Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Morning Shorts *** UPDATED x1 ***

Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008

*** UPDATE *** ‘’Clout Kids'’ Get Summer Jobs, Part 1 and Part 2

* State Supreme Court keeps lawyer list secret…

The list of lawyers licensed to practice in Illinois will remain secret under a ruling Tuesday by the state Supreme Court.

The court rejected a request for the list made by Avvo, a Seattle firm that grades attorneys and posts the results online.

* Weis says cops worry about suspensions

* Weis gets lesson in Chicago politics from aldermen

* Top cop grilled by city council committee

* Weis outlines crime tactics, talks about desire for strong relationship with City Council

* Carothers to Weis: I’m The Boss

* Weis Bringing Back SOS Unit

* Daley Calls Weis Headline “Fabrication“

* State says seat belt usage up in Illinois

* Peoria Pundit evicted from hosting service

* Loan program assists efforts to go green

State Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, said the new program is a smart way to help out Illinois businesses and simultaneously help the environment.

At a time when many are frustrated with state legislators’ slow progress in settling on a budget, the “Green Energy” is a proactive program that will help Illinois businesses and consumers, he said.

“This is exactly what government should be doing,” Koehler said.

* State to present funds to Cahokia Mounds site on Thursday

* Riders hop Amtrak, dodge gas prices

* New fair-housing group debuts with hearing in Chicago

* Proposed City Colleges tax hike draws fire

Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, who plans to testify Wednesday at a public hearing on the budget, says, “In a time of economic hardship for Chicagoans, exacerbated by enormous recent property and sales tax increases, the federation believes that governments should focus their efforts on reducing costs, not increasing taxes and student fees.”

* No resolution yet in mediated AFSCME contract talks

* Incumbents outraising challengers in suburban congressional races

* Foster revving up 14th District’s cash register

* Foster’s fine line

“Coming out of the blocks, Rep. Foster had to decide whether to take his lead from pro-business Melissa Bean or pro-union Phil Hare,” says William Lane, Washington director of government affairs for Peoria’s Caterpillar Inc., the biggest manufacturer in Mr. Foster’s district. “We would say he chose poorly.”

* Congressional candidates rake in millions

* U.S. Rep. Bean reports $1.5 million in campaign fund

* Kirk, Seals in big money race to 111th Congress

GOP Congressman Mark Kirk and Democratic challenger Dan Seals have already raised nearly $6 million since their first contest two years ago.

* Dan Seals: Looking for Love From New York’s Charles Rangel

* Rep. Roskam with big dollar lead over Democratic rival

* Halvorson ahead in election fundraising

* Durbin’s GOP foe with plenty of money woes

- Posted by Kevin Fanning

10 Comments

- NiceWorkIfYouCanGetIt - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 8:52 am:
You can count on the Illinois Supreme Court to follow a double standard when it pertains to a longstanding insider deal.

I’m told that the court DOES release the complete list of attorneys each year to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, a Chicago-based newspaper for Illinois lawyers, for COMMERCIAL purposes.

The Law Bulletin uses the attorney list to distribute its annual Law Day edition. Though the Law Bulletin does not count every Illinois attorney as a paid daily subscriber, it does send the Law Day edition — a Law Bulletin promotional issue — for free to every attorney in the state.

The Law Bulletin may execute this mass promotional mailing precisely because the Illinois Supreme Court each year hands over the complete attorney list.

- Ghost - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 8:52 am:
I think the State Supreme Court made a bad ruling in prohibitng the list of its attorney’s. First, the attorney role is public info. It can be accessed online at the ARDC web site by inputing names to search. Second, while everyone despises their info being released for commercial purposeses, distaste should not set precedent. As I recall, the Secretary of State is required to turn over information from driver licenses and corp info to anyone who asks, even if its for commercial purposes. Lawyers should not provide themselves a greater level of privacy then is afforded everyone else.

- South of I-80 - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 8:53 am:
“Carothers to Weis: I’m The Boss”, does that mean than, that the alderman and his committee are also responsible for the increase in crime, as well as the shootings during The Taste of Chicago? If that is so, should they not also be taken to task?

- Skeeter - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 8:59 am:
Carothers the boss?
It is great to start the day with a good laugh.
If you look at his record, Carothers is a sheep. He votes exactly the way Daley tells him to vote, including voting for Weis orginally.
Where were these “tough” questions then?
Why didn’t he play the role of the boss then?

- Bill - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 9:07 am:
Does anyone even pay attention to Lawerence Msall anymore? He’s a broken record. Msall is a product of very exclusive, very private school where students don’t need to worry about how much their well off parents pay for their tuition.
The City Colleges of Chicago is the college of last resort for poor and minority students most of whom are adults who work full time and try to better themselves at night classes. The increase in the tax levy and tuition is a direct result of the lack of funding by the state which prefers to endow privates and four years at the expense of the peoples’ colleges, community colleges.
It is about time Msall started looking for gainful employment.

- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 11:07 am:
Bill, you and AA are in full agreement on Larry Msall. Larry is a Johnny onenote mouthpiece for the Chicago bigwigs who are far removed from the real world of poverty, student loans, and night school. Larry removed from his own thin resume years ago that he hid on the State payroll in a no-work job while he went to law school-on the State’s dime. He’s a hypocritical little p*ssant and most people who know him have his number.

- Ghost - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 12:30 pm:
So the Gov has taken his 14 mil “jobs” program to combat violence in chicago and awarded the jobs to clout heavy connected, not part of the violence problem anyway kids.

And we were worried what he would do with 39 Billion.

- Amy - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 12:52 pm:
thanks for posting the “Clout Kids” vids Rich.

the statement of the MWRD Supt. that posting the jobs would
be too much of a hassle is chilling, giving each commissioner
the perk of submitting a list for the jobs, incredible.

must watch videos.

- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 1:01 pm:
The Clout Kids program is ridiculous. The program is available to “anyone who is aware of it” is their written CYA statement. This isn’t even patronage. There are no precint captains being rewarded. This is pure and simple nepotism.

- Disgusted - Wednesday, Jul 16, 08 @ 8:33 pm:
Old Mayor Daley had the answer to the critics of “Clout Kids.” “If you can’t help your sons, who can you help.”

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