Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2006

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Rock Island County Dem Chairman John Gianulis told his fellow county chairmen today that he is backing Lane Evan’s choice to replace the retiring congressman - Phil Hare. This is really no surprise whatsoever, but John G teased the media last week about his announcement and it was a big local story.

12 out of the district’s 23 chairmen attended today’s meeting with Gianulis, but there was reportedly a lot of support for state Sen. John Sullivan from chairmen in the district’s southern section.

More in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.

Also, the Quincy Herald-Whig has a story about the vacancy today.

Unrelated, but Kos has a piece up today about Melissa Bean that’s definitely worth a read and Larry has more.

Consider this a congressional elections open thread.

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Senate leaves town without a budget deal

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

AP:

With a state budget deal proving hard to reach, the Illinois Senate has decided to take two weeks off.

The legislative session was supposed to end last Friday, but the governor and Democratic leaders have not been able to agree on a new state budget.

So the Senate went home today and won’t come back until April 25th.

There’s no word yet on whether the Illinois House will do the same.

Governor Rod Blagojevich portrayed the decision as a positive move.

UPDATE: From Topinka’s campaign:

GOP nominee for Governor Judy Baar Topinka today said Gov. Rod Blagojevichâ€™s unwillingness to come to work in Springfield has pushed lawmakers into overtime session, and his campaign fund should pay for the new overtime expenses taxpayers are now forced to pay.

â€œThe public expects the Governor of this state to show up to work in Springfield,â€ Topinka said. â€œIf youâ€™re not willing to put in the time and work hard for taxpayers, then you shouldnâ€™t run for the office.â€

â€œEven today, Rod Blagojevich found the time to campaign for Governor, but he couldnâ€™t find the time to do the job of Governor. His lack of attention caused this overtime session, so he owes it to the taxpayers to do what is right and pay this money back from his campaign fund.â€

In his campaign commercials, while playing an interested participant on TV, Governor Blagojevich claims to be â€œbattling in Springfield,â€ but the truth is, he is rarely at the Capitol. Attempts by reporters to learn how many days the Governor has spent in Springfield have been stonewalled by the Blagojevich Administration.

Every day the overtime session continues will cost taxpayers an extra $21,000. So far taxpayers are on the hook for $42,000 and the Governor still has no budget agreement.

â€œThat money could be used to hire a schoolteacher for an entire year, help protect abused and neglected children, provide reading assistance for young children or be used for breast cancer prevention efforts. It could be used for any worthy cause, but it will not be, because this Governor fails to simply show up for work in Springfield.â€

UPDATE 2: The House will be in session Tuesday through Friday next week.

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Should be an interesting event, but I can’t make it

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Kristen McQueary asked me to post this. Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make it because of session, but head on over tomorrow if you can.

Join the Chicago Headline Club for a free and inspiring event featuring Gary Post-Tribune political reporter STEVE WALSH, Chicago Tribune reporter JAMES JANEGA and Capitol Fax creator RICH MILLER for a lively discussion, “Reporters Notebook: The War in Iraq.”

Janega prepared for his journey to Iraq by camouflaging his light hair and blue eyes — then hunkered down with ground troops for the invasion into Fallujah. Hear how Walsh and his colleagues negotiated with Pentagon officials to escape the strict orders of a colonel who insisted on editing Walsh’s stories before he sent them via e-mail.

Are we reading and learning “the truth” about the war in Iraq? Come and find out. This event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12. Cash bar and appetizers begin at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Wrigley Building, 410 Club, located at 410 N. Michigan Ave.

PARKING: Complimentary parking available at 430 N. Rush St.

SPONSORED BY: The Chicago Headline Club chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

For as long as anyone can remember, legislative leaders and the governor have met behind closed doors to hammer out a budget agreement.

Do you think this is healthy? And if not, what alternative would you propose?

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Busted

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Apparently, the governor was against a capital bill when he was in the House.

As a loyal member of the Democratic political minority in the Illinois House during the mid-1990s, Rod Blagojevich helped block millions of dollars worth of spending on roads, universities and dilapidated state prisons the ruling Republicans wanted.

Fast-forward a decade and now that Democrats are in control, Gov. Blagojevich is blasting Republicans for the same thing â€” blocking state borrowing that would fund construction projects.

â€œWe cannot let partisan politics get in the way of progress,â€ Blagojevich said after Senate Republicans last week refused to go along with borrowing $4 billion to build roads and schools.

Many Republicans were intrigued by his turnaround from opposing a $361 million borrowing plan in 1995 to supporting a $4 billion one now.

â€œItâ€™s clear when the governorâ€™s party leaders at the time deemed a similar Republican proposal too costly, the governor was willing to vote â€˜noâ€™ but doesnâ€™t see the hypocrisy when he tries to make outcasts of Republican legislators who are fighting for fiscal responsibility,â€ said Senate Republican spokeswoman Patty Schuh.

A Blagojevich spokeswoman said she was unaware of the 1995 details and that the two plans couldnâ€™t be compared because the new one is so much larger. â€œThatâ€™s like comparing apples to oranges,â€ said spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff.

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Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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AG probes House GOP calls

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The House Republlicans claim they’re well within the law, but Madigan is investigating anyway.

State Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is investigating whether a telephone campaign paid for by House Republicans that targeted Democratic lawmakers violated state election rules.

“We have received a complaint,” said Madigan spokeswoman Melissa Merz on Monday.

The campaign involved anonymous, automated calls to the constituents of House Democrats. The calls attacked the Democrats’ records and accused them of cutting veterans benefits, among other programs.

Madigan’s office is looking into whether the calls violated the state’s election code, which dictates that political committees have to identify who paid for any communications that mention the name of a candidate in the next election.

The calls in the phone campaign did not say that they’d been paid for by the House Republicans, though the party later said it was responsible for them.

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Romney touts Topinka

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

JBT is said to be one of the top five to eight targeted races.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Monday that getting Judy Baar Topinka elected this fall is a top priority for the Republican Governor’s Association.

Romney, chairman of the national group, said during a news conference with Topinka that the Illinois race is among the “five to eight” gubernatorial races deemed most important because they offer a chance for a Republican to unseat an incumbent Democrat.

“We recognize that this is a key race. This is a winnable race,” said Romney, who also was in town to attend a biotechnology convention. He mentioned Michigan and Wisconsin as other key governors’ races among 36 this year.

Romney would not say how much money the group would spend on Topinka’s campaign. He said the association raised about $16 million last year for races around the country.

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Morning shorts

Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· Hundreds rally in Illinois for immigration reform

Â· Sneed: How come the Abraham Lincoln Museum has not found a new executive director to replace Richard Norton Smith?

Â· What kind of sentence is George Ryan facing, if convicted?

Â· Brown: Patronage alive and well

Â· Illinois, Minnesota leaders ask oil companies to make E85 available

Â· Feds: Patronage chief had files destroyed. More here.

Â· Ryan Jurors Enjoy Break In Warm Weather

Â· WBEZ change strikes sour note

Â· Officials tout biotech future

Â· Shortest. Courtship. Ever.

Â· Editorial: Question those state job-creation figures

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Afternoon politics open thread

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· My latest weekly newspaper column examines that Glengariff Group poll from last week.

Â· The Rezko beat:

Real estate developer Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s plan to extricate himself from another soured deal has hit a snag. Unable to get a 24-story River North condominium tower off the ground, Mr. Rezko and partner Daniel Mahru decided last year to sell the development site at Chicago and Hudson avenues. The problem: They signed a contract to sell the property for $9 million, but they owe the property’s lender, Chicago-based Broadway Bank, about $12 million.

Â· Christian Coalition shrinks as debt grows

Â· Chicago draws college grads

Â· SJ-R has apparently begung running columns on the front page.

Â· Supremely Meek Media

Â· Rep. Hoffman makes good

Â· Puerto Rico Governor Celebrates Midwest Office in Chicago

Â· Hundreds Rally For Immigration Rights At U Of I

Â· Protested Bean Defends Immigration Stance

Â· Ontario officials must have talked to Illinois legislators because they’ve obtained a “memorandum of understanding” from Gov. Blagojevich.

Have at it…

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Question of the day

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

First, the setup:

Before a film industry boon goes bust in the Chicago area, Illinois lawmakers are debating whether to extend additional tax incentives to filmmakers being lured to other states that offer even better breaks.

Legislation that passed the Senate 58-0 Friday would extend the film tax credit until January 2009 and provide greater tax incentives to production companies that employ residents from high-poverty areas.

The current film tax credit, set to expire next January without an extension, allows film companies to deduct 25 percent of their total labor costs for each employee who is an Illinois resident.

Under the proposal now in the House, the law would be tweaked so firms could claim a 20 percent tax credit on total production costs and receive an additional 15 percent break on labor costs for employees hired from high-poverty areas.

Now, the question: Do you think this tax break is the right thing to do?

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Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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More trouble for Alexi

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Tribune hasn’t given up just because Alexi Giannoulias won the primary.

On the way to his March primary victory, Democratic candidate for state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias found himself defending multimillion-dollar loans his family-owned bank made to a Chicago crime figure.

While saying there was nothing wrong with the loans, he also emphasized they were business decisions made while he was in law school and not a full-time bank employee.

But newly gathered records from South Carolina, Florida and Cook County show that his family’s Broadway Bank made an additional $11.8 million worth of mortgage loans last year to Michael Giorango, a convicted bookmaker and prostitution ring promoter. And Giannoulias, a senior loan officer at the bank, oversees those 2005 loans. […]

Giannoulias also said in March that Broadway Bank “never financed any casinos. We never did anything like that.”

The Tribune interviewed Giannoulias again last week after newly obtained records showed the more recent Broadway loans, including a $3.6 million mortgage that Giorango and another convicted felon used to acquire a casino boat marina in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“I thought it was for condos,” Giannoulias said of the waterfront property that secured that loan.

And the best quote in the entire story:

Asked in the recent interview if he thought it was acceptable for the state treasurer to lend money to crime figures, Giannoulias said the state treasurer must get “the best rate of return for taxpayers to create jobs.”

Oy.

Read the whole thing. There’s plenty more.

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Yet another Lane Evans open thread

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Does John G have it sewn up for his guy or not? The ~~QC Times~~ Dispatch and Rock Island Argus fills us in.

Rock Island County Democrats may not be the king makers of the 17th Congressional District, if party bosses in other counties get their way.

Rock Island County Democratic party chairman John Gianulis said he will endorse a candidate from within the county and expects other chairmen from around the district will fall in line.

Mr. Gianulis called a press conference Friday to announce who he’d endorse to replace U.S. Rep. Lane Evans on the November ballot. Instead, he said he will make the announcement next week.

He believes his backing will bring others throughout the congressional district in line behind his candidate, especially other county party chairmen.

“I told them who I support will be a Rock Island County candidate and I am sure they will support that,” he said.

But that may not be the case.

“I’ve talked to a lot of county chairmen, and the chairmen I’ve talked to don’t care for the person John is going for,” Vern Hagstrom, Adams County Democratic party chairman, said.

[Hat tip: Inside Dope, who has more]

What have you heard lately?

UPDATE: Just got this e-mail:

Rich:

Today’s bit on Lane Evans attributes a story to the QC Times. The story you quote actually ran in The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus.

Sorry, again, for that time a few years back when we accidently identified you as a murderer.

Joe Beach
Metro editor
The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus

True story.

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Statewide campaign roundup

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Pantagraph reports that Mrs. Blagojevich says her husband isn’t yet looking at a White House bid.

Illinois’ first lady says her husband isn’t looking for a job in the White House - yet.

Speaking to a class of fourth-graders from Harristown Elementary School Friday, Patti Blagojevich said her husband is concentrating on his bid for re-election as governor of Illinois.

“I think all of our focus right now is - to make sure he gets the chance for another four years,” she told the students during a mock press conference at the Executive Mansion.

Meanwhile, the AP reports, without specific polling data to back it up, that women Democrats are split between Blagojevich and Topinka.

Many female Democrats like Donovan are drawn to Topinka, in part because she’s a woman but mostly because she’s a moderate.

That crossover appeal gives the state treasurer the opportunity to pick off voters from a key Blagojevich constituency, one he has carefully courted over the past four years.

“The fact that she’s a moderate makes it possible for them to slide over,” said University of Illinois at Springfield political studies professor Chris Mooney.

And that’s vital, former two-term GOP Gov. Jim Edgar notes, because Democrats outnumber Republicans in Illinois. […]

Bonnie Grabenhofer, president of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for Women, said Blagojevich has a long list of accomplishments when it comes to women’s issues.

For example, he supports abortion rights, while Topinka favors restrictions on it that are “troublesome to us,” Grabenhofer said.

Topinka also slammed the governor over the weekend over his conservation record.

State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka offered stinging criticism of Gov. Rod Blagojevich during a speech to more than 100 leaders of environmental and conservation groups gathered at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Saturday.

Blagojevich did not attend the conference.

“Even worse than his absence and indifference is the harm that Rod Blagojevich has caused to conservation interests,” Topinka said in a 15-minute speech. “And the harm has been significant.”

And the Illinois Times ran an interesting column about why downstate black Democrats could embrace Meeksâ€™ candidacy. Go check it out.

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Morning shorts

Monday, Apr 10, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· What she said.

Â· Tribune: “Friday wasn’t supposed to end this way, with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones quietly leaving Springfield with their work undone.”

Â· Chambers, as usual, gets it right.

Â· “The state agency managing health care for the poor began its last budget year $860 million in the hole. By the time it finished the year, it grew that hole nearly twofold to $1.5 billion.”

Â· Governor feels effect of spring storms â€” in Chicago

Â· Government investigating if Big Oil thwarting biodiesel

Â· City desk interview with Tony Peraica (video only).

Â· Finke: Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH showed up in Springfield Tuesday - four days before the General Assembly’s original adjournment date - to begin negotiating a budget.

Â· Bernie: Some Republican lawmakers have been spinning their wheels while in Springfield - literally.

Â· Job recruiter frustrated by state

Â· Let’s make a deal, Comptroller

Â· Meeks to 9,000 regulars: Stay home on Easter

Â· Doyle signs with Biden

Â· Marin: Spread sunshine on Supreme Court picks

Â· Vets director reiterate governorâ€™s plan to give low-income veterans medical coverage

Â· Editorial: Increasing driving time for minors makes sense

Â· Charities battle to stay alive on state tax forms

Â· Sweet: Possible ‘08 candidates look to Illinois

Â· Suit slams school league breakup

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