GOP appears to be cementing around Ozinga
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * In an announcement Monday, GOP officials said they will wait until April 30 to decide who will challenge Sen. Debbie Halvorson to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller. Martin Ozinga III is the president of Mokena-based Ozinga Bros., one of the largest material supply companies in the Midwest. A story broke in Chicago Business yesterday that Ozinga is likely to get the spot over another wealthy business owner, Harry Bond, president of Monical’s Pizza:
Will County Republican Chairman Richard Kavanagh holds the heaviest weighted vote, and apparently he’s with Ozinga. However Chairmen in Kankakee, LaSalle, Bureau and McLean counties also have a sizeable vote in the replacement, and it seems like there is still some support left for Bond. * Ozinga has a few issues though:
Federal Election Commission records also show that Mr. Ozinga has given $6,000 to Rep. Weller since 2001, as well as a $1,000 donation to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The donations to Durbin and Blagojevich will likely not sit well with many loyal republicans. * Still, both Ozinga and Bond are attractive candidates because of their ability to self-fund, especially after Baldermann’s late implosion. Who do you think should/ will be the nominee, and if Ozinga gets the nod, are these issues enough to severly hurt his chances against a potential showdown with Sen. Halvorson?
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Question of the Day
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * The Senate Revenue Committee recently passed a proposal by Sen. James Clayborne to create a sales tax holiday beginning Aug. 1 and running through Aug. 10. Items included are school supplies, clothing or shoes under $200, and computers under $3,000. Meanwhile, Illinois House Republicans also are seeking a sales tax break over the Memorial Day weekend, May 23-26, which would exempt items priced at $600 or less from the state sales tax. The impact of lost revenue by Sen. Clayborne’s bill on the state budget is unclear, but the Republican proposal is estimated to cost the state $40 million in lost revenue. * The question of the day is, are proposals like these worth the lost revenue to the state?
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Hate Crime Commission in state of paralysis
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * After Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad invited her boss, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, to speak in front of her fellow commissioners of a panel on Discrimination and Hate Crimes several of its members resigned citing disparaging remarks that were made about Jews and gays. Lonnie Nasatir, one of the former commissioners recently said “It’s difficult for me to see how you could be eradicating hate when your primary boss is the one that spews it out.” So after the controversy lawmakers decided to create a new version of the Governor’s Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, designed to promote tolerance within the state’s diverse population. The problem is seven months later Gov. Blagojevich hasn’t appointed a single person to the overhauled commission, and it will fail to accomplish its first major goal, presenting a report by March 30. * What’s even more striking is that the old version of the commission hasn’t met in two years, but its executive director, Kimberly M. White, continues to draw her $96,000 annual salary. The administration wouldn’t explain why the governor hasn’t named anyone to the commission but did say they are reviewing candidates recommended by the state.
Sen. Ira Silverstein, who sponsored the original legislation to establish the new commission, had the following to say:
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Stroger faces criticism after pay raise to cousin
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * Cook County Board President Todd Stroger just can’t get a break these days. The Chicago Sun-Times led with a front page article yesterday on how Stroger’s cousin Donna Dunnings, the county’s new chief financial officer, is receiving a 12% pay increase. Dunnings’ salary will be the largest increase of any county employee in the budget, with the average increase coming in at around 5%. She will make nearly $160,000 with the pay increase, about $5,000 more than Tom Glaser made at the job previously. Stroger’s spokesman, Gene Mullins justified the pay increase by saying that “she’s doing twice the work she was before and has more responsibilities.” The news has brought out many critics:
Several Cook County Board commissioners are upset as well:
Commissioner Forrest Claypool had the harshest criticism though:
* Stroger’s decision to spend more and hire more contradicts recent comments by Mayor Daley, who said his city government is tightening its belt and freezing hiring because of poor economic conditions. Discuss.
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * Hugs, rolls for piano prodigy at White House
* City: We’ve got a way to keep cabbies from gouging * Closing arguments heard in sex suit against agency * Illinois hits record low in new TB cases
* Residents speak out against housing plan near SIUE * SIUC Chancellor Trevino placed on administrative leave * Poshard: ‘I was determined to make it work‘ * Hookah lounge owners find options limited with new smoking law * Hookah lounges havens for culture as well as smoking * Impact of smoking ban: Casino Queen says it’s been devastating * Illinois power disconnections begin in April
* Clydesdale sale taken out of state fairgrounds * Illinois budget woes worry Q-C residents * Taking a Closer Look At the Illinois GOP * Terry Link Campaign Finance Disclosures a “Matter of Interest” for State Board of Elections * Greg Blankenship: State leaders must shake ‘Groundhog Day’ mentality * In Combine, cash is king, corruption is bipartisan * Edward officials ‘kickstarted’ health board probe * Jack Kevorkian formally announces run for Congress * Something’s fishy about pork debate
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Question of the Day
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning launches its It could be the last chance to get a handle on a population boom of more than 2.8 million people expected by 2040, and planners want the public to participate. “We’re asking people to take a moment and think about what they want for their children and themselves over the next 20 to 30 years,” CMAP Executive Director Randy Blankenhorn said. Blankenhorn then states:
* The question of the day is what do you want for yourself and possibly your children over the next 20 to 30 years?
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All-Star cast touted in Rezko trial
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * A lot has been going on in the Rezko trial since last week. I’ll spare you the play-by-play, but the prosecution’s case was greatly buttressed on Friday:
This is important. Several witnesses have testified that they believed Rezko was pulling the strings on the two panels, but the wiretap was the first time that the jury actually got to hear it from Rezko himself. *While the tapes themselves aren’t incriminating, they help to illustrate Levine’s ongoing tale about his Godfather. Among Levine’s most damaging testimony against Rezko was that he agreed to split a $1.5 million bribe to approve the Mercy Hospital application for a Crystal Lake site.
* As the State Capitol Notebook says today though, Tony Rezko may be the defendant in an ongoing federal corruption trial, but an all-star cast of Illinois politicos is getting dragged into the case, too:
Levine allegedly arranged for Ald. Mell to receive a cut from a finder’s fee. However, Mell denies the charge, and says that he never received any money. Cellini and Kjellander joined the fray when Levine testified about how he helped steer clients to the lobbyists’ firm, among other things. Kjellander has denied any wrongdoing, and neither has been charged with a crime. Levine admitted to two bribes that involved Vrdolyak, who has spent years inside the powerful world of Chicago politics, as a middleman. Vrdolyak quickly denied any wrongdoing. That’s a whole lot of collateral damage. Finally though, Blagojevich remains as the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. Levine told the jury this week that Blagojevich told him, “You stick with us and you’ll do very well for yourself.” Levine said to him, this meant he stood to get a lot of money if he did what the governor wanted. The governor’s name was all over the case Wednesday, with Levine uttering it at least 30 times in under three hours and in ways that often did not appear to paint Blagojevich in a flattering light. The administration then issued its standard response:
In Rich’s column today, he answers the perennial question of the trial, will the governor be indicted?
* Everything hinges on Levine’s credibility. The defense can argue that Levine was a weasel who made his career by lying and scamming others. Oh, and did I mention that he was in a constant drug induced state that purportedly cost him $25,000 a month and included Special K? No, not the cereal, but a drug that can be enough to sedate a horse. However, it may be hard to sway a jury against Levine’s testimony when Rezko does such a good job of filling in the gaps himself on those tapes. More Rezko stuff * Suit says Rezko, doctor stole man’s mansion
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No Coke. Pepsi.
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * Lawmakers have asked Auditor General William Holland to look into allegations made by Pepsi rival, Coca-Cola, that the contract was tainted because the administration accepted Pepsi before hearing Coke’s best offer. Earlier this month the Illinois House of Representatives voted 104-0 to probe the $130 million deal between the state and the soft drink company. Rep. Susanna Mendoza, who sponsored the resolution, said Coke’s arguments seem compelling. “It makes you ask questions,” she said. “If there’s nothing wrong, we will know that at the end of the audit.” Last July the state awarded Pepsi the contract. It includes four universities and 2,300 vending machines. Eight months later, Coca-Cola officials are still salty over what they consider an unfair deal. They say they submitted an initial pop (cheesy pun intended) of about $43 million but could not provide a competitive proposal because the state did not answer certain questions about the contract before awarding the deal to Pepsi. Rep. Jack Franks, who doesn’t exactly have the fondest memory of the administration after they dumped the Mercy Hospital mess on him and who has recently offered a proposal for a recall amendment, said:
* However, the administration is defending the deal, and even claiming that it was good for taxpayers:
So the question remains, is this more of their recurring theme of “incompetence not corruption,” is there something deeper, or is the administration in the right?
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University of Illinois to consider raising tuition
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * This week Trustees at the University of Illinois will be considering a proposal that would bump tuition at its Champaign and Chicago campuses by 8 percent next school year:
* All I can say is that I am thankful for the state’s tuition freeze. Four years ago my tuition was no where even close to that proposal. A recently released study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research found of the 95 percent of Chicago Public School students who planned to go on to post-secondary education in 2005, only 59 percent applied to a four-year college. Only 41 percent of students ultimately enrolled the fall after graduation. Jenny Nagaoka, a co-author of the study and researcher at the consortium, had the following to say:
* The study can be applied to almost any district, including those in suburban Chicago, where immigrants and their children made up 33 percent of the population in 2005. The majority of those individuals are Latinos living in the Northwest and Western suburbs, and the study concluded that they fared the worst with 46 percent applying to four-year colleges, yet only 30 percent actually enrolling in the fall. The study concluded that Chicago high schools must be more proactive in structuring the application process during junior and senior years, and commit to a fostering a better college bound environment:
* This task will undoubtedly become harder for these schools with ever increasing state tuitions. Discuss.
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Morning Shorts
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * Stroger’s cousin gets 12% hike * CTA to expand bus tracking system
* Chicago Children’s Museum ramps up effort to move to Grant Park * Virginia sisters sell Illinois-shaped corn flake for $1,350 on eBay * Fawell moved to halfway house * Aurora crime at 22-year low * Old State Capitol celebrates anniversary
* State mulls smoothies for 6th-graders * Cyber bullies could face penalties * The buzz over alcoholic energy drinks * Law makes city unions easier * Ryan, Blagojevich added to book on state governors
* Madigan’s office doesn’t back down from student’s FOIA request * Lisa Madigan: ‘Sunshine laws’ work, but they must be strengthened * Bernard Schoenburg: Dem county chairmen don’t want governor meddling
* Hastert takes consulting post at Naperville firm
* For Weller’s seat, it’s sauce or cement * County Democrats see hope in Foster’s victory * Speculation about who might fill Obama’s Senate shoes * Can a senator really fix our financial mess?
* Former Romney campaign co-chair endorses Obama
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