You can listen to it right here: Left Right and You Jan. 29 

A big thanks to Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford for calling in to explain exactly what Illinois’ new subpar A- bond rating really means. What’s another $95 million to beleaguered IL taxpayers!

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford

Allen and I also tried to get the Treasurer to disclose his gubernatorial intentions, but he foiled us at every turn. Rutherford did announce that he would be making an announcement sometime soon.

Suffice it to say that this journalist thinks he’ll be aiming for that Springfield mansion and also believes he’s the best man for the job.

Another tip of the hat to regular callers Koko, Jeff and Dan who generally stayed on point. We do love your feedback!

On today’s show: 

• Both the Sun-Times and Tribune called for Mike Madigan to abdicate his Springfield throne if his daughter runs for Governor. What happens if he doesn’t?

• Allen thinks the media are “Obama-bots,” but how can that be when those Fox News nitwits dominates the cable news airwaves?

• Illinois now has the lowest credit rating in the country! State Treasurer Dan Rutherford calls in to discuss what that means for taxpayers. We might even ask Dan about his gubernatorial intentions.

All this and your calls (847-931-1410) on WRMN AM1410 from 3 to 4 p.m. today.  Don’t miss it!

Please Lord! I’m trying to have patience with new State Senator Jim Oberweis if for no other reason than I like the guy.  I know, I know. There’s no accounting for taste. 

I too would like nothing more than to see Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady sent packing because, as today’s Patch column presents, there are so many good reason to do just that! But what does Sen. Oberweis hang his resignation demand hat on?

That’s right, Brady’s call for the GOP to relent on their same-sex marriage stance when that’s the only thing Brady has managed to do right in the 10 years.

Of course, given his past history, all the papers and news outlets immediately picked up on the Oberweis pronouncement which made Illinois Republicans look just another bunch of intolerant idiots. Like Republicans really need to give voters any more reasons not to vote for them.

Please read the column to see how Jim should’ve done it!

Kinda continuing on my current Patch theme, Thursday’s column calls out fake conservatives for their abject failure to take personal responsibility for well…anything. As I note in the column, a poll found that 49 percent of Republicans believe ACORN stole the last presidential election.

Fake Conservative

The problem with that theory is, ACORN ceased to exist in 2010.

Until the GOP looks squarely in the mirror when they point those fingers, the Democrats will continue to rack up the kind of impressive wins we saw in November. Being an angry old white man will only get you so far. And with this country’s (and county’s) demographics changing with every breath, this could be the beginning of the end of the Republican Party.

The comments on that column are interesting as well. Enjoy!

Right here Left Right and You Jan. 22.

A special thanks to former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger who admirably filled in for Allen and to Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez for calling in to offer his thoughts on drivers licenses for illegal immigrants.

Steve Rauschenberger

And I certainly hope the Illinois GOP was listing because, between Steve and myself, we solved every last one of their problems.

Enjoy the show!

Please tune in to WRMN AM1410 at 3 p.m. today for the latest installment of Left, Right and You. Special guest co-host and former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger will join me, Jeff Ward, for the radio ride as we dig deeply into pithy topics like: 

1. Early voting has already started for Elgin’s two-year city council seat. With 9 people running it sounds a lot more like the Fellowship of the Ring than a ballot. Does anyone know any of these people?

2. Should Illinois illegal immigrants be allowed to procure a drivers license? Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez will call in with his always interesting insights.

3. Does his sudden support of same sex marriage mean the end of of the road for Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady? I can’t wait to hear Steve’s thoughts on this one!

And, of course, we’ll take your calls at 847-931-1410. Be there or be square!

Tax Increment Financing districts may be a good idea on paper, but they rarely work as advertised. What TIFs are supposed to do is provide developers with an incentive to take on blighted areas by subsidizing new projects with sale tax cash. The municipal hope is that the long term revenues will more than offset that initial hit.

But it rarely works out that way. What typically happens is the mayor cons the city council into going along with one of his or her favorite contributors who’s suddenly supposed to pull off a redevelopment miracle. Not only do most TIFs  fail to live up to their billing, but they end up costing taxpayers even more. 

As an insightful Patch reader pointed out, if the real estate market would bear that new development, developers would’ve have rushed in to stake their claim without worrying about being underwritten by any of our money.

Though our Monday Patch column example centers around Geneva, the theory applies to all suburban municipalities. In the particular case, after the taxpayers subsidized his mismanaged Geneva on the Dam project (Route 38 and the river), now Kent Shodeen of Shodeen Management is coming back to the those overburdened folks  by fighting his property tax assessment to the tune of $460,000.

Should he prevail, this will cost our schools and other local taxing bodies 40 grand which has to come from somewhere.  And we all know this is just another form of double dipping.

Anyway, enjoy the column!