Better than Wallace w/Axelrod: Berkowitz w/Senator (and likely 10th CD candidate) Garrett on the Quinn tax increase,education and more;Cable&Streaming
Jeff Berkowitz: People with [incomes of] a hundred thousand or less [shouldn’t] pay any increase in state income taxes, that's what you are proposing?
State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I would like to see that same flat rate.
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Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me, your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: He makes more, but my salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: He makes more, how much does he make? Shouldn't people disclose that? You're a public official of a family. How much does your husband make? Yearly?
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State Sen. Garrett: I think Senator [and Senate President John] Cullerton is a realist. You know we have seen a major decline in our revenues. Illinois is no different than any other states. So, we don’t have a lot of options out there… we have healthcare providers who have been waiting in some cases almost a year so what do you do, you know you have to come up with some revenue streams.
Jeff Berkowitz: You mean some tax increases. That ‘s a fancy word for—or driver license fees—
************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show, featuring State Senator Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest)[in her 11th year in the General Assembly,"] airs tonight in its regular cable scheduled slots throughout the City of Chicago at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV) and in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, ACTV-10, aka Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
*************************************************
You can also watch the show with State Senator and likely 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest) on your computer.
****************************************
The show with Senator Garrett was taped on March 15, 2009.
****************************************
The "Public Affairs," show, featuring Senator Garrett (D-Lake Forest) also airs throughout the City of Rockford (and in surrounding areas) this Thursday night, April 9 at 8:00 pm on Cable Ch. 17. Surrounding areas reached by Ch. 17 include Byron, Cedarville, Cherry Valley, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Mount Morris, New Milford, Portions of Ogle County, Oregon, Polo, Stillman Valley, Winnebago, Portions of Boone County and Poplar Grove.
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--Sen. Garrett, no increase in the state income tax for families earning less than 100K?
Jeff Berkowitz: People with [incomes of] a hundred thousand or less [shouldn’t] pay any increase in state income taxes, that's what you are proposing?
State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I would like to see that same flat rate.
Jeff Berkowitz: You know some people say--John Tillman, you may know him, he's head of the Illinois Policy Institute--just a few weeks ago he was on [this show]. He said everybody should have skin in the game. Because right now, on the federal level, I think half the people don't pay any income tax. Is that right?
State Sen. Susan Garrett: I can't say that for sure.
Jeff Berkowitz: But if that's the case, there's no skin in the game, how can people be participating in government when they don't pay any taxes?
--The poorest of the poor will pay more under the Quinn Tax?
State Sen. Garrett: Well, it's one thing to participate in government but if you don't have the dollars to participate and you're asking the poorest of the poor to pay even more.
Jeff Berkowitz: But, shouldn't you pay something-- if you get fifty thousand in income, you participate in the federal government, you get benefits. Fifty thousand dollars is not exactly nothing. Those people don't pay any income tax on the federal level.
State Sen. Garrett: So, Jeff, if you're a family of four, you have two children--you know, I make about sixty five, sixty seven thousand dollars a year. It comes out to about--
--Disclosure of a Politician’s Family Income
Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me, your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: He makes more, but my salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: He makes more, how much does he make? Shouldn't people disclose that? You're a public official of a family. How much does your husband make? Yearly?
State Sen. Garrett: I'm not absolutely sure.
Jeff Berkowitz: Approximately. Ballpark.
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know, because a lot of his salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: Isn't it like McCain saying he didn't know how many houses he [and his spouse] had? [Ed. Note: 14, or so, including investment homes]
State Sen. Garrett: A lot of his salary is based on stocks, and stock options, so as my husband said to me, we are under water this year, because we didn't receive any of the benefits of the stock options. They basically went down.
Jeff Berkowitz: What did he get for salary?
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know. Honestly, I don't know.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don't know your husband’s salary?
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know. Honestly, I don't know.
Jeff Berkowitz: We don't mean to pick on you. We're going to start asking people--everybody who's in politics, Democrats and Republicans, this question.
State Sen. Garrett: You can go online and find out.
Jeff Berkowitz: How much your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: That's online?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, If you go to Beckman Coulter, which is the name of the company-
Jeff Berkowitz: He's one of the top five compensated officials in that company?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, He would be. Yes, he would be—because he is the chief executive officer [and Chairman of the Board].
Jeff Berkowitz: [Scott Garrett] makes more than two hundred thousand dollars a year?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes he does.
Jeff Berkowitz: As a family income you make more than two hundred and sixty thousand a year.
State Sen. Garrett: Right. We pay heavily in federal and state taxes. So having said that, my belief is that when you make fifty-five, fifty-six thousand dollars, your [monthly] take home cash is probably in the $3,000 range, maybe less than that, range. [Ed. Note: a head of household of four, making 50K per year, will pay no fed income tax, pay about $1170 in state income tax if the Quinn tax increase is enacted, and pay about $3000 in social security tax. The resulting monthly take home cash is about $3,819 (or almost $46,000annual take home cash). Before the Quinn “tax increase,” such a taxpayer would have monthly take home cash of about $3,812, so the effect of the Quinn proposed Tax increase is to lower annual taxes of this family of four by about $90. These calculations do not include the recently enacted federal tax changes].
Jeff Berkowitz: A month. Thirty six thousand a year take home on a fifty thousand a year salary.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes. And maybe even less than that. [Ed. Note: not quite, see above Ed. Note]. So your rent or your mortgage, your food, you're really having a tough time making ends meet.
Jeff Berkowitz: If you're making fifty thousand a year, and you don't pay any federal income tax, there's no withholding for that because it's zero. So all you pay is social security, that's about six percent-
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: We can argue about the details if you want, but the fact of the matter is, when people make fifty, fifty six thousand dollars, or less--we're talking about or less, there's very little money to take home to pay your utility bills, your water bills, your grocery bills, transportation.
--Does Garrett support the Quinn Tax Increase?
Jeff Berkowitz: You're backing up Quinn if he pushes the income tax increase?
State Sen. Garrett: No, I'm just saying that-
Jeff Berkowitz: To 4.5 %, 5%. Excuse me, if he pushes it to 4.5% or 5%, from 3%, which some would say is a fifty percent increase or a sixty percent increase, are you, Senator Garrett, backing up Governor Quinn on that?
State Sen. Garrett: I'm saying-
Jeff Berkowitz: Yes or no.
State Sen. Garrett: I'm not going to say, Jeff, because I want to look at the proposal. I'm not sure that fifty-six thousand is the right threshold.
Jeff Berkowitz: You want to make it higher.
State Sen. Garrett: I would like to look at that and understand what kind of dollars we bring in with anything over fifty-six thousand, what happens at seventy-five, what happens at a hundred. Even a hundred and fifty. Because if we've got the president of the United States saying two hundred or two hundred fifty is the cutoff, we ought to look at what that cutoff should be in Illinois, not just take that number and assume that that's the best number for us.
--Impact of expanding the Quinn Tax exemptions
Jeff Berkowitz: But if you do that, if you raise the exemptions, lower the increase of the tax on people with incomes of fifty five to a hundred thousand--that sounds like what you want to look at. I'm not saying you want to do that, but you want to look at it.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, I do.
Jeff Berkowitz: And if you do that, that means, in order to get the same revenue, you have to raise taxes even more on those people with a hundred thousand or above in income.
State Sen. Garrett: Not necessarily so.
--Tax increases as a zero sum game
Jeff Berkowitz: Or you get less revenue and you've got to cut spending. This is sort of a zero sum game, unless you buy into what the Republicans say--if you lower taxes, the economy does better, there's a bigger pie. A lot of people thought you were once a Republican. Would you buy into that approach? That's what Senator Matt Murphy says--you know Matt.
State Sen. Garrett: I do.
Jeff Berkowitz: He's a colleague.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Senator Matt Murphy's “bigger pie” approach
Jeff Berkowitz: You understand the approach I just mentioned? Is that Matt Murphy's approach? Bigger pie?
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: Yes. So, Jeff, to the viewers who are listening, I think what we have to do is understand exactly where the Governor's coming from, listen to what the Republicans have to say, and maybe if we combine both of these different perspectives and ideas, we will come up with a plan that all of us will feel comfortable voting for. I don't think that it should be the Democrats' plan or all-or-nothing. Nobody should ever think that the Republicans aren't part of this discussion, because they are. And they have a lot of valuable ideas and we're listening.
Jeff Berkowitz: But in the Senate, thirty-seven Democrats, twenty-two Republicans. You have such a majority; you really don't need the Republicans. You only need a majority to vote on this tax increase. Right?
--A bi-partisan coalition to support the Quinn Tax increase?
State Sen. Garrett: But there are Democrats that won't necessarily just vote for a tax increase because they're told to.
Jeff Berkowitz: Can you name one?
State Sen. Garrett: I know there are some.
Jeff Berkowitz: But you don't want to name names.
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I don't want to make decisions and put names out there until we understand what we're voting for, but I do think that the Republicans will have a say. They will be at the table. They're already at the table. We have a commission set up where they're talking about the budget deficit and how we can basically fill the hole, and that's a bipartisan [group], set up by Senator Cullerton and Senator Radogno.
Jeff Berkowitz: Ten senators?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: Who's on that, can you rattle off some? Just some.
State Sen. Garrett: Cullerton, Radogno, Murphy.
Jeff Berkowitz: So the leaders are on it, and Murphy's on it.
State Sen. Garrett: People who have been very engaged in this process.
Jeff Berkowitz: You're not on it.
State Sen. Garrett: No, I'm on the other committee, which has to do with government reforms…
--Senate President Cullerton and 2002 tax increases
Jeff Berkowitz:..John Cullerton, we hope to have him on again…we had him on last June before he became Senate President…
State Sen. Garrett: Yeah.
Jeff Berkowitz: He seemed to be in favor of a tax increase…he said, I think, if he had come in and he was Governor in 2002, unlike Rod Blagojevich, he would have raised taxes then, the income tax, I think I am getting that right, does that sound like the senator, the Senate President John Cullerton you know? Go here to read a partial transcript of our June, 2008 show with Senator Cullerton and for a link to watch the show, itself.]
--The Senate President Cullerton that Senator Garrett knows
State Sen. Garrett: I think Senator Cullerton is a realist. You know we have seen a major decline in our revenues. Illinois is no different than any other states. So, we don’t have a lot of options out there… we have healthcare providers who have been waiting in some cases almost a year so what do you do, you know you have to come up with some revenue streams.
Jeff Berkowitz: You mean some tax increases. That ‘s a fancy word for—or driver license fees—
State Sen. Garrett: Well, you know, it could be—we’re getting stimulus money, we’re trying to find ways to match that. We’ve been very creative- in the past—but our creativity is kind of running into a dead end street. We have to come up with some different options.
************************************************
Public Affairs thanks Amy Allen, one of its interns, for preparing a draft of the above partial transcript of our show with State Senator and likely 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest).
***********************************
For more about Senator Garrett and the topics covered in our show with Garrett(and another partial transcript of the show with Senator Garrett), please go here.
******************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
************************************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett(D-Lake Forest) about hot topics in Illinois state government, a show with State Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Wauconda) about hot topics in Illinois state government, a show with State Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago), a show with IL 5th CD Dem nominee--Cook County Cmsr. Mike Quigley (who is now extremely likely to win the April general election to decide who replaces Cong. Rahm Emanuel), the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows. And, see here for very recent postings on our Youtube page.
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State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I would like to see that same flat rate.
*********************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me, your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: He makes more, but my salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: He makes more, how much does he make? Shouldn't people disclose that? You're a public official of a family. How much does your husband make? Yearly?
****************************************************
State Sen. Garrett: I think Senator [and Senate President John] Cullerton is a realist. You know we have seen a major decline in our revenues. Illinois is no different than any other states. So, we don’t have a lot of options out there… we have healthcare providers who have been waiting in some cases almost a year so what do you do, you know you have to come up with some revenue streams.
Jeff Berkowitz: You mean some tax increases. That ‘s a fancy word for—or driver license fees—
************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show, featuring State Senator Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest)[in her 11th year in the General Assembly,"] airs tonight in its regular cable scheduled slots throughout the City of Chicago at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV) and in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, ACTV-10, aka Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
*************************************************
You can also watch the show with State Senator and likely 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest) on your computer.
****************************************
The show with Senator Garrett was taped on March 15, 2009.
****************************************
The "Public Affairs," show, featuring Senator Garrett (D-Lake Forest) also airs throughout the City of Rockford (and in surrounding areas) this Thursday night, April 9 at 8:00 pm on Cable Ch. 17. Surrounding areas reached by Ch. 17 include Byron, Cedarville, Cherry Valley, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Mount Morris, New Milford, Portions of Ogle County, Oregon, Polo, Stillman Valley, Winnebago, Portions of Boone County and Poplar Grove.
*******************************************
--Sen. Garrett, no increase in the state income tax for families earning less than 100K?
Jeff Berkowitz: People with [incomes of] a hundred thousand or less [shouldn’t] pay any increase in state income taxes, that's what you are proposing?
State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I would like to see that same flat rate.
Jeff Berkowitz: You know some people say--John Tillman, you may know him, he's head of the Illinois Policy Institute--just a few weeks ago he was on [this show]. He said everybody should have skin in the game. Because right now, on the federal level, I think half the people don't pay any income tax. Is that right?
State Sen. Susan Garrett: I can't say that for sure.
Jeff Berkowitz: But if that's the case, there's no skin in the game, how can people be participating in government when they don't pay any taxes?
--The poorest of the poor will pay more under the Quinn Tax?
State Sen. Garrett: Well, it's one thing to participate in government but if you don't have the dollars to participate and you're asking the poorest of the poor to pay even more.
Jeff Berkowitz: But, shouldn't you pay something-- if you get fifty thousand in income, you participate in the federal government, you get benefits. Fifty thousand dollars is not exactly nothing. Those people don't pay any income tax on the federal level.
State Sen. Garrett: So, Jeff, if you're a family of four, you have two children--you know, I make about sixty five, sixty seven thousand dollars a year. It comes out to about--
--Disclosure of a Politician’s Family Income
Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me, your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: He makes more, but my salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: He makes more, how much does he make? Shouldn't people disclose that? You're a public official of a family. How much does your husband make? Yearly?
State Sen. Garrett: I'm not absolutely sure.
Jeff Berkowitz: Approximately. Ballpark.
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know, because a lot of his salary-
Jeff Berkowitz: Isn't it like McCain saying he didn't know how many houses he [and his spouse] had? [Ed. Note: 14, or so, including investment homes]
State Sen. Garrett: A lot of his salary is based on stocks, and stock options, so as my husband said to me, we are under water this year, because we didn't receive any of the benefits of the stock options. They basically went down.
Jeff Berkowitz: What did he get for salary?
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know. Honestly, I don't know.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don't know your husband’s salary?
State Sen. Garrett: I don't know. Honestly, I don't know.
Jeff Berkowitz: We don't mean to pick on you. We're going to start asking people--everybody who's in politics, Democrats and Republicans, this question.
State Sen. Garrett: You can go online and find out.
Jeff Berkowitz: How much your husband makes?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: That's online?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, If you go to Beckman Coulter, which is the name of the company-
Jeff Berkowitz: He's one of the top five compensated officials in that company?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, He would be. Yes, he would be—because he is the chief executive officer [and Chairman of the Board].
Jeff Berkowitz: [Scott Garrett] makes more than two hundred thousand dollars a year?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes he does.
Jeff Berkowitz: As a family income you make more than two hundred and sixty thousand a year.
State Sen. Garrett: Right. We pay heavily in federal and state taxes. So having said that, my belief is that when you make fifty-five, fifty-six thousand dollars, your [monthly] take home cash is probably in the $3,000 range, maybe less than that, range. [Ed. Note: a head of household of four, making 50K per year, will pay no fed income tax, pay about $1170 in state income tax if the Quinn tax increase is enacted, and pay about $3000 in social security tax. The resulting monthly take home cash is about $3,819 (or almost $46,000annual take home cash). Before the Quinn “tax increase,” such a taxpayer would have monthly take home cash of about $3,812, so the effect of the Quinn proposed Tax increase is to lower annual taxes of this family of four by about $90. These calculations do not include the recently enacted federal tax changes].
Jeff Berkowitz: A month. Thirty six thousand a year take home on a fifty thousand a year salary.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes. And maybe even less than that. [Ed. Note: not quite, see above Ed. Note]. So your rent or your mortgage, your food, you're really having a tough time making ends meet.
Jeff Berkowitz: If you're making fifty thousand a year, and you don't pay any federal income tax, there's no withholding for that because it's zero. So all you pay is social security, that's about six percent-
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: We can argue about the details if you want, but the fact of the matter is, when people make fifty, fifty six thousand dollars, or less--we're talking about or less, there's very little money to take home to pay your utility bills, your water bills, your grocery bills, transportation.
--Does Garrett support the Quinn Tax Increase?
Jeff Berkowitz: You're backing up Quinn if he pushes the income tax increase?
State Sen. Garrett: No, I'm just saying that-
Jeff Berkowitz: To 4.5 %, 5%. Excuse me, if he pushes it to 4.5% or 5%, from 3%, which some would say is a fifty percent increase or a sixty percent increase, are you, Senator Garrett, backing up Governor Quinn on that?
State Sen. Garrett: I'm saying-
Jeff Berkowitz: Yes or no.
State Sen. Garrett: I'm not going to say, Jeff, because I want to look at the proposal. I'm not sure that fifty-six thousand is the right threshold.
Jeff Berkowitz: You want to make it higher.
State Sen. Garrett: I would like to look at that and understand what kind of dollars we bring in with anything over fifty-six thousand, what happens at seventy-five, what happens at a hundred. Even a hundred and fifty. Because if we've got the president of the United States saying two hundred or two hundred fifty is the cutoff, we ought to look at what that cutoff should be in Illinois, not just take that number and assume that that's the best number for us.
--Impact of expanding the Quinn Tax exemptions
Jeff Berkowitz: But if you do that, if you raise the exemptions, lower the increase of the tax on people with incomes of fifty five to a hundred thousand--that sounds like what you want to look at. I'm not saying you want to do that, but you want to look at it.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes, I do.
Jeff Berkowitz: And if you do that, that means, in order to get the same revenue, you have to raise taxes even more on those people with a hundred thousand or above in income.
State Sen. Garrett: Not necessarily so.
--Tax increases as a zero sum game
Jeff Berkowitz: Or you get less revenue and you've got to cut spending. This is sort of a zero sum game, unless you buy into what the Republicans say--if you lower taxes, the economy does better, there's a bigger pie. A lot of people thought you were once a Republican. Would you buy into that approach? That's what Senator Matt Murphy says--you know Matt.
State Sen. Garrett: I do.
Jeff Berkowitz: He's a colleague.
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Senator Matt Murphy's “bigger pie” approach
Jeff Berkowitz: You understand the approach I just mentioned? Is that Matt Murphy's approach? Bigger pie?
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: Yes. So, Jeff, to the viewers who are listening, I think what we have to do is understand exactly where the Governor's coming from, listen to what the Republicans have to say, and maybe if we combine both of these different perspectives and ideas, we will come up with a plan that all of us will feel comfortable voting for. I don't think that it should be the Democrats' plan or all-or-nothing. Nobody should ever think that the Republicans aren't part of this discussion, because they are. And they have a lot of valuable ideas and we're listening.
Jeff Berkowitz: But in the Senate, thirty-seven Democrats, twenty-two Republicans. You have such a majority; you really don't need the Republicans. You only need a majority to vote on this tax increase. Right?
--A bi-partisan coalition to support the Quinn Tax increase?
State Sen. Garrett: But there are Democrats that won't necessarily just vote for a tax increase because they're told to.
Jeff Berkowitz: Can you name one?
State Sen. Garrett: I know there are some.
Jeff Berkowitz: But you don't want to name names.
State Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I don't want to make decisions and put names out there until we understand what we're voting for, but I do think that the Republicans will have a say. They will be at the table. They're already at the table. We have a commission set up where they're talking about the budget deficit and how we can basically fill the hole, and that's a bipartisan [group], set up by Senator Cullerton and Senator Radogno.
Jeff Berkowitz: Ten senators?
State Sen. Garrett: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: Who's on that, can you rattle off some? Just some.
State Sen. Garrett: Cullerton, Radogno, Murphy.
Jeff Berkowitz: So the leaders are on it, and Murphy's on it.
State Sen. Garrett: People who have been very engaged in this process.
Jeff Berkowitz: You're not on it.
State Sen. Garrett: No, I'm on the other committee, which has to do with government reforms…
--Senate President Cullerton and 2002 tax increases
Jeff Berkowitz:..John Cullerton, we hope to have him on again…we had him on last June before he became Senate President…
State Sen. Garrett: Yeah.
Jeff Berkowitz: He seemed to be in favor of a tax increase…he said, I think, if he had come in and he was Governor in 2002, unlike Rod Blagojevich, he would have raised taxes then, the income tax, I think I am getting that right, does that sound like the senator, the Senate President John Cullerton you know? Go here to read a partial transcript of our June, 2008 show with Senator Cullerton and for a link to watch the show, itself.]
--The Senate President Cullerton that Senator Garrett knows
State Sen. Garrett: I think Senator Cullerton is a realist. You know we have seen a major decline in our revenues. Illinois is no different than any other states. So, we don’t have a lot of options out there… we have healthcare providers who have been waiting in some cases almost a year so what do you do, you know you have to come up with some revenue streams.
Jeff Berkowitz: You mean some tax increases. That ‘s a fancy word for—or driver license fees—
State Sen. Garrett: Well, you know, it could be—we’re getting stimulus money, we’re trying to find ways to match that. We’ve been very creative- in the past—but our creativity is kind of running into a dead end street. We have to come up with some different options.
************************************************
Public Affairs thanks Amy Allen, one of its interns, for preparing a draft of the above partial transcript of our show with State Senator and likely 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest).
***********************************
For more about Senator Garrett and the topics covered in our show with Garrett(and another partial transcript of the show with Senator Garrett), please go here.
******************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
************************************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Senator and likely 2010 10th CD candidate Susan Garrett(D-Lake Forest) about hot topics in Illinois state government, a show with State Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Wauconda) about hot topics in Illinois state government, a show with State Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago), a show with IL 5th CD Dem nominee--Cook County Cmsr. Mike Quigley (who is now extremely likely to win the April general election to decide who replaces Cong. Rahm Emanuel), the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows. And, see here for very recent postings on our Youtube page.
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