Question of the day
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Besides spend more time in Springfield and clean up corruption, what does Gov. Rod Blagojevich have to do to win this November?
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Duckworth attacks Roskam over Delay
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Apparently, things are already heating up in the 6th CD.
It’s early in the Peter Roskam and Tammy Duckworth 6th Congressional District match-up, but that isn’t stopping her from taking a swing at her Republican opponent over the departure of Tom Delay from politics.
Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, on Tuesday criticized Roskam, a state senator from Wheaton, for ties to DeLay, the scandal-plagued former U.S. House majority leader.
Duckworth, a Hoffman Estates resident, noted that Roskam got his start with DeLay and received contributions from him.
A Roskam spokesman dismissed the criticism as irrelevant.
“It’s tiresome,†campaign manager Ryan McLaughlin said. “He worked for Tom DeLay for eight months, 21 years ago.â€
DeLay, who announced his resignation from Congress Tuesday, was indicted on charges of misconduct related to campaign funds, part of an investigation into corruption involving lobbyists.
Roskam was a legislative aide to DeLay in the 1980s.
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New poll - UPDATED
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The AP picks up my poll story from yesterday.
[A] new poll showed the two about even in the governor’s race. The poll found 44 percent of registered voters supporting Topinka and 41 percent backing Blagojevich, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. […]
The new poll also asked voters about the possibility of state Sen. James Meeks, the black minister at a major Chicago church, running for governor. It found that the race remains essentially tied if he runs: 40 percent for Topinka, 38 percent for Blagojevich and 7 percent for Meeks.
The telephone survey of 600 registered Illinois voters was conducted March 30-April 1 by The Glengariff Group, a Chicago research and marketing firm. It was not commissioned by any of the campaigns.
The entire poll can be found here. (.doc file)
UPDATE: Besides the gubernatorial numbers, the poll also looked at the secretary of state and treasurer’s races.
· Jesse White - 59% (56 without “leaners”)
· Dan Rutherford - 28% (26 w/out leaners)
· Alexi Giannoulias - 38% (35 w/out leaners)
· Christine Radogno - 27% (24 w/out leaners))
· Undecided - 33%
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Defender defends Meeks
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
A Chicago Defender editorial defends James Meeks, chastises black clergymen.
The meeting between the Rev. James Meeks and Clergy Speaks International on Monday was supposed to be an opportunity to discuss the state senator’s possible third party bid for governor. Instead, sources in attendance say it was more along the lines of a session with the state Democratic Party.
Many of the Black pastors reached the conclusion that a run by Meeks – one of their own – could somehow damage the Democratic Party’s election efforts in November. Well, so what? Can we drive through Roseland, Englewood, Bronzeville and any number of other communities and visibly see what Democratic loyalty has done for African Americans?
Pastors often preach that if their congregations tithe, then God will honor obedience. So how have Democrats honored Black folks with their religious devotion to the party of FDR?
What Meeks is asking – which is fundamental to politics – is that African Americans must get something in return for their vote. Forget the last election. We must have something in return for what is going to happen in November.
Meeks recognizes that the last thing Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his supporters want is to see a dramatic drop in the Black vote. Demanding action from his office is necessary to get it. What matters to us the most is education and employment. When Meeks declares African Americans must get an urban agenda, then he’s right.
The Dems have just two options: take Meeks seriously and pony up some resources or ignore him altogether and tell him to put up or shut up.
If they do the latter, it could cost them dearly in the fall. Hopefully, Clergy Speaks International will find some backbone and stand with Meeks and demand our fair share of the state’s resources for all our people.
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Morning shorts
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· Commonwealth Edison hopes to buy a substantial amount of wind-generated power before the end of next year, increasing the state’s use of renewable energy. More here.
· State No. 1 in tritium spills
· A state agency has revoked licenses for four Fox Valley lending facilities owned by the Payday Loan Store of Illinois Inc., charging that they forged documents, took invalid Social Security numbers and failed to give the proper information to applicants.
· College aid up in the air as lawmakers seek changes to governor’s proposal
· Will County school tax hike loses by 1 vote
· Evanston may be ready to ban smoking this time
· Deal clears path for cemetery protest ban
· Stroger goes to rehab center
· Marin: Early campaign buzz will be meaningless by fall
· Luciano: It’s time to eat or cut bait
· Gay Games paddle ahead
· Mumps outbreak in Iowa spreads to Illinois
· Topinka slams Blagojevich on education, promises more independent board
· Countywide smoking ban hazy
· Grade school junk food flunked by state board
· Local campuses ahead of state, prohibit smoking
· Way off-topic: Do you know anyone who will pick lettuce for $50 an hour? If so, send applications here.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Besides raise a lot of money, what does Judy Baar Topinka have to do to win this November?
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“Sympathy for the Governor”
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Read the whole thing, but blogger Elwood Grobnik makes a lot of good points.
I’ve been by G Rod’s house twice in the last two weeks, as we’ve been spending our Sundays going to open houses in Albany Park. […]
I have to admit I was a little surprised by what I found. Unfortunately, the presence of cops in unmarked cars sitting on the block sort of discouraged me from taking pictures of G Rod’s digs, so you’ll have to take my word for it the Blagojevich place on the corner of Richmond and Sunnyside is not a mansion. I mean it’s a nice place and all - sizeable for a city home, probably four bedrooms, a little bigger than its bungalow neighbors - but it’s eighty years old and looking like it needs a little work. I’m quite certain the Governor’s Mansion in springfield is a much more lavish affair.
I bring this up because this governor has taken a lot of flack for a lot of things - and he’s earned most of it. But one of the oddest things he’s taken fire for is living at home. Many downstaters - who were key to his election in 2002 - have taken affront that his family prefers to stay at their own digs in Chicago rather than move into the Governor’s mansion.
When Jerry Brown was elected governor of California, but decided not to move into the Governor’s Mansion, he was hailed as a hero and an antidote to some of the waste and bloat of the Reagan years. But G Rod, instead of turning his fairly modest middle class home into a PR coup, has flubbed the whole thing and gotten burned.
I also agree that the governor shouldn’t be forced to live in that mansion. Why should his kids be stuck in that little apartment upstairs while the tourists are roaming through the place for hours on end? Why should he pull his daughter out of school to put her in a school in the state’s “company town” where everyone knows she’s the big boss’s daughter? The mansion isn’t the White House. There’s no office there. Jim Thompson moved much of state government to Chicago decades ago.
Yet, Blagojevich still gets hammered on this issue.
UPDATE: I should make it clear that I strongly believe he ought to be in Springfield a lot more often, particularly when the legislature is in session.
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Meeks meets with black ministers
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Dick Kay reports that a meeting between Sen. James Meeks and 79 black ministers yesterday was “no love fest”.
Andy Shaw has this:
Reverend James Meeks fielded some tough questions Monday about his possible run for governor. Some African-American ministers are worried a Meeks candidacy might actually help the Republicans.
Some of the Chicago area’s most prominent African American ministers agree with Reverend and State Senator James Meeks that the Democratic Party’s taken the black vote for granted much too long and shortchanged their community when it comes to key issues like education. But the ministers say it’s too soon to even consider supporting an independent run for governor by Reverend Meeks until they’ve met with the other candidates, including Republican Judy Baar Topinka and Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich. “Meeks is a pastor. We are pastors. We love him as a pastor. We support him as a pastor as we understand him. His candidacy is all but a proposition. We have two candidates right now, Topinka and Blagojevich,” said Bishop Tavis Grant, Clergy Speaks.
Most of the 79 African American ministers who grilled Reverend Meeks for two intense hours during a meeting Monday morning are worried about an independent candidacy siphoning off enough votes from Democrats, including Governor Rod Blagojevich, to elect a slate of Republicans led by Judy Baar Topinka. They are inclined to support Blagojevich– but only if he meets their demands for more spending on education, prison reform and drug treatment.
“We need to hold the governor’s feet to the fire right now. And if we have not heard something from the governor by a certain date, then we may have to look at other options,” said Bishop Larry Trotter, Clergy Speaks.
Mike Flannery adds:
A few minutes later, Illinois’s highest-ranking African-American politician, Sen. Barack Obama, declined to take sides.
“Something I think would be great is for Meeks and Gov. Blagojevich to sit down and figure this thing out,” Obama said. […]
“Rev. Meeks’ proposals are gonna be helpful in the short term, and he’s also proposing ideas in the long term that ought to be discussed and need to have a hearing,†Blagojevich said.
“Well, and, If that’s true, the Democratic Party needs to sit down and find out what the African-American community need in order for me not to run,†Meeks said.
More here.
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More allegations of pay to play
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Here we go again.
State government has awarded a $500,000 no-bid contract to a law firm because of expected legal action stemming from a decision to cancel two prison-building projects.
The companies overseeing those projects, Williams Brothers Construction of Peoria Heights and River City Construction of East Peoria, have said the state still owes them millions of dollars.
The state-hired law firm, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, has made more than $250,000 worth of contributions to political campaign funds since 2002, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections Web site. That figure includes separate contributions of $50,000, $25,000 and $25,000 to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s political campaign fund, Friends of Blagojevich, and a combined total of $22,500 to the state Democratic Party’s coffers. […]
Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch denied any link between Piper Rudnick’s campaign contributions and its legal services contract with state government.
“I think CDB chose the firm that was in the best position to protect the taxpayers’ money,” she said, adding that part of the firm’s job is to ensure that only appropriate bills get paid.
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Morning shorts
Tuesday, Apr 4, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· Cook County faces cash crunch. Sources say gov’t may need to borrow to fund operations
· At least 12 tornadoes touched down in Illinois - eight of which caused damage - in a storm system that moved across most of the state Sunday night
· Illinois Review: Why Judy won’t win
· Venture capital investment growth in IL lagged Midwest. And, Illinois’ venture capital proposal shrinks to $3.2M
· Crane ‘the past’ McSweeney says
· Two high-ranking officials of Lake County government have lost their jobs over violations of county policies underpinned by a romantic relationship between the two, officials said Monday.
· Editorial: Budget shouldn’t ignore abused and neglected kids
· More problem with the wall. Maybe the guv should declare war.
· This really is absurd.
· No more cursive?
· The Chicago Defender got its first makeover in a century.
· Jesse White Tumblers hit by double tragedy
· It’s smooth commuting on Ryan
· Sneed: Media maven Bruce DuMont is looking for “dynamic, young media savvy entrepreneurs” to add to the board of the new Museum of Broadcast Communications. Is that you?
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