Downtown Springfield will be “somewhat closed†for the presidential campaign announcement Saturday of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, Mayor Tim Davlin said Tuesday.
Exact locations of street closures weren’t provided by Davlin, who spoke with reporters at the Old State Capitol, where Obama will make the announcement.
Davlin reiterated that gates will open at Sixth and Adams streets at 9 a.m., and that the Obama campaign has said the program will begin about 10 a.m.
“We’d invite everybody to carpool as much as they possibly can because parking in the street is going to be at a minimum,†Davlin said, although several downtown garages will be open, providing more than 1,000 spaces. The parking lot below the Old Capitol, however, will close at 5 a.m. Saturday.
A film crew is already in town from Norway. The campaign has fielded inquiries from media outlets in Japan, a few counties in Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
“Needless to say, it’s going to be a big day in Springfield,” said Davlin.
I’m supposed to be interviewed this afternoon by a radio reporter from Switzerland, of all places. What a strange thing. Some legislators have been telling me that the interest in the announcement was so intense back in their districts that they’ve organized bus caravans to Springfield.
If you can’t make it to the show, I’ll be doing some live-blogging for The Hotline blog (some of which may wind up at NBC.com) before during and after the event. We’ll probably be cross-posting those here, so check on Saturday. I’m also hoping to have some audio, and we’re working on that today.
My parents are coming down tomorrow sometime (Mom just told me that Dad and his Obamallac were interviewed by a Quad Cities TV station this afternoon), my brother will be here with his daughters and ArchPundit is crashing on a rollaway bed.
It’s gonna be a madhouse, campers. Dress warmly, and be prepared to deal with thousands of spectators.
Are you planning to go?
By the way, the weather forecast for 9 o’clock Saturday morning is a high of 10 and a low of 6. Partly cloudy skies. Brrrr.
Sure, Illinois lacks the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pyramids of Giza, or the Colossus of Rhodes.
But it does offer visitors the Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois, the prehistoric archaeological remains of Cahokia Mounds, and a 170-foot-tall water tower shaped like a giant catsup bottle in Collinsville.
Echoing the ancient seven wonders of the world, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism on Thursday plans to launch a “Seven Wonders of Illinois” promotion. It will be announced officially at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Chicago.
Visitors to enjoyillinois.com will be able to make nominations through February, said Jan Kostner, the bureau’s deputy director.
Those nominations can be for anything residents and visitors consider wonderful about Illinois — parks and historic sites, statues and museums, cheesy roadside attractions and naturally beautiful scenic spots.
Let’s stipulate up front that “the governor’s hair” should be included in the list to avoid the repetitive submissions. Otherwise, have at it. And, as always in posts like these, snark is heavily encouraged.
The lead story in Capitol Fax yesterday was about widespread rumors that the governor will call for a “gross receipts tax” on Illinois business to pay for all of his ideas. Business lobbyists are gearing up like crazy to fight the idea, which the governor’s office won’t confirm even exists.
I didn’t notice yesterday that Small Newspapers also had a very good story on this topic until the reporter pointed it out to me. So, here it is…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is reportedly considering a gross receipts tax on Illinois businesses to pay for a plan to provide state-subsidized health insurance to state residents without coverage. […]
Depending on its final form, a gross receipts tax could hit every business in the state, from barbers to manufacturers. The barber, for example, would pay the gross receipts tax on whatever he took in, likely apart from any income tax he might have to pay.
Even if the business was losing money, the gross receipts tax could apply.
Business lobbyists contend a gross receipts would be passed to consumers, and in the case of manufactured products could add significantly to the cost of finished goods.
“You could go from your raw material to your final product and it could get taxed five times in-between.” said Kim Maisch, Illinois director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “The concept of a gross-receipts tax is really anti-free enterprise.”
The tax revenue estimate I heard earlier this week was over $9 billion a year.
This may be an overreaction, but at least it’s prompted some movement on the issue.
Chief Illiniwek could be forced to hang up his buckskins and stop dancing within a month — or even sooner, says a group of former students who have performed as the chief.
The former chiefs, in a letter sent to University of Illinois officials Wednesday, said they fear that pressure from Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) could spell the demise of the chief before the group can come up with a replacement tradition.
The former chiefs say they need a month to finalize a plan that could appease supporters of the chief as well as the NCAA. […]
Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer said she was unaware of Jones turning up the heat on university officials.
However, James Montgomery, recently named to the board, said Jones told him at a gala 10 days ago, “The chief’s got to go.'’
Meanwhile, GOP state Rep. Chapin Rose is doing a bit of grandstanding, introducing go-nowhere legislation to impose a 10 percent gross-receipts tax on money earned by the NCAA in Illinois, as retaliation for the association’s “interference” on the Chief situation.
Tired of what he sees as NCAA meddling in University of Illinois business, a member of the General Assembly has proposed legislation that would tax the organization.
State Rep. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, isn’t sure the bill he filed last week will get very far in the legislature, but he hopes it eases NCAA pressure on the university over its disputed mascot, Chief Illiniwek.
“Somebody needs to smack the NCAA upside the head,†said Rose, a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law. “They’re sitting up there in their ivory tower looking down at the rest of us.â€
Thoughts? We’ve had the debate over the chief here a couple of times, so let’s please try to focus on the two stories at hand.
Tollway signs emblazoned with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s name have again come under fire, this time from a suburban lawmaker who wants to ban them.
The signs, which hang above open-road tolling plazas, would be added to a list of items in state ethics laws that cannot bear the name or image of a state official or lawmaker.
The plan to ban the signs is being pushed by state Sen. Bill Peterson, a Long Grove Republican.
Peterson said he introduced the legislation because he felt the governor was abusing an ethical loophole. […]
The catch is that even if Peterson’s plan becomes law, the existing signs wouldn’t come down. It would only prevent new signs from going up.
The problem is, Peterson is a Senate Republican. The Senate Republicans are irrevelvant at the moment, considering they have just 22 members in a 59-seat chamber. But I’ve seen more stories about bills they’ve introduced than just about anyone else. That may change as reality sinks in.
* NEW:Congratulations Ryan!!!Feder: “Ryan Hermes, Springfield bureau chief for Illinois Radio Network, is joining ABC-owned news/talk WLS-AM (890) as news anchor/reporter. He previously worked for stations Downstate and in Jacksonville, Fla.”
* McQueary: “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That it’s too coincidental a guy with a fine Irish name like Tim Sheehan pops up in the 19th Ward aldermanic race?”
* Tribune: “As Illinois lawmakers prepare to debate a proposal that would make the state’s teen driver-licensing system one of the nation’s most stringent, top researchers say such laws are saving young lives in states where they have been enacted, but much remains to be done.”
A new bill has been introduced for public financing of appellate and state Supreme Court races.
…The measure would create a public financing system with political donation limits, potentially staving off races like the recent brutal judicial elections in downstate Illinois, proponents say. Both the 2004 state Supreme Court race and the 2006 appellate court contest in the 5th District set statewide, if not national, records for campaign spending at their respective levels. […]
The new bill, sponsored by state Sens. Kirk Dillard, R-Westmont, and Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, would use court fees and voluntary donations from taxpayers to fund candidates for the state Supreme and appellate courts. Coupled with such a system would be federal-style campaign contribution limits in those races; donations would be limited to $2,000 from corporation, labor organization and political committees or individuals per candidate during an election cycle. […]
“Of all three branches of government, the one that the public absolutely must think is not controlled by campaign contributions are the appellate courts and Supreme courts,” Dillard said in a recent interview. “Given the races we’ve seen, we know something has to be done.” […]
But business interests say they are late entries to judicial politics in Illinois, noting that judicial elections have historically been funded by contributions from lawyers. Ed Murnane, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League, which favors tort reform, said the elections of recent years point to a need for more drastic overhaul — a merit selection process in which judges are appointed instead of elected.
I couldn’t find the legislation online yet, but go ahead and debate the merits anyway.
Yesterday, Gov. Blagojevich’s office issued a press release entitled “Gov. Blagojevich announces more high school students succeeding on college-level AP Exams.”
Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced that more Illinois high school students than ever are succeeding on college-level Advanced Placement Program® (AP) Exams […]
“We’ve worked hard to give Illinois students the chance to take advanced courses that give them a jump start on a successful future,†said Gov. Blagojevich. […]
“It’s good to see a growing number of students challenging themselves and gaining academic achievement through this program,†said Christopher Koch, Interim State Superintendent.
But, as usual when you receive one of these releases it’s critical that you read the fine print. Here’s the Tribune story, entitled “As AP classes grow, test failure rate rises - Classes facing audit to ensure they’re rigorous.”
A record number of Illinois students enrolled in rigorous Advanced Placement classes last school year, but the proportion of teens who passed the end-of-year exam continued its steady decline, according to data released Tuesday.
Last year, Illinois public high school students passed about 70 percent of the 76,683 exams they took in subjects such as calculus, French literature and computer science. Six years ago, the pass rate was 72 percent. […]
College officials have complained that the growth in AP courses has resulted in a watered-down curriculum in some districts. In response, the College Board launched an audit of all AP classes this year to ensure they are rigorous.
The phrase “failure rates” and the word “audit” are not mentioned a single time in the governor’s press release.
The Peoria Journal-Star’s Phil Luciano takes a look at Obama’s cigarette vice.
I realized smoking can be deadly, but to political careers?
Barack Obama isn’t taking any chances. He says he wants to kick the habit for health. But pundits say smoking could be a political liability, as if a cigarette would make him an unsuitable commander in chief.
Let me understand this: Voters will tolerate womanizing, boozing, pot-smoking and all sorts of bad behavior - but not a perfectly legal activity such as smoking?
“For many people, smoking is seen as a sign of weakness and lack of willpower, ” said John Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University and executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a group opposed to smoking. “A presidential candidate would not want to be seen as lacking strong will or lacking determination.”
But others say Obama’s smoking and his struggle to quit could enhance his image.
“I think it humanizes him,” said Chuck Todd, editor of the Hotline, a political Web site. “He’s got a vice. We all have vices.”
Obama has said he often smoked as a response to stress, particularly during campaigns and while writing books. Asked about it in 2005, he invoked a biblical phrase: “The flesh is weak.”
But he emphasized Tuesday that he was discreet about his smoking.
“I’ve never been a heavy smoker and don’t smoke in front of folks or in the house,” he said.
I’ve been surprised by how many people say Obama’s puffing is a complete turnoff for them and will effect their vote. Do you care, and if you do, why?
A pal o’ mine recorded Mayor Daley’s new TV ad and passed it along for your perusal. You can see it below (there is another ad in front of it, so don’t be confused).
Mayor Daley is hitting the airwaves with a “modest buy” of television commercials that tout his 18-year record on education, crime-fighting, and downtown and neighborhood development — with no mention of City Hall corruption.
“I would call it a modest buy,” said the mayor’s longtime political consultant, David Axelrod. “It’s not a hugely heavy buy. It’s enough to get our message across. . . .
“One of our concerns, frankly, is that people know there is an election. It’s very low-key out there,” he said. […]
The 30-second commercial shows Daley driving in a car and in a classroom with kids. An announcer says Daley is “working for deeper reforms to give all our kids a chance” even though test scores are up and dropout rates are down.
“We have no problem with the ethics law or the ethics training, but it’s ludicrous to suggest that highly educated people cannot grasp, within a few minutes, the nuances of a document prepared by a subcontractor hired by a state bureaucrat,” said Zeman, president of SIU-Carbondale’s faculty association.
* Political winds shift, taking marriage war with them
* Michael Scott named director of Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority
* Daley keeping it low-key: “You have the Bears winning,” said Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th), a Daley ally. “Who is going to care about politics when we are in the Super Bowl?
* Editorial: Respect landowners, but don’t delay 3rd airport plan
* City seeks $4 million from contractor for over billing
* Texas joins “lottery-selling” crowd, complicates IL situation
* A look at the Cook Co. commissioners latest budget supplement proposals:
Cook County commissioners proposed a flurry of new taxes and fees Tuesday as they scramble to find money to stave off planned budget cuts for next year.
All of the proposals were sent to committee for further study, but commissioners will have to move fast if they want the new fees in place for the budget, which must be passed by the end of this month.
* Editorial: Don’t give towns counties their own cigarette tax
Daley stresses the assets sold are not “core competencies” of city government, such as public safety and education. Actually, what competencies are core is debatable. Leasing - privatizing - some cities’ school systems probably would make them more competent. Perhaps the moral of Chicago’s story is that what government can shed, it should shed.
After the Bush entourage left, Journal Star reporters went in to ask diners and workers their thoughts. One guy said he was so nervous he couldn’t even remember if he shook the president’s hand. The next day, a waitress reported that people were “taking turns sitting in the chair” where the president ate his breakfast. Hardly seems ho-hum. I couldn’t help but wonder also if Ms. Bailey missed the hundreds of people lining the streets just to catch a glimpse of the motorcade rolling by, in weather cold enough to make you forget your toes.
