CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[Kngkyle]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ That’s all I need to know.

But any Democrat is of course going to say they are “for” rent control. The real issue is whether such a Bill would ever land on the Governor’s desk.

I’m guessing rent control would decimate Speaker Madigan’s property tax appeal business, so.....

I am very much against rent control but this proposed bill doesn't, by itself, change much. It just allows the local municipalities to make that decision instead of the state government. That is only bad for Chicago if Chicagoans elect someone like Chuy. In that regard it does take away a layer of safety.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

biss seems cool and good

I hope that no one else shares that sentiment. If he did what he talks about wanting to do, it's really about the only thing that would force me to leave Chicago. Which would piss me off royally because I don't want to leave Chicago. I can deal with the corruption and, to a certain extent, the fiscal issues, but if we elected a politician who willfully threw away a core part of our economy there'd really be nothing left in Chicago to stay for because it would collapse.

Edit: I hate saying stuff like that because it comes across as hyperbole, but it's really not. It really would be that bad to tax the exchanges.

[left of center]

^ This. They'd kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Honestly, all the Dem candidates look pretty bad, with JBP looking like the least of the worst. Now the question is, is he better or worse than Rauner?

I'm assuming Rauner will handily win the GOP primary, since Jeanne Ives is a complete whackjob. Illinois Republicans are not as conservative as the GOP is nationally, and Ives is way far into right field.

I'm very conflicted as what to do this upcoming November...


Source: barrypomeroy.com

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by left of center

I'm very conflicted as what to do this upcoming November...

move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!






all of the candidates suck giant donkey balls.

3 billinoiare dip-shits. a communsit. and a fucking nazi.

illinois loses yet again.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!






all of the candidates suck giant donkey balls.

3 billinoiare dip-shits. a communsit. and a fucking nazi.

illinois loses yet again.

It's at this point that you've got to wonder if it's better off keeping the current governor than putting in one of the other fools, eh? Seems to me that the Democrat candidates are all deeply flawed. Honestly don't know enough about Rauner to have too much of an opinion on him one way or the other, but given the severe fiscal crisis in Illinois, it just depends how much of the blame falls on him vs. how much of the blame falls on his many predecessors.

Pritzker, to me at least, seems to be promising the world, and that to me is a dangerous game to play, especially when there's no way in hell he's going to be able to keep those promises without plenty of new taxes.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[the urban politician]

The problem I have with Pritzker is that he basically seems to be trying to buy the Governorship, even though he has no plan to fix our biggest problems.

Rauner puts his foot in his mouth and gets outmaneuvered by Madigan, plus he blew his leverage during the 2 year budget stalemate, but he actually seems to have good intentions. He wants to address our pension timebomb. He wants term limits on our miserably corrupt legislature. He supported the ballot measure against gerrymandering. He's the only one talking about this stuff.

So no, we can't just lump Pritzker and Rauner together as one and the same because they are both rich.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The problem I have with Pritzker is that he basically seems to be trying to buy the Governorship, even though he has no plan to fix our biggest problems.

Rauner puts his foot in his mouth and gets outmaneuvered by Madigan, plus he blew his leverage during the 2 year budget stalemate, but he actually seems to have good intentions. He wants to address our pension timebomb. He wants term limits on our miserably corrupt legislature. He supported the ballot measure against gerrymandering. He's the only one talking about this stuff.

So no, we can't just lump Pritzker and Rauner together as one and the same because they are both rich.

At least making attempts to address all three of these big issues gives Rauner a big gold star in my book. Sometimes, the least corrupt individual in a group of corrupt individuals is the best choice.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[ardecila]

^ But if Rauner's steadfastness just creates gridlock and nothing gets done, are we really better off?

I don't see how it serves our state when we have no capital bill to invest in roads and rails. Rahm is doing what he can to invest for the future but we are at a serious disadvantage when our state government is this dysfunctional.

I might vote for Rauner to send a message (that I blame Madigan for the crisis and not Rauner) but who's to say Madigan will actually heed the message? He's got that job for life, Rauner would only have another four years.

[Vlajos]

At this point, I'll be voting for Rauner again. We really need to break the public union/politico incest in Illinois.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ But if Rauner's steadfastness just creates gridlock and nothing gets done, are we really better off?

I don't see how it serves our state when we have no capital bill to invest in roads and rails. Rahm is doing what he can to invest for the future but we are at a serious disadvantage when our state government is this dysfunctional.

I might vote for Rauner to send a message (that I blame Madigan for the crisis and not Rauner) but who's to say Madigan will actually heed the message? He's got that job for life, Rauner would only have another four years.

Yeah but when Madigan is the cancer that caused this mess then any option that cooperates with Madigan is contributing to the problem. Never is "this horrendously corrupt individual who has ruined our state for decades won't cooperate with the reformist governor causing total gridlock" a cause to vote for said horrendously corrupt individuals shill. That makes zero sense. Rauner is not causing gridlock, he is refusing to cooperate with a regime that operates in such a manner as to make even Putin proud. The blame doesn't fall on the resistance, it falls on the oppressor.

Any such line of reasoning is tantamount to blaming the founding fathers for the blockade of NYC or Boston during the revolution. "Well they could have bent over backwards and appeased the king, they are causing such gridlock"... No the king is a corrupt piece of shit that should be dragged from his palace and be tarred and feathered. His actions and all their negative consequences lie squarely on his shoulders.

Unfortunately in Illinois the rule of law prevents us from tarring and feathering Madigan and we will just have to wait for him to die of natural causes before any progress can be made.

[IrishIllini]

I figured Rauner would look more appealing the closer we got to the election. I wanted so badly to support Biss, but he's just too much. I think he could easily win it if he pulled back on the LaSalle St. tax. Acknowledging that the tax would have adverse impacts on the local economy but doubling down on his commitment to it is shocking.

I like Pritzker as a person, but I don't trust his relationship with Madigan. I don't feel comfortable voting him into office with Madigan around.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

At this point, I'll be voting for Rauner again. We really need to break the public union/politico incest in Illinois.

I voted for Rauner when he first ran (first time I voted for a Republican .. ever? Pat Quinn was just too much of a shit candidate.) and I probably will vote for him again this November. Anyone that stands up to Madigan has my respect, despite the fact that he has not been doing it very successfully. That self serving Skeletor look alike has single handedly orchestrated the 30 year meltdown where Illinois went from Midwestern powerhouse to the hobbled and bankrupt butt of national jokes.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by left of center

I voted for Rauner when he first ran (first time I voted for a Republican .. ever? Pat Quinn was just too much of a shit candidate.) and I probably will vote for him again this November. Anyone that stands up to Madigan has my respect, despite the fact that he has not been doing it very successfully. That self serving Skeletor look alike has single handedly orchestrated the 30 year meltdown where Illinois went from Midwestern powerhouse to the hobbled and bankrupt butt of national jokes.

While we can't blame it all on Madigan, we can at least argue that he is not making it easy to reform anything.

We also have to blame Springfield Dems who keep electing him Speaker. What a bunch of douche rockets they all are.

But yes, Rauner all the way. Pritzker is a puppet, and will put us even more into debt while taxing everybody that is a rung below him on the wealth ladder (while keeping his loopholes intact)

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by left of center

I voted for Rauner when he first ran (first time I voted for a Republican .. ever? Pat Quinn was just too much of a shit candidate.) and I probably will vote for him again this November. Anyone that stands up to Madigan has my respect, despite the fact that he has not been doing it very successfully. That self serving Skeletor look alike has single handedly orchestrated the 30 year meltdown where Illinois went from Midwestern powerhouse to the hobbled and bankrupt butt of national jokes.

Me too. First time I voted for a Republican in my life.

My wife refused and abstained voting for Governor at all.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

While we can't blame it all on Madigan, we can at least argue that he is not making it easy to reform anything.

We also have to blame Springfield Dems who keep electing him Speaker. What a bunch of douche rockets they all are.

But yes, Rauner all the way. Pritzker is a puppet, and will put us even more into debt while taxing everybody that is a rung below him on the wealth ladder (while keeping his loopholes intact)

Speaking as a new Chicagoan, can someone please fill me in a little bit on what makes Madigan so terrible? I'm very, very aware of Illinois' reputation for absolute government ineptitude and corruption (same with Chicago, of course), but I don't know the specific(s) of which people are the worst offenders in said corruption.

It drives me absolutely bonkers when literally one or two super-powerful, yet ultra-corrupt politicians literally destroy the entire system for the entire state/county/city. If it's Madigan that is really the major issue, yet the Democrats keep choosing him to be their leader, then the voters must make their voices heard in some way.

Note to self, do some research on Madigan... Need someone new to potentially despise in addition to our national idiots in charge right now!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[left of center]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Speaking as a new Chicagoan, can someone please fill me in a little bit on what makes Madigan so terrible? I'm very, very aware of Illinois' reputation for absolute government ineptitude and corruption (same with Chicago, of course), but I don't know the specific(s) of which people are the worst offenders in said corruption.

Bearing in mind your statement in bold, Michael Madigan has been speaker of the house and defacto dictator of Illinois since 1983. Everything that has happened in IL has been entirely on his watch. At any point in time, he could have stopped the small cracks in the foundation from becoming a full blown collapse, but that would have been bad business for all his cronies.

Michael Madigan is a property tax attorney, and his firm makes millions from property tax reassessment. Property taxes are almost always being raised (and thus, contested in courts by property tax attorneys) by taxing bodies in the state because of the constant and unsustainable increase in wages and benefits to public workers, who are given sweetheart contracts by machine Democrats in order to get the vote out and assure reelection campaigns. Unions literally rewrote the constitution in the 1970s in order to assure that their self serving system could not be toppled in the courts.

Important note: I'm not trying to insinuate that Democrats or public unions are in general bad, in fact feel the opposite. But in Illinois, corruption has radically infested these institutions of our democracy to the point of completely failing to serve the electorate. Alas, the situation is seems to be stuck in neutral, with no apparent meaningful change on the horizon, all while the state's financial picture continues to deteriorate.

So uhh... Welcome!

[the urban politician]

^ The other element is that Madigan is essentially the Speaker for life because he doles out positions of power to other members of the House in return for their perpetual support (i.e. fealty). As his power has grown, he has essentially become the most powerful man in Illinois despite the fact that he only needs to win the votes of around 30-40k people (his district) every time around. So he just needs to keep his district happy, and otherwise fuck the rest of the State.

[the urban politician]

A good analysis of the pension problem and why we need to throw our gerrymandered legislature (and their bizarre tendency to keep re-electing Madigan as Speaker) out of office:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...pension-crisis

We simply can’t tax our way to solvency. Something will inevitably face the chopping block, and it won’t be pretty.

[left of center]

That article basically reaffirmed by belief with what is wrong with this state. The problem isn't that Illinois is a high services state. I have no problem paying taxes to ensure our poor residents don't live in abject poverty. I have no problem paying for top notch infrastructure that the city needs, such as new bridges, new train lines, upgrading existing transportation infrastructure, etc.

The problem is the unions and state Democratic party got into bed with each other and basically kept each other in business (unions got ever higher benefits/money, Dems kept getting reelected) at the expense of the taxpayer. Illinois got economically wrecked by this systemic failure of democracy, and it needs to be brought to an end so that the state can reel itself back in from the brink.

We absolutely need a constitutional amendment to scale back union pensions and benefits to a level the state can afford. We absolutely cannot tax our way out of this, unless we plan on driving out the entire tax base.

[the urban politician]

^ You will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get that as long as Democrats get reelected.