Monday, Feb 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
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More long weekend shorts
Monday, Feb 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
I had to read them anyway, so why not post them here?
· The Tribune continues to dribble out their poll results.
The candidates’ emphasis on the issue is bolstered by results from a recent Tribune/WGN-TV poll that found ending public corruption to be a significant issue among likely Republican and Democratic primary voters.
Of those polled, 70 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of Republicans said the corruption issue was, at the least, a very important issue in deciding whom they will back.
· Fry ‘em:
All four major Republican candidates for governor say they’d lift the current moratorium on executions and resume lethal injections if elected. And one — Sugar Grove dairy magnate Jim Oberweis — offered support for reinstating the electric chair.
“I believe the electric chair is an efficient death penalty option,†Oberweis said in response to a Daily Herald questionnaire.
· This explains some things.
One day in the early 1970s, Ron Gidwitz saw Christina Kemper’s picture gracing the cover of a magazine and set out to meet the young, attractive model.
It took him nearly a year to get a first date.
“She was a real struggle to get to take out. She was a very reticent date. I had to court her and she was mean to me for the better part of those two years before we got married,†said Gidwitz, who last fall celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary with Kemper.
· Budget address predictions.
· Ethics, schmethics.
· Allegedly biased judge is backed by local GOP.
· I think they missed the point. Why were they hired as interns in the first place?
· Is the guv blatantly revving up the conservative base during the primary once again? Universal preschool is certainly a hot point with the right, but nobody (read: Oberweis) has really taken the bait yet.
· Best mashup ever.
· “In praise of Illinois”
· Washington Times issues non-correction correction about lifting quotes from Lynn Sweet. What he said.
· This really should be banned here.
· Obama fluffed in Time.
· Topinka’s campaign just issued a press release calling this Daily Herald revelation “Pay to Lay.”
· NRA gun safety rules.
Know your target and what is beyond.
Be absolutely sure you have identified your target beyond any doubt. Equally important, be aware of the area beyond your target. This means observing your prospective area of fire before you shoot. Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second.
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Question of the day long weekend
Sunday, Feb 12, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
First, read this.
…a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly believe taxes will increase in the next four years.
Twin surveys of 600 likely Democratic voters and 600 likely Republican voters also show significant skepticism about candidates who are making a no-tax-hike pledge part of their current primary campaigns.
The poll, conducted Feb. 2-6 by Market Shares Corp. of Mt. Prospect, showed 81 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans believe an income or sales tax increase is inevitable within the next four years.
Additionally, 75 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats said they do not believe gubernatorial candidates who say they will not raise income or sales taxes if elected. […]
Of the Democrats surveyed who said they are backing Blagojevich in the primary, at least 80 percent said they distrust an anti-tax pledge and believe an income or sales tax hike is inevitable.
Two-thirds of Oberweis backers and 64 percent of Republicans supporting Brady said they don’t believe candidates for governor when they adopt an anti-tax vow. A total of 73 percent of Oberweis supporters and 68 percent of Brady’s backers said they believe sales and income taxes will be raised in the next four years.
Among Topinka supporters, 77 percent said they believed taxes would go up in the next four years, as did 73 percent of Gidwitz’s backers.
Do you think taxes will rise after the 2006 election, no matter what the candidates promise? Why or why not?
And a bonus question: Should taxes be increased?
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Long-weekend shorts
Sunday, Feb 12, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
We’ll return to regular blogging on Tuesday. Here are a few things that caught my eye while I was reading the news Sunday morning. Since it only takes a couple of minutes to put the links here, I figured what the heck.
· The guv will unveil a new plan for universal pre-school. Fran Eaton advises parents to hide their children.
· George Ryan wasn’t the only one to get cash from employees. Jesse White got some last Christmas, but gave the money to the poor. It’s not in the story, but others got cash as well. More about this hopefully soon.
· Trib profiles Bill Brady.
· Laski wants to plea-bargain.
· Politics OK when hiring/firing prison wardens, appellate court rules.
· A look at the complaint against Justice Karmeier.
· Taxing “classic political puffery.”
· Paper objects to rate hike.
· Some people object to using Paul Simon’s name.
· Boyd Ingemunson outraises opponent in Kendall County state’s attorney race by almost 4-1. Meanwhile, a friend saw his yard sign and wondered if Boyd was de-emphasizing his last name (like JIM and JACK ryan did in years gone by). I just figured he couldn’t find a yard sign big enough.
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Brady flips on Kj
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Sen. Bill Brady has defended Bob Kjellander in the past. No more.
Brady, Oberweis and Gidwitz all said Kjellander should go for the good of the party.
Topinka, the former state party leader, went further than she ever has before in criticizing Kjellander. She all but called for him to step down from his party posts.
And that flip-flop allows Brady to turn the tables on Oberweis.
During a particularly testy exchange, Brady pointed out the Federal Election Commission has an open investigation into Oberweis’ 2004 campaign committee for U.S. Senate, and that the State Board of Elections has fined two political action committees run by Jack Roeser of Carpentersville. Roeser has donated more than $185,000 to Oberweis’ campaign, making him the 59-year-old Aurora businessman’s largest contributor.
“You are tied to someone who is a deadbeat in the eyes of the State Board of Elections,” Brady said, staring at Oberweis. “Do you deny that?”
Oberweis called Brady’s comments a “low blow” and said Roeser is only interested in “clean government.” While he explained that Roeser is appealing the fines, Brady interrupted, causing Oberweis to shout, “May I finish, Bill…. You’ve interrupted me three times now.”
And Brady hasn’t even begun to talk about Oberweis’ two meetings with George Ryan, or his other ties to the disgraced former governor.
UPDATE: For whatever reason, the AP story had almost as much info about the Tribune debate as the WILL debate in Champaign County, rendering it not so useful. Luckily for us, Illini Pundit live-blogged it. Very good stuff. Read the whole thing.
From the AP story, it looks like Brady pulled a George W. Bush in Urbana.
Asked about their political role models, Gidwitz named Teddy Roosevelt, and Oberweis mentioned both Ronald Reagan and corruption-fighting prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
“I’m a Roman Catholic, and I grew up modeling myself after — asking myself the question ‘What would Jesus do?”‘ Brady said, before praising Abraham Lincoln.
I’ve been waiting for that one because it has seemed fairly obvious to me that Brady is running a Bushlike campaign (without the gobs of money and oodles of support, of course) while Oberweis is attempting to be Reaganesque.
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Late afternoon shorts
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· Sweet was robbed.
· The Blagojevich-Stroger connection.
· Auto Show preview.
· Soldier donates flag.
· Oberweis not worried about lousy poll numbers, plans advertising blitz.
· Top 10 consumer complaints.
· A new documentary to be shown at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin next month - about the “f-word” - will include a piece about our old friend Alan Keyes. (Scroll way down for info).
· This isn’t short, but it’s fascinating.
Wrong.
That’s what local union officials are saying about claims by Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) that residents of the Illinois Veterans Home receive improper care.
“The Illinois Veterans Home is a beautiful place to live, and the care is excellent. I wouldn’t be afraid to go there myself,” said Priscilla Slater, union president of Local 1787 of AFSCME.
A report by Council 31 released Wednesday claims that staff shortages at the Quincy facility have led to a variety of care problems, and that an estimated 100 veterans were on a waiting list to get into the home even though 160 beds sit empty.
Slater says those numbers are inflated.
“We have 86 empty beds, nursing home care beds. I don’t know where they came up with 160,” she said. “And on the waiting list, there are just 53 people. I got these numbers straight from the adjutant’s office, as of yesterday.”
Slater doesn’t dispute the fact that staff shortages have required staff to work a lot of overtime, but she believes recent hirings will help ease the situation.
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This just in… Daily Show clip
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Watch it here or here.
Thanks to KA for the heads up.
And Edwin Eisendrath shows he has no sense of humor. From a press release:
Last night Governor Rod Blagojevich’s disrespect of Illinois voters reached new heights. Thumbing his nose at over 100 years of civic tradition, he has refused to debate his Democratic primary challenger, Edwin Eisendrath. He says he is too busy governing. BUT HE HAS PLENTY OF TIME FOR LAUGHS ON CABLE TV.
After watching the clip, I kinda doubt that Rep. Stephens has a sign in his pharmacy that says “The customer is always right.”
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Alexi Giannoulias got a bit of bad press today:
Of the millions donated to Illinois politicians, it’s a mere $5,000.
But this cash donated to a Democrat hoping to become Illinois’ treasurer comes with the makings of a TV murder mystery: It’s from a Florida casino fleet owner whose uncle was gunned down in an execution-style slaying after selling the gambling fleet to a group that included indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
What’s more, the candidate, Alexi Giannoulias of Chicago, happens to own a stake in a Chicago bank where the donor owes $4.8 million.
Giannoulias says there’s nothing wrong with the donation — it’s simply a gift from a fellow Greek.
The donation came from Spiros Naos in December. Naos owns SunCruz Casinos, which operates several gambling cruise ships, mostly in Florida.
Naos became owner after his uncle was gunned down in 2001, in what authorities called an execution-style slaying that remains unsolved. The murder occurred shortly after the fleet was sold to a business group that included Abramoff, who has set Washington politics asunder since pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion and agreeing to cooperate with authorities.
But the Abramoff group fell on hard times quickly and SunCruz filed for bankruptcy within months. Abramoff and his business partner since have been charged with defrauding lenders who backed the casino purchase.
Enter Naos, who in 2004 led an investment group that paid $36 million for the casinos.
Naos knows Giannoulias because he has borrowed money from Chicago-based Broadway Bank, founded and run by Giannoulias’ father. Alexi Giannoulias is a vice president. Records show Naos has a $4.8 million loan from Broadway.
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Yesterday, I asked why you were voting for a particular candidate for governor. Today, I’d like to know why you’re not voting for the other candidates.
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Veterans get the short end of the stick
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Two stories on sub-par treatment of veterans:
A state union says an estimated 100 veterans are waiting to get into the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy, even though 160 beds sit empty because of staff shortages.
Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) also claims in a report released Wednesday that:
* Veterans at the Quincy home are bathed just once each week, according to a bath schedule obtained from the home. When staff is really short, residents miss their scheduled weekly bath.
* Incontinent veterans are not checked often enough to promptly change soiled diapers.
* The Illinois Department of Public Health’s most recent inspection report, conducted in October 2004, indicated that the facility “failed to complete treatments” for bedsores on two of the three residents checked in one living unit.
* Workers voice concerns over a higher risk of “elopement” — when an unsupervised resident leaves the facility. A recent example ended in tragedy in October when resident William Gilson was found dead in nearby Cedar Creek, where he had apparently wandered unnoticed.
* Understaffing prevents the timely and regular provision of physical and occupational therapy to veterans who need this care.
* Licensed practical nurses often are required to pass medications on floors where they don’t know the veterans. The combination of overwork and lack of familiarity increases the chance that residents will inadvertently receive the wrong medication or an incorrect dose.
* A shortage of kitchen and support staff causes meals to be prepared late and delivered later, sometimes cold.
* Frontline workers say there is no time left to give veterans personal attention, and they fear that lack of staff and too much overtime lead to a higher risk of injuries among both residents and staff.
AFSCME also noted staffing shortages and inadequate care in veterans homes in Manteno and LaSalle. The report said the state’s fourth veterans home in Anna appears to have adequate staffing and does not have the same degree of operational problems that the other homes do.
And this one:
State Senator Gary Dahl, R-Granville, labeled as unfounded the state’s contention it is difficult to find nurses to staff military veterans homes.
“The fact they’re having a hard time finding nurses is hogwash,†Dahl noted. “The problem is with the amount of time it takes the state to hire a nurse.â€
Dahl said 14 to 20 beds are empty at the La Salle Veterans Home in La Salle today because of lack of staffing, even though the state plans to break ground this spring on an 80-bed addition to the facility.
The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs noted Wednesday the money is there to hire more staff, but finding nurses is a problem.
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Dump the joke, guv
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
I think it’s time that Gov. Blagojevich stop telling this joke.
An incident happened on his way to the airport to go to Washington, the governor said.
“We were stopped at a red light,” he said. “I rolled down a window, and a young girl, 12 years old, African-American, I looked at her, she looks at me. I look at her again. She looks at me. She gasps and she said, “Oh, my God, it’s Mayor (RICHARD) DALEY.” […]
“And we’re walking out, and there’s a whole crowd of people,” Blagojevich said. “And you could hear a young African-American girl, maybe 12 or 13 years old, and she was starstruck. She saw President Clinton. She said, ‘President Clinton!’”
“And then she saw Senator Obama, and she said, ‘Wow, Barack Obama!’ And then she saw me, and she said, ‘Wow, Mayor Daley!’” That drew laughs, of course.
I’m not sure why he thinks it’s OK to always mention that it was a young African-American girl. A joke like that, repeated like he did with different facts, could ruin a Republican.
UPDATE: Zorn has posted audio of the two stories back-to-back here.
Blagojevich states twice that she’s an African-American in one of the stories, making it seem even worse than the quote above. Again, if a Republican did this, he or she would be in huge trouble.
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Morning shorts
Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· No chance that Ozzie will change his mind and go to the White House, despite criticism by Mayor Daley. Ozzie Jr: “To Ozzie, his family is more important than getting attention for himself. You have to remember, Mr. Daley is a politician. My dad is not.”
· From the beginning of the Sun-Times article:
In the past six years, Republican millionaire John Cox has lost bids for U.S. Senate, Congress and Cook County recorder of deeds. And now he’s ready to run for the White House.
From the end:
“Maybe its time for a true outsider, not a professional politician, not someone who has been elected to a lot of things,” he said.
That quote speaks for itself.
· Peoria article on Oberweis meeting with editorial board essentially prints Oberweis press release, fails to note if he was challenged on anything.
· Atrios may be onto something.
I don’t look over my advertiser statistics much but casual observation suggests that the way to get people to click on an ad is to put pictures of pretty people in them.
· Cairo’s account frozen, declared in default.
· Justice Thomas and Kafka.
· Coroner writes blog.
· Blagojevich wants Guard cuts blocked.
· Eyes are on you.
· I forgot about watching “The Daily Show” last night. Anyone see it?
· Drive time with parents would double under White bill.
· Durbin wants taxpayer financed campaigns. But Sen. Hot-Head (R-Easily Offended) says “No.”
· There are days when I could definitely use this.
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