DYNASTY DENIAL A Madigan who's not that Madigan, a Daley who's not that Daley and a Quinn who's... To Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis, the race for the Democratic nomination for governor looks like a game of "Name That Dynasty." Until you get to the incumbent. Click to see the whole cartoon.
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CAMPAIGN 2014 The primary election for governor is more than nine months away (it's on March 18, 2014), but GOP candidate Bruce Rauner already is airing a pair of TV ads. They hammer home the themes that have defined his campaign so far: insiders have wrecked Illinois government (in no small part because of their fealty to unions) and the state needs an outsider to restore order. We have both ads on our Campaign 2014 blog. We've also got news on Attorney General Lisa Madigan's possible plans for 2014.
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PENSION REMINDER Illinois' pension crisis is no joke, and the unstable financial environment it has created is having dire effects on the state economy. It's on the minds of the state's business leaders and it ought to be on yours. We've got 10 reminders why in our editorial today. Sample: If you're a teacher, your retirement fund could be broke by 2029 without pension reform. And 25 percent of your tax dollars soon will go straight into the pension system. Read the whole list here.
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PUNISHING SUCCESS On the last day of the legislative session, lawmakers filed a pair of bills to allow creation of a progressive income tax system in Illinois. Unlike a previous such effort, this one would include businesses in a graduated income tax structure. David From of Americans For Prosperity is not happy about this. "Not only will this penalize success, it sends the clear message to businesses and individuals that Illinois does not want them to succeed here, nor does it want them to grow their business in the Land of Lincoln," he writes in an op-ed today. Reboot Illinois sounded off on these new bills last week. (We think a few questions need to be answered before this question goes to voters.)
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DAILY TIP-OFF Here's a rundown of what's happening in Illinois news today. You'll find many more links in the Daily Tip-Off section of our website.
•Cullerton, Madigan and the culture of failure in Springfield (Chicago Tribune)
•CHANGE Illinois! out to change the rigged system for drawing legislative maps in Illinois (Pantagraph)
•Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel isn't ruling out a property tax increase to close the $1 billion budget gap of Chicago Public Schools (Chicago Sun-Times)
•Those hoping to be governor in 2014 need to focus on pension reform right now (Chicago Sun-Times)
•Bruce Rauner's plan to fix Illinois' finances focuses on a tax structure he thinks is unfriendly to business (Chicago Magazine)
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PENSION PETITION The Illinois General Assembly returns for a special session next week on pension reform. Help us send a message that they must address this issue, which is destroying our state budget. Sign our petition here.
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