Ridiculous
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
This was a sham case from the beginning. The hearing officer’s take - that they should’ve been suspended for two weeks instead of fired - was a slam-dunk. And it doesn’t do much for the commission’s credibility that the governor’s babysitter sits on the ICSC. Free the CMS 2!
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY (Part 3) - “No-Growth” letter and important update to the “extra’s” faxed version
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, PART 2 - House Democratic Expenditure Priority Checklist; Chicagoans’ priorities; Cars (Use all caps in password)
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Pay raises; Judges; Ameren; Gas taxes; Paul Powell; Verschoore; UFC; “Seersucker Caucus” (Use all caps in password)
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Support Loved Ones Whose Families Have Been Wrongfully Killed - Support HB 1798
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department Did you know that if a drunk driver killed your daughter you would be unable to recover damages for your grief and sorrow? Special interests are working to prevent you from recovering damages for the grief, sorrow and mental suffering you experience from the sudden wrongful death of a loved one. Advocates for victims and families are working to correct this injustice. Did you know that under current Illinois law you would not be allowed to mention your grief and sorrow to a jury? Juries are specifically told they cannot consider grief and sorrow. HB 1798 corrects that current injustice in the law. *IT’S TIME TO UPDATE THE LAW * Did you know that Illinois’ Wrongful Death Act was written 154 years ago in 1853? Special interests are doing everything they can to preserve the antiquated notion that a jury cannot consider the grief and sorrow inflicted on surviving loved ones. Did you know that the current law in Illinois allows pet owners to sue for “emotional distress” caused by the wrongful death of a pet, but parents can’t ask for damages for grief and sorrow for the loss of a child? The loss of a loved one from drunk and reckless drivers, murderers, and negligent manufacturers should not go unpunished.
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Question of the day
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller What should Illinois’ theme song be? [Inspired by Krol’s post at Animal Farm]
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Chicago casino? Not yet
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller * Don’t get too excited yet about a Chicago casino, or any new casinos for that matter. There’s a whole lot more opposition to any expansion idea than you might think…
The gaming expansion sounds like an easy thing to do for people who aren’t all that concerned with more casinos, but there are religious and moral opponents, the existing casino owners aren’t thrilled and the racetrack owners can never seem to get along. * Meanwhile, Daley refused to come out and support an income tax hike yesterday…
* One reason for that could be the growing feeling that a tax hike is becoming more unlikely…
* Brown also explained some of the reasons behind Madigan’s refusal to meet with Gov. Blagojevich this spring…
Translation: Until the guv chills out and is ready to seriously bargain, there ain’t gonna be no meeting. * Into the fray comes a new proposal, from Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson…
But see Brown’s comments above while you’re figuring whether this idea has a chance or not. * More tax and spend stories, compiled by Paul…
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We’re most average!
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller This is the best reason I can think of to move the primary up as early as possible…
What other “most average” qualities can you think of for Illinois? Snark encouraged. Or, you might come up with examples of how we aren’t so average.
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A horse is a horse
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller * The Senate passed the horse slaughtering ban yesterday. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. Gov. Blagojevich supports the ban…
I never quite understood this bill. I don’t eat veal by choice. If you saw what they did to veal calves, you probably wouldn’t eat it either. I wouldn’t seek to ban the meat, but I would like to see much more humane treatment of the animals. But the slaughtered horses weren’t treated worse than any other animal, as far as I could tell. Eating horses is yucky to many Americans. That I understand. But banning their slaughter? C’mon.
And, yes, horses are “companion animals,” and I would probably be disgusted with the idea of a dog-processing plant down the road. Maybe it’s just because I was raised on a farm and lived in Europe where horsemeat is a part of the diet that I can’t quite grasp this concept…
Cullerton made sure he extracted as much publicity as possible from the bill, apparently…
And, by the way, Bo Derek? Are we such hicks here that we have to bow down to every has-been, over the hill actress who comes prancing into town? Whatever. One last thought…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - EMAIL HAS BEEN DELAYED TODAY BECAUSE OF TECH PROBLEMS - ACCESS TODAY’S FAX HERE (Use all caps in password)
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Morning Shorts
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson * Vrdolyak faces arraignment today * Illinois House wants limits on utility bill collection practice * New Ameren rate hike not approved; more here * Senators want to end gas sales tax * McQueary: Who knew sign hangers had clout * Teens largely absent from state politics * Legislator aims to patch gun safety loophole * Senate bill could mean lights out for incandescent bulbs * Bedell: Bill allows gambling on video games * Editorial: Gun law quirk needs to be addressed * Treasurer gives federal prosecutors documents on Collinsville hotel
* IDOT stalls on illegal airfield * Tribune Editorial: Get ready to vote in the cold * Michael Sneed: Rezko & horse slaughter * Illinois state fire marshal arrested for DUI * Lynn Sweet: Rezko question dogs Obama * Kane healthcare project gets OK, but without cash * Cook Co. approves $11.5 million in legal settlements * Options narrowed for rail to Rockford * Suburban officials cleared in 2005 election night beating * English language law back on hold in Carpentersville * Some say ‘English-only’ is a safety issue
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Pharmacists; Black; Ultimate fighting (Use all caps in password)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Question of the day
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller First, the setup…
Now, the question: Illinois law already designates English as the official language. So do you think this ordinance is necessary? Racist? Xenophobic? Practical? Necessary? Etc.? Explain. Also, a stern warning: I don’t want to make this a debate about illegal immigration. I’m sure you’ve already stated your position elsewhere on the blog. Let’s keep it to the topic at hand, please, or you may find your comment deleted. Thanks.
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Not a lot of forward movement
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller Apparently, the rate freeze negotiations haven’t moved very far…
ComEd is opposed, obviously…
And answers aren’t exactly forthcoming…
If the summer is hot then Chicago-area legislators will feel the heat from constituents when the 25 percent rate hike becomes more noticeable. I doubt they can adjourn without doing something on both Ameren and ComEd’s rates, but they’re not exactly close.
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End games
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller * As I told subscribers this morning, the real action yesterday was in the Senate Democratic caucus meeting. That didn’t get covered elsewhere today, but here’s some stuff about the House caucus…
* The closer we get to adjournment, the less likely an income/sales/service tax hike looks, but, as always, there’s a lot of time to go (in session terms) so things could change dramatically…
* Franks did his usual schtick…
* And the door was opened a bit wider yesterday for a change of heart by Gov. Blagojevich…
* Scaling back the gigantic proposals is a major option on the table right now, but first they have to meet before anything can be done…
* Meanwhile, there are growing worries among some that universal health insurance may be in deep peril…
The “cost” is always a consideration in politics, and rallies don’t do much good at the Statehouse no matter how many people they bring. This idea has just not caught on yet - either among the populace or the General Assembly - and the governor’s allies don’t have much time left to make their case. That being said, I do think there will be something done on health insurance this spring. * More tax and spend stories, compiled by Paul…
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Moving the primary
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller The Senate sent the governor a bill yesterday that will move the state’s 2008 primary up to February 5th. I know that lots of people have real concerns about moving Illinois’ primary up next year. The weather is too inclement, the campaign season will be too long, the idea of moving the date to help Barack Obama is too partisan, it will help incumbents, blah, blah, blah. I hadn’t thought of this one, however…
I seriously doubt anyone will send negative mail during Christmas. If anything the move will compress the campaigns a bit. Filing will begin in August, which in theory should help incumbents. But the move could conceivably backfire on legislative incumbents. The session will still be very fresh in people’s minds come August (heck, they might even still be in when filing begins) so that could prompt a whole lot of people to decide to run for the General Assembly. I also doubt that voters will stay home in February, now that they have an opportunity to really impact a presidential race, particularly on the Republican side, which could still be wide open by then…
The “helping Obama” thing is debatable. He’s our “favorite son,” so it’s probable that other Democratic candidates won’t bother even campaigning here. We won’t give the guy much of a boost, and if he does even a little worse than expected, it could hurt him. There is one big problem with this idea, though. Other states have also become fed up with Iowa and New Hampshire’s outsized roles in choosing the president and have also moved up their primaries…
More could be on the way. Many of these are expensive media market states, so the prez campaigns might pick and choose - depending on the polling - where to campaign the most. Anything that lengthens the campaign season is good for my business, so I have a conflict of interest here. I’m for it. Your thoughts?
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Morning Shorts
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson * Telecom vs. cable debate moves to states * Popovic: Public protections important in crafting HB1500 * Deadbeat parent could lose driver’s licenses
* Give IDs to illegals?
* Harper: Illinois is correct to push for repeal of REAL ID
* ISAC: Students need to pay back college loans * Sun-Times Editorial: Maybe tutoring program needs to stay after class * Amendments aim to exempt some casinos from smoking ban * Federal Study: Chicago among cities needing to address air travel and growth soon * Jackson: Alderman expense accounts too low
* Quigley accuses Stroger of ignoring, altering budget; more here * A salute to John H. Stroger * About 130 Rockford lobbyists talk to legislators * “Smokefree Woodstock” celebrates statewide ban
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Caption Contest! *** Updated x1 ***
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller Let’s liven things up a bit today… Also, please try to keep it clean. Thanks. Two deletions already and I just posted the thing. *** UPDATE *** I’m declaring the winner to be “Bears Fan’s” comment, but since I deleted it for profanity you’ll never know what it was. lol.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Watson to meet with Daley; Pharmacists; Chapa LaVia; Black-Frerichs; Short session; Ultimate fighting; Jackson; Transit $; Lobsters; Hamos (use all caps in password) *** Updated x1 ***
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Question of the day
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller Do you support expanding gaming this year? If so, where would you put the new casinos? Would you support giving racetracks the ability to install slot machines?
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A new era in Chicago
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller * One thing that wasn’t stressed in the coverage of this issue is that, regardless of the actual vote totals, Daley had to call a special session on Monday to pass this ordinance because he probably wouldn’t have had the votes to get it done after the new city council is sworn in…
I wouldn’t ever underestimate the mayor’s cunning. He’ll coopt at least some of those new council members soon enough. This won’t be a repeat of “Council Wars.” But things will be interesting, and Daley signaled yesterday that he plans to play rough. After Ald. Ed Smith prematurely submitted his resignation as chairman of the council’s Health Committee over what he believed would be a floor fight on his precious foie gras ban (which never materialized), Daley wasted little time in accepting it…
Smith probably wouldn’t have been chairman again anyway, but he was definitely humiliated yesterday. Thoughts on the next four years?
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When a flip-flopper is a statesman; plus more tax news
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller * Editorial writers are easily predictable. If politicians change their minds and move away from an editorial board’s position, they’re “flip-floppers.” But when politicians flip-flop in the direction of an editorial writer, they’re “statesmen.” From today’s Post-Dispatch editorial…
Wrong. The governor ran twice on this issue. He has sworn up and down more times than I can count that he would veto any such tax increase. He ought to be expected to keep promises like that. How many times have we seen editorial writers chastise Blagojevich for not following through on his original campaign pledge to “change business as usual”? He didn’t even run on that pledge the last time, yet they still throw it in his face every chance they get. He did, however, run again on a platform of opposition to income and sales tax hikes. He should be encouraged to remain honest about that, instead of enticed into breaking his solemn vows. * The governor has said lately that he won’t sign an income or sales tax hike during a time when gas prices could reach “$5 a gallon.” Eric Krol points out the obvious: The governor’s GRT proposal would likely raise gas prices…
Go read the whole thing. There’s a pretty brutal back and forth with a Blagojevich aide. * As I told subscribers this morning, A+ Illinois has a new radio ad. Listen below… * Tom Kacich of the Champaign News-Gazette has a question in the wake of the House’s rejection of the GRT…
Answer: The man with the veto pen and the power to call special sessions is never completely irrelevant. * More GRT stories, compiled by Paul…
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson * Sun-Times Editorial: Student loans for illegals need to be addressed nationally
* Family physician says he will run for U.S. Senate; more here * Eric Krol: Suburban doctor taking on Durbin
* Editorial: TV viewers would be best served by competition * Joseph Savage: Bill would speed video choice for consumers * Libraries protest filter proposal; more here and here * Illinois Review: Bye Bye electoral college * Wind farm legislation concerns official * CPS study shows students gain little with after-school tutoring * FAA finds O’Hare slip ups * Harvey faces contempt action over order to release records * Early sales tax collection still has hope in Springfield * Editorial: Governor needs to sign Rockford sales tax bill soon
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