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Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:38pm
Mon Jul 12, 2010
1 comment

The Tribune's Minimum Wage Straw Man

Coming to the defense of Sen. Bill Brady, the Tribune editorial board wrote a piece over the weekend arguing that Illinois' minimum wage -- which is currently set $1-per-hour above the national level -- "will keep some people from finding jobs because there will be fewer jobs to find." The argument is pretty flimsy. For starters, the paper doesn't use any local evidence to back up their job-loss claim. Reviewing job growth patterns between 2003 and 2005, Michael F. Thompson of the Indiana Business Review found that "Illinois' increasing minimum wage rates did not reduce overall employment growth for private employers."

Furthermore, they suggest that supporters back a higher minimum wage because it "translates into a more diligent and efficient work force." Progressives don't argue that minimum wage hikes improve the economy by motivating workers. Rather, they contend that putting additional cash into the hands of low-wage workers spurs the economy by boosting demand, a position held by some economic outfit called the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:45pm
Tue Jul 6, 2010

Memo To The Trib: Blago's Medicaid Expansion Was Already "Undone"

The Tribune ran a curious editorial this morning on Illinois' Medicaid system. On the one hand, the paper praised Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly for passing three Medicaid reform bills they described as "steps toward reforming and monitoring" the public health program. The editors then proceeded to whack those same pols for not "undo[ing] former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's illicit expansion of the program -- or the costly failure of timid Democratic legislators to block him."

What the Tribune doesn't note is that the "illicit expansion" in question -- in which Blagojevich unilaterally increased income eligibility for the state's FamilyCare program from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 400 percent in 2007 -- was almost immediately blocked in the courts.  Indeed, at this point, there is nothing for legislators to "undo." 

While it may seem easy to blame Illinois' Medicaid costs on Blagojevich, it's just not that simple.  The reality is that this portion of the state's spending has grown because of rising health care costs at the national level, increased demand, and moderate eligibility expansions approved in recent decades by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
10:48am
Mon Jun 28, 2010
129 comments

Sun-Times: Senate GOP "Stiff-Arming" The Unemployed (UPDATED)

Like Illinois' own Sen. Dick Durbin, the Sun-Times editorial board is appalled that U.S. Senate Republicans -- defenders of wasteful tax breaks for the wealthy -- won't extend the filing deadline on unemployment benefits because of misguided deficit concerns.

Millions of Americans are unemployed through no fault of their own during the worst economic times in generations. All they're looking for is for a little more help in weathering the storm -- something for the groceries and the mortgage.

Meanwhile the GOP, while stiff-arming ordinary Americans, runs to the defense of the wealthiest Americans and -- for that matter -- an international oil company responsible for destroying the economy and environment of the Gulf.

Read the full piece here.

UPDATE (1:33 p.m.): After a more robust jobs bill crashed and burned in the U.S. Senate last week, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has introduced a standalone piece of legislation to extend the filing deadline for emergency unemployment benefits. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has signaled that she might move in this direction, as well.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:47am
Wed Jun 23, 2010
2 comments

Sun-Times (Finally) Comes Around On State Pension Attacks

Pensions

Today, the Sun-Times editorial board criticized a local pro-business group for repeatedly referring to the "Cadillac" pension plans purportedly received by state workers.  But just last fall, the board itself was using that same phrase.

Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
10:48am
Wed Jun 23, 2010

Burge n' Blagojevich

If you're not reading John Conroy and Steve Rhodes' daily dispatches on the trial of fomer Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, there is still time to start (though final arguments are scheduled for later this week).  Here is Rhodes today highlighting the imbalance in local media coverage:

Who cares if a decorated Chicago police commander tortured dozens - if not more - of African American men, some of whom wrongly ended up on Death Row, when our former governor is caught on tape musing about trading a U.S. Senate seat for the ambassadorship to India? Don't be such a downer! Blago is fun! Burge is a drag. [...]

This is what happens when news is defined in large measure by its entertainment quotient. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a reporter describe how much fun it was to work in a town with such brazen political schemes. Fun? You have to live here too. It's disgusting.

Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
9:50am
Wed Jun 23, 2010

What Is Tribune Co. Thinking?

Phil Rosenthal reported this week that the Tribune Company is filming pilot episodes of a Jerry Springer-like TV show hosted by Cincinatti radio host Bill Cunningham (titled "Big Willie").  If it gets the green light, the program will air on WGN across the country.  Meanwhile, WGN Radio recently courted Cunningham, who almost moved his show to the Chicago market. 

By the way, this is the same Bill Cunningham who has verbally abused the poor and homeless (even advocating the caning of the latter).  He has also accused "most black people" of being racist and alleged that Barack Obama "wants to gas the Jews."

Keep it classy, Tribune.

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
3:27pm
Thu Jun 17, 2010
2 comments

Why Is Daley Complaining About Walmart Coverage?

Walmart

Mayor Daley has admitted that he no longer reads local news coverage.  Maybe if he broke his boycott and actually looked at the reporting that's been done this year, he'd see that Walmart proponents are well-represented in almost every news report while community-level critics are rarely quoted.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
12:01pm
Wed Jun 9, 2010
155 comments

The Trib's Attack On Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment

As the U.S. Senate tries to strike a deal on extending the deadline for emergency unemployment benefits, the Tribune writes a misguided editorial opposing efforts to extend additional aid.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:00pm
Mon Jun 7, 2010
2 comments

Grossman: Kirk's Claims Weren't "Mistakes," They Were "Exaggerations"

Last week, we  spent some time cataloging the barrage of media criticism GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk received after making excuses for needlessly mischaracterizing his own military record. The Sun-Times' Kate Grossman gave her two-cents on WTTW's Chicago Tonight last Friday, questioning why Kirk keeps suggesting his embellishments were accidental. "The part that [the Sun-Times editorial board] was disappointed with is that he just calls these mistakes," she said. "These are not mistakes. These are exaggerations." Watch it (full video of the panel discussion is available here):

Alexi Giannoulias' campaign has also been tracking the various pundit reactions on their YouTube channel.