This just in… *** UPDATED x5 ***
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
*** IMPORTANT UPDATE *** As I said twice below, don’t jump to too many conclusions here. I just spent some time on the phone with someone close to Joe Cari, and this AP story may seem groundbreaking at first, but maybe it ain’t.
Remember, Cari has already pled guilty and he’ll be testifying for the feds in Tony Rezko’s trial under oath. So, when I hear that there was nothing untowards about that meeting with Blagojevich (although there was, indeed, plenty that seems untowards about the alleged stuff that the governor and his pals did), then we should probably walk this AP story back a bit.
“Joe does not have a memory of whether he set the meting up. He thinks one of his law partners set it up. The meeting had to do with hospitals in Illinois. One of his partners represented a number of hospitals across the state, and he represented a handful of hospitals. The meeting was related to hospitals in the state. It had nothing to do with anything.”
I may have more in a bit. Just take a deep breath and watch the show as it plays out.
*** ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE *** This is from Joe Cari’s spokesman. It’s quite the quote…
“There was a heavy interest in a period of time by the Blagojevich people to get Joe on the team to raise money. That recruitment effort - late 2003 and 2004 - was led by Tony Rezko, Chris Kelly, Stu Levine and Gov. Blagojevich. Joe politely declined every request, saying he had retired from politics.”
Interesting.
Although he is a Democrat, Cari had helped Jim Ryan’s 2002 campaign against Blagojevich. Levine, a close Jim Ryan pal, was probably instrumental in pointing Cari out as someone the Blagojevich crowd should bring into the fold.
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*** 12:27 pm *** Obviously, this doesn’t look good, but let’s not jump to too many conclusions today…
Records show a Democratic fundraiser who pleaded guilty in a state pension scandal met with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich just weeks before he attempted to shake down a firm seeking state business.
Blagojevich’s appointment calendar was reviewed by The Associated Press. It shows Joseph Cari met with the governor at his state office in Chicago on March 16th, 2004.
Cari admitted he attempted to pressure a firm in May of 2004 to pay a sham consulting fee before it could get state pension business. It was part of a scheme to raise campaign cash for a high-level officeholder.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Here’s some background on what this could mean…
Fifty-two-year-old Joe Cari was a behind-the-scenes political player who raised big bucks for democrats.
In a seventeen-page plea agreement, Cari admitted telling an investment firm that it had to hire a politically-connected consultant or else it would not get a multi-million dollar deal with the State Teachers Retirement System.
Cari told the feds he did that for his law firm’s client, the now-disgraced Stuart Levine. Then a pension board member, Levine’s now facing trial on two separate indictments, allegedly having stolen millions of dollars.
Cari said Levine told him: “A high-ranking Illinois public official/Public Official A” acting through two close associates was selecting consultants for the investment firms that appeared before the Teachers Pension Fund. Levine said this was part of a fundraising strategy by Public Official A and that Public Official A and his associates were going to pick law firms, investment banking firms, and consultants that would help Public Official A with campaign contributions.
Sources tell CBS 2 News they believe Public Official A is Governor Rod Blagojevich and the two associates are Blagojevich fundraisers Chris Kelly and Antoin Tony Rezko.
Right after the governor’s election, he assigned Kelly and Rezko to recruit and screen candidates for his cabinet, as well as hundreds of policy-making positions.
*** UPDATE 2 *** More background on Cari’s connections to Stu Levine, Chris Kelly and Rod Blagojevich from a column I wrote a while back…
Blagojevich’s role in all of these allegations - and they are still allegations - is still not totally clear. We do know that Levine paid to fly Blagojevich and his top people out to New York on two separate occasions for fundraising events. Also on the trip were admitted felon Joe Cari and Chris Kelly, who flatly denies he has ever done anything wrong, as has Cellini, as has Rezko.
The governor raised about $120,000 in campaign contributions on the first trip and a few weeks later the contributors got some big state contracts. The governor says this was all a coincidence.
There are a lot of coincidences in this administration. For instance, the governor initially claimed it was just a coincidence that two friends of Tony Rezko each ponied up $25,000 to Blagojevich’s campaign fund right around the time the governor appointed them to a state board that governs hospitals. Turns out, that board was more crooked than anything George Ryan was ever accused of. Stu Levine was reappointed to the board by the governor and then proceeded to cut all sorts of corrupt deals. Tony Rezko was also allegedly in on the scam at that board.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Also, you may recall, the alleged pension fund scheme wasn’t the only shadey bidness in which Cari claims he was involved with Blagojevich. Here’s another one of my newspaper columns…
Cari told prosecutors and Firm 4 that he had been through this sort of thing before with Public Official A [whom sources say is Blagojevich].
“Cari said that his private equity firm had agreed to hire a consultant in order to get funding from another State board.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** Cari was also an issue in a California campaign involving Democratic Comptroller Steve Westly. Here’s part of a script from a TV ad run by Westley’s opponent last year…
“This is Joe Cari,” the narrator intones. “He’s a corrupt Chicago businessman who gave Steve Westly thousands in campaign contributions.”
Westly’s picture appears, and the narrator continues: “Westly then steered public pension funds to Joe Cari’s investment company….
UPDATE - One of Cari’s advisors just told me that Westley’s opponent was eventually embarrassed by the ads because it turned out that he, himself, had hounded Cari for contributions and fundraising help for months.
Obviously, having a record of a meeting with this figure is not something that seems all that favorable to Gov. Blagojevich. But, again, let’s not jump to too many conclusions today. Thanks.
*** UPDATE 5 *** One other thing to remember here. Cari has promised to cooperate with the feds, so it’s highly likely that he’ll be testifying in Tony Rezko’s upcoming federal trial. We could find out a lot more then about what went on in that alleged meeting with Blagojevich. [See the update at the top for more on this point.]
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Question of the day - Tavern gambling
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* First, the setup, from Michael Sneed…
Sneed hears Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will announce a crackdown on illegal gambling today stemming from raids Wednesday on suburban taverns.
To wit: The raids were on taverns that allegedly made illegal payouts to patrons gambling on video poker machines. The probe is in part the result of a desperate family who claims a loved one lost $60,000 on illegal video poker this year alone.
Upshot: Watch for Dart to urge the General Assembly to oppose casino expansion in Illinois.
* Question: Have you ever played video poker at a tavern? And, do you think such gambling should be legalized? Explain.
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Under the bus he goes *** UPDATED x2 ***
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor throws Mayor Daley under the bus…
Blagojevich, who was roundly criticized last week for attending a hockey game in Chicago while the Illinois House was defeating a transit bill in Springfield, points out that Daley is traveling to Italy this week instead of joining the fight for a transit bill.
“It would be very helpful to have the mayor help us during crunch time to get the legislature to pass a solution for the Chicago Transit Authority,” the governor said.
While a good point, it’s probably not the best idea Blagojevich has ever had. Daley said he’d be back soon and didn’t expect anything to happen between now and then.
* Blagojevich went on to criticize Speaker Madigan…
Daley’s trip and Madigan’s refusal to attend high-level summit meetings is infuriating the governor, who launched into an expletive-filled tirade against the mayor and the speaker after ABC7’s taped interview. Blagojevich said he is wondering why everybody criticizes every move he makes while the other leaders seemingly get a pass.
Again, another good point, but it looks awful whiney. [Emphasis added]
* After tossing hizzoner to the wolves, the governor hopes to get his cooperation…
“I intend to call Mayor Daley (Thursday) and ask him to go with me to Springfield early next week to lobby the legislature and get this done,” Blagojevich said. “I hope to have a long conversation with him (Thursday) about this.”
* Apparently, the guv did interviews with three of the four “major” network affiliates. No such luck for Channel 2, which did the big expose on him last week that’s gotten Blagojevich into so much trouble. Fox News Chicago also scored an interview. Watch their story here.
In that story, Daley clearly states that transit funding should not be linked to gaming expansion. But he did say during his press conference yesterday that capital projects are very important. You can listen at WBEZ or below…
[audio:cityroom_20071205_newsintern_Chic.mp3]
* More stories, compiled by Paul…
* Daley demands stop to CTA doomsday merry-go-round
* Daley, union pushing for a transit fix by year’s end
* Press Release: Do nothing proponents strike again
*** UPDATE *** From the AP…
Illinois Senate President Emil Jones assured a Chicago civic group that lawmakers want to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.
But Jones says lawmakers shouldn’t be blamed for the CTA’s financial crisis, which he says was caused by years of mismanagement.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From an IL GOP press release…
In light of yesterday’s news report that Rod Blagojevich launched into an “expletive filled tirade” against Mayor Daley and Speaker Madigan over the never-ending transit crisis, the Illinois Republican Party today is launching a statewide soap drive to help clean up the Governor’s language — and the mess in Springfield. […]
All Illinoisans are invited to send as much soap as they choose to the Illinois Republican Party offices in Springfield or Chicago. At the end of the drive, the soap will be donated to local homeless shelters. The soap drive will run through December 20
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Money woes everywhere *** UPDATED x2 ***
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The state’s Coal Develpment Fund got an ironic early Christmas present: A lump of coal in its stocking…
The governor’s recent raiding of funds has emptied the state’s Coal Development Fund and Southern Illinois legislators believe the money won’t be seen again this year.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich used $10.2 million from the coal fund as part of a $27 million bailout of the Chicago Transit Authority and the Regional Transit Authority in the Chicago area last month. Susan Hofer, spokeswoman for the governor’s office of management and budget, said the movement of funds would not impact any current projects or programs. […]
The state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has distributed more than $5 million in grants from the coal fund in each of the past two fiscal years, and Blagojevich set aside $17 million from the fund in June 2006 as part of an incentive program to attract the FutureGen project, a zero-emissions power plant. Two central Illinois cities, Mattoon and Tuscola, are among four finalists for the plant’s construction site against two Texas sites.
* And here’s another problem. The state collects a host of local taxes and then distributes them back to local governments (after taking a cut in most cases). But some of those checks haven’t been cut lately and that’s causing discomfort…
[The city of Bloomington] is waiting to receive more than $1 million in payments from the state for its portion of the income tax, but the checks have not been sent by Comptroller Dan Hynes’ office.
With the city’s cash reserves already strapped, city Finance Director Brian Barnes said the city will have a hard time paying its bills.
“We could run into a major cash flow problem if this keeps up,” Barnes said.
The City Council already has been struggling to cut a $3 million deficit from its $75 million proposed budget for next year.
The reason for the delay? There’s usually a cash-flow pinch in December, but it’s much worse this year, so the state is passing down its problems to the locals. Wonderful.
* You may recall that one of the items that Gov. Blagojevich vetoed from the state budget was operating cash for public television and radio. While not the sole source of WTVP Peoria’s current crisis, that veto didn’t help matters much. Bank of America is threatening to foreclose on a big loan next month and sell the station off in pieces…
Starting tonight, Peoria’s public television station wants your support like never before.
WTVP-TV Channel 47 needs $6.9 million - or enough, they hope, to satisfy Bank of America - by Jan. 15.
“They’ve indicated to us unless they’re paid they will put everything up for sale in one fell swoop or sell it in pieces, whichever is to their advantage,” WTVP president and CEO Chet Tomczyk said. “In which case, we go dark.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Comptroller Dan Hynes’ website comes this dire warning…
All state agencies, employees, state vendors and payees should be advised that the current delays affecting payments out of the state’s General Revenue Fund (GRF) are expected to continue and likely lengthen throughout the remainder of calendar year 2007 and into calendar year 2008.
Under optimal revenue conditions, or for payments from non-GRF funds, the Office of the Comptroller (IOC) can issue a warrant within 2-4 days after a proper voucher is presented to our office. However currently, substantially more GRF bills or vouchers have been submitted to the IOC than incoming revenues or cash on hand permits to be processed on a timely basis We do not anticipate that there will be sufficient GRF revenues to significantly reduce current payment backlogs for the near future.
Please note that while agency payrolls should not be impacted by these conditions, the majority of other payments out of the General Revenue Fund will continue to be delayed due to the lack of sufficient and/or timely revenues. At this time, these delays are in excess of 30 business days and are expected to increase over the next several months.
[Emphasis added]
*** UPDATE 2 *** And another one…
The state of Illinois is $1.6 million behind in paying the city of Springfield its cut of state income taxes, a problem that is growing statewide, according to Alan Henry, a spokesman for state Comptroller Dan Hynes.
“It’s about insufficient receipts to meet the state’s obligations,” Henry said. “Historically around now, the volume of bills exceeds revenue. That’s exacerbated by what appears to be a slowing of receipts.
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Congressional roundup *** UPDATED x1 ***
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Democrats have been paranoid for weeks that Cindy Ardis-Jenkins was merely a placeholder in the race to replace state Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Perioa). Schock is running for Congress and is therefore abandoning his House seat. Ardis-Jenkins is the sister of Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis. Local Dems have been convinced that if Schock loses the congressional primary race then Ardis-Jenkins would bow out of the state Rep. race. That may paranoia may be unfounded considering this very interesting development…
[Peoria] Mayor Jim Ardis pledged his support for 18th Congressional District candidate and Heartland Partnership CEO Jim McConoughey on Wednesday, labeling him as the “most experienced and proven leader” to fill the vacancy.
Ardis, who serves as mayor for the largest city in the district, is asking those who voted for him to vote for McConoughey in the Feb. 5 primary.
“Jim McConoughey is by far the best choice among the three and understands what role our congressman needs to have in this community,” Ardis said in a news release.
Despite all his early missteps and the fact that retiring Congressman Ray LaHood has so far not endorsed him, plus the mayor of the district’s largest city backing one of his two opponents, and the fact that such a young candidate doesn’t even appear to have a campaign website yet, Schock should probably still be considered the frontrunner. He’s been on the air in a big way with well-produced TV ads, for instance, and he seems by far to be the candidate who will do whatever it takes to win when crunch time comes.
* Meanwhile, Fako & Associates (an Illinois polling firm) has a must-read post over at Illinoize…
Around this time of year you’ll start to notice newspapers reporting “re-elect” numbers in their headlines and press releases and fundraising memos from candidates stating Congressman XX has a re-elect number of only XX% (Always way below 50%). […]
Beware of these numbers when reported on their own, without other supporting information.
“Re-elect” questions, in our experience, usually reflect suppressed levels of support for candidates and don’t show a true status of an incumbent’s re-election standing. For example, in 2006 we polled in a Midwestern congressional district for a prospective challenger. The incumbent had a very low (26%) re-elect number, but that same official had nearly a 50% positive job approval rating and a personal favorability rating that was twenty points higher than the re-elect assessment. We’ve seen similar discrepancies between re-elect questions and other incumbent assessment items in our surveys and other polls throughout the years.
The “Re-Elect” question, in its various forms, should never be interpreted on its own as the tell-tale sign of an incumbent’s prospects. It should only be factored in the evaluation when it is accompanied by related questions whose data also support its conclusion.
Keep that in mind when you read upcoming poll stories. Go read the whole thing. It’s worth a minute of your time.
* This isn’t exactly a congressional story, but it involves a congressman….
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. teamed up with organized labor earlier this year to help send his wife and several other newcomers to the City Council. But he resisted union pressure to drop support for longtime ally Howard Brookins Jr., even though Brookins, the 21st Ward alderman, was a labor target for opposing the big-box minimum-wage ordinance.
“I’ve known Howard Brookins all my life,” Jackson said before aldermanic runoff elections in April. “I’m not going to lose my friendship with him over a political issue.”
But Brookins has just found out that friendship doesn’t always translate into political support.
The alderman is now fighting five others for the Democratic nomination for Cook County state’s attorney, but he’ll have to campaign without the endorsement of Jackson. Brookins says his old friend told him recently that he’ll be supporting another candidate, most likely Cook County commissioner Larry Suffredin, because the congressman refuses to back anyone allied with Cook County Board president Todd Stroger or commissioner William Beavers. Beavers is now running against Jackson’s wife, alderman Sandi Jackson, for Democratic committeeman of the Seventh Ward.
* More endorsements for Congressman Lipinski’s opponents…
Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool endorsed Mark Pera, an assistant county prosecutor from Western Springs. Claypool, who has positioned himself as a reformer, said Pera would be “an independent leader.”
In the southwest suburbs, Palos Hills Mayor Jerry Bennett claimed that several dozen of his suburban mayoral colleagues were backing him. The list included Ed Zabrocki of Tinley Park, who confirmed he’s backing Bennett. A couple others didn’t call back today.
* More congressional stories….
* Double election, double the work - New petitions needed to replace Hastert
* Domestic concerns rise in poll
* Oprah/Obama event in South Carolina moved to football stadium
* Huckabee gets last spot on ballot for Illinois GOP primary
* FCC chair gets Congressional scold - Martin takes heat for rushing ownership vote
* Chicago Public Radio: Green party looking to gain credibility through Illinois primary
*** UPDATE 1 *** I somehow missed Bernie’s column today. As I told you above, Aaron Schock is already running TV ads. One of the claims in the ad I’ve seen is that he “Passed 13 bills.” This isn’t an accurate count on several levels. First, Bernie found, Schock actually passed 22 bills out of the House, but ony 13 of those made it to the governor’s desk. And then there’s this…
Five of the bills that ultimately were sent to the governor were originally introduced by Schock. The other eight were Senate bills that were sponsored by Schock when they arrived in the House. […]
“When I say I passed a bill, that means carrying it through the House,” he said. “What I can control as a state rep in the House chamber is to get my colleagues” to approve the legislation. “Those are the terms we’ve used in the last four years” to describe how many bills he’s passed.
That spin may be open to interpretation, but it’s definitely not completely honest. And there’s more…
Of the 13 Schock bills that passed both houses, the votes on all but one were unanimous or nearly unanimous, indicating they were not the kind of emotion-filled issues that make for long debates
I’m positive that the Peoria Journal-Star will mention these discrepancies.
Nah. Who am I kidding?
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Morning shorts
Thursday, Dec 6, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* New IL DCFS chief looking for flaws
“It’s probably one of the most reformed child welfare systems in the nation,” said Erwin McEwen, who was officially appointed to the agency’s top job Wednesday, after more than a year as acting director.
Now, McEwen said, it is time to look hard at how the reforms are playing out, and find the weak links in the system. He has spent much of the last year investigating child deaths, poring through records to figure out who allowed it to happen, and look for patterns of breakdown
* Sex behind bars in Illinois
* Durbin pushes plan to help foreclosure crisis in Illinois
* Editorial: Officials need to put I-80 widening on the front burner
By 2030, New Lenox’s population will grow fivefold and top 100,000, according to figures from Chicago-area urban planners. Frankfort’s population will increase more than sixfold to 67,000. Mokena’s will double to 27,000. Orland Park and Tinley Park combined will have more than 130,000 residents. And Homer Glen, a town that didn’t exist the last time the United States took an official census, will have more than 40,000 people, according to projections.
* O Hare’s high risk of runway collisions
* Fund available for supercomputer site
* Clout Corner: Trucking magnate who swore off city business gets $57 million snow removal deal
Three years ago, when the Sun-Times revealed that Bridgeport trucking magnate Michael Tadin’s companies took in the most money from the scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program, Tadin said he was done working for the city.
But now Tadin’s M.A.T. Leasing has won a city contract for “emergency rental of heavy-duty snow removal equipment” — $57.3 million over five years.
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Question of the day - Seat belts
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
I was in an auto accident Saturday afternoon. We were heading to Chicago to see the 50th anniversary concert for the Old Town School of Folk Music during that big ice storm. Just north of Pontiac, I hit the slickest patch of ice I’ve ever seen and wound up in the median ditch. Oops.
We were both wearing our seat belts so neither of us was hurt beyond some minor bruises, even though I did total the car. Five minutes after our wreck, a car driving south on the frontage road hit an ice patch and flipped four times. The driver was apparently not wearing his belt and he was thrown from his vehicle and died almost instantly.
Usually, I like to keep my private life private. It’s really none of your business what I do or what happens to me when I’m not working. But I’ve been thinking all week that maybe if I show you a photo of my car, it’ll convince some of the recalcitrants out there to wear their freakin’ seat belts, so here it is…
Again, we weren’t hurt other than a bit of soreness. It could have been much worse if we were stupid enough not to wear our belts.
So, on to the question: Do you ever go beltless? Why? Also, do you have any friends or family members who refuse to wear their belts? What’s their excuse?
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Spin and fallout
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told you yesterday about the lawsuit filed by business groups to stop the governor from ignoring the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ vote to block his emergency rules to greatly expand health care programs. How did the governor’s office react? Well, by shifting into partisan campaign mode, of course…
The Blagojevich administration issued a written statement blasting the lawsuit as the work of “Republican activists.”
“It’s unfortunate that two prominent Republican activists would go to court to take health care away from families,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said in the statement. “President Bush wouldn’t even go to those lengths. Every Democratic leader in Illinois should join us in fighting this lawsuit and help protect the hardworking people who rely on us for health coverage so they can keep seeing a doctor.”
* More…
“Every Democratic leader in Illinois should join us in fighting this lawsuit and help protect the hardworking people who rely on us for health coverage so they can keep seeing a doctor,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said in an e-mail.
* And then there’s this breathtaking spin…
This is the first time, lawmakers note, that Blagojevich has disregarded an action by the 12-member panel, which he strengthened several years ago by giving it the power to permanently block rules sought by the administration.
Previously, such actions had to be ratified by the entire General Assembly.
Ottenhoff said the administration’s track record of obeying the panel’s rulings is “irrelevant” and insisted that the panel’s votes on rules are merely advisory.
He signed a law to specifically allow JCAR to block his emergency rules and then claims it can’t. Amazing.
* I told subscribers about this next development earlier this week, and the Trib buries it way down in their story today…
Lawmakers are watching the suit closely, saying its outcome could greatly shape the way future laws are written. It also could force legislators to rewrite many existing statutes to prevent state agencies from hiking fees or taking other major actions that would normally require approval from the rule-making committee that shot down Blagojevich’s health-care expansion, they said.
Bills are gonna get really, really long and detailed if legislators have to write the rules as well.
* More stuff…
* Kaduk: Blago too hooked on sports?
* The money crunch is underway for schools
* Business group says governor can’t go around legislators
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News and views on a couple of primaries
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Both of these endorsements are important in a Democratic primary, and neither will come with a whole lot of cash….
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced Tuesday he will back Geneva scientist Bill Foster, and the Illinois AFL-CIO announced its support for Yorkville carpenter John Laesch in the 14th Congressional District Democratic primary election.
“As a scientist and businessman, Bill Foster will be a voice for common sense solutions in Congress,” Durbin said in a statement. “I’m proud to lend him my support and I look forward to working with Bill Foster to bring an end to the war in Iraq, pass affordable health care for all Americans and end our dependence on foreign oil.”
On Feb. 5, Foster will compete with Laesch, Genevan Joe Serra and St. Charles attorney Jotham Stein for the Democratic nomination to fill the seat formerly held by Rep. Dennis Hastert. […]
Also on Tuesday, the state AFL-CIO announced its backing for Laesch, who ran against Hastert in the 2006 general election.
The AFL-CIO listed the union carpenter among a group of national and local candidates the organization said “have long track records of standing up for workers’ rights, workplace safety, education, healthcare for all, fair trade and corporate accountability.”
Laesch is probably still struggling to gain some credibility after his gaffe-filled race in 2006, so the endorsement will help a lot. Foster has a hill to climb on name recognition, which Laesch already has because of the ‘06 bid, so the Durbin endorsement will help there.
* Meanwhile, Jim Oberweis was interviewed this week…
“I think there’s pretty good name recognition for the Oberweis name,” Oberweis said. “In fact, as I go door to door, It’s not unusual for people to, before I’m able to introduce myself, say ‘I know you.’”
I wonder what they say right after that. Anyway, back to the interview…
“As I’ve gone door to door, I’ve asked people what’s on their mind, and I really expected the war in Iraq to be the number one issue, and it wasn’t,” Oberweis said. “In fact, illegal immigration was the number one issue on people’s minds. I would say I get more questions on illegal immigration than on all other issues combined.”
People often hear what they want to hear, but he’s walking doors and I’m not, so I’ll take his word for it.
“I’m really an entrepreneur. I have really spent my life in business,” Oberweis said. “I’m not really a politician, and I never will be a politician.”
The jokes write themselves.
Oberweis is also attempting to assume the mantle of Denny Hastert, as this quote makes obvious…
Besides vying for the 14th Congressional seat, Oberweis also has run for state governor and [US] senate. He said he became interested in politics after Hastert encouraged him to run for [US] senate.
“My response was, ‘Well if Denny Hastert asks me to run and Peter Fitzgerald wants me to run and other Republicans want me to run, sure.’ I thought that was my way of saying no. But, two days later, I got a call from Denny Hastert asking me to get involved,” Oberweis said. “Since then, I have learned more. I have become more discouraged with the condition of the Republican party in Illinois, and I have become more and more committed to helping change that direction and trying to get candidates who are involved to serve the public instead of people who are involved to make money off of politic
Oberweis also promised to build an ice cream shop in the DeKalb-Sycamore area.
* In other news…
* Seals Beats Out Footlik For AFL-CIO Primary Endorsement
* Democrat Scott Harper Gets AFL-CIO Endorsement In IL-13
* Jill Morgenthaler Gets Key Labor Endorsement In IL-6
Discuss.
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Not good
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Many of us have been impressed with the way Alexi Giannoulias has handled himself as state treasurer. But his family’s bank is gonna dog him for a long while, I think. Today’s Sun-Times story is headlined “Alexi the amnesiac?”…
llinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias was accused Tuesday of evading questions and playing a “game” about what he knew about a $1 million bank loan he gave in 2002 to an 86-year-old, “feeble-minded” woman.
Giannoulias was loan officer at his family’s Broadway Bank when he agreed to give the loan to Loren Billings, who once ran the city’s Museum of Holography. She had applied for the loan with co-signers who had a history of fraud. Billings’ family is now suing the bank.
Giannoulias testified he had concerns about the co-signers and approved the loan only after their names were removed. Still, Billings’ family says that within a day of Giannoulias cutting her a check, more than half of it was made out to a firm those co-signers were associated with, GnXpert Neural Technologies. […]
Later testimony revealed Billings can’t fill out basic forms on her own, though Giannoulias testified “she was confident in what she was doing” and given that she was willing to mortgage her business and home on the loan, “it would be a prudent loan.”
More…
Giannoulias was the loan officer on the Billings loan, although he had only been working full-time at the bank for about a month. He testified Tuesday that he did not recall whether he personally investigated Billings’ financial records but that he believed other bank officials most likely had done so.
He appeared largely unruffled during about three hours of questioning, though he frequently could not remember details, often repeating, “Again, that was five years ago.”
At one point, William Cook, an attorney for Kasprazak, protested about what he called Giannoulias’ “evasive dodging” on whether the loan was prudent.
Giannoulias eventually agreed that if the loan were based only on Billings’ tax return information, “I’m not sure it would be a prudent loan.” But Broadway Bank attorney Damon Cheronis argued that the question was not proper.
In a statement released Tuesday, bank officials argued that the lawsuit was “fraught with baseless claims and factual errors” and that they expected to prevail.
Billings “clearly understood the terms of the loan,” bank officials said in the statement.
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Morning shorts
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Purchase tickets here for the December 16th performance of “No-El, Or How the Blagojegrinch Stole Christmas” - Our Capitol Fax holiday party
* Study finds that IL continues to lose high-paying jobs
* Illinois mental health statistics
According to Mental Health America, Illinois has one of the lowest suicide rates in the nation.
The organization says Illinois ranks number six when it comes to the lowest number of suicides.
The state ranks number eight when it comes to lowest number of depressed people in the country.
But according to Katie Jones of the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley, that number is misleading because Chicago skews the data.
She says people in bigger cities have lower rates of suicide because of better access to services.
* Reilly Wins First Development Battle
* IL Revenue Dept. posts delinquent’s names
* $310,000 for top cop? Yes, it is worth it says Daley; more here
* Sun-Times Editorial: CPS must solve its payroll problem, and now
For the last eight months, paychecks for hundreds of teachers and staff have arrived late or were short — sometimes by hundreds of dollars. And 1,600 teachers who retired in June have been getting estimated pension checks, rather than the exact amount, with as many as 650 getting much less than they are due, the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Board says.
All because CPS can’t figure out how to work the $17 million payroll system it launched in March.
* Six Dems vyign for State’s Attorney post square off
During the 100-minute exchange, the candidates also addressed a wide range of other issues, including how to handle low-level drug offenders, jail overcrowding and the county’s current budget impasse. The Democratic primary is wide-open, with a large field of candidates and no endorsement by the county party.
On the Republican side, Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica of Riverside, who unsuccessfully ran for board president last year, is running against Edward Barron, an Orland Park attorney.
* State cries foul after getting refurbished copiers
The hit on taxpayers after the transaction with Brooklyn, New York-based M&M Computers is pegged at an estimated $165,217.
The copiers, which had been targeted for use at the Illinois Department of Transportation, were put in storage pending legal review.
* Chicago Public Radio: More IL teachers earning top credentials
* ISU wants state to butt out of smoking issue
* Petitions turned in for GOP candidate Paul in Illinois
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