* 2:34 pm - Gov. Pat Quinn’s press conference on the U of I trustee matter is starting now. Click here for live video, or here for audio.
Please help live-blog in comments since I have several other things to do.
* 2:38 pm - Ben Yount of MetroNetworks is live-Tweeting. [Fixed link]
* Quinn announced Chris Kennedy and Lawrence Oliver (with Boeing, former US Attorney) as his newest trustee appointees.
* QUINN: “I am concerned that the university will be dragged into an interminable legal battle… with two trustees who don’t want to resign.”
“I don’t want a cloud of litigation hanging over the head [of the university]. Ancient curse: May your life be filled with lawyers.”
Here comes the retreat, campers…
LOL. The video feed conked out and I missed what he said. Sheesh. Ben had the same problem. If you’re having the same problem, check the audio feed.
* So, the logic seems to be that since the guv’s commission report suggested that the trustees should voluntarily resign, and the two holdouts don’t want to resign, then the governor is “moving on.”
“I’m a patient man but I don’t have infinite patience,” Quinn said Friday. “I’m willing to let them study the report, but you know, I think they better realize that school is beginning soon and it’s time for them to do the right thing.”
* Trib’s headline: Quinn backs down on firing 2 U. of I. trustees
* 3:13 pm - And that’s a wrap. Just like I figured, it ended the way his “Roland Burris should resign” crusade did. He’s getting awfully predictable.
*** 3:20 pm *** Senate President John Cullerton’s press secretary said she just spoke with her boss and Cullerton told her he will be moving the “fumigation” bill now that Gov. Quinn has refused to fire the two holdout trustees. The legislation would force the trustees (and a whole lot of other people) off the board and out of government.
However, Cullerton’s spokesperson also pointed out that there was no guarantee that the fumigation bill (which has already passed the House) would clear the Senate because of opposition from members of his own caucus and some Republicans.
Leader Radogno told reporters today that she’s disappointed the University of Illinois doesn’t have a clean slate and ability to put this behind it. But the Governor still has opportunities to demonstrate his commitment to reforming Illinois government — specifically by vetoing the sham campaign finance reform bill and working on an alternative.
She’s meeting with [Quinn] shortly.
* 5:11 pm - From the Dan Hynes campaign…
Illinois Comptroller and Democratic candidate for Governor Dan Hynes issued the following statement today in response to Governor Pat Quinn’s press conference on the University of Illinois trustee decision:
“Yesterday, Governor Quinn said he would act on the University of Illinois trustees issue with ‘certainty and with dispatch.’ Today he did neither. Unfortunately there is little that is certain about the ultimate resolution of a scandal first revealed last May, and acting with dispatch would have resolved this matter well before the students returned to class. The simple fact is that the Governor has let the entire summer go by, managing only to make the situation more chaotic as classes begin. This is just another example of Pat Quinn’s failure to lead.”
* Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman already has a campaign website. David Axelrod’s former firm, AKPD, just sent out a press release announcing that Hoffman was resigning to run as a Democrat for US Senate. And he has a campaign video…
The [former Axelrod firm] –poised to represent Merchandise Mart mogul Chris Kennedy if he had jumped in the race– had clearly wants to cloister Hoffman at this stage and not repeat the mistakes made by Caroline Kennedy when she tested-the-waters for securing the appointment to replace then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U.S. Senate and found herself stumbling in the rough and tumble of New York politics and press.
*** 1:17 pm *** I just got off the phone with AKPD, and was told Hoffman has already retained Geoffrey Garin, the president of Hart Research, as his pollster. That’s Dick Durbin’s pollster, so they know something about Illinois.
* This is completely non-political, but it’s been bugging the absolute heck outta me for quite some time.
The scenario is played out countless times a day. We’ve all experienced it.
You’re talking on your phone and the connection drops, probably because one or both callers has a mobile phone.
You call the person back and get a busy signal or voice mail because that person is calling you at the same time. You hang up and call back again and the same thing happens. This repeats over and over until one side surrenders and the other side makes a connection - or both sides surrender and the conversation is over.
Frustrating beyond belief.
* The Question: What should be the protocol for situations like this? Who, in your opinion, should call back and who should wait? Explain your reasoning, please.
I’ve decided to abide by the majority vote, so there are consequences to today’s QOTD. Thanks.
Chicago’s corruption-fighting Inspector General David Hoffman has resigned to enter the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, removing a giant thorn from Mayor Daley’s side.
A former federal prosecutor who specialized in breaking up street gangs, Hoffman was hired away from the U.S. attorney’s office in 2005 at a time when Daley was besieged by the Hired Truck, city hiring and minority contracting scandals.
It wasn’t long before an office that had concentrated on low-level corruption and almost never conducted criminal investigations was working hand-in-glove with the federal government.
Not only does Hoffman bring real ethics and prosecutorial credentials to the race (which could conceivable hurt Alexi Giannoulias), but as the second white male to enter the race he could also empower the only African-American and the only female candidate to announce so far, Urban League President Cheryle Jackson.
Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman said today he is resigning his watchdog role to seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Hoffman told the Chicago Tribune that he is resigning officially today and told Mayor Richard Daley of his decision on Tuesday. He declined further comment.
Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz on Tuesday filed a lawsuit claiming Gov. Pat Quinn and other state leaders violated the Illinois Constitution when they passed legislation to increase taxes on alcohol and expand gambling to fund the governor’s $31-billion public works program.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims the 2009 Capital Program rolls too many subjects into one bill and fails to adhere to a uniformity clause, because the new law imposes “arbitrary, widely disproportionate new taxes on beer, wine and spirits.” Mr. Wirtz, president of Wirtz Beverage Illinois LLC, wants a judge to declare the new law unconstitutional and stop the “use of state funds and resources in the operation and administration and regulation of programs created by legislation.” […]
Mr. Wirtz claims the higher rates will raise taxes on beer 22% and up to 90% for wine and spirits, and that state lawmakers have failed to provide “coherent rationale” for the “vastly disproportionate” increases.
The Wirtz suit could pose a greater threat to the public works plan, which would be hard to launch if a court blocked or stalled implementation of the tax hikes or gambling expansion. Legal challenges were expected when Gov. Pat Quinn signed the measures into law this summer. But in Wirtz, the program now has an opponent with broad political influence and the deep pockets necessary to mount an effective court fight. […]
The newly filed Wirtz lawsuit contends lawmakers violated several dictates of the Illinois Constitution in stitching together the building program, most prominently a mandate that legislation on substantive matters not pertain to a mishmash of unrelated subjects.
The suit also claims the video poker program, which would allow bars across the state to install video poker machines linked to the state through a closed-circuit Internet connection, violates federal gambling rules.
A companion plan to hire a private management firm to run the Illinois lottery similarly runs afoul of federal law, the suit alleges.
In essence, pretty much every single dollar raised to fund the capital bill is now being challenged.
* This is without a doubt the greatest problem with the new video gaming law…
The state’s top gambling regulator said [yesterday] it will be “absolutely impossible” to meet a mid-September deadline for drafting rules needed to roll out legalized video poker around Illinois. […]
“The video gaming statute creates not only a new branch of gaming, it creates an entirely new industry of gaming,” Jaffe said, estimating as many as 15,000 businesses across the state would be eligible to install gambling machines. “We are working on rules, but there is no way in the world that we will rush to finish rules like that unless we have the knowledge to do it and the ability to do it.”
The Gaming Board has no experience with stuff like this. The project probably should’ve been given to the Lottery, which already has a statewide network of machines and somewhat similar experience. The South Dakota video gaming law handed over authority to its Lottery, and things seem to be going pretty well there.
But keep in mind that the Gaming Board, like any state entity, is a bureaucracy, and bureaucracies always want as many resources as possible…
Jaffe said he was “disappointed but not surprised” that lawmakers failed to provide funding to get the program off the ground. The gaming board estimates it would need at least 75 additional staff members and $10 million just to implement the program. It would take even more resources to properly monitor and regulate, which he said poses a whole other set of problems.
* Somebody left this comment on the blog today, and I checked the IP address so I’m comfortable front-paging it…
Heard [Quinn] is also issuing an amendatory veto to reduce the number of signatures required for towns put the video gaming issue on the ballot. Using a horse racing related bill. Don’t know why he just didn’t AV the original bill if he wants that.
The Democratic governor and longtime fan of citizen initiatives put the issue on the legislature’s fall veto session agenda by using his authority to rewrite a bill lawmakers sent him. He has asked lawmakers to go along with his changes, but it may be a long shot when they meet in Springfield in mid-October.
“I’ve said many a time that we need to have an ethics initiative in Illinois that allows the taxpayers, the voters, to step in whether it be at the statewide level or local level,” Quinn said Tuesday. Asked to detail his strategy, Quinn instead said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah.
The electors of any unit of local government may pass, by initiative petition and referendum in the manner prescribed by this Article, a binding ordinance relating to ethical standards that the corporate authorities of their unit of local government are empowered to pass.
As I told subscribers this morning, you won’t find any definition of what a “binding ordinance relating to ethical standards” actually is. That’s quite a loophole.
The state Constitution gives the governor a whole lot of leeway on amendatory vetoes, a fact that Rod Blagojevich took advantage of time and time again…
The Governor may return a bill together with specific recommendations for change to the house in which it originated.
Still hanging are questions on how Quinn will deal with a bill to restrict political donations; he once called the measure “landmark” but now suggests it falls short of the broad reform needed. The bill would become law if Quinn doesn’t act by Friday. Some of his aides met with top Democratic lawmakers Tuesday to discuss possible changes to the measure.
Brace yourselves for the mother of all panderings.
* Related…
* Press release: Republican leaders in the House and Senate are calling on the governor to veto the seriously flawed campaign finance legislation (House Bill 7) awaiting action on his desk. They also pledge to work with the governor on a better solution.
Quinn said [yesterday] he will detail his plans for the board and holdout trustees Montgomery and Frances Carroll, who have refused the governor’s call to resign. The governor wouldn’t say what he plans to do, but he promised to act “with certainty and with dispatch.”[…]
Montgomery told The Associated Press that if Quinn removes him, he’ll seek an injunction to stop the action, then try to force the governor to prove in court that he was incompetent, neglected his duties or was guilty of malfeasance. The state constitution says political appointees may be removed for those reasons.
“I’m not going to take the responsibility for conduct that I had nothing to do with, and I don’t want to voluntarily acknowledge that I did something that I did not do,” Montgomery said.
Cullerton said his advice to Gov. Quinn is not to fire the holdout trustees now — “they’ll sue, they should sue, and it’ll cost us a lot of money to fight it if nothing else” — but to wait to see if the state Senate passes the fumigation bill, which would have the same effect but in a much more pro-forma way that would be unlikely to prompt a lawsuit.
Cullerton wants the two holdouts to resign on their own. If they don’t, he threatened to advance the House-approved “fumigation” bill. The Tribune originally reported that Cullerton would move a bill targeting only the U of I trustees if they don’t all resign, but Cullerton said that was incorrect.
Quinn, however, argues that most of those actions amount to maneuvering over details as he focuses on the big picture — getting a tax increase to balance the budget, for instance, or toughening Illinois ethics laws.
More…
Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said Quinn risks weakening himself by being seen as indecisive. Lawmakers, for instance, are less likely to concede to him in negotiations if they think he’ll fold soon.
But Mooney doubts the average voter pays much attention to the kinds of issues on which Quinn has been accused of flip-flopping. He said they’re not big, fundamental issues, such as presidential candidate John Kerry’s 2004 statement that he voted for war funding before he voted against it.
They’ll likely pay attention if the issue is effectively used in TV ads and if the meme continues in the media.
Keep city mental health centers open. Expand foreclosure outreach programs. Increase funding for youth jobs and mentoring. Fix giant sinkholes. And dump Jody Weis.
Those were among the litany of suggestions — and demands — Mayor Daley received Tuesday night at the first public hearing on his 2010 preliminary budget that’s marked by a $520 million shortfall.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says the city needs to “go on a diet” to fill a more than $500-million budget deficit. But residents attending this year’s first budget meeting had service increases on their minds.
Unionized workers launched a strike at SK Hand Tool Corp.’s Chicago and McCook sites Tuesday after the company dropped employees’ health insurance coverage without notice, according to a Teamsters official.
* Our top award goes to Mayor Daley, in a leaked transcript of his speech tonight apologizing for the parking meter fiasco…
“I’ll be the first to admit that we totally screwed up the way it was implemented.”
Actually, tonight’s statement makes Daley pretty much the last person to admit that Daley really screwed up.
* Runner-up is Gov. Pat Quinn, speaking to reporters this morning about the way he has handled his call for the University of Illinois trustees to resign…
“I think I handled it in an exemplary manner, a fair manner.”
Think all you want, guv.
* Second runner-up goes to U.S. District Judge James Zagel, who wrote this in a recent opinion denying reporters access to transcripts and secret recordings in the Rod Blagojevich corruption investigation…
“I have examined the sealed materials that are the subject of this motion and
am satisfied with the government’s contention that there is an ongoing investigation.”
* The Chicago Tribune editorial board apparently has no decency left whatsoever. It has now stooped to the level of cracking very bad 9/11 jokes…
As part of their ham-handedness, the lawmakers stuck the Gaming Board staff with only a 60-day window — cynics note that it ends Sept. 11, a date associated with disaster — for producing the regulations to govern this big new industry.
What was this horrific outrage that the Tribune equated with one of the greatest tragedies in US history?
Video gaming.
Yes, video gaming.
Today’s editorial is a long, strident, breathless slam on legalized, limited and taxed video gaming. It’s chock full of phrases that would make nutballs like Alan Keyes smile with approval.
The Tribune continued its 9/11 attack theme today by claiming that video gaming is “invading” the state. That hysterical statement completely ignores the fact that almost totally unregulated, mostly untaxed video poker machines already crowd the Illinois landscape today, and pay out illegally.
And a newspaper which has consistently opposed making state laws via public referenda now whines that no public referenda was held on video gaming…
In mid-July, Gov. Pat Quinn — who as lieutenant governor called for a public referendum on a proposed expansion of gambling in Illinois — signed the capital bill and its gambling provision into law. A public referendum? No dice.
The problem with the Tribune since they were implicated in the Rod Blagojevich scandal is that the editorial page has begun to use campaign rhetoric rather than reasoned debate. So, we get things like the over the top comparisons of an admittedly botched attempt to regulate video poker to September 11th and that favorite word of politicians everywhere: “Invasion.”
Leave the campaign spin to politicans. And for crying out loud, leave September 11th out of stuff like this.
“Should we provide taxpayer health care for people who are illegally here in the U. S.? I do not think we should provide federally-subsidized health care to illegal aliens,” [said Kirk[.
The crowd resoundingly agreed with him.
The measure being proposed doesn’t provide health insurance coverage to undocumented immigrants.
That’s called a twofer.
* Steinberg recently wished Republican Sen. Dan Rutherford success in his race for state treasurer, and claimed he found himself actually meaning it…
It isn’t just that Republicans hold no statewide office in Illinois. But after the debacle of its backing Alan Keyes, I find myself sincerely rooting for the GOP to get up off the mat and stop embarrassing itself. We are a two-party system, in theory, and what value do Democratic victories have if made against a shattered, disorganized party serving up one glass-jawed jamoke after another? Guys like snake-handling carpetbagger Keyes or xenophobe milkman Jim Oberweis. It’s getting pathetic.
So let’s all think good thoughts about Illinois Republicans. It’s as if you have a disliked neighbor — the mean old coot at the end of the block who yells at your kids if their ball rolls onto his grass. But then the guy gets sick, a major, life-threatening illness. Suddenly, your animosity is gone and you’re feeling a sort of affection, hoping for the best, because despite his faults, you don’t want him to DIE.
* Rep. Bill Black has announced his resignation or retirement so many times that I didn’t pay much attention to Fritchey’s Tweet yesterday. But this year could be the year…
State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, said he will announce this morning whether he will run for another term next year.
The Internet was full of speculation Monday evening after state Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, wrote on Twitter: “Just got an e-mail from Rep. Bill Black saying he is definitely retiring. A stellar person & Rep. I’ll miss him.”
But Black said he had “not made a final decision. I’m close to it though.” […]
“What I’m trying to avoid is something like what happened two years ago,” he said, a reference to his decision in 2007 to not run for re-election, only to jump back into the 104th House District race after the Republican nominee, Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, dropped out of the race.
Provena executive Chad Hays is said to be Black’s choice as a replacement.
Two years ago, state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington gave a state medical school scholarship worth almost $24,000 to the daughter of a man who has donated thousands of dollars to him.
Why is that lede so misleading? Because it more than just implies a direct quid pro quo. And there doesn’t appear to be one at all. Eleven grafs into the story we learn this..
Brady, like most lawmakers who agreed to talk about the scholarships, said his winners are chosen by a committee made up mainly of educators, that he picks. Brady said committee members don’t know applicants’ names, and the $12,000 homebuilder Jeff Stelle has donated played no role in the scholarship to Stelle’s daughter, who got a free year of medical school at Southern Illinois University.
“My staff simply tells me who the eight winners are and I tell them congratulations,” said Brady, a Republican candidate for governor.
Brady has a committee of educators hand out the scholarships to kids whose names are kept secret from them. Yet, the lede is about one contribution from one recipient’s father. The story’s second graf claims that this situation “isn’t uncommon,” a handy double negative that masks the actual situation.
Look, there are lots and lots of good reasons to oppose the legislative scholarship program. But singling out Brady on this one doesn’t seem fair at all, particularly since there are others who have direct control over their own legislative scholarships.
* Speaking of misleading claims, Chicago’s Binny’s Beverage Depot has apparently reverted to fear mongering and untruths to sell more booze with a new ad campaign…
“Buy now and beat the liquor tax increase!!! Illinois just passed the largest alcohol tax increase in state history.”
Actually, a liquor tax hike a decade ago (which, like this one, was used to pay for a capital bill) was higher. And how much will this one cost?
Susan Hofer, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Revenue, argued that the excise tax wasn’t as harsh as the ad campaign suggested. For a one-fifth bottle of distilled spirits, the tax would jump from 90 cents to $1.71; the tax on a bottle of wine would increase 13 cents to 28 cents; a six-pack of beer would go from 10.4 cents to 13 cents, Hofer said.
2.6 cents on a six pack. Such a travestyl
* Related…
* Feds subpoena Chicago Public School principal: Whitney Young Magnet Principal Joyce Kenner on Monday became the first principal to reveal she has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating admissions to Chicago’s elite college prep high schools but insisted she “did nothing wrong'’ and has no clue why she is being summoned.
* Chicago selective enrollment high schools face huge demand for few spots - Amid federal investigation of admissions, parents and students complain the process is complicated and secretive
* University of Illinois clout scandal: 2 holdout trustees could get booted - Senate President John Cullerton threatens legislation
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 filed suit today in Johnson County, seeking an injunction that would stop the threatened layoff of some 2,600 state of Illinois employees.
“AFSCME and our members are using every tool to prevent layoffs and the harm they will cause,” Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer said. “Frontline staff shortages have already eroded the timeliness and quality of basic services and resulted in more than $100 million in overtime, much of it forced, in the last fiscal year alone. Layoffs will make those problems worse.
“In addition to being ill-advised, we also believe these layoffs are illegal,” Bayer added. “We have a very strong case that the state is violating the AFSCME contract by failing to bargain over the layoffs, putting employees at risk in understaffed prisons, and contracting out work that should be done by our members. Many of these factors are the fault of past administrations that neglected and mismanaged state government, and we want to work together with Governor Quinn to address them. We can’t do that, however, as long as any AFSCME member is facing layoff.”
One a scale of one to ten - with ten being most agree and one being most disagree - rate how strongly you support or oppose AFSCME’s tactics vs. the governor.
* Another blast at Gov. Pat Quinn by his Democratic primary opponent Dan Hynes. From a press release…
With classes set to begin today and no resolution to the University of Illinois admissions scandal, Illinois Comptroller and Democratic candidate for Governor Dan Hynes today said Pat Quinn had mishandled the situation, and by failing to deal with it in a timely manner had in fact contributed to the growing chaos.
“As classes resume this week, University of Illinois students are returning to chaos,” Hynes said. “The Governor has mishandled this situation from the beginning, and it is unacceptable that we find ourselves at this point as a new school year begins.”
Noting that the initial story broke last May, and that University administrators who presided over the mess remain in place while the Board of Trustees is in turmoil, Hynes called Quinn to account for his plodding and botched handling of the situation.
“The people of Illinois have a right to be angry as to how and why this chaotic situation has dragged on so long,” Hynes said. “The entire summer has gone by without a resolution, and now matters only seem to be accelerating further off the rails. The Governor has taken a bad situation and made it worse.”
Hynes was critical of the Governor’s failure to resolve the scandal, calling it an abdication of true leadership.
“The Governor should have set up a process to acquire all the facts and chosen a course of action by the first of July - using the summer to resolve this problem. Instead, the University of Illinois is in chaos as school begins. As with his approach to Illinois’ budget crisis, and his failure to fire Blagojevich political appointees like EPA Director Doug Scott, this is just another example of Pat Quinn failing to lead, and every day the situation just gets worse. Public relations is not a substitute for leadership.”
What rating would you give the effectiveness of this campaign press release? Explain.
Sneed is told a soon-to-be released statewide poll conducted by Dem national pollsters Greenberg, Quinlan & Rosner shows Dem U.S. Senate hopeful/state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias beating Republican U.S. Senate opponent Mark Kirk in a head-to-head race. “Alexi has a solid lead over Kirk . . . outside the margin of error of 3 percent,” a source said.
†To wit: “The telephone poll of 805 people statewide was taken in early August, and even after a battery of equally weighted positives and negatives Giannoulias still came out ahead,” the source added.
* The Tribune editorial board railed today against the way legislators decided to define what is and isn’t candy in a new law that removes the sales tax exemption from candy.
As I’ve already told you, legislators relied on a solution devised by the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board which settled on exempting candy with flour in it.
Here’s our test. If it comes in a brightly colored wrapper and it’s a staple of Halloween and you know you shouldn’t have it and you feel a little guilty eating it and yet you can’t help yourself, it’s candy.
OK, so try writing that into an actual law, Tribsters. The reason the SSTGB came up with this idea is that it’s simply impossible to draft legislation which claims that anything enclosed in “brightly colored wrappers” which is also a “staple of Halloween” is candy, and everything else isn’t.
The fact that the Cubs and this newspaper have been corporate cousins is a constant vexation for Tribune sportswriters and editors: No matter the coverage, some readers — why, hello, South Siders! — will accuse the paper of rampant favoritism.
Except the editorial characteristically failed to mention the enormous tax break that Sam Zell devised, which was mentioned earlier today on this blog…
His sale of the Cubs also is structured to minimize taxes. It calls for Tribune to retain a 5 percent stake in the team. Otherwise, the $845 million sale would trigger massive capital gains, as Tribune paid only $20.5 million for the Cubs in 1981.
* A few days ago, the Tribune reiterated its criticism of college presidents who want to lower the drinking age to 18 by, um, pointing to a study which showed binge drinking among male college students rose more than 30 percent since the drinking age was raised to 21.
Hoookay.
* Last week, the edit board stomped its feet on the U of I trustee matter…
Quinn said he still holds out hope that the trustees will step aside voluntarily, but he also signaled that he’s confident he has the authority to remove them if they don’t.
That would be a fitting way to deliver on the promised week of reform.
That sort of misguided, overheated, under-thought rhetoric (”Throw them all out for the symbolic value regardless of the consequences or actual evidence!”) helped prod Quinn into backing himself into a corner on the issue, as we’ve alreadydiscussed.
The Tribune editorial page is one of the most feared entities in Illinois politics. Newspapers all over the state follow its lead like so many sheep. Politicians routinely ask “How high?” when the edit board says “Jump!” Yet time and time again the page proves why it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
* On Friday morning, I suggested that Gov. Pat Quinn’s call for the resignations of two African-American U of I trustees looked a lot like Quinn’s failed demand that Roland Burris resign from the US Senate.
Congressman Bobby Rush says Governor Pat Quinn should stop asking two University of Illinois Trustees to resign. […]
In a letter sent to Governor Quinn [Friday], Rush calls trustee James Montgomery an “outstanding citizen.” And he says trustee Frances Carroll is a person of honor and high moral character.
Rush, of course, played the race card right off the bat with the Burris appointment, and kept up the heat when Quinn took over as governor and pushed for Burris’ ouster.
And Eric Zorn isn’t making Quinn’s task any easier…
Did making a few phone calls on behalf of applicants they felt were deserving of admission to the U of I despite falling below conventional threshholds constitute such malfeasance that it demands termination? Well then we should be demanding the resignations of numerous state lawmakers who did the same.
Does remaining silent or failing to investigate when there were certainly major hints that all was not on the square rise to the level of neglect of duty? Well then Quinn himself should resign for being a silent enabler and occasional apologist for now indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, his running mate in 2002 and 2006.
If those responsible for the “Clout Goes to College” scandal start losing their jobs or resigning in order of culpability, from the top down, and we get to Carroll and Montgomery on that list, then yes, they should go. But until then, this still looks like grandstanding and symbolism.
But Quinn told reporters Sunday that he’ll be at a military funeral in Romeoville on Monday and will instead act later in the week.
Using a military funeral as an excuse is typical Pat Quinn.
* Meanwhile, Comptroller Dan Hynes whacked Gov. Quinn again yesterday. This time, it was over a Chicago Tribune report that the IEPA was allegedly not doing its job. From the AP summary…
Dozens of criminal cases against polluters were not pursued because former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration would not refer cases to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, according to a published report Sunday.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has not sent a criminal case to Madigan’s office for two years, according to a Chicago Tribune story, which cited interviews, state records and memos. By contrast, in 2003, the IEPA sent nearly 30 cases to the attorney general’s office.
The report said members of the ousted governor’s administration refused to work with Madigan’s office due to political feuding.
Quinn held a press conference with IEPA Director Doug Scott and Attorney General Lisa Madigan yesterday and praised Scott’s performance…
“Doug’s been a good friend of mine,” Quinn said. “I worked with him as lieutenant governor and governor on this mission … to make sure that we have a healthful environment for every person in Illinois.”
Which led to this attack by Hynes…
“It is troubling enough that Governor Quinn has failed to act on this matter. I am appalled, however, that even in light of the facts revealed in the Tribune that Governor Quinn would praise Scott’s tenure in office.”
“The Governor’s inexplicable delay in removing Blagojevich appointees, from Director Scott to his budget team, prevents our state from moving forward. Governor Quinn likes to talk about making tough choices. This is not a tough choice - it’s a no-brainer,” Hynes said.
Director Scott, however, claimed the Trib report contained several “factually wrong” items, but didn’t specify what those were.
* Related…
* Lethal bacteria strikes Illinois inmates; prisons fail to notify state: The virulent bacterial disease, which over decades has developed a resistance to antibiotics, also has infected guards and even visitors. Those infected can become carriers for life with the potential of infecting relatives.
* Quinn grapples with prison cuts amid budget mess
* Can Anita Alvarez ‘Just Say No?’: That also may be harder to do to the one prominent Democrat who endorsed Alvarez back in her highly competitive primary was then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. He stood with Alvarez when none of the other old boys were in sight.
* Blagojevich prosecutor didn’t want impeachment case to end quietly: “I wanted a fight,” David Ellis said. “I wanted them to challenge me every step of the way, because I thought I could overcome that challenge.”
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column takes a look at the Illinois Republicans…
Republicans, as a class, tend to pine for the good ol’ days - mainly, the eras when they were in power.
That’s been especially true in Illinois as the Republicans, uniformly blown out of power by George Ryan’s scandals and George Bush’s leadership style, have tried repeatedly to use the good ol’ days to convince voters that they should be returned to stewardship status. For instance, every chance they get they trot out former Gov. Jim Edgar - one of the few living historical Illinois figures who still represents moderation and good governance in many voters’ minds.
But Edgar wasn’t even at last week’s Republican Day event at the Illinois State Fair. I ran into him earlier in the week, after Wednesday’s rainstorm. He was walking alone through the fairgrounds, heading for his car. He had a horse in a race, but the race was canceled because of the storm so he was leaving.
We chatted for several minutes, mostly off the record at his request. Edgar made it clear that he hasn’t formally endorsed anyone for governor yet, even though most people think he wants state Sen. Kirk Dillard to win. Edgar said that Dillard had a good chance of winning the general election, and Dillard returned the favor the next day by repeating Edgar’s name again and again, everywhere he went.
But Dillard was one of just a few politicians at the fairgrounds last week who wanted to look back in time. Most others tried their best to focus on the future, which now looks brighter to more Republicans than it has in many years.
“I’ve never even met George Ryan,” is one of state Sen. Matt Murphy’s best lines on the gubernatorial campaign trail. Congressman Aaron Schock, the nation’s youngest U.S. House member, delivered the red meat keynote address to the gathered crowd’s delight. At just 28, Schock was 9 years old when Edgar was first elected governor.
There was a hunger at the State Fair which was almost completely lost after Republicans realized late in George Ryan’s term that they were doomed to exile. The Republican Day crowd was the biggest I’ve seen since the 2000 presidential campaign. Dozens of candidates showed up, many coming out of the woodwork to ride that massive energy wave they believe will arrive on Illinois’ shores next year.
The GOP also turned the page on the contentious rein of state party chairman Andy McKenna, who surprised almost everyone by abruptly announcing his resignation before the event. More than a few grumbled that McKenna’s self-centered move had taken attention away from the day’s success, but the party swiftly and almost unanimously voted to name McKenna’s replacement shortly after he resigned. Republican National Committeeman Pat Brady, who’s proved popular with both moderates and many conservatives, was given the helm.
Imagine, a state Republican chairmanship succession that was accomplished without screaming threats of retaliation. Unreal.
McKenna’s unexpected announcement helped overshadow the only other big controversy of the day. Sen. Murphy unveiled a cable TV ad which blasts Sen. Dillard’s tax and spend record and attempts to tie the DuPage County Republican to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and Rod Blagojevich. Dillard’s supporters seemed to be the most furious at McKenna for attempting to focus the day on himself, but McKenna probably did Dillard a big favor by distracting attention away from the Murphy ad.
As noted above, Dillard is the most likely candidate to invoke the state’s past, partly because he was so involved in it. Edgar’s chief of staff, Jim Thompson’s chief legislative liaison. Much of the Old Guard is with Dillard. His event last Wednesday night was jam packed with people from the good ol’ days. But Dillard has also attracted a young, energetic crowd of campaign staff, volunteers and supporters. He’s not totally living in the past.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, members of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee gathered behind closed doors to interview candidates for the slating process. At one point, somebody reportedly voiced a fear that the conference room was bugged.
The Democrats are on the run and the Republicans appear to be getting their act together. But there’s a very long way to go until Election Day, and this still is a Democratic state.
* Related…
* Indiana’s Republican governor offers advice to Illinois GOP “Part of our formula here has always to keep the debate very civil—never personal criticism—and always try to have a better answer,” Daniels told the Tribune. “If Illinois Republicans think they’ll come back simply by putting up a picture of the former governor or lamenting the decline of this or that, then that’s not enough, and they wouldn’t deserve a return to office.”
* Suburban man goes to State Fair, comes away GOP chairman: “Let’s give Mike Madigan a great deal of credit. He’s one of the greatest political operatives this country’s ever seen, but the reality is now and has been for the last six years all about gathering power for Democrats and not serving the citizens of Illinois. Certainly I take a lot of lessons from the way he’s garnered the power but I don’t think the way they run their operation is necessarily in the best interests of the state and we’ve seen that the last six years. We don’t even have a budget. They’ve borrowed us into the next century and they’ve fought with each other. My hat’s off to his political skills, but those skills don’t necessarily translate into the state being run any better.”
* Doug Finke: Gene saves the day for GOP: Republican county chairmen (party leaders, not county board leaders) held a meeting and prepared to recite the pledge. Oops. There was no flag in the room for them to face while reciting. What to do? Why, call on a fellow named Gene to come to the rescue. Gene was wearing a shirt decked out in an American flag pattern. He came forward, and the group of assembled Republicans pledged allegiance to his shirt. You have to wonder how conservatives would have reacted had Democrats done the same thing.
His sale of the Cubs also is structured to minimize taxes. It calls for Tribune to retain a 5 percent stake in the team. Otherwise, the $845 million sale would trigger massive capital gains, as Tribune paid only $20.5 million for the Cubs in 1981.
* At Cook County Forest Preserve: Top staffers give — and get
On average, the exempt employees were paid $98,071 last year. Nine of them saw their salaries increase 19 percent or more between 2006 and 2008.
Most of the Shakman-exempt employees — 24 in all — have contributed to the campaign funds of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger; his late father, former board President John Stroger; or the 8th Ward Regular Democratic Organization that John Stroger controlled.
The Strogers and the party organization have gotten a total of $49,870 in campaign contributions from the exempt employees since the mid-1990s. The biggest contributor: Deputy Comptroller Alvin Lee ($12,100), followed by district police chief Richard Waszak ($8,050).
That’s their right, says district spokesman Steve Mayberry, who says Todd Stroger never has solicited forest preserve employees for campaign cash.
As it has at times in recent weeks, a community meeting about Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics soon veered off into a heated discussion about other things.
