Morning Shorts
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Editorial: One Blagojevich is enough
It would be unfair to accuse Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias of contracting an early-onset case of the disease that ails Blagojevich: government by public relations. Unfair, but tempting. In his first half-year, Giannoulias has made some smart moves, such as improving the state’s college savings plans. But his unveiling this week of a program that makes Illinois taxpayers subsidize the purchase of hybrid vehicles that already are popular strikes us as a classic case of nanny-statism, political opportunism, or both.
* Illinois plans to underwrite $1,000 on hybrid cars
* Alderman: Congestion fee DOA
* CTA Tattler: Huberman on other top transit systems
* Chicago Public Radio: Millions in taxes could cover school budget
* Carol Marin: Hard to trust Daley ‘reform’
* Daley: Midway needs fixing up before being put on the market
If Mayor Daley is so determined to privatize Midway Airport, why is he spending nearly $284 million this year to fix it up?
That was the question Tuesday after the mayor unveiled a $2 billion capital-improvement program for 2007 with a host of Midway projects.
* IL House OKs incentives to land FutureGen coal project; more here
* Legislators blast waiver for BP plant near lake; more here
* State law makes inquests optional in routine cases
- Bill Baar - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 7:58 am:
BP really needs some PR help. I can’t imagine a dumber move despite how much economic sense it makes. If Giannoulias wants Green Rewards he ought think of investing in refinary capacity that can handle this dirtier Canadian crude without dumping the waste in the lake.
- Frank - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 8:59 am:
Really…
- Captain America - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 8:59 am:
BP needs a lot more than PR Help. Thir plan to discharge more waste into Lake Michigan is a complete and total outrage. We should be reducing all discharges into our Great Lakes. If BP can’t upgrade its water treatemtn facilities then it should not expand.
There is absolutely no justfication - jobs or anything else. I hope the environmental groups sue EPA, Indiana, and BP to prevent this travesty from occurring.
The reason I am so adamant and outspoken about this is because I really believe that clean fresh water in the Great Lakes is the key to the economic revival of the Great Lakes States when the Sun Belt runs out of water. Clean fresh water may eventually become as valuable as oil sometime in the next 100 years.
- BP lawsuit - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 9:07 am:
Mass litigation,
Some cleaver lawyers need to figure out how to sue BP to stop this pollution by getting a restraining order. Why can’t the State of Indiana use eminent domain to secure land for an adequate water treatment facility?
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 9:16 am:
The Tribune editorial board almost spot-on. The only thing I disagree with them on is their statement of “One Blagojevich is enough”, because one Blagojevich is too much.
It is shocking to see the sheer arrogance being displayed by these elected officials. They have not been annointed. We do not need them. The world will go on after they leave office.
Blagojevich and Giannoulais and other politicians who feel they are divinely chosen to lead us mass ignorami towards salvation need faith in democracy. We cannot have elected officials who see us as stupid boobs and treat us as such.
Honestly, people are not stupid, and they possess no more intelligence than the average person. Being elected did not give them super-powers. Their contempt towards those of us that do not follow them, or even question them, should be enough to boot them out of office.
It seems that these jokers say “green”, or “environment” or “universal health care” and so many of you people fall all over yourselves kissing their rings? They are not our masters, so stop acting like pathetic little lap dogs, OK?
- Ghost - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 9:31 am:
VanillaMan I find it interesting that you accuse many people of being sheep like… choosing to back up your point by reference not to fact, but to insult. The whole premise of your comments is people who do not share your view are somehow lesser individiuals. Perhaps using invective and cudgel to insult those who do not follow whatever your position is suggests you are no better then those you denounce. You expect folks to oppose certain words just because those words are mentioned while villifying them for allegedly supporting the concepts just because certaion words are used. You are asking people to reject the very concept you are asking them to simultaneously embrace, based only on it following your beleif. Your position defeats your own argument.
- plutocrat03 - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 9:34 am:
Re: BP This is where the government needs to step in and work out a sensible solution. The target for the pollution after the upgrades should be an amount LESS than what is being produced today. While the goal is increased production from a more local source, modern technology needs to control the pollutants. This would be an example of an appropriate place to use the powers of eminent domain if it is true that available land is the reason for not improving water treatment
- Squideshi - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 10:39 am:
Allow me to point out the bias at the Chicago Tribune. They criticize Giannoulias for suggesting that responsible citizens, who voluntarily reduce their externalities, be rewarded by society for making the right decision; yet they seem to have absolutely no complaint about the state heavily subsidizing the coal industry. From their own article:
“Illinois is offering $82 million to the FutureGen developers — $17 million in grants, a $50 million low-interest loan and $15 million in tax breaks, said Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet. Local communities are also offering incentives, and those towns could get additional state help with roads and other improvement.”
- plutocrat03 - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 5:02 pm:
Just though I would get out the tissues for Arnie Duncan and is school finances. Checked some numbers with the Illinois school report card.
Did you know that Chicago and Springfield schools got 46.4 and 56.7 respectively from local sources.
I also checked 6 collar county schools and found 85.9, 85.3, 85.5, 89.5 and 87.2 percent from local sources. All but one spent less per student than Chicago.
Seems to me that if anyone is stiffing the Chicago children is is the Chicago leadership
- Tribune's hypocrisy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 7:50 pm:
I wonder if the Trib typed up it’s cheapshot against Giannoulias with a straight face. This is the paper that endorsed a President that has done NOTHING to improve fuel efficiency or environmentally responsible behavior.
Is the Trib arguing that 2,700 hybrids purchased a year is enough? How many gas guzzlers were financed last year? If the Tribune doesn’t want to incentivize certain behavior, are they going to come out against mortgages being tax deductible (which costs the government more revenue)?
- tyler - Wednesday, Jul 18, 07 @ 8:19 pm:
It is the job of the Illinois Treasurer to invest the states money wisely and earn a good return. If he is getting a “lower than normal” return on state deposits, then he just isn’t doing his job. The Constitution says nothing abot the Treasurer getting in the car business or improving fuel efficiency. That is flim-flam! Alexi needs to stay home and do his job. It won’t grab headlines but it will help the state stay solvent.