Rigged system good for both parties, bad for you; IL ex-pat loves his IN tax cut; Campaign 2014: Rauner's friends: Your Reboot Illinois Daily Tip-Off

THEIR GOOD FORTUNE, YOUR BAD LUCK Illinois Republicans got lucky in 1990. They drew the winning ticket from a glass bowl that gave them the right to draw the state's legislative district map. Their map helped them remove Michael Madigan from the speaker's office for two years and control the Illinois Senate. Democrats also have won this prize (in 1980 and 2000). It's a crazy system that cheats voters, and Reboot's Madeleine Doubek witnessed the 1990 episode. She  remembers how it happened  and explains why Reboot Illinois is part of an effort to change the system.

CAMPAIGN 2014 Do Facebook friends become real-world voters? Chicago venture capitalist/GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner must think so. He boasts in an email to supporters that he has gathered 11,000 Facebook friends in 11 weeks. Oh, and he also raised $1.75 million. Keep up with 2014 election news on our Campaign 2014 scorecard.

HOOSIER TRANSPLANT Abdul-Hakim Shabazz used to talk about Illinois' dysfunctional government on Illinois talk radio. Now he sings the praises of his adopted home state's billion-dollar tax cut, budget surplus and generous school funding. It's not in Hoosier nature to brag, but it comes naturally to an outspoken native Illinoisan. 

ENDING THE ILLINOIS INCUMBENT PROTECTION PROGRAM In a democracy, voters should choose their leaders. But in Illinois, it's generally been the politicians who choose their voters by carefully drawing legislative districts to protect their members (and oust troublesome members of the opposing party). If you're an incumbent and your party has the right to draw the map (sometimes this is won by drawing a name in a lottery), you are all but assured 10 years of election security. That's a formula for complacency and corruption. We don't like this system and we've joined the CHANGE Illinois! coalition to get party bosses out of the process. Join us next week at Bradley University to learn more about this initiative. Please sign up here and join us. If you can't be there, go here to learn more about this important effort.

DAILY TIP-OFF Supporters of a pension reform bill sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan on Tuesday released figures that show a rival bill -- supported by Senate President John Cullerton and backed by public employee unions -- would cut a mere $5 billion off the state's $100 billion pension debt. The Madigan bill would trim $27-$29 billion. This in addition to the Cullerton bill's potential 30-year savings to taxpayers of $46 billion compared to $150 billion from the Madigan bill. This could help start some movement on a pension bill. Or it could make both sides dig in their heels and get more defensive. The session ends June 1, so something needs to happen soon.

We've got the basics of both pension bills in easy-to-digest form in our infographic.

After a year of controversy that has sometimes simmered and sometimes boiled over, the Chicago School Board votes today on a proposal to close 54 public schools it says are underutilized. It's the biggest mass school closing in U.S. history and has put Chicago's divisive racial and economic lines in sharp focus. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today that four of the schools on the list will be removed and remain open. Two others will close later.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel takes to the op-ed page of the Chicago Tribune to give his defense of the closings. "I do not doubt the sincerity of those who take issue with the changes that must be made. But I also know that some people are standing in the way of reform because it serves their interest. When 56 percent of African-American males in Chicago do not graduate from high school, and when underperforming students are trapped in under-resourced schools, the status quo is not in our children's best interest. We must take action." In a report from NBC5 Chicago, Emanuel says he has no concern for any political fallout that may come from the closings.

And remarks Monday by Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin on the state's business climate were both insightful and annoying to Crain's Chicago Business political columnist Greg Hinz. Griffin, however, finds Hinds' piece merely annoying: “Kudos to you for helping persuade other executives not to speak out. Why don't you just send them the directions to move their businesses and jobs to Texas while you're at it,” Griffin responds. 

Find links to these and other Illinois news articles on the Daily Tip-Off section of our website.

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