Morning Shorts
Friday, Nov 9, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* New Team America Blog: Kirk defies party and votes in favor on ENDA
* Illinois Policy Institute: Revenue declines show budget reforms are desperately needed
State government continues to face both short-term and long-term challenges. Taking steps to ensure that Illinois has a transparent government and moving to make Illinois a government innovator through smart spending reforms is one way of reducing the overall burden of state government without negatively affecting popular and effective programs.
Stopping tax increases, and in fact, lower the tax burden on Illinoisans would be one way of making Illinois more economically competitive while forcing policymakers to make the necessary reforms to the state’s overspending. Both greater transparency and aggressive efforts to innovate through smart spending initiatives promise to deliver high quality government services in a cost efficient manner.
* Daley demands answer on CTA funding by Dec. 1
“The General Assembly and the governor have to solve this issue. It isn’t about casinos. It’s isn’t about infrastructure. It’s about public transportation,” the mayor said.
“You have to tell us Dec. 1 whether you’re going to do it or not. Give us a deadline at least 30 days before because it’s unfair to every passenger in the CTA and also the work force. . . . They didn’t get a pay raise. They changed their health benefits and pensions to make it work. They did their part. When is state government going to do their part?”
* CTA’s other crisis: Rehab needs billions
The result is that more than 500 CTA buses, one-fourth of its fleet, have been on the road for 16 years, logging an average 580,000 miles apiece.
It’s not just traffic that can make the wait for a CTA bus so long. The oldest CTA buses miss thousands of scheduled runs each month because of equipment breakdowns that keep them idle in the garage.
* IL Transportation Issues: What’s got into IDOT?
The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced a series of public hearings on its Illinois State Transportation Plan. You can get a draft of the Plan here.
* Change of Subject: Students should mock the silence law, not ignore it
* Parents to get online peak at teen driving record
* WurfWhile: DuPage democrats double the number of precinct committeemen
* Jeffrey Ward: The return of the chairman
Kane County Republican Party Chairman Denny Wiggins is now a paid consultant for State Senator Chris Lauzen’s congressional campaign. Hmmm! The party chairman working for one candidate in an open primary? Sounds kind of like one of my kids offering me 50 bucks to love them more than the other.
* WurfWhile: Rudy Clai and campaign finance reform
Rudy Clai and it looks like Republican Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns are likely disqualified from serious contention in the 14th congressional primary because of money, as are Democrats John Laesch and Jotham Stein. It isn’t right - and it isn’t good for us or our democratic political system.
* Allen gets tops ballot spot in state’s attorney’s race
* Clout City: Give us our Daley bread
So Daley and his political team came up with a new strategy: Bypass the aldermen and work through the clergy. Instead of getting support and granting favors to members of City Council or Democratic committeemen, Daley’s City Hall courted black ministers, seeking their approval for administration policies or at least their appearance at press conferences. At the same time, the city funneled millions of dollars in federal money to the churches for day care and other social service programs, and helped them acquire land for church expansions and parking lots. The pastors, according to a top Daley aide, were viewed as “surrogate aldermen.”
* John Kass: The memory gets fuzzy in the heat
Fedzheimer’s—the terrible malady that saps the memories of politicians when the feds begin snooping around—claimed another victim on Thursday: Mayor Richard Daley[…]
“I’ve never heard of that,” the mayor said when asked by reporters about a front page Tribune exclusive that the FBI was investigating allegations that city inspectors were used to pressure property owners in Daley’s 11th Ward to sell their land to politically connected developers.
* Controversial city business tax not dead yet
* Former alderman Troutman drained budget and office before leaving
* DuPage makes Olympic pitch for suitable equestrian sites
* Signs, signs, everywhere there are sports signs
We’re talking about the green signs. You know the ones that sit on the edge of a town that tout the accomplishments of a particular high school athlete or team.
More classes equal more signs. Right?
The “high school champions” sign program has been around for about 30 years. The initial motivation was to honor IHSA state winners in the communities they hailed from.
“Sometime in the ’70s, we started to develop policy on it,” said Mike Glaffey, media liaison for IDOT.
* Friday Beer Blogging: Erdinger Edition
- Media Envelope - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:03 am:
Does Las Vegas have a line on who will get indicted first?
Richie (I’m not my dad) Daley or Rod (My lips are sealed) Blagojevich?
- Wumpus - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:08 am:
So here is the formula for Democrats
1. Scew up the city
2. Move to the burbs
3. Screw them up too by getting D’s elected and bringing in liberal policies
4. Maintain power
- Levois - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:10 am:
It’s great to see that Daley is actually taking an interest in the CTA issue enough to ask for a deadline or answer by such date. And I need to check out that Troutman article.
- Lil Petunia - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:12 am:
I CAN NOT believe that the GA voted into law this stupid “Moment of Silent Reflection.” This so much smacks of Dems concerned about their re-elections (especially the Senate Dems after the crap they pulled with the Gov. at the expense of the other 3 caucuses) and Repubs pandering to their conservative base.
This is an unacceptable practice in public schools period. There is no sugar coating this; this is a slippery slope to bringing prayer into the public school class room. The separation of church and state in schools mandate is good and sound.
Parents and students would be right to fight this. I live in Evanston and the local school district is fighting this. But, more interesting it is funny that Sen. Schoenberg should come out against this in the Chicago area media when he voted in favor of the original bill on March 21st. Jeff is a great guy and a great Senator, but he should explain his flip flop on this one.
- Team America, World Police - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:42 am:
Paul- nothing anywhere this morning on the passing of ENDA, with some congressional members crossing party lines each way (Kirk, Biggert, Lipinski). What gives? I have a post at www.teamamerica10th.blogspot.com
- Paul Richardson - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 9:55 am:
Team America-
You’re right. Votes on all sides of this one could stick this primary season. (BTW: Barney Frank’s floor speech on this was truly passionate; I was impressed.)
Your post is now linked.
On some busy mornings, I am prone to miss good stuff.
- Team America, World Police - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 10:14 am:
Thanks Paul, appreciate the link. Searching the blogs this morning, some have commented that there is also an almost complete lack of national news coverage on this vote as well. Very odd.
- cermak_rd - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 10:55 am:
I like the idea of having the students make funny faces during their moment of silence. If it isn’t about prayer, I see no reason for an undue note of sobriety or solemnity.
- Truthful James - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 11:06 am:
A short period of silence is all the time necessary for kids to finish their homework
- MOON - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 12:12 pm:
Just as I suspected, now that Daley got his telephone tax (absent Blago’s signature)you can rest assure Daley will be much more active and also critical of Blago. Just note his most recent demand for a resolution of the CTA issue. The gloves are coming off as far as Daley is concerned with regards to Blago!
- Just Asking - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 12:44 pm:
Is daley the mayor or the governor or maybe the speaker of the house or the president of the senate. Maybe he thinks he can be all of the above. Lots of “big ones” in that demand.
- Captain America - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 1:10 pm:
I definitely think the Bridgeport crew/gang will be experiencing some serious legal difficulties now that the feds are investigating their sophisticated political blackmail and extortion rackets. I agree with Kass that Fitzgerald may someday issue RICO indictments.
Although, the Mayor may experience some political damage as a result of the Bridegeport gang’s eventual indictments, I doubt that the mayor is in any legal jeopardy.
The Mayor did look very foolish and politically vulnerable when he tried to defend the legitimacy of the $50,000/$1.2 million real estate transaction. Something tells me that the polictical chickens are going to come home to roost now that this transaction has ben exposed to the light of public scrutiny. Once the feds start looking under the rocks in Bridgeport, they migh find a lot of interesting issues given the way the Bridgeport crew appears to operate.
- Lil Petunia - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 5:41 pm:
Truthful James - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 11:06 am:
At the on-set of the day? They should have finished their homework the night before.
A period of silence at the on-set of the day smells of a throw back to when prayer was mandated in public schools.
I would be interested to know if McCollum from Champaign would be interested in reflecting upon this. As in his 1948 case against the Champaign Board of Ed - McCollum v. Board of Education. It was the ground work for the seperation of church and state. He was also a candidate there for the Senate Dems I think in 2002?
- Highway Man - Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 10:00 pm:
I can not believe any educated intelligent individual is against a moment of silence in school. I have six children attending school and I can guarante you that their daily experience is nothing like what any of the adults here would remember ‘growing up’. Their minds are constantly bombarded by a tremendous amount of data from cell phones, pagers, hundreds of TV channels, internet game sites, internet chat sites, internet radio, satellite radio, digital billboards, DVD players in cars, THOUSANDS of songs on MP3 players etc…
Their/our minds need time to think, not just absorb information. To me, teaching them to put their mind in order by offer them a moment to analyze what they know may go a long way to getting them to think for themselves.
I greatly respect the work done in our school system but I don’t have to look any further then at our current elected state government to argue the need to increase the life skills of our population.