[Comments are now open.]
I don’t know whether the governor’s staff is lying to him, whether he’s not smart enough to understand the bill or whether he is deliberately not telling the truth. But this statement about the electric rate relief bill is completely outside the realm of reality…
“I met someone not too long ago in southern Illinois who told me that his electric bill went from $100 a month to $300 a month when Ameren decided to raise rates,” the Democratic governor said in audio posted on the Web site of Illinois Information Service Radio, an arm of state government.
“Now, the agreement that was passed provides for about $12 in relief to the average Ameren customer. So that means that that fellow, who’s paying $200 more for his electric bill, at best might only end up paying $188 more, and so the question is: Is that the best possible deal we can get for people?”
When asked later how the governor had arrived at those figures, Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said, “It’s based on averages, based on the legislation that was sent to us.”
But Shelley Epstein, a spokesman for the Ameren Illinois utilities, said he is “not quite sure what the governor is talking about.”
“His math is not right,” Epstein added. “People who had the largest increases will get the most relief.”
Ameren has said that all of its residential customers will see a minimum credit of $100 in 2007, which breaks down to a little more than $8 a month.
Epstein said the customers who are in line for $100 credits saw their power bills go up by just $150 annually. A customer whose bill increased by $200 a month should see “substantially more” in relief, he said.
If a customer’s bill tripled, that person’s rate relief would be many times higher than what the governor claimed. In the case cited above, the relief would be about $100 a month.
This is just beyond the pale. Criticize the bill all you want, but tell the truth, governor. Or is that just too difficult for you to do?
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn has had enough…
Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn says the gridlock over a new state budget shows why Illinois needs to let angry voters throw politicians out of office.
The Chicago Democrat says other states have recall provisions that remind politicians they can be removed if they do a bad job.
Quinn told WLS radio today that it’s time for Illinois to “put it on the books.”
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This just in…
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 9:46 am - The House is adjourning until tomorrow at 9 o’clock, and will come back on Sunday at 5 pm. How much do you want to bet that the governor will throw some sort of fit about this and try to disrupt what is essentially a weekend break?
*** 10:49 am *** Lots of rumors are floating around the Statehouse this morning about a budget “deal,” but it’s more like a tentative plan of action if Senate GOP Leader Frank Watson doesn’t get on board with the other leaders. There’s been a dispute over how to distribute revenues from a Chicago casino and if they’ll even do a Chicago casino.
The other legislative leaders might go ahead without Watson - at least, that’s an idea being seriously batted around now. Yes, they are hoping to run something next Tuesday, yes, the approp staffs are busy (as they would be if they’re going to do a budget on Tuesday). But there are a ton of individual meetings today with lots of scurrying around, and several unresolved issues, so nothing is quite finalized yet.
The soup is on the stove, but the meat ain’t cooked all the way through yet.
For instance, Gov. Blagojevich is in Senate President Jones’ office as I write this. Fun stuff.
* 11:03 am - The governor emerged from Jones’ office a bit ago. He said that he, Jones and the other Republican leaders want a capital plan (notice the ommission). He also listed his priorities, including his health insurance proposal, but repeatedly put education at the top of the list (which is Jones’ thing).
* 11:13 am - If you read somewhere else this morning that the General Assembly will vote on a budget this weekend, disregard it with extreme prejudice. Members are being told they have to be back here on Monday. The census will be way too low this weekend to run a budget, and the deal’s not done yet anyway.
* 4:05 pm - I’ve been busy with other matters and have neglected to tell you that nothing hugely important or outside the realm of what you might expect is going on today. lol
There are a couple of updates, though…
The Minnesota bridge disaster is stirring up new interest in an Illinois construction program to provide maintenance money for roads and bridges.
Governor Rod Blagojevich on Thursday renewed his call for $10 billion in construction money. He says it must be part of a new state budget, which is months overdue.
And…
Hundreds of disabled former Illinois state workers won’t get workers’ compensation checks on time because of the budget impasse.
A memo obtained by The Associated Press points out that the Blagojevich administration has no spending authority to make August payments to totally disabled former employees or the dependents of those who died on the job.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Central Management Services says the holdup affects 395 people who receive monthly payments totaling $594,000.
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Question of the day
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
I’m finding it difficult to get excited about the Illinois State Fair this year, what with the overtime session and all…
Although Illinois government is operating without a spending plan and amid the specter of a possible shutdown, state fair manager Amy Bliefnick and Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke were all smiles at Thursday’s state fair preview, giving little credence to suggestions that the fair could be canceled.
“The fair is going to go on, and we’re confident that, by the time the state fair starts, we will have a budget and we will be going on as normal,” Hartke told reporters after the preview.
Bliefnick said, “Our plans are to plan for the fair. That’s our plan. We’ve been instructed to go ahead, just as all the rest of the state agencies have. We’re still excited about that.”
After a long week of negativity and weirdness, let’s all try to look at the bright side today.
Question: What do you like most about the Illinois State Fair? Try to avoid snark and downer comments, please. Let’s keep this an “up” thread if we can.
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The games continue
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told you yesterday, there’s disagreement over whether the governor has to sign the rate relief bill today…
Illinois lawmakers called Thursday for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to take quick action on a $1 billion relief plan for the state’s electricity customers, but the governor plans to take his time reviewing it.
Blagojevich might even decide to reopen the legislation and try to improve it, said Marty Cohen, his director of consumer affairs.
“If there are ways to improve it, we’re sure going to try,” Cohen said at a news conference. “We’re not ruling anything out.”
He called the size of the rebates “underwhelming.”
Marty knows better. I saw somewhere yesterday where Cohen brought up $7 as typical ComEd “relief.” But if your rates went up by $15 a month, then you’ll get about $7 in relief.
* More…
On Thursday afternoon, 37 Democratic state representatives signed a letter to Blagojevich asking him to sign the bill immediately. The letter echoed earlier concerns that long-term electric contract offers in the bill expire Friday. If those contracts expire, the letter reads, future contracts could contain more rate hikes, decreasing the effects of the rate credits and rebates.
The letter adds that reopening negotiations could lead to “another catastrophe for Illinois ratepayers.”
Ameren spokesman Shelley Epstein said the contracts’ expiration did not affect the other provisions of the bills. But he said that the contracts would have to be renegotiated at a new rate — higher or lower. Epstein added that an attempt by Blagojevich to renegotiate would complicate the matter.
Nobody mentioned it, but that letter from state legislators to the governor included this tasty bit…
Earlier this afternoon, Martin Cohen…. said in remarks to the press that you do not believe the August 3 deadline is releavant and that missing this deadline will not have an impact on consumers. That is incorrect and in direct contradiction to a July 29, 2007 letter Mr. Cohen sent to [the attorney general’s office] acknowledging the importance of the August 3 deadline.
It’s always more games with this governor.
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* “Governor Irrelevant” seems to be sticking. From the Sun-Times…
On Wednesday, Gov. Blagojevich proclaimed that any state budget sent to him that didn’t meet his approval would be “dead on arrival.” As threats go, that one was as empty as the House during one of the governor’s special sessions.
If lawmakers do send him a budget over his protests, it means Democrats and Republicans alike have ignored him and brokered a deal among themselves. It means they have mustered a three-fifths majority. It means a gubernatorial veto is not a death sentence but simply a minor, easily cured boo-boo.
Blagojevich doesn’t like to be irrelevant, of course, even though no one is to blame but himself. So he’s also threatening to shut the government down if he’s sent “any budget that is constructed to appear balanced but is, in fact, unbalanced and, therefore, unconstitutional.” […]
We’ve got news for you, governor. Fight all you want for your pet projects, drag things out for as long as you can, but if the Legislature passes a budget with a veto-proof majority, the debate is pretty much over, and you’ve lost.
* Apparently, both papers want him to remain irrelevant. The Tribune says so specifically, running an editorial today with the headline: “Stick to ‘irrelevant,’ Governor”…
Option three, Hynes observes, is for the governor to order a shutdown of the state agencies under his control — which is most of them. That sort of exercise in chest-pounding would let a governor proclaim his heroism (”I’m Gov. Robin Hood, feared by the bad, loved by the good!”) in demanding a budget rewrite that is Just So.
Maybe Hynes is over-reading Blagojevich’s threat. Maybe the governor doesn’t entertain goofy notions of closing state offices (ooh, the theatrics …) or pulling Illinois Gaming Board agents off the boats they monitor (wowzer, imagine the public hubbub if the casinos close — which they’d have to do, at a loss of $2 million-plus in state and local tax revenues each day!).
We hope Hynes is mistaken. Because every effort the governor has made to demonize his opponents this year — some, such as employers and legislators who questioned his priorities didn’t even know they were headed for his enemies list — has flopped. Illinois citizens, like their lawmakers, aren’t drinking his Kool-Aid.
The individual now taking public scorn for the budget impasse, and the individual who’ll wear the jacket if the state does shut down, is the governor who can’t govern. That leaves him irrelevant, but as Hynes says, there’s worse.
* Dan Hynes was apparently making the rounds of editorial boards yesterday…
Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday it is irresponsible for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to threaten a government shutdown if the legislature doesn’t send him a budget to his liking.
“It’s my belief that it would do a disservice to all state employees and all who rely on state government to allow government to be shut down or to allow the prospect of a shutdown to be used for political or legislative advantage,” Hynes told the editorial board of The State Journal-Register.
“If the legislature passes a 12-month budget by a supermajority vote, the game’s over,” Hynes said. “And to throw out the idea of a government shutdown is, I think, a dangerous thing.”
* The SJ-R ran an accompanying editorial…
We know the governor is passionate about his priorities, but for decades governors have had to settle for less than what they hoped for and come back to fight another day.
We strongly urge Gov. Blagojevich to keep that in mind if a budget passed with a supermajority reaches his desk soon. At that point, as Hynes said, “The game’s over.” Blagojevich does not need to like that fact, but disregarding it would be incredibly selfish and possibly disastrous for our state.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot about Krol’s weekly column today. Sorry, Eric…
Although you can never be certain while the General Assembly is still in session, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich is slipping dangerously close to irrelevancy.
This week, the four legislative leaders appeared to be on the verge of negotiating a budget deal to end the state-record overtime session without the governor’s involvement.
Blagojevich threatened a veto, but that threat ultimately almost surely will prove hollow: after all, a 3/5th majority is needed to pass any OT budget. And 3/5th also happens to be the margin required to override the governor’s veto. So any veto would be quickly overridden, leaving the governor to call endless special sessions lawmakers will ignore. Blagojevich would be yelling into the empty abyss, like some overacting B-movie villain whose plans went awry.
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Morning shorts
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
I really miss Paul. Running late, again, so talk amongst yourselves.
* Report: Illinois’ grad goals aren’t high enough
* Peoria GOP politician will run for LaHood seat - Former councilman first to declare 2008 candidacy
* Nearly 10 Percent Of Illinois Bridges Have Structural Issues
* Transportation official: Don’t fret about general bridge safety
* Some fear even sound spans
* Burke revs up city boycott of BP - Targets oil giant, banks, McDonald’s over Ind. pollution plan… More here
* Education leaders will be grand marshals for State Fair parade
* Gamblers line up, ante up for new Casino Queen
* Random Drug Testing on Harness Races
* SIU speaks out on student loan probe
* Daley starts over in hunt for top cop - Stuns police by asking board for nationwide search, apparently passing over all three finalists
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* 1:25 pm - Interesting…
A ruling issued this week by a Springfield-based federal judge calls into question the legality of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 2005 rule requiring Illinois pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception.
The governor’s rule was designed to prevent pharmacists from being able to deny women access to “Plan B” contraceptives, even if pharmacists disagree with dispensing the drug on moral grounds. Some pharmacists consider Plan B a form of abortion because the drug can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman’s uterus.
U.S. Judge Jeanne Scott Tuesday denied a request by Wal-Mart to throw out a lawsuit filed against the Arkansas-based company by pharmacist Ethan Vandersand.
Scott sided with Vandersand, who had claimed that he was legally protected from discipline by the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act when he denied to dispense Plan B. […]
But Scott disagreed and wrote in her ruling, “The statute prohibits discrimination against any person for refusing to provide health care because of his conscience.”
She also wrote: “Providing medication … constitutes health-care services. Any person, including Vandersand, who refuses to participate in any way in providing medication because of his conscience is protected by the Right of Conscience Act.”
*** 1:34 pm *** The key word in the following piece is “September.” There’s scuttlebutt going around that the budget might pass in the next several days and then the two chambers could come back in September for a special session on the capital plan (at least, that’s what the House Republican line is)…
A deal to bail out the CTA, Metra, and Pace may be fallen apart in Springfield - all because of partisan politics.
State Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) – who chairs the House Mass Transit Committee and has been the brains behind the plan – claims House Republicans are holding it as a political hostage in order to get a plan to build new roads and schools passed.
“The Republican leaders were talking about waiting to vote on the transit bill unitl September. September is too late. September is after there’s already a shutdown, and really, already a meltdown,” said Hamos.
House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) tells me there is a correlation between the two.
“A number of our people believe that we need to do mass transit and a construction bill - it’s important to do them both,” said Cross.
Hamos says she had as many as 20 Republicans on board – but now they’re dropping like flies.
CTA fare hikes and service cuts take effect September 1st, which is a big reason why Hamos is so upset at this turn of events.
*** 1:47 pm *** As you already know, the governor has asked electricity consumers to “sit tight” while he takes a close look at the electric utility rate relief bill.
He doesn’t have much time.
One of the key aspects of the bill is a provision for five-year electricity supply contracts with locked-in prices. The locked-in prices, negotiated by the attorney general’s office, for Ameren’s customers expires tomorrow.
Rep. John Bradley, who was one of the point people on the relief package, said on the House floor today that the governor’s failure to act on the legislation is jeopardizing all the work done on the bill.
“All bets are off” for Ameren customers if the bill isn’t signed tomorrow, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
The spokesperson added that wholesale electricity prices have risen considerably since the original contracts were negotiated, so if the bill isn’t signed by tomorrow and the contracts have to be renegotiated, consumers will suffer.
The governor’s press office has not yet returned phone and e-mail messages.
*** 2:00 pm *** Today’s 2 o’clock meeting between the four legislative leaders could be very crucial. Right now, we’re getting two conflicting versions of what’s really going on.
1) Senate President Jones is leaning towards doing a budget deal with Speaker Madigan that pares down pretty much every request by Gov. Blagojevich and includes no capital plan - which brings up the September special session that the Republicans want for capital and their threat to withhold votes for a mass transit deal unless they get the session or a capital bill now.
2) Jones is still leaning more towards Gov. Blagojevich’s battle plan.
We may know soon. Then again, maybe not. One never knows anything for sure around here, especially when there’s still six days to go before the shutdown begins.
*** 5:50 pm *** The leaders meeting wasn’t necessarily a bust, but there was no breakthrough, either. More in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.
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Hall of Fame
Thursday, Aug 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
If we had a Hall of Fame for blog comments, this post yesterday by regular commenter VanillaMan would definitely be an inductee.
VanillaMan’s post was in response to the governor’s press release threatening to shut down the government if he doesn’t get what he wants out of the state budget…
“Hello 9-1-1?”
“Quick! Come to the Governor’s Mansion!”
“We have a jumper!”
And a few minutes later…
“Hey Captain?”
- “yeah”
“We’re at the Governor’s Mansion..”
- “Uh, huh”
“There’s a frazzled pugilist with nice hair standing on the roof of the Mansion threatening to jump if we don’t give him what he wants…”
- “OK - Whats the problem?”
“The General Assembly is crowded around him and are chanting, “JUMP!” “JUMP!” “JUMP - You Mother!” “JUMP!”
- “How does the guy look?”
“Happy, Captain - He’s waving at the cameras and giving everyone a big grin…”
- “Can anyone talk him down?”
“Yeah probably, but he says that if he jumps, he’s taking every state worker with him.”
- “How is he going to do that?”
“I don’t know what he means, but he is wearing some kind of a cape made out of a bed sheet…”
And this comment by Lainer on the same thread may wind up on a t-shirt…
Mississippi 1964: Freedom Summer
San Francisco 1967: Summer of Love
New York 1977: Summer of Sam
Illinois 2007: Endless Summer
Thanks much to Donald for the graphic.
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* Is this what caused Gov. Blagojevich to threaten to shut down state government yesterday? I think so, and am hearing even more about the possibility of a deal this morning. Finke has a few details of a compromise budget being worked on by the four legislative leaders without Blagojevich…
House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, would not describe details of a plan outside of saying it will be “fairly limited” in growth.
Other Republican sources said that, as of Wednesday, the plan would not rely on raising cigarette taxes or expanding gambling, that it would contain no capital program and that education funding would increase by $650 million. That represents the midway point between the $400 million suggested by Madigan earlier this year and a $900 million increase sought by Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago. […]
None of the suggested education increases comes close to the $1.5 billion sought by Blagojevich. There’s also no mention of the governor’s plan for universal health-care coverage that has all but disappeared from budget discussions held by the four leaders without Blagojevich in attendance. If the plan comes up for a vote at all, it is expected it will be handled separately.
* That Chicago casino appears less likely now, and there may be bad news for mass transit riders…
There also were indications from House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) that a potential Chicago casino that could fund schools, state construction and other needs is “floating away into never-never land,” and a state bailout for the CTA may not be acted on in the short term.
* More…
“No casinos on the table. Zero casinos,” Senate President Emil Jones said. “Two steps forward, two steps back. They want it for capital. I want it for education.”
Jones voiced frustration after hosting another bargaining session with legislative leaders, but not Governor Rod Blagojevich. For his part, the governor told CBS 2 he is still counting on the revenue an expansion of gambling would generate in the year ahead.
“One day, gaming is on the table. The next day, it’s off the table,” the governor said, and he added he thinks it’s likely to return to the bargaining table.
* The AP throws in this line at the end of a brief story about how Gov. Blagojevich is still reviewing the electric rate relief legislation…
The relief package has also been intertwined with budget negotiations for months, and delaying action on it could give the governor some leverage as budget talks continue.
* Speaker Madigan’s spokesman dumps cold water on organized labor’s call for an income tax increase…
“The conditions that the governor has created makes it, I think, impossible to do that,” said Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan.
* And the goofiness continues…
“At the end of the day, do people really care whether the Cubs win in 14 innings or 9 innings? It’s whether they win or lose. Do we care if the Bears win in overtime or regulation? Well, what we care about is whether they win or lose,” Blagojevich told reporters Wednesday.
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Bill Daley, the brother of the mayor, had a stern warning for Gov. Blagojevich in a Chicago Tribune op-ed today. Emphasis added for full impact…
This is the best year to do it; after this year we will be too close to the statewide elections in 2010. Everyone needs to jump into the pool together — Democrats and Republicans, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the legislative leaders — and stay in until consensus is reached. Politics must take a back seat to public policy. Give the rhetoric a rest.
We live in an age of activist governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, Edward Rendell in Pennsylvania and Eliot Spitzer in New York. All three have had to compromise on their agendas because of the power-sharing nature of government. President Bush is learning the limits of his power. His domestic agenda has stalled and his war policies face increased scrutiny from an impatient Congress.
Blagojevich might take note: step back from health-care reform, move forward on other issues, demonstrate thoughtful leadership and a willingness to compromise, and earn a second chance. If state government shuts down or Springfield adjourns without any real progress, people will not be so generous with him or his fellow Democrats in the next election.
An unfavorable comparison to Bush and an implication that his time is running out. Oof.
* Meanwhile, the governor’s office has responded to Comptroller Dan Hynes’ attack yesterday. First, here’s Hyne’s statement again, in case you missed it last night…
“It is astonishing that after signing four budgets, billions of dollars out of balance, the Governor is now finding a moral objection to a potentially out of balance budget while threatening to shut down state government in the process. The Governor’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
And here’s the administration’s response…
As the comptroller knows, the governor proposed a one month budget to legislative leaders last friday precisely to remove all uncertainty that a shutdown would ever be necessary. We ask Comproller Hynes to join us in this effort to have the legislature pass a one month budget immediately.
What’s most ironic about his statement is that his own office has certified that we have generated $1.8 billion in supluses over the last three fiscal years. You don’t produce unbalanced budgets when you generate surpluses of that size. These surpluses have allowed us to reduce the state’s GAAP deficit from $4.1 billion when we took office to $2.3 billion at the end of fiscal year 2006 (the FY 07 fiscal year audit has not been completed yet). Clearly, this represents steady progress in reducing this longterm debt.
As the CFO of the state, he has an obligation to the public to speak up if he believes that the general assembly is about to pass an unbalanced budget before they act, not after the fact.
Discuss.
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Sauerberg roundup
Thursday, Aug 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sauerberg’s US Senate announcement didn’t get a huge amount of press, considering his opponent, but here’s a roundup…
The Republican physician who hopes to run against and defeat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in 2008 formally announced his candidacy Wednesday.
Fifty-four-year-old Steve Sauerberg of Willowbrook, who has a family practice in LaGrange, criticized Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, as a “career politician” who does not reflect the values of many Illinoisans.
“I can no longer sit by and watch out-of-touch, ultra-liberal Sen. Dick Durbin do to America what his friend Gov. (Rod) Blagojevich is doing to Illinois,” Sauerberg said at a news conference outside the federal building in the Loop where Durbin has offices.
* He plans to highlight his chosen profession…
Sauerberg touted his experience as a physician, even having campaign signs fashioned with “Steve Sauerberg MD.” He received his medical training at Rush Medical College and Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital before starting his own practice in the western suburbs in 1985.
* He hasn’t raised a whole lot of money from others…
A Sauerberg aide said the Republican has contributed $250,000 to his campaign and raised an additional $60,000. Sauerberg predicted it would take $10 million overall to oust Durbin.
* While Durbin is flush…
Durbin raised more than $6 million so far, and as number two in Senate Democratic leadership, getting more money shouldn’t be a problem. Durbin won a second term with 60 percent of the vote in 2002.
* Crain’s…
Mr. Sauerberg has hired Pat Carlson, a one-time aide to former U.S. House Speaker and current U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, and retained as a consultant Mark Campbell, whose other clients include presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani.
Other, bigger-named Republicans already have taken a pass on the race — likely a sign that Mr. Durbin is the strong favorite in increasingly Democratic Illinois.
Among other Republicans who are considering running is businessman Jim Nalepa, who previously ran for Congress in the Southwest Side’s 3rd District.
* Chicagoist…
A victory for Illinois centrists? Maybe. But if this guy is going to take on one of the more witty and experienced politicians in Illinois, he’s going to have to do better than that. Dick Durbin isn’t untouchable (few Senators are - especially after 37 years). But this is the best the state GOP can do? Wouldn’t it be better for the party to focus on building victories here in the state, than sending lambs to the slaughter? With a governor a few steps shy of a federal indictment and no state budget, we’re stunned that the state party is so inconsequential. Until the Illinois GOP gets it’s act together enough to run someone against the Democrats that are dragging this state down the drain, those of us that wish there were a reasonable opposition party may just have to wait.
* Sauerberg’s 10 questions for Durbin
Thoughts?
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Morning shorts
Thursday, Aug 2, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* NEW: Hyde on respirator after bypass surgery - uncomfortable but “doing fine”
* Reilly “Pretty Optimistic”
* Chicago ABC Channel 7 Uses State-Paid Video
* Fritchey: When Rods Collide
* Scott Reeder: Poverty is not just a black problem
* Mitchell: Chicago blacks getting a new rising star - No, not Sharpton, but the daughter of Obama’s pastor
* Brown: Rev. Al sure stirs up our emotions - How many people can drive bigots up a wall — and Jesse Jackson, too?
* Ameren affirmed, removed from negative watch on power rate relief pact - Fitch
* CUB: FCC drops the ball on Internet competition
* Poshard clears up budget concerns
* Court: Chicago is not liable in porch collapse
* Dennis: Benassi, Edley added to hopper in 18th District
* Schoenburg: Vicious negativity cycle feeds on itself, says LaHood
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