Day: July 16, 2018

A DePaul pofessor’s call to shut down our nation’s universities – The Hill

July 16, 2018 No Comments

You who fund our universities do so with trust that intellectuals will act in your interest and reflect your pro-American values. You are wrong. Your hard work has been financing people who think they are better than your crass materialism, who think that you (but not they) are complicit in an evil system (capitalism).

Withdraw your support and leave them to fund themselves. Let them pit their wares on the free market, where they will be left homeless. The world you desired no longer exists in our universities. It lies elsewhere, in a philosophic system waiting to be discovered or

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First black lawmaker to run Illinois Democratic Party: ‘People of color are becoming more engaged’ – Chicago Tribune

July 16, 2018 2 Comments

<img class="trb_em_ic_img aligncenter" title="Rep. Christian Mitchell speaks to members of the press after Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner gave his" sizes="(min-width: 1260px) 750px, (min-width: 1060px) calc(100vw - 559px), (min-width: 840px) calc(100vw - 419px), (min-width: 800px) 800px, 100.1vw" srcset="http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/350/350x197 350w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/400/400x225 400w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/450/450x253 450w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/500/500x281 500w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/550/550x309 550w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/600/600x338 600w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/650/650x366 650w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/700/700x394 700w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/750/750x422 750w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/800/800x450 800w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/850/850x478 850w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/900/900x506 900w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/950/950x534 950w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1000/1000x563 1000w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1050/1050x591 1050w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1100/1100x619 1100w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1150/1150x647 1150w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1200/1200x675 1200w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1400/1400x788 1400w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1600/1600x900 1600w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/1800/1800x1013 1800w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/2000/2000x1125 2000w, http://www.trbimg.com/img-5b44f7c7/turbine/ct-1531246531-fzk9qx253h-snap-image/2048/2048x1152 2048w" alt="Rep. Christian Mitchell speaks to members of the press after Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner gave his" width="282" height="159"

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Chicago lawmaker chosen to run Democratic Party of Illinois – A.P.

July 16, 2018 No Comments

Rep. Christian Mitchell will replace Timothy Mapes, who stepped down from the post and from his job as chief of staff to House Speaker Michael Madigan amid sexual harassment allegations.

Mitchell will be the first African-American to serve in the position. In a statement Tuesday Mitchell says he looks forward to working to assure Democratic victories this fall and “charting a new and inclusive path forward for our party.”

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An important new paper by legal expert on potential for federal help with Illinois fiscal crisis – Quicktake

July 16, 2018 2 Comments

James Spiotto is a nationally recognized legal expert on insolvency. At an upcoming Brookings Institute conference on municipal finance, he will be delivering a significant new paper, with an appropriately long title: “When Needed Public Pension Reforms Fail or Appear to Be Legally Impossible, What Then? Are Unbalanced Budgets, Deficits and Government Collapse the Only Answer.” The paper is linked here. It’s for legal and policy wonks, but it’s important, primarily because it lays out the case for why and how the federal  government and federal courts can and should play a role in solving state and local fiscal crises,

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IMA chief Greg Baise hanging it up – Crain’s

July 16, 2018 No Comments

Retiring as president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is Greg Baise, a longtime pillar of the corporate and political establishment who has been involved in almost every major election and issue in state politics since he worked for then-Gov. Jim Thompson in the 1980s.

Baise will continue to run Xpress Professional Services, a for-profit subsidiary of IMA that performs direct mail, TV ad production and other chores for political candidates, and which operates the well-known We Ask America polling operation.

Baise, 66, will be succeeded by IMA Vice President and COO Mark Denzler,

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A shameful reason your Chicago taxes are so high – Editorial – Crain’s

July 16, 2018 1 Comment

From 2010 through 2016, Chicago financed $486 million of the $936 million in cop-related settlements, judgments and legal expenses over that time—a little over half—with bonds. In 2016, for the first time in years, the city covered the entirety of the $116 million in legal costs without resorting to debt. In 2017, the city issued $274 million in taxable bonds due in 12 years and six months, at an interest rate topping 7 percent. Most of that—$225 million—is covering the cost of judgments and settlements

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Penny Pritzker lets her geek flag fly – Crain’s

July 16, 2018 No Comments

Penny Pritzker has developed a taste for tech. The former Hyatt executive, who was U.S. commerce secretary for four years under President Barack Obama, is investing in tech companies through her Chicago-based investment firm, PSP Partners. She also has been one of the leaders marshaling corporate support for Chicago’s bid for Amazon’s HQ2 and now is teaming up with software entrepreneur Chris Gladwin to draft a blueprint to lift the city’s standing among the nation’s top tech hubs.

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