Month: October 2017

Posted on

Tick Tock: Two Weeks Since Pritzker Said He’d “Soon” Release Tax Returns

As Pritzker debuts ad about taxes and makes the list of richest Americans, he’s still keeping Illinoisans in the dark on his own taxes

Days ago, Democrat candidate for governor J.B. Pritzker made the list of richest Americans. Forbes rated Pritzker, whose personal wealth totals $3.4 billion, the 219th richest American.

Now, Politico Illinois Playbook is reporting that J.B. Pritzker released a new campaign ad calling for a progressive income tax. In the ad, Pritzker says that increasing taxes on the wealthiest would make our tax system “fair,” but Illinoisans still don’t know how much Pritzker himself pays in taxes.

This past April, Pritzker pledged to release his tax returns, but so far, he has failed to do so. A clock on Daniel Biss’ campaign website says 200 days have elapsed since Pritzker first made that pledge.

Although Pritzker pledged two weeks ago that he’d “soon” let voters know how much he pays in taxes, he still refuses to release his returns.

J.B. Pritzker’s hypocrisy on this issue is stunning – as he continues his calls to make the wealthiest pay more in taxes, Pritzker, one of our nation’s wealthiest individuals, continues to hide his own income taxes from the public, even as he orchestrates schemes to cut his own property tax bill.

Illinoisans should be worried if a politician like Pritzker is able to turn the Governor’s Mansion into “A Nightmare On Astor Street.”

###

Posted on

ILGOP Halloween Feature: “A Nightmare on Astor Street”

Warns of spooky future of insider dealings if Madigan’s man Pritzker wins

On the spookiest day of the year, the ILGOP is warning about the frightening future Illinois has in store if people like Mike Madigan and his pick for Governor, J.B. Pritzker, get the chance to set policy for our state. 

Illinois will see more taxes, more backhanded insider dealings, and zero willingness to reform a system that has failed Illinoisans for decades.

All this while Pritzker, one of the richest men in Illinois, took massive tax breaks on his Chicago Gold Coast mansion. As part of his tax-dodging scheme, Pritzker had the toilets removed from his spare, buffer mansion so it could be declared “uninhabitable” by Pritzker’s good friend Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios, providing Pritzker with over $230,000 in breaks.

Read more on the A Nightmare on Astor Street page.

###

Posted on

Pritzker and Kennedy Continue to Dodge on Releasing Their Tax Returns

Tuesday’s forum highlighted growing pressure on Pritzker and Kennedy to honor their word, release tax returns

Tuesday’s Democrat gubernatorial forum at Aurora University raised questions for the two candidates who have yet to release their tax returns, J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy, drawing criticism from fellow Democrats.

Both Pritzker and Kennedy pledged to release five-year’s worth of tax returns six months ago, though neither has followed through yet. Daniel Biss set up a counter on his campaign website to mark the days since the candidates made the pledge to release their tax returns, as well as lambasting them publicly for avoiding the subject.

The candidates provided no details on a timetable for releasing their taxes other than saying they will be released “soon,” the same answer each has been telling the media for months.

While the Democrats debate who comes from a wealthier family and dodge on releasing their tax returns, they continue to prove that the Democratic gubernatorial primary is a race to the bottom.


###

Posted on

Pritzker Refuses to Oppose Madigan’s Speakership Because He’s Madigan’s Candidate for Governor

At last night’s Dem debate, Pritzker refused to say if it’s time for Madigan to go

Another day, another attempt from J.B. Pritzker to cover up his close ties to Speaker Mike Madigan.

Last night at an Aurora debate with the Democrat candidates for governor, the candidates were presented with a simple question: should Madigan stay in power. Even though Democrats Daniel Biss and Chris Kennedy have their own close ties to Madigan, they took the question as an opportunity to attack him, with both saying he’s been in office too long and wields too much power.

When it came time for Pritzker to answer the same question, he balked, refusing to say whether Speaker Madigan has been around too long or if it’s time for him to leave state government, surprising no one, as Pritzker is running for governor with Madigan’s blessing.

From the Chicago Tribune’s story, Dem gov. debate: Kennedy, Biss bash Madigan; Pritzker won’t say if it’s time for speaker to go:

“The Democratic candidates for governor sought to sell themselves to primary voters at a Tuesday night forum in Aurora, but much of the focus was on a guy who wasn’t on the stage: veteran Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also heads the Illinois Democratic Party.

“State Sen. Daniel Biss and businessman Chris Kennedy ripped Madigan, saying he’s been in office too long and wields too much power. Meanwhile, entrepreneur and philanthropist J.B. Pritzker, who has received the backing of much of the Democratic establishment, declined to say whether it’s time for Madigan to go.”

Pritzker’s silent support of Madigan’s Speakership comes after he was asked about the same issue at a recent Chicago debate with the Democratic candidates for governor.

When asked about his relationship with Mike Madigan, Pritzker repeatedly dodged the question, fumbling over his inability to change the subject. His discomfort was so plain that after being challenged on the issue by moderator Mary Ann Ahern, Pritzker’s non-answers were met with laughter from the crowd of Democrat activists.

It’s clear – J.B. Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s candidate for governor and even other Democrats aren’t buying Pritzker’s spin.

###

Posted on

ICYMI: Madigan attempting a nasty-to-nice makeover

Illinoisans are keenly aware of the real Mike Madigan – they know he’s bad news

Longtime Speaker of the House Mike Madigan shocked the internet on Friday when it was revealed that Madigan has finally entered the 21st century with the creation of a new Facebook page and website, both ironically branded as “Madigan for Us,” in an attempt to put a positive spin on his tarnished image.

But Illinoisans are keenly aware of the real Mike Madigan and they know he’s bad news. Madigan has been described as “the constant in key decisions that created the mess.” Under Madigan’s watch, Illinois has seen massive tax hikes, out of control pension debt, and the worst-in-the-nation out-migration.

Unfortunately for Madigan, staged pictures of him sporting a smile won’t save him from his decades of destruction.

News outlets have been reporting on Madigan’s “nasty-to-nice makeover”:

Chicago Tribune: The softer side of Michael Madigan

Someone call the police about a missing person. Missing and replaced by a person of interest, actually. A man with a distinct resemblance to House Speaker Michael Madigan has been photographed reading books to children. He is smiling. And they are smiling. And he is wearing a plaid shirt. Where is the real Speaker Madigan and what has someone done with him?

The alleged explanation for the warm, welcoming Michael Madigan is that he’s launched a website, www.madiganforus.com, that attempts to soften his image as a cutthroat politician. He also has a Facebook page and an email address. This is big news. Until recently, Madigan famously didn’t use digital technology, email or social media.

…We wonder if, following the photo shoot with the kids, he handed them each a bill for $45,500. That’s how much accumulated state debt a 2016 Truth in Accounting study determined each Illinois taxpayer owes.

So there you go, kiddos. Scan the website. Enjoy the fairy tales.

The News-Gazette: Jim Dey: Madigan attempting a nasty-to-nice makeover

…So what gives with the Madigan makeover?

There’s no doubt that the millions of dollars the GOP has spent savaging Madigan as a sociopathic politician who puts politics first and policy second has taken its toll on the Democratic Party and its legislative candidates. All of a sudden Democratic legislators are being asked by constituents exactly why Madigan commands so much clout.

Democratic legislators know they must pay fealty to Madigan in Springfield or pay an unacceptably high price for crossing the big man. But they also know that they’ve got to keep that reality to themselves when they’re back home or, alternatively and incredibly, tout their independence from Madigan when talking with gullible constituents.

Chicago Tribune: Mike Madigan smiles!

Mike Madigan — he’s just like us!

…At least, that’s the cuddly face the long-serving Illinois House speaker is projecting on a new-look website. The rebranding exercise appears to be a response to several years of well-funded advertising by Republicans that paint Madigan as the dour, calculating root of all of the state’s problems (Gov. Bruce Rauner last week committed $4.45 million to the GOP’s “2018 Madigan Retirement Plan”).

###

Posted on

Mike Madigan Creates Facebook Page, Website to Put a Happy Face on His Decades of Destruction

Pictures of a smiling Madigan reading to children won’t save him from all the damage he’s done to Illinois

“More than four decades of destruction with massive pension debt, unbalanced budgets, machine politics, and self-dealing – that’s the Madigan record. Welcome to the 21st century, Speaker Madigan, but pictures of you sporting a smile with children won’t save you from all the damage you’ve done to Illinois.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Longtime Speaker of the House and technological dinosaur Mike Madigan shocked the internets on Friday when Capitol Fax reported to the Twittersphere that Madigan has finally entered the 21st century with the creation of a new Facebook page and website, both ironically branded as “Madigan for Us,” with “us” being insiders, special interests, and the political class.

Madigan’s newfound internet presence showcases pictures of a smiling Madigan reading to children, enjoying a cup of coffee with fellow senior citizens, and telling wisecracks to area youngsters outside a grocery store.

But after taking a brief look through the comments on Madigan’s inaugural Facebook post, one will quickly realize that voters aren’t buying the spin.

Madigan is known to virtually all Illinoisans and not in a good way. He has been described as “the constant in key decisions that created the mess.” Under Madigan’s watch, Illinois has seen:

  • Years of pension holidays that led to over $130 billion in debt for Illinois’ five pension systems

Unfortunately for Madigan, staged pictures of him sporting a smile won’t save him from his decades of destruction.

###

Posted on

ICYMI: Taxpayers Rejoice After Soda Tax Repeal, But Chicago Democrats Open Door To Other Tax Hikes

Will “tax fatigue” stop Dem gov candidates from endorsing additional tax hikes?

In a major grassroots victory for Cook County families and taxpayers, the Cook County Board voted yesterday to repeal Toni Preckwinkle’s dreaded Soda Tax. Preckwinkle’s money grab will end on December 1st, but Chicago Democrats have opened the door for new tax hikes, as one Democrat says, “all taxes are in play.”

Poll after poll after poll revealed the Soda Tax’s huge unpopularity, but those polls never pushed the Democrat candidates for governor into action as they sought to curry favor with the Chicago Machine. One candidate, J.B. Pritzker, even pushed the envelope and opposed Springfield legislation that would’ve stopped Chicago politicians from exporting their soda tax to cities and towns across Illinois. Additional tax hikes will most likely be as unpopular as the Soda Tax.

Voters will remember that the Democrat candidates for governor sat on their hands while Illinois families paid the price for Toni Preckwinkle’s lies, but will “tax fatigue” stop those same candidates from endorsing additional tax hikes in Cook County? After the Democrat candidates endorsed Mike Madigan’s 32% tax hike, they will all likely tow the line and stand with Preckwinkle as further taxes may be raised.

News outlets in Illinois and across the country have been following the Soda Tax closely and extensively covered yesterday’s repeal vote:

Fox News: Chicago’s soda tax repealed, in blow to ‘nanny-state crusade’

The Cook County Board voted Wednesday to repeal the Chicago-area county’s controversial soda tax, after a public backlash to the penny-per-ounce charge.

Low-tax advocates cheered the decision as a blow to the “nanny-state crusade.” Cook County, which includes Chicago, was the largest jurisdiction in the country with a soda tax.

USA Today: Soda tax goes flat in Chicago area’s Cook County after clash over health, taxes, sales

A Chicago-area soda tax went flat Wednesday, potentially putting the future of similar measures across the U.S. in jeopardy following a bitter clash between the soda industry, public officials and public health advocates.

A Cook County board committee voted 15-2 to repeal the penny-per-ounce tax after a backlash from store owners, drink companies and bottlers. Cook County includes Chicago and many suburban areas.

CBS Chicago: Cook County Board Overwhelmingly Votes to Repeal Soda Tax

Cook County’s soda tax has officially lost its fizzle. Commissioners voted Wednesday afternoon to repeal the widely unpopular tax, effective Dec. 1.

…Though conciliatory in tone, Preckwinkle never said she had made a mistake in backing the penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax.

The 15-2 vote reflected the overwhelming opposition the tax faced among Cook County residents. Recent polls showed more than 85 percent of people in the county were against the tax.

…Commissioner Sean Morrison led the repeal fight.

“It was the citizens who made this. The citizens who made the phone calls, who wrote the letters. Without their involvement, this likely would not have passed,” Morrison said.

WTTW: Cook County Soda Tax Repealed

Come December, Cook County shoppers and diners will no longer have to swallow and pay a much-reviled tax on sugary drinks after the county board voted Wednesday to repeal it.

The penny-an-ounce tax has only been in effect since August, but a groundswell of public frustration, buttressed by a “Can the Tax” campaign bankrolled by soda companies and retailers, quickly amassed to pressure politicians.

NBC Chicago: Cook County Soda Tax to Be Repealed

The official vote came [yesterday], but Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is predicting tough cuts ahead without the soda tax revenue. NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern reports.

ABC Chicago: Cook County Board votes to repeal sweetened beverage tax

The Chicago-area’s penny-per-ounce tax on soda and sweetened drinks was repealed Wednesday after a months long conflict that included a court battle and millions of dollars’ worth of television ads on both sides.

The Cook County Board voted 15-2 to end the tax starting December 1. The vote came just more than two months after the tax took effect August 2.

In a near unanimous vote, the Cook County Board repealed the unpopular sugary drink tax on Wednesday.

Associated Press: County officials vote to repeal Chicago-area soda tax

The Chicago-area’s penny-per-ounce tax on soda and sweetened drinks was repealed Wednesday after a monthslong conflict that included a court battle and millions of dollars’ worth of television ads on both sides.

The Cook County Board voted 15-2 to end the tax starting Dec. 1. The vote came just more than two months after the tax took effectAug. 2.

Chicago Sun-Times: Cook County Board repeals soda tax

The tax has been controversial since it was narrowly passed by the board. Preckwinkle cast the deciding vote when commissioners deadlocked on the measure.

…Commissioner Sean Morrison (R-Palos Park), who introduced the repeal motion, said now is the time to consider “appropriate fiscal solutions.” He was optimistic about the upcoming budget talks, saying “this is the time for a new fiscal course for Cook County.”

Chicago Tribune: Cook County retailers cheer soda tax repeal: ‘This was a nightmare’

Daniel Stein estimates Cook County’s sweetened beverage tax has cost his vending machine company about $75,000 so far, a figure that doesn’t even include lost sales.

The Dec. 1 repeal of the penny-per-ounce tax on sugar and artificially sweetened beverages likely will cost him more before it’s all over. He’ll again have to send technicians to his 850 or so vending machines in Cook County to adjust the price of products. But Stein feels only happiness and relief that the tax that’s consumed his life for months will soon go away.

“I don’t want to sound judgy but this whole thing has been kind of unfortunate. I’m just glad it’s almost over. … Closure is good,” said Stein, owner of Northbrook-based Mark Vend.

Daily Herald: Cook County soda tax dumped; Preckwinkle blames ‘tax fatigue’

…Preckwinkle has won both previous terms by wide margins, but her popularity has dipped in recent months due to her steadfast support of the tax, which she said had the dual purpose of increasing the health of residents and sparing the county from layoffs.

…The repeal effort in recent months became a nationally watched battle, with former New York mayor and billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg spending $13 million to keep the tax in place and the beverage and restaurant industry spending millions to can it.

Elgin Courier-News: Elgin businesses welcome repeal of ‘agressive, regressive’ pop tax

Elgin-area business owners near the Kane County border celebrated the repeal Wednesday of Cook County’s short-lived tax on sweetened beverages.

“I am very pleased the commissioners — most of the commissioners — listened to their constituents over this arduous ordinance,” said David Bear, of the Bear Family McDonald’s franchise, which includes locations in Elgin, South Elgin and other places inside and outside Cook County.

Chicago Sun-Times: SWEET: Big Soda beats Bloomberg in Cook County tax fight

…The Cook County pop tax: Conceived Nov. 10, 2016, when Cook County Board members approved the one-cent-per-ounce Sweetened Beverage Tax. Born on Aug. 2, 2017, its effective date. Date of death was decreed by a 15-2 repeal vote on Wednesday. The tax dies at the end of the county fiscal year, midnight on Nov. 30.

Bloomberg is crusading for higher taxes on sugary drinks as a way to reduce the obesity epidemic in this nation, with allies including the American Heart Association, active in the Cook County fight.

…In 2017, however, Bloomberg’s team is hitting a rough patch when it comes to beverage taxes. Will the Cook County repeal give the beverage industry anti-tax drive momentum?

Washington Post: Chicago’s soda tax fizzled after 2 months. What does it mean for the anti-soda movement?

Less than two months after the country’s largest soda tax went into effect, embattled lawmakers in Cook County are already poised to repeal it.

The tax has been plagued, in its very short life, by legal challenges, implementation glitches and a screeching, multimillion-dollar media battle between the soda industry and public health groups. On Tuesday, in recognition of growing public pressure, Cook County’s Board of Commissioners is expected to vote to roll back the tax, effective as soon as Dec. 1.

Chicago Tribune: Commentary: Why I voted to keep Cook County’s soda tax

Unfortunately, repeal of the sweetened beverage tax also repeals the law that prohibited the raising of any taxes by Cook County until after 2020. This tax limitation covered property taxes, sales taxes and home-rule excise taxes. The repeal of the tax limitation means all taxes are in play.

Washington Examiner: Michael Bloomberg wasted $10 million trying to convince Chicago-area Cook County to keep its soda tax

Residents of Cook County, Ill., which encompasses Chicago are celebrating a much-needed win for consumer freedom on Wednesday, with the Board of Commissioners opting to repeal the wildly-unpopular sweetened beverage tax in a landslide vote of 15-2.

…But basing budget plans on a tax that applies to a narrow category of products, especially ones whose popularity is declining, is a poor approach to public finance. Lawmakers never know how consumers will react to such a tax putting serious question marks over their revenue projections.

Soda taxes are doubly objectionable because they have a disproportionate impact on the poor. Soda taxes necessarily hit low-income consumers the hardest because they spend a higher proportion of their budget on groceries than high-income families.

Forbes: Chicago-Area Soda Tax Repealed Despite Billionaire Bloomberg’s Ad Buys

The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday voted to repeal a controversial penny-per-ounce soda tax after a public outcry and intense lobbying by Chicago’s business community.

The vote comes despite a recent multi-million-dollar advertising blitz in the Chicago media market by billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg to save the Cook County “sweetened beverage tax.” Bloomberg, while mayor of New York, was unsuccessful in banning super-sized sugary drinks in the city.

###

Posted on

ILGOP Launches 2018 Madigan Retirement Plan

Gov. Rauner kick-starts ILGOP initiative to revitalize local GOP organizations and defeat Democrats who empower Madigan 

Today, the Illinois Republican Party launched the 2018 Madigan Retirement Plan. The initiative will specifically target members of the Illinois House and Senate who empower their political boss, Mike Madigan. Through the 2018 Madigan Retirement Plan, the Illinois Republican Party will also offer unprecedented support to local GOP organizations by providing innovative grassroots tools, enhanced digital and data integration, and targeted support for local Republican candidates in an effort to defeat Democrats at every level who empower their party leader, Mike Madigan.

The longest serving House speaker in United States history, Mike Madigan was first elected to the Illinois House in 1970 and rose to the speakership in 1983. In 1998, Madigan was elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. At the end of his current term in the House, Madigan will have been a member of the Illinois General Assembly for 48 years, speaker of the House for 34 years, and chairman of the Democratic Party for 21 years.

Today, the Illinois Republican Party received a $4,450,000 contribution from Governor Rauner’s campaign to launch the 2018 Madigan Retirement Plan. In total, the Illinois Republican Party has received $6.6 million from Governor Rauner’s campaign this year.

Below is a statement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider on the 2018 Madigan Retirement Plan:

“Four decades in power is long enough, and with Governor Rauner’s support, Illinois Republicans can ensure 2018 is Mike Madigan’s last year as Speaker. Governor Rauner has shown time and time again that he is committed to revitalizing the Republican Party in the state of Illinois. Thanks to Gov. Rauner’s unprecedented commitment, we are now closer than ever to retiring Speaker Mike Madigan once and for all.”

###

Posted on

Democrats Let Illinois Taxpayers Down

Gubernatorial candidates did nothing to protect taxpayers from Soda Tax overreach

“The Cook County Soda Tax was nothing but a lie from the very beginning. Even the tax’s most ardent supporter, Toni Preckwinkle, admitted that the tax was just for the money, and never really about public health. Thanks to the efforts of taxpayers across the county, Preckwinkle’s absurd money grab is finished.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Illinois citizens won a major victory today as the Cook County Soda Tax has finally been repealed.

While the victory should be lauded as a grassroots effort, it should not be overlooked that the Democrats running for governor sat on their hands while residents paid the price for Toni Preckwinkle’s lies.

Trying to balance favor between Mike Madigan and Toni Preckwinkle, they refused to act on behalf of the Cook County taxpayers, leaving the citizens saddled with yet another Chicago Democrat tax hike.

Today’s repeal is a major blow to Preckwinkle and the rest of the Chicago Democrats’ tax-and-spend ideology. Now, they will have to work together with Cook County Republicans and find smarter ways to utilize the taxpayers’ money.

And as for the Democrats running for governor, Illinois voters will remember their inaction.

###

Posted on

Democrats Opposed Education Program Benefitting Illinois’ Neediest Kids

The first-ever scholarship tax credit program will help families provide a better education for their children

With the landmark education funding legislation that Governor Rauner signed into law, Illinois has its first-ever scholarship tax credit program to help children receive a better education, in addition to the highest level of public education funding ever.

The scholarship program is specifically designed to help Illinois’ neediest children. Only students whose families earn less than 300% of the poverty level are elligible for the scholarships. Programs such as this have been praised by education advocates as empowering for low-income children.

The Democrats running for governor, however, all opposed the scholarship program. And the candidates spoke out in opposition to the compromise bill that passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Rauner.

J.B. Pritzker promised to do away with this program, taking away school choice from the thousands of low-income children it is designed to help. He continues to tout his opposition as well as his running mate’s ‘no’ vote on the compromise.

Chris Kennedy and Ameya Pawar also oppose providing low-income children with the opportunity to choose what educational opportunities are best for them. According to them, providing Illinois’ neediest families with the ability to choose the best education for their children is “wrong.”

State Sen. Daniel Biss not only voiced his opposition, but cast his vote against the compromise bill. Biss called it “absurd” to include a program that directly benefits needy communities in the state.

Time after time, the Democrat gubernatorial candidates have shown that they do not stand on the side of the people. Their united opposition to historic reform is a clear example that their policies are wrong for our children and wrong for Illinois.

###