Health & Fitness
Big hair, big hats, big toast, big business: "We've got it all," Texas gov tells Illinois businesses
Rick Perry can't stop here, this is (not) bat country...In light of Texas Gov. Perry's trip to Ill., we compare the states, give some snark, & admit he's a bit right. All that and more.
TEXAS SMACKDOWN Texas Gov. Rick Perry has made quite a dust-up with his ad campaign this week aimed at luring Illinois businesses to his state. It's tempting to respond with wisecracks -- and we do a bit of that in today's editorial -- but Illinois elected officials need to recognize the truth within Perry's Texas-style hubris. Our opinion is here. (We've also got the full ad campaign here. Perry's video appeal is here.)
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CULTURE WAR Texas brags about its cultural assets in its campaign to entice Illinois businesses. Among them: a bat population of 1.5 million. Well, they may have us on that one. Click to see the rest..
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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VOICE OF THE PEOPLE When we posted a quote from Perry on our Facebook page this week, reaction was swift, strong and heavy. And at times quite entertaining. We compile some of our favorite comments here. Feel free to add your own! Sarcasm encouraged but not required.
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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NOT JUST TEXAS Texas is far from the only state attempting to cash in on Illinois' financial dysfunction. Our infographic shows how our neighboring states are surging past Illinois in many of the areas critical to building a healthy economy.
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PRECKWINKLE'S CONFLICTS? Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle won election in 2010 as the voice of reform after years of the Stroger family dynasty's ethical challenges. But the Better Government Association wonders about Preckwinkle's reformer credentials after examining her campaign fund, which contains heavy donations from the unions and contractors that do business with the county. "The bonanza of campaign cash raises conflict-of-interest concerns, especially as the county negotiates with unions over critical public pension concessions or cutbacks," says the BGA investigation. Read the whole thing here.
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DAILY TIP-OFF Illinois officials including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn are having great fun reacting to Rick Perry's scheduled visit to Chicago next week to pitch Texas to Illinois businesses. Emanuel wins the prize for the best comeback, as quoted in Crain's Chicago Business: "Imagine the jobs they'd bring in (to Texas) if they had a governor who could remember all three parts of his three-part plan." Zing!
The Austin American-Statesman covers Perry's upcoming Chicago visit and discusses Perry's similar effort to entice businesses from California. It's still not known what impact these effort have had, the paper reports.
Meanwhile, Emanuel again sounds the message to Springfield that he needs action in the Capitol to easy Chicago's crushing pension debt. His comments come as Moody's Investor Services names Chicago among the cities in danger of credit rating downgrades for under-reporting the extent of their pension trouble in the post-recession years.
Find links to these and other relevant Illinois news articles in the Daily Tip-Off section of our website.
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