WirePoints: The Machine Must Be Destroyed – WP Original
The core identity of moral and fiscal bankruptcy in Illinois government cannot be denied. It controls the Illinois General Assembly, Chicago and Cook County. “The machine” isn’t often used to describe it any longer, but the “Chicago way” now universally communicates its infamy.
It has defied its end as persistently as did Carthage before Cato. Carthage was a mortal threat to the Roman Republic in the second century BC and had rebuilt itself time and again after earlier Roman invasions. Its total destruction was Rome’s only option, thought Cato, a Roman Senator. He became most known for his warning, with which he is said to have started and finished ever speech and every conversation, “Carthage must be destroyed.” His phrase became policy. Rome demolished Carthage and, legend says, sowed the ground under it with salt.
Nor can its party identity be denied. Cook County Democrats and party members they control stand all but alone against all ethical and fiscal reforms. They run their party and, with that, hold all legislative power. Smart and decent people choose different parties. Many Illinois Republicans have contributed to the state’s crisis in the past, and many Republicans at the national level terrify moderates who comprise most of Illinois. But it’s genuinely difficult to understand how anybody with a conscience supports theIllinois Democratic Party as it stands today. That party is the machine.
Chicago Tribune: Madigan uses quirk in law to stockpile 2016 campaign cash against Rauner
Trying to offset well-heeled Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner‘s threat to bankroll legislative candidates, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has been on a fundraising tear, courtesy of a quirk in state campaign finance law that allows him to amass multiple five-figure contributions from the same donor into four funds he controls.
As a result, Madigan raised more than $7.1 million in 2015, including $2.8 million that arrived in December alone, State Board of Elections reports showed. That 2015 total is about $2.3 million more than what Madigan collected during the same pre-election period two years ago.
The haul is an indication of the high-stakes game expected to play out between the two political titans in 2016 over control of the General Assembly and the House in particular.
Breitbart: Looming Democrat Civil War over $1 Trillion Gap in Pensions
The 100 largest public employee pension plans in the United States face an unfunded liability of more than $1 trillion. This figure, compiled by consulting firm Millman, likely underreports the actual liability, because it is based on the plans’ own, rather rosy, assumptions of investment returns.
The true gap between what politicians have promised state and local government employees and the resources currently available to meet the promises is several hundred billion more dollars, around $1.2-1.3 trillion.
Keep in mind, this is the unfunded liability for just the 100 largest public sector plans. The total deficit for all public sector pension plans in the country is far higher. It is also important to bear in mind that this deficit is likely to explode in the coming years. The average rate of return built into the pension plans is currently 7.65 percent annual growth. Even the best managed plans will be hard pressed to earn that kind of investment return in the year ahead.
Business Insider: A house that was once the most expensive in Chicago just sold for a huge price cut at $13 million
After initially being listed for a city-topping $18.75 million a year and half ago, the mansion at 1955 N. Burling Street in Chicago’s Lincoln Park has finally sold, according to Curbed.
The final sale price, $13.345 million, was a sharp cut from the original listing.
The 20,000-square-foot mansion was built over five continuous plots of land. It has six bedrooms, a home theater, and an indoor pool and spa.
Business Insider: What's in store for central Illinois business in 2016?
The biggest single employer in both the central Illinois area and the state has a rough 2015. Sales declined for a third straight year. The heavy-equipment maker had already forecast 2016 is likely to be a fourth down sales year — the first in the company’s 90-year history.
A global economy that’s been in the doldrums for years is a major problem for a multinational company such as Caterpillar with dealers in 180 countries worldwide.
A malaise in the mining industry has hurt since Caterpillar’s recent purchase of Bucyrus, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer of big mining equipment.
Huffington Post: Denying People A Job After They've Left Prison Is Unconstitutional, Court Rules
A court in Pennsylvania on Wednesday struck down a state law that imposed a lifetime ban from employment on as many as 200,000 people with criminal records in the state.
A unanimous seven-judge panel ruled that part of the state’s Older Adult Protective Services Act was unconstitutional because it was too broad in delineating the types of past crimes that disqualified people from jobs that involve caring for the elderly and other kinds of long-term care.
The law “makes no provision for consideration of any other factor, such as the nature of the crime, the facts surrounding the conviction, the time elapsed since the conviction, evidence of the individual’s rehabilitation, and the nature and requirements of the job,” Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt wrote for the court.