illinois – Page 2

Is this DOOM for Pat Quinn (D-INC, Illinois-GOV)?

I am hesitant to declare DOOM too early, but… wow.

Chicago’s championship Little League team greeted Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn with awkward silence, despite the best efforts of an enthusiastic emcee to rustle up some applause.

I mean. Wow. On the one hand, it’s like everybody is just counting the days until Pat Quinn is gone and Bruce Rauner becomes the next governor of Illinois. On the other hand, given the way that Quinn has made a mess of things, it’s surprising that Rauner would want the job. On the gripping hand, as far as I know Pat Quinn is not going to be leaving office while also under indictment, so arguably he’s the best governor Illinois has had in quite some time.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Continue reading Is this DOOM for Pat Quinn (D-INC, Illinois-GOV)?

It is too early to say that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) will be going to jail.

Time for another installment in my favorite personal conspiracy theory: to wit, that the Illinois Combine (the ‘bipartisan’ consensus that really runs the state*) has decided that it’s time for the GOP to have a turn getting blamed for everything that goes wrong. Real shame about Pat Quinn not getting a second term, but what can you do? It’s time to offer up another sacrificial lamb: “A criminal grand jury has launched a probe into Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled anti-violence program — once likened to “a political slush fund” — delivering a major blow to the Democrat as he seeks re-election this fall.” Basically, Gov. Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery program more or less handed money willy-nilly, and quite a few people in government and the public-private sector** apparently decided to take undue advantage of that. The big question is, of course, is there a piece of paper that shows that the Governor was involved in any of that? Continue reading It is too early to say that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) will be going to jail.

Pat Quinn thinks black Republicans are like Jewish collaborators to Nazis. …No, really.

I… am having difficulty processing this story.

Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is in some hot water with the Jewish community after his campaign tweeted—and then quietly deleted—several messages urging backers to read an article comparing black Republican voters to Jews who collaborated with the Nazis.

That is indeed what the article said, and my difficulty is not in believing that Pat Quinn might think that such a comparison was warranted. I am fully aware that he could think that, and does think that. What is causing my head to short-circuit is that the Quinn campaign did not immediately have whatever fool intern was responsible for the governor’s endorsement of bigotry – over Passover weekend, no less! – drawn, quartered, and the pieces displayed as an attempt to placate critics. What the Hell was Pat Quinn thinking? Was Pat Quinn thinking?

Continue reading Pat Quinn thinks black Republicans are like Jewish collaborators to Nazis. …No, really.

Hey, some good news: Illinois Concealed Carry is ticking along.

A bit clunky and everything, but you have to crawl before you can walk.

Illinois’ first concealed carry gun licenses — about 5,000 of them — are being printed and mailed today, Illinois State Police officials said in a morning press conference.

Officials said they have received more than 50,000 applications. Those being mailed today were early approvals, mostly for those who submitted fingerprints along with their application.

Continue reading Hey, some *good* news: Illinois Concealed Carry is ticking along.

Illinois businesses now shedding work-hours, thanks to #Obamacare.

If you want less of something, you tax it. Thanks to the – I almost said “Byzantine,” but your average Byzantine Empire bureaucrat would be insulted at the slight to his competence, and for good reason – thanks to the insanely complicated nature of Obamacare, it pretty much acts as a tax on generating full-time jobs.

Guess what happened?

No, go on. Guess. Continue reading Illinois businesses now shedding work-hours, thanks to #Obamacare.

Texas passes Illinois in median household income.

How… interesting.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012 the inflation-adjusted median household income for Texas surpassed that of Illinois for the first time since 1984, when the statistic first started being recorded.

That means the household making the median income in Texas is taking home a bigger paycheck than the household making the median income in Illinois.

Continue reading Texas passes Illinois in median household income.

Illinois #obamacare supporter discovers the implications of ‘Embrace the suck.’

Stop John D. Thomas if you’ve heard this one:

For the first time in my professional life, I am in the position that I have to buy my own health care insurance. I had heard people were having difficulty with the process, but recently I have written and edited a lot of information about the Affordable Care Act and the new health insurance exchanges, so I felt familiar with the territory and ready to sign up. In addition, my wife is an attorney with a master’s degree in education, so I knew that with our two minds on the case, the process would be a snap.

Guess what happened? Go ahead. Guess.

And then two days after we started, our patience snapped, and we decided to forgo buying insurance off of the exchange to purchase a policy on the open market at about five times the rate we were quoted on the exchange.

Continue reading Illinois #obamacare supporter discovers the implications of ‘Embrace the suck.’

Meanwhile, back at the ranch… Illinois, Florida lack trained #obamacare guides.

But surely this won’t be a problem:

Illinois’s health-insurance marketplace said that it had only certified 100 of the planned 1,200 navigators by this past Saturday, but hoped to have “hundreds more” ready by Tuesday. Most Illinois navigators have completed their state training and background checks, but the online system that they use to complete the required federal training only recently became available, a situation which is, according to spokeswoman Kelly Sullivan, “not unique to Illinois.”

In Florida, as of last Wednesday, only 11 of roughly 150 navigators had received their state-level licenses to assist people in signing up for that state’s exchange, and only 57 had even applied for it. According to coordinators for the program, at the University of South Florida and the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, the delay is due to the federal online training system’s being crash-prone.

…Computer problems, you say? – Or, rather, the federal government failed to say. Until now.

Moe Lane

PS: Look… if you have the opportunity to renew your policy early, you might want to do that unless your current one is really bad.

Pat Quinn (D) orbits around idea of deploying Illinois National Guard to Chicago.

Pat Quinn is simply not very good at being a governor, is he?

Gov. Pat Quinn says he would consider using state resources to help combat Chicago street violence, but only if city officials want the assistance.

Speaking on this week’s mass shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Quinn was asked whether there have been discussions about sending in the state police or Illinois National Guard to assist Chicago police.

[snip]

Quinn did not specifically veto the idea of deploying Guard members in Chicago. A press aide later told CBS 2 the governor was speaking only about the possibility of using state police to help out.

Continue reading Pat Quinn (D) orbits around idea of deploying Illinois National Guard to Chicago.

Bill Daley (D) quits Illinois Governor’s race.

This will make it slightly harder for the Democrats to keep the seat, by the way*.

Bill Daley abruptly ended his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor today, telling the Tribune that a lifetime in politics had not prepared him for the “enormity” of his first run for office and the challenge of leading the state through difficult times.

Bill Daley abruptly ended his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor today, telling the Tribune that a lifetime in politics had not prepared him for the “enormity” of his first run for office and the challenge of leading the state through difficult times.

[snip] Continue reading Bill Daley (D) quits Illinois Governor’s race.