Paul just got back from today’s school funding rally. He said he didn’t think that organizers met their goal of 6,000 participants. We’ll upload pics soon, and perhaps some audio.
Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping half an eye on this anti-GRT resolution, which appears to be gaining steam…
While the rally was going on outside the State Capitol, some lawmakers inside the building continued their opposition to the GRT. A majority of the Illinois House of Representatives — every Republican legislator and nine Democrats — have signed on to a GOP-sponsored resolution opposing Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax proposal.
“Bipartisan support outside of this chamber and in this chamber shows that (the) gross receipts tax is DOA,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, who introduced the resolution. “I think we’ve sent a strong message to the governor.”
“There is a loud and clear message now that the governor has to hear — that the GRT proposal is unacceptable,” said Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock. “He now knows that it will not pass in the House of Representatives.”
We’re coming a little late to the game, but the state’s tourism bureau held an Internet voting contest in March to determine the official “Seven Wonders of Illinois.” The bureau announced the results the other day…
* Wrigley Field, Chicago - One of baseball’s oldest and most beloved stadiums in the nation is best known for its charming ivy-covered walls and its die-hard Chicago Cubs fans.
* Baha’i House of Worship, Wilmette (Chicagoland) - One of only seven Baha’i temples in the world, the Baha’i House is an architectural marvel featuring a nine-sided dome surrounded by beautiful fountains and gardens.
* Starved Rock State Park, Utica (Northern) - Offering visitors a destination rich in history and natural beauty with lush forests, Starved Rock State Park features 18 magnificent canyons, spectacular ancient rock formations and numerous sparkling waterfalls in a breathtaking setting along the Illinois River.
* Allerton Park and Retreat Center, Monticello (Central) - This National Natural Landmark invites guests to explore a sprawling 1,500-acre estate with picturesque gardens, unique sculptures, winding trails, nature areas and a stunning mansion.
* Black Hawk State Historic Site, Rock Island (Western) - This historic site pays homage to the Sauk and Mesquakie (Fox) Indian tribes who occupied the area as far back as 12,000 years ago. The site features a tree-lined park with walking paths along the scenic Rock River.
* Rend Lake, Benton (Southern) - Rend Lake is the state’s second largest reservoir, and one of the premier vacation spots in Illinois offering travelers boating, water skiing, swimming, shopping, nature trails, golf, fishing and hunting.
* Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway, Alton (Southwest) - The 33-mile stretch of highway where the Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri rivers meet to flow to the ocean, offers onlookers majestic views, natural wildlife, river attractions and quaint villages.
Question: What do you think of this list? What, in your opinion, should be on it instead?
In yesterday’s Capitol Fax, I complained that the press was ignoring two recent court cases that may very well impact the US Attorney’s ongoing corruption investigations and appeals of past convictions.
One of the cases involved a woman named Georgia Thompson, who was in charge of finding a new travel agent for Wisconsin’s state government. The 7th Circuit (which also covers the Chicago area) ordered Thompson’s release, declared her “innocent” and issued a scathing opinion about how she had been railroaded.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but oral briefs were scheduled yesterday in the 7th Circuit appeals case of Mayor Daley’s former patronage chief Robert Sorich and three co-defendants. The Thompson case came up during arguments and the Tribune and Sun-Times both have pretty decent stories today about the back-and-forth between the two sides.
A new federal court case — decided less than two weeks ago — shows that public officials who dole out jobs based on political clout are not guilty of a crime unless they also take bribes or kickbacks, lawyers for former top aides to Mayor Richard Daley argued before an appeals court Tuesday.
Lawyers for former Daley patronage chief Robert Sorich seized on the recent case out of Wisconsin as they fought to overturn their clients’ convictions last year for rigging hiring and promotions at City Hall.
In exchange for their alleged roles in the scheme, Sorich and others may have enjoyed promotions, pay raises or added job security, said John Cline, Sorich’s attorney.
But the new case “says pretty categorically that that type of gain doesn’t count,” said Cline, arguing to a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago
Charges against Sorich shouldn’t hold up because, like Thompson, Sorich didn’t get kickbacks or gain personally through the scheme, his lawyer, John Cline, argued. “But in the Thompson case, a lot of the behavior she engaged in could be considered innocent,” Judge Ann Claire Williams said. “Here we have a situation where a patronage scheme involved lies, false entries and cover up.”
Slattery lawyer Patrick Blegen said similar allegations were lodged against Thompson, including rigging test scores and basing decisions on “political non-merit reasons.”
“That’s essentially the same allegations they made against Mr. Slattery,” Blegen said.
But [Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Miller] drew distinctions between Sorich and Thompson. He said she didn’t necessarily know the governor benefited from her actions. Meanwhile: “Here, there was overwhelming evidence that these defendants intended to commit fraud and to divert resources for political purposes and other purposes for other beneficiaries,” he said.
* Here are some quotes from the surprisingly strong Thompson appellate decision that I told subscribers about yesterday…
* “The idea that it is a federal crime for any official in state or local government to take account of political considerations when deciding how to spend public money is preposterous.”
* “An error - even a deliberate one, in which the employee winks at the rules in order to help out someone he believes deserving but barely over the eligibility threshold - is a civil rather than a criminal transgression.”
* “But these [previous court] decisions do not say that the Constitution forbids all politically motivated contracting practices.”
* “Once again that approach has the potential to turn violations of state rules into federal crimes.”
* “Treating an incorrect application of state procurement law as a ‘misuse of office’ and [an employee pay] raise as a ‘private gain’ would land us back in the soup - once again, simple violations of administrative rules would become crimes.”
* You can read the Thompson decision here [.pdf file]. Another case almost completely ignored by the media - and Patrick Fitzgerald first real setback in Illinois - was the complete dismissal of all charges against Nick Hurtgen. That decision is here. Fitzgerald’s motion to reconsider is here. The original criminal complaint against Sorich is here.
Eric Krol does a pretty good job today of summing up the problems facing the governor’s gross receipts tax as the session clock ticks away…
To see what a rough road Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s business-tax-for-health-care plan faces, look no further than Tuesday’s pep rally with the AARP.
The nation’s largest senior advocacy group endorsed the governor’s proposal to help provide a majority of the state’s 1.5 million uninsured obtain coverage. But AARP officials declined to back Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax on businesses that would pay for the massive health-care expansion.
[Emphasis added]
And then there’s this…
Even over in the Senate, where President Emil Jones Jr. remains a staunch ally, the closed-door talks have yet to begin in earnest. State Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat and Jones’ lead budget negotiator, said he’s not been involved in any talks about the governor’s tax or health care plans.
“I don’t have a clue,†he said.
Yesterday, Krol put up this post on his paper’s bloggy-type thingy, Animal Farm…
Blagojevich was asked if House Speaker Michael J. Madigan is talking to him about the gross receipts tax and how the meetings went. Blagojevich responded that he doesn’t think it’s appropriate to provide the details of private discussions with Madigan…
Perhaps one reason the governor didn’t want to give up any details about talks with Madigan is that no meetings have actually taken place. That’s what Madigan spokesman Steve Brown told my colleague John Patterson this morning.
This made me laugh…
At one point, Blagojevich asked for a clarification as to whether it was April or May.
Oy.
Meanwhile, Carol Marin makes a prediction about the final deal that is as valid as anything else out there right now…
Maybe a cobbled-together tax proposal that raises the threshold on the GRT from $2 million to $20 million in taxable gross revenue coupled with a little bit of everything else, small increases in the sales and/or income tax plus property tax relief, tossing in for good measure, more new gambling positions and a few new casino licenses.
But not before everybody gets a little pork. It won’t be pretty. Nobody will be happy.
And count on it, it will only delay, not avert our current crisis.
More budget stuff, compiled by our intrepid intern, Paul Richardson…
If the rest of Illinois is going to help the City of Big Shoulders shoulder its costs, its taxpayers need a more pragmatic reason than the one the governor gave earlier this month: “You gotta think big, man.”
Once again, more kudos to Alexi Giannoulias for ordering the audit that uncovered this craziness…
A Collinsville hotel built with millions in state loans apparently became a cash cow for the property’s owners and managers who all the while claimed they could never turn a profit, according to a new report in the foreclosure lawsuit.
Officials for years have wondered why the developers couldn’t make the Holiday Inn successful, and the unpaid loans have been a thorn for every state treasurer since they were issued in 1982. The state took control of the property in January, and new Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias ordered a review of the books.
After an accounting of the hotel’s records and interviews with employees, the report by the hotel’s new court-appointed management company cites instances of inflated salaries, ghost payrolling and what appears to be outright theft. Several relatives of one of the owners were paid tens of thousands but did no work, and the general manager received a $31,000 profitability bonus when the owners claimed poverty, according to the report, which was expected to be filed in Madison County court this week. […]
The balance owed for the Collinsville property has ballooned to more than $29 million. State officials see the latest allegations as confirmation of their suspicions that the owners never tried to pay anything back.
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram just did a big spread on my nephew Nicholas. The kid is a star on the field and off (the last time I checked he had a perfect grade average).
Until the bottom of the seventh inning, Nick Miller and the Keller Indians were finished.
Keller trailed Colleyville Heritage 7-0 through 4 1/2 innings Wednesday, but scored twice in the bottom of the fifth. By the bottom of the seventh, the Indians trailed 9-2.
“We hadn’t been doing anything all night, but once we got in that inning, we started clicking,” Miller said. What followed: The Indians sent 12 batters to the plate, and scored eight runs for a 10-9 victory. The rally was capped by Miller’s two-out single up the middle on a 1-2 fastball. Keller (23-7) clinched a playoff spot with the victory, and opens against Coppell (24-7) in the Class 5A Region I bi-district round Thursday.
There’s even a Q&A.
Are you breaking out any new, crazy traditions for the playoffs?
Right now, we have this new tradition where we wear camouflage to every game. Coach wanted us to take that hunting mentality. At the first of the season, we felt like we were the hunted; now we want to be the hunters. Now we’ve been wearing camo every day. I’ve got a camo hat that says “Born to Hunt” that I’ve worn to the games…. And I’ve actually worn it under my helmet when I got the game-winning hit. Some of the guys will wear it under their jerseys. It’s fun, it’s all good fun.
I’ve picked a new web host for the site. The change-over should happen within the next two days. It’s a premium service so hopefully the site issues will be completely resolved and everything will load much, much faster.
Doctors in Illinois may no longer have to get written consent from patients to give them HIV tests under a controversial state bill that’s part of a national effort to make HIV testing more routine.
Supporters of the bill, which could come to a vote in the Illinois House this week, say it would give crucial knowledge to the estimated 10,000 Illinois residents who are infected with the virus that causes AIDS but don’t know it. The initiative would enact new testing guidelines that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published last year in hopes of screening all patients between ages 13 and 64.
But the change in law also would require rescinding parts of Illinois’ 20-year-old AIDS Confidentiality Act, which ensures that patients cannot get tested for HIV without their knowledge. […]
All opponents of the proposed law said they share the center’s goal of expanding testing and helping more people find out if they are HIV-positive. But they want to make sure counseling is offered before and after the tests to help patients deal with the results and get appropriate care.
“Written consent is a way of proving you’ve had that discussion,” Fisher said.
Now, the question: Should doctors be allowed to test patients for HIV without their consent?
Eric Krol says that Kathy Salvi won’t run against Democratic Congresswoman Melissa Bean next year…
I’ve seriously considered it and a lot of people asked me to run,” said Salvi, a Wauconda trial lawyer who finished second in last year’s GOP primary. “Overall, I decided it’s not the right time for me to run.”
Salvi joins David McSweeney on the list of those on the Republican side who won’t take the plunge next year in IL-8. McSweeney, a Barrington Hills investment banker, lost to Bean last November. He’s back at Bank of America these days.
Salvi said there are some “unknown variables” next year. Although she didn’t cite this one specifically, one of those unknowns for all Republicans in Illinois is whether Democratic Sen. Barack Obama will be on the national ticket in 2008, either as the top dog or second banana. If Obama is on the ticket, Illinois would reasonably be expected to be bluer than it normally is on a statewide level as those who don’t normally vote feel some state pride and punch his number. That would make an already uphill race (shorter timetable with the primary moved up, two-term incumbent with wads of campaign cash) an even steeper climb.
Meanwhile, “a couple of hundred” people demonstrated outside of Dan Lipinski’s office over the weekend, claiming that he isn’t responsive to their needs.
Lipinski’s congressional district is home to Latino, Polish, Irish, Muslims and Arabs. They say the congressman refuses to hear them.
Also candidates are starting to line up to run for Luis Gutierrez’s seat. Guiterrez has announce he will retire after next year’s elections.
Last week, Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado (D - 8th) announced that he had created a campaign committee to raise funds for an ‘08 congressional bid. City Alderman Ricardo Munoz (22nd) has also formally announced his intentions to run, forming a congressional campaign committee and, back in March, raising the funds to run.
The most interesting thing here is that not a single person in the Illinois House - and, yes, the governor still has several allies there - was willing to stand up for Rod Blagojevich on this vote…
After Gov. Blagojevich approved the construction of 32 special tollway signs bearing his name, taxpayers footed a $480,000 bill.
Now some lawmakers are trying to close a loophole in state ethics laws that enabled Blagojevich to bill taxpayers for the $15,000-apiece signs that read “Open Road Tolling, Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor.”
“[Blagojevich] was the major poster boy on using this loophole,” Rep. Elizabeth Coulson (R-Glenview) said.
“Taxpayer dollars should be going to market a program, not the elected official.”
Unanimously approved in the House last Friday, it likely will have a tougher time in the Senate, where we can only hope President Emil Jones doesn’t use his power to block it. Even if this practice were ethical, spending all that money to promote the governor would fly in the face of much higher budgetary priorities during these hard times.
A similar bill introduced by a Republican state Senator has been bottled up in the Senate Rules Committee all year, leading some to believe that Jones won’t move Coulson’s legislation either.
* Editorial: Making public records more easily accessible
* Editorial: Bill ending ‘pay to play’ needs to pass
The bill is far from perfect. Contractors probably would find ways around it, such as routing money through political action committees or straw donors. But enacting this legislation is a step in the right direction.
Until the bottom of the seventh inning, Nick Miller and the Keller Indians were finished.
