Revenge on India-noplace? Why bother!

Personally, I have always regarded Indianapolis as being the equivalent, municipality-wise, of Peoria or Des Moines, Iowa.

Small cities that may be nice places to visit. But does anybody seriously want to “live” there?



INDIANAPOLIS: A place to send postcards from, not to



SO EXCUSE ME for thinking it a tad ridiculous that some Chicago-area officials are thinking in terms of “revenge” against Indianapolis for having the unmitigated gall to think they could get the Chicago Board of Trade or the Mercantile Exchange to relocate to the Hoosier capital city. Maybe these people also want to target Los Angeles for "stealing" away Playboy magazine?

Crain’s Chicago Business used its website to report about efforts by the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau to create a new sports commission – one of whose duties will be to try to get some of the athletic events that now take place in Indianapolis to move to Chicago.

Snatching away those events that give Indianapolis its occasion bits of national attention when they appear in the datelines of sports stories just sounds so trivial. Heck, I wish our officials would spend as much time trying to draw business interests to Illinois for economic reasons, rather than trying to create a political grudge match between the two states.

If anything, I can’t help but think that such an effort by Illinois does nothing more than reduce our fine state to the level of Indiana – which has had its “Illinoyed” marketing campaign that has tried to cherry-pick assorted Illinois companies into moving to Indiana, based on the idea that Indiana will ask less of them in taxes than Illinois does.

Would an LA magazine highlight a Cubs ballgirl?

OF COURSE, INDIANA also will provide them with less in benefits than Illinois, which to me confirms the old adage, “You get what you pay for.”

Had the commodities exchanges actually relocated from the South Loop to Indianapolis, it would have been a public relations coup for the Hoosier politicos. But it didn’t happen, because our General Assembly eventually got its act together politically and passed those assorted tax breaks giving the exchanges $100 million in financial benefits.

Even though the supporters of the tax breaks argue that all they really did was changed Illinois law to reflect the realities of the 21^st Century where many commodities transactions are done electronically – rather than in the trading pits.

It just would have been too much of a change in the culture of those commodities exchanges to physically relocate their operations to a city whose only day of international significance is the one around Memorial Day weekend when the automobiles race round-and-round the track for a few hours.

THE IDEA THAT we now have to “avenge” ourselves against Indiana is just too ridiculous a concept to take seriously.

Perhaps it is because I was born and raised in the part of Chicago where Indiana isn’t an esoteric concept, but is that smelly industrial area (the oil refineries in Whiting, Ind.?) located just a few blocks to the east.

I look into Indiana and don’t see a thing they truly offer that we don’t already have here in Illinois. In fact, considering the lack of respect that Lake County, Ind., gets from the rest of its state (including the Indianapolis political scene), I often have thought that the best thing that county could do is accept the fact that it is part of metropolitan Chicago and join Illinois.

It makes more sense than those people on the Springfield political scene who would like Chicago to break off into its own state. If we did, we’d be a more significant state than anything offered up by Indiana or the rest of Illinois, particularly because that county (in many ways) IS the most significant part of Indiana. But it’s not going to happen anytime soon, no matter how much ideologues rant and rage in favor of the concept.

I’M ALSO REALISTIC enough to know that there are some of these “events” that Chicago officials want to dream of snatching for our city that aren’t going to come here – in large part because the people who put on those events like the smaller scale of an Indianapolis – where all the out-of-towners can stay in a hotel located within walking distance of the stadium/arena where it is being held.

That is the attraction for the Big Ten to play its end-of-season men’s basketball tournament in Indianapolis, rather than at the United Center.

If those event-goers were interested in doing things other than the specific event, then Chicago could top any municipality. Perhaps we just offer too many distractions, just like those conventions that would rather be held in Orlando, Fla., or Las Vegas, Nev. A place you visit, then return home from.

A time-filling trip to DisneyWorld or a real-life Vegas casino is simpler to comprehend than squiring around Chicago – although the latter would be a more worthwhile use of one’s time AND a more memorable experience.

SO WHILE I’LL wish these Illinois officials some luck in terms of bringing events to Chicago, I don’t think their efforts are essential to prove that the Second City is a more worthwhile place than any other Midwestern municipality.

Because about the only time that Indianapolis ever trumps Chicago is on those occasions when the AAA-level Indianapolis Indians play better-quality baseball than our Chicago Cubs.

Which is all too often!

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Capitol conniving takes place on both sides of the politically partisan aisle

Words such as “done deal’ are being used to describe the fact that the Illinois General Assembly will return to the Statehouse in Springfield ONE MORE TIME this year to try to pass a deal meant to bring an end to speculation that entities such as the Chicago Board of Trade and Sears will leave Illinois.



There may be a deal on corporate tax breaks for Sears and the commodities exchanges, but the trust level of legislators these days is about as gloomy as this century-old postcard image of the Illinois Statehouse.



Then again, in Springpatch Speak (that unique brand of double-talk used by state politicos), “done deal” merely means they’re going to try again – with everybody convinced that someone else will try to do the political equivalent of sticking a shiv in their spine.

I PHRASE IT so crudely because the mentality that goes into such strategy is blunt.

We have leaders for both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature claiming to have a deal on the proposed corporate tax breaks, one negotiated in good faith and meant to bolster our state’s business climate – while also offering some aid to those of us who aren’t CEO’s of major corporations.

Yet the plotting of this event, which will begin when the Illinois House of Representatives returns to Springfield on Monday and could end with the state Senate doing their thing on Tuesday, makes it clear that nobody really trusts anybody else.

For the record, the legislators will be asked once again to vote on the concept of changing the way transactions taxes are figured for the Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange.

BOTH CLAIM THEY are being extremely overtaxed (although many corporate types often give off the impression that they view ANY tax as over-tax).

There also is a tax credit being extended for another decade for Sears Holding Co., which could save that corporation about $15 million per year, and now legislators are being asked to consider a tax credit for Southern Illinois-based Champion Laboratories, Inc.

Which plays right into the hands of all those “Occupy Chicago” activist types who claim that the problem with our government is that it is too eager to benefit business at the expense of real people (a.k.a., the 99 percent).

The Illinois Senate had previously approved a version of this bill that also included an expansion of the earned income tax credit (from 5 percent to 10 percent) that could reduce the tax bills for low-income families.

BUT THE ILLINOIS House had rejected that notion (with its “infamous” 8-99 vote), claiming that the state can’t afford to lose the roughly $110 million such a tax break would cost to provide. And yes, it was the Republican caucus that instigated this particular opposition – although many Democrats also voted against the idea, largely because they seemed confused last week about what it was they were doing.

Which is why political people have now split this up into multiple bills that will require several votes to complete, and will probably take hours upon end to achieve a goal that many legislators seem to desire.

Yes, it will be staged so that the first “vote’ taken will be on the earned income tax credit expansion. The assorted tax breaks for business interests will come afterward, BUT ONLY if the tax credit for low-income families comes first.

If the earned income tax credit expansion fails in the Illinois House, then the tax breaks will never come up for a vote this year (which could backfire because Sears, at least, says it wants to know by year’s end what they can count on from the General Assembly). This won’t become one of those perennial bills that gets debated year after year after year – with promises of action some time in the distant future.

BECAUSE THE STATE Senate has also made it clear they will gladly cancel their scheduled emergency session date for Tuesday – if the Illinois House turns out to be incapable of passing anything.

Which also means the stage is being set for all the rhetorical blame that will be dished out.

Democrats will argue it is their GOP colleagues who caused the failure. If Sears were to leave for some place such as North Carolina, or if the commodities exchanges were really to relocate to a place such as Indianapolis, they will claim it is the fault of the GOP for not being willing to approve a deal.

Meanwhile, my mind can already envision the GOP criticism that will say Democrats who lead the Legislature let this matter get bogged down with what they’d like to consider an “irrelevant” issue.

PERHAPS THEY’LL EVEN claim this is “class warfare” by bringing tax breaks for poor people into the political mix on this issue.

Of course, the fact that this tax credit is being put into the mix is largely due to the fact that Democratic leaders of the Legislature want to have a little political cover. Otherwise, all the Occupy Chicago activist criticism that will be forthcoming will turn out to be true.

Our state’s business climate garbled up by officials more interested in partisanship and one-upmanship than trying to accomplish something, which is just as bad as those legislators in places like Indiana who are pushing for “right to work” laws because they think it will appease the conservative ideologue segment of voters come the next Election Day.

This whole issue is nothing but a political mess, particularly for one that officials are trying to describe as a “done deal.”

IT IS A done deal – provided that nobody decides to screw somebody else in the process between now and Monday/Tuesday.

On the Statehouse Scene, that concept is always a reality.

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EXTRA: How typically Springfield

There are times when I think the greatest political genius we have in Illinois is the Chicago White Sox.

CULLERTON: Will they REALLY wait?



By that, I mean their threats to leave the South Side for St. Petersburg, Fla., were serious enough that the General Assembly was forced to consider their late 1980s demand for a new stadium right then-and-there – resulting in the 1991 opening of the building we now call U.S. Cellular Field.

LEAVE IT TO the Illinois Legislature to get around to you, and you will wait a very long, long time for any results to come about.

That was on evidence Tuesday at the Statehouse in Springfield, where large numbers of political people were eager to cast votes indicating they supported the idea of giving significant tax breaks to Sears Holding Co., along with the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Yet the Illinois House and state Senate persisted in passing their own versions of such tax breaks (the Senate version included more tax relief for lower-income individuals, in addition to the corporate tax reductions, which is why Gov. Pat Quinn prefers it).

When asked about this conflict that could prevent any bill from being approved in the immediate future, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said that the General Assembly could easily spend the months of spring 2012 resolving the political differences between the two bills.

CONSIDERING THAT THIS corporate tax relief measure WAS the reason the General Assembly felt compelled to extend the length of the fall veto session (which should have ended two weeks ago), the idea that they can now just take their time on the issue sounds a bit absurd.

They came back for an extra day at the Statehouse (trust me; life in Springfield, Ill., during the Christmas holiday season isn’t that exciting) to do nothing.

I can’t envision their per diem fee ($132 per day for housing and meals) is worth the time and effort to make the trip to the capital city.

Cullerton also said he thinks the corporate entities that want these tax breaks should be willing to wait because their basic legal language is getting approved by the different legislative chambers.

YET I CAN’T help but be skeptical – even though a part of me thinks it might be good if these particular tax breaks don’t go through and become state law.

Perhaps those corporate entities will be impatient. Or fearful that they’re going to become one of the “perpetual” issues that comes up before the General Assembly. How many decades have we pondered the idea of a new Chicago-area airport? Or expanded casino opportunities?

Even in cases where the General Assembly eventually acts, how many more years after the White Sox deal did it take for the Chicago Bears to get a political agreement for the renovation of their stadium?

For the record, it was 14 years. That was their “reward” for being patient and waiting, instead of playing political hardball like the White Sox.

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Corporate tax breaks is reason the Legislature is bothering to come back

There has been a lot of speculation about whether the General Assembly will manage to give its approval to a casino expansion measure that Gov. Pat Quinn will be to sign into law.

There also are other measures desired by various interests, all of which will get a chance to come to life when the Illinois Legislature convenes again on Tuesday for yet another day of its fall veto session.

YET NONE OF this would have been possible, except for a bill that would appear to go to the very heart of what all these Occupy Chicago/Wall Street/wherever types claim is wrong with our society today.

For the reason that our Legislature felt compelled to add another day to the fall veto session (which was scheduled to end a couple of weeks ago) was a measure related to tax breaks for business interests.

The Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange have claimed they are overtaxed, and that they want changes in state laws that will reduce the amount of money they would have to pay for doing business in Illinois. They also have threatened to leave our wonderful city – using the claim that modern technology no longer requires them to physically be IN Chicago in order to do their global trade.

THAT is the reason we’re coming back today. The fact that a whole lot of other issues will also get a chance to gain approval is just a secondary benefit.

NOT EVEN THE idea of casino expansion would have been enough to bring the General Assembly back to Springfield prior to their next official dates of business in January.

So if you are of the type who seriously wants to have more gambling opportunities across Illinois, you should be thankful for the Board of Trade and Mercantile Exchange. Otherwise, you’d be waiting until next spring for any more consideration.

Of course, that’s assuming that anyone has changed their stance on gambling. For all I know, nothing may happen on Tuesday regarding casinos, and we could still be addressing this issue come spring.

So what should we think of this measure meant to benefit those agricultural commodities traders?

ACTUALLY, IT AMUSES me that whenever I hear legislators talk about this issue, they describe it in different terms. For state lawmakers used this same bill to also add in some changes in tax law that relate to Sears Holding Inc. – which has threatened to move its corporate headquarters from the northwest suburbs to some other state if they don’t get tax breaks.

Legislators talk about this bill as the “Sears tax break.” They say they’re just trying to be business-friendly to a corporation that has more than a century of history in our state.

It just sounds better to say “I’m helping Sears” than it does to say “I’m helping the Board of Trade.” The latter really reeks of confirming the suspicions of activists these days that our government officials are only interested in helping the 1 percent of wealthy corporate interests – while maybe the 99 percent of the rest of us shop at Sears.

I suspect if they really wanted to reflect the modern-day consumer, they’d offer up some sort of aid to Target and Wal-mart (where many of us are more likely to shop).

ANYWAY, THIS BILL will be the one that comes up Tuesday in the Illinois House of Representatives and the state Senate. As it was, an Illinois House committee gave the measure its recommendation during a hearing held Monday.

The General Assembly will be asked to provide tax breaks of up to $250 million – with about 40 percent of that going to the Mercantile Exchange, the Board of Trade and Sears.

To try to appease those Occupy protesters (and the regular people who sympathize with them), there also will be $100 million in tax breaks for smaller companies, and another $50 million to cover the cost of expanding the earned-income tax credit for the working “poor.”

In short, we’re seeing that our state does have a sense of being willing to offer aid to corporate interests – despite the claims of certain states with their “Illinoyed” marketing campaign that is trying to draw businesses out of our state and away to theirs.

PERHAPS OUR STATE just has a sense that the interests of corporate and personal interests need to be balanced off – while others (including our neighbor to the east – Indiana) are too willing to play partisan politics (such as persisting with legislation to turn themselves into a “right to work” state) with the issue.

This is the reason our Legislature is back in session. We feel the need to give business interests some aid – even though school officials in the area surrounding the Hoffman Estates corporate headquarters for Sears claim they will lose significant amounts of tax revenue they were receiving from having the retail company in their community.

Even if the Legislature manages to leave town without expanding casino gambling, there likely will be plenty of action that will manage to tick people off -- even though a part of you should be greatful that this issue enabled the Legislature to return to the Statehouse this week to consider your pet cause.

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