Today at Illinoize
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform writes about judges not filing on time.
Diane of Respublica Blog has a post up about the Philip Morris case.
Jill Stanek on the mainstream media and blogs.
Jim Muir of the Southern Illinoisan has yet another very good post.
Go there.
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Eisendrath announcement
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Edwin Eisendrath has kept all details about his gubernatorial announcement pretty close to the vest. His secrecy has been kind of maddening, actually. But someone on his supporters’ list forwarded me this e-mail a few minutes ago.
We are hoping you can join us on Sunday, December 18th when Edwin formally announces he is running for Governor of the great State of Illinois. We need all of you there to cheer him on as he officially begins the fight to bring honesty, integrity and independence to our statehouse. It’s a family affair so please bring your kids! The press will be there, too, so be ready to show them how enthusiastic we are about Edwin’s campaign and what it means to our future.
What: Edwin Eisendrath Announces for Governor
Where: Kendall College- 6th floor
900 N North Branch Street (Chicago & Halsted)
When: 11am (guests need to arrive by 10:45)
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Deja Vu all over again
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Apparently, somebody didn’t learn from Monday’s litte episode here.
Ric Klau busts out an astro-turf blogger today.
The reactions to my comments about Tammy Duckworth’s campaign sure have been interesting. As expected, some of the comments (and private e-mails, of which there have been a number) express support for Christine and dismay at the DCCC’s handling of the race, a few have expressed support for Major Duckworth, and a few even addressed the substance of what I was writing about: the ham-handed efforts by a couple of local party officials to restrict Duckworth’s ability to solicit support at party functions.
And then there was this comment left earlier today by “Lisaâ€, who says she lives in Melissa Bean’s district and lays out why she thinks Duckworth is the right candidate. Interestingly, the IP address associated with Lisa’s computer is owned by the Democratic National Committee headquarters
He adds this update:
The DCCC is located on the 2nd floor of the building, so it’s entirely likely that this comment is from the DCCC and not the DNC…
Idiots.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
We read some good advice here the other day about book buying, but I wonder what other Illinois-related Christmas gifts people might come up with today.
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Guess who’ll make this appointment?
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
I’m thinking, oh, I dunno…. somebody who has extensive Middle Eastern ties who provided ten percent of the Blagojevich family household income last year and has the initials “Tony Rezko” might be given just a little input into this venture?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration wants to reopen an Illinois trade office in the Middle East, part of a new strategy to take advantage of business-friendly changes in the region.
Illinois had a trade office in Jerusalem for several years, but closed it last year. Now the administration plans to reopen an office, but perhaps not in Israel.
Even if the office remains there, it will pursue business aggressively with other countries, officials said, particularly oil-rich nations sending more investment money abroad.
“It’s hard to serve all of the Middle East from Israel, so we have been evaluating, should we try to have an office set up so that we can not only service Israel, but the rest of the Middle East?” said Jack Lavin, head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Director Lavin, you may recall, once worked for Rezko.
I also don’t remember a big announcement about the closure of the Israeli office. Strange.
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Topinka/Birkett
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Barring unforeseen circumstances (bad weather canceled yesterday’s fly-around) the announcement is today:
Judy Baar Topinka is recruiting an anti-abortion, tough-on-crime running mate in her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.
Topinka has made clear for days that she was close to sealing a deal for DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett to run for lieutenant governor.
She and Birkett have scheduled a series of news conferences around the state tomorrow where Birkett is expected to announce his candidacy.
Meanwhile, the governor will personally address the Illinois State Board of Education today. From a press release.
During the Illinois State Board of Education’s meeting tomorrow, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich will explain why he believes the board should vote to adopt new rules banning the sale of junk food and soda in elementary and middle schools.
Afterwards, he’ll award a $500,000 grant for educational programs at Chicago’s Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.
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Ryan trial stuff
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
This is a good example of how the Ryan trial is going.
The director of the computer department in the secretary of state’s office under George Ryan testified Wednesday that IBM lobbyists helped him get the job and he assured them that he thought the office should switch to a multimillion-dollar IBM computer.
Once hired, he played a major part in the conversion from an old, overloaded computer to a $25 million IBM model, Frank Cavallaro told jurors hearing the former governor’s racketeering and fraud trial.
Federal prosecutors say Ryan’s decision to buy the IBM computer shows how an elite circle of well-connected Ryan friends, including co-defendant Larry Warner, made money off state contracts and leases when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state.
And then at the bottom of the story we get this.
Questioned by Ryan attorney Julie Bauer, Cavallaro said that he genuinely believed the state was right to buy the IBM system. He said only a few states anywhere in the nation at the time were using anything other than IBM-compatible systems for driver records and the like.
Emphasis added.
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Oops
Thursday, Dec 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
On the off chance that I might one day find myself in front of one of these judges, I won’t say that I have little to no sympathy for someone who doesn’t even know when to file.
Three Cook County judges face the potential loss of their seats after they missed a deadline last week to file for retention.
“She simply forgot to file,” said Mathias Delort, an election lawyer representing Judge Joan Margaret O’Brien. “She is crestfallen about the situation.”
Delort and Burt Odelson, a lawyer representing Judge Carole Kamin Bellows, who also failed to file on time, are asking a Cook County judge to rule unconstitutional the state statute setting the Dec. 5 deadline.
A hearing before Judge Patrick McGann, the presiding judge of the county division, has been set for Monday. […]
Delort said they need the courts to act quickly so attorneys don’t begin filing petitions to run for one of the three seats, which at the moment are technically open. A veteran election lawyer, Delort said this was the first time he knew of that a sitting judge had forgotten to file for retention.
Emphasis added.
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SurveyUSA
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
December trackers are online for US Senate.
Durbin: 46% approve, 39% disapprove.
Obama: 69% approve, 23% disapprove.
Discuss, if you’re at all interested.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
There are lots of rumors about how much money Edwin Eisendrath will spend in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. I talked to him about it yesterday and he flatly refused to comment.
How much do you think it will take to defeat Gov. Blagojevich in the primary? Is there any amount? What else will Eisendrath have to do to win?
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Killing the airport?
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
The Congressman isn’t happy.
Congress is expected to pass a defense bill this week that could indefinitely delay construction of the proposed Abraham Lincoln National Airport.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass overwhelmingly this week a bill supporting military personnel and their families, despite an amendment that would require all new airports be governed by a local airport commission.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., at a news conference Tuesday said Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 that would require the Federal Aviation Administration to approve only local airport commissions if the governing body is composed of a majority of local residents who live in the county where the airport is located.
The amendment would give Will County officials governing power over the proposed airport and the 4,200-acre footprint, essentially eliminating the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission or ALNAC, largely made up of municipalities in Cook County.
“Weller’s amendment is designed to kill the airport. This is bad legislation driven by politics,” Jackson said.
And this from the Sun-Times:
A spokesman for Weller (R-Ill.) refused to comment, answer any questions or even confirm that the proposal exists.
“All you’re getting is a big, fat no comment from us,” Weller spokesman Chris Kennedy said.
Open government at its finest.
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Way down
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
In the middle of a profile of the new head of the Chicago Crime Commission, James Wagner, we get this:
Because of state budget cuts and hiring freezes under Gov. Blagojevich, the Gaming Board has gone from 18 investigators when Wagner started there to just eight at present.
“That’s just not enough to do the job over there,” Wagner told me Tuesday, admitting that frustration with the situation at the Gaming Board was a major factor in his decision to leave after he was recruited for the Crime Commission opening.
There are 10,000 casino employees in Illinois, each of whom has to undergo a background check by the investigative staff before they can be licensed. Owners and managers are supposed to get more extensive background investigations. The Gaming Board also must investigate the companies that supply gaming equipment to the casinos.
“I really was not comfortable we had enough people to do a satisfactory job. We did the best we could, but I would strongly recommend that the state increase the manpower there,” said Wagner with the understatement one would expect from a career FBI agent.
I knew the numbers had dropped. But eight? Unreal.
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Doesn’t look so bad from here
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
This seems kinda quaint, considering Illinois has a fleet of state planes and a Tollway helicopter.
Gov. Bill Richardson found a surefire way to bypass traffic while heading to a bill-signing ceremony in Albuquerque last spring: Instead of driving the 60 miles south, he hopped aboard a speedy state police helicopter.
The New Mexico governor has taken 40 trips on the sleek state-of-the-art chopper since December 2003, when the state bought it for $3.8 million.
There’s nothing illegal about the governor’s flights — which take place, according to his administration, only if the aircraft is not needed by police.
But some Republicans accused Richardson, who is often mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate, of showboating.
Showboating? What about this?
Bobby Rahal helped Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich open three new Open Road Tolling lanes on Dec. 11. The lanes allow drivers with I-PASS to get to their destinations faster on I-294 because they no longer have to slow down or stop at toll booths.
Rahal drove a red 2005 Indianapolis 500 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car through the new Touhy Avenue Plaza.
“Thanks to Bobby Rahal for coming out today to dramatize how Open Road Tolling lanes will allow motorists to get to their destinations faster,” Blagojevich said. “I’ve been coming out for each Open Road Tolling opening because I want drivers to know we are doing everything we can to reduce congestion.”
Now that’s showboating, my friends.
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