60 Comments - Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 8:58 am: Not only should the Governor be asked about new revenue sources, but the qusetion should be expanded to include how he expects the State to pay off the debt he has piled up. Isn’t this the same Governor who in January during the State of the State Message claimed the deficit was erased thanks to his efforts? - Lovie's Leather - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 8:59 am: Sure, it would be great to see somebody pressure Blagojevich on how he was going to pay for anything, especially the education program. Maybe we could make a little multiple choice test for him, make it easier… “Governor, how do you plan to pay for your campaign proposals?” A. More taxes on business B. Take more from the pension fund C. Make your daughter cry D. Abandon the issues once reelected E. All of the above I know the gov is a “C” student, but I think he would choose the right answer… which is “E”. - DOWNSTATE - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:04 am: Who would believe him except if he said borrow. - grand old partisan - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:09 am: Yes and Yes. First off, it’s self-evidently the right thing to do. And he’s stupid for not doing it. Months of hounding Topinka to do something, then give a half-cocked, weasely excuse for not doing it yourself? Rod, most people think you’re nothing more than a blow-dried, fast talking “politician” (in the most derogatory sense of the word). You’re not doing anything to change that perception. Second, Nix is a moron (sorry for the personal bluntness, but sometimes it’s just totally called for). “the proposals Blagojevich has already introduced are fully funded”? Really? Is that why – as Rich’s column in today’s Sun Times points out – Illinois has a GAAP calculated budget deficit that has gotten bigger and bigger over Blago’s tenure? Oh, and good thing that providing teachers with pensions wasn’t one of Blago’s “proposals,” because those sure as heck aren’t “fully funded.” Third – on property tax relief – have at it! After making such a big deal about how Topinka wouldn’t take a ‘no tax increase’ pledge, she’s actually turning around and proposing to lower taxes! Ball’s in your court, Rod. - Little Egypt - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:12 am: Go for it Rich. I’d bet if anyone can hold GoverNOT Hairdo’s feet to the fire, you can. BUT, he will slip by you and everyone else. He’s slick, slicker than Clinton. He’s got idiots who get out in front of him and read his “press release of the day.” John Filan said a while back that the income meets the expenses. I interpreted that to mean “the immediate expenses that must be paid to keep the state from shutting down.” Nothing was said about paying the pension system back or paying our medical providers. Elvis plays the best game of dodge ball I’ve ever seen. YES, YES, YES, the press should hold his feet to the fire. BUT they won’t, making this election a walk in the park for Elvis. Off the subject. How will Elvis translate the FDA’s approval of the morning after pill to be sold OTC since he called for the FDA to do that very thing? Will he claim victory for this? I’m betting he does in his 5:00 p.m. press release. - QueenB - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:15 am: Define “fully funded.” Does borrowing money from the pension funds really count as a legitimate way to fully fund the budget? - Shallow Pharnyx - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:24 am: He’s afraid if he comes up with a plan Rauschenberger will rip it apart. - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:26 am: Wait until his neighbors picket his house and then ask him about property taxes. - Cassandra - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:38 am: Perhaps he is hoping that the Rev and Emil Jones will do his work for him and shove through HB 750 with a veto-proof majority. Guess it’s time for another Trib article explaining to the clueless what HB 750 is really going to cost them overall. The primary beneficiary of HB 750 will be south Cook County so it makes sense for the Rev and Emil to carry the burden for this bill. If they win, they win big. - VanillaMan - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:38 am: One candidate is the governor and has complete access to all the information he needs to completely understand the budget situation. He provides the budget, so does he claim to know what he is doing? The other candidate is not the governor. She does not have access the the complete budget picture. She won’t know the complete situation until she is elected. To demand details from the challenger, but not from the governor is just plain evil. Even if she tried, she doesn’t have access to the governor’s data. The hounding Democrats have been doing is nothing but more ugly politics. For months I have been reading one blogger’s constant demand that Topinka has NO PLAN. On and on and on. NO DETAIL. On and on and on. What is now clear is that this redundant heckling is nothing more than a waste of space on this blog. There are real reasons why any challenger can’t explain their budget proposals. But there are NO EXCUSES why a governor can’t do it. Stop shilling for Rod and wake up! - Wumpus - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:57 am: She bit. Unless Rich Miller writes about it, it really won’t be talked about too much. (Rich, your sun times piece was talked about on DOn adn Roma w JBT as a guest.) I was one who demanded a plan from JBT on this blog, for what it’s worth. The Blago boot lickers do the same? - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:01 am: The Governor has passed four budgets thus far. His priorities and his means of achieving his legislative goals are clear. By running on his record, he can say what he has done in his first term and what he intends to do in a second term. It is JBT who doesnt have a record as governor who needs to be explicit with the voters as to her budget plans. I think a more appropriate question would be to ask Judy if her real motive in releasing this detailed budet proposal is simply a fundraising tool. I would also ask if the significant contributions she received vfrom Rosemont could lead us to believe that a casino will wind up in Rosemont? - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:02 am: Oh, and by the way Rich, are you giving her a complete pass here on her claim that she isnt expanding gaming, even though she is proposing 3000 additional spots at every casino in Illinois? How is this not an expansion, and how are you not calling her out on this? - just watching - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:02 am: Cassandra, There is absolutely no way on gods green earth that Emil Jones will have a veto proof majority in the Senate after this election cycle. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:05 am: Juice, if you scroll down a little bit you’ll see that I wrote this today: ===This is probably the most cogent critique of Judy Baar Topinka’s plan to expand casino gaming…=== Of course it’s expansion. I just don’t believe that the governor has a leg to stand on when he accuses her of flip-flopping. In all seriousness, any governor who has flip-flopped as much as he has, particularly on this issue, should try to avoid that unfortunate term. Besides flipping three times on expansion (once surreptiously by having his top guy go out and negotiate a deal that he eventually walked away from) he also said he wouldn’t take money from gaming interests and yet he still accepts big contributions from the racing industry. So, Juice, please explain this dichotomy. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:17 am: Although, Juice, I probably should’ve expected a question like that from someone who thought a headline here entitled “Sympathy for the Governor” meant that I was, in your words, “inserting the word ‘Governor’ in place of the word ‘devil’ to imply that the Governor is evil” Ease up on the hair-trigger. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:19 am: My comment had nothing to do with the governors positions on gaming — past and present. My question is simply how can the press allow her to deny that this is an expansion while at the same time printing her plan to add 3000 positions at every casino. Everybody loves to looks for hidden motives in everything that blago does — won’t anybody question the connection between the rosemont contributions to jbt and her new found love of gaming? The hypocricy is appalling! - It is easy being Green - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:21 am: Yes, it is an utter travesty that we are not holding our Governor accountable for his proposed and inacted policies, ESPECIALLY funding. It disgusts me quite frankly. I hope people who read this blog realize that democracy is an experiment. It requires a free press engaged in pursuing the truth and informing the electorate. It also requires citizen participation. We are required to hold our elected officials accountable for their decisions because afterall, they represent each of us and our values. So under Governor Blagojevich’s administration, under YOUR watch, what are you allowing to be done in your name? What commitments are you breaking? What social injustices are you perpetuating? If thinking about these issues disgusts you, please take a good hard look at Rich Whitney and decide for yourself if his principles and integrity are more in line with yours. Why not vote for someone you can feel good about instead of the lesser of two inept/corrupt/career politicians? With your help, Whitney can win. www.whitneyforgov.org - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:29 am: Juice has a lot of nerve bringing in Rosemont. When it was thought Rosemont was going to get a casino under this administration many of Rod’s biggest contributors were buying up land around the site. Talk about hypocricy. - SNL - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:39 am: Topinka would have been better having no plan rather than this garbage. Its not that I disagree with a casino (although that is a weak idea) but the fact that she constantly flip flops on issues. Who is this person? She seems unstable and very flippant. One minute she is against gambling in all forms and now its the backbone to her budget proposal? She was in the legislature, she knows gambling bills go no where. Why does Chicago get the boat? Why not Rockford? Waukegan? Southern Cook? These half-thought out ideas may have flown in the Treasurers Office, but this is the Governors Office. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:43 am: anon, thats a stupid comparison. what is clear is that topinka got a boat load of money from rosemont, and now she is talking gambling. she is directly accountable for the money she accepts in contributions. I cant wait to see how much money she gets from AFSCME for promising to hire back all the early retirements and give all state employees a pay raise. She is so pimping off money right now! - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:48 am: Juice, the 10th license will be taken from Rosemont and given to Chicago under this plan. - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:57 am: Judy you should be ashamed of yourself. My main issue is that you totally did a 180 degree turn on gambling. How can we trust anything you say now? Not only do I think this is a terrible idea, but now you have lost my trust and my vote. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 10:59 am: wow! If thats true, I guess Mayor Stephens’ organization will lay down in Leyden Township for Judy the way he did for Jim Ryan four yuears ago. Still, can she determine where the license goes? Isnt there an auction that determines the location and owner of the casino under the 10th license? - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 11:03 am: in her budget rescue plan, she promises the world to everybody and ties the funding to a casino plan that her own republicans are coming out against. this is a blatant play for campaign contributions. no chance that this thing would pass the legislature if she were elected. - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 11:05 am: Juice -I would suggest you Blago people stop all the talk about Judy and Rosemont. The press might start looking into what this Governor and friends did concerning the Rosemont Casino. We’ve already got too many investigations. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 11:28 am: Let’s get back to the question. I blame myself for allowing it to digress. - DOWNSTATE - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 11:36 am: He should lay everthing out in detail.HE SHOULD not Filan.He won’t because they do not have a clue to fiscal responsibility. - Skarfeld - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:05 pm: Whether JBT flip-flopped or not, it was a stupid political move on her part. Of course all of you JBT semi-lovers want Blago to go into more detail. The more you put out there, the more you’re liable for. Judy must have brought in Roskam’s old campaign manager. She got hooked, line and sinker. As soon as she opened her mouth, these were up and running: http://topinkawatch.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={9A15F3BA-75F9-482B-BE3F-1E958DE0BF96} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoXUNM1UqRQ As one friend put it to me: “If you had told me in the beginning that Rod was going to wind up beating her on issues I would have said you were nuts. Now, since she opened her mouth with this goofy casino plan and on the Medicaid issue, she’s toast.” Disagree all you like, but it seems to me there’s a lot defensiveness and anger coming out of Judy’s proponent’s on this blog and elsewhere in the GOP neighborhood. It makes her look just like another politician, the same characterization she heaps on Rod all the time. Calm down JBT lovers; there will be plenty more to defend her on later . . . - Little Egypt - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:07 pm: Juice - time out pal. Go take your meds and be back in a couple of hours with a calmer attitude. - Bubs - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:11 pm: When a Governor is reduced to the silly charade of asserting that increased money from tax cheats will fund the most recent of his Pie In The Sky giveaways, I’d say he’d better come clean on finances. The deeper significance of the silly idea is that the Governor has exhausted even flimsy funding plans, and is now moving straight into Fantasyland. But he is not prepared to let it stand in the way of “P.I.T.S.” during an election year. Blago cynically believes the voters are greedy, stupid cattle, that will believe whatever crap he thows at them with a smile and a tender word. He learned it from Bill Clinton. I would hope the press would be all over him like a cheap suit, but don’t expect WBBM (stands for “We Back Blago and the Machine”) to lead the charge. - So Blue Democrat - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:21 pm: I have another question for the Governor. What specific action steps does he plan to undertake to fix the mess he has created in state government? The recent DHS audit is a prime example. DHS cannot even conduct annual reviews of eligibility for Medicaid. This is just one example of many. State government is on the verge of anarchy. The Governor is more interested in using state government for his outreach (political campaign) than making sure services are provided in an effective manner, and per federal and state requirements. - Goodbye Napoleon - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:48 pm: Blago’s proposals are not fully funded. Just last month the IBHE approved another $7 Mil. for MAP Scholarships that he said he will ask the legislature for in Veto Session - that’s not fully funded. Also, I think the Tribune’s editorial calling Topinika’s plan a legitimate option was validation on her campaign strategy. They are not going to the bank on the merits of casino gaming, they are hoping that voters will see she has real options to his borrowing and press conferences. I still don’t think she’ll win, but that was a good move on her part I think. - Cassandra - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 12:53 pm: It’s always difficult to determine to any degree of certainty how well the guv’s various agencies are doing in providing high-quality, low-cost services to us, the consumers. And we pay billions for those services. So we need to pay attention to the info we do get. Last week we heard about the tax-collecting arm of Blago’s government perhaps not collecting, like, billions of dollars, the ones Blago suddently found for his energy program. And these folks are well paid. Now we are reminded that some of Jesse White’s Democratic janitors weren’t really working when they said they were and that DHS doesn’t bother to check eligibility for the zillions it hands out to certain lucky Illinoisians. And there are lots of other examples. It is certainly reasonable for Illinoisians to be skeptical about why their taxes need to be raised given these continuing examples of waste and fraud in Blago’s patronage-chocked state agencies. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:00 pm: The tribune said its a good idea? Big deal. Thats like Vine Line saying that “Next year is the Cubs year!” - Sound Reasoning - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:15 pm: The current governor’s feet should be held to the fire on this point but he doesn’t want to offer up too many details himself because he wouldn’t want to get called on the carpet for it after the election should he be fortunate enough to win. Remember this is the governor that coined the phrase ‘campaign puffery’ to explain why he consistently lied when he ran the last time for governor. The most likely reason that he won’t offer up his plan is because he really doesn’t have a plan. His governing style is by the seat of his pants with his programs du jour and no sound financial means to pay for them. When you really plan a budget you calculate what your revenues may be and then adjust your spending accordingly to make sure all bills are paid, both past and present. This governor looks at the revenue side, comes up with new feel good programs, and then completely ignores current debt obligations. Let’s give him some credit, he has made Illinois the number one debtor state in the nation under his watch and this can’t be blamed on past administrations. - moderate - half way between crazy and crazy. - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:21 pm: No. No one should expect anything from this govenor. - Dem Voting R - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:22 pm: Ah, Juice - you make it so easy to keep scrolling! I have found that in life it’s better to state your opinion once and then sit down. The outcomes take care of themselves. Judy has said her piece, gained traction in the election, and now Rod needs to talk about HIS plans for the state’s finances. Then he too should sit down and let the voters decide which one works. Of course, that would be CIVIL and those of us in this state shouldn’t expect that, even when we deserve it. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:34 pm: I guess it’s easy to scroll because you’re looking for pro-right comments; please walk your walk and stick to your one opinion… civility issues?? Let’s get back to the topic R. - Buck Flagojevich - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:44 pm: The press should demand that Blago produce ideas for his future budget. Expect a spewing volcano of B.S. as usual though. How can anybody believe what comes out of his mouth anyway? As for JBT flip-flopping, I would rather have that than the litany of Press Release programs that either go nowhere, get dropped or are so poorly put together there hasn’t even been a thought regarding funding the program. Those feel good proposal are getting so old. But there are still fools out there who believe they are real “programs” for the people. More Putz’s. - Buck Flagojevich - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:48 pm: You took the day off huh juice? Are you part of a rotation of Blago sychophants sent here by Cap. Hairdo’s staff to try to mute anti-Rod comments? I hope you took the day off, although I know you did because Blago and his people never break any rules or ethics. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 1:51 pm: OK, OK. That’s enough. Back to the question, please. Try to be kind to each other. We’re all we’ve got. - NumbersGuy - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 2:21 pm: I vote for getting the details. Folks like me thrive on them. Speaking of the budget details, here’s a point about which you pundits may want to ask for some of that detail: The Governor stated in his budget address that the State pension systems were “unarguably better off” after his term than before it. A report released last week by the bipartisan COGFA suggests he is arguably wrong. When Blago took office, the State pensions’ unfunded liabilities totalled about $43 billion. COGFA reports that the projected unfunded liability for the systems in June 2007 will exceed $45 billion, not including the $10 billion new debt on the pension bonds. This isn’t due to new benefits; there haven’t been any under Blago. Bad investments? Nope. All the funds have beat their return target over the past several years, some more than others. What caused the runup? Primarily, the funding cuts in FY 06 and 07, plus the failure to pay for the State early retirement when the bill came due, instead rolling it into the long-term funding plan. Details-bring ‘em on! PS: Buck, are you running for something? I’m starting to see bumper stickers with your name on them pop up all around Springfield…. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 2:28 pm: I dont work for blago, but your accusation that I do is typical of you angry, frustrated republicans who insist that the only people who support the governor are his employees. Are you on state time in the Treasurer’s office? - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 2:34 pm: you’re right Rich, enough! Back to topic! - Bluefish - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 2:35 pm: JBT has a plan. Whitney has a plan. Blago has snarky campaign commercials. Perhaps the rule for the debates should be you must announce a plan before you can participate. Instead, he’ll get away with his half-baked line that everything is hunky-dory and the press will continue to fail to press him for the truth. - Juice - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 3:08 pm: I’m glad Whitney is in the race. For those who think that he hurts Blago, youre wrong. The people who will be voting for Whitney are pissed dems who would have crossed over to judy. While they wont be voting for blago, they wont vote for judy either. welcome mr. whitney! - Skarfeld - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 3:28 pm: No. The Governor has a tax and spending record for the last four years fully open to public scrutiny and criticism (obviously) and–for that matter–”contrasting” TV ads IF Judy had the money to air them. Here’s predicting we’ll have another austere four years under Rod and that the Governor and legislature will meet their constitutional obligation to pass balanced budgets (GAAP aside). The Governor will continue to oppose an income tax increase. There will be more money for schools. Local governments will continue to lobby for loopholes in the property tax cap law their sububurbans constitutents wanted. The governor will continue to say no. Outreach to expand healthcare for kids will continue. And so on . . . Judy’s the one who has to convince people she even deserves consideration. Judy needs ANY free media she can get–good or bad. To that extent, her plan was a success. - So Blue Democrat - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 3:37 pm: Juice, This is one Democrat that will not vote for the Governor. I am a liberal who should support the Governor due to some of his programs. I also support effective government. He is running state government into the ground. It is not due to state employees, it is due to his appointed managers. They are very incompetent. - Gus Frerotte's Clipboard - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 4:44 pm: To go back to Rich’s original question, the press absolutely should pressure Blagojevich for more details on all of his plans, including his plans for property tax relief. That would have been the press’s job regardless of whether or not the challenger put out a detailed plan. The logical follow-up question is whether as a tactical matter, the Governor should put out a detailed plan. The likely answer is no. It just creates a swarm of debate and detail that can’t help him. Moreover, he’s at least learned that whatever you plan to do, the meat grinder of Springfield is going to churn out something different, so he’s just setting himself up for four more years of “you didn’t do what you promised.” He has a record; he’s going to run on that. More to the point, the Governor has been getting killed in the press and will continue to get killed in the press. He’s counting on Democratic machinery, and great TV ads, to carry him to victory. Topinka made a calculation, potentially an accurate one, that putting out a detailed plan would be a net positive for her in counting votes; for the Governor, I don’t see any scenario where putting out a similarly detailed plan helps him more than it hurts him. So he won’t do it. - Buck Flagojevich - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 6:09 pm: NumbersGuy - I was planning on running for Gov on the None Of The Above (NOTA) ticket. Alas, I was only able to get 24,998 signatures on my nominating petitions. I guess next time I should leave Springfield to get more signatures. BTW. My staff did get ahead of themselves when they started handing out bumper stickers. - Concerned Voter - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 6:44 pm: Yes they need to press him for more details on every pie in the sky proposal he puts out there. - annon. - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 8:22 pm: no answers till after nov. 7 ????????? geezzz and that’s just supposed to be ok…blind faith??? watch out ’cause you just know that it will be expensive. no foddor for jbt. buck you should run for something ….it’s a good ballot name ! - Disgusted - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 8:23 pm: By all means, the press should compile a list of all his plans and promises, one by one and demand that he address how they are to be funded and if any of them are fully funded at the moment. And by funding, I don’t mean by the Whimpy method. Juice at 10:43 a.m. - you stated that Judy should be accountable for the funding she receives. If I remember rightly, the governor said to reporters who questioned his receiving funds from contract recipients, that he didn’t get involved in fund raising and didn’t know where it came from. How come he doesn’t have to be accountable. He had 15 million big ones to be accountable for. - muletown - Friday, Aug 25, 06 @ 9:43 pm: The governor is incapable of truth. His remarks are irrelevant. His own Democratic leadership makes him sign papers saying he isn’t lying. Then he funds stem cell research after he lied about not funding stem cell research. His signature and remarks are worthless. - Ray Coleman - Saturday, Aug 26, 06 @ 5:03 am: The Gov. should definitely have to detail his financial plan, and criticized if he doesn’t. The criticism should include how he can push great concepts like All-Kids while not paying the providers who will have to treat the recipients by not paying Medicaid bills. Also I am still hearing his administration is not paying lease payments to Republican and unpopular Democratic Realtors. - Jake Hewitt - Saturday, Aug 26, 06 @ 6:00 am: Won’t a Chicago casino gut at least some of the revenue from other Illinois gaming? What makes up for those dollars? And though I think both plans are bad, at least the governor’s plan gets the money guranteed up front: any number of things could supress revenues from a Chicago casino (recession, more agressive moves by nearby out of state casinos or laws, etc). There seems to be an assumption that there’s this inexhaustable, unelastic demand for gaming out there that lotteries/existing casinos/online gaming/the corner bookie can’t fill. And though both of them have been dishonest, blago’s keno flipflop is a “fib” while JBK’s former vow not to expand gambling and now proposing this is a “whopper.” If this is how closely she adheres to her promisses, what difference do details make — they can be erased at a whim. - Tistophone - Saturday, Aug 26, 06 @ 7:07 am: I didn’t see an answer to the question about whether Judy could determine where the gambling license would go. Yes..there is an auction and we all know the Gen Assembly would not approve her plan. So, who is lying here. Why no tcall her out on putting this gimic forward? Also, I do not think that Rod’s folks should worry about have a man who ran a family furnuture stroe into the ground critiquing their plans. Rauschenburger is done. - Tistophone - Saturday, Aug 26, 06 @ 7:09 am: OK ..my fingers were a bit hasty in sending out that e-mail..a few too many typos.. - Faithful Reader - Saturday, Aug 26, 06 @ 2:15 pm: The fact that the Governor does not intend to release any economic plans or programs prior to November 7th perhaps evidences that his campaign strategists have realized that neither he nor Topinka will actually WIN this election; whichever is the most damaged by self-inflicted harm will in fact LOSE, and both have already shown a pronounced affection for hara-kiri. Given this scenario - and whatever you think of the merits of her proposal - JBT has shown great courage with rolling out something concrete for her critics to shoot at; Blogo has demonstrated the same strength of character in hiding behind Shiela Nix’s vague “the proposals Blagojevich has already introduced are fully funded and should give voters an idea of his financial priorities” as he did when he took his cue from Hezbollah and used his daughter as a human shield from the reporters at the State Fair. The first portion of Ms. Nix’s comment is a blatant lie, and the second scares the living Hell out of me, as yes, I do feel I have some idea of his financial priorities. Should he receive another term I fear such innovative programs as the “All Parakeets” Health Care Plan and can envision fund raising measures like selling Springfield (He doesn’t need or use it anyhow!) and cost savings initiatives like requiring state employees be euthanized rather than allowed to retire (He can defer payments to the pension plan forever, then!). What I’m saying is that he has not earned the right to ask us to take anything on faith, and that the citizens have an absolute right to know the man’s agenda explicitly, not have symantic games played with us by Ms. Nix. We and the media of Illinois should demand, not just ask, that he produce something other than smoke-and-mirrors rhetoric by proxy; and forget about his feet, let’s hold that dang hair to the fire until he talks! One thing I’d love to hear him explain is how he intends to fund the huge increase in state payroll which begins next year. This isn’t because of new hires but because in the AFSCME contract he negotiated he followed his usual defer, defer, defer strategy and held the bargaining unit to essentially nothing in ‘05 and ‘06. Come ‘07 and ‘08 - safely and conveniently after the election - he gave away the fiscal candy store with the percentage increases he negotiated. Not common knowledge, and you can bet you won’t see one of his endless press releases trumpeting THAT one. And Tistophone - with all due respect - you are even further off base than usual. While I grant that Rauschenburger may well have all the personality and charisma of the average cadever, you ignore the fact that his collegues in the legislature - both Democratic and Republican - have long been quoted in print as calling him the best financial mind they have on either side of the aisle. Blogo may well fear him, especially when you consider who the Administrations budget guy is; pitting Filan against Rauschenberger in an intellectual battle of wits would be kind of like holding a steel cage match between Hervé Villechaize and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.