* The Daily Herald now has a story up about Rep. Paul Froehlich (R-Schaumburg) switching parties. He’ll make the announcement Wednesday, when he moves to the Democratic side of the aisle. I’m keeping the Capitol Fax story, posted earlier this afternoon, hidden for subscribers only, but here’s part of the Daily Herald piece that just went online…
Republican state Rep. Paul Froehlich is switching political parties, becoming a Democrat and leaving behind the Schaumburg Township GOP organization he controlled for nearly a decade. […]
Froehlich, who represents the 56th House District, watched last fall as longtime Republican Rep. Terry Parke of Hoffman Estates lost his seat to Democrat Fred Crespo, who himself had defected from Froehlich’s GOP group.
Froehlich also had told allies he feared House GOP leader Tom Cross would back a primary challenge against him next February.
Froehlich had been mulling the move for months. He was unopposed last year in the General Election and won by about a 2-to-1 margin in the primary. But Froehlich watched Schaumburg Township vote for Democrat Melissa Bean over Republican David McSweeney last fall. (Bean scored 58.4 percent and McSweeney 37.6 percent.) President Bush also lost Schaumburg Township to Democrat John Kerry in 2004 by about four percentage points.
Froehlich was a conservative Republican who swept longtime township committeeman Don Totten out of power in March 1998. Froehlich was known for trying to exert tight control in his organization.
* I’ve moved this item from a previous post…
Paul Froehlich isn’t the only one playing footsy with the Democrats. Sen. Kirk Dillard, who until recently was chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party, has just cut a TV ad for Barack Obama.
Dillard: “Sen. Obama worked on some of the deepest issues we had and he was successful in a bipartisan way.”
“Republican legislators respected Sen. Obama. His negotiation skills and an ability to understand both sides would serve the country very well.”
You can click the pic to go straight to the video…
*** UPDATE - 3:23 pm ***
Statement from House GOP Leader Tom Cross’ spokesman David Dring
If the reports are true it is disappointing that Representative Froehlich has decided to switch parties. Our caucus has always encouraged members to vote their district’s best interest and Paul was no different. The House Republican caucus does not have a litmus test for our members. This seems to be a move made more for personal political gain than any belief on issues.
*** UPDATE 2 - 4:12 pm *** From Jack Darin, Director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter on the Froehlich move…
We were with Froehlich in his primary last year. He has been a very solid vote on the environment, and not just a vote. He has been a real leader on some tough issues with a lot of business opposition.
*** UPDATE 3 *** I gave ArchPundit permission to reprint this paragraph from my subscriber-only story, so I figured I ought to post it here as well…
The state’s newest Democrat said his dissatisfaction with the Bush administration also played a role in his decision. Froehlich claims to have been against the Iraq War since before it began, said he is horrified at President Bush’s abuse of Habeus Corpus (which Froehlich claimed is the thing that “separates a free system from an unfree system”), has been very bothered by the national party’s “harsh rhetoric” on immigration issues and has disagreed with his fellow Republicans on environmental issues.
* 10:25 am - The House has canceled tomorrow’s session. The Senate will be in, however. Not sure what time the leaders meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.
If you have, send me a pic of yourself wearing the swag and I’ll post it here. The first three people who respond (with publishable photos, of course) will get another piece of our merchandise from me. Their choice.
Send your photo as a jpg attachment to capitolfax (at) aol (dot) com. Thanks!
* 11:11 am - So, you think legislative redistricting is easy? Try the Redistricting Game and see for yourself.
* 1:40 pm - Based on some of the calls I’ve received and talks I’ve had with various higher-ups, I was assuming that the folks who run the State Police and the governor’s office have been worried about leaks within the governor’s security detail for quite some time. Neil Steinberg’s column yesterday provided a bit more evidence…
…I wouldn’t want to get any of the troopers feeding gossip to Judy into trouble.
* 2:10 pm - The Senate has canceled tomorrow’s session.
* 2:56 pm - The post on Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard doing a TV ad for Barack Obama has been moved here.
* 2:59 pm - If you use Insight Cable for your broadband access (as I do), and your service has been unreal slow all day, it should be over soon. I called them several minutes ago and there was a problem with a fiber optic line up north. The estimated finish time is supposed to be sometime after 4 o’clock.
Capitol Fax Blog commenters are being asked for their expertise.
The Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois is looking to tap into the wealth of knowledge, instinct, experience and intuition of Capitol Fax Blog commenters.
Specifically, researchers at our flagship institution are interested in knowing what topics CapFax readers think the University should be focusing on in the upcoming year.
In other words, what policy areas do you think we need to know more about for 2007-2008?
The Institute has provided a short list of possible topics and has suggested that commenters select up to three to help narrow the field, or come up their own. The suggested topics:
-Alternative fuels and energy
-School finance
-Measuring educational achievement
-Medicaid reform and outlook
-Higher education: is there a funding crisis?
-Economic development in high tech world
-Illinois and world global competition
-Ethics regulations around the world
-Regional/metropolitan planning
-Utilities regulation and pricing
-Health care—universal coverage v. affordable care
-Streamlined sales tax and Internet sales
-Demographic projections and public policy
-Other
Please offer your thoughts to help guide the University’s agenda next year. A few randomly selected commenters will receive a copy of Institute Professor Jim Nowlan’s latest book, The Editor’s Wife
Let’s put on our thinking caps and help out the Institute. Please, no snark. Thanks!
It looks like Gov. Blagojevich has his own “Cellini Hotel” situation to deal with. The master developer at the state Tollway’s oases isn’t making its rent payments, and the Tollway allegedly bent over backwards to help it out of a negative media situation, which seems even worse than the slow-motion controversy at the Renaissance Hotel (now the Abraham Lincoln something-or-another)…
Under terms of its lease with the tollway, Wilton is supposed to pay a base rent of $61,917 a month, or $743,000 a year, into the tollway’s general operating budget. But documents showed Wilton stopped making scheduled payments after June 1 of last year. […]
Wilton also has fallen behind on payments it is required to make into a special maintenance fund for oases repair and renovation based on 1 percent of sales at the oases. The tollway threatened Wilton with default after it missed nearly a year of payments, and the firm resumed making its scheduled monthly maintenance payments in January. It still owes the tollway $532,000, tollway officials said. The tollway contends it is also owed $88,000 for parking lot repairs.
In addition to the rental and repair payments, records show Wilton has not paid more than $51,000 in oases real estate taxes in Cook and DeKalb Counties as required by the lease. Tollway officials said they were unaware of the problem.
The Tollway Authority tried to help Wilton Partners look better after the Trib started poking its nose into the matter a few months ago…
When the Tribune asked the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority about rent payments made by Wilton Partners for operating the seven tollway oases, agency officials alerted Wilton to the request.
The tollway suggested that Wilton would “look better” if it allowed the tollway to apply a construction security deposit to some of the unpaid rent it owed going back to mid-2006.
The Trib has a copy of an e-mail exchange between the Tollway and Wilton after the Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act request.
According to the excerpts, Tollway attorney Thomas Bamonte told Wilton President Scott Mayer that the Tollway would delay providing the requested documents to the newspaper until the Tollway and Wilton had agreed to apply part of Wilton’s security deposit to the back rent payments.
Wonderful.
By the way, Wilton has contributed almost $85,000 to the guv’s campaign fund.
* Without actually saying so, Molly Parker put her finger on the most likely pressure point that could force an end to the overtime session: Moving the primary date up to February. Doing so moves up the petition circulation date to August 7th…
Thanks to the change, Illinois candidates will begin circulating petitions on Aug. 7, as opposed to Sept. 18, which means serious contenders are likely to start piecing together campaign strategies this summer. […]
Candidates will be allowed to file petitions between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, compared to the Dec. 10-17 filing dates that would have existed under the March primary date, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. […]
“You want to start right now,” said Peoria County Democratic Party Chairman Billy Halstead. “It’s the end of June, so you have one month to get ready and to gear up and get your campaign going.”
Halstead said he met with a candidate for office late last week, though he wouldn’t say who it was or what office was in discussion.
Incumbent legislators are gonna get awful nervous when they hear about activity in their districts while they’re stuck in this goofy overtime session.
* Meanwhile, Bernie Schoenburg remembered a tidbit from the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary race that seems apt today…
One of [Rod Blagojevich’s] campaign attacks against primary rival Paul Vallas was that the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools had used “chauffeur-driven limousines” in that education job. At the time, a spokesman for Vallas had said there were six sedans for top administrators of the district of nearly 600 schools, and Vallas reluctantly accepted the service at the request of Chicago police because he was often working long hours in blighted neighborhoods.
So I asked Blagojevich - then a member of Congress and a former state representative - if he would use a state police driver when governor.
“I don’t know,” he said then. “Do you get one? I never even thought about that.”
“I hope not,” he added about having a driver. “I’d like to be my own person.”
Bernie also asked Paul Vallas about the current airplane controversy…
“That wouldn’t have been a problem with me,” he said. “You know I hate to fly.”
* I’ve been joking about this possibility for years in private, but Judy Emerson put it into print today…
Since Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn’t using the Executive Mansion, it makes sense to turn it over to somebody who will. […]
We could turn the governor’s mansion into a casino and really cash in. We have the Grand Victoria in Elgin. How about the Grand George in Springfield? The historic 16-room modified Georgian style manor, completed in 1855, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the state’s Web site, it is the oldest historic residence in the state and the third oldest governor’s mansion in the country.
* Herald-Whig: llinois will change how it pays for services provided to people with mental illness or developmental disabilities starting July 1, but apparently will continue to underfund those services.
The abominable silence by the Illinois State Rifle Association and some of the weirder comments posted at this blog and others convinced me on Friday that I needed to write about the Dan Kotowski controversy in my syndicated newsaper column, which is published in over a hundred papers in Illinois…
The war of words between state Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) — a fierce gun control advocate — and the Illinois State Rifle Association apparently has escalated to the point where the nutballs are coming out of the woodwork.
Sen. Kotowski’s office claims it has turned over to the Illinois State Police information about 10 or so contacts from apparent pro-gun people, including a call during which somebody allegedly said, “I have a gun. I am going to come and kill you.”
The column then goes over much of the stuff I told you about last week, and concludes thusly…
Several weeks ago, the ISRA was all atwitter after Chicago priest Michael Pfleger called for pro-gun legislators and a gun shop owner to be “snuffed out.”
I seriously doubt that Pfleger wanted to actually kill a pro-gun legislator, but his remarks were irresponsible. Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George was right to publicly rebuke him for his stupid statements.
After complaining about Pfleger, however, the rifle association has not — as of this writing — condemned the threats on Kotowski’s life. It has expressed zero concern for the senator’s safety or the safety of his staff and his family.
The group’s silence is deafening — and informative. It’s Johnny on the spot when a priest makes inflammatory remarks about the group’s own allies, but looks the other way when somebody on the opposite side of the political fence is threatened.
As Pfleger prepared to speak at another antigun rally last week, the ISRA sent out a news release whining that the state police exhibited a “double standard” when they refused to investigate the Catholic priest, but did check in on people who contacted Kotowski’s office. Later in the release, the gun group asked whether Pfleger would show some “dignity” at the antigun rally or once again behave like “an absurd — yet malevolent — cartoon character.”
But over the past several months, when I, and others, repeatedly pointed out that “malevolent” comments were popping up all over the Internet about Kotowski, the rifle association remained mum.
One person wrote on a pro-gun Web site the other day: “Sounds to me like Sen. Kotowski deserves to be threatened. Why, if he were to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head three times, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.”
The people who run the rifle association ought to look in the mirror the next time they scream about “double standards.”
Semi-related stories: Rev. Jesse Jackson arrested at gun shop demonstration; more here
*** UPDATE 1 *** Kotowski just issued a press release…
“I was elected to serve as your voice in Springfield to improve our communities and help families in the 33rd Senate District. I have been thankful for the support of district residents as I have moved forward on a broad array of initiatives to make sure that our children, working families, veterans and seniors receive the support they need from state government.
As you are probably aware by now, the Illinois State Rifle Association, which lobbies for gun manufacturers, sellers, and some gun advocates, has chosen to target me for my stand on gun safety measures. That is their right in our democracy. It is even allowable in a democracy like ours, which I believe we are blessed to have, to deceptively portray my work on gun safety. That is part of the political process. They are entitled to their say, and the community is entitled to then sort out the truth from what are the dishonest attacks on my record.
However, when it comes to threats against my staff and family, I will stand up to protect those who are threatened as best I can, as any father, husband and employer would do. Let me share with you one comment on a website, which was inspired by the State Rifle Association’s targeting of me: “Sounds to me like Senator Kotowski deserves to be threatened. Why, if he were to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head three times, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.” We have also received threatening calls at our office. And I don’t need to remind people that when George Ryan was Lieutenant Governor, gun criminals made an effort to shoot up his Springfield home because he supported protecting our police from assault weapons.
I will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to protect people around me from such threats. I also will not stop for a moment to vigorously advance issues of concern to the 33rd Senate District. My job is to work on numerous important issues like providing greater opportunities for veterans, ensuring insurance coverage for women at risk of breast cancer, capping property tax assessments for homeowners, as well as helping improve the lives of neighbors, friends and all the constituents whom I am privileged to represent.
No one-issue lobbying group will keep me from continuing to do what I promised when I was elected to the Illinois State Senate: represent the broad needs and interests of the district that I am so proud to serve.”
The American Cancer Society last Thursday released the results of a statewide poll it commissioned that showed only 29 percent of Illinois registered voters approve of exempting casinos from a statewide smoking ban, while 62 percent disapprove.
* Editorial: Nix smoking ban exemption for casinos
* Aaron Chambers: Syverson gets his moment as life of the party
* Lawsuit reform battle heats up again at state capitol
“You don’t want them to be manipulated and magnified in a way that you could see into someone’s personal belongings, which would violate their privacy,” he said. “You wouldn’t want them to train them on women or stare at women.
“Law enforcement officials have a responsibility to ensure systems aren’t used in that way.”
MSNBC looks at journalists who have contributed to campaigns, and Phil Luciano talks about a political ethics survey of reporters by Syracuse University.
My question, however, is this: Do you think political reporters should or should not vote in partisan primary elections? Why or why not?
* Some of you were outraged at the reports of the governor’s high-flying expenses. I was, too, but I have a different outlook on the controversy in my Sun-Times column today…
The big story in Springfield this week was about how Gov. Blagojevich is spending $6,000 a day to fly back and forth to the Statehouse a few days a week. The revelations sparked an outcry from those who believe the governor should stay in Springfield until the problems that caused the overtime legislative session are solved.
Others have a different idea. Instead of flying in for a couple of hours of negotiations that are going nowhere, perhaps the governor should just stay home.
The idea is to cut the governor out of the process and do a deal without him. I don’t have much hope that it will happen, but it’s worth a shot.
* Meanwhile, the leaders did finally agree late yesterday to a one-month budget. Actually, they agreed in principle to put one together. Details can be funny little things…
Despite major differences over the state budget, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the state’s legislative leaders finally agreed on something Thursday: They all want to avoid a government shutdown. Blinking for the first time in months, the governor and the leaders backed away from the ongoing stare-down that has kept them in Springfield three weeks longer than scheduled.
They emerged from a nearly three-hour, closed-door meeting to announce they would put together a bare-bones budget that will keep government operating for an extra month or until an overall budget agreement is reached.
* As Bethany Carson reports, it’s not a completely done deal…
The leaders aren’t exactly holding hands and singing “Cum Ba Ya,” however. Madigan said there’s “a five-way agreement in concept” to enact a temporary budget, but “there are items to be negotiated.”
* Bethany also had this tidbit…
(W)hen the leaders went around the room to state their priorities for this “clean slate” budget, here’s what they reportedly said:
Blagojevich — affordable health insurance for all
Jones — education
Madigan — a “workable” budget
Watson — to “live within in our means and pay our bills”
Cross — unfunded pension liability and an infrastructure program
* The governor just couldn’t help himself yesterday, and made it a point to jab Madigan at almost every opportunity…
Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, praised the Democratic-controlled Senate for rejecting a budget approved by House Democrats. Blagojevich and the Senate say the House plan doesn’t spend enough on education and health care, accusing House Speaker Michael Madigan of shortchanging children and the needy.
The Senate stood up for “fundamental Democratic values,” the governor said. That’s a thinly veiled slap at Madigan, who’s also chair of the Illinois Democratic Party.
Blagojevich went on to compare the rejection of Madigan’s budget to Londoners surviving Nazi bombing in World War II.
* But, as he often does, he botched the reference…
“And this is, in many ways, not unlike what Winston Churchill said, after England and Britain were able to sustain the first wave of the Nazi bombing, that this is ‘not the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning.’ ” […]
But the governor got the context of Churchill’s declaration wrong. The British prime minister made the remarks after an Allied victory over German forces in North Africa in 1942, two years after the German bombing attacks in the Battle of Britain.
* And after expressing outrage that Madigan’s spokesman had called the governor’s behavior “sexist” last week, Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix defended the comparison to Hitler’s Nazis…
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said “it certainly was an unfortunate choice of words to invoke the invasion of the Nazi forces in comparison to the budget” negotiations. Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix said Blagojevich was citing Churchill’s words and giving context to when they were said but not “in any way” comparing the budget negotiations to the Nazi bombings.
“He’s just saying when Churchill said it,” Nix said.
Whatever. They should probably forgetting about releasing those letters that they ginned up from a few feminist activists demanding a retraction from Madigan. Calling the governor’s behavior “sexist” for refusing to negotiate with House Majority Leader Barbara Currie is one thing, falling into the Godwin’s Law trap is quite another.
* CBS2 had this observation about yesterday’s events…
It was the governor’s first appearance in weeks in front of news cameras. It ended when reporters tried to ask about the ongoing FBI investigation of his allegedly corrupt fundraising.
Blagojevich left the room under a hail of unanswered questions.
It was the way all of the governor’s meetings with the media end, and why he usually goes to great lengths to avoid news cameras. The political effect is that he is much weaker than during previous budget stalemates, when the governor made effective use of the media to verbally pummel his foes.
Asked about the likelihood of another one-month budget for August, Cross said, “I think it’s a possibility. If things continue the way they have been, I think the odds are great.”
Steve Huntley at the Sun-Times has a column today about the upcoming vote on a Constitutional Convention. He has high praise for the drafters of the state’s current Constitution…
Though some of the lofty goals of the reformers would ultimately fail, it’s a measure of the Con-Con’s success that some of the debates that so convulsed the delegates then — such as modernizing state finances, allowing branch banking and abolishing the personal property tax (for most people that was a car tax) — were resolved well enough that few today remember the issues. Others, like ending the election of judges and guaranteeing state responsibility for school funding, did not fare so well and plague Illinois to this day.
And takes a look ahead…
[Lt. Governor] Quinn believes a new Con-Con would attract the same quality of delegates. “I have total confidence in the everyday people of Illinois,” he said, to live up to the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson that “it’s healthy for every generation to review its organic document.” [Cook County Commissioner] Suffredin sees a new Con-Con as the best chance for fundamental reforms, such as ending the state’s egregious system of electing judges, which Springfield hasn’t been able to address.
[Chicago attorney Wayne Whalen] acknowledges the train wreck that is government today — gridlock in Springfield although the Democrats run everything and the ongoing soap opera of county government under Todd Stroger — may anger voters into choosing to “ventilate” through a constitutional convention but believes it would be a bad idea. Netsch agrees: “I just don’t know that we would get merit selection [of judges] but we sure would get other things we weren’t looking for.” Like maybe a prohibition of stem cell research.
There are powerful arguments on both sides, but in the end it’s difficult to dismiss worries about the potential for single-issue disciples to damage the good work done in 1970.
I’ve been keeping this in the subscriber-only section and in the Capitol Fax, but I think it’s time to bring it out in the open here.
As I’ve told you before, Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) has been taking a public beating from the Illinois State Rifle Association since before he was elected last year. Kotowski was a gun control activist for years, and it rankles ISRA to no end that he was elected. Many of the group’s attacks have been way over the top (see here), and the breathless posturing may be bringing out the kooks.
The latest bit of drama came when Kotowski’s life was threatened. According to a spokesman, Kotowski turned over information, including copies of faxes, to the Illinois State Police, that his staff believed contained threatening material. Most of the calls and faxes were received by Kotowski’s staff (and volunteers, including his mother), so he left it up to them to decide which material to forward to the coppers, the spokesman said.
Some of those faxes were sent by a guy who didn’t actually threaten Kotowski. That person was visited by the police and ISRA tried to get out in front of the story earlier this week by claiming that Kotowski was infringing on its members’ First Amendment free speech rights. From an ISRA press release…
The ISRA is expressing great concern over reports that Illinois State Police (ISP) detectives have been visiting the homes of people who phoned or faxed Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) to express opposition to gun control legislation sponsored by the senator. The ISRA has recently conducted a thorough investigation into one complaint, and is gathering additional information on as many as several dozen other reported incidents of police questioning citizens who have spoken out against gun control legislation.
In the case investigated thus far, the respondent reports that ISP detectives arrived at his home, unannounced, and informed him that their visit was in response to faxes he sent to Sen. Kotowski. The detectives then went on to ask the citizen questions about his mental health and other personal matters. Although the citizen was not arrested, he reports that he feels that the detectives were there to deliver the message that it’s not a good idea to criticize Dan Kotowski or the gun control measures Kotowski supports.
Trouble is, that person wasn’t the only one calling or faxing Kotowski’s office. Kotowski himself sent out a release the other day that provided more details [emphasis added]…
llinois State Senator Dan Kotowski (D- Park Ridge) says threatening phone calls, faxes, and letters his office received during the past few months were handed over to local law enforcement including the Illinois State Police.
Kotowski says, “When someone calls my office saying, ‘I have a gun. I am going to come and kill you’, I have to worry about my safety, and the safety of our staff.” Kotowski added, “That is why I followed proper procedure and forwarded any correspondence with threatening material to the Illinois State Police.”
Kotowski also took a swipe at the Rifle Association…
Kotowski and his office staff received threats during the first few months of the Spring Legislative Session, most of which specifically referred to his sponsorship of gun safety legislation. “If Illinois State Rifle Association members were as law abiding and anti crime as they claim, then they would be the first to condemn these threats and help to champion the cause for measures designed to get guns away from those with criminal intent.”
The Rifle Association’s attack was picked up by several pro-gun blogs. Illinois Reason, a Democratic blog, has been following their activities and pointed readers to this particular quote from someone calling himself Bill St. Clair over at Claire Files….
Sounds to me like Sen. Kotowski deserves to be threatened. Why, if he were to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head three times, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
You can see more of this type of vitriol here (Kotowski treating the state police as “his personal goon squad), here (”Commissar” Kotowski), and here (numerous references to Nazis)
I’ll give Illinois Reason contributor Rob Nesvacil the last word…
It’s clear from this that the ISRA press release earlier in the week (and the follow-up release ostensibly condemning Father Michael Pfleger, but also throwing a false low-blow Sen. Kotowski’s way) were simplistic attempts to distract attention from the real heart of the police investigation — death threats against the Senator.
Here’s a reminder from junior high civics — the First Amendment doesn’t cover death threats. And the police take such threats damn seriously, especially in the wake of 9/11, etc.
Sen. Kotowski, despite the ongoing police investigation, has answered the ISRA’s petty demand for details as to why ISRA members received police visits.
It’s time for Richard Pearson and the ISRA to make good on their word and condemn the ne’er-do-wells who have allegedly threatened the Senator’s life. After months of heated vitriol, petty smears and outright lies from gun lobbyists attacking Sen. Kotowski’s work representing his constituents in our state capitol it would be a respectable change of pace for the ISRA and others to come out strongly against those making such death threats.
Also, just so there’s no misunderstanding if some lazy extremists decide that I’m an anti-gun partisan, I was one of the first to write about Father Pfleger’s over the top remarks about “snuffing out” pro-gun legislators and a gun shop owner. I backed up the Rifle Association on that debate, but turnabout is fair play. ISRA needs to denounce these threats against Kotowski, and it needs to do it now. Period.
lllinois, like other states, already tests newborns for a variety of diseases, especially those that can be cured or treated if detected early enough. Until recently, there were no early detection tests for the five lysosomal disorders, a family of diseases caused by an inherited deficiency of a particular enzyme. Those tests now are available, and Illinois would be the first state to adopt all of them. Backers say the tests could save or improve the lives of 20 children a year.
* Tribune Editorial: A look at earmarks of Illinois national delegation
* 9:58 am - The House has adjourned until next Tuesday. Just 98 out of 118 members were present.
Today’s leaders meeting is scheduled for 11 o’clock.
Also, it appears that the governor’s flight back to Chicago last night was canceled, and there doesn’t seem to be anything scheduled this morning, so he may have actually stayed in town. Will wonders never cease?
* 10:19 am - There may be a glitch over at FlightAware because, I’m told, the governor did not stay in town last night.
*** IMPORTANT UPDATE *** 10:38 am - An open letter from several House Democratic members was just tossed over the transom.
The letter is addressed to all legislative leaders and the governor, but seems to be clearly aimed at House Speaker Michael Madigan, who refuses to back off the House-passed budget during leaders negotiations.
The letter is signed by 22 House Democrats. It reads in part…
(W)e voted for SB1132 [Madigan’s budget]. We understood this to be a “baseline” budget to serve as a point of departure for further discussion among all concerned parties, but far from an adequate budget to meet our state’s needs in the coming year.
Consequently, we would request that you continue to work for a realistic budget that both provides for the additional necessary investments as well as raising the additional revenue needed to assure that they are funded.
This could be interpreted as: “Hey, Madigan, stop with the ‘The House has passed a budget’ stuff and work out a deal.” At least, I’m pretty sure that’s how the guv’s office will parse it.
I can’t make out all the signatures, but the ones I can decipher are Reps. Ford, Arroyo, Phelps, Acevedo, W. Davis, M. Davis, Dugan, Reitz, Granberg, Verschoore, Mautino, Mays, Howard, Boland, Jeffries, Dunkin and Nekritz.
Click on the pic for a larger image…
* 10:51 am - Speaker Madigan’s spokesman has responded to the letter. His comments are aimed at the guv (whose office leaked the letter)…
“They don’t have a way to import more Democrats into the House or the Senate to pass a bill. That’s a critical reality. You have to pass a bill. [The governor’s office] can say whatever they want… [The governor] could set aside the study group topics and go onto a meaningful discussion of the budget… The House budget is the only thing alive.”
* 10:56 am - I think the governor’s office has found a way to game the FlightAware tracking system because I’m told his plane is about to land as I write this.
* 10:59 am - Here’s the full list of who signed the letter referenced above. It was provided by a major tax-eater group that wants to see lots more state spending…
LaShawn Ford, Luis Arroyo, Brandon Phelps, Edward Acevado, William Davis, Jay Hoffman, Monique Davis, Lisa Dugan, Dan Reitz, Kurt Granberg, Patrick Verschoore, Frank Mautino, Linda Chapa LaVia, Harry Osterman, Connie Howard, Karen May, Michael Boland, David Miller, Elga Jeffries, Elizabeth Hernandez, Elaine Nekritz, Kenneth Dunkin
* 11:02 am - Word is, the letter was circulated by Rep. Jay Hoffman, the governor’s House “floor leader” who is regularly on the outs with Speaker Madigan.
* 12:50 pm - The leaders meeting started about an hour ago.
* 1:00 pm - This could explain some things. FlightAware allows aircraft owners to block their planes from the tracking program.
House Republican leader Tom Cross says he will introduce a temporary emergency budget today to avoid a shutdown of state government in early July.
“The reality is somebody’s got to step up,” Cross says.
* 1:30 pm - A fire alarm at the Statehouse is forcing an evacuation. No word yet on whether the leaders meeting will reconvene.
* 1:44 pm - Just as everyone was streaming back into the Statehouse, another fire alarm went off and they were forced to evacuate yet again.
* 1:49 pm - Everyone is now back inside and the leaders are apparently still meeting.
* 2:28 pm - The leaders meeting is over. Audio will be posted after everyone has finished speaking to the press.
* 3:36 pm - [Paul]: The leaders emerged from today’s meeting with the first hint of agreement since beginning discussions. All five are supportive of the concept of a one-month budget aimed to prevent a government shutdown. Budgeteers and staff members from each caucus and the governor’s office will be working over the weekend to put the details together. The governor said that he is still confident that a 12-month budget deal could be reached by the end of the month, but it was necessary to look at other options to prevent a loss of essential services.
* Dan Seals announced yesterday that he will run for Congress again next year. From Lynn Sweet…
A Democratic primary is shaping up in the north suburban 10th congressional district, where Dan Seals, the 2006 nominee, will have to defeat newcomer Jay Footlik, who served in the Clinton White House, for the nomination to run against Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.).
Seals announced on Wednesday he will seek a rematch. In 2006, Seals — making his first run for office — gave Kirk a strong challenge, getting 47 percent of the vote to 53 percent for Kirk.
In the district with a large Jewish population, Seals said in a statement he expects support for Israel to be an issue in 2008 as it was in 2006.
* The Tribune has react and a bit of analysis…
Following Seals’ announcement, Kirk issued a statement outlining his efforts to address rising gas prices and dangerous imported toys, as well as dumping in Lake Michigan and economic development. […]
Campaign strategists for both parties expect Kirk’s seat, along with that of Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean, to be among the most hard-nosed races next year.
Bush adviser Karl Rove recently wrote a memo that Kirk’s seat was one of three of the nine Illinois congressional seats held by the GOP that the party needs to work hardest to protect in 2008.
* From Kirk’s announcement…
The differences between me and Congressman Kirk are clear. He has supported President Bush’s agenda and I do not. Congressional Quarterly reports that he has voted with the President almost 90 percent of the time.
Since the last election he has tried to reverse some of those key votes. He even went to the White House, as many papers reported, to tell President Bush that the war was hurting his reelection prospects. I couldn’t disagree more with this kind of leadership.
Congressman Kirk is putting politics before policy. On issues as critical as these we must have the courage of our convictions. His votes should be driven by what he feels is right, not what he feels is expedient.
* The Daily Herald succinctly sums up yesterday’s Senate action…
Senate Democrats rejected a $53 billion state budget plan Wednesday, saying it doesn’t spend enough on education, health care and elsewhere as they renewed their call for more gambling or higher taxes to come up with added billions.
In doing so, the political discord between the Illinois House and Senate — both controlled by Democrats —reached new lows with only days remaining before a potential government shutdown if there’s no deal.
Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, criticized the House spending plan as a “no-good budget” and wondered if the House Democrats who’d passed it had bothered to read it.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, shot back that the House has passed a budget while the Senate has not, even as Senate Democrats’ ranks have swelled to the point they can pass whatever they want without needing Republican help.
Senate Democrats all but demanded Wednesday that taxpayers fork over more money to boost state spending on education, health care and other state programs.
But rather than propose its own spending plan, the Democrat-controlled Senate merely approved a nonbinding resolution rejecting a leaner budget plan backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The contentious move was described as a way to send Madigan a message that Democrats stand for bigger government.
If the Senate can’t even get 36 votes to reject Madigan’s budget, I’m not sure how its leaders believe that they can put together enough votes to pass a budget that spends a lot more money.
* The State Journal-Register editorial board has written an epitaph for Madigan’s budget proposal…
The speaker’s powerful, but even he can’t raise this one from the dead.
* And urges compromise…
The bad news: Neither Madigan nor the governor believe their budgets are dead. They both need to accept that fact and find a middle ground - something more than taking meals away from old people and something less than the state’s largest-ever tax increase.
* And this buried item clearly foreshadows the next budget showdown on the agenda…
Jones suggested consideration of a one-month budget to avoid a shutdown of the government in July, but Madigan said the focus should be on adopting a yearlong spending plan.
Oy.
* Meanwhile, the leaders meeting was a total bust yesterday…
No progress was made in the afternoon leaders’ meeting. House Minority Leader Tom Cross didn’t hide his frustration, calling the process “rather embarrassing and a bit disgusting.”
The only thing discussed in the “show-and-tell meeting” was TIF districts in Chicago with no attempt to relate that issue to the state budget, said House Speaker Michael Madigan. The governor didn’t even send his spokespeople out to make comments after the meeting.
* Audio clips from after yesterday’s leaders meeting…
* Since this resolution was first mentioned in the comment section here yesterday, I figured I should front-page it now. [emphasis added]
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Governor reside in Springfield ready to negotiate during the General Assembly’s scheduled overtime session and any special session days filed pursuant to gubernatorial proclamation.
Yesterday, House Resolution 507 was quietly popped out of the House Rules Committee and into Rep. Jack Franks’ State Government Administration Committee. Rep. Franks has been a constant critic of Gov. Blagojevich.
Remember, these things don’t just happen on their own. The Rules Committee is tightly controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Considering all the interest in how much time and money the governor is spending flying back and forth between Chicago and Springfield this spring, the resolution may get some mainstream media attention.
* Here are a couple of stories about our frequent flyer governor. The Post-Dispatch…
As Illinois inches toward a budgetary crisis, taxpayers this month have been spending almost $6,000 a day, several days a week, to fly Gov. Rod Blagojevich from his Chicago home to his Springfield office and back, records show.
The total bill in the past month may be as high as $75,000, the records indicate.
After seeing the AP analysis, Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, R-Des Plaines, said she was “highly insulted that he cannot get his butt down here to get things done in a timely fashion, and then go home and waste gas at the taxpayers’ expense.”
“He doesn’t seem to care,” added Naperville Republican Rep. James Meyer. “He comes down here when he feels like it for an hour or two, then back to the Chicago area to be at home with his family. I want to know when this governor is going to be serious about running the state.”
Past governors have either lived in Springfield or stayed in the capital while the legislature was in session. Blagojevich lives in Chicago and prefers to go home at the end of each day.
Lawmakers typically meet in Springfield three days a week, and Blagojevich has been flying to Springfield each day. If he arrived at the start of each week’s session and stayed at the Executive Mansion until the end, the cost of his flights would be about two-thirds less.
Blagojevich’s office refused to answer questions about the matter.
* Rep. Fritchey: Yeah, what they said on ‘pay to play’ bill
* Illinois joins primary crush on Super Duper Tuesday
Republicans expect to benefit from the new primary date and a large but fluid presidential field with no clear favorite. State GOP leaders already have proposed an Aug. 16 straw poll at Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair to tap into the quickening contest and gauge early organizational support.
[This update from below has been given its own post.]
* - 12:24 pm - As I told subscribers this morning, the Senate Democrats talked privately yesterday about running a resolution that rejects the budget passed by the House last month.
The Senate appears poised to run this resolution today. The Senate Republicans have requested a brief caucus, so the debate will begin at 12:45 or so.
* 12:27 pm - The Senate resolution (SR 258) would be essentially the same thing that House Speaker Michael Madigan did to the governor’s gross receipts tax. The House, you will recall, passed a resolution that rejected the tax hike. And today, the Senate may reject Madigan’s budget.
Madigan has repeated time and time again that the House has passed a budget. The object is to take this argument away from him. Since the House budget is still on hold via a parliamentary procedure, the Senate can’t vote on the actual document yet.
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1132, as amended by the House of Representatives, includes appropriations for expenditures that exceed available revenue estimates and therefore does not meet the requirements contained in subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Illinois; […]
…does not include appropriations to meet the rising costs associated with providing assistance to Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens, including senior citizens, for needs related to healthcare, prescription drugs, and the mental health and developmentally disabled population; […]
…does not provide for a sustainable means to reduce or to maintain the current cycle of payments made to Medicaid providers, specifically for physicians that provide services under the Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Program; and
…does not appropriate funds to satisfy the Fiscal Year 2008 pension obligation contribution level certified by the individual State retirement systems; […]
…therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that those voting ‘aye‘ on this resolution are voting to reject Senate Bill 1132 as amended by the House of Representatives, and those voting ‘no‘ on this resolution are voting to support the proposed budget for the State of Illinois for Fiscal Year 2008 that begins on July 1, 2007, as detailed in House Amendments 1 and 2 to Senate Bill 1132…
* 1:08 pm - The governor’s plane appears to be landing now. He’s late for the leaders meeting, which was supposed to start at one o’clock. But it looks like Senate President Emil Jones will be late as well, considering the debate on this resolution. He’ll likely have a nice arrival gift for the governor, however.
* 1:11 pm - Sen. Trotter, the resolution’s sponsor and the Senate Dems’ top budget guy, is now going through the problems he sees with the House-approved budget.
* 1:14 pm - Sen. Radogno: “We’re wasting a lot of time on a resolution that is absolutely meaningless” as far as resolving the budget gridlock.
* 1:17 pm - Radogno says she will vote “No,” to “send a message” that she isn’t in favor of this “gamesmanship.” Previously, Sen. Randy Hultgren had said he would also vote “No.”
According to the resolution, a “No” vote means support for the House bill. But the Republicans are using a “No” vote to express their opposition to the “gamesmanship” - a term that has been used several times so far.
* 1:22 pm - Cronin: “This process is shameful. It’s frivolous, it’s childish… The process is supposed to call on us to be responsible… We’re not taking our responsibilities seriously… I’m ashamed to be part of it and I’m voting ‘No.’”
* 1:26 pm - The Republicans have asked twice now why the Democrats haven’t just proposed their own counter-proposal to Madigan’s budget.
Trotter: It would be inappropriate to throw a budget on the table at this point because negotiations are ongoing.
* 1:29 pm - Sen. Hendon: Cronin, you should simply resign if you feel you aren’t doing enough here.
“What would you have us do, just lay down like little puppy dogs for Mike Madigan?”
“We’re not laying down for Mike Madigan… We’re not a rubber stamp… We are the House of Lords, they are the House of Commons… We shall not be led by the House of Commons.”
* 1:33 pm - Willie Delgado, who has occasionally expressed solidarity with Madigan this year (Delgado came over from the House) and has publicly broken with Senate President Jones on several occasions, is now excoriating the Madigan budget as woefully inadequate.
* 1:47 pm - Marty Sandoval: “It’s easy to cast stones today at a budget that was passed by the House of Representatives. It’s a very difficult day and a shameful day for the people on the Southwest Side of Chicago because they have no budget… Nor will they have one tomorrow… We have not resolved the crisis that relates to electrical rates… We have not discussed the crisis of public transportation… We have not discussed property tax relief… I am not prepared to vote on any budget, whether it’s the House budget or any temporary budget, or any two-month budget, or any six-month budget that doesn’t take care [of those issues]… This Senate resolution is either a manifestation of (massive?) testicular virility or a lack of it…”
* 1:51 pm - Carol Ronen: “It’s never a game when you’re standing up for what you believe in… We’re setting the tone for the negotiations for the next ten days.”
* 2:01 pm - Mike Jacobs just took a swipe at Rep. Mike Boland. He asked Sen. Trotter how much money was in the budget to operate Thompson prison, noting that Boland, one of his state Reps., voted for the budget. The answer was that the approp line was the same as the current fiscal year, which means it is a cut.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has spent $76,000 on taxpayer-financed flights between Chicago and Springfield since late May.
* 2:07 pm - Senate GOP Leader Frank Watson: Today’s move shows “we’re a long, long way” from resolving the budget dispute.
Watson called for a vote on the gross receipts tax because the governor keeps bringing it up in the negotiations.
“There’s just no leadership. There’s none. There’s none.”
* 2:14 pm - Senate President Jones: “I’ve been waiting all session for this demonstration by the minority leader… I enjoy it.”
The resolution is designed to “send a clear signal that we should be in serious, serious budget negotiations. The Speaker did say that this is the high-water mark. It’s really the low-water mark.”
“We have patience, we can wait.”
“Real” problem with House budget: Pension contributions aren’t budgeted in the bill, so the education spending increase won’t be funded because the pension payments come right off the top.
“They need to know today that this is it. That when you sit down, sit down and be sincere as it relates to health care, education, cutting bilingual, cutting meals on wheels…”
“Sometimes I wonder what happens in the House as it relates to the members. Do they read? But you [Republicans] support that!”
“We are not playing games. Games have already been played.”
“This resolution sends a clear message, that the high-water budget that they talked about is really a low-water budget that the Senate is going to reject. And if that budget got over here and was called for a vote, I believe most of you on the other side of the aisle would probably vote for it.”
“It’s been a dull session until today. I was waiting for the papers to fly, the theatrics, playing to the cheers of the crowd.. Not sincere, not sincere whatsoever, but (they) want to play those… stupid political games.”
“When the agreement is made, I want to see you on the other side of the aisle, especially your leader say ‘I can support this.’”
* 2:26 pm -Vote: 33-19-2 [Lightford said her “Yes” button wasn’t working properly, so it’s 34.]
[I’ve removed the 12:24 pm update and started a new post here. Continue discussing other items mentioned in this post.]
* 11:02 am - The governor’s plane was initially scheduled to take off at 10 o’clock today, but it appears the vessel won’t be wheels up until noon. As I told you earlier, the leaders meeting is supposed to start at 1 o’clock, so he’ll be cutting it close.
* 11:08 am - While we’re waiting for the leaders meeting to start and the House and Senate to get going (listen to Senate here and the House here), let’s take a look at a couple of new websites.
* The Senate Republicans have revamped their site. Looks pretty good. What do you think?
* The Illinois Republican Party has a new website called We Are Illinois.
* 11:20 am - Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn will be the keynote speaker at the Taxpayers Federation annual meeting today at noon in Chicago. Since he may criticize the governor’s tax proposals again, the speech might get some coverage.
* 11:35 am - The governor has signed legislation into law which would move the primary date up to the first Tuesday in February. The bill passed both chambers last month, but wasn’t transmitted to his desk until last week. The legislation can be found here. [Hat tip to a commenter.]
* 11:44 am - Senate is convening now.
* 11:47 am - Orders are slowing down a bit for our charity project, most likely because I haven’t been promoting it much this week. If you haven’t ordered something yet, please get yourself over there and buy something. Thanks.
[I’ve removed the 12:24 pm update and started a new post here. Continue discussing other items mentioned in this post.]
* Yesterday’s leaders meeting didn’t even broach the subject of the state budget…
With Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes warning of financial upheaval if the state’s budget impasse continues much longer, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the four legislative leaders resumed their talks.
They did not talk about the budget. […]
“It was another show-and-tell meeting,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. “There was no discussion about adoption of a budget for the state of Illinois.” We’re beginning to wonder when any of these meetings are going to find their way to a discussion of adopting a budget.”
“Did it move the ball forward on the budget? No,” said House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego. “It’s hard for me to speculate on why we are doing these types of presentations. We need to start having a hard-core discussion about how we are going to balance the budget.” […]
“I just don’t see where the realism has sunk in yet with the governor as to where we truly are in the process,” said Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson of Greenville. “No gross-receipts tax. No massive new programs. We have to live within our means, and that’s not something he’s willing to accept at this point.”
* Instead, as I told you yesterday, the leaders spent all their time talking about the governor’s health insurance plan, including brief comments by former congressman Dick Gephardt…
Gephardt’s group is a coalition of labor union officials, insurance executives and others who argue that universal heath care is not only sound social policy, but an important economic issue. Inside the closed-door meeting, participants said, Gephardt helped open discussion of health care, but then turned it over to experts who were on hand.
“He just gave introductory comments about the importance of health care and working at the national level,” said Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville. He said Gephardt left the room after his remarks.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, was more charitable about the contributions of his fellow Democrat. “He’s a very strong advocate,” Madigan said.
But Madigan maintained his stance that Blagojevich’s health care plan isn’t fiscally realistic.
Watson and other leaders in both parties have expressed frustration at the pace of the budget talks. They’ve accused Blagojevich of turning the meetings into lobbying sessions for goals that are effectively dead this year, instead of making headway on practical issues impeding a budget agreement.
“I don’t see this really being productive at all. I told the governor that when we left. ‘Why don’t we talk about realistic issues like the budget?” said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson
“It’s not the normal way we handle budget negotiations,” House Minority Leader Tom Cross added.
As he exited the Statehouse on Tuesday, Gephardt downplayed the fact the Democrats who control state government can’t come to an agreement on a spending plan.
“I was a leader of the Democrats in the House. I guess you could have said we were dysfunctional, too,” Gephardt said.
* Meanwhile, the SJ-R takes a hard look at Speaker Madigan’s budget proposal. It’s definitely worth a read…
As budget negotiations trundle on between the governor and the four legislative leaders, Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has reiterated that the House has already passed a slow-growth budget that would increase spending by $800 million - about 1.5 percent. Even though Madigan has acknowledged that the House budget is at least $600 million short of what’s needed for the full year, speculation has grown that it may be the only solution - albeit a temporary one - to the current deadlock.
That’s not good news, say advocates for the state’s children, senior citizens, disabled and lower-income residents.
“You end up getting what you pay for, unfortunately,” said the Rev. Jennifer Kottler, deputy director of Protestants for the Common Good.
The House budget, which is being held in that chamber on a parliamentary maneuver, essentially holds spending for social services at current levels, Kottler said.
* The leaders meeting today is set for 1 o’clock. It looks as though the guv’s plane is on its way to O’Hare and is scheduled to leave Chicago at 10 am. Track it in comments.
* I made sure I was around yesterday when Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen walked into the Statehouse.
Nielsen said he had heard about the Capitol Fax article I had written about his visit and the stuff I had posted here, which he jokingly referred to as “that slime blog.”
I told him that nobody appeared to understand the headline on a budget story yesterday entitled “Clock Strikes Ten,” a reference to the Cheap Trick song of the same name. He glanced at the headline on his copy of the Capitol Fax and deadpanned: “I don’t get it.”
* Aaron Chambers, of the Rockford Register-Star, had the best lede…
Rick Nielsen entered the Capitol like the rock star he is: A flashy man in a zebra-stripe jacket, trademark ball cap and dark sunglasses — but he had to remove his jewelry to clear a metal detector at the front door. Officially, Nielsen was there to commemorate a resolution introduced Tuesday by Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, to proclaim April 1 “Cheap Trick Day” in Illinois. But his appearance was more of a midday party for his fans.
The Cheap Trick guitarist and Rockford native was off with a bang. For the next two hours Tuesday, he shook Illinois government free from its traditional decorum with a never-ending stream of wisecracks about sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll and criminal activity.
The 60-year-old rocker charmed state officials, lawmakers, legislative staff and bystanders during his first visit to the Capitol. He hugged most everybody who walked by and stood for photos with the hordes of people who lined up for a glimpse.
* But check out how the RR-Star and the State Journal-Register, both GateHouse papers, played the end of Chambers’ piece…
* SJ-R - On his way out of the Capitol, Nielsen stopped for a private meeting with Syverson in the senator’s office. When he emerged, he made a scene of coughing as if the two of them had just smoked reefer.
* RR-S - …When he emerged, he made a scene of coughing as if the two of them had been smoking … something illicit.
I asked him earlier whether drummer Bunn E. Carlos still smoked.
“Not cigarettes.”
Cigars?
“No.”
* Reporters did get in a few policy questions, but he dodged them pretty well…
Nielsen, who still lives in Rockford, was asked if he thought it’d be a good idea for Rockford to have a casino.
“Personally? I don’t gamble … except playing in the music business and that’s enough of a gamble. So I’ll leave it at that,” Nielsen said. “How’s that sound for a Springfield answer?”
He was also asked about the lack of a state budget.
“You know, I gave them the rest of the day off to figure the crap out, I can’t help that.”
The chamber, where senators must wear coats and ties on the Senate floor, waived the rules for Nielsen, who appeared in sort of a zebra-striped sport coat, a T-shirt, tennis shoes and, of course, sunglasses. […]
To the delight and applause of senators, Nielsen pulled off another patented stage trick: He dipped into his pockets and threw fistfuls of guitar picks at the senators and their staff — and even a few into a press box.
“I know that’s probably very, very bad to do, but I’m only here today,” Nielsen said. “So I don’t care.”
* Audio…
* Sen. Syverson & Nielsen addressing the full Senate (courtesy of Metro Networks)…
[audio:CTsenate.mp3]
* Nielsen with reporters after the presentation…
[audio:CTafter.mp3]
* A few pics follow. The first one is Nielsen laying on the floor looking up at the Statehouse dome…
*** UPDATE *** I didn’t realize that I was on the front page of the State Journal-Register today…
* As you already know, the Sun-Times broke the story yesterday that Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has cancer. Stroger abruptly announced he was going to the hospital for a procedure, but his people wouldn’t talk about it on the record until after the paper ran its scoop.
I’m told that Stroger kept the information about his cancer a secret from his family and close friends, as well as the rest of us. We can only hope that he has learned a valuable lesson from all of this.
[Todd Stroger spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi] said Stroger “is committed to being as open as possible,” drawing chuckles from media, given the lack of information officially provided so far.
That left commissioners delicately trying to express both sympathy and a sense of betrayal, as they have struggled to understand many of the moves Stroger has made since he took office in December and his public relations strategy. […]
Many of the commissioners endured similar treatment last year, as they and the public were repeatedly assured that Stroger’s father, board President John Stroger, would recover just fine from what turned out to be a devastating and career-ending stroke.
* The Tribune focused on how he had withheld the information from voters during the election, but provided a glance behind the scenes that appears to confirm that Stroger kept the cancer revelation to himself…
County Commissioner William Beavers (D-Chicago), who is one of Stroger’s closest political advisers, said he only learned of Stroger’s cancer a couple of days ago.
* And Carol Marin makes a very good point [emphasis in original]…
So Todd Stroger’s burden, in addition to battling this challenge to his health, is to be different.
It is terribly important for him and for his family that he get better.
But it is just as important for the people he serves that he be better.
* Somewhat related…
* County may raise taxes after hospital chief calls for help
It’s clear most lawmakers want to approve something, and the competing versions of the idea aren’t so different that compromise would be impossible. If they are sincere about demonstrating that Illinois government is not for sale, then there’s no excuse for not passing this legislation.
* Higher speed limit for trucks needs green light from governor
The IEA and local teachers union contend that the video surveillance violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act and may also be in violation of state and federal laws governing illegal taping of individuals without permission.
Daley, however, also got an earful from the senior Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, who used a Tribune report to club him on the efficacy of Chicago’s “green” initiatives.
* The nation’s Springfields vie to host Simpson’s premiere
