Morning shorts
Monday, Feb 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* Man alleges politics is key to landing state job
“I don’t know who’s making the call,” he said. “I don’t know, but I know as a veteran who’s qualified I cannot even get an interview and that is a sad day for the state of Illinois.”
* Voting early next time? Not so fast
Thousands of Illinoisans may have “wasted” their primary votes this year by taking advantage of Illinois’ early voting laws and supporting candidates who then dropped out before the Feb. 5 election.
* PJ Quinn, Navy vet and father of lieutenant gov
If you had to be stranded on a desert island, you’d want a man like Patrick “P.J.” Quinn around.
Mr. Quinn, so capable he got his driver’s license at age 12, could whip up a meal, fire a weapon, fix anything, and pray all the decades of the Rosary. If you were lucky, he might serenade you with a few plucky Irish songs.
He survived the Great Depression and dangerous duty on an aircraft carrier in World War II. On a three-day shore leave, he married his sweetheart, Eileen Prindiville, and stayed at her side for 65 years.
Mr. Quinn, 93, died Saturday at his home in River Forest. “He was an outstanding father,'’ said his son, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.
* MaryAlice Erickson, longtime Republican Party official, stepping down March 9
* Liz Gorman Not Running for Re-election
“My brief tenure as chairman has laid a foundation for building and uniting the Cook County Republican Party. And with this foundation in place, I believe I can step aside so that new leadership can continue this work and so we can place all of our energy into the important tasks leading up to the November election.”
* Cook County GOP chairman mystery
* Cook County GOP Convention
Rumblings hears that Tony Peraica is prepared to step aside and support O’Donoghue as a unity candidate.
* Sales-tax showdown set for Todd Stroger, Cook County Board as budget deadline looms
* Missing money blamed on widespread skimming
The convicted clerk said he got a letter detailing the alleged skimming at the Cicero facility shortly after he was indicted on charges of accepting $48,000 in bribes in exchange for steering Hired Truck business to a company owned by Mick and Traci Jones.
* Blue Line To Wind Through More ‘Burbs?
* Editorial: Pay more attention to public transit
The RTA’s wish list was a pleasure to see and consider. But one couldn’t help wonder whether the proposals were little more than idle dreams if the state cannot scrounge up the money for billions of dollars of projects already identified and slated for completion.
* Rezko accuses ex-partner
Indicted developer Tony Rezko is claiming his former business partner, Dan Mahru, became a federal informant and turned on him to avoid being arrested for his own legal problems.
* Is EP’s ‘new downtown‘ closer to reality?
While the whole grand project on a site the size of Downtown Peoria would take a decade to fill out, “We want something in brick and mortar in two years,” Triggs, the city’s attorney and point man on the project, said in August 2001
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 9:34 am:
Good riddance to Gorman!
- Crimefighter - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 9:49 am:
>Man alleges politics is key to landing state job
>“I don’t know who’s making the call,” he said. “I don’t know, but I know as a veteran who’s qualified I cannot even get an interview and that is a sad day for the state of Illinois.”
Well, someone’s gonna get in BIG trouble and be shelling out a large chunk of change for openly violating veterans preference.
- Niles Township - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 9:49 am:
Condolences to Pat on the loss of his father.
- Stateville Speaks - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:00 am:
1. Condolences to Mr. Quinn.
2. Milorad has been destroying DOC since ‘03. It was his intention all along. Do not get me started on DNR.
3. I think Tony Peracia should go for Cook County GOP chairman, but I realize why he won’t.
- Sock Puppet Express - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:08 am:
FROM GORMAN’S Farewell Address:
“However, I believe strongly that our Party organization must function smoothly, promoting a unanimity of purpose and singularity of voice. From the court house to the White House, we must not be distracted from electing Republicans at every level. It is critically important at this time that the attention of the voters be focused on the candidates and the issues, not internal Party matters.”
Clearly Howdy Dowdy Gorman is fleeing the county due to delusional attacks and prospect there will be even fewer elected GOPs after November. Maybe Skip can step. Or where is Jumpin’ Jimmy Dvorak when we need him.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:10 am:
New museums, new convention centers, new hotel complexes, new downtown business developments…why do we still believe in the ‘if you build it with tax dollars, prosperity will return” mentality?
Localitites that still believe that governments will pay for their dream cities are not recognizing the new reality. When we had billions to spend on renovated downtowns, mass transit systems, and expressways, we could take hits when we built white elephants. Not anymore.
After decades of white elephants, unattended infrastructure, potholes and rusty mass transit can attest, voters are unwilling to simply shovel money to developers with big dreams. This doesn’t mean that there is no money for new developments, it means that developers need to be more focused and do a better selling job.
It takes heavy political hitters to get a new Sox park or a McCormick Place expansion. These are single focus projects that can be sold to voters and evolutionary ones that replace or expand successful business generating organizations. Even Mayor Daley has discovered that “pie in the sky” rebuilds without focus cannot find funding because they haven’t been sold to voters, or demanded by them. Politicians don’t want to be caught in bed with bad real estate paid with tax dollars.
So, in the case of East Peoria, Kankakee, University Park, and many Chicago neighborhoods, these community leaders hoping for governments to back their dreams need to wake up. There is no extra cash to give to sincere types who wish to pour acres of concrete in order to make something happen to their struggling communities.
Instead of planning multi-million dollar white elephants, private businesses are snatching up opportunities to grow businesses where there is growth. This leaves behind neglected areas that are abandoned not simply because the building assets got old. When you take a cold eye approach to dying towns, you see that bulldozing and spending millions of tax dollars won’t revive a community.
We don’t have the cash to waste and folks will not sink money into areas just because the concrete is fresh.
That is why there hasn’t been any development for East Peoria or Decatur or Rockford.
- Are you the creator of Hi and Lois because you are making me laugh - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:15 am:
Sock Puppet Express cites a quote dripping with hilarity. The “court house.” When has Liz Gorman ever cared about GOP judicial candidates in Cook County, (besides herself) or GOP candidates in general?
- observer - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:15 am:
People are playing politics with state jobs? Oh my. What’s next?
- Leave a light on George - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:24 am:
What happened to the the new apply on line with CMS for any open state job? You were to be nothing but an annon. number until the interview. Remeber it was going to take all political favoritism out of the state job process. Didn’t apply I guess in the case of this good paying union job.
- IDTYT - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:46 am:
Blaggodiot has fooled the National Governor’s Assoc. They think he is against predators. They forget he gave Ameriquest $25 million and suspended IL credit counseling laws….
….”Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich said: “The crisis in the sub-prime mortgage market has had a devastating impact on homeowners and entire communities across our country. In Illinois alone, it is possible that up to 70,000 homeowners will face foreclosure this year. A real solution will require lenders, consumers, advocates and public policy makers to all work together. Last week in Illinois, we announced a package that will do just that. I am confident that by making good loans and sound advice available to families in Illinois and throughout the country, we can turn the mortgage crisis around and save homeowners from foreclosure.”
- Flounder - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:48 am:
The Rules certainly didn’t apply to the Illinois
Tollway. Patrick Fitzgerald and the media should
definitely investigate this state agency. It’s
absolutely staggering how many plum positions have
been created. Tollway mouthpeices said they reduced staff back
in 2003 and 2004 by 50 as a media smoke screen and
later added 150 and that’s not including all the
high-priced consultants walking around.
All you have to do is investigate and the MATH!
Commited, Good, Decent, Hardworking State of Illinois
employees lost their respective jobs because of Rod
Blagojevich and his administration’s corrupt policies.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:49 am:
Unless there have been changes, DoC is authorized to do most of its own hiring. I am taken aback that a disgruntled jobseeker claims politics in hiring. I’ve heard that for more than 30 years. Sometimes it’s true, often it’s not.
- jerry 101 - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:55 am:
wait…a cook county republican convention? Where did they have that? The corner booth at a Denny’s?
Anyway, development/redevelopment always follows public spending on infrastructure. Not that all infrstructure spending plans bear fruit, quite a few don’t.
But, rebuilding streets and transit networks, putting in water mains, etc are what lead to new development.
And if you don’t think that public investment in mass transit works to spur development, just go take a look at Downtown Arlington Heights or Palatine, or any other suburb that has worked with the ideas of New Urbanism to build living, walkable downtown areas centered on their Metra stations.
Or follow any CTA line. Neighborhood redevelopment follows CTA tracks. Areas far from an el stop tend to be pretty slummy. But areas close to el stops have redeveloped nicely over the years. Look at places like north/damen/milwaukee that were well known dumps 20 years ago. They are top notch yuppy resorts now. Jump up a stop on the blue line (western) and you’ll find “west bucktown” (aka Humboldt Park) which is rapidly gentrifying around the station. Move along to California and Logan Square, same story. Easy access to downtown leads to gentrification and redevelopment.
A project like Sox park wouldn’t lead to redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood. The surrounding neighborhood is the Dan Ryan and a bunch of parking lots. If they tore up the parking lots and put in place the infrastructure necessary to build a new neighborhood, there is a good chance that life would arrive there. First, a few bars and restaurants, which would lead to people hanging out pre and postgame. Then, people would start moving in. It has the other requirements. IIT to the east, which gives a population of potential early residents (students), close to both a highway and a mass transit station. Well developed middle class neighborhood just to the west (Bridgeport).
OTOH, McCormick Place is a monolithic structure that isn’t conducive to generating a new neighborhood. Too many old abandoned factories nearby, no day in-day out activity. Sox Park would have 81 days a year with life going on around the park, and the neighborhood as a result. But with miles of concrete parking lot surrounding sox park, life isn’t going to spring up nearby. Although bridgeport itself is gentrifying.
Now, to see how infrastructure improvements led to redevelopment of a community, look at the south loop. Building new roads and putting the transit improvements in place that were needed, plus a huge influx of students in the form of the mega dorm led to that area springing up practically overnight. New condos shooting up, restaurants and bars moving in, new shopping centers.
It works, but it has to be planned. Business isn’t going to appear in the middle of nowhere.
Someone planned it, and some community financially backed it.
- anonno - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:56 am:
I’m taken aback. Schnorf should work at the Vatican. A vet expert in the job duties doesn’t even get interviewed and now he’s a disgruntled jobseeker. So, for the opening gambit, the guy’s credibility has just been questioned. Next, they’re going to interview to his neighbors and creditors.
Shame on the perpetrators and double Shame Shame on the cameralists and apologists.
- Wacker Drive - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:57 am:
Big Tony Rezko has already started to blame others for his misfortunes and his trial hasn’t even started yet.
The show begins on March 3rd!
- Ghost - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:00 am:
The fascinating part about the political hiring stuff is, if its true, it looks awfully transparent. Your would think that coming on the heals of a pay to play indicted governor you would avoid such conduct, or at least do a better job of hidining it. Where Ryan was crafty and old school patronage, Blago is looking like just plain dumb corruption. He may get hit a lot harder then Ryan.
- Clean as a Whistle...? - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:05 am:
Leave a Light On George (and all other posters):
This is the point about the online job postings I made last week.
Mr. Schnorf: It’s true a lot. Maybe Corrections does most of its own hiring; but wardens and executive staff come straight out of the Governor’s office–their hiring decisions are naturally influenced by this.
And so do such wonderful decisions like eliminating the rank of Captain.
Which DOC continues to pay for.
Thank God for the staff (and all citizens as well) there hasn’t been a major riot in the last five years.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:13 am:
Personal patronage wasn’t affected by Rutan.
- anonno - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:17 am:
Hey–they said they were instituting the online-jobs site to make the process “transparent”. Obviously that module is working…it is transparently diverting…just like the masters on LaSalle street.
Now, I don’t remember much from the announcement on making it “fair”…that is another module that would require a waiver for a sole source contract to add that function in through an undetermined R&D cost plus fixed-fee amendment to the IT contract.
Now I’m not saying that the whole thing is just smoke and mirrors… but (lets see if I can get the tone right) “sometimes its true and often its not”.
- Ghost - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:32 am:
Steve DOC is NOT authorized to do its own hiring per se. The Governor put in a job freeze, ALL hiring must now go through his office and be approved by the Gov. So technically today you cant hire anyone without the approval of the Gov. The the Gov has a patronage chief who vest names to DOC for hiring. The idea that the current gov, who controls all hiring in the executive branch, may be playing patronage has a lot of leggs.
- kimsch - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:39 am:
My condolences to the Quinn family.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:40 am:
Ghost, that’s a big change, then. When I was with the state most DoC hiring didn’t go thru CMS.
- Clean as a Whistle...? - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 11:46 am:
Ghost: Thanks for the update–that’s wahat i thought.
Let’s segueway: In state government, is there ever, ever really a job freeze?” Come on.
The “job freeze” only applies to the people they wish to “freeze” out of jobs. Not to the sons and daughters of campaign contributors, lobbyists and other insiders.
- Ghost - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 12:30 pm:
Steve most DoC hiring does not go through CMS, but it all goes through the Gov. They have to have a from signed by the gov authorizing the hiring/filing of the spot.
- Northside Bunker - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 12:49 pm:
To bad no one has the onions to get a list of all the State of Illinois jobs and salaries Blagojevich and his cronies have created since 2002.
Bet that list is a mile long.
- i d - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 1:50 pm:
Mr. Schnorf, sorry that your memory and/or ethics are waning. I think that what you really meant to say was that politics in hiring mostly is true, rarely it’s not.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 2:40 pm:
id,
I’ll simply say I did it, year in and year out, for many years, and I know what I saw. For example, my last 4 years in state government, nobody even suggested to me anyone to hire, much less ordered me, and I had almost all Rutan exempt jobs. Nobody even suggested to me who to give a contract to.
In my more than 25 years in state government, I could probably count on my fingers the number of times someone tried to order me to hire someone, Rutan exempt or not. I don’t recall ever having a problem getting a qualified individual hired.
What is your experience basis for your insightful comments?
- id - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 3:03 pm:
More than a quarter of a century in state government personnel office in lower level position.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 3:17 pm:
Well, most of the concerns I heard expressed on Rutan covered patronage involved either DoT or DoC, and those were certainly jobs important to county chairman.
- Snidely Whiplash - Monday, Feb 25, 08 @ 10:01 pm:
Well, now that the appellate court has affirmed the $4,000,000 judgment against her company and called the Gormans some not-too-flattering names, she has other problems to worry about. She has more baggage than Samsonite, and no chance at all of being reelected chairman … and she knows it.
Buh-bye, Chairman Combine