* The Tribune reports that election day absenteeism by city workers was way down this year…
Four years ago, more than one of every three workers in those city departments targeted by prosecutors were absent from their jobs on Election Day, according to newly released city records analyzed by the Tribune.
But on Feb. 27, the absentee rate plummeted by almost half, to 18 percent from 34 percent. […]
In Streets and Sanitation, 677 workers, or 20 percent, took off on Election Day 2007. Unlike in 2003, employees were more likely to miss work on the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas in 2006.
For the other four departments targeted in the federal investigation, this year’s Election Day did not even rank in the top five for days missed the prior year
* Paul Green had an analysis of Mayor Daley’s win in the Sun-Times today…
…Daley’s original 1989 electoral winning coalition of white ethnics, Latinos and lakefronters (the 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 46th, 48th and 49th wards) has held steady in their overwhelming support for the mayor. Second, Daley’s mayoral opponents have been, as they were in 2007, African-American, and once again these foes centered their energy mainly in the black community. Three, Daley’s support among African-American voters has grown and though in 2007 it was less than in 2003, it still was politically massive. […]
As in the past, Daley’s strength centered on his rock solid electoral base. Margin-wise (based on Brown’s and Walls’ combined vote) seven of his top 11 wards were on the city’s Northwest and Southwest sides (19th, 23rd, 13th, 41st, 45th, 11th, 36th), three others were along the north lakefront (42nd, 46th, 43rd) while the remaining ward was the Far North Side 50th. Each of these wards gave Daley 6,000-plus vote margins.
Daley’s best African-American margin wards were the West Side 29th Ward led by the mayor’s ally Ald. Ike Carothers and the South Side 16th Ward. Among Hispanic wards, another longtime Daley supporter Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward — Pilsen) and 31st Ward Ald. Ray Suarez (Near Northwest Side) produced the biggest margins for the incumbent.
Percentage-wise, Daley had three wards provide him with 90-plus percent of their vote — 14th, 11th and 13th. All three of these Southwest Side wards are located in Daley’s former home base and are led by such Democratic notables as City Council Finance Chairman Ed Burke (14th), the mayor’s brother and Cook County Commissioner John Daley (11th) and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (13th). Besides Burke’s ward, other top percentage Hispanic Daley wards were the 12th, 31st and 30th. In all the mayor captured 80-plus percent of the vote in 20 wards besides his 90-plus percent big three.
* I held up this entire post until I could do some follow-up work on a startling Beachwood Reporter story today. A nameless writer, who didn’t cite a single source, either on the record or off, claimed without qualification that Alderman-elect Brendan Reilly was already breaking a major campaign pledge…
[Reilly] hasn’t even been inaugurated yet and he’s already sanctioned a controversial new development in the very style of his outgoing predecessor, Burt Natarus. […]
Reilly is going to begin his term by tearing down a fortress of a building with no apparent discussion. […]
So the first act of our new alderman - I mean the new Prince of Downtown - is to advocate for a developer and campaign contributor from Kenilworth (which ironically wants to save its historic structures and ban demolitions) and an Evanston-based tax-exempt university, ignoring the sentiments of his tax-paying constituents and two non-profit preservation groups that seldom advocate for the preservation of the same structure.
Even though there were no actual sources cited by the anonymous writer, for a moment I seriously considered retracting my endorsement of Reilly that I wrote earlier this year. So I got ahold of the alderman-elect and let him have it but good.
Reilly, however, flatly denied everything in the report. Rather than take the time to write them all up, here are some of my notes from the conversation, which I also shared with the Beachwood Reporter’s publisher…
factually incorrect. could not be further from the truth. i’m not sold on the proposed development.
met with planning commission this morning and asked about the project. still gathering the information i need to make an informed decision.
needs to be thoroughly vetted by the community. when i said i wanted a transparent process i meant it.
i didn’t sign off on a demo permit
meeting with all parties. i have yet to speak on this issue. haven’t taken any position yet on a project. it will get a full debate in the community.
[the article was] way, way, way off base and insulting.
instructed developer to meet with entire neighborhood.
not told anyone that i’d sign off on it. i have not made a commitment one way or another.
In other words, Reilly says he didn’t “sanction” the project and he didn’t “advocate for a developer,” as claimed in the article above. Until I see some actual proof from the anonymous BR contributor, I gotta figure that there’s no there there. On the other hand, if Reilly lied to me for the first time in his life today (and we go back a long, long time), his life will be hell. That’s a promise.
* Oops. I meant to blog this fascinating column as well by Thomas Schaller on the collapse of the political center…
Sure, millions of Americans refuse to register with either of the major parties, and they avoid the labels “liberal” or “conservative” to describe themselves ideologically. But what matters more than how they fill out registration forms at their county board of elections or define themselves when pollsters call is the policy opinions and attitudes they espouse and how those opinions translate into votes.
On that score, Mr. Abramowitz demonstrates that not only are liberals and conservatives voting more predictably for Democrats and Republicans, respectively, but their social and economic attitudes are becoming more internally consistent. He says it is easier today to predict, say, how a voter feels about stem cells based on her position on tax policy.
“To a much greater extent than in the past, voters’ opinions on economic, cultural and foreign policy issues are closely interconnected with Democrats overwhelmingly on the liberal side of almost every issue and Republicans overwhelmingly on the conservative side of almost every issue,” Mr. Abramowitz says.
America seems to be coming to the end of a period of partisan dealignment that began with the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. The so-called vital center is collapsing.
Go read the whole thing. Fascinating stuff.
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Monday, May 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Another quick note to update you on the new website hosting issue. We have to postpone the move until next Monday because my DNS server number will change when I make the final switch and it typically takes the Internet up to 48 hours to fully catch on to a new server number.
My old host, PowWeb, has picked up the pace this week (although still not enough) so our current situation isn’t nearly as dire as it was last week. Rather than create a confusing environment where many or even most of you are accessing the “old” web page for a couple of days and missing all of our updates, I’ve decided to just put it off. The change-over will happen Friday night so that by Monday morning everything should be hunky-dory.
This will also give my new host, MCS, a chance to put this site on their brand new server (which is being delivered tomorrow) and perform several tweaks on their end that will ensure they are providing the best possible hosting service. So far, they’ve been nothing but terrific.
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Question of the Day
Monday, May 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Apparently, Illinois can’t get its act together on the upcoming Lincoln bicentennial…
So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Kentucky is ahead of Illinois and Indiana - the other two states that lay claim to Lincoln - in funding and in planning for events surrounding Lincoln’s 200th birthday in 2009.
The Kentucky General Assembly already has approved $6 million for that state’s Lincoln bicentennial festivities, and planners will ask for another $4 million for 2008 and 2009.
The Indiana Lincoln Bicentennial Commission received word just this past week that the state legislature approved $1.4 million over two years for its Lincoln commemorations.
Meanwhile, Illinois has allocated merely $500,000 so far. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has proposed another $500,000 for fiscal 2008. […]
As so much attention is being focused on Lincoln, Lincoln sites in Illinois have less funding and fewer programs than they did five years ago, Brauer said.
Question: What Lincoln celebrations would you like to see here in Illinois? Snark heavily encouraged.
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* Despite what you may read, not every business is upset at the GRT. It turns out, there’s a big loophole for many of the state’s most profitable companies…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposed gross-receipts tax — which he argues will create fairness by forcing corporate “fat cats” to pay their share — would cut taxes for at least a few of the most profitable corporations in Illinois.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade and an unknown number of other highly profitable corporations would apparently pay less under the proposed plan. […]
One of the biggest winners in the new tax regime would be the Merc, which last year paid $30 million to $40 million in Illinois state taxes, according to its chairman, Terrence Duffy. Even if all $1.1 billion of the futures exchange’s revenue is subject to the proposed 1.95% gross-receipts tax — unlikely, since much of its business comes from out of state and would not be taxed — its tax bill would be just $21 million.
“If a gross-receipts tax supplants the state (income) tax, it could actually benefit us,” Mr. Duffy says.
* Meanwhile, the governor has done his level best to stamp out all talk of an income tax hike, but AP stories like this won’t help…
Groups are lining up to embrace Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to spend billions of dollars on family-friendly programs. They want the new schools, higher teacher salaries, better health care and expanded child-care services.
They aren’t nearly so enthusiastic, however, about the tax increases that would be necessary to pay for it all. […]
Protesters converged on the state Capitol to demand more education money Wednesday, but most speakers carefully avoided endorsing Blagojevich’s tax plan.
Even groups that support the tax, such as the Illinois Hospital Association, rush to point out that they do so because it appears to be the only viable plan right now. If another gained momentum, they’d consider supporting that option instead.
* Here’s a Tribune story on the same basic subject, “Give us the money, but not the GRT”…
The Civic Federation of Chicago, a nonpartisan research group, called for rejection of Blagojevich’s controversial gross-receipts tax on businesses. The federation said it would “overburden Illinois businesses and consumers.” Instead, the group advocated an increase in the personal and corporate income taxes to stabilize the state’s precarious financial health.
* And the Illinois Education Association seems to be getting some push-back from a few of its locals over the union’s support of the gross receipts tax, including in the Metro East…
Metro-east educators are pressing state legislators to increase funding through a proposed increase in income taxes.
The [IEA] rally was a general push for legislative action, but educators in the Triad and Highland school districts said they favor the income-tax focused House Bill 750 over Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s tax proposal.
* More tax and spend articles, compiled by Paul….
* Civic Federation report slams governor’s budget
* Group calls for income tax hike
* Editorial: Tax swap a better solution than the gross receipts tax
* Erickson: Taxes, electric debate set to collide
* Selling tax with a spin:
* Robert Rich: ‘Illinois Covered’ plan lost in shadow of GRT
* Summary Box: Groups divided over governor’s tax plan
* Illinois State Medical Society protests Blagojevich health plan
* McQueary: What are your predictions on tax plans?
* Kadner: Blago puts self-interest over the public
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On corruption, and going too far
Monday, May 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Carol Marin concludes her latest column, which is about questions surrounding Senate President Emil Jones and his family’s questionable jobs and contracts, this way…
When coincidences look like conflicts, they usually are.
Human minds are specifically geared to look for coincidences and connections, even if none actually exist. That’s why we have to always be careful not to allow knee-jerk cynicsm to override hard facts. While Carol is right that coincidences are too often conflicts in this business, the quote reminds me of this exchange in the movie Syriana…
WHITING: In this town, you’re innocent until you’re investigated.
BOB: Innocent until investigated. That’s nice. It has a nice ring to it. I bet you’ve worn some miles on little sayings like that.
Very wise. Gives the listener the sense of law being written as it’s spoken.
As Sen. Donne Trotter said about the Jones controversy last week…
“They say nine-tenths of everything is perception, but that doesn’t make it a fact.”
As we have learned in the Dawn DeFraties case, not every investigation results in a conviction. As in Syriana, some of them are specifically ginned up to distract attention and assign blame where little exists…
The two personnel employees fired by Gov. Rod Blagojevich administration over allegations that they were rigging job tests should be suspended for only 14 days because the case against them was too weak to support their dismissal, a hearing officer said Friday.
The recommendation is a “huge victory” for Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey, the two employees who were fired last year, said Carl Draper, their attorney.
Still, it’s difficult not to reach some negative conclusions when politicians do incredibly stupid things like this…
It’s a weekend in Las Vegas for some Illinois lawmakers.
With just a month left in the legislative session, an estimated 12 to 14 members of the Illinois House and Senate are spending the next couple of days at a trade show for the cable television industry.
The three-day, expense-paid junket comes as the cable industry is fighting an attempt by telephone giant AT&T to change state law in a high-stakes battle for the eyes and wallets of television viewers.
More…
They are members of the Illinois House and Senate committees that deal with telecommunications legislation, such as a current bill that could ease the way for AT&T and other telephone companies to compete with cable television firms. The Cable Television and Communications Association of Illinois, whose members could lose their local franchises if the legislation is approved, is paying for the trip.
“It is 100 percent an educational experience from our point of view,” said Gary Mack, a spokesman for the cable television association. Committee members have been invited to national conventions in different cities for the past five years to look at new technology, he said.
I’ve been hearing reports from the Vegas site, and from what I’ve heard, it’s definitely not “100 percent an education experience.”
Every vote those legislators take on this issue from here on end will be in question, regardless of whether or not their hearts are pure.
Sometimes, coincidences will multiply to the point that they create enough smoke to make one suspect that there’s a fire underneath it somewhere, as is the case with Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ family bank, which popped up in the Tribune’s story about a federal mole who was apparently helping the feds set up developers, including Tony Rezko….
Thomas’ Carnegie Realty Partners helped Rezmar Corp. obtain financing from Broadway Bank for an ultimately failed deal to build a 24-story condo high-rise on a vacant lot at the southwest corner of Chicago and Hudson Avenues, according to interviews and a civil lawsuit against Thomas by a former Carnegie officer.
That doesn’t mean that Broadway is crooked, but the bank has certainly been involved in a whole lot of coinkydinks over the years. Even so, it would be nice to see some hard evidence.
By the way, I checked and couldn’t find any clear connection to the mole and Patti Blagojevich’s real estate firm. So not every connection necessarily leads down that path.
The “Innocent until investigated” mindset is also clearly evident in the lack of media coverage of the recent dismissals of a couple of important corruption cases, which my syndicated column addresses this week…
Federal prosecutors have recently been handed a couple of big setbacks in their ceaseless pursuit of governmental corruption. But you would hardly know it considering the lack of press coverage the cases have received here.
The point being: Yes, we certainly have a corruption problem here, but not every allegation or investigation is created equal, and all sides deserve a fair look.
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Morning Shorts
Monday, May 7, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Tribune Editorial: A radical idea from teachers on their own pay
A “carefully crafted performance-pay system has huge potential to transform the teaching profession in ways that can help all students learn more,” says the teachers’ report, which is available at Teacherleaders.org.
* National popular vote bill passes Illinois House
* It’s my mind blog: On the national popular vote bill
* Companies donate $125,000 for Blagojevich inauguration
* Editorial: School board training makes sense
* Librarians won’t stay quiet about Internet filtering bill
“I would like to emphasize that we have for years taken the position that this is an issue of local concern,” he said. “The local officials, local trustees, librarians are most qualified to decide how Internet access should be provided to their patrons. The current bill overrides all local decisions.”
* Promoting Internet safety education for children
* Lawmakers advocates seek loan law reforms
* Lisa Madigan: Fight for open government must continue
* Analysis: Curtain falls on Thompson’s dismal final act
* Sun-Times Editorial: Primary leapfrogging does Illinois voters no good
* Wikipedia and Illinois House races
* Republicans defect to the Obama camp
* Democrats find religion on campaign trail
* Shimkus tries to reestablish footing in Democratic-run Congress
* Smoking bans don’t choke off economies
* Smoking ban could exclude casinos
* Daley: Smoking ban applies to actors, too
* Sun-Times Editorial: Cook County should keep televising ‘cartoonish’ meetings
* Bitter rivals vie for CPS teacher’s union president…again
* Chicago minus transit equal Podunk
* Real estate exec plays mole in Fed probe
* RTA reform workgroup developments
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