Day: February 12, 2014

Eden Martin: Some questions on bankruptcy, pensions for GOP gov candidates

February 12, 2014 No Comments

Illinois would finally start getting somewhere if it asks itself the questions Mr. Martin lists in this article Most importantly let’s honestly answer the question in his last paragraph first: “No, the 2013 pension bill and similar reforms to city pensions won’t come close to being enough to avoid fiscal collapse.” The first step in any form of insolvency proceeding is honest recognition of the scope of the problem. We haven’t even taken that first step yet. The ‘B’ word mention is long overdue. Let’s get on with discussing that option for Chicago and its overlapping jurisdictions.     http://www.suntimes.com/news/martin/25527060-452/some-questions-on-bankruptcy-pensions-for-gop-gov-candidates.html

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Gov. Quinn unveils $5.2B Medicaid waiver plan – Ass. Press

February 12, 2014 No Comments

The so-called “Path to Transformation” Medicaid waiver was posted online this week. If approved by the federal government, it would allow the state to obtain $5.2 billion in federal funds over five years to update the state’s health care infrastructure. http://www.kwqc.com/story/24699686/gov-quinn-unveils-52b-medicaid-waiver-plan

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States Reinvest in Once-Abandoned Freight Lines – Governing.com

February 12, 2014 No Comments

One major project is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, Metra (Chicago’s regional commuter rail line), Amtrak and numerous private freight railroads. Known as CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency), billions of dollars are being invested in rail and road infrastructure improvements in and around Chicago aimed at opening up what railroaders and transportation officials alike regard as the country’s worst rail bottleneck. http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-states-reinvest-in-rail.html

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Wrigley Building owners seek tech companies – Blue Sky Innovation

February 12, 2014 No Comments

Since 1924, the lights illuminating the white face of the Wrigley Building have almost continually shone.  Now, the building’s owners, entrepreneur Brad Keywell and fellow Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky  want to shift the spotlight onto the tech companies they see as emblems of the future. http://bluesky.chicagotribune.com/originals/chi-wrigley-building-tech-companies-bsi,0,0.story

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These counties have the worst unemployment in the state – Reboot Illinois

February 12, 2014 No Comments

Franklin and Macon Counties lead the list.  Franklin is in the rural southern tip of the state, known as “Little Egypt.”  Decatur, sometimes known as the “soybean capital of the world,” is in Macon County. http://www.rebootillinois.com/Opinion/Top-10/jobs/these-illinois-counties-have-the-worst-unemployment-in-the-state-11959

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Union, Democrat funded campaign to commandeer Republican primary launches: Just imagine if situation were reversed – WP Original

February 12, 2014 4 Comments

February 12, 2013 By: Mark Glennon Suppose right wing groups started pouring big dollars into an Illinois Democratic primary race through PACs they passed off as “Democratic,” intending to knock out the guy they feared most before he got to the general election. And suppose the Republican Governors Association helped fund that effort. Screams about deceitful subversion of the primary would be deafening — and those screams would be justified. That’s the campaign unions and the Democratic Governors Association launched this week, except that it’s in the Republican primary to defeat Bruce Rauner, and that and those screams may be

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