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Quinn wants to withhold cities' money as pressure to borrow billions - (www.chicagotribune.com) Gov. Pat Quinn wants to stop nearly $100 million in monthly payments to Chicago, the suburbs and other Illinois towns if lawmakers won't let him borrow billions of dollars to pay overdue bills, according to a confidential memo the Tribune obtained Thursday. The proposal, outlined in the memo and quietly distributed to top legislators, represents a pressure tactic by the Democratic governor. He hopes mayors from Zion to Cairo will squeeze their town's lawmakers to help get him the loan he wants. Acknowledging the backlash from cities, Quinn budget director David Vaught said mayors and other community leaders should "come help us get the debt restructured, and then you would get paid. That's the message to them. It's not, it's not a hostile message. … We have a cash crunch here, and we need your help getting out of it." Chicago would be hit hardest, with the city getting about $220 million in the last budget year from that pot of money. Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel already faces a money shortfall that could total $1 billion in day-to-day expenses and employee pension costs.
Madigan honored with "prevailing wage" award - (www.illinoisreview.typepad.com) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan accepted an award from the state’s Building Trades Council in Bloomington for her previous pro-union legislation. The Reuben G. Soderstrom Prevailing Wage Award is given annually. Madigan says she’s honored and will continue with the same work. She says she’s now working on a bill to enhance penalties for criminal violations of the prevailing wage act. Madigan says under the law, violations would be a class four felony. “I think the real impact would be, that it would provide for debarment,” Madigan said. “In other words, employers, contractors who are found to have criminally violated the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act will not be allowed to bid on contracts for a period of four years.”
Brown May Take $11 Billion California Tax Extension to Voters - (www.bloomberg.com) California Governor Jerry Brown said he’s willing to gather signatures for a voter initiative to extend $11 billion in expiring tax increases, blocked by Republican lawmakers, in order to balance the state’s budget. “We are going to put it before the people one way or another,” the 73-year-old Democrat said in an interview. The governor worked with lawmakers to reduce the $26.6 billion budget shortfall to about $15 billion through cuts to health care, education and other programs. The linchpin of his plan would fill $11 billion of the remaining gap by getting voter approval of a five-year extension of tax and fee increases due to expire by July 1. The proposal fell short when Republican lawmakers withheld support. Brown has since been traveling up and down California, the most populous state, trying to persuade at least two Republicans each in the Senate and Assembly to change positions, which would be enough to allow a vote. The governor wants to retain increases of 0.25 percentage point in personal income-tax rates; 1 percentage point in the retail-sales levy, to 8.25 percent; 0.5 percentage point in auto-registration fees, to 1.15 percent of a vehicle’s value; and a reduction in the annual child tax credit to $99 from $309. Brown got a standing ovation yesterday at the California State Parent Teacher Association’s convention in Long Beach when he said he would not support reduced spending on schools.
Calif. Teachers Union Gives Shocking Protest Instructions: Harass Legislators, Shut Down Roads, Co-Opt Fire Drills - (www.theblaze.com) The California Teachers Association is planning a week’s worth of Wisconsin-style protests and rallies, from May 9-13, to “force legislature to pass tax extensions.” That’s the short term objective of the “State of Emergency” protests, according to the website for the rallies. The longterm objective is to, “educate and convince communities to change tax structure and achieve tax fairness in order to achieve adequate, stable and ongoing funding for public education and essential public services.” Please see the article for more details. Inquiring minds may also be interested in seeing the 10-page State of Emergency Action Items by the California Teachers' Association.
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OTHER STORIES:
Kansas City confronts a staggering number of vacant houses - (www.kansascity.com)
The United States Housing Market - Another Year of Falling Prices? - (www.oyetimes.com)
Existing House Sales Rise Due To Investors, Prices Fall - (www.bloomberg.com)
The never ending pipeline of shadow inventory - (www.doctorhousingbubble.com)
Wells Fargo CFO says property market mixed - (www.reuters.com)
Cuba's housing market - (www.economist.com)
Is It Time to Kill the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction? - (www.dailyfinance.com)
The Truth About Taxes - (www.citybeat.com)
Jury convicts exec in $3B mortgage fraud case - (www.sfgate.com)
Realtor, Broker Charged In Fraud Scheme - (www.news4jax.com)
Australian Luxury House Down From $17.5M to $8M - (www.goldcoast.com.au)
iPhone Keeps Track Of Every Little Place You Go - (www.npr.org)
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