resign, LaRaviere was the one to publicly condemn those he felt were responsible for not allowing the school to earn even higher accolades.

In his open letter of resignation, posted on his personal blog, he cited politics as his nemesis as he turned around Blaine during his five year tenure; LaRaviere also noted, in his resignation, the fingerprints of the mayor, when he said ,“In a word, the biggest obstacle to Blaine becoming the #1 neighborhood school in Chicago was politics. And while many people contributed to this problem, nobody in our great city is more responsible for that political obstruction than you.” 

Taking the mayor head on, with a pointed figure, albeit a virtual one made him, a leader in many quarters outside of City Hall. And, as we wrote, then: “While the mayor has touted charter schools as having the best test scores, the opposite has been true, and the former principal  has “published research that revealed public schools produced significantly more academic growth in students than charter schools; exposed filthy conditions in Chicago schools that were the result of botched custodial privatization deal; and uncovered the manipulation of charter school test score data by CPS officials.”

LaRaviere’s support for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders cost him dearly, with Mayor Emanuel, and the Illinois School Board of Education, who felt that these activities were an ethics violation. But, his true sin may have been giving voice to many that the “emperor has no clothes.”

To put the mayor on a path of accountability, many have wanted an elected school board and two years ago local lawmakers held a series of town hall style meetings to address the concerns, and the mounting debt that had cost many schools, staff reductions and program cuts, and what was thought to be at least $8.7 million in looming cuts.

Chicago Teachers Union Kurt Hilgendorf, noted at one of those meetings, which in an earlier advisory referendum 37 wards voted for an elected school board, “more than for Rahm Emanuel [to remain in office].” He also noted that Chicago’s appointed board had been in place since 1995, and that it “is bad for policy making,” and “has limited participation for parents,” but is ultimately “bad for policy making,” especially with “the rapid decline in neighborhood school enrollment,” which are being drained by the charter schools favored by the board.

There are certainly those that want a board, but in a perfect storm, it would not offer as much shelter as thought, and probably not provide much needed debt relief, if any, despite the great need. But, those that feel that Emanuel’s dictatorial hold on the board and his disastrous chiefs, the now felon, Barbara Byrd Bennett, and the disgraced Forrest Claypool as two examples.

Adding to the mix is a racial component that has a system that is mostly African American and Hispanic, and an elected board could tip heavily in favor of whites, and disenfranchise students of color; but some are leaning towards a proposed district election rather than a citywide.

Fast forward to now and LaRaviere is still bashing the mayor, not only for incompetence, but his cosy relations with wealthy individuals and corporations. As the Chicago Tribune noted, “LaRaviere, who is president of the Chicago principals association, also charged that Emanuel's office is "corrupt" because "wealthy investors, bankers and corporations have seized control of city government to make it work for the few at the expense of the masses." LaRaviere pointed to a pair of Chicago Tribune reports from 2015 and 2017 that found that up to 70 percent of the mayor's top donors have benefited from actions at City Hall, from contracts and zoning approvals to appointments and personal endorsements from the mayor.”

All things being equal it became a showdown between the two and “In April 2016, the Emanuel-controlled Chicago Public Schools removed LaRaviere as principal of Lakeview’s Blaine Elementary amid allegations of insubordination for opposing a standardized test and ignoring warnings about engaging in on-the-job "political activity."

“LaRaviere insisted his firing was "politically motivated," and the move drew a rebuke from then-U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who slammed Emanuel for having an "unhealthy obsession with taking revenge." The mayor said he had nothing to do with the decision.”

With most of the city in the red, in the not too distant past, Emanuel borrowed heavily, despite a historically huge property tax, in the city’s history, plus a trail of regressive taxes, and “LaRaviere also takes aim at Emanuel’s financial management of the city, pointing to a Tribune report from March 2017 that found that the mayor’s short-term budget solutions would cost the city $1 billion in interest, much of it coming due after the 2019 election. On his website, LaRaviere predicts Chicagoans will pay for the debt with increased property taxes, dubbing it “Rahm’s Debt-Tax.”

“As mayor, I will be upfront about the cost of good government, end the practice of indebting taxpayers to big banks and raise enough revenue to adequately fund city services,” LaRaviere says on his website. He did not specify, however, what taxes he would raise or institute to come up with enough money to wipe out such debt, bringing a stinging rebuke from Emanuel’s office that he had no plan.

It may be too late for interest relief payment, but tax burdened Chicagoans could use an advocate for better fiscal oversight, and at the very least, find creative solutions, that stay within the strictures of the state constitution; and some ideas flouted have ignored that.

Long burdened by racial divisions, the school system is a symptom of that legacy, and racial equity, a plank in LaRaviere’s platform is a much needed effort to hit it head on.

He will have a harder time, as a person of color, in battling the machine, and the tenure of Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington is indicative of the courage, and vitality needed to cross that hurdle. The powers that be will not move easily, as all who remember the Council Wars can attest.

His test, as the campaign heats up will be for details on how he can effect transformation, as well, and how he can make the transition from educator to politician and we will be watching, and waiting to see how he fares.

Contenders to replace Chicago Mayor Emanuel, say he's a disaster

With the Illinois Primary behind us, all eyes have turned to the announcements of the mayoral challenges to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in 2019, and many feel that after his increased unpopularity after the 2012 teachers strike, and the closing of most of the city’s mental health clinics plus over 50 schools that served primarily black, or brown, students, that it’s time to give him a shove from the top job.

Chicago has struggled to meet pension obligations ($36 billion during Emanuel’s first term) for teachers, firefighters, and other public servants, and Emanuel’s response was a series of property taxes, the first was the highest in the city’s history, coupled with a litany of regressive taxes that were disguised as necessary maneuvers, such as a shopping bag tax, that most have worked around, by bringing their own; often those eponymously labeled cloth bags for sale, from stores, like the locally owned Jewel Supermarket.

Next up is the violence that has become known nationwide, in predominantly two areas of the city, but also that has spread, often, to others, much like the story of a woman that was recently stabbed on a city bus, leaving pricey Michigan Avenue, by an unknown assailant, to an increase in robbery along that same area; frequented by tourists and residents alike.

There was good news this quarter where there was a significant decrease in violent shootings, with the aid of technology; yet the fear is still there with the inevitable rise in both crime and shootings with the arrival of warmer weather.

Emanuel faced fierce criticism in another area of concern: police overreach and abuse that has historically been directed at mostly black men (such as that of the notorious John Burge), but has also extended to Latino men, creating a disheartening legacy; but one that has seen justice with the recent release of many black men accused of crimes, they did not commit, (often by forced confessions), aided by advances in DNA and other diagnostic evidence.

The mayor sailed into office in 2011 with the support of many black wards, but now with the aforementioned school closings, especially, but mostly, with the suppression of the video tape of 16-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot walking away from police, when police said he was armed and coming towards them. But, the tape  showed otherwise, and the outcry from that community resulted in demands for his resignation, with the support of many non-blacks.

With a hand-in-glove act, the then State's Attorney, Anita Alvarez, who most say helped to suppress the tape - it was an election year -- the die was soon cast for accusations of a cover-up.

According to the archives of the Tribune, “The mayor has emphatically denied keeping the shooting video under wraps to get past the election. But he acknowledged he “added to the suspicion and distrust” by blindly following the city’s long-standing practice of withholding shooting videos to avoid compromising criminal investigations.”

Police abuse, and demands for accountability, reached a peak after a decades old pile ups for a Department of Justice investigation in late 2016, that resulted in a blistering report by then Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and a recommendation for a consent decree; but with the incoming administration of President Trump, and his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, that call was not supported.

Now, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued a lawsuit, to have the decree, to force reform, a slow burning wick, especially, for communities of color.

Since then, nothing has been quite the same for the 58- year- old mayor, and being forced into a runoff, in his effort for a second term, he broke history, with a first for Chicago.

Added to the heady mix in this morass, is poor city financing, and violent crime, there is the public school system, tainted by scandal, and the sentencing, and jailing, of former school superintendent, Barbara Byrd Bennett -- who was found guilty of a kickback scheme, with her former employer, in a scheme that also involved questionable training for school principals.

Her successor, Forrest Claypool, a longtime “go-to” guy for previous mayors, resulted in an ethics scandal and a tainted reputation, not only for the city as corrupt, but also for its leading officials.

The school system, increasingly debt-ridden, and facing pubic revelations such as a recent sanitation neglect, in a blitz inspection, mostly in black schools, it has underscored like the city’s long legacy of racial segregation, which has forced generations of blacks into inferior schools, along with  substandard housing, creating a maelstrom of its own design.

Coupled with economic disinvestment and crippling crime, which has led to a downward cycle that has blighted these neighborhoods. and now their residents are a force to be reckoned with, in the voting booth.

The Corporation for Enterprise and Development, in a report released last year, noted that “about 65 percent of African-American, Latino and Asian households in Chicago have so little savings and other assets that a sudden job loss, medical emergency or other income disruption would throw them into poverty within three months.”

With accusations in the recent primary that Emanuel had intentionally led a disinvestment of black communities, by gubernatorial candidate, Chris Kennedy, to lead a wholesale gentrification of the city, coupled with even more closings, this time in the poverty ridden Englewood, race will be a considerable factor in the 2019 mayoral election.

Most observers have designated out of a crowded field, three leading contenders, among them Paul Vallas, a financial guru, and a former CEO of the schools, who has also had considerable support among black residents, when he held that position.

Saying that he is in it to win, Vallas, as well as one of the better known of the contenders has also faced a number of withering criticism from the Emanuel camp, and among them was this, after the former criticized his handling of the $36 billion pension crisis:  ““This is a person who is the architect of kicking the can down the road  – from skipping pension payments, eliminating direct-line revenue support for teachers pensions to Chicago’s corporate account . . . It took the city seven long, hard years to fix what he broke,” Emanuel said.

Of Chicago’s foremost ills, the economic challenges are the most headline grabbing and have garnered the tax increases, bemoaned by many.

Vallas said, criticized Emanuel’s actions, in a report by the Chicago Sun-Times, “You had Quinn as governor for four years. You had a veto-proof House and Senate. You could have addressed the pension issue. You could have addressed school funding reform. You could have passed a permanent increase in the income tax.”

“They punted for four years and, after the election, suddenly the sword of Damocles comes crashing down. What’s gonna happen in the next four years? The long-term structural problems . . . have not yet been addressed. They’re talking about major post-election tax increases . . . Who are you gonna trust to navigate the city through those troubled financial waters?”

Rounding the bend is former top cop, Garry McCarthy, who Emanuel fired after the McDonald scandal, who told the Chicago Tribune, in an interview, that he wanted to save “a great American city,” but who lacks the cash, and the will to fund raise, and lacks personal wealth (seemingly a given now, in Illinois) in order to donate to his run,

“Between the taxes, our economy, the schools and the crime rate here, we’re a laughingstock in America,” McCarthy said. “The prevailing thought about Chicago is we’re on our way down in all those areas, and they all infect each other, and nobody seems to get that. It’s almost like a ‘Wake up, Chicago’ moment.”

Getting to that point may take more than good intentions, as the road to being at least nominated is now fueled by cold, hard cash; and at last report, in 2017, Emanuel had over $1.6 million, as seed money to make a third term.

McCarthy’s Achilles heel is that he “will have to address the Laquan McDonald police shooting scandal that occurred on his watch,” but also face his lack of experience “on issues outside of crime and. Plus, his entree into politics will be for one of the toughest public jobs in America against one of the country’s most seasoned politicians.”

In the third spot, as of now, is millionaire businessman, Willie Wilson, whose deep pockets allowed him to donate $100,000 to his own campaign chest to fight Emanuel, who he has said, is “the worst mayor the city has ever seen,” and who wants to shore up city finances, and get money flowing to the neighborhoods, not just downtown.

Most notably, in a nod to fairness, the businessman has crusaded on the issue of bail reform for misdemeanors and low level crimes, that impact the city’s black residents, disproportionately, but also a national one, and in January, he said: “This is a moral issue for our country, when we can take away people's freedoms because they are unable to post bail for nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors.”

The legislation is being sponsored by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.)

Looking at the spotty legacy, that Emanuel has left, and even his deep pockets, Wilson says: “But all the money he has ain’t gonna do him no good. He’s done so wrong for the citizens of Chicago. He doesn’t have the base that he used to have. He closed down schools. He’s been unfair with contracts. He’s raised taxes eight times in the past few years. People have lost their homes. And Laquan McDonald is a major issue. He covered up that situation.”

“In Round One of the 2015 mayoral race, Wilson got 25 percent of the black vote — 10.6 percent overall. That helped force Emanuel into Chicago’s first mayoral runoff,” noted the Trib, and it’s important to keep that number in mind, when looking at the contenders, and that Emanuel ponied up $24 million to leap over the fence to stay.

It’s also notable that these men are playing hardball and Wilson invited both Vallas and McCarthy to establish a gentlemen's agreement that they would lay off each other, and spend their time to force Emanuel, into another runoff.

Next time, we take a look at the other contenders, for it’s not over yet, even one year out.

Pritzker as winner in Illinois Primary forges ahead to beat Rauner

In a case of my billionaire can beat your billionaire, J.B. Pritzker is the winner of Tuesday’s Illinois primary as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate to run against incumbent Bruce Rauner, in the upcoming general election this Fall, and whose pro-business, and anti-union platform has angered residents, both within and without his party.

Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, is worth a cool $4 billion dollars, spent nearly $70 million dollars of his own money in a self-funded campaign, and now makes the gubernatorial race in the land of Lincoln, the most expensive, to date, in the nation, erasing the financial lead of the 2010 California gubernatorial race as the most expensive in U.S. history.

Capturing 46 percent of the vote, and all but decimating Daniel Biss, who was in second place and Chris Kennedy, who was in third, giving them, respectively, 26 percent, and 24 percent of the vote.

Biss who moved from a distant hope last year, to a comfortable second place lead. but the Pritzker cash that helped to establish a presence in nearly all of the 102 counties in Illinois swept him aside, despite his label as the “middle-class governor,” and relegating Chris Kennedy, of the storied political family, to third place; positions from which they never left.

Well-coached, some say too much so, Pritzker voters were willing to ignore the revelation of a secret FBI recorded conversation with the now disgraced former, governor Rod Blagojevich, when advising him on how to solve his ‘African American thing”, Pritzker suggested current secretary of state, Jesse White, as “the least offensive” of black leaders.

They were also willing to ignore that last May, Pritzker was accused of ripping out the toilets from a historic home he purchased in Chicago’s pricey Gold Coast to gain a lower value, from now former Cook County Assessor, Joe Berrios from $117,087, to $19,719, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and helped him gain three refund checks, totalling, $132,747.

Equally damaging was a story in the Chicago Tribune that accused him of tax evasion by holding offshore accounts; and again, an allegation that Kennedy decried in the one televised debate on the local PBS station, WTTW, where Pritzker defensively said were created by his grandfather, and alternatively, by family trustees, to continue charitable giving, of which the family is known for.

Critics, including Kennedy, felt that his stance on fair taxation, and a desire for Illinois to have a progressive tax, as disingenuous, considering these revelations. But, voters seemed either not to care, or were seduced by what many observers are describing as a well-oiled machine.

Kennedy, despite being a wealthy man (a millionaire, from an era, when that meant something) was unable to fund the jettison of flyers, TV ads and even internet ads that Pritzker had, despite having the ideological edge on governance that the former lacked.

On the GOP side, Rauner fought off a determined newcomer, Jeanne Ives, from suburban Wheaton who took on the wounded 61-year-old incumbent, by saying that he was not a true conservative, who among other things, abandoned his promised veto of state funded Medicaid abortions.

The result was a narrow win by only three points, by Rauner, and which outside of partisan politics says something important about female candidates on both sides of the aisle, especially in this post #Me Too cultural environment.

In a risky move, some say Ives blew her chance to win with a negative television ad that gave sharp, and negative racial and transgender stereotypes; a move that removed moderate Republicans, especially female and suburban from supporting her.

Rauner, however, never took Ives seriously, until, a Chicago Tribune Editorial Board where she aggressively went after him, that observers say both alarmed him, and forced him to go negative, a stance that he previously thought was unnecessary.

Aside from GOP critics Illinois residents endured a stalemate for nearly two years with no budget which created a backlog of unpaid bills -- now in the billions, and public colleges and universities were forced to make draconian cuts, including furlough days, to keep the doors open, and which resulted in less freshmen enrollment this past Fall.

Vowing to veto a new K-12 school funding bill that would have given priority between low, and middle income, students he vowed to veto that bill too, labeling it as a “bailout for Chicago” schools; which was later passed over his veto.

Later under a definition label he refused to sign the bill until there was  an“equal” chance clause for both private and parochial schools to get funding under a new $ 75 million scholarship program, in all ways a voucher program, and one that was used as a compromise to gain conservative legislative support.

Pritzker has now taken on a populist mantle of the following: a $15 dollar minimum wage, an expansion of healthcare, guarantee of collective bargaining and a progressive income tax, giving his critics the charge that he is a chameleon, and some wags wondering why a rich man would want a $15 dollar an hour wage as governor. The answer may simply be one word - power.

He has also given support to the legalization of marijuana , which passed a voters referendum with 75 percent, and that Pritzker feel can bring between $50 to $75 million dollars to a state with those aforementioned unpaid bills, from the budget stalemate, and an unfunded pension of $129 billion.

In related races, the much maligned Joseph Berrios whose assessments favored the wealthy (like Pritzker) over low to middle income, was defeated by Fritz Kaegi, easing the minds but increasing the appeals to that office by those unfairly assessed.

Money was an issue, in this race, as well as defeating the “machine politics” that are the trademark of Chicago and Illinois. As the Tribune reported, “Kaegi has put $1.55 million of his own money into his campaign fund, and raised another $440,000. Two campaign committees controlled by Berrios have pulled in nearly $878,000 since Jan. 1, after starting the year with more than $1.4 million.”

It also put some pressure on Toni Preckwinkle who supported Berrios, despite claims of maligning racial minorities in his assessments, and who came under fire for the now rescinded sweetened beverage tax, that moved her from social justice crusade to bureaucrat; a role that many had not thought possible for an African American woman in the mostly white male world of Illinois politics.

For the Attorney General race, Kwame Raoul handily defeated former governor Pat Quinn, who was hoping to make a comeback after some said, under his watch that Illinois sank into economic morass, while he stood by as a bystander.

As previously noted, strong female candidates were seen with even greater numbers than thought possible and the fact that even zoning board member Kelly Mazeski could even get close to Peter Roskam, after a final tally, after voting equipment failure gave her 27 percent of the vote, but conceded to Sean Casten, who got 30, says a lot about women emerging as viable candidates in state elections.

Giving another male candidate a run for his money was Marie Newman, who got 43.53 percent against long term politico Dan Lipinski showing both some moxie and some money for progressive causes, with the help of about $1.6 million from Campaign for a Better Illinois, a PAC.

As longtime political reporter Lynn Sweet reported in her column for The Chicago Sun Times, Thursday, Lipinski "got the biggest challenge of his political career," and was forced to move on immigration and the minimum wage, "under pressure from Newman."

That, in turn, say news makers, and pundits, the 2018 midterm elections may focus not only on women candidates, but also women’s issues, such as health care and others that the Trump administration has a weak record on; in fact, GOP leaders admit that they do not do well with women voters at all -- and that their support is mainly from men, and those who lack a college degree.

On the partisan divide, women on both sides are proving like Ives, that they can get the votes, even without mega wealth. And, in that case the Illinois Primary, is a bellwether for pollsters and forecasters.

If those leading, like Pritzker, are Democrats then the forecast that the U.S. House of Representatives may well be lost by the GOP, with an 8 to 9 point lead may prove to be true.

Meanwhile the gubernatorial winner took all and may will spend, up to all, to win that coveted job, that spells power, much like those 19th century American robber barons.

Updated 03.23.18 at 4:47 p.m. (CSDT)

Illinois Primary: What’s at Stake?

J.B. Pritzker

Taking most of the air from the room is the gubernatorial election that has been expected to cost over $300 million dollars, and as of this writing, the leading Democratic candidate J.B. Pritzker has spent a whopping $69.5 million dollars in a self-funded campaign.

It’s not about the money, say his defenders, but others have said that it is, and those others are mostly local DNC leaders who feel that the only way to beat the Republican incumbent, himself a wealthy man worth billions, that had the support of other uber wealthy people, such as Ken Griffin of Citadel, and who most Illinoisans, believe bought the governorship is with another billionaire.

In the number three spot is businessman Chris Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and now matriarch, Ethel Kennedy, capitalizing on his long knowledge of Illinois and indeed the Kennedy presence: Merchandise Mart, and many religious and civic enterprises, (especially with his Aunt Eunice Shriver, and the founding of “The Special Olympics”) wants the top job.

Chris Kennedy

At the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in downtown Chicago, Kennedy, on Saturday, told the Chicago Tribune, calculated that “means he’s spending, I guess, $2 million a day to try and buy this election.”

That alone makes many dissatisfied, Kennedy included, who also said, “and we have to decide whether we want to send a message from illinois to the rest of the country, the rest of the world, that a democracy can be bought.”

If it’s Illinois politics, then it’s also dirty politics, where scandal, not love, is the best sweetener for an election where the stakes are high, and Pritzker, a venture capitalist (worth a cool $4 billion dollars) found himself embarrassed at the revelation of a secret FBI recorded conversation with the now disgraced former, governor Rod Blagojevich, when advising the former on how to solve his ‘African American thing”, suggested current secretary of state, Jesse White, as “the least offensive” of black leaders.”

To make matters worse, the conversation was the subject of a piercing attack in the Chicago Reader” a local alternative paper, which featured a bloated picture of Pritzker, on the cover, perching on a black lawn jockey statue, both emphasizing the candidate's weight, and seemingly disdain for the black community; but, which he is relying on to become the candidate on the Fall ballot.

The resulting outcry, some say, via a phone call to the paper’s owners, The Chicago Sun-Times, resulted in the firing of the Reader’s young editor, and a plethora of bad publicity, which Pritzker ironically tried to deflect by holding a press conference in front to a soul food restaurant, surrounded by some local black leaders.

Spin is nothing new to modern politics, but that backdrop made some in Chicago’s black community wince, at an outdated, and unneeded, stereotype.

If billionaire is the new standard, then Kennedy as a mere millionaire, seems to have nevertheless, adroitly captured the mood of a more ideals based campaign; and one of the first things that he did was to call out the questionable practices of Cook County Assessor, Joe Berrios who he accused of unfairly lowering the value of the homes of the wealthy and increasing the value of those far lower on the pay scale, resulting in an expose by the Chicago Tribune.

Last May, Pritzker was accused of ripping out the toilets from a historic home he purchased in Chicago’s pricey Gold Coast to gain a lower value, from Berrios, who accessed that home (bought next door to one that he already owned) from $117,087, to $19,719, according to the Chicago Sun-Time, and helped him gain three refund checks, totaling, $132,747.

That story faded away for a bit, but then resurfaced, especially when Kennedy, the first of the leading contenders to do so, called out Berrios on practices that favored the wealthy. And, of note is that the latter is the current chair of the Cook County Democrats, a position that he has held since February of 2007.

Adding even more bad news for Pritzker was a story in the Chicago Tribune that accused him of tax evasion by holding offshore accounts; and again, an allegation that Kennedy decried in the one televised debate on the local PBS station, WTTW, where Pritzker said were created by his grandfather, and alternatively, by family trustees, to continue that any proceeds go to charity.

Capitalizing on all of this is the young Daniel Biss, a former mathematics teacher, who has risen to the number two spot after most early predictions had said he would drop out to weak funding, but who now billing himself as the hero of the middle-class and his ads, showing his modest home in suburban Evanston, and easy demeanor have given him a substantial lift --- after a series of missteps --- like dropping running mate Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who supported Palestinian resistance to Israeli domination.

Daniel Biss

 Biss, who is Jewish, was forced to drop him; and, then came the revelation that in 2013 he voted to cut state employee benefits, only to have them ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois State Supreme Court, a decision that he says he regrets, but also affected his fundraising, therefore the hero of the middle-class to increase profile, erase memories of the faux pas, and raise some much needed cash, despite some donations of bits and pieces: $100,000 from the Illinois State Democratic Victory Fund, and a smattering of donations from retiring colleagues, had $2.3 million in July, an increase from $1.6 million in April; it is not entirely clear how much he has, as of this date, but it’s bound to be less than what is needed.

As said before, the old adage goes, whenever someone says it’s not about the money, it usually is, and there are many who decry the fact that the local Democratic leadership feels that the only way to defeat the dreaded Rauner is to have a billionaire Dem as a candidate.

If the issues are taking second place to the values of a democracy, then it is Kennedy who we endorse for his personal integrity, values and a resurgence of New Frontier idealism that cannot be bought.

He has also called on the inequitable distribution of educational dollars to black neighborhoods, supported the role of investment into communities of color as a way to stem the violence, and a host of other planks in a platform that looks at the issues confronting the state, with plans to address the growing depopulation of the land of Lincoln, where current stats show that the high cost of living in a state that is burdened by high taxes, weak public education, and a  pension obligation that is the highest in the nation.

Still feeling the effect of the Great Recession, there has been a much higher level of unemployed blacks, and for those that are middle-class, they have left for better schools, lowered crime, and property taxes, like their white counterparts, who feel the pinch.

Both whites and blacks feel the budget busting high property taxes to buoy up the aforementioned pension crisis, with a drain of 37,000 from a population of nearly 12.8 million in 2016.

The problem as we see it, is not that Kennedy is not ready for the Illinoisan governorship, but is Illinois ready for Kennedy? Can the electorate see that his direct appeal to democratic values that wants to leave scandal behind, and move forward?

Hovering in the background is the formidable Speaker of the House Michael Madigan who everyone alternatively hates, fears and besmirches, on any given day, or time. Yet, this powerful man has been the villain among Republicans and Democratic women are rebelling due to what is felt to be less than ideal handling, some say cover-up of sexual abuse against women lawmakers, and leaders, in the state capitol.

For Biss, who now maligns him, he also accepted money for a youth based education fund, from the Speaker, but who can now spout off on the Madigan specter, as he did last year in a forum sponsored by the “Chicago Women Take Action Alliance,” when he unexpectedly, in an offhand remark about Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, said that Pritzker was Madigan’s favored candidate, to which the accused replied, “That’s hypocrisy, if you want to see the man that voted for Madigan, look at the end of the table!”

On the GOP side is the incumbent Rauner, but nipping at his heels is newcomer Jeanne Ives who has mangled the former’s cultivated image as a Republican by decrying his signature of a bill that used Medicaid funds for abortions, and for state employee health coverage as his chief betrayal, when he vowed to veto.

While she may well be outspent by the huge reserves it forces him to step up his game to make the grade, despite the National Review calling him the worst Republican governor in the nation. Ives also forces him to make a stand with President Trump, who he has sidestepped in every public address, and did not attend the inauguration, last year.

Ives supports Trump and says that “we should have a working relationship” with him, and has an ‘A’ rating from the National Rifle Association.

In a very crowded field the race for the nomination for the job of Attorney General the standouts are Kwame Raoul who has a strong record on bipartisan issues and an equally consistent record on bread and butter issues, and Pat Quinn, who has the clout of being a past governor and the cash, although the cash being spent is mere pocket change in the gubernatorial race.

In a strong showing of women in the primary race, Ives, Marie Newman against Dan Lipinski and Kelly Mazewski against longtime Republican Peter Roskam, is Sharon Farleigh most recently of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, who holds an impressive resume including the addition of an engineering degree in both mechanical and aerospace engineering; plus, she is the only black woman in the race.

While she lacks name recognition, we predict that this is not the end of the road for Ms. Fairley if she loses.

Tuesday will prove to be a watershed moment for Illinois as it seeks to redress rights, and also, just might reverse the fortunes of Democrats in a blue state with a Republican governor, as we calculate the price tag wondering if ideals will win, along with true governance, or is about the money?