Tales from the DarkSide(Bruce Ruiner's way of politics)

During my travels throughout the lovely Illinois landscape, I pick up some very interesting reports about our illustrious, hard-working, by the bootstraps gov. Or so he'd like us to believe.
So....for those of us who have been involved with working for the state, we know about Governor Quinn denying some contractual pay increases in the last couple of years. This was found not to be very nice and state employees won(yes, through AFSCME) the back pay for those increases. BUT...it's been dragging on and on and on.
So fast forward to 2015. There are 2 bills being considered to address the back pay as a supplemental budget item, one from a Democrat(Sue Sherer-Decatur), one Republican(central/downstate who has constituents that have been harmed), and just pay those that are still owed. Much of the back pay has already been paid, let's get it over with and done, right? So, the republican bill goes to committee faster, the roll call is great, everyone wants this to get done, the bill will pass out of committee easily, but....the rep is no where to be found...see, the representative who sponsored the bill has to call the bill before committee--not a co-sponsor, not a committee member, but the republican representative who authored the bill refuses to come to committee. Why? Because the Governor's staff have "reached out" to this representative and told him that he will NOT bring this to committee because the governor doesn't want him to(and we all know about that $20 Million PAC to primary those that don't listen to Lord Ruiner). Let that set in for a minute...even tho the courts have ruled that state employees are due the back pay because our contracts are just as sacrosanct as banksters, even tho this is a bipartisan endeavor that all support, Ruiner intimidates a representative to NOT do what is right by his constituents..so, Sue Scherer's bill had to be approved quickly before the deadline ran out for this session.
Now, this Republican legislator has always worked for his constituency, his constituency was directly affected by the back pay issue. Yes, a back pay bill was approved to go to the floor, but all of a sudden, this became an us vs. them rather than a bill that was right and fair, all approved. Per capita, there are probably more people that will be effected by this bill in downstate areas(that are more republican) but Ruiner didn't want the Republican party, HIS party, attached to it.

Another report of Bullying(assholeness):
Bruce the Ruiner. although he hasn't filed a single piece of legislation during this session, he's posted his Turnaround Illinois bullet list on the gov's website. OK, he won, he can post whatever he wants, but, unlike running a company, you don't just get to make policy and it's Law. is inviting our elected representatives to have breakfast/lunch with him. During this time he's pressing what he feels is the right way for his ideology for Illinois. He doesn't have any real bills, he doesn't want his fingerprints on the wreckage of the middle class. So he just plays the game of, "I feel this is what is good" and good to him is to make the rich much richer and the rest of us? Have we read a Christmas Carol before Scrooge had a heart?
So the governor calls in 3-4 legislators in, dems and repubs. He gives them his speech about how great right to work zones would be and if prevailing wage is something of the past, we don't need no steenkin union wages, the reps ask the gov, where's your legislation, "well here's my proposal and you'll know what to do" and gives them his "Turnaround Illinois" manifesto that's on the governor's website. In one meeting, Ruiner met with 4 democratic  reps and a majority of them were also union members. His agenda was the right to work for less, getting rid of the pension protection, etc. Rauner tells the reps, we're not that far apart, I need 7 bills..so the lawmakers ask, where's your legislation? Rauner says to them, well, you'll know what I need, here's my plan, when you read this you'll be on board, you'll see; we're very close to being on the same page. When more questions are asked, he starts talking about how corrupt unions are, how unions are one of the reasons that businesses are leaving(which is another lie),etc. So, one of the reps states, "Governor, I'm a union member. What your plan has is damaging to my constituents and my fellow union members, I won't vote against them."
At this time, Ruiner gets very frustrated, the smile is gone and he looks at the rep and asks, "Do you know how many union members are in Illinois?" The rep answers, "About 11%" Ruiner hits the table with his hand and yells, "NO! (pound) 11(pound) point(pound) 4 percent!" Do you know how many union members will be in Illinois in 4 years?!! Zero(pound) point (pound) Zero!"
Sorry, I wasn't sure how to show his emphatic pounding on table to while trying to make his point. Now, actually, both Ruiner and the representative were wrong, About 15% of Illinois' working population are union workers, but the point is clear. All Rauner wants to do is to bring back a feudal system where the rich keep everything and we work until we die(or starve, guess that'd be OK in his world also).
Just like your normal, everyday sociopath......

Bruce Ruiner: Crazier than a 3 Act Monty Python Play

OK, I'm having a bit of fun coming up with silly titles, bear with me, but they are apropos.

On February 9th, Rauner signed an executive order declaring that fair share is dead for public employees in Illinois because he doesn't believe that forcing non-union employees to pay union dues requires them to fund political activity they don't agree with, which they don't cuz it's illegal.

Really? Didn't he go to the King Ronnie Reagan bible school? Doesn't he know that King Ronnie signed into law that public employees union dues cannot be used in political campaigns?!?!?

We do have a voluntary PAC that we can donate to if we feel it's a good thing(yes, I do donate...in fact I just doubled my monthly donation a couple of months ago).

Or, maybe it's just that he doesn't really care about facts or truth, he just cares about getting his way because that's what he's done through out his business career, umm, Bruce? You're not in Kansas(Wall Street) any longer. This, my dear boy, is the real world where even lowly clericals get to have a say in their workplaces.

So, then he "hires" Dan Webb, from Winston and Strawn law firm(the law firm that Jim Thompson is also a partner) to fight the evil union thugs in court. Mr. Webb is so sure of this white knight of uber rich that he will do this "pro bono", yep folks, that's right for free. Free. Now, I know that some big, expensive law firms take on one or two pro bono jobs per year, but those are usually for people who can't afford to hire them. Let's remember that this is a governor that signs what is supposed to be a legal state document which is usually enforced by the attorney general. But this yahoo knight hires a private attorney?

ButButBut, there's MORE!
All of a sudden there is more movement--Lisa Madigan, the state Attorney General says this is a contractual matter and cannot be undone by an executive order. Leslie Munger, Illinois Comptroller, states that she will not break the law and will ignore the governor's executive order(and she's a republican that was appointed by said yahoo white knight) and lo and behold! Dan Webb backs out because his firm has some conflicts of interest...it wouldn't look very good that the firm already has private clients that are suing the state and now have a governor of the state suing the state?

Well, that's OK, cuz the White Knight Bruce accosted another buddy/attorney to take the case...Phil Beck, who's claim to fame is the Bush v Gore supreme court fight, which, even tho Gore won the popular vote(and the presidency), Beck was instrumental in the staged protests and BS to ensure a Bush presidency(and the demise of the middle class in America). They will shove this crap into the federal courts...but, wait a minute...if it's dealing with state law(which Bruce idiot is), doesn't that belong in state courts because of that 10th amendment? Oh, but I am talking about Bruce Almighty who thinks he's above the law...and playing the bi-polar governor....

County board public comments, or..."I am a small business owner and I just stumbled on this meeting without any knowledge of anything"....

On 2/11, I to the DuPage county board meeting watching the republican government at work. We have 3 Democratic board members and 12 Republican so it can be a bit one sided. We are of the "upper middle class" venue if you listen to our...um....County Board. It is true that DuPage county has a much higher average income over many other areas of Illinois(our average is $78,000, Illinois average is $55,000), but there are 9 counties, that have an average income of higher than Illinois' median average, all but 2 are northern counties. My opinion? I think our "higher income" is not because of the republicon twitch, but because we're located near Chicago, as are the other 6 counties that make above the median(and that includes Cook).
Full disclosure: the reason I was at these particular meetings was due to my involvement with A Better Illinois, which is a grassroots group that is trying to get a ballot referendum on for the next general election that allows the voters of Illinois the ability to choose a graduated income tax(like 34 of the states now have) or stay with our antiquated misnomer tax system of "flat" which includes corporate loopholes galore. Illinois' tax system has not been really updated since the 1970's and is one of the biggest problems with our funding problems in the Land of Lincoln.
So...I'm sitting and listening to the workings of the board, who are basically wasting time and tax funds by holding a meeting to discuss the viability of sending a resolution to the State Assembly, which doesn't do anything at all in the actual process of putting the referendum on the ballot. Yep, just blowing smoke up their own asses...see how import'nt we are? Not much.
During the meeting there is time for public comment. Yes, I was there to speak, but I wasn't the only one.
There were representatives from different chapters of the League of Women Voters, IEA(one of the teacher's unions) and just regular old folks, shucks, who just came to speak...the same words...over and over again....blah blah blah"blank check", blah blah blah "we pay too much already", blah blah blah "businesses are going to move out!" All seemed to have the same message, sort of like the Stepford wife routine. I smelled something fishy. So, when I got home, I got on the google machine. See, the meetings are taped and you can watch everything over and over again...and everyone's name was right there so it was pretty easy to find out who these people were and what planet they're from.

So, one of the first person that struck me as a bit of a ranty lunatic was Glen Luckinbill who introduced himself as a "small business owner", in fact he said that he owned a business and his wife owned a business--the wording made it sound like there were at least 2 in the family, although there's only one that comes up on the web..which his wife is the president and he the sales executive(hmmm....wonder if they get that lucrative "minority" status since she's the prez?). He went on to say that they used to employ 30, now they employ 17 because of taxes(although the read on the company shows only 3 employees, including the Luckinbills, although I could be missing something), not, of course because of the recession that we've been in, that had nothing to do with it, just taxes. He also said that he and his wife are paying almost 50% of their profits in taxes now and if this went through, OH MY GOD! They'd have to move to another state. OK, so my first question, Who the Hell is doing your taxes?!?!!??!?! There isn't a smart business in this country that's paying that much and if that's true...DUDE, call me, I bet I can do better(but I will be charging him a "gullible" fee).

So the next brainiac I'd like to introduce you to is Jerry Schilling--talk about batshit crazy....I'm talking so far right, he don't make left turns when driving. He began his rant about how we pay too much in taxes, every year the state, county, municipal and other government institution raise taxes, fees, codes and we're being bled to death by taxes! He doesn't want to pay anything in taxes! OK. I really wanted to ask him how he thinks the roads would have been plowed by his house without paying taxes(we've had over 60" of snow), the snow plow fairies???? And the actual fact is that Illinois is a low tax state--we don't tax services, storage, entertainment, automotive service as do all of the states that surround us. We also have a lower tax rate than all of the states that surround us except Indiana(and its Indiana...where they tax services like hair cuts).
So, now what's his background? First, he's in his late 60's/early 70's so unless he's too silly not to retire, he's not paying state income taxes because Illinois doesn't tax retirement income! He runs a blog that complains about every little single thing that government does and he also writes for another rightwing blog(West Suburban Patriots) about, basically the same thing. He also seems to rant alot at the Naperville council meetings and is very upset by the whole smart meter thing, to the point of making a conspiracy out of it.

Then there's Victoria Deppe. Again, the phrases, "worst business climate", "worst unemployment", "highest sales tax", "will raise taxes on those making $18K), "Need to reform pensions and regulations" Illinois is "3rd highest in taxes and unemployment"...so many lies, so little time.
But who is Victoria Deppe? Well she writes on the Illinois Review right wing site, she's involved with the right wing Convention of States that wants to hold a Federal Constitutional Convention cuz they're tired of the Federal Government gettin' in their bidness. This "group" is the loving baby of Mark Levin and Glen Beck and...wait for it...ALEC--so that says how far right and out of step it is with the normal population. And she's a CHRISTIAN!!!! No, not a Christian, but a CHRISTIAN!!!!!, one that embraces the bible and bigotry if the websites that she's on are any evidence...again, she wants gomminint outta her bidness, but also wants gomminint all up in our bedroom bidness. And although I didn't see her being directly invovled in WSP, the Convention of States crap is all over that site.
Hmmm...do I see a pattern, not only of words, but of political bents?
But it gets stoopider....
We have Greg G. from Downers Grove  who's unemployed...but he's also 51 and there has been so much written about how many workers have been laid off cuz of their age..no, that's not it, its cuz of taxes..and rich people are job creators(again, the rich person who doubles as the welfare agency...just create a job without profit? I don't think so). He can't pay more in income tax cuz he paid close to $6K for property tax...in Downers Grove...where I live...I had some scepticism about this cuz he was trying to play the "just middle class unemployed worker" so, since his address was mentioned in the hearings, I looked up his taxes...silly boy...don't you understand the interwebs? He paid less than $5K, yes still a lot, but why LIE about it unless you were playing dramaqueen? Again, property tax is not income tax...and, because of other laws in the Illinois tax structure, if Illinois had a fairer tax system, we in this area are assured to receive more funding which would bring down our property taxes...DUH. Oh...and he mentioned its a "spending" problem again.

So then we have Carol Davis who said she only made $40K a year working 2 jobs. She lives in Carol Stream. The only Carol Davis that comes up in Carol Stream is one that owns a business that makes over $70K.Now, those silly interwebs, they can come up with anyone that lives in an area that has a phone number/address...so, if this isn't the person that owns the $70K business, maybe she lives in a cardboard box behind McDonald's. She was all, "I've never resented a wealthy person, because I never got a job from a poor one"...OH HAHAHAH. And there's no rich person or small business person who makes up a job without having a need for it...and, again, that means that I'm the job creator(because my money is spent, not shipped to the Caymen Islands), not Mr. Moneybags. Oh, and she's on the West Suburban Patriots band wagon and a "prepper"(one that is preparing for the end of the world, as we know it). You know the ones that like to hoard food, weapons, etc. and talk about how their neighbors are the crazy ones? Cuz they're gonna have to shoot their neighbors when the collapse comes down.

So, on to the next economic superstar, Hugh Hamill. He owns a jewelry store...one that sells to other jewelers and customers that make appointments to be serviced...we ain't talking Zales, here! High end/luxury type customers. So, he says, again, we're bankrupt, too much spending, blah blah blah. Oh, and he's going to move his business to Tennessee because Tennessee has no personal income tax. Well, he's right on that to a point, but Tennessee does have an annual 6% tax on all income made by capital gains and investments..you know, stocks and stuff. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Hamill probably has a couple or 3 dollars invested and prolly will pay a capital gains tax considering his business and wealth--hmmm...maybe he didn't think this out too well?

Then there was Jan Shaw, from Wheaton, who's big splash on the google machine is that she ran for a School Board seat and made some disparaging remarks about special needs students...oh, and she is/was a board member on the teabagger site, West Suburban Patriots. This pattern isn't just developing, its a freaking snowstorm!

Then, there was Heidi Holan, again, she also is on WSP. She's also running for office in Illinois. She also has absolutely no knowledge about tax structures or math. Yep the, "spending issues", went into the definition of "fair" from Webster's Dictionary and then told this bizarre story about her 2 sons cutting wood, she pays them $10 an hour, one son works for 9 1/2 hours and she pays him 91.43(she took out the 3.75% for the old Illinois income tax) and the other worked for 10 hours and she paid him $89, cuz she took out the 11% made up income tax...huh?????? That's not how a graduated tax works anyway(both would pay 3.75% on the first bracket of $95, and only the other $5 would be taxed at a higher rate, no bracket jumps up by 8%) but there is absolutely nothing in the referendum about brackets! Is this how taxes work in Heidiland???? Because its not the way they work in the real world. So, she wants to be in the General Assembly and doesn't even understand basic taxes???? Really???? And who works their kids for that long chopping wood????

Of course there were the handwringers from the Koch and ALEC backed Americans for Prosperity and the Illinois Policy Institute, both of which have been shown to be partisan and lapdogs for the uber greedy rich. Both of the spokespersons mention how this would raise taxes on those incomes that were under $18,000, one of them said that it would start at $5000...again, no rates have been scheduled and the only structures that have been spoken about favorably all use similar scales as the CTBA, which would end at less than 7% for the wealthiest and no income tax for those who make less than $9000.., but then when you don't understand basic tax policy and think math is hard, I guess 7 and 11 are the same and paying no income tax until you reach $9000 is the same as paying taxes at $5000.

How crazy are these people? And, just how mean-spirited, selfish and greedy? Boggles the mind of compassionate, thinking people.

"Reboot Illinois" or, better name: Rubout Illinois

Reboot Illinois is, allegedly, a "non-partisan" journalistic website/entity that just cares about the financial abuse of our state. It has no agenda, except "reform" and of course, shows "both sides" of an argument, debate or issue...sure. Just ask them.
ReBoot Illinois began within the last couple of years and began by attacking pensions. Yes, I know we have an unfunded pension liability, but we also, as a state, promised state workers that if they took LESS money during their employment, they'd enjoy a secure retirement. The outrageous pensions are those of politicians and appointees, not the average worker.
But I digress...stepping on correct soapbox...

Reboot Illinois is the baby of Anne Griffin. So who is she? She is the wife of Kenneth Griffin and the founder of Aragon Global Management LLC(Hedge fund/vulture capitalist).
She was a major contributor to Emanuel's mayoral campaign to the tune of about $100,000(who favors privatized schools rather than public, as Ms. Griffin does), and a contributor($30,000) to a shadow right wing PAC(Paul Ryan's PAC), Campaign for Primary Accountability. Another $1 Million went to the Romney campaign, Restore our Future. So, she's going to have a so-called "non-partisan" "journalistic" website? Sure...and pigs fly.

But it gets even better...or worse.
Some of the other PACs($467,100 between 2010 and 2012) she has contributed to:

Prosperity Action, of which 100% of contributions went to Republicons
Republican National Committee
National Republican Senatorial and Congressional Committee
Batshit crazy Aaron Schock "Victory Committee"
Every Republican is Craven...oops Crucial(Eric Cantor's PAC)
American Crossroads($250,000)
John McCain 2008
Republican Party of KY(when Paul was running)

So, I'm sorry if I'm not buying the "non-partisan" crap, but really? Millions of $$$ for the right(and many times for the bat shit crazy right), nothing for progressive candidates, but her so called reform site is non-partisan. Ok, so how about a look at the issues on the website and where this "reform" stands on these journalistic adventures.

First and foremost: Overblown Pensions....those evil bloodsucking teachers and state employees who made billions of dollars during their lifespan...ooops, wait a minute, that's Ms. Griffin and her peers...ummm...pensions are badbadbadbad. They are the reason that education has gone down in Illinois, this is the reason that Illinois has such high taxes!!! Its the reason that businesses are leaving Illinois and everybody absofreakinlutely hatehatehates pensions and the loathsome sloths who receive them!

Umm, time to breathe. First the reason education has gone down is because, truthfully, the state has not been funding education as it should, but that has nothing to do with pensions. Education funding is low because Illinois hasn't been paying their bill for that either! But, really, to use the tired argument that we can pay for this or that, but not both is disingenuous and just stupid. The flip of that coin is that Reboot Illinois is the drunken cheerleader for corporate schools...you know, charters? The ones that they can pay the teachers little to nothing, no benefits, work long hours and make money for the corporation that owns them? The ones that haven't shown they are any better than most public, neighborhood schools except they get to pick and choose their students. That means that the kid with a learning or physical disability? Might not make the cut and screw any kid with emotional issues...don't even darken their corporate door! Oh, the beatitudes that are fostered upon charter schools from this website and their co-conspirators would have you believing if your child goes to their "choice" schools, s/he will begin to fart gold.

And, lets not forget the 67% tax lie. See, a couple of years ago, Illinois general assembly voted to raise our measly ass flatulent tax from 3% to 5 for individuals and 5% to 7 for corporations...now, to anyone that can actually do math, that means you are paying 2 cents on the dollar more...if you have no deductions. WHAT!? There are DEDUCTIONS  on our flat tax???? OH YES...whole helluva lot for the corporate whores out there, among other ways to screw the state, but I've written about that in the past. So...how do you come up with a 67% tax increase? By dividing what you paid before by what you pay now. This way, you get everyone thinking that your taxes are like 2/3 of you income, rather than your taxes are $.05(or .07) on the dollar...LESS THAN ALL BUT ONE STATE IN THIS AREA(except, of course, Indiana...but who wants to live in Indiana? They have higher property taxes, higher sales tax, less education programs...ok, sorry this should be another rant...er...post).

Oh, and while the darling of the right wing gets adoration(Scott Walker), the right wing has failed, as has Rubout Illinois(I like this name better) that Scott Walker has caused Wisconsin to become one of the worst states for job creation. In the mean time, while Scottie boy has lost about 10,000 jobs, Illinois has gained over 30,000 jobs. Huh? We gained? Wouldn't be able to tell that from Rubout IL, now could you?

So, why am I so aggravated about this type of site? Because too many of my fellow state retirees fall for their lies. Now, I understand that these same retirees are prolly duped by Faux News also, but how is it that retirees, knowing that their security depends on their pension, can fall for this? Why won't they actually research where this crap comes from? 
Could it be cuz they're still drinking the Ronnie kool-aid? If you tell a lie over and over, sooner or later the naive and the unknowledgeable will believe. Just sad. Now all of you who are retirees, TIME TO RESEARCH, TO INVESTIGATE, TO EDUCATE! Don't let them cut you with your own knife. Please.

The Governor's Race in Illinois

Oh goodie, another governor's race, another let down. The governor's race in Illinois is starting up...and already it doesn't bode too well for many that will be directly effected by the outcome. We have at least 2 darlings for the teabaggers, 1 1/2 for the dollarcrats, poor Kirk Dillard, who's been forced to dumb down so as to look like a teabagger...but not one for citizens who are intelligent and compassionate, at least so far.
So, the players of today:
Patrick Quinn: The Governor as of today. I always feel a bit sorry for Mr. Quinn. He was the true outsider, in his day, he was the face of CUB, Citizen's Utility Board, he's been a force in the 'outsider's' club, he was fired by Harold Washington because of his inability to get involved with day to day politics...he knew how to agitate, not negotiate...in fact, he is the true outsider, unlike Rauner who knows how to grease palms. BUT that causes a big problem when you're governor cuz he's the one that has no friends. That can work in campaign ads, but it doesn't work after the election, specially when you're dealing with Mike Madigan.
Bill Daley: All I can say is always running on the coattails....he has never won a political position, but has been given many. In fact, when he's thought about running, he jumps out before the opposition polling attacks. Also, another Dollarcrat--not Democrat; a lapdog for the Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Federation. He was involved with my nemesis, the evil Chase Bank...
Bruce Rauner: Well, he does own a German Wirehaired Pointer, one point in his favor. One point...but he's also given $$$$$ to break the Chicago Teacher's Union(he was instrumental in getting the bill passed that made it illegal for Chicago teachers to strike unless they had a 75% pro-strike vote...and the teachers outsmarted him by getting over 75% of a strike vote--he's still pissed about this), he's on the board of a charter school corporation, and brought the "Stand For Children"(read screw the teachers) group to Illinois(their policy insists that charter schools are the end all/be all and teacher's unions are evil...teachers should just feel blessed that they get to teacher our brats....err....angels and get paid a little better than minimum wage). He's listed on 21 Boards
And who did he speak to while trying to make up his mind to run? Scott Walker--who's placed WI in 50th place in the union in keeping jobs and enticing new businesses, Bobby "The Exorcist" Jindahl, who has allowed charter schools to run amok in Lousiana...and is consistently in the bottom 10 of educational ability of states(and the same for jobs), Chris Christie--another teacher abuser(notice how all of these 'men' enjoy abusing women?), and just signed a bill to allow 50 caliber weapons in NJ---after he said he wouldn't, and, last, but not least...although probably the smallest, Mitch Daniels--again, abuse of teachers, championed a right to work for less law in Indiana. And the Trib says this guy is fascinating--just like a train wreck, I imagine, for working people.
And, of course, he's running as the "outsider", although he's been on winning end of political appointments. You know, the ones in charge that aren't elected. He blames the "union bosses" for all of the issues with the state, never the corporate welfare that Illinois vomits out(Sears, Caterpillar, Google, CME, Office Max...and on and on and on...oh, and giving these big corporations tax cuts/rebates/refunds and not paying the bill). I'm always amazed when I hear how much power I have as a "union thug/boss" while still having to fight for the pension that I paid up to 9% of my income into...while the state hung out with the likes of Rauner(who, by the way made his money with...wait for it...outsourcing our jobs to other countries!). He's been outspoken on how our economy hurts Illinois' ability to create jobs while praising Walker...although since Walker took over Wisconsin, he's lost about 10,000 jobs...and Illinois has gained over 30,000 jobs. Seems like Rauner can't even understand basic math. OK, so his math issue may be to blame for his non-payment of taxes in Cook County.
Kirk Dillard(R): If Dillard had won the last governor's primary, he'd probably be governor now. He knows how to talk to both sides of the aisle, knows how to negotiate. BUT since his run in with teabagger Chris Nybo, he's been dancing with the right wing crazies...so will the real Kirk Dillard, please stand up...
Bill Brady: He made his money the old fashioned way--he married it. He plays the "pull yourself up be the bootstraps" crap without telling people how he made his money(again, so....was he on his knees?) Another CINO(christian in name only). Would love to get rid of worker protection for public employees and thinks right to work for less is just fantastic...
Dan Rutherford(R): Rutherford is a life long politician. He's been a state representative(93-2002), state senator(02-10), born in Pontiac, was a "business executive" before running for office, of course that was 20 years ago. Recently, he's come out against the new education initiative, Common Core Standards, which does have conservative support...except for the likes of teabaggers and Glenn Beck. Although he voted for civil unions in Illinois, he's against marriage equality, feeling that a 24 hour marriage in Vegas between a man and a woman holds much more love/honor than a 40 year same sex relationship. And what do you serve with hypocrisy, Mr. Rutherford? He's also a member of ALEC, which doesn't bode well for middle class/working Illinoisans.
So, there's my take on how our governor race is shaping up....sad to say, but unless Dillard decides to be Kirk Dillard and not Kirk"OH PLEASE...I'LL VOTE FOR BATSHIT CRAZY RIGHT WING LEGISLATION!!!", I may be voting for Quinn again.

Governor Quinn is being a mouse turd

Yeah, I get it, the state is in financial ruin(if we made the 2/3 corp.that pay no income tax pay like citizens have to, it wouldn't be).
Yeah, I get it, we have a pension(Although I don't get the meme of how much we make, since over 60% make under $25K and no social security).
NO I DON'T GET WHY WE'RE THE PROBLEM!!!!
Governor Quinn decided he's gonna take his ball and go home....just like the mouse turds that use to do that in neighborhood ball---name your sport, football, basketball, baseball---you know the kid. He wasn't able to bully the other kids into what he wanted so his panties got in a bunch and he owned the ball.
REALLY????
Gov. Quinn Cancelled our contract and lied about the reasons why: he said AFSCME wanted too much money, we wouldn't even think about playing ball(not when "playing ball" meant a 20% pay cut). He whined that we were just too mean....
Again, REALLY???
Let's look at what has been happening for the last....oh...30 years...
First, for the employees: Employees have paid into the pension every paycheck their fair share, somewhere between 4 - 9% of their paycheck, every paycheck, towards their pension.
Second, AFSCME has negotiated, for at least the past 30 years to protect pensions--we've gone without raises/benefits/language to keep the pension for our members. Why? Because we thought it was important for our members to be safe during retirement.
Third, the state's reaction to pensions? For the past 30 years, they've acted like a drunken sailor when it came to pension payments. Not only have they not paid their part for at least 26 of the past 30 years, but they took my money out to spend on other things such as projects the governors wanted to do(remember Illinois First? That was done with public employees pension funds) or to pay other funds. And now? Oh, its too much of a bother to pay what they owe...I feel the same way about my mortgage, but I still must pay it - if I want to keep my house. The same for the state of Illinois--if they want to keep their employees, they must pay what is due.
And then, there are the lies that Quinn has told. The first one? Before the election, he spoke about how much retirees made when they retired. He said that if an employee in 1992 was making $65K, that retiree now would have doubled what he was receiving due to the overgenerous COLA...sure. What Quinn didn't relay is that in 1992, the average pension was about $11,000 a year, no where close to $65K(that was the pols and governor appointees) so, even if he is right about the pension doubling in 20 years, that doubling would only amount to $22K for most long term retirees!
And some more lies: Quinn whines he's cancelling the contract because AFSCME is being mean...you know how bullies are, they either intimidate you or snitch that you're being mean...BUT the facts are far from what he's whining about.
AFSCME negotiated a contract, but came back to the table to defer raises and find money savings in health insurance 2 years ago. AFSCME also requested meeting about negotiating changes in retirement earned benefits with only one caveat--that these changes would only effect future retirees, not present ones. The union was rebuffed by the Governor. AFSCME has always tried to work with the state during times of duress, but that doesn't mean we are going to roll over and play dead. Now some facts:

• Quinn is arguing that AFSCME is making excessive demands in negotiations. The truth? AFSCME has been at the bargaining table for almost a year now working in good faith to try to reach a contract settlement. Contrary to the governor’s claims, the Union’s economic proposals have been very moderate in recognition of the state’s dire fiscal condition.
• Quinn tries to give the impression that the Union has been dragging its feet in negotiations. In fact, progress in negotiations has been moving at a snail's pace for only one reason -- the Quinn Administration for more than 10 months was demanding that every employee’s pay had to be cut by 10%. And Administration is the one that cancelled meetings, not AFSCME.
•  Even now the Administration continues to demand that employees’ wages be reduced by demanding a three-year wage/step freeze and massive health care cost increases.  
• Quinn is basing his efforts to drive down employee wages on the lie that Illinois state employee salaries are the highest in the country. NOT TRUE. Although Illinois ranks 7th in the nation for wages, Illinois public employees rank only 9th, compared to other states.  

And, yes, I know, AFSCME endorsed Quinn during the last Governor's election. But I don't think we really had much of a choice, considering Brady(R) veers on teabagger and made his money the old fashioned way---he married into it and Whitney(G) had no game---no ground game, no finance game, no election game. Yes, Mr. Whitney had good ideas, but no one knows who he is, which means, no name recognition for the voters.
So, what happens now? We live in a state that seems determined to bankrupt seniors so 2/3 of Illinois based corporations pay nothing in income taxes. We seem to think its just fine if these seniors lose their homes, their savings, their future, their dignity, but can't change our laws so that the state receives all of the 6.5% of retail tax, instead of retailers keeping about 1.5%(which gives Wallmart an extra $9 million in profits just cuz they don't have to pay the tax to the state).
But, then, there we are--I think the administration of this state would like to pay us the way Wallmart pays their employees...little to nothing and the employees qualify for food stamps and Medicaid...so, then the state budget crisis would just go from so-called pension problem to the Medicaid and food stamp program...but at least the employees of those agencies know what they need to qualify for those benefits. Just very sad and shameful.

Illinois pols say they made bold tough decisions--AGAINST poor kids, the disabled and SENIOR CITIZENS

Well well well...the Illinois general assembly, along with the gov, say they made "bold, tough" decisions by attacking the disabled and senior citizens...ok, they don't say the attack part, but they'd be more honest.
In this last session, they've ended IllinoisCareRX, cut medicaid, attacked State retirees health insurance and are  aiming for my pension next. They would already have it, but the democrats and republicans got into a hissy match and stomped out of session before they could snatch away parts of our pension.
Now, the assembly is just so sorry about making gramma having to choose between electricity and medication, but decisions must be made for the GREATER good...psst...Mr. Cullerton? Madigan? Cross? Rodagno? When you say that? Please realize that I'm NOT THAT STUPID!!!
I guess I could think that all of you are that stupid...or that greedy...ok, greedy over stupid, but did you even pay attention to what you were doing? Do you know what the ramifications are of your actions?
First, Medicaid "reform" or middle class/senior destruction. The changes in Medicaid* which were touted as much needed include:

• Ending the IllinoisCareRX program -- drops drug coverage for 180,000 senior citizens. Yes, ObamaCare does help some of these citizens since ObamaCare gets rid of the doughnut hole, but the doughnut hole isn't gone until 2020 and the people that used this program had already had an income of under $19,000 per year; saves $72,000
• Family Care for Adults --  reduce eligibility to those adults with covered kids to 133% of poverty level and eliminates care for caretakers/adults. This affects about 26,000 citizens...this affects the working poor/lower middle class. We are taking away the ability of parents to get health insurance from the state...when their employer(and yes, I'm calling out mallwart, homedespot and other big box stores) doesn't offer affordable insurance without caveats; saves $50,000.
• Eliminate adult dental, chiropractic, podiatry, group psychotherapy...there is "emergency" adult dental, but does that cover a tooth that needs a root canal and is painful?  I know I missed a couple of days because of that--and I was lucky, I had a union to back me; saves $56,000.
• Limit adult optical(every other year), occupational/physical therapy to 20 visits per year--the optical is not my issue, but the PT? the OT? When I had my knee surgery, it took more than 20 visits before I was OK...now, think about someone who has a stroke? Only 20 visits? That's deplorable; saves $18,000. 
• Adopt policy to not pay for other care services when citizen is in hospice...this one hit home. Last year my mother was sent from a nursing home to the hospital(due to an infection) to hospice and then, after less than a week, we were told she was to go back to the nursing home(and she's still alive)...if medicaid hadn't paid for her bed, we would have had to scramble to find another one; saves $3,000
• *****Reduce home health services; saves $2,000 and how many people will have to go into nursing homes if they can't get home health care???? And how much more will that cost????
• Limit medication to 4 perscriptions per month(need prior approval for more); saves $180,000...hmm...ok, I understand that some people shop doctors, shop 'scripts...BUT...on the other hand...a person has asthma--2 'scripts(an inhaler and a "stableizer") hypertension(one for blood pressure and usually one diauretic) and oh...lung issues, heart issues, HRT, anxiety, depression, other mental health issues, diabetes!!!! People on Medicaid don't go to the doctor until they absolutely have to, which usually means more care is needed, not less.
• Cuts to Hospice support
• Changing asset verification for spouses...I'd love to agree on this one, but I am sure that the only ones that will be caught in this net are the ones not rich enough to hire good attorneys...if you think I'm just blowing smoke, I know people in my area that brag about how they've already hid their parents assets...10 years before there's an issue!
• Cuts to Nursing home Care, so...after the state cuts home health care(see **** bullet point), the state is cutting nursing home care?!?!?!?!?!
• Reduce advance imaging, cardiac imaging, pain management, back surgery(some of it dealing with managed care/care coordination); saves approximately $20,000. Again, part of this I agree with...too many doctors will push up the bill by adding more tests, but on the other hand, Illinois has cut chiropractic care and now wants to limit back surgery???
• Denying pediatric palliative care. For those who don't want to hit the link, Pediatric Palliative care is for children that are either terminal or chronically ill.
• Reduce some provider rates by 2.7%; saves $240,000--this does not include doctors...but...it doesn't spell out, in laymen(citizen) terms, who this will affect.

But, other issues were not addressed, how about actual bold/brave decisions such as:
Make corporations pay their fair share! Two Thirds of Illinois corporations pay no state income tax! But the only thing I ever hear on the tv is how high Illinois' tax rate is and its running corporations out of the state! So, they're trying to find a state that will pay THEM????? Can we just say the truth-they're greedy bastards. One very good post by Curtis Black(Truth Out) brings up some very good points about how horrifically biased Illinois tax structure is towards wealthy/corporations. Although Illinois has a so-called flat tax which is regressive by nature, we've also grabbed a bunch of loopholes/deductions from the federal tax code that benefits the upper class more so than middle or lower.
Raise revenue by:

• Getting rid of the Single Sales Factor There is a very good explanation of this procedure on page 4 & 5 of the Closing Corporate Loopholes,Bolstering Illinois Budget by the Good Jobs First organization 
• Getting rid of certain deduction which allow for dividend paid by foreign corporations to US parent corporations located in Illinois(this costs about $400 million annually) and the reduces tax bills for Illinois corporations that produce in other states(about $200 million). 
• Getting rid of Accelerated depreciation it does what it says. It allows businesses to take a higher percentage of depreciation on business machines/supplies. This would bring in $300 million annually.
• Getting rid of the Retailer's Discount on Sales Tax. This would bring in over $100 million a year! As I've said in previous posts, computers are the norm in retail business...in fact most registers I've worked on keeps a running balance on cash/credit and tax for the day...its time to end this welfare to wall mart(kept $9M on this in FY11)...and home depot....and menards....and so on and so on. This would had up to a couple of hundred Million annually.
• Oil Company subsidies...what? in Illinois???? Yep, oil companies get a $75 million tax break! 

OH LOOK, I've just brought in a couple of billion dollars without it being very painful for the Citizens of Illinois! 

So, to our General Assembly, Governor, and other governmental executives--this is bold and brave. What you did with the Medicaid bill? That was shameful. Sure, attack little kids, the disabled and old people; the first two categories don't vote and the last one will die off...hopefully quickly--and with the measures you just shoved through, in all probability will be their future...which is very sad, considering Illinois is one of the wealthiest states in the country.

* all monies saved in the smash Medicaid bill are in millions of dollars

Quinn's so called budget...or how to make retirees homeless!

I just can't figure out why politicians keep attacking seniors...first its the tea party and republicans trying to  privatize(read banksters steal the $3.2 Trillion in trust fund) Social Security, then Paul Ryan and his carnival shell game of "vouchers", and now Governor Quinn(who's supposed to be a DEM), wants to cut senior programs and attacking state retirees pensions and health care. I know, I know, all of you have been told how good we have it and we're breaking the state...and the public believes the lie. SB1313 tore apart the security of health care for seniors, now the general assembly and the so-called "liberal" governor want to cut cost of living increases. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in the last 4 years that I've been retired, gas has gotten ridiculous, which has affected what I spend for gas, what I spend for food, you know, those luxuries of living....
Now, this is because of the rich wanting to be richer and have many of their bills subsidized by what's left of the middle class/working poor. As I've stated in past posts, Illinois is not broke, but the tax system is--we need to get rid of the retailer's discount on sales tax(for large retailers) and single sales factor, again for large corporations(mom and pop operations are exempt from this handout). But, no...the state of Illinois lawmakers are quivering and licking the feet of the Chamber of Commerce(read...stick it to the little guy) and the Chicago Commercial Club, both of which that have board members who receive 7-8 figure golden parachutes. These Monopoly men don't want any tax reform, that would mean they would have to pay their fair share, nope, let's take it out on the 80 year old secretary who's making under $25000 a year after working for 30+ years!
A couple of weeks ago, Senate Bill 1313 passed both the houses with bi-partisan votes...nice to see our so-called representatives working together to screw us! And quickly! It took all of 2 weeks to pass 1313(ok, the number is ironic...but maybe it shoulda been SB 666), no hearings, no committees, no public comments. Just screw the senior citizen. What this does is change the way retiree insurance is handled and could end up costing retirees whole bunches of money..now, the lie that's told to all is that retirees got "free" insurance...hmm....I have out of pocket expenses that total about $500-600 a month(that includes premiums I pay for my family) and I actually thought I knew the meaning of "free"...obviously, the Chamber, Commercial Club and legislature own a different dictionary than I do.
So now the latest and greatest way to screw employees is either eliminate the cost of living raise, or to cut it to less than 1.5% or to give retirees a so called choice--we can either choose between having some type of health insurance or a cost of living increase...isn't that FUCKING NICE...why do I feel that I'm Oliver saying to Sikes, "please sir, could I have a bit more gruel?" Only problem is no one is going to come and proclaim me an heir! And how does the corporate media report on this? The far right leaning Chicago Tribune had an article about how the general assembly members and governors...have made out like wall street bandits while the average state worker's pension is less than $25,000...and many get only that-no Social Security. But the Trib has been trumpeting "many" trumped up pension scandals...there was the one on 2 men that upped their pension by working for one day at a school, then the ex-representative who doubled his pension by working for Alderman Burke for a month, but not one article on the 27,000 retirees who would be severely effected by cuts to their only form of retirement income.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure that if we(union) were able to actually bargain, we could come up with some solutions-we have in the past, but that's not gonna happen. We are an easy target so why would our corporate legislatures allow a few facts about our pensions get in the way????  Yes, these changes would effect the general assembly members who vote on them, but not to the degree that it will state retirees...I mean, I only had one job--in a prison--for 30 years, unlike many of our part time politicians who collect $67,000 a year in salary...and another $69K(representatives) or $80K+(senators) for office "allowances", not to mention mileage and per diem...now, as I said, I worked for the Department of Corrections. I began as clerical, then went to officer and retired as a correctional counselor--I made, after 28 years about $65,000 for a full time job! They start out as $67,000 the first year for their part time job. I did not receive mileage to go to and from work and was expected to take a state vehicle if I had to travel to Springfield...so, again, why is the general assembly working to screw us out of our pensions??????
All I have to say is remember, WE VOTE and we will not be afraid to vote you out of office.

Occupy NATO...or Living in a Police State

I'm sure that most people know that NATO is meeting in Chicago and if you've turned on to either the local broadcast news or the corporate media, you've been told that only a couple of thousand have shown up to protest, and most of the photos and media stream seem to show a bunch of white "punk" type kids--long hair, dreadlocks, tattoos, you know the type, the white version of "other--be afraid". My husband just loves listening to WGN(I put them just under Fox Noise for right wing propaganda) and watching that was almost comical to see the news people falling all over the dogma of "cops are wonderful, protesters are lying little whiny brats." At one point, the camera spied two black protesters, smiling, gesturing  and talking to the police line and the commentator was talking about how the men were antagonizing the police...of course he said they were doing that BEFORE the camera was turned on them, but it wasn't like the camera was close to them...the shot was taken off of a building or stand so I doubt if the men even knew they were on TV(plus...didn't they know they were at the wrong place? I mean they were black! There weren't supposed to be anyone but white over privileged brats!)
BUT, listen to Democracy Now on Free Speech TV(channel 9415 on Dish) and you receive a much different picture of the protesters: the nurses rally actually included nurses? The Anti war protest had people of all ages(and not all of them had tattoos or piercings), all colors, from poor to well off.
One of the most interesting pieces was the over 40 impassioned speeches from vets who "returned' their medals. Now, the local news(this time CBS) had shown a couple of vets throwing their medals in a direction and then did about 4 minutes on how many of these young men and women probably didn't understand how they would feel later in life about this...just like the Viet Nam Vets who did this and then wished they hadn't(only problem? Not many of them felt bad either). From this news piece, it certainly wasn't reporting, you would assume there were maybe 5 or 10 20-somethings that did something rash. That was not even close. The truth about these men and women was more powerful. They were not only in for 1 tour, but many...most of them were not 20, but 30/40, some with over 10 years of service and all upset over how our government has been neglectful in their duties with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other injuries; the lies they were told while serving(Iraqi liberation, WMD's); the sexually assaulted women of the Military Forces. Maggie Martin, I was a sergeant in the Army. I did two tours in Iraq. No amount of medals, ribbons or flags can cover the amount of human suffering caused by these wars. We don't want this garbage(the medals). We want our human rights! We want our right to heal."  A Marine corp veteran, Vince Emanuele, stated he was giving his medals back: "First and foremost, ...for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Second, ... four our real forefathers. I'm talking about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee...Black Panthers, civil rights unions, unions, our socialist brothers and sisters and our ecology brothers and sisters. And lastly and most importantly, our enemies are not 7,000 miles from home. They sit in boardrooms. They are CEO's. They are bankers. They are hedge fund managers. They do not live 7,000 miles from home. Our enemies are right here and we look at them every day! They are not the men and women who are standing on this police line. They are the millionaires and billionaires who control this planet and we've had enough of it! So they can take their medals back!"  Lance Corporal Scott Olson(enlisted 2005, 2006-Iraq and 2008) also threw his medals(4-global war on terror, operation Iraqi Freedom, National Defence, Good Conduct) toward the fence of the NATO Summit--he's the gentleman that was severely injured in Occupy Oakland when he was struck with a beanbag round from police and Amy Goodman also
interviewed him.

Then there was the van that hit a young woman and had a protester that was stuck on the front of the hood of the van. Now the police stated that the officer that was driving had been hit by a protester and had a concussion, but its not like this can be proven...and, when was he struck? When he was running over the young woman(who did end up in the hospital)? Then there was the man who had been hit with a billy club in the teeth when he tried to help a woman who had fallen & couldn't get up quick enough for the police, who were hitting her in the legs, back and abdomen yelling at her to stand up. There wasn't anything like that spoken on corporate media.

Also, police detained by gunpoint 3 independent media who were live streaming from the march--one was from change.org -- when the cops attacked his van--there were 3 people
in the van, the cops ordered them out of the car, cuffed them, and began attacking
their equipment(banging the hard drives, cameras, lenses, etc. on each other, on the ground)...so much for the real 4th estate. Oh, then the cops left and told one of the men
 they had been looking for a similar car...when the reporter pointed out they were in a 99 Lexus with out of state plates, the cop just smiled. Sure, no harassment by police...and I'm the twin of Angelina Jolie!

Reiner Braun, German Peace Activist..protested at NATO because he states the bogeyman(Russia) is no longer...NATO spends over $1T annually for war that could be used to construct rather than destruct. Kay McVay, retired nurse, was there both for the Nurse's Rally(Friday) and the anti-war rally. There were also Chicago activists protesting against Emmanuel's mental health closures, home care providers who haven't been paid by state/county/cit, child care providers not paid by city, much of this because the politicians re-appropriated much of this money to pay for the extra security for NATO at the loss of the neighborhoods that need support most.

Alleged bomb makers that had undercover police officers who were the actual ones with the plans of "bombing"...can we say "entrapment"? Let's just stir up prejudice against the protesters by the very old infiltrate and denigrate.

Tom Morrell, performed at the Nurses rally and also at the antiwar rally. He's been very involved in social justice movements for the last couple of years, specially in Wisconsin. He had started with songs he wrote specifically for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Little known fact? He and President Obama were both staying at the Sheraton---among other things they share--both have Kenyan fathers and white American mothers, both attended Harvard at the same time.

Jesse Jackson Jr. went through the history of NATO, why it began(cold war), why it's really not needed any longer and why we can't afford to be the sheriff of the world, specially when we can't take care of our own people.
Now, I am willing to say that there are probably 10% of the police who take their cute scary "stormtroopers" costumes to heart and think they're robo-cop, much like the protesters have their 10% of anarchists and troublemakers, but way too often, we are not informed of both sides having their time of "behaving badly"...its only the ones that tow the corporate master's rule that are allowed explanations and that, also is just wrong and we should not stand for it.

DuPage Republican campaigns, AKA Mean Girl vs. Jock bully

I opened up my local newspaper today to see an "Election Guide" interviews for candidates on why we should hire them for the next 2 years. Since I live in a red-leaning area, this usually means that I'm not gonna be represented very well. We've been getting a lot of campaign compost(the stuff that's sent through the mail that you really don't pay much attention to--just throw it into the recycling bin)  and I noticed a bit of "Republicans Eating Their Own" going on....hmmm, could be a bit entertaining.
I live in the 81st District(State house) and we(Democratic Party) don't have a candidate running this time and although I know I'm not voting for either of them(thinking I'll write in Noam Chomsky, even tho he doesn't live in the district), I found myself researching both to see how mean spirited the local election may be...
First, we have Ron Sandack, who's best known in our area for being anti-worker and getting into a pretty large bruhaha with the fire fighters and the police officers during contract negotiations. Oh and some pretty mean-spirited words towards others that don't agree with him. See, Mr. Sandack doesn't believe in allowing employees to have pensions...actually doesn't like them having many rights at all. His history is of a corporate lawyer who represented banksters and other financial institutions, not the little guy. He has a "business litigation and business transactional practice" which represented small and medium businesses involved in civil action, employment litigation matters; read: anti worker/labor/consumer. And the business transactional practice? Making sure his client gets as much as he can out of the poor sot going through a bankruptcy, foreclosures, etc. Yes, it could be between two businesses(over 70% of all court time is spent on a business  suing another business or business suing an individual), but the business acumen usually wins over the little guy...
Now, Mr. Sandack was DG mayor and seemed to enjoy belittling council members and others who did not agree with him, to the point of some thinking him abusive with his title. In fact, at least one newspaper contributor(more editorial than reporter) has also seen the wrath of this jock bully--if they don't agree with you, intimidate them; such a patriotic, adult thing to do.  He's also made many disparraging remarks against public employees, specially fire fighters and police by saying that, "When I meet retired firefighters and police, I thank them for their service and then tell them they(stuck the taxpayers for pensions)are on the dole, we shouldn't have to pay for them after retirement". Lovely man, eh? People risk their lives everyday  while working and this idiot wants them to oh...I don't know...finish off being a greeter at mallwart???? 
And there is the rub(one of them) with me, I worked and paid into my pension for about 28 years and this guy thinks we're living lavishly! I know people who are living on about $1000 a month(and no Social Security) and he talks about "lavish pensions". Well, he made a big deal about refusing the lavish pension and health care benefits when he was appointed to finish off the state senate term, but he isn't even close to being vested, so I don't know how big a deal that is. He does take the salary. He is still listed as one of the attorneys(and a partner) at the law firm so I'm pretty sure he already has health insurance and some type of retirement plan and receives at least a percentage of the profits.
In the Senate his voting is your regular republicon style-- he voted against SB 4 which increased the amount of exemptions over a 3 year period for all taxpayers, increased EIC over 3 years for the less fortunate tax payers...it passed without his graces. Guess some of our legislators do care about the little guy. He also voted against civil unions, refuses the idea of gay marraige...and, yes, he's anti-abortion and will not vote for marijuana legalization...have I hit the far left pinko knee jerk items for my 'con friends? He loves to say how Illinois is 48th in job creation, although in the past year Illinois has created more jobs than Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky(hmm, didn't know we had 52 states) and Illinois is just toxic to businesses...although we have the 5th largest economy in the country...and if we were a country our GNP would be greater than Saudi Arabia! Nope...he must not have studied economics or facts...but then we do have the mean girl to consider...
Deborah Boyle has lived in DG all of her life. In 2006, she requested a boundary exemption from the school board because all of her family had attended Downers Grove North and she wanted her son to attend there also...funny thing...I wanted my children to attend DGN so I bought my house in that district! Imagine that! So anyway, the district denies the boundary exemption, Ms. Boyle sues the school district...and loses; again, imagine that! Its not that the school her son would be going to was not up to par, it was just cuz of the family tradition and I guess Ms. Boyle thought she was above the rules.
So a couple of years later, she runs for the school board. I remember her candidate interview and when asked if she attends school board meetings, she replied no, she felt they were a waste of time or something like that. So why run for the office? I thought to myself that anyone that voted for her either was a moron or didn't pay attention...to this day I wonder how many were just morons, because she won. Let the fun begin.
It seemed that every meeting now became a battle, to the point that Ms. Boyle seemed to pad the audience at least at 2 meetings(one that I was at) Ms Boyle took it public, that's when I learned that she sued the school board because she blamed the other members as holding a grudge against her because of the lawsuit. Her biggest and most public outburst was because the board had this silly little policy that if a board member had a family member that was employed by the school, the board member must recuse him/herself. Again, Debbie feels that policy shouldn't apply to her even tho her brother works for one of the high schools. Now, she could vote on anything but employee benefits(salaries & insurance, etc.), but you'd have thought the board had told her she couldn't vote on anything and locked her in a closet! I sure wish they had about then, but no. The board changes the rules and Debbie finally gets her way, I guess. Our very own Caribou Barbie, without her shooting moose.
Now she's running against the jock bully for state rep. She does the perfect mean girl about how Sandack was endorsed by a Teamsters local once in early 2000's so that means he's actually a friend of unions(I figure the Teamsters didn't know what a jerk he was until the next year...and haven't endorsed him since). He sends out flyers about how much havoc she caused on the school board and yells about how he's the true conservative. She flings back that she is the true conservative because the tea party endorsed her! And Sandack voted for evil liberal things...like....the smart grid! OH MY GOD, how heinous. And he's being mean to her.....sorry, but she reminds me of the blond in Mean Girls that gets hit by the bus.
So, where do these candidates stand on the issues? Both want to bring back the death penalty, strip employees' pension rights, cut taxes for those poor rich people, trim government(even tho Illinois has the least amount of state employees, per capita in America, they want to cut more) and so on and so on and so on. So for all their bickering, they pretty much agree on most things...just trying to see who can be meaner or more of a bully to the working stiffs of Illinois District 81.
Let's see how I feel next term...we need some reps that actually care about the people, not the corporations.