Heads up
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * Remember when I told you about this?
* The day is upon us, and Kiyoshi Martinez will be live-blogging the event over at Illinoize. Be there or be square. * Also, I was on some little radio show today. …Adding… Apparently, the snow kept Kiyoshi from the event. Bummer.
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Caption Contest!
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller Winner gets a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY (Part 2) - Schock; Tribune; Froehlich; Jacobs; Boland; Link; Silverstein (use all caps in password)
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller Are you still undecided about any primary races? Explain. If you’ve made up your mind about all of them, let’s see your choices.
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Governor covers up legal fees, changes story from 2006
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * More trouble for the guv, but there’s something important about this story that the Tribune misses…
The Trib’s number for 2007 is inaccurate. Blagojevich paid another $163,770 to Winston & Strawn in January of last year, plus a couple of other smaller legal tabs to Hinshaw & Culbertson and Robbins Schwartz Nicholas Lifton & Tay. * But here’s the rub: Blagojevich didn’t report a half million dollars in legal bills until six months after he was supposed to…
* The trouble with Scofield’s explanation is that it’s the exact same excuse they used when they reported a Winston & Strawn debt back in the summer of 2006…
So, in 2006, they went ahead and reported a legal debt and said the reason they hadn’t paid it was because they disputed the bill. In 2007, they didn’t report a debt because they say they disputed the legal bill, but then they reported it in 2008 once the bill was straightened out. One explanation for two completely opposite actions, and it’s all bull. * I’ve explained what I think happened to subscribers today. But I’ll speculate further here that the governor was also embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out fight with Speaker Madigan last July 31st, when the D-2 was filed. Disclosing his gigantic Winston & Strawn legal tab would’ve been highly disadvantageous to the governor’s position. * Either way, the guv ought to be severely fined for not reporting a very large bill that was submitted to his campaign fund. The bills come in every month, and whether you agree with them or not, they’re supposed to be reported. I know he likes to ignore the Constitution and the law and all that, but he needs to be called to account on this one. But, let’s move along… $2 million in legal fees? Over a million dollars in the past year alone? What the heck? I couldn’t agree more with the BGA…
* By the way, after subtracting the money he owes Jim Thompson, the governor’s campaign fund is left with about $1 million in cash. That’s half what Lisa Madigan now has in her account, and $700,000 less than Dan Hynes has in his.
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Chicago Mag takes a bite out of Blagojevich
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * Chicago Magazine’s article “Mr. Unpopularity” is now online. I’m quoted throughout the piece, but here’s my favorite…
* The reporter did a good job of capturing what’s going on…
* And…
* And…
Go read the whole thing. David Bernstein did a very good job. And he didn’t screw up any of my quotes, for which I’m thankful. * I’m told I made this piece, too, but I haven’t seen it yet and it’s not online.
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In defense of the locals
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * We’ve been hearing for weeks from the national punditry that Barack Obama hasn’t been fully vetted by the media. I think that’s mostly wrong, and I angrily told that to a national reporter who called me last week. Will something else come out about Obama? Could be. One never knows what might get mentioned at Tony Rezko’s trial, for instance. But the Tribune explains today what they dug through to get at any connections between the law firm Obama worked for and Rezko…
The scouring turned out mostly to be a dud. Still, it was a heckuva lot of work. * That doesn’t include all the other stuff the Tribune has done, like this…
* The Trib has also filed dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests on Obama, sources say, and they combed through Obama’s list of nearly 100 interns to find one connected to Rezko. And, of course, it was the Tribune which figured out that Rezko had bought the lot next door to Obama’s house. * The Sun-Times has been doing a lot of work, too, like this piece which tracked down a bunch of people who attended a long-ago Obama fundraiser hosted by Rezko. * The CS-T also dug into something I wouldn’t even dream of doing…
That’s pretty deep, if you ask me. They also found a photo of Obama and Rezko today that I don’t ever remember seeing. * And then there’s all the leftover Blair Hull opposition research that’s found its way into the Clinton campaign via her assistant campaign manager Mike Henry, who ran Hull’s disastrous 2004 primary against Obama. One of Hull’s sharpest criticisms of Obama was his “Present” votes in the state Senate, so it’s no surprise that Clinton is now using it, too. Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet made the connection…
Sweet has been following Obama around for months, tracking his every move. Nobody has more intense coverage of Obama’s campaign than Sweet. * Again, something more may be found. The Tribune and the Sun-Times might possibly still be working on stories. There may be a “silver bullet” in Hull’s old OR that hasn’t been used yet (I doubt it, however). But for the national types to claim that Obama’s past is mostly unknown is just a total crock. All they have to do is comb through the Tribune and CS-T’s archives, or try the Google. A lot of very hard work has already been done, and is still being done today. Too many reporters based in DC, or NY, or LA think that all there is to know is in their own publications. Not so. I often criticize the media, but in this instance I’d like to take my hat off to the locals who have really done a bang-up job on this Obama thing.
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Morning shorts
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * Lawyer’s deep pockets in Ill. judicial race raise hackles * State renews $500,000 PR contract for health care * Arlington Hts. trustees favor slot machines at racetrack * Cook County warns of 1,500 layoffs * Our Opinion: Governor’s legal tactics a disgrace * State’s delay in paying bills has impact on everyone * Tribune Co. probably will still own Cubs this season * Funding cuts may curtail nuclear waste recycling program * Citywide WiFi fails to emerge in Naperville, Aurora * Foster, Oberweis for U.S. Congress * Oberweis campaign “whacked” for website changes * Foster, Laesch Pick up Endorsements in IL-14 Congressional * Already endorsed by Sun-Times * IL-03 Roundup #4 * Candidate Jimmy Lee focuses on Economic Development During his “Eleven in the Eleventh” Series * Campaign cash rolls into state’s attorney’s race * Romney’s son to speak at Lincoln Day Dinner * Consultant, ex-White House staffer vie to take on Mark Kirk in 10th District * Kendall coroner faces primary challenge * Daily Herald presidential primary endorsements *Durbin helps fight bug battle * Giannoulias: Some banks agree to waive fees for Holocaust reparations
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Finally, a candidate I can support
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller * Jacob Schulz, better known on this blog as “JakeCP,” has been a commenter here for quite a while now. The high school student appears wise beyond his years, has his own website and a YouTube page and was even interviewed on Chicago Public Radio for his campaign efforts in 2006 after he was featured here. Jake is running for reelection for student representative on the Local School Council at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. Here’s his campaign ad… Go Jake! You can donate to Jake’s burgeoning empire by clicking here.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Poll results from today’s issue, plus previous results
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
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