Topspin Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza says House Speaker Michael Madigan "has to do better" on the issue of sexual harassment. Madigan recently appointed Mendoza to a new panel on the future of women in the Democratic Party, but the Democratic comptroller said Sunday that the group won't weigh in on the longtime speaker's future as state party chairman. "Our panel, first of all, is focused on not playing the politics of this but doing the work of fixing the problem. And this is such a problem that is so much bigger than any one person or any one party," Mendoza said Sunday on WGN AM-720. "To get into the politics and the fray, to get into the fray instead of being above the fray, is to really just diminish the severity of this issue of sexual harassment," she said. Madigan has come under fire from some Democrats who want him to give up his chairmanship of the state party over his handling of harassment complaints that led him to shed two top political operatives. In one instance, three months elapsed between the time former campaign worker Alaina Hampton wrote a letter to Madigan alleging harassment and the speaker terminated top political aide Kevin Quinn over text messages he sent her. "I think three months was too long. I joined early on in the voices that said they should do an investigation and look into it further what happened and could we have done a better job — which I think is, without a question, yes, the answer to that is yes," Mendoza said. "Three months is too long. I think that the chairman has to and will do better. He has to do better," Mendoza said of Madigan.
The comptroller said she, state Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline met recently and adopted a mission statement. "The mission of the panel is to engage our primary stakeholders, women in Democratic politics, to identify and help eliminate obstacles, including sexual harassment, and to elevate women into positions of leadership in the Democratic Party of Illinois by providing recommendations to promote a culture of equity, safety and respect," Mendoza said. (Rick Pearson) What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be at an event with new police recruits. *Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to be at the U.S. Supreme Court when it hears oral arguments in a major labor case sparked by a Rauner lawsuit. Here is a primer for Janus v. AFSCME. *Three City Council committees meet, including Aviation and Finance. On the Finance agenda is a $20 million settlement of a code-of-silence lawsuit. *The Chicago Board of Ethics meets. *Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Chairman Bob Schillerstrom will speak to the City Club of Chicago. *The week ahead: On Tuesday, the Illinois House and Senate are in, and two City Council committees meet. Chicago Urban League President Shari Runner will speak to the City Club. On Wednesday, it's the monthly City Council meeting. The Illinois State Board of Elections will hold a news conference in Springfield about "cybersecurity" and "voter system integrity." Joyce Foundation President Ellen Alberding speaks to the City Club. On Thursday, the Democratic governor candidates have a forum on WBEZ radio, which will air live at 6 p.m. Three Cook County board committees meet. And also at the City Club, it's former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy. On Friday, the Democratic governor candidates debate again, this time on ABC-7. From the notebook *Rauner vs. his campaign and himself: On Friday, Gov. Rauner was in Champaign, where he said President Donald Trump's concept of arming teachers to prevent gun violence in schools should be discussed. "I certainly support having armed security at schools," Rauner told reporters. "I think we should have a discussion about teachers themselves. I think there's arguments pro and con, we should look forward to that discussion." By Saturday, Rauner's campaign had emailed a statement to the Belleville News-Democrat after the the St. Clair County GOP's Lincoln Day gala. "No, teachers should be focused on education. We need armed school resource officers, emergency training for students, and we need to get guns out of the hands of criminals and those with mental illnesses," the Rauner statement said, according to the newspaper. At the dinner, Rauner also vowed to pick up enough Republican House seats to end Madigan's tenure as House speaker. Democrats currently hold a 67-51 majority in the chamber. "This year, I'm all in," Rauner said in a video of the event taken by the News-Democrat. "We are going to work out tails off together as Republicans and we are going to pick up nine seats in the House of Representatives and knock Mike Madigan out of office as the speaker of the House." Contrast that to the interview Rauner gave to Joliet radio station WJOL AM-1340 in January: "The good news is, even if I can't get Speaker Madigan gone this year, in the election -- that'd be nice but I don't think he's going to go anywhere." (Rick Pearson) *Alderman compares Madigan to Eisenhower: Mayor Emanuel's floor leader was asked Friday whether Madigan should step down from his post leading the state Democratic Party amid sexual harassment allegations in his political organization. To answer, Ald. Patrick O'Connor reached back a few years. "If the allies had pulled Eisenhower out of his position when the troops were landing on Normandy, you would take the head of those forces and throw those forces into disarray," O'Connor, 40th, said. "If you look at the state party and feel that it's important that we elect individuals that the party has backed, then you wouldn't take your leadership out when you're about to have the election." (Hal Dardick) *All in one: Democratic governor candidate state Sen. Daniel Biss says an attempt to adopt a graduated state income tax system should come with specific tax rates and a budget. "I don't think we should just put an abstract, theoretical referendum on the ballot. I think we ought to give people a real choice," Biss said said Sunday on WGN AM-720.
"I think we ought to pass a law that says here's what the tax rates should be if the constitution were to be changed. Here's what the budget would look like if the constitution were to be changed. Here's how our property tax system would get fixed if the constitution were to be changed," he said.
The top Democratic candidates for governor support a graduated income tax. Biss hasn't come out with proposed tax rates under the graduated income tax proposal because it should be based on an overall budget plan for the state, he said. "You've got to work out a budget comprehensively so it's balanced, so it's sustainable and all the different parties have to be at the table to make sure we get that right," he said. (Rick Pearson) *Lipinski challenger says congressional district has evolved: Democrat Marie Newman says the Southwest Side and suburban district in which she's challenging U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski has become more liberal since he was first elected 14 years ago. "I think right around 14, 16 years ago it started to change dramatically," Newman said on WGN AM-720. Newman said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the 3rd Congressional District by 8 percentage points in the state's 2016 presidential primary, indicating it is "solidly progressive" when it comes to Democratic voters. In the general election, the district favored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by 15 percentage points. "So that tells us it's true blue Democratic, no two ways about it. Thirty-three percent union households, that's gone up about 6 or 7 percent in the last decade. It's 30 percent Latino Americans, about 9.5 percent Arab and Muslim Americans and then the rest of it is this gorgeous mosaic of everything, right?" (Rick Pearson) Quick spins: J.B. Pritzker was endorsed by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 Political Committee. ... Speaker Madigan is backing Alma Anaya, the candidate endorsed by Jesus "Chuy" Garcia to replace him on the Cook County Board. *On "The Sunday Spin": Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests were Biss, Mendoza and Newman. "The Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-AM 720. Listen to the full show here. What we're writing *Chicago, airlines nearing blockbuster $8.5 billion deal to dramatically expand O'Hare (features exclusive interview with Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans). *Madigan's lawyer defends how he handled harassment complaints as major case snares spotlight. *Paul Vallas' son dies in California. *Chicago fires back at feds' request for "sanctuary city" documents, questioning "integrity" of Trump's Justice Department.
*Obama center's roadwork costs will total $175 million, city says. *Madigan schedules votes on gun control proposals as Republicans question his motives. *Reinsdorf personally questioned mayor's higher concert amusement tax, emails show. *Aon Center owners float plan for sky-high exterior elevator to new observation deck.
*Engineers give Chicago and Illinois roads a C-. What we're reading *Billy Goat owner faces off against ex-Playboy model in judicial race. *Former Bear Charles "Peanut" Tillman is now an FBI agent.
*David Mamet talks about his new book "Chicago," all about gangsters and Tribune reporters. Follow the money *Gov. Rauner's campaign fund gave $200,000 to the Illinois Republican Party. The party fund gave $300,000 to House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, who faces a primary race against Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub. *Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy reported $103,000 in contributions. *Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here. Beyond Chicago *House Democrats get their memo out. *NRA faces boycott movement. *California Democrats take a pass on Feinstein. *North Korea offers talks with U.S. | 
沒有留言:
張貼留言