Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2005

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Last week’s photo of JBT was so horrendous that I felt compelled to balance it out this week with a couple of good pics.

These photos were taken for a 2002 article in Today’s Chicago Woman. They’re the best I could find, and they’re pretty darned good.

From the article:

As a senator she gave a talk to a medical group on health care issues. Afterward, a female doctor asked her how she kept her house clean. â€œShe would never have asked a man,â€ Topinka thought, so she replied, â€œâ€˜Maâ€™am, I open the front door and the back door, and I let the wind blow the tumbleweed out.â€ Even today she gets comments about her hair or other appearance issues that male politicians rarely confront.

As a child, she saw the criticism her mother received because she ran a real estate business. Later, as a single mother in late 1970s, Topinka took her son to an amusement park but wasnâ€™t permitted to ride on the kiddy car with him because she was a womanâ€”she had to find a man to accompany the boy for the ride. […]

Topinka likes to read, especially newspapers and newsmagazines, a â€œdisease,â€ she jokes, shared by many former journalists. For years sheâ€™s played the accordion and even has a musicianâ€™s union card. Plagued with a bad back, she plays less often now because of the weight of the instrument. She likes movies, especially science fiction, and also loves history and watches the History Channel.

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More good news

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I just received an e-mail from the State Journal-Register’s web guy, and it appears that my suggestions for improving their site may be implemented during the upcoming revamp.

Thanks for the submission regarding our “Breaking News” addition to Sj-r.com. I read it yesterday, but just had a chance to read the second comment. You are correct that we will be reworking Sj-r.com. The two points you brought up in your initial posting regarding upgrades should make it to the new site.

The power of blog.

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Good news

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Former Gov. James R. Thompson said he felt great as he left a Chicago hospital Friday, nearly a week after undergoing emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.

Thompson, 68, underwent a craniotomy Saturday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Doctors said the clot formed from bleeding inside Thompson’s skull after he slipped and fell on ice near his Chicago home in early January.

“I’m doing great,'’ Thompson told reporters before leaving the hospital lobby. “I came through, I think, remarkably well.'’

Thompson, who appeared with his wife, Jayne, and daughter, Samantha, said he has been pain free since the three-hour surgery and has not felt any side effects. He wore a blue baseball cap to conceal 37 staples left in his head from the incision.

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Governor backs down

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Embarassed perhaps by his exploitation of a glaring loophole in the state’s ethics laws, Governor Blagojevich backtracked today.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has asked a California insurance company to stop using a picture of his family in a company newsletter after it drew criticism from state Republicans and campaign reformers.

Woodland Hills, Calif.-based 21st Century Insurance Co.’s newsletter features a photo of Blagojevich, his wife and a child with a company official. It touts the company’s work with needy children and bears the governor’s name and Illinois’ seal next to the firm’s logo and the phrase “Good People to Call.” It was mailed along with brochures and other solicitation materials. […]

“He cannot claim to be the champion of ethics reform in Illinois when he’s doing something that blatantly goes against the spirit of the law he signed,” said Andy McKenna, GOP chairman. […]

“What’s most troubling is the use of the state seal in a commercial pitch,” said David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. “It looks to me like the governor is endorsing this insurance.”

The state ethics law forbids private companies from using the image, voice, name, etc. of state officials in television, radio and newspaper advertising. The statute doesn’t mention direct mail “newsletters,” however, and that’s why this action isn’t illegal, although it certainly appears to fly in the face of the law’s spirit.

Sec. 5â€‘20. Public service announcements; other promotional material.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2004, no public service announcement or advertisement that is on behalf of any State administered program and contains the proper name, image, or voice of any executive branch constitutional officer or member of the General Assembly shall be broadcast or aired on radio or television or printed in a commercial newspaper or a commercial magazine at any time.

(b) The proper name or image of any executive branch constitutional officer or member of the General Assembly may not appear on any (i) bumper stickers, (ii) commercial billboards, (iii) lapel pins or buttons, (iv) magnets, (v) stickers, and (vi) other similar promotional items, that are not in furtherance of the person’s official State duties or governmental and public service functions, if designed, paid for, prepared, or distributed using public dollars. This subsection does not apply to stocks of items existing on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.

(c) This Section does not apply to communications funded through expenditures required to be reported under Article 9 of the Election Code.
(Source: P.A. 93â€‘615, eff. 11â€‘19â€‘03; 93â€‘617, eff. 12â€‘9â€‘03; 93â€‘685, eff. 7â€‘8â€‘04.)

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Balancing act

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Today’s State Journal-Register picks up on my Capitol Fax story from yesterday about how the governor wants to use cuts to future pension benefits to trim $800 million off of next fiscal year’s budget.

When Blagojevich gives his third budget speech Wednesday, one of his focal points will be the five state-funded pension systems and their $2.6 billion price tag for the fiscal year that starts July 1, according to an administration official who asked not to be identified.

The governor is expected to ask lawmakers to adopt cost-saving recommendations made by his Commission on State Pensions that include reducing pension benefits for new state employees.

If the General Assembly goes along, Blagojevich could pick up $400 million to $800 million in savings for use on other state programs.

The actual savings won’t occur for a couple of decades, but the governor will propose capturing those savings right away.

As I intimated yesterday, this is mostly just a PR device to balance the budget on paper, because it’s doubtful that the Legislature will go along with steep cuts in pension benefits that are so hotly opposed by the unions.

The SJ-R article also includes these little tidbits:

[House Speaker Michael] Madigan’s staff believes the latest AFSCME contract will cost the state an additional $28 million in fiscal 2006. Worse, skyrocketing costs for prescription drugs and health care in general will force a $1 billion increase in Medicaid spending just to keep the program at current levels. About half of that expense will be reimbursed by the federal government.

And despite the state’s financial problems, spending under Blagojevich has continued to grow. The state budget in place when he took office called for $22.3 billion in spending from the general fund that pays for most state services. In the current budget, that spending is up to $23.6 billion.

When Blagojevich took office, the state planned to spend $5.1 billion on Medicaid. In the current budget, Medicaid spending is just over $6 billion.

Bottom line: we’re screwed.

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ICPR files complaint

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

You may recall that the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform was unjustly accused this week of pimping for the trial lawyers. Today, the group filed formal complaints about two groups on each side of last year’s contentious Supreme Court race.

Complaints were filed Thursday with the Illinois State Board of Elections against two organizations on opposite sides of the nationâ€™s most expensive contest for a state supreme court seat.

The complaints allege both organizations violated state requirements for public disclosure of campaign contributions on behalf of candidates in the 2004 election for the 5th District Illinois Supreme Court seat. The original sources of at least $830,000 in campaign contributions have been hidden from the public. The complaints were filed against the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity (Coalition) and the Justice For All Foundation (JFA). […]

The business-backed Coalition and the labor-backed JFA collected and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars but did not file statements of organization or any of the required public reports identifying the sources of those funds and how those funds were spent, according to the complaints.

Somebody could be in trouble.

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The practical Lincoln

Friday, Feb 11, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Abraham Lincoln’s old friend and fellow Republican Lyman Trumbull wrote Lincoln a letter in the spring of 1860 asking whether Lincoln was considering a run for the presidency.

After confessing that “the taste is in my mouth a little,” Lincoln’s reply went on to assess the Illinois electoral prospects of various potential Republican presidential candidates.

Then, Lincoln added this:

Recurring to Illinois, we want something here quite as much as, and which is harder to get than, the electoral vote — the Legislature. And it is exactly in this point that Seward’s nomination would be hard on us. Suppose he should gain us a thousand votes in Winnebago, it would not compensate for the loss of fifty in Edgar.

Things really haven’t changed all that much since then. That could have been written by Mike Madigan or Tom Cross.

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Blogroll additions

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve added several blogs to my blogroll lately.

Will County Hairspray was added a while ago, but I forgot to mention it. Sorry about that, because I think it’s the best micro-regional politics blog in the state. I am a total addict. Unfortunately, the site wasn’t updated much this week and I’m in need of a fix. By the way, when Hairspray talks about “the Irishman,” that’s Will County Executive Larry Walsh. (I just noticed that the Hairspray folks are planning to launch a new DuPage blog soon. It’s a movement!)

Decatur Democrat does a good job on local political issues and has sparked some lively discussions.

The Decatur Herald & Review’s editorial page editor has a new blog, updated weekly so far.

Composite Drawings is a surprisingly well-written political blog by a McHenry County high school student. (Note to the Crossbloggers: she thinks Schock is a hottie, which is kinda icky on several levels.)

Drew Hibbard is a Quincy college student, blogs a bit about state politics and is looking for a job.

Considering all the comments posted here about the Quad Cities, I think somebody ought to start a blog about that region. I asked my dad to consider it this week, but he wasn’t thrilled with the idea. Oh, well, it’s probably for the best. I mean, how many Miller blogs could this state handle? Don’t answer that.

Sun-Times Watch was added some time ago. Cheeky monkeys.

The Free Will Blog is a spectacularly irresponsible, over-the-top, right-wing, libertarianish, pro-war, guerilla site that never fails to crack me up. And I mean all of that in a good way. I get a perverse kick out of that kid. But his taste in music is unbelievably mullet-headed.

Deadly Earnest was on a roll for a while about new voting equipment, but he hasn’t been heard from since late January. Get back to work, dude. Lots of things need to be fleshed out.

Discursive Recursions has a conservative libertarian bent, and can turn a pretty good phrase.

Reason and Common Sense isn’t updated much, but it makes some good points.

Respublica does a lot of conservative national stuff, but it has enough Illinois stuff to get a link here.

I’ve already told you about the Rod Report, but go check it out because its new background music is the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop.

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Around the Coyote

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

A friend of mine, former Capitol Fax political cartoonist Mike Cramer, helps run the Around the Coyote arts festival.

The festival is this weekend and if you live in or near Chicago, it’s definitely worth a visit. Just click on the above link for more info.

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McKenna on Blagojevich

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Leader has a story today about a recent meeting of the 44th Ward Republican Organization and this jumped out at me:

Andy McKenna, the Republican Partyâ€™s new chairman was the eveningâ€™s headliner. […]

McKenna noted that the governor had a $10 million war chest and that this incredible treasure was enough to spook potential candidates from running.

In what sounded like a winning campaign theme, he asked us not to be concerned with the amount in Blagoâ€™s warchest but how it got there. Further, the best tag line in memory was â€œWhatâ€™s the cost of corruption?â€

As I envisioned that on the side of buses all over Dick Mellâ€™s ward, McKenna began to list the possible costs of corruption along with the governorâ€™s management failures. There are plenty including $2 million in undeliverable flu shots, the membership vacuum in the stateâ€™s senior citizensâ€™ drug plan, the stateâ€™s financial shenanigans and his dispensing of jobs, jobs, jobs.

I noted in the Capitol Fax this week that if the governor’s two greatest assets - his huge war chest and his repuation as a reformer - could be turned against him his other weaknesses would be much easier to exploit. Apparently, McKenna is on the same wavelength.

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Oy, Part 2

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I talked to Rod McCulloch a little bit last night and he completely denied forging signatures on petitions, although most of what he said was unprintable.

Anyway, the Daily Herald has an update on yesterday’s story.

Milton Township Assessor Jim Gumm’s name will not appear on April ballots as he officially dropped his re-election bid Wednesday.

The move could be only the beginning of a deeper look at his ditched candidacy.

Milton Township Republican Precinct Committeeman Joe Nesbitt is calling for a criminal investigation of Gumm’s nominating petitions.

Nesbitt believes there are possibly hundreds of forged signatures on Gumm’s petitions. Nesbitt sent a mailing out this week to about 500 township residents asking them to evaluate their signatures as they appear on Gumm’s petitions. The letters include a copy of the petition form bearing their names and a hotline number to log complaints.

The hotline received more than 100 calls the past two days, said township Trustee Jim Flickinger, who has monitored it.

Almost all the signatures in question were gathered by consultant Rod McCulloch.[…]

McCulloch stands by his work and said Gumm should not point the finger at him.

Gumm was not all that popular with the powers that be to begin with and McCulloch was called in at the last minute to help with the petition drive. McCulloch has made a lot of enemies over the years, so many people are willing to believe just about anything about him.

We’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out, but if he did it, the DuPage County State’s Attorney, who wants to run for governor, will probably come down hard to set an example.

Try to keep your comments reasonable, please. Innocent unless proven guilty and all that.

5 Comments

Ethics law for everyone else

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’m going to make a call on this later today, but I wonder why the same state law that bars the private company that runs the Bright Start college savings program from using Judy Baar Topinka in its TV ads, still allows an insurance company to use a big photo of Governor Rod Blagojevich in a direct mail sales pitch and public service ad.

The outside of the envelope received this week at a central Illinois home looks likes just another run-of-the-mill piece of junk mail.

“Important dated information on auto insurance savings” it states above the address window.

But inside, one of four inserts features a nice color picture, nearly 7 inches long and 3 inches deep, of a smiling Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH, his wife and youngest daughter, and an assistant vice president of the insurance company.

The paper is in the form of a newsletter titled “On the Safe Side.” It discusses seat belt and child car seat safety, including a signed letter from the governor. On the bottom of both sides is the governor’s name and a full-color seal of the state of Illinois, side-by-side with the name of the company: 21st Century Insurance. On one side, the company’s name is matched with the words “Good People To Call.” The other provides the company’s Web site and toll-free number.

The rest of the mailing is clearly designed to sell car insurance, with a promise of likely savings.

The state law banning images of public officials in public service ads doesn’t include direct mail, so the guv has apparently found a loophole for himself. But remember how the governor chastised other officials for taking advantage of PSA’s to boost their own name recognition and favorability ratings?

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Excellent

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Google has done it again.

The online giant has added a new map search that is leaps and bounds above the competition.

Not only can you search for a specific address, but you can input the name of a business or a bunch of other stuff. I’m still playing with it, and it’s in Beta form, but I like what I see so far.

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SJ-R adds new feature

Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

The State Journal Register is apparently trying to drive traffic to its site throughout the day.

The paper has started posting a “Breaking News” link at the top of its home page, and small stories are added as they happen. Here’s the link to yesterday’s articles.

That link will apparently change every day, which is too bad. Readers ought to be able to bookmark the “breaking news” link so they can visit regularly. Also, adding an RSS feed would let readers put the page in their news reader programs so they could be notified when breaking news happens.

Still, it’s a good idea and it’s nice to see the paper experimenting a little with their site.

2 Comments

Amazing

Wednesday, Feb 9, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve seen a lot of great concerts in my day. I saw AC/DC blow Aerosmith off the stage way back in 1978. I was right up front when the Ramones scorched a tiny hall in Munich in 1980 and was stunned with delight when the Clash roared through their setlist in ‘81. I’ve been mesmeized by more great bands than I have room or energy to talk about here.

But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better show than last night’s performance by Wilco.

The band is legendary for envisioning new boundaries and then nonchalantly breaking them, and that’s just what they did last night. The texture was so rich you could feel it with your outstretched palms. Their sound was clear, yet not overly crisp. They were crafstmanlike without being too tight, artistic without being inaccessible.

There’s just no comparison between the band’s admittedly great studio albums and their transcendent live peformances. You have to experience it to understand, so I’m gonna stop trying.

Just go see them.

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Wednesday, Feb 9, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

This can’t be a good thing.

Jim Gumm says he will officially drop out of the race for Milton Township Assessor today after his own investigation found support for claims of fraudulent signatures on his nominating petitions.

The claims first surfaced last week when Milton Township Republican Committeeman Joe Nesbitt filed an objection to Gumm’s petitions. The objection cited as many as 750 invalid and possibly forged signatures.

Nearly all of the signatures in question appeared on petitions circulated by political consultant Rod McCulloch. […]

“I don’t know why this guy has done what he’s done,” Gumm said. “I don’t want to speculate, but I don’t think a person like this should be able to stay in the business.

“He’s ruined me,” he said. “It’s a big hurt right now. But what’s right is right. If these signatures aren’t right, I’m not going to use them.”

Not using them means Gumm does not have the required number of signatures to get on the April 5 ballot. […]

Neither McCulloch, nor Nesbitt’s attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer could be reached for comment Monday evening.

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Tools

Wednesday, Feb 9, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

For decades, Illinois governors have had to deal with the perception that they’re not providing adequate funds for public education. It never helped that the usually independent State Board of Education would always ask for a lot more money than the governor and the General Assembly were willing or able to provide.

Not this year. With the governor facing a $2 billion budget deficit, he won’t have the added worry about high-ball requests from the education establishment.

The independent state agency that oversees funding for Illinois schools won’t say how much money is needed for education for next year until Gov. Rod Blagojevich announces how much cash is available - a reversal that is fueling critics who say the board is nothing more than an arm of the governor’s office.

In the past, the state board of education has outlined before the governor’s annual budget address how much money the state should give schools. Often, its recommendation called for far more than state officials ended up providing.

But this year, the board will instead present “priorities” to the governor’s office. It will not send over specific dollar amounts until Feb. 17 - one day after Blagojevich makes his proposed 2006 budget public. […]

New board members said they haven’t had enough time since being appointed to produce a detailed budget proposal but will do it earlier in future years.

Yet, some members also said this process makes more sense.

“In the past, the board would put out some number that, frankly, was probably a little bit unrealistic. It would only serve to antagonize the governor’s office,” the board’s new chairman, Jesse Ruiz, said Tuesday. “We don’t want to go down that road.”

The board did agree Tuesday on some general priorities.

It said the top goal should be raising the foundation level of funding that the state guarantees for each student, now set at $4,964. But members did not suggest a specific amount.

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