Blagojevich sues Madigan
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Special sessions: A job or a joke?
By refusing to meet at the time set by the governor, the lawsuit says, “in theory, Madigan would possess the unilateral authority to wait 10 years, if he so chooses, to convene a special session proclaimed by the governor for tomorrow.” It says a ruling from the court is imperative because “the governor intends to call additional special sessions in the near future to address significant issues facing the state. . .”
* State power struggle spills into third branch
In the lawsuit, which was filed by Blagojevich’s general counsel William Quinlan, the governor asks for a court order compelling Madigan to convene a special session with enough members present to vote on legislation on any date or time specified by the governor. Blagojevich also asks the court to order Madigan to follow the governor’s special session proclamations in the future.
Though Madigan has not challenged the governor’s authority to convene a special session, he has said the governor cannot compel attendance on any specific date or time.
In the lawsuit, Blagojevich claims he does have that authority, pointing to a state law that says the governor shall file any proclamations for a special session with the secretary of state, who “shall take whatever reasonable steps necessary to notify members of the General Assembly of the date and time of the special session.”
* Blagojevich sues Madigan
The House and the Senate did not conduct any substantial business during the 16 special sessions Blagojevich ordered this summer.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown derided Blagojevich for exploiting the purpose of the original intent of special sessions: to deal with emergencies. Brown noted that the House had met every day — although not necessarily at the specific time — that Blagojevich had ordered.
“He’s making a farce of the special session process,” Brown said.
* Illinois governor sues over special sessions
The schism between the two and the showdown over the special sessions had an oddly unifying effect as Democrats and Republicans in the House lined up against the governor.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, a 12-year veteran of the Legislature, said there’s little disagreement even among his fellow Republicans about which of the two Democratic leaders is at fault in the conflict.
“I’ve been called into special session by (former Gov. Jim) Edgar, I’ve been called in by (former Gov.) George Ryan. And we always knew we were there for a real reason,” said Bost. “It wasn’t about personality issues.”
But with Blagojevich, “there was no need for any of these special sessions,” Bost said.
* Blago sues over special session fiasco
* Governor sues the Speaker
* Bethany Jaegar: Blago sues
* Rep. Fritchey: On the governor’s latest move
* Editorial: Blagojevich making a joke of government
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Blago & Budget
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* New poll shows Blagojevich popularity dropping
* Michael Sneed: Tibdit on Blago
A Judy win? The election of Operating Engineers Local 150 chief Bill Dugan over Joe Ward is being seen as a loss for Gov. Blagojevich, who pushed Ward for the job as payback to Dugan and his local for strongly supporting former Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka in her gubernatorial bid.
* Opinion: Claim of ‘record investment’ in schools is hollow
llinois leaders boast that this budget is a win-win for schools, a “record investment” in education. However, the only winners under this budget are those same leaders who will take credit for improving school funding without taking real action to fix our broken school-funding system or strengthen state-supported services vital to the well-being of children and families.
As my grandmother would say: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This budget ignores the core problems plaguing Illinois schools, such as the too-heavy dependence on local property taxes, the disparity in resources available to rich and poor communities, the chronic funding shortfalls in districts across the state, denying many children access to a great education. This budget avoids any attempt to repair Illinois’ inadequate and unfair revenue system, leaving us unable to meet the basic needs of children and families.
* Eric Zorn: Even pork can get too greasy for the Governor
* Budget paring puts squeeze on care groups
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Local Elections
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Flores won’t seek Gutierrez seat, Cardenas still might
Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) and Cook County Commissioner Robert Maldonado withdrew immediately, and Ald. George Cardenas (12th) remains in play just in case Gutierrez changes course again.
“These decisions are made with deliberation,” said Flores, adding that Gutierrez didn’t persuade him. “I did this of my own accord. He’s my friend.”
* Grawley steps down as chief judge, eyes run for Congress
That doesn’t mean Grawey, 58, will leave the bench. Rather, he said he will remain a circuit judge but shed the responsibilities of the chief judge, which are largely administrative.
Grawey said the move would allow a transitional period if he did ultimately decide to run for the spot now held by U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, who is retiring from the 18th Congressional District in January 2009. Under state law, Grawey would have to resign his judgeship if he did run.
* Waukegan attorney enters race for judge
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* BP gets break on soot limits
* Chicago dumps WiFi plan
* Law bans harassing by debt collectors
* CTA Tattler: CTA funding wrap up
* City colleges may train for casinos
No sooner had Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), owner of Ann Sather’s Restaurants, suggested that City Colleges branch out into casino training than Watson embraced the idea.
“A lot of people think of casino jobs as just being the person who deals the cards or runs the roulette table. That’s a small portion of casino jobs. A larger part is wait staff and support staff,” Watson said.
“Moving from where we kick off our hospitality program to actually training front-of-the-house casino employees is an easy step for us. When and if Chicago is approved for casinos, City Colleges stands ready to provide capacity and quality training for front-of-the-house casino jobs — all of it, including dealers.”
* Alderman Reilly to school: Share new field
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Comments closed
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Apparently, some of you can’t behave when I’m gone. So the handful of morons who took advantage of my absence means there will be no more comments until I return. Paul may or may not blog. That’s up to him. But comments are off for the duration of my break.
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Blago sues over special sessions
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
As many of you have caught by now, the Governor is filing suit to force Speaker Madigan to hold special sessions
From Bernie Schoenburg…
The lawsuit, filed quietly in Sangamon County Circuit Court on Friday, also asks a judge to ban Madigan from excusing House members from attending special sessions.
Rebbeca Rausch, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the suit was filed to make sure the legislature deals with “critical issues facing the state.”
“It is imperative that (the governor’s authority to call special sessions) is preserved and honored,” she wrote in an e-mail to sj-r.com. “After lawmakers failed to follow the governor’s special session proclamations to address serious issues like funding for the CTA, RTA, and downstate mass transit, we asked the court to confirm the governor’s authority.”
Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan, said the lawsuit is just a continuation of the governor’s repeated special session calls this summer.
I suspect there’ll be a motion to dismiss filed and the suit will be dismissed, Brown said. It has been well documented that some calls for special sessions came when there was no proposed legislation on which to act, he said.
They’ve made a farce of the special session process, Brown said of the governor.
From comments, the entire suit can be download here
Sorry for the brevity. Gotta run to teach a class.
Discuss.
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QOTD
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
I’ve been picking up on a lot of recent chatter about sex offender laws. Glance through some of these stories:
* Chambers: Treatment, supervision often missing with sex offenders
* Are ‘get tough’ on sex offender laws getting too tough?
* Police face limited resources in tracking sex offenders
* If sex offender laws don’t work, what does?
Question: What do you think? Are things too strict? Too lenient? Just right?
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Upcoming Elections
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Illinois keeps Obama fundraising above water
In fact, of every $3 in campaign money raised in Illinois this year for any presidential candidate, $2 of it went to Obama.
Obamas lopsided financial support in Illinois comes at a time when the state is gaining new relevance in the presidential nomination process. Illinois has pushed its 2008 primaries up to February, after a declaration by state leaders that they wanted to help Obama.
That means the states large cache of voters will go to the polls before any candidate has locked up the nomination.
Illinois Democrats have moved heaven and earth to assist Sen. Obama, and he is a fundraising machine, said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Chicago-area Republican.
* Oberweis launches GOP bid to succeed Hastert
“My goal in life has been to be a U.S. congressman,” Oberweis, 61, said after a rally at the North Aurora plant for his namesake boutique dairy. “The fact that I was running for the Senate was really an accident — partly caused by Denny Hastert, by the way, who asked me to get involved at that time.”
Oberweis finished second for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2002, despite Hastert’s endorsement, and in 2004. The following election, he finished second in his bid for the 2006 Republican nomination for governor. In those three elections, he spent nearly $7 million of his own money, including more than $3.3 million in the primary for governor.
* Many seek Devine’s job
* Cook Co. Recorder of Deeds plans run for third term
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Da Budget and other money stuff
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Oops. I forgot to link Rich’s syndicated column this week on Blago’s ‘political’ veto
* Pork plays its own politics
On one hand, it’s a rare opportunity — especially for suburban politicians — to bring home state tax dollars. Without it, “we wouldn’t see anything,” state Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican said.
That’s because household incomes and high property values tend to disqualify many suburban communities for state funding through traditional bureaucracies.
The idea behind letting members add on to the budget is that they know best what’s needed back home.
On the other hand, questionable projects and the secretive nature of it all leads to inevitable criticism.
* Illinois budget standoff ended
* Insulting to call it ‘pork’
* Gov’s budget moves ’so political’
* Governor’s plan for health care in panel’s hands
* Special sessions aren’t so special
* Hilkevitch: RTA still on fast track to cuts
The sad reality that the state’s politicians are allowing the mobility of the Chicago region to go down to the wire indicates to many observers that the RTA’s “Moving Beyond Congestion” campaign on behalf of increased mass-transit funding has failed miserably, while enriching politically connected RTA consultants hired to run the campaign.
“I think the evidence suggests that the RTA legislative strategy was a bust,” said Joseph Schofer, a transportation professor at Northwestern University. “They sang a song of [CTA and Metra] line extensions while the system was going down. And they did not deliver on long-promised reforms. It’s bad.”
House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has promised to try to resolve the monthslong stalemate between the General Assembly and Blagojevich, who vows to veto any new taxes, in time to prevent the impending transit doomsday.
* Editorial: At least state finally has a budget, but game not over
* Editorial: State budget a bust for the suburbs
* Editorial: Tale of a greedy gov
* Schoenburg: Dillard on budget
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Morning Shorts
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Odds Gov. Ryan will do time?
* Tribune Editorial: How free trade boosts Illinois
Here’s another example you can use. Illinois sells about $1 billion worth of pork each year. Nearly 13 percent of pork-related jobs here are tied to exports. Eliminating tariffs on U.S. pork sold in South Korea would increase the demand and could add $10 to the price of a live hog. The Latin America pacts combined could raise live hog prices by another $2.66 per hog. That’s good for Illinois pork producers.
* 29 counties take on gun legislation
* ComEd rate relief on ice
* Law puts restrictions on highway hiring practices
* Vickroy: Driving law causes rift between mother and child
* New law to change driver’s ed curriculum
* New law targets metal thieves
* Stricter rules for dental sedation
* Illinois officials seek review of BP air quality variance
* Lawyers: Blog libeled us
“You can say I’m an idiot, but you can’t say I’m a crook,” Sterk said. “Just because it’s a blog, people think they can hide behind a veil of secrecy. They can’t. And that’s going to be an expensive lesson for someone.”
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks damages from the blog and its creator, listed as John Doe.
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This Week…
Monday, Aug 27, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
Don’t fret.
My mountain of work and school obligations will prevent me from having as much blog fun as I would like this week. A sliver of free time right when the sun comes up is all I’ll likely have.
But, that doesn’t mean that the conversations have to stop.
While Rich takes his long overdue and much deserved blog hiatus, there will still be a few Morning-Shorts-esque posts each day.
So please, keep talking. 
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