Health & Fitness

Sky the limit on campaign funding for 2014 gov race

SKY'S THE LIMIT? Illinois only recently imposed its first campaign contribution limits. But with Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner likely to put millions of dollars of his personal fortune into his campaign and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun-control super PAC possibly spending millions on behalf of Democratic candidate Bill Daley,  those limits may be only a temporary blip on the 2014 radar. I explain how this might happen on my blog today.

THE RULES What are the campaign contribution limits in Illinois? Learn all the details here.

JOBS JOBS JOBS The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is supposed to help create jobs and business. But State Sen. Andy Manar says the agency "falls critically short (in) accountability and planning" and has become "the place to go for a blank check from taxpayers." Worse, though, is that it's been useless in the job it's supposed to do. "There is no direct correlation between spending and how that spending ties into a strategic plan.  With no plan, there is no benchmark to measure success or failure.  This lack of accountability has led to 11 federal subpoenas over the last three years." With Illinois perilously close to having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, Manar has proposed an overhaul of the agency. He explains here.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

LOSING OUT Our neighbors aren't waiting while Illinois spins its wheels economically. Our infographic shows why Illinois needs to get to work on its business climate right now.

CAUSE OF OUR TROUBLE Illinois' economic trouble is rooted in the chaos our out-of-control pension costs have brought to state government. Businesses don't want to move to or expand in a state with a tax climate as unstable as that of Illinois. That instability comes from the ever-increasing chunks of the state budget needed to slow the pension system's march to insolvency. Help us keep the pressure on our lawmakers to fix this crisis. Sign on here and check out our infographic timeline on the history of Illinois' pension trouble.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

IT'S NOT FAIR For decades, the political party that wins the right to draw up the legislative district map has used it as an opportunity to rig the system in favor of their members. They choose their voters and then stay in office for as long as they please. It's the root of bad government in Illinois and it must change. We've joined the Yes for Independent Maps movement in the arduous task of doing something about it. But we need your help. Click here to find out more and sign on for what promises to be a Herculean effort for the biggest reform there is.

TWEET OF THE DAY We call it ketchup. Apparently in the Daley home, they put "castup" on their burgers. (In fairness, they corrected the spelling later.)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ​Here are the Top 5 most viewed items on rebootillinois.com in the past week:

TOP 7 You can always find links to the day's news from around Illinois in the Daily Tip-Off section of our website. Here are today's top picks:

  • 7. John Kass on Lisa Madigan: “If only we lived in a comic book, instead of the corrupt, windswept political wasteland now known to taxpayers as Madiganistan, we'd know just what to do.” (Chicago Tribune)
    6. Gov. Quinn’s payroll stunt is a dangerous move. (Chicago Sun-Times)
    5. In Oak Lawn, politicians actually voted “no” to receiving pensions. (Chicago Tribune)
    4. A lawsuit claims that Ald. Mell secretly owned part of a landfill that sparked a feud with former Gov. Blagojevich. (Chicago Sun-Times)
    3. It’s official that Deb Mell will try to keep her father’s City Council seat in the family. (Chicago Tribune)
    2. There’s a memo that Metra CEO Alex Clifford wrote that top Metra officials want no one to see. (Chicago Tribune)
    1. Charges of hush money and a role Mike Madigan played exploded from the state hearing on the Metra severance deal. (Chicago Sun-Times)
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