* 1:40 pm - Well, this e-mail from US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s press secretary is sure intriguing [emphasis added]…
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: Please find attached the first of several federal grand jury indictments and accompanying press releases, each involving separate, unrelated public corruption investigations, that are expected to be issued by this office today. The other cases will be released later this afternoon (time uncertain, so please do not call to ask when), and they will be the subject of a single press conference tomorrow morning. Details about that will accompany the later releases. There will be no broadcast media availability on any of these matters until the press conference tomorrow. There are no court appearances today or tomorrow in connection with any of these matters. Thank you very much, Randall Samborn
The first indictment is of Aidan E. Monahan. You can find out some background here, or download the indictment here.
Please, no speculation in comments about who might be next. Since there is no press conference today, they may not even be bigwigs. Besides, you wouldn’t want to be banned, would you?
* 1:53 pm - Several union leaders have released a letter to Gov. Blagojevich asking him to support electronic gaming at horse racing tracks. View the letter here. The signatories include Tom Balanoff, the SEIU president and staunch Blagojevich ally. The governor had called the leaders into a meeting today, but no word yet on how this letter was orchestrated (the governor’s former chief of staff is now lobbying for the tracks).
* 2:47 pm - There will be no leaders meeting today. Also, rumors abound that there won’t be any session days this weekend. Most likely, there won’t be a Sunday, but Saturday is still up for debate.
And, yes, I’m still waiting around for those aforementioned indictments. Being pinned down in the office is a bummer, but not as big a bummer as it’s gonna be for whoever takes it in the throat today.
* 3:20 pm - Deanese Williams-Harris updates us on the mass transit funding situation.
* 3:23 pm - I posted on this before, but it was late on a Friday, so you may not have noticed. We have a new t-shirt and mousepad design over at our charity project store. Go check it out. All proceeds benefit Sojourn House.
* 4:26 pm - It’s not online yet, but I’m told that the Illinois Supreme Court has just ruled against Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s attempt to represent the governor’s office in its fight to block FOIA disclosure of federal subpoenas. Some background on the case is here.
* 4:38 pm - And as if on cue [UPDATE: AG Madigan’s office strongly denies the snarky implication that the new SG hiring was in any way related to the office’s win/loss record or the above case in particular]…
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that she has appointed Michael A. Scodro as Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General. He will succeed Gary S. Feinerman who has served as Solicitor General since May 2003.
* 5:19 pm - Wow…
A former Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), who allegedly received approximately $50,000 in illegal kickbacks, and two lobbyists accused of paying him the kickbacks while representing vendors that had multi-million-dollar contracts with the state prison agency, were indicted today on federal charges. The defendants, Donald N. Snyder, Jr., who was IDOC director from 1999 until early 2003, and lobbyists John J. Robinson, a former Undersheriff of Cook County, and Larry E. Sims were charged in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. […]
Regarding the payments by Sims to Snyder, the indictment alleges that in late 1999 or early 2000, Snyder and Sims discussed the compensation that Sims received from Vendor B, and Sims agreed to pay Snyder a portion of the monthly fee that Sims received from that client. Beginning in early 2000 and continuing until approximately the end of 2002, Sims gave cash to Snyder each month, totaling approximately $30,000, after Sims received his monthly fee from Vendor B.
Regarding the payments by Robinson to Snyder, the indictment alleges that in late 1999 or early 2000, Snyder agreed to accept cash derived from the consulting or lobbying fees that Robinson earned from their representation of one or more vendors doing business with IDOC. From early 2000 until December 2002, Robinson allegedly paid kickbacks to Snyder totaling approximately $20,000, which amounted to about one-fourth of the monthly fees that Robinson’s company, JPN, received from Vendor A. Robinson paid Snyder periodically when they met at various corrections-related meetings or events, the indictment alleges.
The indictment is here.
* 5:26 pm -We’ve also got a superseding indictment in the Vrdolyak case. Download it here.
* 5:31 pm - And another one…
The former chief and six other former and current officers and employees of the Melrose Park Police Department operated the department as an illegal racketeering enterprise for at least a decade between 1996 and 2006, according to a federal grand jury indictment returned today, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The indictment alleges that the former chief, Vito R. Scavo, and other defendants defrauded west suburban Melrose Park and its citizens by using police department personnel and property to operate several private security guard companies and provide personal services to Scavo; extorted village businesses into using security guard services provided by companies that Scavo and others controlled; and that Scavo committed individual and corporate tax fraud and improperly compensated police department employees who performed personal chores for him with compensatory time off that they had not earned. Scavo, who was village police chief from 1995 until he resigned in September 2006, was charged with racketeering conspiracy along with Deputy Police Chief Gary Montino and Michael “Mickey” Caliendo, former civilian supervisor of part-time police officers.
As part of the alleged conspiracy, Scavo and two other defendants, Guy Ric Cervone, a former police lieutenant recently promoted to commander, and German Cepeda, a former police department janitor and current code enforcement inspector for the village, allegedly obstructed a grand jury investigation of their conduct and tampered with potential grand jury witnesses.
That indictment is here.
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Tobacco messaging
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
We’ve had quite a few debates on the rumored buck a pack tax increase on cigarettes. It’s all been pretty lively, so maybe some new info from RJ Reynolds will stir it up again.
According to this handout, which will likely be distributed to legislators soon (if it hasn’t already), in 2005 Illinois smokers paid $643.7 million in excise taxes, $166.6 million in sales taxes and $269 million in tobacco settlement payments for a total of $1.079 billion.
That works out to an average of $444 per Illinois smoker in 2005 for excise and sales taxes and another $147 for the settlement payments, for a total of $591.
IL smokers’ median household income, according to the tobacco giant, is $39,786, while non-smokers’ median income is $50,265. About a third of smokers had household incomes under $25,000.
The botttom of the page has this slogan: “Cigarettes don’t pay taxes - Illinois smokers do!”
I’m wondering if you think this is an effective message.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
First, the setup…
As lawmakers negotiated with utilities over a way to lower power bills, the companies lined some lawmakers’ campaign pockets with donations, new reports show.
Final campaign finance statements for the first half of the year aren’t due until the end of the day Friday. But early reports show that electric companies gave thousands of dollars to key lawmakers at the same time they were trying to come to an agreement behind closed doors.
For example, state Sen. James Clayborne, the Belleville Democrat who played a key role in initiating talks, made $17,500 from generators and utilities from Jan. 1, when electric rates rose, until the end of the reporting period June 30.
“It’s clear that campaign giving is part of the strategy of the electric companies,” said David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. […]
All lawmakers’ reports won’t be filed until the weekend, but utility records show ComEd gave state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, $300 each. Both have been outspoken critics of the rate increases.
Question: In your opinion, do political reporters, in general, make too big a deal out of campaign contributions? Or is the problem so bad that all contributions need to be examined with a skeptical eye? Explain.
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Shutdown rumors persist, inflamed
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* State employees are apparently getting more worried about the very real possibility of a government shutdown next month. Tom Cross fanned those flames of fear yesterday…
While a state government shutdown is undesirable, it might be the “slap on the side of the head” needed to work out a new budget, House Republican Leader Tom Cross said Wednesday.
The state’s fiscal year began July 1, but lawmakers and Gov. Rod Blagojevich have failed so far to negotiate a new spending plan.
A temporary, one-month budget was enacted to cover July and head off a government shutdown. Whether legislators would be willing to approve another temporary budget for August is uncertain.
“No one wants a shutdown. That’s not good, though that may be the slap on the side of the head that gets people … to get this done,” Cross said. “I don’t think anybody wants it, but we’re getting closer by the day.”
* At the bottom of a story about the impact of a shutdown on the Illinois State Fair were these explanatory tidbits…
If Blagojevich and lawmakers reach the end of July without an agreement, they could implement another one-month budget for August. But several lawmakers are threatening to oppose another stopgap budget to force a deal on a budget for the whole year.
“I think it will be much more difficult to pass a one-month budget as we get to the end of this month,” said Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare. “We could be here (at the Capitol) forever, then.”
Blagojevich has not said whether he would accept another stopgap budget, though he indicated in early July that the overtime session was going according to his plan.
By the way, some of the political types who do the grunt work at the fair for the various constitutional officers and the state parties are quietly hoping that the shutdown kills off the fair this year. It’s a lot of thankless work.
Any thoughts on the possibility of a shutdown?
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Madigan, Jones and the income tax
Thursday, Jul 19, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you’re a non-subscriber and were wondering about all those password-protected posts yesterday, here’s a bit of what was going on…
…House Speaker Michael Madigan announced on Chicago talk radio and to the Statehouse press Wednesday that the best way for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to get new revenue is to consider that the majority of House Democrats support some kind of an income tax increase. […]
“[HB] 750 had the regressive sales tax, which I strongly oppose,” [Senate President Emil Jones] said after a budget meeting in the governor’s Statehouse office. “But I’m open to the income tax, as well.” … When asked whether he could change the governor’s mind on an income tax increase, Jones said, “The governor was opposed to gaming, and I persuaded him to back off his opposition to gaming. And so if the House passes the income tax as the speaker indicated on WVON, he should go ahead and pass the legislation, and we would give it a strong consideration in the Senate.”
Madigan even made a point to tell the press that he had dinner with Jones Tuesday night in Springfield. “The most significant thing for me coming out of the meeting was that Sen. Jones strongly indicated that he was willing to work with me to finalize the budget for the next fiscal year,” Madigan said. He also said gaming was not in the budget that he was preparing.
But Jones said he wouldn’t accept a budget without gaming expansion unless Madigan came up with an alternative revenue source to fund Jones’ desired $1.5 billion increase in education funding. Jones said other revenue ideas still on the table include the closure of some corporate tax breaks and an alternative minimum tax, which would apply to businesses that make a lot of money but that don’t pay a lot of state taxes. The way to come up with a compromise on alternative revenue ideas, Jones said, was up to the speaker. “Now it’s up to [Madigan] to provide the quality leadership to get additional dollars we need for education — quality leadership.”
* This isn’t all that Madigan’s original statement was about, but it was the most obvious…
Madigan’s backing of an income tax hike generated buzz throughout the Capitol, but it later appeared he simply was adhering to the governor’s demand for ideas –not necessarily ideas that have any prayer of passing. Madigan (D-Chicago) said it would not be part of a House budget that may be voted on later this month.
I’ll have complete audio for subscribers, but what are your thoughts on this?
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Eric Krol has a must-read story today about a prominent DuPage County Republican who might be engaging in some quid pro quo with the Chicago Democrats…
One of the most powerful Republicans in DuPage County is using his Democratic ties to enrich his private law practice on bond deals while awarding allies of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Gov. Rod Blagojevich taxpayer-funded lobbying contracts.
DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom is drawing fire from some county officials who question the intersection of public and private interests.
“I think that it’s extremely disappointing. It generates a perception that Bob’s support for these matters of important public policy have been determined perhaps by less than just good government terms,” said Brien Sheahan, a DuPage County board member from Elmhurst. “That perception is very damaging.”
DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett said he found the situation “troublesome.”
Read the whole thing then come back here to discuss. [The original link was changed at the DH website, but it’s updated now.]
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