19 Comments - So-Called "Austin Mayor" - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 7:47 am: Paul, In the interests of efficiency, you may wish to create a macro for the phrase “Official with ties to Rezko leaves state post” No sense typing that again and again and again… – SCAM - Cassandra - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 7:50 am: Well, I guess the welcome mat is no longer out for Rezko “appointees” to state government jobs. Blago didn’t have to fire Ms. Dibble. She more than likely got the message. But what about the ones who don’t want to go. The “emergecy hires” and “interns” who found their way to permanent civil service positions courtesy of Rezko. Can’t get rid of them. Only death or conviction of a serious crime can dislodge them. And they know it. Plus, aren’t all state civil service employees about to get a seven percent raise? Why would the Rezkoites leave. A little Rezko army, right there in the Illinois state civil service, courtesy of Rezko and Blago. - Paul Richardson - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 7:56 am: SCAM, thanks for the tip. I’ve picked up on that trend myself, and I haven’t even been here a week yet. Perhaps we should add a section every morning that just lists the names connected to Tony that have ’silently’ departed over the night. - Wumpus - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 8:28 am: I thought Blago stepped down - Skeeter - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 8:58 am: Interesting smokers story. Turns out Springfield smokers are pigs who toss their butts on the street. Is that really news? I thought that was SOP for smokers. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 9:03 am: Sigh. Another run at selling the lottery. Huge fees for Blago campaign contributors. Jobs in the investment sector for Filan and staff when they leave state government. Earmarks galore for inner city Chicago. A crumb or two for the schools. Nothing for Kjellander, though. He’s already eaten enough at the bipartisan pork trough and looks a bit tacky right now. This says to me, Blago is running for a third term, Lisa and Alexi notwithstanding, and, regardless of the impact on the long term financial health of the state, he needs to buy budget peace for the next four years. What better way than selling our stuff. - Scary Stuff - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 9:23 am: Is there a complete list out there, with all Rezko’s appointees names? How many are there? How deep into this administration are they? That way we could just check them off as they scatter. Question is, why would any legitimate company pick up these bozos? - Roger - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 9:42 am: Is there anything to read into the fact that the NYT’s got this story and the Tribune/Suntimes did not? - Judgement Day Is On The Way... - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 10:44 am: The Sun-Times article on the budget crunch (2 board members want to consider raising taxes) had this little jewel hidden in the article: “In going over the numbers, Glaser and Comptroller Walter Knorr also made it clear that the county is nearly broke. Revenue from patient fees at Stroger Hospital and other county health facilities, which lagged behind all year, dropped off even more at the end of the fiscal year — coming in $97 million, or 23 percent, behind budget projections.” And then they’ve spent almost all the cash carryover from last budget year. Prediction: You are going to have County offices being cut so much (17%, maybe more), but the e;ected departments will refuse to actually reduce their current spending trend (use last year’s budget as their guide). They will run out of money (literally) in their respective budgets around December, 2007, and then it’s off to the Courts to fight it out. This will turn into a bloody mess. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 10:50 am: Very good question Roger. Don’t know the answer, but it’s a very good question. - Fan of the Game - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 11:05 am: Selling a revenue stream for a one-time payout. And we wonder why we have budget issues in this state? - Pat Hickey - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 11:13 am: Interesting smokers story. Turns out Springfield smokers are pigs who toss their butts on the street. Is that really news? I thought that was SOP for smokers. Skeeter, have you always come across like Joan Crawford on PMS or is it just political rhetoric? - demgrrl - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 12:47 pm: just read fritchey’s blog. the state isn’t proposing a sale or asking for bids. they issued an rfq, which is a request for bidder qualifications. he’s under the impression that it’s a sale. - Cassandra - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 1:46 pm: One wonders how bad the budget problem can be when looking at those eye-popping raises given to Stroger’s top administrative staff and bureau heads per Carol Marin’s column last week. 30 percent in some cases. All relatives and political supporters. But a bloody mess is fine as long as they don’t raise my taxes. - Squideshi - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 1:58 pm: I think that private, for-profit hosptials (especially large, private, for-profit, freestanding, psychiatric hospitals) should be required to better justify why they are being paid higher-than-average Medicaid reimbursements (disproportionate share) on an expedited basis, when they’re already extremely profitable. - One_Mcmad - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 2:15 pm: We would rather have President Todd Stroger raise taxes instead of cutting the services. Either way the people are going to be affected and we would rather be affected by increase of taxes and not service cuts - Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 2:59 pm: Demgrrl, The article says that ‘the deadline for bids is February 20′. It doesn’t say anything about it being an RFQ anywhere. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 3:17 pm: It is an RFQ, but check out the “Fact Sheet” They will even consider an IPO as an option. www.state.il.us/budget/Lottery.asp - anon - Tuesday, Jan 23, 07 @ 10:20 pm: Mike, wasn’t there was a rumor that Da Mayor was backing candidates against Ohare Expansion foes in Bensonville and Elk Grove Village (which they flatly denined). And his daughter is running it..talk about full circle. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.