45 Comments - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 5:44 am: The governor’s continuing attack response to everything and everyone has grown quite old and stale. The public has grown very tired of him. He and his surrogates have no credibility and their attacks are only noticed by his ever-dwindling group of supporters. Even Lou Dobbs took him to task last night when he attacked an opponent whose views he differs. The Governor is an embarassment to the people of Illinois. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 5:57 am: I find it interesting not so much for what rod said, but more so for his timing. It would seem he had less concern about the other repubs running that he has about JBT. The strategy of trying to get a strong adversary defeated defeated in a primary isn’t new, and is often effective, but supports JBT’s position that she is the only Repub running that can beat rod. I don’t think I would be so obvious if I were rod as she could use this to strenghen her support within the party. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 6:22 am: “Republican Party plan to take out incumbent Rod Blagojevich and fix the state’s fiscals mess. Now the governor says Topinka and the Republicans are to blame for that mess” Meanwhile, those not on the take continue to get screwed, no matter who is calling the shots. I will not be voting in 2006. Help yourself, looters. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 6:23 am: I thank the supreme entity every day that Blah-Blah solved our fiscal crisis. Oops, I’m sorry. The B Team only borrowed billions and billions and billions of dollars so the problem could be dumped on his daughter and others her age who will just start to pay taxes when the bills come in. B says he solved a $5 billion deficit by borrowing……….how many 10s of billion of dollars? Where are the rest of the billions and billions and billions of taxpayer dollars? According to Blah-Blah, only Ryan and Topinka are to blame. Jeepers! - downstate - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 6:23 am: Sounds like a scared rabbit to me.As far as thier fix all they done was enact laws that put the burden on our grandchildren.If he is so fiscal responsible why is he running around the state giving away millions in grants and sugar coated pork? Why is he signing bills that his fellow Democrats have attached funding for thier home projects?He is about as fiscal responsible person as a pervert with a hand full of 20’s at a Victoria Secret’s convention. - B Hicks - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 6:35 am: Again, below is how Ryan solved the budget problem that he created. JBT agreed with the Gov at the time. Friend of the state worker, I don’t think so: Corrections Postpone opening of Thomson $15,000,000 Close Hanna City Work Camp $ 5,794,000 Close Paris Work Camp $ 5,263,100 Close Green Co. Impact Incarceration Prog. $ 4,795,800 Close Sheridan Correctional Center $28,585,800 Eliminate funding of IYC Rushville $ 5,724,400 Close IYC Valley View $12,462,700 Eliminate Lump Sum $25,000,000 1% Cut, Field Services; Stateville; Pontiac; Menard Personal Services $ 1,841,400 Misc. reductions $ 549,200 - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 6:56 am: No one has come close to what Blago and his bunch has done to not just cut but destroy state agencies.The only use they have got out of them is to create job titles with 100 thousand dollar price tags to give to friends. - B Hicks - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 7:14 am: 6:56 My point is simple, what was necessary and good for George to do is destructive and bad for Rod to do. Why wasn’t she at the capitol trying to save the Lincoln Developmental Center. This is clear hypocrisy, cronyism, and a slap in the face to hard working state workers. Hmmm, Sounds like what she accuses the Governor of being. She definitely cared about a few state workers. She picked up a few of those high dollar Ryan people after they were let go from their cushy spots. I’m sure that it was because of their experience and knowledge. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 7:28 am: The fun begins. Apparently, the Governor believes that he can spew forth any kind of nonsense he wishes and if he repeats it often enough the majority of the public are ignorant enough to believe it. I hope that the first poster above is correct and the public has grown tired of him and understands that his accusations of this type are utter nonsense. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 7:31 am: Ummm sounds like Hicks has a personal dislike for our next governor. - The Dude - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 7:57 am: What option does the Governor have aftet Judy came out swinging at him in her endorsement? Isn’t it true that he inherited a record budget deficit from the Ryan administration? And isn’t it true that that record deficit was run up while Judy was the state treasurer? Is he expected to not point that out in response to being hit? She will have a lot of answering to do over the next few months. She better start running against her opponents before she gets too focusecd on Blagojevich. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:08 am: Yes, it appears that Blago is taking JBT very seriously. She is in a position to have acquired considerable knowledge about how he has run the Office, and where the money has gone/been redirected. Blago knows she will garner 95% of the vote from existing and former state workers, and their families and friends. Not tomention the businesses that don’t pay to play. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:13 am: Blago as doen nothing but say he has doen everything right. All it is is just him saying the right things to the news to look good. But underneath it all he has caused the state to end up in a bigger mess. Maybe not while he is in office but we will all pay for this later when we have to pay back the loans. I know this is also a sore subject but what will happen to state come January when the contractors are gone. They have not filled the positions by hiring which was planned. So now services can possibly fail to the public and well see hundreds of people at the unemployment line. If the public could only see what is happening in the background that never gets to the public eye, I dont think Blow hole would even have a chance. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:22 am: Hey Blago, read the Illinois Constitution before you attack the Treasurer again for “overspending”….. SECTION 18. TREASURER - DUTIES The Treasurer, in accordance with law, shall be responsible for the safekeeping and investment of monies and securities deposited with him, and for their disbursement upon order of the Comptroller. (Source: Illinois Constitution.) In short, the Treasurer doesn’t have a vote on the budget in the General assembly, nor does the office have the power to approve or disapprove the overall budget. This power is vested within the Governor’s office. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:35 am: The question I have is this: Judy said on the radio yesterday that she “called the Governor when he won to offer him help because when the Governor does well, the Treasurer does well.” Ergo, based on her critcism of the Governor, does that mean she’s doing a bad job, too? Seems logical to me. Her quote, not mine. Of course, to anticipate, “that’s not what she meant.” - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:51 am: We are spending more money then before Blago came into office and providing less services. You can play the, “I didn’t raise taxes” card all you want, but when you spend more and get less, something is wrong. Please note, as Treasurer JBT should have been vocal about the road of destruction we were being lead down and has not. Now she says she can fix it, no thanks. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 8:53 am: It’s sad that Rod is now blaming the Treasurer for his poor leadership, which is all it really is. And based on the post that quoted btw on the radio…if a baseball player hits .300, smacks 50 home runs and drives in 120 runners..yet his team is 20 games out…does that player therefore stink? - Cassandra - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 9:14 am: Once again I find myself in a quandary here, as my main concern is the cost of government, including local and state government. In the not-a-nanny-state we need to keep as much of our earnings as possible as we are responsible for managing our resources throughout our lives. True, Blago did not raise taxes, but programs such as Allkids and the pension raid are virtually guaranteed to raise taxes in the future. Blago has not shown the leadership required to really fix state government finances. As a result, most of the people now alive in Illinois today, who stay in Illinois, will within a few years see a huge rise in their income tax, and a huge increase in the already bloated state government bureaucracy. And those government employees, new ones and existing lifers, will continue to have cheap health and pension benefits that the rest of us can only dream of, as we pay for them while trying to save for our own retirement and health care. In summary, it’s not just our kids who will pay for Blago’s lack of financial leadership in some distant time. We will be paying for it soon. And he can only blame the Repubs for so long…most citizens think the 90’s were a long time ago and wonder why Blago keeps bringing them up in this 21st century. Finally, Blago, who has a history of dissing women (remember the Lisa Madigan flap) needs to be careful with the “women can’t manage money” motif he is pusing re: JBT. A lot of women are watching him very carefully as he proceeds in his campaign against JBT, as he’s not starting from a good place in that department. And I am waiting with interest for JBT’s plan. - JSM - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 9:16 am: Its obvious that Topinka is not only trying to distance herself from the insider deals that her and Ryan cut for wealthy contributors, but also to the 5 billion dollar deficit they both created. I cant blame her. I would be worried this part of her past would come back to haunt her. I think the voters will see through this charade. Judy was the First Lady of the Ol Boys Network under Edgar and Ryan. For proclaiming to be such a fiscal expert, has anyone heard her offer any solutions to anything while Treasurer? No, in fact under Ryan she was in the room saying spend, spend, spend! To say that any candidate is afraid of Topinka obviously did not see her announcement yesterday. Gubernatorial? She appeared more like a delusional used car salesman lying to cover up past mistakes. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 9:28 am: The interesting thing is that the average citizen and governmental employee, including many commentators on this site, that fail to realize that raising business taxes is the same as raising taxes on the individual. Regardless of all the blathering, there is no such thing as a business tax. Businesses are just governmental collection points so the politicians look as if they are hands off and innocent. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 9:47 am: JBT made her announcement for Governor and particularly in the Chicago area, she did so by addressing the Hispanic community by speaking Spanish. Now ARod has come out with a new program that will give illegal immigrants a driver’s license and he spoke in Spanish for a portion of his announcement. Sounds like the guy is on the defensive already. GO JUDY GO. You’ve got him by his testicular veracity and don’t let go. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 9:49 am: I agree with 9:28 am. We’re all in this tax thing together. When taxes go down for one group, others must pick up the slack, although they may not realize it. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls in the tax area. Business taxes are taxes on all of us. So are tax “breaks” for classes of individuals. All taxes must go down in the 21st century, and government, like business, has to find ways of increasing productivity through techology and other innovation, not through hiring more and more government employees and creating huge, crony and patronage-ridden bureaucracies as is the case in Illinois. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 10:40 am: I’m stunned that Rod can claim that “We dealt with that fiscal crisis” on the same day that a story like this appears: http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/72679.asp A “worthwhile” state program that nobody ever found the money to fund, and this is only one example of many. Rod’s had four years to fix whatever mess there is, and he hasn’t done it. Now he blames Judy. Typical. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 10:41 am: I can’t wait to see all, what was smiling faces as I/we got marched out of our offices and fired when Blago Camp took the wheel. Now those same smiling faces better start sending out resumes–it’s gonna be a blood bath when Judy comes home. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 10:56 am: 9:16, So you have to be kidding me, right? Are you saying none of that crap happened to a greater degree under Blagojevich? Yeah, and I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:09 am: Judy Barr Topinka, State Treasurer, thought that the deal offered was beneficial for the state and, along with Pullman Bank as Mortgage Program Trustee, entered into 1995 buy-sell agreements with plaintiffs for their purchase of the loans. However, later that same year, Attorney General Jim Ryan opined that the state was not being offered enough money and that, in any event, the Governor’s participation in the sale would be required. Failing to secure that gubernatorial participation, Treasurer Topinka subsequently declined to close on the transactions. Sure, a fresh face with new ideas. Yeah, she’d be a great Governor. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:17 am: Why is this disingenius governor firing back at JBT?? I haven’t heard him attack Oberweis, Brady, Rauschy or Gidwitz? i think somebody is gettin scared. Oh yeah, you can’t blame hotrod for the budget problems, because he’s been in office for three years now and still doesn’t have a clue about how to solve the budget’s mess. Maybe he can raise the cigarette tax, that was a good idea…or just keep borrowin and borrowin cause thats all he’s done, and then say I keep the line on taxes. what a joke! - B Hicks - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:27 am: Cronyism: In January, Republican state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka handed pay increases to senior aides of 3 percent, boosting the salary for her chief of staff, Nancy Kimme, to $113,004, records show. What exactly is cronysm? - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:32 am: A pay raise for a chief of staff is cronyism? After all the bumps that the governor’s staff has received, you’d think you guys could come up with something better than this. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:32 am: B Hicks…I seem to remember your boss not taking a pay cut because. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:34 am: b hicks, that was a COLA increase. moron. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 11:35 am: Ok, the post by Rod staffer B Hicks makes me wonder. Clearly they don’t understand what “cronyism” means…which explain why they keep saying they’ve done nothing wrong. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 12:09 pm: The one thing that will get JBT in office is she is willing to admit we have some very serious problems.That is something BBOY and his cult will not admit.Just like a lot of our state agencies are under staffed and under funded.Some services have been cut but to here them tell it we have smooth sailing all the way.B HICKS as much as you know about the budget you have to be a Democrat and a political appointee. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 12:23 pm: Clueless Pronunciation: ‘klü-lis’ Function: adjective 1 : providing no clue 2 : completely or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish Sounds like Rod. - ChicagoDog - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 12:28 pm: The bottom line is 60% of Illinois voters believe that the Governor is doing a bad job. His support level ranks in the low 30’s. My guess is even after spend $14 million plus over the next yearfor PR the best he’ll garner is 44% of the voting public. He’s built a reputation as a greasy Chicago style politician who lacks the maturity to govern. - steve schnorf - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 1:13 pm: This continued focus on “the hotel deal” is either a straw man by people who know better or ignorant comments by people who don’t. I challenge anyone to do math that shows me the state is better off financially today than it would have been if the Treasurer’s plan had been implemented. JBT wasn’t involved in the original hotel deal, she inherited it, and she understood that something is better than nothing, which is what we still have all these years later. She was simply cutting our losses, which she understood she would take heat for, and anyone who doesn’t understand that has no place commenting on anything involving numbers. - B Hicks - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 2:19 pm: If you people are getting this mad over a couple of blog posts, the next 11 months are going to be rough. If JBT is going to take shots at the Governor, she needs to make sure that her own record is clean. There is NOTHING that she can throw at him that he can’t throw right back, and harder. - Rastaman2 - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 2:54 pm: OK. Here we go again with the “the republicans made the mess” crapola. Rod, you’ve had three years to fix it. Whats taking so long? Let’s see… Three years in office to fix the inherited budget mess. Not fixed yet. No fix in site. Billions upon billions borrowed to fix the budget mess. Still not fixed. All sorts of wonderful “fee” increases to fix the mess. Still no fix. No merit comp raises for non-Blago personnel. No help there. Hummmmm. If a CEO of any company did what he did, that person would have been gone 18 months ago. No more pathetic lame excuses. Enough of the hotel business. Old, old news. When was that? Something like 10 years ago. Find something new to blast JBT on. That one is as lame as blaming EVERYTHING on the previous administrations. Settle down Blaglodites. You sound worried - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 3:45 pm: I want to echo Mr. Schnorf’s comments on the “hotel deal.” She wasn’t afraid to take a potentially politically unpopular stand in that instance. Contrast this with our current Governor who when faced with the myriad problems associated with the public education system “bravely” comes out in favor of a junk food ban for certain schools. (Even in this instance he didn’t show any particular “testicular virility by failing to address them same issue with the high schools who might fight back because of deals cut with various soft drink companies.) - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:16 pm: Man, Mr. Schnorf, I never looked at it like that. She pushed unsuccessfully to let two hotel companies with political connections settle 43 million in debt to the state for just 10 million. Wow, you’re right, we need her in the Governor’s office. - Team Sleep - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:24 pm: Blago is showing a side that people should have seen three years ago: that he can campaign but not govern. He is great with catch phrases and rhetoric but his ability and ideas fall way short of his campaigning. Remember, he was a back-bencher in Congress and missed a LOT of votes. Yet the people of Illinois somehow thought that Blago would be able to grow into the governor’s role. Wrong. He is an attack dog who refuses to ever admit he has done something wrong. He refuses to state that in 2003 he had to balance the budget by borrowing 1/5 of the money it takes to operate the state budget and that in 2005 he raided the state pension system to balance the budget. In 2004, because of his gross incompetence, he was forced to sign memorandums of understanding and the budget talks dragged along for two months after the session was supposed to end. And now he is attacking JBT for something she had no control over while Blago also fails to realize that Mike Madigan passed the deficits during the George Ryan years. Oh, I fear for this state if Blago is reelected. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:35 pm: Anon 4:16 and under your plan you would have done what? The developer didn’t have to agree to change anything in the agreement. You might have gotten political gain out of it but no money for the state. But that really is all that’s important to your party anyway. Blago, Durbin & now Obama would be pleased with you. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:37 pm: 4:16 If you sold your neighbor your car and his check bounced and he said sorry, your problem now, what would you do? Now, if you told him you were planning to sue him for the payment and his response was that he would file for bankruptcy(default) and you would then never see a penny. Wouldn’t you be happier getting 20-25% of your money instead of nothing? It is better than nothing. - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:40 pm: I don’t understand the governor’s complaints about the state’s budgetary messes. What did think he’d find? Why did he run for the job if he wasn’t interested in taking on the challenges? Why did he think he was elected? Hearing him complain about the mess he stepped into is like hearing a life guard complain about how poorly a lot of people swim. So, how did he put our house in order, as he claimed? He maxed out every state credit resource available. Then he claims not to have raised taxes? This is like hearing the guy who puts everything on his credit cards claim he didn’t spend any money. What Rod was really trying to do is set himself up for a possible role in the 2004 national election, and claiming to have not raised taxes was his ticket to the big time. It just didn’t work out. So, now that we have been set up to pay for his 2004 wet dream, he is asking that we pay for his 2006 campaign using AllKids as the budget buster. (Excuse the scenario-speak again). Ahem! AllKids to our children is like having someone claim they paid for your college, then hand you the bills upon graduation. We will not have had a choice on how our taxes were spent, we will not find a way to make AllKids fiscally sound, and the whole thing is another really stupid mess based on the assumption that we are all too stupid to make decisions for ourselves. Some freedom, we have here in Illinois! Go Judy! - Anonymous - Friday, Dec 2, 05 @ 4:44 pm: Keep telling yourself that B Hick Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.