Jerry's Journal

Tweet Gov. Pat Quinn on pension mess: ‘Everything is on the table’ (Beacon-News) Gov. Pat Quinn took his case for a budgetary crash diet directly to state lawmakers Wednesday, pushing a grim assortment of prison closures and spending cuts in a spending plan that he said wasn’t built around “budget fantasies” but rather “hard realities.” [...]

Tweet Bad news budget: Quinn to call for prison, health care cuts (Chicago Tribune) Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn will deliver a bad-news budget today, suggesting that Illinois close numerous prisons, mental health centers and social service offices, cut health care for the poor and shut down popular tourist sites for two days a week at [...]

Tweet State OK’d local contract despite fraud (Southern Illinoisan) A transportation business received $1.7 million worth of state work over two years even after a federal conviction for hundreds of thousands of dollars in state Medicaid fraud, according . . .

Tweet Legislators pitch pension reform at Chamber luncheon (Naperville Sun) The state is running anywhere from $80 million to $85 million behind in its obligations to funded public pensions and State Sen. Ron Sandack has an idea about how to begin fixing the problem.

Tweet Report: Quinn budget plan calls for closing more state facilities (Beacon-News) Gov. Pat Quinn plans to call for closing 14 state facilities, including eight run by the Corrections Department, when he presents his proposal for a new Illinois budget that would slash spending throughout state government, a person familiar with the plan told The [...]

Tweet Ill. treasurer suggests 5-year plan for facilities (Journal-Courier) With the governor’s office looking for a swift closure process for state facilities, Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford is once again calling for a long-term planning policy. Rutherford was in Jacksonville Monday afternoon as a guest speaker during…

Tweet Wilhemi to Resign Feb. 25 (The Patch) State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-43, has reportedly turned in his letter of resignation, saying he will step down Feb. 25.

Tweet McCann seeks repeal of firearm owner ID law (Journal-Courier) For decades, both sides the gun control debate have been clashing, trying to strike a balance between maintaining second amendment rights to keep and bear arms and keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and potentially dangerous individuals.A…

Tweet Quad Cities man runs afoul of Illinois eavesdropping law (Peoria Journal-Star) A Moline man who used a cell phone to record a police officer during a Rock Island traffic stop is caught up in Illinois’ arcane eavesdropping laws.

Tweet Quinn mulls executive order for health insurance exchange (Chicago Business News) Gov. Quinn is weighing whether to use an executive order to jump-start planning for Illinois’ health insurance exchange, a move that could rankle both state legislators and business groups.

Tweet Quinn proposes change to the Illinois constitution (Peoria Journal-Star) Gov. Pat Quinn is calling for the public to be given the power to enact ethics reforms without going through the Illinois Legislature, a constitutional change he’s marketing as the “Lincoln Amendment.” The amendment would let Illinois voters put new ethics laws on the ballot [...]

Tweet Illinois officials must heed words of Cat CEO (The Pantagraph) Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman made it clear in a letter nearly a year ago that Illinois has to change if it wants to attract more business investment. His letter largely fell on politically deaf ear  

Tweet Illinois constitution change proposed by Pat Quinn (Rockford Register-Star) Gov. Pat Quinn wants to change Illinois’ constitution to allow voters to enact ethics reform through popular initiative and referendum.

Tweet Quinn defends Illinois after Cat CEO blasts jobs climate (Peoria Journal-Star) Gov. Pat Quinn defended the state’s business climate Sunday after the head of Caterpillar Inc. blasted state political leaders in a published column for not doing enough to grow business and jobs in Illinois. The comments from the head of the Peoria-based heavy [...]