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Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I knew about this story, so I’m happy to see the Daily Herald used it in its piece on Geo’s life…

It was the fifth inning and a youthful Richard M. Daley was on the mound for the Illinois Senate.

Into the batter’s box stepped freshman Republican House member Adeline Geo-Karis. She looped a Daley offering into short left field, just beyond the fielders’ reach, and stood atop first base.

It was early June 1973, and with that swing, Geo-Karis is believed to have become the first woman to get a hit in the annual Illinois House-Senate charity softball game.

While perhaps not her greatest civic achievement, it may very well sum up Geo-Karis’ tenure in public life, a span of more than three decades during which she frequently found herself one of the few women in the room, but always ready to handle whatever the boys could dish out.

Geo-Karis died Sunday at the age of 89.

* You can read the original UPI story that the above recollection is based upon by clicking here.

* More…

A staunch Republican, Geo-Karis met such notables as former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and helped George H.W. Bush campaign in Lake County. But she was also comfortable working with those on both sides of the aisle politically and socially.

“On a personal basis we were friends. I knew her before she was elected (to the State Legislature),” said State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan. “I think one of her major accomplishments is what every legislator should take to heart - constituent services. When someone called her with a problem, she tried to do as much as she possible could to solve it for them.”

Geo-Karis retired after a 28-year career in the Senate, preceded by six years in the House, during the contentious Republican primary in 2006, which she lost to Warren Township Supervisor Suzanne Simpson. Geo-Karis then supported Democratic candidate Michael Bond of Vernon Hills, who beat Simpson in a close general election race to win the Senate seat.

Geo-Karis won her last election Feb. 5 when she was reelected to her position as a precinct committeeman.

Born in Tegeas, Greece on March 29, 1918, Geo-Karis immigrated to the United States in 1922. She was a graduate of Northwestern University and DePaul University Law School. She served as Lt. Commander with the U.S. Naval Reserves. Geo-Karis, who was also a past mayor of Zion and served as village attorney for Vernon Hills for many years, was a member of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Waukegan. She is survived by extended family and friends.

Geo was like a great aunt to me. I once owned a big, old, yellow Cadillac, and Geo loved it and I often gave her rides after session. For whatever reason, she called me “Miller.” Once, she caught herself and said, “I don’t know why I don’t call you ‘Rich,’ but I’ve gotten so used to calling you ‘Miller’ that I think I’ll just keep doing it.” I didn’t care. She was a woman who always spoke her mind and I truly loved her for it.

We’re all gonna miss her.

* The Tribune has the services schedule…

Funeral services for Geo-Karis, who was preceded in death by two brothers and a sister, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday in Zion at Illinois State Beach Park Conference Center and Resort in the Adeline J. Geo-Karis State Park, which was named after her two years ago. A wake is scheduled at the same location from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday.

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Note to readers

Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

So much news has happened since I shut everything down Thursday that I thought I’d catch you up today in a series of posts on a broad variety of topics. Comments are still off until Wednesday, when the General Assembly comes back into session.

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Rezko and corruption updates

Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My life as an FBI mole…

Sources said Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru’s Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005.

In one case, sources said, Thomas told authorities he saw a Rezmar employee pass an envelope with a visible wad of bills to an unidentified Blagojevich aide.

* Insiders to testify on Rezko’s clout…

“Individuals who helped select and process candidates for boards and commissions will testify that Rezko had weekly meetings with the head of patronage for the [Blagojevich] administration, where Rezko provided names of individuals he wanted appointed to certain boards,” prosecutors wrote in a 31-page document filed late Wednesday.

* Blagojevich fights order to release federal subpoenas…

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration says it has new, secret evidence to warrant keeping the public from seeing federal subpoenas it has received.

Lawyers for the Democrat filed court papers Feb. 8 asking a judge to reverse his ruling of a month ago to release subpoenas from the U.S. attorney. “Newly discovered evidence” makes it important to keep the documents secret, they said.

But they also requested to file the documents in secrecy and no information about them was included in the filing.

* Sneed on Laski’s new book…

Laski claims Daley invited him into his private City Hall conference room and asked if he’d heard “from anybody down the street.” — Hizzoner’s reference to the feds — during a probe of alleged time-sheet fraud at City Hall. […]

When Laski said, “No!” Daley offered to give him some advice.

Quoth Laski: “He spoke quietly as if we were being bugged. He told me, in a very serious tone of voice, that, in order to survive in this business, I had to have a buffer.

* Decoding Rezko: Breaking down his pending trial

* Blagojevich fundraiser got loan from billionaire tied to Rezko; more here

The loan came from General Mediterranean Holdings, a company based in Luxembourg and headed by Nadhmi Auchi, a London-based Iraqi who is currently appealing a fraud conviction in France.

* Federal prosecutors counter defense bid to bar evidence in Tony Rezko fraud trial

* Cellini allegedly key player with Rezko

* Ex-gov Edgar says Rezko reflects more on Blagojevich than Obama

* Fitzgerald: Public key in corruption battle

* The witness list

* Government’s reply to Defendant’s response

* Government’s evidentiary proffer supporting the admissibility of co-schemer statements

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Political updates

Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Ripping Stroger backfires on candidates - Many who were linked to him still came out on top

* Vallas mum on political future

* GOP hopefuls drop finance aide amid investigation…

The Republican congressional campaigns of Aaron Schock and Tim Baldermann parted ways with their shared campaign treasurer after news reports suggested he could be involved in an accounting scandal.

Christopher Ward served as campaign treasurer for Schock and Baldermann and previously had worked for the national party. Several media reports out of Washington, D.C., suggest Ward could be part of an investigation involving questionable accounting during his time with the Republican National Campaign Committee.

* How did Hillary win key city wards? Bosses’ pledges for Obama fall short: Clinton, Alvarez ‘were just very popular with Latinos and women’…

Does that mean the ward bosses have lost their power to carry their wards?

Did they cut secret deals to back Hillary Clinton for president and Anita Alvarez for state’s attorney?

Or was it just another “Year of the Woman,” in which women and Hispanics voted their preferences instead of those of their ward bosses?

* Miller: Hendon now watching his words

* Miller: More wars likely among Senate Democrats

There could be some loud fireworks the next time Illinois Senate Democrats meet behind closed doors.

Two of those Democrats, Martin Sandoval and Tony Munoz, contributed a combined $45,000 to Rep. Rich Bradley’s losing Democratic primary campaign against Sen. Iris Martinez. That is a big political no-no.

* Marin: Peraica needs to rethink approach

* GOP Votes Trend in Wrong Direction…

* Blue barrage: Could it be here to stay?

* Fight still left in Laesch

* IL-14: Laesch Press Conference

* Democrat to wait for all ballots to be counted in special race to succeed Hastert

* No charges following voter confusion complaints in special Hastert election

* Bill Foster’s new TV ad…

* IR Focus: Aaron Schock, GOP candidate for 18th CD

* Callahan has politics in her blood

* Shake-up in Kendall GOP

* Dear Professor Lubet — I think you were wrong

* Phil Angelo: Inside the Kankakee County vote

* The Color of Rebuke in the 50th Ward

* Broadview residents fire back; Yarbrough, Davis pay up or pack up

* Steans swamps Elder for Carol Ronen’s senate seat

* Bernard Schoenburg: What’s in a name? Maybe plenty if it’s a common one

* The Barack we knew when

* Illinois Superdelegates

* More on the Delegate Discrepancy

* Ex-Gov. Edgar might be backing McCain, but he’s praising Obama; more here

* With Friends Like These …

…the Frank Giustra-Kazakhstan-Uranium affair, blown open by The New York Times last week, serves as a reminder that the relationship between the Clintons and money has not always been lily-white.

* Clinton’s Latino spin

* A good example of how Clinton’s campaign is misfiring…

Initially, Williams was brought in to run the campaign even though Solis Doyle was still there. The result was confusion for the staff, who weren’t sure who was really in charge, the source said.

But even more troublesome was the campaign’s money crunch. Over the last seven years, Clinton had raised $175 million for her re-election and her presidential campaign. But Solis Doyle didn’t tell Clinton that there was next to no cash on hand until after the New Hampshire primary.

“We were lying about money,” the source said. “The cash on hand was nothing.”

Clinton didn’t tell Solis Doyle she was lending money to keep the campaign afloat. Solis Doyle found out third-hand. And when she asked Clinton about it, the senator told her she couldn’t understand how the campaign had gotten to such a point, the source said.

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Budget and government news

Monday, Feb 11, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* State budget cuts hit shelter hard…

Barb Hicks doesn’t know how many more services Madonna House can cut.

But dire state financial conditions have forced Hicks, the executive and business director of the Quincy shelter, to think about turning away even more people in need.

* Gov. asking lawmakers to end tax breaks for businesses…

On Friday, his budget office could not provide a detailed list of exactly what the governor is seeking, drawing the ire of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, who has been Blagojevich’s chief legislative nemesis.

“That level of work would be a big burden for him,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said. “It’d probably be too much to ask.”

* Smoking law hurts casinos, owners say…

The Illinois Gaming Board reported that casinos in the state experienced a 17 percent revenue decrease in January compared with January last year. The majority of casinos also reported an almost 6 percent decrease in admissions.

Officials are blaming the smoking ban, which went into effect Jan. 1, for the decline. Illinois, along with 18 other states, made it illegal to smoke in nearly every public place and requires smokers to step at least 15 feet away from a building entrance, ventilation intake or an open window before lighting up.

The head of the gaming board said that because people have to go outside to take smoke breaks, that means less time spent gambling.

* Words no Illinois lawmaker will say: “Tax hike.”

* A chilling forecast for Illinois state finances

* Double trouble for state budget

* Even More Bad News for Budget Updated; more here

* State’s spending habits will hurt it as income drops

* Stroger’s new plan: Cut budget, hike tax - Sales tax increase would be slightly smaller

* No more cuts, county officials urge

* R.I. County superintendents may unite to request 1-cent sales tax

* Voters did the right thing; state must be next

* Sales tax new option to mull for area schools

* Bill Would Require Disclosure Of TIF Fund Use

* Vaccine Bill Proposed

* Seniors seeking free public transit get busy signals

* CTA Working To Reduce Frustrating ‘Bus Bunching’

* Chicago’s Potholes a Hit to Wallet

* Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat

* Don’t cry for FutureGen

* Another ‘clean coal’ project in Illinois still waiting in wings

* SIU, state construction bill now one-year old

* Initiative Seeks to Ban Gas Chamber Euthanasia For Pets

* Illinois attorney general: Water company’s rates too high

* Illinois AG Madigan And State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group Release Report On Mortgage Activities

* FEMA: Damage in Iroquois, Livingston counties manageable

* FEMA: Denial not related to politics

* Bernard Schoenburg: Handley leaving state job to join cable TV group

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