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* Sun-Times Editorial: Let ‘green’ idea ripen
* Eric Zorn: Blago’s makeup bill just dandy
* Crystal Lake woman at center of governor’s makeup controversy
* Some state facilities in disrepair, documents show
While Illinois lawmakers and Gov. Rod Blagojevich haggle over a spending plan for the coming year, documents show some state facilities are literally falling apart.
From leaky roofs to broken air conditioning systems, state documents show that bureaucrats are spending millions of dollars to try and stay one step ahead of the deterioration.
* IlliniPundit: Illinois flash index increases
* Could Obama end centuries of corruption?
Dufendach says publicly funded election campaigns would end most of politicians’ questionable ethics. She strongly supports the nonpartisan Fair Elections Now Act co-sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to reform campaign financing.
Yes, it is a good start (especially when one observes how often Obama is forced to step off the campaign trail to attend fund-raisers). Obama’s ethics proposals are praiseworthy. But I guess I’ve lived in scandal-ridden Illinois for too long — I think there are some in Congress who don’t really have an appetite for righteousness. I guess I am what Obama calls a cynic, but I laud his efforts. If at first you don’t succeed…
* Ald. Flores ahead in campaign for cash
* Cheryl Reed: Progressive voice of reason and passion reflect city strength
* Daley endorses public assistance to newly merged exchange; more here
* City remains mum on police complaints; more here
posted by Paul Richardson
Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 9:05 am
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There is a definite need to do more then repair many state facilities. They need redone (and not withh 500 door knobs). Carpeting walls etc. There needs to be a capitaol improvements plan which cycles remodelling state owned building every x years. We need to end the cycle of renting/leasing. The State will be here…forever…so lets buy our buildings and then keep them up. The Sate is one of the worst slumlords in the State.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 9:27 am
Why do I feel as though the state’s management of its real estate is a vast, bureaucratic morass with corruption and incompetence among the main themes. Assuming we own all these buildings in need of repair, of course. If we are renting and the buildings are in disrepair….I’d look for a politically connected landlord who isn’t too worried about losing his income stream courtesy of the Dems.
As to prisons. There are too many people in jail
in Illinois. Way too many. Most are minorities, which in itself invites skepticism about why exactly so many people are going to jail these days. The prison system does generate a lot of state jobs though. Mostly Downstate. Anyway, aren’t there also some new, empty jails sitting around unused? Why not put the prisoners there instead of leaving them in rundown facilities.
As to the U of Illinois. A U of Illinois sheepskin is a valuable commodity. And aren’t the $500k plus perks university presidents supposed to be doing some fundraising among alumni, many of whom have done very well with that sheepskin. Oh, I guess not. Better to just hit up the taxpayer for the costs of rebuilding….or let things deteriorate.
You can always blame the state if something falls down.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 9:27 am
Madigan was on Chicago Tonight channel 11 yesterday. He is not ready to make nice. Continues to blast Blago.
Comment by Lula May Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 9:56 am
“Could Obama end centuries of corruption?”
The same Obama who tiptoes around corruption in Chicago and Springfield so as not to offend establishment Democrats? I don’t think so.
Comment by Tom Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 10:45 am
I love the persona Sen. Obama has adapted as a reformer. We need reform , but can he deliver?
Sen.Obama was appointed to Springfield by the squeaky clean Chicago machine and did their bidding while in office there. He and his family currently reside in a Chicago property which has overtones from a fortuitous relationship with an indicted political money conduit in the name of Mr. Rezko. This along with the magical salary increases enjoyed by Mrs. Obama make me doubt the Senator’s reformist convictions.
We desperately need reforms locally, statewide and nationally. I don’t think we will get them from a Chicago machine player.
Comment by plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 11:08 am
Chicago’s always been just a little bit shady. From Hinky Dink to D’Arco and Marcy through operations Graylord, Gambat, Silver Shovel, Haunted Halls, et al.We don’t need a reformer to change all this as much as we need a Messiah. And I don’t think even the saintly Obama could pull that off, just as Adlai couldn’t.
And, shock! I agree with Cassandra! IL does jail way too many people and then ship them off hundreds of miles from where their families reside due to the inane idea of using prisons as economic development.
Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 11:22 am
State facilities in disrepair: Over the past 4 years, most state facilities have been stripped of needed janitors, regular service and maintenance. Hiring freezes and slashed budgets meant that instead of paying someone to change filters, entire components overheat and fail, requiring emergency repairs…. Multiply that by every state facility and every IL office and you will see what those inside have been watching: we’re going to have to pay a fortune to make up for how the state has been stripped clean by current administration. Remember the ISP squad car crisis? IL tax dollars were being dumped into 12 year old cars with 210,000 miles, paying more for repairs than the cars were worth….. IL buildings, offices, equipment and cars will all go the same way… we’ll all pay 3 and 4 times more to make up for this wave of neglect.
Comment by North of I-80 Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 11:45 am
The prisoners are sent hundreds of miles away from the populous counties like Cook, Lake and DuPage where their families reside because the residents would howl if an IDOC facility was built there. Many Downstate towns have welcomed a facility, believing it would offset the departure of well-paying factory jobs.
However, some of these communities have found that it hasn’t always made a difference. They found that most DOC employees in rural areas don’t spend their money in town; they gas up and drive to their homes, which can be a hundred miles away for some individuals.
Comment by Reality Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 12:15 pm
Obama a reformer. the same obama that endorsed daley and tilman. obama is a chicago machine politican he got his kickbacks from rezko, and he doesnt seem to have a problem with his mentor E. Jones putting his whole family on the state payroll and handing out state contracts to family while blocking bills to make it public. Obama is a corrupt chicago hack pol just a better speaker.
Comment by FED UP Tuesday, Jul 17, 07 @ 1:59 pm