WHAT’S WRONG WITH DEM?
Poor babies! Well, I’ll be gobsmacked! Sneed is told angry, frustrated voices wafted out of the Dem caucus rooms Thursday over the non- existent state budget and their wee wallets!
“Nothing is being done,” one legislator griped.
Translation: Er, “done” meant the legislators were not getting any per diem or mileage money while in overtime session and, alas, not being reimbursed for hotel rooms!
Huh? Was someone actually talking about pitching a tent near Gov. Bruce Rauner’s temporary Illinois State Fairgrounds residence? Nawww.
Lawmakers will get their reimbursements eventually unless they’ve opted out, which only a handful do. They haven’t been reimbursed since August 2016, the Daily Herald recently reported.
Zip it . . .
Coincidence? Or concurrence?
To wit: The abrupt resignations Thursday of two top fiscal femme powerhouses, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Theresa Mintle and Illinois Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno, was a one- two punch in the proverbial purse.
“It was a shocker . . . but no surprise,” a top political source told Sneed.
“They’d had it,” a top Sneed source said.
Translation? Did dealing with intractable men on the mirage called a state budget signal a time to bail out in tandem and move on?
Questions? Questions?
Bring it on?
Is it time for a Constitutional Convention to resolve our state budget nightmare?
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, whose non- partisan group assists Chicago area public policy opinion leaders, joins former Gov. George Ryan in telling Sneed:
“If the state does not enact the budget by midnight Friday, the consequences are so dire financially, I believe a Constitutional Convention to address Illinois finances and other challenges would be a reasonable move. “We are in a constitutional crisis!”
The buckshot: “However, in order to get a Con- Con called it would require a three- fifths vote by all houses of the General Assembly, then appear on the November ballot of 2018 for citizens’ approval.
“So a convention would not likely occur until January 2019, and Illinois can’t afford to wait that long.”
$$$ . . .
The Rahmster is running.
To wit: Amidst the city’s fiscal crisis and the state’s impending financial Armageddon, Sneed is told Mayor Rahm Emanuel is continuing to raise huuuuuge bucks for his re- election amongst the super wealthy hedge fund donors, and actually did so at a Gold Coast manse last week.
Yes . . . yes . . .
Former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, who is Barack and Michelle Obama’s BFF, is writing a book.
The big buzz: Will Jarrett have the guts to talk about all the people in the White House’s West Wing she detested . . . and vice versa?
Yes . . . yes . . .
A hopeful political harbinger? Dem gubernatorial hopeful Chris Kennedy was born on the Fourth of July.
Ka- ching!
Watch for Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to release a video to get people out of a bank line and online to pay their property- tax bills.
The star of the video: a little girl telling the viewer to take her to the zoo instead of wasting their time in a line.
“It will be several years before the number of bank tellers drops dramatically, but it’s coming, not just for Chase Bank but for the whole banking industry, which is busy figuring out if machines can take your deposit and give you cash without all that disturbing human contact,” Pappas said.
◆ Tot shot/ pop shot: The video star is Mary Georgelos, 7, whose father is George Georgelos, a mailroom supervisor for Pappas’ office.
“Mary is precious and believes someday she will be treasurer,” chuckled Pappas. “But until then she is just a seven- year- old reminding people to use the time having fun with their children.
“Look, banks are discouraging people from paying tax bills at their branches,” Pappas said. “It’s an open secret in the banking industry that there are fewer tellers for customers to do business with. They are pushing customers out of the branches.
“Let’s hope little Mary can help solve the problem by reminding people about the convenience of paying their taxes online.”
Sneedlings . . .
I spy: Philadelphia 76ers player Jahlil Okafor spotted at Gibsons on Rush Monday. . . . Ditto for “Chicago P. D.” Director David Rodriguez Sunday. . . . Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield dining with baseball greats Bob Didier, Mike Cameron, Marquis Grissom and Luis Alicea at Harry Caray’s on Kinzie last weekend. . . . Today’s birthdays: Michael Phelps, 32; Mike Tyson, 51, and Fantasia Barrino, 33.