Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2005

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

This is what happens when you mess with people who have advanced degrees:

A former Southern Illinois University finance professor has created a tool to help State University Retirement Systems participants see what impact the governor’s proposed pension reforms would have on their retirement pay.

Andrew Szakmary, who is vested in SURS and now teaches at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said he developed the spreadsheet because he was very upset by Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposals, particular those that apply to university employees.

“I want to ensure that his proposals become transparent so that SURS members understand how they will be affected,” he said.

Szakmary estimated that his own retirement benefits would be reduced by 17 percent if the governor’s proposal to change the way interest is credited to members’ accounts under the money purchase formula is enacted.

The money purchase option is a pension calculation formula that SURS members may select upon retirement if it provides a better annuity than the regular formula. That is typically the case for about 60 percent of the system’s participants.

The calculator is here.

And a quick note to the News-Gazette’s webmaster: What’s with the lack of spaces between paragraphs? Your paper is difficult to read online.

One more thing while I’m at it. Why isn’t Katie Clements’ column online?

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Clergy Call on Senate to Pass HB 1100

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

(The following is a paid advertisement):

Yesterday at the Chicago Temple, Bishop Timothy Lyne led a multifaith group of Chicago area clergy to call on the Illinois Senate to pass the Monsignor John Egan Payday Loan Reform Act, HB 1100.

Supporters include:

Father Pfleger, St. Sabina Catholic Church; Bishop Timothy Lyne; Rev. Walter Turner, President of the Baptist Ministers Conference; Lewis Flowers, Austin Community WOC Ministers; Jennifer Kottler, Protestants for the Common Good; Bishop Charles Davis, Indiana Avenue Pentecostal COG; Rev. Joseph Henry, Omega Missionary Baptist Church; Rev. Hillard Hudson, Pilgrim Baptist Church of South Chicago; Rev. Tyrone Crider, Mount Calvary Baptist Church; Rev. Leonard Deville, Alpha Temple; Rev. James Demus, III; Rev. Stanley Watkins; Rev. Sylvia Franklin, Apostolic Faith Church; Rev. Steven Thurston II, New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church Senator Kimberly Lightford; Senator Jackie Collins; Senator Kwame Raoul; Senator James Meeks; Representative. Marlow Colvin; Commissioner Bobbie Steele; Alderman Toni Preckwinkle; Rebirth of Englewood; Citizens for a Better Westside; Lawndale Neighborhood Organization; Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc.; Healthcare Consortium of Illinois; Oak Park NAACP; Southside NAACP; Chicago Westside NAACP; Womenâ€™s Business Development; Firman Community Services; Rainbow/PUSH; Project IRENE; Womenâ€™s Business Development.

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Christine Cegelis, who ran a strong but unsuccessful campaign against Henry Hyde last time around, posted a diary yesterday at Daily Kos which talked about Hyde’s retirement announcement.

Frankly, I don’t think she has a very good chance now that Hyde is gone, but I’m curious what you think. So, the question today is, can Cegelis win her second time around?

One sidenote: Cegelis must have been caught flat-footed by the announcement (even though we had all heard it would be coming in mid-April) because her website is down for remodeling. Oops.

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Georgia blogger tries to influence Illinois legislature

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Georgia blogger Straight up With Sherri has posted the e-mail addresses of every member of the Illinois Senate’s Health & Human Services Committee and urged her readers to lobby against a bill that would limit ultrasound tests to doctors and healthcare specialists acting under doctors’ orders.

Pro-life crisis pregnancy centers often use the ultrasound scans to talk women out of having abortions, and the bill, HB 2493, passed the House before the pro-life lobbyists figured out what was going on. I’ve already reported on this bill in the Capitol Fax.

So, if you’re one of those legislators and you all of a sudden start receiving e-mails from Georgia, you now know why.

Straight up With Sherri wasn’t done with her Illinois project, however. She caught Rep. Ron Stephens’ appearance on Scarborough Country this week to discuss the governor’s emergency order on pharmacies and morning after pills.

The Georgian was so impressed that she has asked her readers to e-mail the governor in support of Stephens’ efforts to block the guv’s emergency order.

UPDATE: Prompted by a commenter, I visited the FDA’s website:

It’s risky business taking pictures of unborn babies when there’s no medical need to do so. That’s the word from the Food and Drug Administration, which is concerned about companies trying to turn an important medical procedure into a prenatal portrait tool. […]

As compelling as these sneak previews may be, the FDA is warning women about the potential hazards of getting keepsake videos. The agency also is warning companies against creating them for entertainment purposes. While ultrasound has been around for many years, expectant women and their families need to know that the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposures on the fetus are not fully known. In light of all that remains unknown, having a prenatal ultrasound for non-medical reasons is not a good idea. […]

Ultrasonic fetal scanning, from a medical standpoint, generally is considered safe if properly used when information is needed about a pregnancy. Still, ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effects in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature. Although there is no evidence that these physical effects can harm a fetus, the FDA says the fact that these effects exist means that prenatal ultrasounds can’t be considered completely innocuous.

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AP to start charging for Internet posts

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Hopefully, this won’t deter outlets like CBS-2 Chicago from posting the Associated Press’ Illinois stories online as they come over the wires.

The Associated Press will begin charging newspapers and broadcasters to post its stories, photos and other content online, a pricing shift that reflects the growing power of the Internet to lure audiences and advertisers from more established media.

Tom Curley, AP president and CEO, announced the change Monday at the annual meeting of the 156-year-old news cooperative.

Most of the 15,000 news outlets that buy AP’s news, sports, business and entertainment coverage have been allowed to “re-purpose'’ the same material online at no extra cost since 1995. At that time, graphical Web browsers were just beginning to transform the Internet from an esoteric computer network to a mass medium.

The new pricing policy, effective Jan. 1, begins to shift some of the funding of AP to the growing online market, as technological advances and digital devices are making it ever easier for people to get their news whenever and however they want it.

Note to CBS-2: If you can’t afford to pay the new rates, charge for the service. I know I’d pay it.

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Labor trouble

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Senate President Emil Jones isn’t the only Illinois Democrat having trouble with labor unions.

The Chicago Federation of Labor’s dynamic president Dennis Gannon unloaded on Mayor Daley yesterday.

Chicago’s most powerful labor leader on Monday issued a thinly veiled warning to Mayor Daley: End the two-year-long negotiating stalemate with unions representing 20,000 city employees or risk the embarrassment that comes with labor unrest when Chicago plays host to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June.

Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon turned up the heat even as he acknowledged that, after 64 bargaining sessions over 24 months, negotiators are finally making progress on work-rule changes and furlough days that Daley says he needs to save $20 million a year.

“If this was normal negotiations on the outside, we would have had this shut down [with a strike or job action]. We cut the city a lot of slack,” Gannon said during a news conference called to announce support from 20 community, business and religious groups.

“It’s not too long down the road here when we’re going to have the Conference of U.S. Mayors in the city of Chicago. I don’t think we want to see anything happen with that. . . . That’s not necessarily a threat [but] it’s something that’s in the back of everybody’s mind on our side. . . . The threat of a strike is a tool. Do we in the labor movement want to use that tool right now with the city? No. But, we want to put this contract to bed. Enough is enough.”

Gannon is an activist president who hasn’t hesitated to plunge in to controversial issues. He’s been arrested at more demonstrations than probably all of his predecessors combined. I don’t always agree with him, but I have a huge amount of respect for him, and if Daley doesn’t settle this contract he will undoubtedly have trouble at the mayors conference.

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No George?

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Here’s the list of the attendees for today’s dedication of the Lincoln Presidential Museum, provided by the governor’s office. I had heard that George Ryan would be there today, but he ain’t on the list.

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and First Lady Patti Blagojevich
President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D- Illinois), Senate Minority Whip
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D â€“ Illinois)
U.S. Rep J. Dennis Hastert (R- Illinois), Speaker of the House
U.S. Rep John Shimkus (R â€“ Illinois)
U.S. Rep Ray LaHood (R â€“ Illinois)
Lt. Gov Pat Quinn
Secretary of State Jesse White
Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka
Comptroller Dan Hynes
Senate President Emil Jones (D â€“ Chicago)
Speaker Michael Madigan (D â€“ Chicago)
Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R â€“ Greenville)
House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R â€“ Plainfield)
Former Gov. Jim Edgar
Mayor Tim Davlin, City of Springfield
Julie Cellini, chairman, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Foundation
Richard Norton Smith, executive director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Foundation
Brian Lamb, C-SPAN
Mihan Lee, winner of C-SPAN and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum essay contest
Rev. Gordon McLean, First Presbyterian Church, Lincoln

That’s too bad about Ryan because even though he tried to pack the place with hacks, the museum and library wouldn’t have existed without his efforts.

Also, notice that they spelled Treasurer Topinka’s maiden name incorrectly. It’s Baar, not Barr.

UPDATE: I received this funny e-mail a few minutes ago.

On the security walk-through yesterday they gave us the seating
assignments for the stage and Speaker Madigan’s name was spelled “Madigin”. I don’t think Mapes found the humor in it.

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Community WiFi

Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’m going to be writing more on this topic in the future, but for now, here are several reports that deal with arguments in favor of municipally owned WiFi networks. You can read up if you want and debate it here.

So far, only one proposal has surfaced to ban municipalities from starting their own networks. Sen. Steve Rauschenberger says locals shouldn’t be trusted with the projects.

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