* 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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This just in…
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 2:11 pm - IlliniPundit has new poll results….
In general, do you APPROVE or DISAPPROVE of the job Gov.Blagojevich is doing right now?
* Approve: 25.57%
* Disapprove: 64.41%
* Unsure: 10.32%
Details of the AskIllinois poll…
Date of calls: July 12, 2007
Sample size: 2,568
Margin of Error: ±1.93%
Sample makeup: Likely voters
Poll type: Automated
Download it here.
* 2:23 pm - All the leaders except Senate President Emil Jones have arrived for the scheduled leaders meeting with the governor. Quite a few (perhaps 20 or so) rank and file legislators have also shown up, mostly House members.
* 2:25 pm - From the SJ-R…
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of Illinois has created a public corruption unit and tip line.
Details of the task force are being announced at an afternoon news conference.
* 2:27 pm - Senate President Jones arrived at the leaders meeting, telling reporters, “I’m gonna tax all the lies you’ve been writing.” He’s such a kidder, that guy.
* 2:31 pm - ACLU press release…
…According to the report, of all traffic stops in Illinois during calendar year 2006, police officers asked a mere 0.68% of white drivers for “consent” to search their car once the stop was commenced, compared to 2.04% of all minority drivers. The report demonstrated that an African American driver was more than three times more likely to be the target of arequest for a search than a majority driver. […]
Responding to the report, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today called on Governor Rod Blagojevich and the members of the Illinois General Assembly to either prohibit consent searches altogether, or require that police have reasonable suspicion as a precondition to request a search.
“State police forces in California and New Jersey have ended the practice of conducting consent searches,” said Grossman. “The Illinois General Assembly should examine this data and move quickly to bar the practice in our state.”
* 2:35 pm - Does this mean Lauzen is doomed? Roeser’s candidates don’t usually do all that well…
Conservative Carpentersville businessman Jack Roeser is siding with state Rep. Chris Lauzen of Aurora over the man he backed last year for governor–if former House Speaker Dennis Hastert opts not to seek re-election to Congress.
In a missive from his Family Taxpayers Network, Roeser urged Aurora dairyman James D. Oberweis to sit out a GOP primary race for the House in the 14th Congressional District. That is the same Oberweis that Roeser helped bankroll with more than a half-million dollars in an unsuccessful race for the Republican primary nomination for governor last year.
* 3:02 pm - New Feature! Longtime Nadig Newspaper columnist Russ Stewart has asked that I post his weekly columns at the blog. Here’s the first one, entitled “Potential Foes Monitor Stroger’s Credibility.” I’ll also likely cross-post them at Illinoize.
* 3:15 pm - Apparently, state Rep. Tim Schmitz has decided not to run for Congress in Denny Hastert’s district…
Republican state Rep. Tim Schmitz of Batavia Wednesday announced his plans to seek re-election next year.
Schmitz is very close to Hastert, but I’m not sure yet what this means.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
A House Republican-sponsored resolution was all the talk yesterday…
House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) allowed his chamber to vote on a GOP-written resolution that calls on the governor to “reside in Springfield” during the duration of the Legislature’s overtime session or while lawmakers are in special sessions convened by Blagojevich. […]
An aide belittled Tuesday’s vote, insisting the governor had overnighted in Springfield with the exception of this past weekend since declaring the first of eight special sessions in early July.
“The governor’s been here, and it seems like there are more important issues facing the state of Illinois than this that the House could consider,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said.
The Post-Dispatch has this analysis…
The resolution has no legal force, and was dismissed by Blagojevich’s defenders as a cheap attempt to embarrass him. But it’s telling as a measure of the frustration of lawmakers who have been kept at their Springfield desks well into the summer, not allowed to adjourn and powerless to break the budget impasse.
You can read more about it here and here.
Question: Now that the governor has agreed to stay in Springfield until the negotiations are completed (even though he’s taken a couple of trips back to Chicago for a press conference and then a Cubs game last weekend when the General Assembly wasn’t in town), was this a cheap shot that could undermine delicate budget negotiations? If not, explain why. And, please, try to put any knee-jerk hatreds aside.
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Buck a pack tax by the numbers
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The State Journal-Register has an editorial today that lists the benefits of a dollar a pack increase in the state’s cigarette tax. The numbers were provided by the American Lung Association…
* Cigarette pack sale decline in Illinois — 123.3 million.
* Number of current adult smokers in Illinois who would quit — 57,700.
* Increase in total number of kids alive today who will not become smokers — 130,800.
* Long-term health-care savings in Illinois from adult and youth smoking declines — $2.8 billion.
* The paper adds…
Illinois with its current 98-cents-per-pack tax raised about $634 million last year. That’s a significant revenue source, akin to the amount raised by the state lottery. A $1-per-pack increase is estimated to bring in about $412 million more annually. […]
While we sincerely doubt a $1-per-pack tax increase will gain the needed support, if legislators become serious about any significant increase in the cigarette tax, they should demand that some of the money raised be used to underwrite cessation efforts on the part of smokers. Yes, it might cut into the state’s take in the short run, but in the long run it makes both fiscal and moral sense.
* But Joe Calomino of Americans for Prosperity, Illinois, posted these numbers in comments yesterday…
The Effect of a $1/pack Cigarette Tax Hike on Illinois Retailers
* Tobacco Sales are Important to Illinois Retailers – Illinois stores sold 657 million packs of cigarettes in FY 2006, with a gross retail value of nearly $3.2 billion. Illinois merchants earned nearly $560 million in gross profits on these sales.
* Tobacco Sales Support Illinois Jobs - It is estimated that nearly 8,000 Illinois retailer and wholesaler jobs were supported by in-state tobacco sales (based on estimated gross profits). […]
* In spite of large recent tax increases of the Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago cigarette taxes, some are proposing an Illinois cigarette tax hike of $1/pack. This would raise the Illinois state tax to $1.98 per pack. Illinois residents outside of Cook County could save $18.10/carton in Missouri, $16.80 in Kentucky and $9.85 in Indiana. In Chicago the total state and local cigarette tax would be $4.66/pack. A Chicago resident could save over $44.90/carton in Missouri or over $36/carton in Indiana. A van-load of cigarettes from Missouri would have a profit potential of nearly $255,000. Such bootlegger incentives could create a situation reminiscent of the days of Al Capone.
* Loss in Cigarette Sales Volume – Cigarette volume is estimated to fall by nearly 25% on an annualized basis or by 164 million packs due to the proposed $1 tax hike in FY 2008.
* Loss in Sundry Product Sales - Sundry product sales, or products normally bought in conjunction with tobacco products, could fall by nearly $140 million due to the $1 tax hike.
* Loss in Illinois Gross Profits (value added) - Gross profits lost to Illinois retailers and wholesalers are estimated at approximately $116 million due the proposed $1 tax hike.
* Convenience Store Losses - Cigarette sales at C-stores would fall by 100 million packs due to the $1 tax hike. Gross profit losses could average about $15,000 per store
* Revenue Impact - It is estimated that Illinois will gain about $320 million from the $1 tax hike. […]
Taxes Per Pack In Chicago After a $1 IL Tax Hike and 61 cent Federal Tax Hike
Federal Tax/ Pack $1
State Tax/Pack $1.98
Cook County Tax/Pack $2.00
Chicago Tax/Pack .68
State, County, Local Sales Tax .77
Grand Total $6.43
Go here to read more. Joe said he’s working up a post for his Website and it will be up soon.
Thoughts?
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* The Daily Southtown urges a mushroom revolt…
Don’t sit back and let these three men’s childish antics hamstring this great state any further. Let them and your representatives and senators know how you feel. And those representatives and senators need to let the leaders know how they feel, too. We know there is discontent within the rank-and-file, but until the members rise up in unison and tell the leaders to get their acts together, those leaders will continue to treat those members like peons. The leaders need to be sent a message that if problems within the state are not addressed, their days of being leaders are numbered. But based on what’s happened in the past, we know the fearful rank-and-file members will barely utter a peep.
What an embarrassment the state government has become.
Illinois needs a fair, fiscally responsible budget passed now. Problems need to be dealt with through reasoned discussions and compromise — not locker-room antics or crybaby talk or another layer of makeup.
* And Phil Kadner is dubious of Senate President Emil Jones’ renewed emphasis on school funding reform and the whole issue in general…
Down in Springfield, some of the most useless elected officials in the country are holding hearings into education funding. […]
After 15 years of doing basically nothing to help education, after three blue-ribbon panels shouted, “You folks are destroying the public school system in this state,” the Illinois Senate (meeting in special session) is going to spend the entire week listening to education advocates explain it all again. […]
t’s truly amazing how much political juice the folks in Springfield have squeezed out of the education turnip.
Jones knows one thing for certain. If he passes a bill out of the Senate now, it will be dead on arrival in the House, where Madigan and Republicans can kill it. And even if it passes out of the House, the governor has vowed to veto the bill.
Calling these people “useless” may be too kind. They’ve done real harm to the children and taxpayers of this state.
* The Pantagraph notes that we’re heading for a new overtime record…
On July 24, which is less than a week away, the General Assembly and Gov. Rod Blagojevich will surpass their 2004 record for the amount of time the state has gone into a new fiscal year without an overall spending plan.
With little progress to report Tuesday, observers said the record is almost sure to be broken.
* …And checks the latest floor census…
Attendance by lawmakers picked up Tuesday after several days where dozens failed to show up to work. In the Senate, 36 of 59 members were on the floor when the session got under way. The roll call in the 118-member House roll topped 100 for the first time in a week.
* The Pennsylvania overtime session received a lot of national media, mainly because the state shut down government services. That hasn’t happened here yet, but as Mike Skarr notes…
Maybe since our budget crisis has lasted about nine times as long as the Pennsylvania budget woes, we, the taxpayers will get a result that is nine times as good, but probably not.
* Bethany Carson gives us a quick rundown…
The governor has been in town since Monday, but no official leaders’ meetings have convened. The legislature has broken up into small group meetings so far to discuss gaming, a capital plan, education, revenue, agency spending and the Illinois Department of Corrections. They’re closed to the public.
The governor also sent a letter to House Speaker Michael Madigan, House Minority Leader Tom Cross and Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson criticizing them for halting progress on a proposal to expand gaming, which would pay for the debt service on a capital plan and for education. “Negotiations broke down over your refusal to dedicate some portion of new gaming revenue to education,” the governor wrote. He also said, “A budget that invests in infrastructure without providing resources for education and health care is not an option. We must find a way to meet all of our obligations.”
* To which Madigan’s spokesman replied…
“We had $400 million in new education spending in the budget the House passed on May 30. We’ll remind him of that.”
* And state Sen. Terry Link says that gaming ain’t dead yet…
“This is not ‘The Sopranos’, this is more like a soap opera, and nothing is dead down here,” state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, asserted Tuesday. “It might have looked like it is dead, but it is very much alive.
Link conceded that consensus on the extent of expanded gaming and what the revenue will be used for is “elusive,” but he said there are plenty of incentives for legislators to keep hammering away at a compromise.
“I think you will see some negotiation and compromise before this winds down,” Link said, adding that letting the gaming issue die would amount to “the loss of a lot of revenue” without a tax increase “on any individual.”
* And Sen. Bill Peterson offers this observation…
[Peterson] said there appears to be progress in working out a compromise on electric rates, and added that school aid formula payments are due in August. If the aid formula payments are not made, a lot of districts would be negatively impacted and would have to borrow money, which would not reflect well on the Legislature. “There’s an Aug. 10 drop-dead date to get something done,” he said.
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The redesigned rollout begins
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* With the electric rate deal in sight, the push is on for the governor’s health insurance plan. It’s being reworked at the moment (some details are in today’s Capitol Fax), but Cindy Richards has details about a new poll…
llinois legislators like to say they aren’t jumping on the governor’s health care bandwagon because their constituents haven’t demanded they get on board.
Perhaps few of us are calling our legislators. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t worried about ever-rising health care premiums and co-pays. Or concerned the insurance we get from our employers today might be gone tomorrow. Or afraid a major medical expense will leave us bankrupt.
At least that’s what a poll of likely Illinois voters suggests. The poll, to be released today, says the rising cost of health care is the No. 1 concern of Illinois voters. […]
His plan would cap premium rates charged by private insurance companies. In return, the state would use taxpayer money — now likely to be gathered via an assessment on employers that don’t offer health insurance to their workers — to cap insurers’ costs for catastrophic medical claims. That means basic medical care would be paid by the insurance companies, but when your mom has a stroke and racks up $1 million in medical bills, private insurers would be on the hook only for a portion of that.
Sadly, the governor’s office has bungled the press and politics on this so badly that its future remains very much in doubt. […]
85 percent — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — said health care reform is the most important issue facing legislators in this never-ending session.
The pollster’s executive summary is below…
* Rising health care costs are now the top economic concern in Illinois. The
issue of rising health care costs (33%) trumps rising gas prices (17%), higher taxes (16%), and a secure retirement (10%). Rising health care costs are the biggest concern for Democrats (36%), Republicans (27%), and Independents (37%).
* Illinois voters rate health care reform as the most important issue facing the legislature during the extended session. Health care reform is rated as an important issue during the extended session by 85% of voters (48% Extremely important) – more than the 80% who rate Education as important (40% very important). Again, this extends across party lines.
* Voters support the Illinois Covered proposal by a margin better than 3-to-1. Illinois Covered is one of the most strongly supported plans we have ever tested, with 79% of voters initially in favor (52% strongly in favor) and only 13% opposed (6% strongly). This support holds even after batteries of supportive messages about benefits of the plan (such as decreased emergency room costs and future savings reaped from investments now) and opposition attacks (such as multi-billion dollar tax increases and an increase in illegal immigration). After messaging 75% support and 17% oppose.
* Voters in every region of the state support this reform. Support is strong in Northern Illinois (80%), Central Illinois (73%), Southern Illinois (72%), and especially strong in Chicago (88%) and suburban Cook County (84%).
* Illinois voters want their legislators not just to support, but to lead the fight for this reform. Fifty-five percent of voters say they would be more likely to re-elect their legislator (32% much more likely) if he or she supported Illinois Covered. Again, this holds in all regions, with voters in every region of the state more likely to re-elect their legislator by better than a 3-to-1 margin. The numbers look even better for legislators who take a leading role in advocating for Illinois Covered. Fifty-seven percent of voters would be more likely to re-elect their legislator (35% much more likely) if he or she led the fight for Illinois Covered.
The survey was conducted among 600 likely 2008 general election voters in Illinois, June 24-28, 2007. The margin of error is +/- 4.0%. The Celinda Lake poll was commissioned by America’s Agenda Health Care Fund, AARP, AFL-CIO, and the Campaign for Better Health Care. I hope to have more detailed results for subscribers later today.
* More…
* Mandated state health care: Pro vs. Con
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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
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