Monday, March 18, 2013
Evanston native and former mathematics professor Daniel Biss has moved up to the Illinois Senate determined to work on the state's pension liability.
Illinois has been struggling to fund pensions for a long time, but an Evanston native with an exceptional math background is pushing to ease the pension mess during his first term in the State Senate. Lawmakers could vote as early as Tuesday on a bill sponsored by freshman Sen. Daniel Biss, one he hopes will make a serious dent in the state's unfunded pension liability. If passed, Biss has promised that his bill would cut the state's current $95 billion unfunded liability by $28 billion and reduce the state's total pension payments by $159 billion over the next 32 years, according to the News-Gazette. Biss's rise to the senate floor has been rapid. In 2010, he won the Illinois House seat with his second bid for the office. A year later, …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
A year ago, readers felt a Northbrook Court jewelry store was right to have an armed security guard. Patch wants to know readers’ views in light of the shootings in Newtown and Oregon.
(Update on Dec. 18 at 5 a.m.) Friday’s murder of 26 people including 20 children by a gunman in Newtown, CT, and more gunplay at a mall outside Portland a few days before prompted Patch to take a new look at the use of an armed guard at C.D. Peacock’s Northbrook Court jewelry store. A year ago, Patch observed the guard and asked readers how they felt. A majority supported the idea. Patch wants to know if recent events have changed minds in the area. Patch is running a new poll and will publish the results next week. Patch contacted Peacock President Bob Baumgardner for a comment. He did not return the call. A year ago, state Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest) questioned the wisdom of the use of an armed guard in a mall store. Now, she …
Monday, January 9, 2012
Moody’s devalues Illinois debt rating to lowest among all 50 states. Biss and Nekritz also voice concerns.
Local elected officials reacted with criticism and others with potential solutions when Moody’s downgraded Illinois’ debt to A2 from A1 Friday, making an investment in the state’s bonds potentially the riskiest of all 50 states’ securities. Illinois had been tied with California at the bottom of the list, according to the Bloomberg News Service, until Friday’s action put it alone at the bottom. State Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest), who is retiring at the end of her term in a year, called for the entire Illinois General Assembly to work together to do something about getting the rating higher again. “This is somber news and a very great challenge for Illinois,’ Garrett said. “We’ve come to a crossroads and must find a solution in a …
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Seventeen of 23 election contests will have primaries.
Campaigns for the March 20 Illinois primary and Nov. 6 general elections started to come into clear view today after the deadline passed Monday to land a space in the ballot for all races except United States Congress. Of the 23 campaigns in the North Suburban Patch reading area, candidates will square off in primaries in 17 of those races for either the Democratic or Republican nomination. In three cases, primaries will take place between members of both parties. In the contests for six offices, either the Republican or Democrat has no opponent however party leaders can still choose a nominee. “We have a lot of outstanding candidates,” 10th Congressional District Committeewoman and Moraine Township Democratic Chair Lauren Beth Gash of …
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Candidates for General Assembly, Lake County State’s Attorney and other offices will battle for party nominations.
At least seven primary races are taking shape as candidates began filing petitions Monday for the March 20 Illinois primary election to earn spots on the ballot to qualify for the Nov. 6 general election. Candidates for all offices except the United States House of Representatives began turning in their paperwork. The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday. The filing period for Congress begins Dec. 23 and ends Dec. 27. While a number of nominations are uncontested, contests are emerging for the Illinois General Assembly, Lake County State’s Attorney, Lake County Recorder, Lake County Coroner and the Lake County Board. With the retirement of state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), state Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) filed his petitions Monday in …
Monday, November 28, 2011
Candidates for 9th and 10th Districts must wait until Dec. 23 to file petitions. All other Illinois office seekers begin today and must finish by Dec. 5.
Candidates for Illinois’s 18 seats in the United States House of Representatives can do nothing but continue to gather signatures on their petitions today as all other office seekers in the state are ready to file their petitions to get on the March 20 primary ballot. After Gov. Patrick Quinn signed legislation enacting the new Congressional map last summer Republican members of Congress including Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) of the 10th Congressional District challenged the new boundaries in federal court. As it considers the case, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois postponed the filing period for people running for Congress Wednesday. Rather than file petitions today, the Court ordered a delay …
Monday, October 10, 2011
Morrison began as a Republican and Friedman started as a Democrat.
An ideological evolution for West Deerfield Township Supervisor Julie Morrison and Highland Park pediatrician Arie Friedman came close to a direct collision more than 20 years before they decided to try to replace retiring state Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest). Friedman is seeking the Republican nomination in the March 20 primary for the 29th State Senate District seat and Morrison is after the Democratic nod. No other Republicans are running at this time. Des Plaines janitor Michael Bausone is considering a run for the Democrats. From Democrat to Republican Friedman began life as a Democrat growing up in Highland Park. His father, attorney Gene Friedman, ran unsuccessfully for Congress against former Rep. John Porter (R-Wilmette) in …
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
More than 4,800 people made donations. Dold, Schneider wait to disclose totals.
Congressional candidate Ilya Sheyman raised more than $140,000 from over 4,800 donors for the quarter ending Sept. 30 in his pursuit of the Democratic nomination in the March 20 primary to oppose Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) in the November, 2012 general election. Sheyman, a community organizer from Waukegan, was the first candidate to disclose his third quarter fundraising totals, which must be filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by Oct. 15. One of Sheyman’s primary opponents, Deerfield management consultant Brad Schneider, and a spokesperson for Dold indicated they plan to release their results by the deadline. The third Democratic candidate, Mundelein attorney Vivek Bavda, did not return calls from Patch. Sheyman was …
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Governor's veto spurs Garrett, May, Nekritz and Biss to pursue tighter screws on ComEd.
When ComEd appeared Monday before the Highland Park City Council for the third time since June 27 to address reliability issues, its advocacy for the smart grid legislation--previously prevalent--was missing. One reason the ComEd’s “smart grid” legislation may not have come up is because Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed the bill, which had an estimated cost to ratepayers of $2.6 billion, hours earlier. Lawmakers could override Quinn's veto when they return in late October. Highland Park officials took up the issue later that day during their council meeting. Mayor Nancy Rotering wrote last month in Patch that the hearing, which featured ComEd executives, would be much anticipated in light of the utility's push for Illinois Senate Bill 1652 and its …
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
What Independence Day parades taught Kirk, Schakowsky, Dold and others.
Partisanship gave way to patriotism when elected officials and political candidates gathered on the Fourth of July at various local parades. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) as well as candidates for Congress and local members of the Illinois General Assembly discussed how Independence Day unites Americans, even in difficult economic times, as they prepared to march Monday. “It’s very important for people to feel up this year,” Kirk said at the Northbrook Fourth of July parade, where he went after marching in Oak Lawn and Downers Grove. “It’s a good opportunity to show patriotism when we need it." Hanging onto the American Dream Schakowsky, who walked in Des Plaines and …
Jim
3:12 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Actuarial malfeasance by Evanston city government was at the root of the local police and fire pension underfunding. Illinois has had it's credit rating lowered and the SEC has accused Illinois of fraud in it's bond presentation. Illinois has essentially admitted to that by agreeing to cease and desist. And now this blog has implied that because Mr. Biss is a mathematician, there is some magical … more ›