Josh Kalven

Nate Silver On The Interview Show

Josh Kalven — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:25:30 -0800

On the first Friday of every month, Mark Bazer hosts "The Interview Show" at The Hideout in Chicago, in which he conducts engaging discussions with three different figures from the area -- whether writers, artists, chefs, etc. Recent guests from the political/media sphere have included Rick Perlstein, John Williams, and Kevin Davis. Earlier this month, Bazer sat-down with FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver.

You can watch a clip of that interview below. Fair warning for all the kiddies out there, though: Silver's got a mouth like a sailor:

IL Immigrants Tell Stories Of Broken Families

Josh Kalven — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:33:06 -0800

Last Saturday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez held an event at a church on Chicago's West Side to highlight "the tragic, personal stories of countless U.S. citizens from Chicago and beyond whose families have been torn apart by an immigration system that values quotas over families." Gutierrez spoke at length about the importance of comprehensive immigration form and the need to pressure incoming President Barack Obama to follow through on his pledges to pass such legislation. He denounced the ongoing immigration raids nationwide and introduced members of four different Chicagoland families, who described how their husbands or wives had been detained or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Watch:

Dart On Spread Of Foreclosures: "Utter Chaos"

Josh Kalven — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:30:38 -0800

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Sen. Dick Durbin's proposal to help struggling homeowners by allowing bankruptcy courts to renegotiate the terms of certain mortgages. As we noted on Tuesday, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart flew to Washington to testify before the committee about the foreclosure crisis in Chicagoland. Dart told NBC 5 that the situation represents "utter chaos." Durbin said he doesn't expect his plan to move forward during the lame duck session thanks to a White House that "is not open to the changes that we think will be necessary." Watch:

(H/T HuffPo Chicago)

The Early Bird: November 20, 2008

Josh Kalven — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:08:10 -0800

More Chicagoans Poised For the White House
David Axelrod, the campaign strategist who helped craft Barack Obama’s bid for the White House, has accepted the job as senior adviser to the president-elect. Meanwhile, Hyatt Hotel heiress and political fundraising heavyweight Penny Pritzker is reportedly under consideration for the Commerce Secretary post. (UPDATE: Pritzker denies that she's a candidate for the post.)

State Senate Dems, GOP Tap New Leaders
State Sens. John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) will take the reigns of their respective parties in the Senate when the legislature convenes for a new session in January. The leadership picks are part of a Senate shake-up that some hope will end the statehouse feuding that has crippled state government in recent years.

Governor Reaches Out To Potential Obama Replacements
Gov. Rod Blagojevich rang Reps. Danny Davis, Luis Gutierrez, and Jan Schakowsky on Wednesday to talk about their potential to fill Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich reaffirmed to Davis and Schakowsky that they are on his short list. He is expected to make the appointment some time in December.

Airlines Call For Halt On O’Hare Expansion
Major airlines operating out of O’Hare International Airport are calling on Chicago officials to put the breaks on the next phase of a $15 billion expansion project, due to a decline in air travel and the airline industry’s uncertain future. According to documents obtained by the Tribune, Delta Air Lines executives say that Chicago officials have rushed the controversial project as part of an “impulsive grab for [tax] funds.”

Cook County Bond Sale To Generate Political ‘Funny Money?’
A handful of Cook County Commissioners aren’t buying the pitch that they ought to approve a $260 million bond sale to cover future lawsuit settlements and jury awards. “There’s something bizarre going on here or you’re hiding something from us,” Comm. Forest Claypool told finance officials yesterday. He suggested that the Stroger administration was looking for political “funny money” to help his 2010 re-election bid.

Income, Not Race Could Be Criteria For Chicago Magnets
In lieu of an anticipated ruling in a school desegregation case, Chicago Public Schools officials are considering a plan to take income into consideration—rather than race—for admission to popular magnet schools. Under the proposal, students’ income would be based on the census tract where they live in an effort to keep magnet schools diverse.

Ald. Ocasio: Daley Admin "Believes Everything And Everyone Is Expendable"

Josh Kalven — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:13:25 -0800

Yesterday, the Reader's Mick Dumke wondered which Chicago aldermen would stand up to Mayor Daley and vote against his 2009 budget. Ultimately, only one did so during the full city council meeting today, Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th Ward). In his floor statement, Ocasio not only gave an impassioned criticism of the budget, he also leveled the kind of broad criticism of the Daley administration -- saying it "believes everything and everyone is expendable" -- that rarely falls from the lips of Chicago aldermen these days (at least in public). Courtesy of WTTW's Chicago Tonight, here's the video:

Driving Mass Transit Riders Back To Their Cars

Josh Kalven — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:40:38 -0800

Just as more and more Illinois commuters were getting on board with mass transit, a stalemate over how to pay for a $4 billion backlog of state bills threatens to force thousands off the bus.

Last month, the Illinois Department of Transportation sent out a courtesy letter to transit agencies statewide warning them that their next round of reimbursement checks may be delayed.

From Decatur to Rockford, transit officials now face the prospect of not being able to cover their costs if the state doesn’t make good on the outstanding payments. The Rockford Register Star reports that in a matter of weeks, some of the Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) services may even grind to a halt:

With state officials late to pay $3.8 million — and counting — in subsidies to RMTD, local officials are considering route cuts, fewer buses or a fare hike. There’s even fear the district could suspend service by the end of the year. [...]

The state subsidy is half the Rockford district’s operating budget, and service continues because of a line of credit and other revenue. But Brown said if the state doesn’t catch up soon, those other sources will be maxed out.

As in many parts of Illinois, mass transit ridership in the Rockford area is way up these days. Higher gasoline prices, fewer car loans, and a flat economy have led to a 22 percent increase over last fall, RMTD reports.

While the trend has encouraged mass transit advocates, cutting services now would present a major setback.

But that doesn’t have to happen, according to Jackie Grimshaw, transportation director of the nonprofit Center for Neighborhood Technology. “We can fill the gaps now with transit agencies if the governor would respond to a practical approach,” she said.

That “practical approach” she’s referring to came from Comptroller Dan Hynes last week. By taking out some short-term loans, Hynes says his office could begin digging out from under the mountain of unpaid bills. The state would then repay the debt as future revenues trickle in.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich shot back with his own proposal for getting the state’s finances back on track. He requested additional authority to cut agency budgets, borrow money, and request help from the federal government.

Grimshaw calls the latest power play another example of the state’s “failure of leadership.”

Does New Group Have What It Takes To "Advance Illinois" Education?

Josh Kalven — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:40:23 -0800

A prominent line up of public officials—including former Commerce Secretary William Daley, former Gov. Jim Edgar, and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert—along with some deep-pocketed foundations rolled out the state’s latest education initiative yesterday.

For some time now, the school reform community has had its eye on the emerging group, dubbed Advance Illinois. And they’ve expressed skepticism, to say the least. Judging by today’s lackluster response to the initiative, it appears that the people of Illinois have also grown weary of blue ribbon commissions intended to study what everyone already knows: stark inequities pervade Illinois schools.

Nonetheless, the leaders of Advance Illinois have set out to draft a set of policy recommendations for repairing the state’s “mediocre” education system. In a report released yesterday, the group makes a solid case for why failing to act quickly sets the state up for failure:

Though Illinois boasts the fifth-largest economy in the United States, it is one of the slowest growing in the country. Between 1997 and 2004, only six states had slower-growing economies and, while we are still above the national average, our per capita income has been in a downward slide since 1960.

Within the next six years, 89 percent of jobs in Illinois’ fastest-growing sectors will require some education or training beyond high school. Yet, of Illinois adults over the age of 25, only 36 percent have an associate or bachelor’s degree, and just 20 percent more have pursued some other education beyond high school. As a result, thousands of well-paying jobs go unfilled each year in Illinois.

Setting higher academic standards, improving accountability, and advancing teacher training will likely be the thrust of Advance Illinois’ forthcoming recommendations, which will go before the General Assembly in a year or so.

How the group will recommend funding those initiatives remains unclear. But their initial report makes the case for why investment in education will ultimately bolster the state economy:

- More than $13 billion would be added to Illinois’ economy by 2020 if students of color graduated at the same rate as white students.

- A five percent increase in male high school graduation rates would save Illinois $379 million in incarceration costs and crime related expenses.

- If Illinois’ high schools raised standards, the state would save $81 million annually in remediation for recent high school graduates.

The thing that most Illinois school reform advocates agree on is that money matters. They argue that, without some form of tax reform, kids from low- and middle-income communities won’t have the same technology, books, and other resources needed to keep pace with their peers in wealthier districts.

For years, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) has stuck with some pretty simple talking points for how to go about reversing the decline in education, which they point out is now eroding academic achievement in middle-class communities. CTBA advocates raising the income tax on high-earners and using the additional revenue to reduce property taxes and invest in education and infrastructure.

We caught up with CTBA assistant executive director Chrissy Mancini to see what she thinks about Advance Illinois. Her response: “How many times do you have to reinvent the wheel?”

“Everyone knows what the problems are,” Mancini added. “There are disparities between rich, poor, black, white. Everyone knows how to solve it.”

Live From IL-5: Feigenholtz Is In

Josh Kalven — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:24:34 -0800

The Tribune is reporting that State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) announced today that she is planning to run for Rahm Emanuel's soon-to-be vacated 5th Congressional District seat:

"I love what I do," said Feigenholtz, who has specialized on health-care legislation during her tenure in Springfield. "I just see this as an opportunity to improve people's lives." [...]

"Of all the people in this field, I'm convinced I have what works," she said.

Feigenholtz is the second candidate to publicly enter the race (Ald. Gene Schulter being the other one). Expect many, many others in the coming weeks.

The Chicago City Budget: Preparing For Round Two

Josh Kalven — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:17:06 -0800

Yesterday, Mayor Daley and the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) reached a deal aimed at reducing the number of layoffs originally proposed by the city. The Sun-Times lays out the details:

Union leaders have agreed to work-rule changes to reduce the city's overtime costs, the soures said. They have also agreed to drop their opposition to a partial shutdown of city government around the holidays.

In exchange, Daley has agreed to offer cash incentives — at least $5,000 and as high as $15,000 — for members of Laborers Local 1001 to induce retirements by eligible union members.

The City Council is expected to approve Daley's budget when it comes up for a vote tomorrow. But members of the Independent Caucus, as well as the unions, appeared to take notice when the Tribune reported last Friday that the mayor's 2009 budget projections may be overly optimistic. Reporters Hal Dardick and Dan Mihalopoulos predicted that "City Hall soon will be scurrying to balance its books yet again" because Daley "is relying on revenue estimates that are rosier than what the city might expect given the dire economic prognosis."

Appearing on FOX last weekend, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward) and CFL President Dennis Gannon both seemed to anticipate dealing with further shortfalls early next year. Rather than focus too much on the current budget, they each hinted at proposals that may be on the table several months from now. For instance, Gannon brought up the idea of a gas tax, while Preckwinkle endorsed cuts to the city's PR budget. Watch:

Absent from this discussion, however, was any mention of the money locked up in the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) system. But if the mayor's budget requires a second look in six months, that may be on the table as well. As a reminder, here's Ald. Tom Allen (38th Ward) back in early October:

"We need to go to Springfield and change the state law so we can reclaim our TIF dollars that are being held hostage and put that money back in the general fund," said Ald. Thomas Allen (38th). "We're at least partly in the trouble we're in because of the TIFs."

If this budget ultimately sees a second round, it's sure to be rougher on Daley than the first.

Jackson Jr.: Guv Should Consider "Values" Rather Than "Race" In Replacing Obama

Josh Kalven — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:11:28 -0800

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been the most aggressive of in pursuing Barack Obama's open U.S. Senate seat, appeared on MSNBC this morning to discuss the appointment. Echoing Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Jackson said, "I don't think it's that important at all that the governor makes a decision based on race." He added that Blagojevich should make "a decision based upon the values that represent the interests of our state and the 44th President of the United States." Watch it:

Also, what's with Andrea Mitchell's claim at the top that "we have an all-white United States Senate"? Daniel Akaka, Ken Salazar, Mel Martinez, Daniel Inouye, and Bob Menendez would probably beg to differ.