Would Have Been Helpful To Know: IFT Prez Sits On Board of CTBA

The guys over at the Illinois Mirror took a second to stop their Rich Miller-hating and uncovered (at least for us here at the Truth Team) this little nugget that makes the Carol Marin lead discussion on Chicago Tonight a little bit less that something that should be taken at face value.

Earlier this week, they convened a panel to talk about politics and the fiscal condition of the State of Illinois.

The panelists included John Tillman - a guy from the Illinois Policy Institute, Dan Montgomery - the President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Bruce Dold from the Chicago Tribune Ed Board and Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

Martire and Montgomery seemed to be on the same page the whole segment.  We wondered why they seemed so chummy.

Turns out, the Mirror guys know why:  Montgomery is on the board of Martire's CTBA.  Isn't that convenient?

Chicago Tonight had a good debate on Illinois’s growing unfunded pension liability.
John Tillman of the libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute was there, as was Chicago Tribune Editorial Page Editor Bruce Dold. 

Representing the teachers union and other state workers were Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teacher. 

What host Carol Marin didn’t tell you was that Montgomery sits on the board of the CTBA, which she and other members of the media like to tout as a non-partisan arbiter of everything budget related, especially when it comes to taxes and pensions. But as we’ve pointed out in previous posts here and here, they’re not. In fact, the CTBA is also a favorite tool of Rich Miller, the former Mike Madigan staffer who now passes himself off as the Sage of Springfield through his Capitol Fax blog. He often uses slanted CTBA “reports” to beat up on candidates and politicians who offer up new ideas to get Illinois’s fiscal house in order. 

Marin would have done better by her viewers if she disclosed during the intros that Montgomery sits on the CTBA board.

Go check out the whole thing.  While you're there, go enjoy some of their funnies.

Dold, Shilling, Senger, Bost Announced by NRCC "Young Guns" Program

Yesterday, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced their first round of ‘On the Radar’ candidates ahead of the 2014 elections. The Young Guns program supports and mentors challenger and open-seat candidates in races across the country.

This 'On the Radar' stage is the 1st round.  Think of it like American Idol.  You can see the process laid out on the GOPYoungGuns.com site.

From the press release:

“These 36 candidates all provide a stark contrast to their liberal opponents, whose support of ObamaCare and this Administration’s big-government, job-destroying agenda has taken a toll on the American people,” said NRCC Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). “With ObamaCare’s bad policies and botched rollout affecting families across our nation, and our country diving deeper into debt each and every day, it’s time to bring real change backed by conservative principles and priorities to Washington. I am confident that these candidates will continue to work hard for their communities and their campaigns as we head into the 2014 election year.”

This is particularly good news for Darlene Senger.  She's running in a contested primary for the Illinois 11th Congressional District, but getting this nod says that she has the organization in place and is doing everything right in terms of moving her campaign in the right direction.  The advise/counsel part of this is invaluable and Darlene Senger getting this recognition is going to help her fundraising, we would think.   Illinois Review covers the Senger angle and gets Katie Prill of the NRCC to discuss the Senger race in particular.

At the end of the day, Darlene Senger has (what appears to be) the support of the program.  See her "page" here on their site.    We don't see Burt Miller or Chris Balkema up there...

Bruce Dold and Bobby Shilling are both on the "Former Member" list, so they appear to be on a different track.   We'll be watching them and their campaigns closer this Spring.