Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2005

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Another PR offense on the way.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY’-uh-vitch) is turning to state employees again to generate publicity for his policies.

His administration is asking top staffers at the Department of Central Management Services to recruit friends and relatives to write to newspapers in support of Blagojevich’s new plan to fund education. […]

The e-mail includes sample letters and tells recipients to report to the C-M-S director on their progress. Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch says the effort is voluntary.

Blagojevich last month ordered state agencies to vigorously promote his cut-rate prescription-drug program.

This was the AP version of Bernie Schoenburg’s SJ-R column today.

11 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

As you’ve probably heard by now, twice-failed US Senate candidate Jim Oberweis is announcing today that he’s running for governor. What are his odds of winning the primary?

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Note to self

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Find out if Alex Blagojevich is related to Rod Blagojevich. He keeps popping up on my Google News searches but I have yet to remember to ask anyone about it.

19 Comments

Oh, please

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Private schools have been kicking the tar out of the publics for years. But now that the IHSA wants to try and level the playing field, some legislators believe they must step in.

State lawmakers are planning an all-out assault on the Illinois High School Association today, hoping to force the organization to back off its contested plan to give public schools a leg up on private school teams in postseason tournaments.

A House panel is scheduled to consider sweeping measures giving the state broad new powers over the private, non-profit state athletic governing body.

Also today, a group of mostly Chicago area lawmakers with ties to the city’s Catholic school system will announce their intention to order Auditor General William Holland to investigate the IHSA, according to Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago).

Kevin Joyce is one of my favorite legislators, and I understand his district situation, but this is a bit much.

20 Comments

Tax cut idea

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Drivers in Winnebago County would save roughly 2 cents on every gallon of gas if County Board members follow Chairman Scott Christiansen’s lead to temporarily suspend part of the county’s sales tax. […]

Christiansen will ask the County Board, by the end of this month, to suspend for six months the 1-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax on gasoline that is earmarked for a new jail and justice system upgrades.

Illinois tried a variation of this during George Ryan’s term, and it just about killed the budget. I hope they have better luck out there.

4 Comments

Doug Scott interview

Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

There’s a very good, long Q&A with outgoing Rockford Mayor Doug Scott in today’s ~~Journal~~ Register-Star.

Question: Do you have any regrets or, looking back on the race, would you have done anything differently?

I donâ€™t know. Iâ€™ve thought about that a little bit. I wouldnâ€™t have done differently with respect to negative ads. I wouldnâ€™t have done that differently. Other than that, thereâ€™s always little things that you could do. I donâ€™t really want to detail them, but there are little things that we could have done differently. But for the most part in terms of the effort, to use the sports analogy of leaving it all out on the field, we did that. And so I donâ€™t look back at it and say, “Oh gosh, you know, if Iâ€™d only done this.” First of all, the margin (of Morrisseyâ€™s victory) was too large for you to do that. And second, we not only made the decisions at the time that we thought were right, but we had a great team and we executed them. The fact that it didnâ€™t turn out right, I canâ€™t fault the effort or the decisions that we made.

It’s an honest, frank interview, but I’m not sure if Scott understands yet what happened to him last week.

4 Comments

Breaking boat news

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

From the Associated Press:

Another gambling proposal has surfaced in Springfield.
This version is similar to one that Governor Rod Blagojevich introduced last month but it also includes a subsidy for Illinois horse racing.

The governor’s office says he’s interested in the idea.

It comes from Democratic Representative Robert Molaro (moh-LAR’-oh).

He wants to let existing riverboat casinos expand to serve three-thousand people at a time. They are now limited to 12-hundred.

Casinos would have to pay 20-thousand dollars for each new gambling position, but the current 70-percent tax rate would drop to 50-percent.

Three-percent of casinos’ gross revenues would be set aside to help Illinois racetracks.

The plan does not include any new casinos.

15 Comments

Breaking news

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

From a press release:

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which specializes in constitutional law, today filed a lawsuit in state court in Illinois on behalf of two pharmacists challenging Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s emergency amendment to the state code requiring pharmacists to dispense medication even if filling the prescriptions violate their conscience and religious beliefs. The ACLJ lawsuit charges that the Governor’s order is unenforceable and urges the court to declare it null and void because it violates state law including the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

“This directive is not only legally flawed but it puts pharmacists in the untenable position of having to choose between adhering to their religious beliefs and violating a law that could cost them their jobs,” said Francis J. Manion, Senior Counsel of the ACLJ, which is representing the two pharmacists. “There are protections in place to prevent employees from being punished because of their religious beliefs. The Governor’s directive is out of step with state law and we are urging the court to issue an injunction that would block the enforcement of this directive and ultimately declare the Governor’s action null and void.”

8 Comments

Question of the day

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Some members of the “Comment Posse” (trademark pending) have asked that I post a dangerous question so they can satisfy their bloodlust and commence mass deletions. They really want to kill something. Bad.

However, I’m not ready to tempt the fates just yet. I’m liking this new civility and don’t want to provide any temptation to the handful of morons and hooligans who were populating the comment section before the crackdown.

I’ve told the posse to go with their gut feelings here and delete comments they feel are offensive. Everyone has their own views of what is and isn’t offensive, but I’m curious what you think should be the limit.

So, the question today is, how far should the Comment Posse go?

Posse members are, of course, encouraged to post as well.

25 Comments

Grow up, please (continued from today’s Capitol Fax)

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

The goofiness continues.

A new push by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to tighten regulation of landfills has stoked a feud with his father-in-law, Ald. Richard Mell, and prompted some of the governor’s fellow Democrats in Springfield to question whether he is trying to divert attention from more pressing state problems.

“The governor’s office had to be aware that this legislation would resurrect the previous family battles,” said Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago). “That simply leaves the question why they want to revisit those issues at a time when southern Illinois is clamoring for medical malpractice reform, northern Illinois is clamoring for regional transportation funding and all of Illinois is looking for education funding reform.” […]

“The feud never ended. It’s just like a divorce–both of them are so emotional,” said one Democrat who has close ties to Blagojevich and Mell and asked that his name not be used. “They could have softened the language [about fathers-in-law] in the bill. Why do we need this in there?” […]

Charles Wheeler, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield and a longtime state government observer, said he doubted that Blagojevich’s attention on the landfill bill would provide him with a break from more substantive problems facing the state.

“To the extent that people are paying attention to the problems, the problems are so systemic and endemic that you maybe gain the equivalent of 10 minutes of relief, but the headache comes back,” Wheeler said.

This is a private feud. It should stay that way. I’m really disgusted by the whole thing.

By the way, do you want to lay odds on who leaked this story to the press?

A top aide to powerful Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) said Tuesday investigators probing the city’s scandal-ridden Hired Truck Program questioned him recently.

Chuck Lomanto, Mell’s chief of staff, said a subpoena from a grand jury prompted him to meet with investigators and discuss his former job as a general foreman of truck drivers in the city Streets and Sanitation Department.

Lomanto said the investigators told him that he is not a target of their probe.

9 Comments

DJWinfo has the scoop

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

If you’re interested in mass transit funding and where it is in the General Assembly right now, check out Weinberger’s report today.

Tomorrow (today) at 10 am the Mass Transit Committee is having a subject matter only hearing on the 1983 funding formula for how the saes tax is allocated to RTA, Pace, Metra and the CTA. It is possible and not unlikely that Chairwoman Julie Hamos will begin the ’solution’ phase of the proceedings by releasing what she thinks a 2005 funding formula ought to look like.

Glad to see he’s doing more in Springfield than hanging out with gorgeous women. I kid you not, the man is a magnet.

3 Comments

Good one

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

I always read Mark Brown’s Sun-Times columns, but today’s is definitely worth a plug.

Several bills are on this day’s agenda for the Environment and Energy Committee agenda. The hearing room is packed.

The room itself has been lovingly restored, its ceiling an intricate vision of pastels, but you only notice when your mind wanders — from watching all that legislating.

Legislating can be a tedious process, even for legislators.

Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) is playing with his microphone. The microphones are adjustable.

Trotter makes his microphone stand up straight. He makes it bounce. He makes it twirl around. How does he do that?

Just another mystery of the legislative process.

It’s a fresh perspective on the Statehouse and a very good read. Make sure you check it out today.

2 Comments

Pal o’ mine

Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Sean Hemmerle is a photographer friend of mine from when I was in Baghdad. We had a great time together drinking beer on the roof of our hotel at night, listening to the gunfire and talking about our very weird days. We got to know each other pretty well during that relatively short period of time.

Sean is working on a photo book about political walls. He’s traveled to Berlin, Israel, Mexico… just everywhere.

In the meantime, he has a gallery opening this Saturday, and while I doubt that many of you are planning to be in New York before May 8th, if you do go tell him I said hey.

Lots more info here.

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