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* The AP’s John O’Connor has the opposite of ADD. Once he gets on a story’s trail, he never, ever quits. So, here we go again…
Just weeks after a convicted burglar was freed under a secret Illinois early prison-release program last fall, his parole officer learned he was a suspect in a violent battery case.
Instead of being locked back up, however, Darrell Bracey was on the street for another 11 weeks — during which time he was accused of a second beating and became the suspect in the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, according to internal and public records obtained by The Associated Press.
Corrections Director Michael Randle, who resigned this month after coming under criticism for the secret release program known as “MGT Push,” told the AP last spring that the sexual assault allegation was “horrible” and that he would investigate whether miscommunication inside the agency prevented agents from picking Bracey up sooner.
But now state officials refuse to say what they learned in the promised investigation or whether they have taken corrective steps.
Bracey’s timeline is here.
Bill Brady plans to do a media availability after today’s closed-door gubernatorial candidates forum. I imagine he’ll talk about O’Connor’s story and the AFSCME “no layoffs” deal which was finalized two days after the union endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn - and possibly my follow-up in this morning’s subscriber edition.
* In other news, Bill Brady told a McHenry County group that balancing the budget isn’t all that hard…
“Balancing the budget is relatively simple,” Brady said. “Bottom line of it is, you can’t spend more than you have.”
Yeah. Simple. It’s really easy if you’re just looking at numbers on a piece of paper. Try putting those numbers into real, human terms, however, and that’s when it becomes difficult.
* During Saturday’s Right Nation 2010 to-do, Brady roused the crowd by saying “we have to end career politicians.” Watch him…
Ungrammatical as that may be, Brady has been in the Illinois General Assembly all but two years since 1993. Billy, 15 years is a career.
* Brady also told the RN2010 crowd, “Unfortunately, we live in a state where there’s one city that might steal four or five points from ya’ the night before the election.” Have a look…
The night before the election? That’s one powerful machine, baby. Not to mention that stealing that many votes in these times would be practically impossible. Doug Ibendahl is spot on…
The stolen election in Chicago canard is a lame excuse Republicans have been using for years in Illinois as a way to distract from their own failures.
* Related and a roundup…
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s Deal With State Unions Bars Layoffs of Most State Employees
* Quinn questioned about timing of union deal, endorsements
* Tribune: Selling out Illinois
* Brady Questions Timing in Union Endorsement of Quinn
* Honesty In The Budget Debate
* Sweeny: Politicians who say taxes won’t go up are lying
* Pension discussion today
* State to rebuild I-57 bridge
* New report lauds benefits of high-speed rail
* Study: High-speed rail could create 57,000 jobs
* Legislator, transit agencies at odds over reports
* Senator skewers Metra consultant fees
* Oases foreclosure saga ends with new leasee
* Union carpenters at McCormick Place make peace with convention organizers
* Nursing home sweeps find residents with arrest warrants
* New lottery managers promise more games, more retailers, more profits
* Hasara earns $60K as state lottery adviser
* Friday: Snag a Rebate on New Appliances
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:01 pm
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At what point do the Feds get interested in the Quinn union pay-to-play contributions for government actions issue?
The Afscme connection is just the latest coincidence. Just because Quinn says he is honest doesn’t make it so.
Comment by Alex Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:10 pm
If I have Brady fatigue now, what will I have after his four year reign?
Meds, send now.
Comment by Vole Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:16 pm
Please tell me you’re not giving any credibility to “King Homophobe” Doug Ibendahl?
Comment by eastsider Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:17 pm
Fitzgerald time for Quinn and Vaught?
Comment by Whittier Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:22 pm
Brady should have skipped that event.
It is a bit odd that, when looking at the bigger-picture races (i.e. Governor, Senate and Congress), Bob Dold and Bobby Schilling are the only two major party candidates who have never served in any elected positions. Yes, Dold had some prior political ties, but it is worthy to note that Illinois may have busted the curve on the distaste for “career politicians”. That also makes Brady’s claims so weird.
Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:29 pm
Brady is right, we cant spend more then we have…. but the devil is in the details…do we elminate prisons for an honor system; close down the state police; stop investigating child abuse…. what do we stop spending on? If all state salaries combind are 3 billion, where do we get the 13 billion?
perhaps the key is in the dont have part…we need to increase what we have….
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:32 pm
Ronald Reagan said much the same when he noted balancing the budget was easy. It’s the will to do it that’s hard. I think Bill is speaking along those lines.
Both that and his Chicago comments at RN2010 are pretty obvious messages. He’s taking shots at corruption and signaling he has the will to shake things up and make some hard decisions.
Whether he actually does or will address those as Gov. is always another question.
I think criticizing it kind of says more about the critic than the messenger. May be a bias, it may be a cultural thing. It’s W’s references that made the evangelicals love him so much. I just never got and didn’t like it. Palin’s communication style rubs people the wrong way, but people who study this stuff say she actually talks in a manner that most people do…
Maybe it’s a wavelength thing? Perhaps a tin foil hat might help us understand our political class these days…who knows…
Comment by Greg B. Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:33 pm
that could be the worst background staging in american political history.
Comment by shore Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:37 pm
Two things: 1) Ibendahl? Really?
2) Breaking News: GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Brady says things in hopes of getting elected! Oh, the horror!
Comment by SangamoGOP Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:40 pm
@Shore - I believe that backdrop was originally a necktie designed by Jerry Garcia: http://bit.ly/JGarciaNeckties
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:44 pm
Brady doesn’t care about ‘human terms.’
Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:47 pm
O’Connor: Not ADD — OCD!
Is every parole violation in the state of Illinois now to be blamed on MGT, the IDOC, Mike Randle and Gov. Quinn? MGT was not a secret policy (look at Randle’s public announcement in September ‘09), and it resulted in very minor reductions of sentences. But with 30,000 people released from Illinois prison every year, and with a 50% recidivism rate, it is certain that some actual crimes will be committed by former prisoners.
These individual crimes, though tragic, are not news. What is news, is that the state of Illinois continues to lock up thousands of people — at great expense — for minor, non-violent crimes, and thousands more with drug addictions and mental illnesses, while failing to provide rehabilitation services that might actually reduce recidivism!
Comment by moby Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:52 pm
Brady comments make me conclude that if he were to win (Heaven Forbid!) the state’s bond rating would soon drop to junk-level in a matter of months. We don’t need an imbecile who would make Todd Stoger look like a governmental wizard in as our next Governor!
Comment by fedup dem Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 1:55 pm
If Brady cuts the budget as much as he boasts, he is going to be right back in Quinn’s shoes. Either he is going to be releasing a lot of prisoners, paying a lot to build a new prison, or reopening Thomson and losing that revenue. (And of course, we could not afford to open Thomson even in boom times so building and reopening is not much of an option.) If Brady insists on growing the prison population and raising the corrections budget, then he is going to have to decimate even MORE of social services than already planned, and crime rates will rise. Hence, more incarceration, and more spending.
However, Quinn, who now has his heart in AFSCME’s pocket, may do the same thing. AFSCME’s number one complaint is the dangers of overcrowding, but they DO NOT support community diversion programs or anything else that would reduce prison population EVEN IF the offenders are supervised for less money, and with much better results for public safety, as diversion programs have.
So, who is worse? Although Quinn wouldn’t slash social programs as much as Brady, his inability to face up to AFSCME may be a worse liability. At least the very remote possibility is open that Brady *could* have an economic epiphany and try to be smart-on-crime. That possibility is open only because he isn’t beholden to AFSCME. Of course, there is no evidence to support anything *smart* about his corrections policies (quite the opposite) but maybe we can write that off to campaign season opportunism and hope that when he looks at the numbers, he’ll want some sound policies.
Quinn, on the other hand, is too spooked to have an honest conversation about better corrections policy. AND he is beholden to AFSCME who will never ever support decarceration policies no matter what they cost taxpayers, and no matter how dumb-on-crime they are.
Why do these guys want this job? Neither of them seems to take any pleasure in public policy, budgeting, or leading.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:08 pm
Good observation “shore”
Apparently the event was held inside a JiffyPop.
Comment by Piling on Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:10 pm
Maybe Governor Brady would reopen the Poor Houses and do away with all other human services I do believe the old Tinley Park MH Center and Howe Developmental Center buildings are available. Lincoln Developmental Center has buildings and maybe Manteno MH Center has a few buildings still standing. State parks could be closed and turned into camps. There’s a lot of possibilities.
Comment by Aldyth Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:12 pm
===Ronald Reagan said much the same when he noted balancing the budget was easy. It’s the will to do it that’s hard.===
Besides revenue sharing with cities, how much did he really cut out of the budget?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:15 pm
So bigger issue?
Brady says Balancing budget is simple math, spend less then you have?
Or
Quinn finishes negotiations of contract with no layoff clause for state employees just after he is endorsed by their Union. No problem there
Comment by GoFigure Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:16 pm
Go Figure, let’s phrase it a different way.
Which would you rather eat for the next four years?
Airline food or hospital food?
Comment by Piling on Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:20 pm
About this latest MGT-scandal:
This is not an MGT issue. Looking at the article, he probably only served 5 days less in IDOC than he would have with out MGT-Push. And, after that he went weeks without a problem. The reoffending had ZERO to do with MGT. The article also implies that the fact that he [only did], “one year of a three-year sentence for burglary, including 55 days in the state penitentiary” is in ANY WAY THE FAULT of the IDOC. People, if you don’t like it blame the states attorney, the public defender and the judge because they ALL gave him 3 years to serve 1.5 years. He didn’t get off easy–everyone knew how long he was going to serve because it is the LAW.
So, there is absolutely no reason MGT should be mentioned in this story except to further john O’Connor’s career. However, there may have been some bad decisionmaking from parole. You really can’t tell from the story b/c that part–the real story–was not investigated at all.
Personally, I find John O’Connor to be an opportunistic and sloppy reporter. We are creating a climate where people are AMAZED and outraged anytime someone commits a new crime. Yes, we have a high recidivism rate–is that a mystery to these reporters? To the public? Too bad we don’t have any leaders (left) who are brave enough to try to lower the recidivism rate. It isn’t rocket science, but it does take courage.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:21 pm
==Perhaps my tinfoil hat needs an adjustment, but it sure looks like one of those not-so-rare Illinois coinky-dinks that AFSCME endorsed Quinn and then two days later got a no-layoff agreement.==
I’d say your hat’s on straight. Instead of letting the voters decide in six weeks, it seems that Quinn went for the pay-to-play sellout to gain campaign cash and electioneering.
It should be pointed out that we’re hardly talking about a cut. Perhaps the salary increases next year will be only, say, 7%.
This is the sort of fiscal management that we have come to expect from Quinn.
Comment by Rambler Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:27 pm
Maybe Governor Brady would reopen the Poor Houses and do away with all other human services
Don’t give him any ideas.
Comment by dave Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:29 pm
I accept Brady the way he is. He’s just running out the clock on Quinn. He has no idea what he’s going to do come January.
I hope all you vote stealers who live and work in the Chicago area note the hostility. You can expect more if he’s elected.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:32 pm
Rich, I don’t understand the question.
Comment by Greg B. Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 2:38 pm
Scrooge McBrady–”Are there no prisons? Are the workhouses closed? The Treadmill and Poor Law are still in force.” “Balancing the budget is easy.”
Comment by D.P. Gumby Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 3:09 pm
Brady is right. Balancing the budget is easy. Bills? What bills? Debt? What debt? Structural deficit? What structural deficit?
Oh. Maybe not so easy when you are billions in the hole.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 3:24 pm
wordslinger has a point. If Brady wins, you’ll see political fighting that will make Chicago’s Council Wars of the 1980s seem like a water-balloon-tossing contest at a church picnic, at the very time that this state is about to go bankrupt! The only good thing that I see coming from it is that Brady would likely be the last Republican elected Illinois Governor in our lifetimes, if not ever.
Comment by fedup dem Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 3:25 pm
===you’ll see political fighting that will make Chicago’s Council Wars of the 1980s seem like a water-balloon-tossing contest at a church picnic, at the very time that this state is about to go bankrupt! ===
Did you fall asleep in January of 2007 and just wake up?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 3:26 pm
John O’Connor vying for DOC Director under Brady? Kidding aside O’Connor is a good journalist buy this is one of his more poorly put together articles. Too many jumps in logic. I think it is time for him to pick another agency (IDOT)?
Comment by Adam Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 5:44 pm
John O’Connor is an excellent reporter. He is a point person for state employees to report to in order to expose unethical issues and fraud in the Blago and Quinn administrations. Can’t go to the Inspector General…..and what the Blago/Quinn administration did to whistle-blowers was shameful. State employees feel safer with John. Keep up the great work.
Comment by Can't Say My Nickname Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 8:49 pm
O’Connor is down with all those Republicans (like Brady) that want to keep the fear quotient high. To him, every minor offender in prison is a murderer waiting to get loose, and every parole officer is an accomplis. His story is absurd — if he writes one about every offender who violates the terms of his release, he will be writing stories till armageddon.
Comment by moby Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 10:59 pm
Saying it’s easy without discussing any details is so silly it’s not even worth responding to. Brady is a joke.
Comment by Far Northsider Tuesday, Sep 21, 10 @ 11:12 pm
moby and Dan Bureaucrat make excellent points regarding the early release program. Over the past couple of decades our state has totally abandoned any concept of “correction” in the DOC in favor of retaliatory punishment. Nearly all educational and vocational programs have been eliminated to slashed to ineffectiveness while prison conditions deteriorated with extremely poor food, insufficient clothing, etc. As nearly all inmates will eventually be released what sane person would expect them not to re-offend? What possible alternatives have we offered them? Does 30-60 days one way or another really make a difference?
Comment by Mike Kroll Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 7:18 am
As far as Reagan actually reducing something beyond revenue sharing: he was very effective politically signing enhanced environmental laws while at the same time starving the EPA of any funds with which to enforce them.
But mostly Reagan was too busy throwing money away on unnecessary military expansion racing the former USSR to see whose economy would collapse first. Fortunately, they were more fleet of economic foot.
Comment by Mike Kroll Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 7:21 am