Progress Illinois

To fill a $2 billion budget shortfall his office identified in the House's state budget, Gov. Blagojevich announced a variety of controversial cuts this summer.  Much of the uproar has surrounded his spending reductions for substance abuse prevention and treatment centers.  But SEIU and area seniors are now taking up their own fight, aiming to block a new cut announced last week. This one would hit the Illinois Department of Aging’s Community Care Program and would delay payments for home care workers who provide essential services to 50,000 seniors each year. Sadie Kliner of SEIU Healthcare IL & IN explains over email:

Across-the-board cuts that could mean a 10-15% reduction in care for 1.5 many seniors are scheduled to hit Illinois seniors in less than a week, on Sept. 1st.

These cuts are devastating to seniors who are already struggling to get the care they need and fighting to stay in their homes and their communities. This has been an undeniably tough year, but we feel this is the wrong time for the state to cut vital services and the wrong way to deal with budget constraints.

Home care workers and seniors are simultaneously calling on legislators to pass supplemental funding and urging Blagojevich to reverse the cuts. Tomorrow at 3 pm, union members will protest alongside the Illinois AARP, the Jane Addams Seniors Caucus, Access Living, and others at the Thompson Center in Chicago.

(Full disclosure: SEIU Illinois sponsors this website)

Titled "Country First," the Republican National Committee unveiled its convention speaking schedule yesterday, and the Illinois delegation didn't get much love. Only North Shore Rep. Mark Kirk is scheduled to address the delegates Monday night.  Fittingly, he'll appear on the same night as President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Will he talk about offshore drilling or downplay the number of insured Americans? Only time will tell.

The four nights are themed "service," "reform," "prosperity" and "peace." The Tribune's Swamp blog makes an astute observation:

Cindy McCain is scheduled to speak on Wednesday, prosperity night, which seems appropriate.

At all the events and panels I've attended so far in Denver, I've sensed both an excitement and a wariness among progressive activists and thinkers about this election cycle – excitement for the opportunity to elect what could be a transformational president, but wariness that too much focus has been placed on Obama himself. While electing Illinois' favorite son is the central and justifiable focus of the events here at the DNC, the left understands that we must capitalize on the travesty President Bush has wrought and push forth a bold platform of economic and social justice. One organization working to do that is US Action, which builds coalitions online and on-the-ground to advocate for progressive change. Yesterday in Denver, I spoke with president and PI guest columnist William McNary about how change happens and how Illinois progressives can do their part.

AD: Can you talk to me a little bit about what you're up to in Denver?

WM: We are here for two reasons. Unofficially, I'm on vacation because I happen to be a delegate for Barack Obama … But we're also here to talk to people about investing in America's future -- what we also call the Next New Deal. What this is a set of policies that will wrap up into a coherent plan that progressives can run on and win.

AD: Can you talk about that plan and what it entails?

WM: Absolutely. People want change. Change is a word you hear in every campaign. Barrack Obama talked about change you can believe in, Hillary Clinton talked about change with results, John McCain even said change you can't afford. The point is, as Reverend Lee, my late minister used to say, "everybody talk about heaven aint going there." So everybody talking about change don't really mean change. So the question becomes are we going to get real progressive change or are we going to get small change or chump change? I've had all three. And believe me, I know the difference.

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I just caught Rep. Jan Schakowsky on the Campaign for America's Future health care panel in Denver.  It was a timely discussion considering the release this week of new census bureau data on health insurance. On it's face, the numbers look good: 45.7 million people did not have health insurance in 2007, a decrease from the 2006 level of 47 million. But the devil is in the details. Paul Krugman says these 2007 numbers don't take into effect skyrocketing unemployment, a major reason Americans lose their insurance. And The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn says it's Uncle Sam who is propping up the figures:

But before anybody gets the idea that we no longer need health care reform, take a closer look at the numbers. Enrollment in private insurance continued to decline in percentage terms, mostly because the percentage of people with employer-sponsored coverage fell from 59.7 to 59.3. The reason the overall numbers look good is rising enrollment in public insurance programs, particularly Medicaid.

All of this is to say that health care is still a major crisis in America. As a stinging reminder, Schakowsky pointed out that at least one American would die of what she calls "uninsured-itis" while the hour-long panel was underway. To push for reform, Schakowsky became one of the first legislators to sign the "Which Side Are You On?" petition, an effort by Health Care for America Now to demand that members of Congress enact universal health care next year. Supporters can sign a companion petition here.

Thanks to the generous folks at Prairie State Blue (Illinois' official blog at the DNC), I was able to spend some time on the floor of the Pepsi Center for about an hour last night, before most of the evening's hullaboo began. But that's not to say my timing wasn't solid. Just as I found my seat amid the Illinois delegation,  a procession of state politicos -- Emil Jones, Lisa Madigan, Alexi Giannoulias, Dan Hynes -- took the stage and shared their memories of working with Barack Obama years ago. 

Josh mentioned it in his roundup from the delegate breakfast yesterday, but it's pretty surreal to see so many Illinois pols in such close proximity to one another, especially amid the infighting in Springfield. At one point, Emil Jones sauntered up to Speaker Mike Madigan -- who was sitting with his wife directly in front of me -- and briefly talked White Sox baseball. The forced cordiality is part of any business, no doubt.  But in other industries, the internal disputes aren't usually aired in the media, nor do they involve the tax dollars of millions. This sets up a dynamic that's both frustrating and hilarious to watch unfold in person.

It's also interesting to see people so devoted to the Democratic Party, a feeling that isn't entirely shared by the skeptical circle of lefty writers and activists with whom I generally interact. Of course, many delegates are critical of certain stances their party takes. But the pride they have in their elected officials and the love they have for politics is written all over their faces, and it's encouraging to see. I've certainly never observed so many middle-aged women, enthused by a Congressional speaker, juke uninhibitedly to a funk band.

New census bureau data, released today, shows that there were 37.3 million people living in poverty in 2007. That's six times the population of Arizona, presidential nominee John McCain's home state. As such, you'd think the Republican would have a plan to fight poverty, right? Not quite. Think Progress' Wonk Room has the details:

Visitors to JohnMcCain.com can learn where the Republican nominee stands on the Second Amendment, “liberal judicial activists” — even the space program. While John McCain “understands the importance of investing in key industries such as space,” he apparently does not understand the importance of helping the 37.3 million Americans living in poverty right here on Planet Earth.

You can check out Barack Obama's poverty platform here.

(H/T Matt Yglesias)

The Tribune's John Kass rips to the heart of what's so disgusting about the Republican embrace of Hillary Clinton and her "disavowed" supporters:

But this week's Republican appeal to resentful Clinton voters through the symbolism and language that liberal Democrats have used for decades suggests some confusion in the GOP. If the Republicans truly love Hillary, why not put her on the ticket with McCain?

Kass came to the conclusion while talking with McCain operative Carly Fiorina in Denver, who denounced the Democrats for purportedly abandoning it's vision of women's equality during the primary:

"I think a meritocracy demands that you treat everyone with respect and you value their contributions, and you give them every opportunity to make the maximum contribution. That's what a meritocracy is," Fiorina told me. "And Hillary Clinton was not respected to the extent she had earned. And her contributions, according to many of her supporters, have not been honored. John McCain has long honored and respected Hillary Clinton."

Where was that respect in November, Sen. McCain, when you chuckled and chortled after a town hall attendee asked "How do we beat the bitch?" And where was your respect for women when you skipped the vote on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have made it easier for women and other workers to pursue pay discrimination claims?

McCain's posturing on women's rights is nothing more than dirty politics. Kudos to Kass for pointing out the obvious.

Republican Rep. John Shimkus was not bashful in his skepticism of the Democratic presidential ticket, which visited his neck of the woods on Saturday. Speaking to the State Journal-Register, he said the partnership of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden was "destined to fail." Why? Their hesitancy to push offshore oil drilling, of course, which he terms "American-made energy":

“For the liberal Democrats and the leadership team that can lead their ticket, supply is not part of the equation,” he said. “For small-town, rural America — the middle class and the lower middle class — it’s almost an attack on the poor and the middle class.”

I won't belabor the point, but the insinuation that drilling off the cost will lower the price of gasoline for working Americans is completely bunk. So is the idea that Republican leaders support "American-made energy." Let's remember the loads of legislation Shimkus and his colleagues blocked that would have led to large-scale investment in renewable energy.

It's not Obama who is destined to fail -- it's the "drill now, drill forever" strategy Shimkus can't seem to shake. Read our posts here, here, and here to learn more about the GOP's dead-end ideas.

The Southtown Star's Kristen McQueary has done some solid reporting on Marty Ozinga's congressional campaign, including her column picking apart the Republican's comments downplaying America's health care crisis. In yesterday's paper, she had another great catch: the Ozinga camp is running push polls.

McQueary recalls how Frankfort resident Bruce Monstovich received an innocent sounding call from a pollster recently. After a few standard questions -- what were his feelings on President Bush, had he heard of Ozinga and Democratic rival Debbie Halvorson -- things got a bit fishy:

The so-called pollster then asked if Monstovich's opinion of Halvorson would change if he heard a statement from her indicating she supported gays and lesbians getting married or that she supported "giving illegal aliens Social Security benefits," Monstovich said.

"Of course I said if I heard something like that, I would be unfavorable," he said. "But then I asked the guy, 'Are these statements true?' He said he couldn't vouch for whether they were true or not."

McQueary explains why push polls are a different animal than traditional forms of campaign advertising:

They are clandestine. With mailers, radio and television advertisements, campaigns are required to include a small notation or message indicating who paid for the material. At least you know the messenger.

The plan may have backfired, too. Monstovich, an independent union carpenter, says if Ozinga sanctioned the calls, he's lost one vote:

"People are busy and getting these calls and making decisions based on being deceived. My opinion is anyone using these types of practices to get elected obviously can't get elected legitimately."

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Here's some more evidence that Rep. Mark Kirk should stop talking about energy. On the same day that he presented a false proposition between offshore drilling and importing Iranian oil, the North Shore Republican launched an attack ad against Democratic challenger Dan Seals.  The TV spot criticizes Seals for his May campaign event in which he subsidized a drop in gas prices at a 10th District service station to $1.85. “Dan Seals: His stunt wasted more gas than it saved,” the ad says. “Mark Kirk: longterm solutions, not campaign stunts.”

But before running the commercial, the campaign forgot to check one tiny detail -- namely, copyright laws:

Rep. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) campaign has taken down its latest ad attacking Democratic challenger Dan Seals after it used news footage without copyright permission from the Chicago NBC affiliate.

NBC’s legal department asked Kirk’s campaign to take down the ad soon after it began airing in the district.

The ad attacked Seals for holding a campaign event where the Democratic candidate partially subsidized the price of gas. It used a video clip from Chicago’s NBC affiliate, WMAQ, where the anchor said “a campaign stunt is costing Congressional candidate Dan Seals more than he expected.”

“As a general policy, we don’t want political campaigns using our footage in our ads especially in the ones criticizing an opponent,” said NBC Universal media counsel Steve Chung.

Politico says the campaign is now up with a similar version of the ad, but without the NBC footage.