* I’ve just been reading through Aaron Chambers’ excellent post from earlier this morning. It’s all about the immediate future and what we might expect. Make sure to check it out.
An analysis of reporter output at Tribune papers showed individual productivity ranges from 51 pages a year per writer (at the Los Angeles Times) to more than 300 pages (at the Hartford Courant and the Baltimore Sun), Mr. Michaels said.
“You find out you can eliminate a fair number of people while eliminating not very much content,” he said. […]
“We think that by being able to produce less editorial content . . . we can save a lot of money by producing the right-sized newspaper,” he said.
* 12:41 pm - The leaders meeting ended a few minutes ago. No progress was reported on the budget or the capital plan. Big surprise. Not.
House Majority Leader Barbara Currie reportedly called the governor’s complaints about the budget deficit a “manufactured crisis,” but I haven’t talked to her yet nor heard the audio.
All leaders were apparently asked if Tony Rezko’s conviction had been brought up at the meeting, and they all said “No.”
Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson says little progress was made during a meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich and top legislative leaders about the state budget.
Watson says there was more ” finger-pointing” and ” dysfunction.”
Currie accused Blagojevich of manufacturing a crisis and says it’s his job to deal with the budget lawmakers sent him last weekend.
* 2:22 pm - The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s latest monthly revenue report has some interesting stuff on the statewide smoking ban and riverboat gaming revenues. Click here to download the report…
In the Chicago region, Illinois’ four riverboats’ [adjusted gross receipts] are down a combined 18.8% since the smoking ban went into effect. However, Indiana’s Chicago area riverboats are only down 0.7% thru the first four months of 2008.
The other interesting thing is that admissions are down 6.2 percent for the fiscal year, but adjusted gross receipts are off 17.6 percent. Some are claiming that this is because smokers are taking more breaks from gambling so they can go outside and feed their habits/addictions.
…Adding… Total revenues are running about $300 million higher for the fiscal year than originally projected by the governor’s budget office.
…Adding More… If you go to page 8 of the report, you’ll see that some revenues are expected to tank for the rest of the fiscal year, so CoGFA is figuring about break even with their revised revenue estimate, which was a $915 million increase over last fiscal year. The budget assumed $1.6 billion in new revenues, so we’ll be about $700 million short. Clear as mud? Tell me about it.
* 3:01 pm - Maybe the goofy comments will stop now…
If elected president, Sen. Barack Obama would not pardon convicted political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, Obama’s campaign staff confirms.
Campaign finance records show state Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, received a $2,000 donation in April 2006 from a business co-owned by Rezko. Following Rezko’s 2006 indictment, Jones said he had no plans of making any donation and on Thursday brushed aside questions.
“I don’t know whether I took any money,” Jones said as he left a meeting with Blagojevich and other legislative leaders.
The Hill reports an Illinois representative was spotted at the Capitol wearing attire fit for dancing to “Disco Inferno.”
Quoting a “spy,” the newspaper reported Rep. Timothy Johnson (R-Ill.) was walking through the Speaker’s Lobby recently in “a bright ruby-red shirt with large lapels unbuttoned to the chest, a black blazer, black trousers and a thick gold chain with charms. One observer remarked that he resembled an extra in the movie ‘Saturday Night Fever.’”
I remember the congressman from his Statehouse days. He never had a disco look. “Up all night and haven’t changed clothes” look, yes. Disco, no.
[Johnson said] his shirt seemed open, because he probably loosened his tie around his neck upon returning from the airport, the shirt is a dress shirt and the chain is a religious symbol with charms of a cross, fish and WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?).
* Just curious, but did the shirt look anything like this?…
* Jill Stanek’s latest column is about birth control pills and an upcoming protest…
Neanderthals like me think women should know the pill can kill their 5- to 9-day-old children. Informed consent and all that.
So the American Life League is launching Protest the Pill Day ‘08: The Pill Kills Babies this Saturday, June 7, on the 43rd anniversary of the Griswold vs. Connecticut Supreme Court decision.
ALL is calling on pro-lifers nationwide to peacefully protest in front of Planned Parenthoods and other facilities that distribute birth control pills.
The National Organization for Women is planning counter protests. I wonder how much they’re paying picketers, since they only seem to arouse paid personnel to demonstrate against us, particularly on a Saturday. I’m always embarrassed for them.
* Question: Will a protest like this alienate pro-life activists from the “center,” or will it serve a useful purpose for their cause? Explain.
* Michael Sneed has some of the best federal prosecutorial sources in the business, so when she has a lede like this, you should pay close attention…
Sneed hears rumbles the feds have Gov. Blagojevich in their gunsights bigtime. “I’m told he’s next . . . they have the goods on him and they were expecting good things out of [influence peddler] Tony Rezko, if he was convicted,” said a Sneed source.
Federal authorities plan to keep moving up the food chain. And they’ve already been scrutinizing Gov. Blagojevich’s campaign fund, his office’s hiring practices and real-estate deals involving his wife, Patti. The Rezko verdict gives them a green light to further pursue the Blagojevich administration, according to a source who said Wednesday of that probe: “We’re moving at full speed.”
• Looked into real-estate transactions connected to the governor’s wife, Patti Blagojevich.
• Interviewed witnesses in other cases about their conversations with the governor. Among them: Ali Ata, who said in his plea deal that the governor knew he was getting a job after donating $60,000 to his campaign fund.
• Used a “mole” to get information from business people about contributions to the governor’s campaign.
It’s not clear how high in this governor’s domain the criminal behavior around him reached. What is clear is that federal agents and prosecutors are bound—and determined—to find out.
the former federal prosecutor told me the feds are expected to offer a deal to both [Rod and Patti Blagojevich]. The governor will take a plea of an indeterminate lesser nature and resign in return for which his wife shall either not be prosecuted or receive a confinement sentence, allowing her to continue to care for their two daughters.
That’s been speculated for a while now, but rarely spoken in more than hushed tones. It’s something to consider, since the feds love to play extreme hardball.
The verdict also makes it more likely that legislators will continue to talk about impeaching the governor. The state Constitution gives the Illinois House the power to investigate impeachment, which already has started behind the scenes to “be prepared,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan last week “We’ve already done research on impeachment,” he said during a Statehouse news conference. “Our attorney, Mr. [David] Ellis, is chock-full of conclusions.” The Senate would have to approve an impeachment by a two-thirds majority.
Rep. Marlow Colvin (D-Chicago) said he doesn’t support an impeachment committee, but said based on conversations with colleagues, there are enough votes in the House to create such a panel. Still, Colvin said, the motivation goes beyond Rezko to those lawmakers who want Blagojevich to pay for his abrasive dealings with them.
Colvin is absolutely right about there being enough votes at the moment to create an impeachment committee.
* I’ve been saying for some time that nobody should believe a word that the drug-addled admitted criminal Stu Levine said, and the Tony Rezko jurors were apparently of the same mind…
Jurors weighing the fate of political insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko listened to the government’s star witness, Stuart Levine, for more than three weeks, but it didn’t take long for them to decide in deliberations they could not send Rezko to prison based solely on his account.
* But there was more to it than just that. Levine physically repelled some jurors…
“He was an amazing person,” juror Loida Acevedo said of Levine, whom she described as the main character if the trial were a book. “I have never met a person like that, and I hope I never do in my lifetime.” […]
Jurors said they had enough problems with Levine to essentially set his testimony aside.
“We gave it no weight,” juror Andrea Coleman said. “He played with us in the courtroom also.”
* They mostly convicted Rezko of stuff where there was clear evidence besides Stu Levine’s word…
“On those counts where Levine was involved, we put it in consideration with everything else,” juror Mona Lisa Mauricette said. “We weren’t going only on Levine’s testimony . . . We found consistency in the testimony and credibility when we looked at it all together.”.
On some things he was believed because there was other evidence - evidence that Levine surely knew of in advance. Otherwise, nope.
* And Levine’s word was pretty much all they had on the alleged $1.5 million shakedown scheme of Tom Rosenberg. Levine claimed that Rosenberg was pressued to contribute that money to Gov. Blagojevich’s campaign fund. The defense claimed that Levine had lied to people on all sides and there was no shakedown plan other than in Levine’s head.
I told you yesterday that the acquittal on the extortion and aiding and abetting bribery was good news for Gov. Blagojevich. But this scheme was also the only big thing that brought Bill Cellini into play, and as I told subscribers this morning, Rezko’s acquittal on those two counts takes a big load off Cellini’s back, whatever else you might read today.
* I was on Don & Roma’s WLS Radio show this morning and they brought up a point that puzzles me. Why did Tony Rezko give himself up to authorities yesterday when his sentencing isn’t until September?
This is the same guy, remember, who was whining about how he had to share underwear with other prisoners. But yesterday he volunteered to go right back to that undie-sharing lockup and he may never emerge again…
Rezko faces $4 million in fines and as much as 300 years in prison if he gets the maximum when he’s sentenced Sept. 3
Roma thought it meant that Rezko was signaling his cooperation with the feds. I can see that side, but others speculated yesterday that his actions were intended to show the feds that he’s actually a tough guy who will keep his mouth shut, perhaps in an effort to squeeze the best possible deal outta the G.
There is perhaps no more pertinent question on the minds of many in state, city and county governments today after the corruption conviction Wednesday of one of their most influential powerbrokers.
But if Rezko is of a mind to start spilling what he knows about allegations made during his trial against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he gave no indication of it Wednesday when he immediately surrendered himself to custody.
Whether the move was a demonstration of Rezko’s resolve to do his time without talking, or simply a desire to try to get his prison term behind him as quickly as possible, is impossible to say.
* Mark Brown has some speculation that makes sense, and other ideas that seem a bit far-fetched…
The simplest answer is that Rezko may have felt St. Eve was going to revoke his bond anyway and order that he be detained. Federal prosecutors were asking her to do so when Duffy announced his intentions. […]
it also just may be that Rezko is tired of fighting. He has spent a lot of money — and emotional energy — to go to trial, and in the end, it didn’t get him very far. […]
I know this is going to sound overly dramatic, but it’s not really that far-fetched to think Rezko may well believe he’s in danger if he goes free and that by reporting to jail it’s proof that he’s not cooperating. […]
I don’t see this as a sign that Rezko has already thrown in the towel and decided to cooperate, not to say that he won’t in the future as the prospect of the second trial looms even larger.
I’m curious what you think.
…Adding… A commenter posted what might be the simplest explanation: It was the decent thing to do for his friends and family…
Don’t forget people, that a lot of people put up a lot of money, homes, etc. for his bail. By surrendering himself, they can likely file a motion now to have the assets released, something which definitely could not happen if he was out pending sentencing.
* A few days before Tony Rezko’s conviction, House GOP Leader Tom Cross had this to say about Speaker Madigan’s bitter feud with Gov. Blagojevich over the capital construction plan…
“We all run into people in everyday life who we don’t like and we don’t trust,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego. “The fact that we don’t like somebody is no longer an excuse not to get our work done.”
* The leaders (minus Madigan) are meeting with the governor today to talk about the budget and the capital plan. You gotta wonder whether Cross will change his tune, but at least one top Senate Democrat says the Rezko conviction shouldn’t matter…
“We cannot stop the operation of state government because of something that could possibly happen or some innuendo.” [said state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat]”
“If he has any involvement, he needs to be charged,” [Democratic state Sen. David Koehler said]. “If not, we need to leave it alone. Innuendo is not a fair way to go about this.”
* The “let’s forge ahead anyway” line was also echoed by a Senate Democratic freshman…
“Anyone that would use this as leverage to shut down the system would not be doing this as a service to the public whatsoever,” said state Sen. Mike Noland, an Elgin Democrat. “This is something that’s not going to factor into the legislative process at all, or at least it shouldn’t.”
* And I’m kinda wondering about the last sentence in Democratic state Sen. Deanna Demuzio’s reaction to yesterday’s verdict and its impact on Gov. Blagojevich and the Statehouse…
“We passed an ethics bill, and hopefully what we did is send a message that we don’t want anymore of this. I don’t know if this will be the end or not. All of us will wonder what will come out of it. You have to be careful who you associate with.”
The Senator is right, of course. And the people that Democratic legislators like her “associate with” might also include Rod Blagojevich.
* Rep. Franks, on the other hand was pretty clear about the impact…
“I believe the conviction has probably doomed the capital bill to the dustbin,” said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat.
That’s a line you may hear a lot in the coming days.
The state figures more than 87-percent of high schoolers graduated in 2005. But the new report puts that number at about 76-percent. Christopher Swanson is director of the group behind the study.
“Thanks for coming. It is nice to see you. I have a brief statement.”
“Tony Rezko is a friend and was a supporter. On a personal level, I deeply sad for what’s happened to Tony. I am profoundly sad for his children and for his wife Rita. My heart goes out to all of them. The jury’s decision is yet another reminder that ours is a system of government ruled by laws and not by men. I respect the decision of the jury.”
“As for me, I will continue to get up every single day to work as hard as I possibly can for the people, starting tomorrow where I hope to meet with the legislative leaders so that we can balance the budget in a way that’s fair and helps people and to pass a capital construction program that will stimulate our economy and create more than 500,000 jobs. Thank you.”
* Related…
* Analysis: After Rezko, could Blagojevich be next?
* Pat Quinn: “If you’re in-charge of the state of Illinois, elected by the people, and you see the verdict on 16 of these counts, it’s important for the governor to answer the questions of the people and the taxpayers. That’s what I think accountability is all about, and I think it’s time for the governor to come forward and answer questions.”
* Barack Obama: “I’m saddened by today’s verdict. This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.”
* Tony Rezko was acquitted in the $1.5 million campaign contribution shakedown scheme, but he was convicted on two counts based on Joe Cari’s testimony…
Count 4, Wire fraud: A phone call between Levine and trial witness Joe Cari about a consultant to be used by investment firm JER Partners. Cari was in Hong Kong at the time.
Count 6, Wire fraud: A phone call from Cari to JER Partners in which Cari threatens that JER would lose its retirement system allocation unless the firm hired a consultant.
A veteran Democratic fundraiser testified [April 14th] that Gov. Rod Blagojevich once offered to give him his pick of contracts and state business in exchange for help building a nationwide political money machine as a prelude to a presidential run.
The governor said “that there were contracts, legal work, investment banking work and consulting work to be awarded to people who helped,” Joseph Cari recalled as he took the stand in the federal corruption trial of Blagojevich insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
The allegations by Cari, once a finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee, were the most explicit accusations of pay-to-play politics leveled against Blagojevich at a trial where he is not even the defendant.
But federal agents continue to investigate allegations that his administration illegally swapped jobs and board appointments for campaign cash. And now Cari’s allegations suggest that the governor was personally willing to trade lucrative state business for political donations.
* Judge Leo Zappa ruled today that the governor can, indeed, set the time and date of special sessions. The governor had sued Speaker Madigan over the issue.
A spokesperson for Madigan said the judge didn’t find fault with anything Madigan did (Madigan held some special sessions at different times than the governor had ordered), but I haven’t seen the ruling yet so I have no real idea of exactly what happened. More in a bit.
Clearly, the drafters of the 1970 Constitution could not envision that an extraordinary act (Special Sessions Act) which gives the sitting Governor the power to convene both house of the Legislative Branch of government, would be used unilaterally and in an abusive and capricious fasion. Unfortunately, the current Governor’s aggressive use of his extraordinary power does not ahve a bearing on the statutory construction of the Act. This is really not about the current Governor or Speaker. This is about hte authority of the Executive Branch over the Legislative branch in setting dates and times to convene both House of the Legislative branch on special extraordinary matters…
* More…
…this court hereby rules that [the governor] has the right to set the date and time for both Houses of the Legislature to convene for special sessions upon the filing of a Proclamation with the Secretary of State.
* The judge appeals to reason…
A high degree of reasonableness and cooperation must be applied in these settings. The House has a fluid calendar, and there are numerous unforeseen circumstances which can occur making the House or Senate’s strict compliance a problem at times.
* Judge Zappa scolds the guv…
The Governor needs to open meaningful lines of communicattion between himself and the Speaker. This would alleviate the problems of setting dates and times for his Special Sessions and alleviate conflicts due to the scheduling of other House business… It is not the role of the judicial branch to serve on an ongoing basis as a truant officer assigned to police errant or tardy members of the Legislature. Perhaps the Legislature should look at the Special Sessions Act to determine what if any action is needed.
* And continues…
This order is not intended to give either the Governor or Speaker Madigan an advantage in their ongoing rift. Throughout Illinois histoy, until now, this State’s leaders have collaborated on special legislative sessions without resort to the judiciary. This Court can only hope the parties to this case will see fit to implement this order in a professional manner so as to carry out their important work on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois.
* This was not a good day for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, of course, but the claim that got some of the most media play, that Rezko tried to extort a $1.5 million campaign contribution for Blagojevich, was found to be not credible by the jury. Rezko was found not guilty on that count. Here’s some background…
That charge alleges Rezko tried to extort a $1.5 million campaign donation for Blagojevich from Thomas Rosenberg, a movie producer and a principal in the real-estate management firm Capri Capital. Prosecutors argued Rezko was part of a scheme to force the donation or a bogus finder’s fee from Rosenberg by stalling a $220 million investment that Capri was in line for from the Teachers’ Retirement System.
In his testimony, Rosenberg said he was never explicitly told to pay a fee to free up the teachers’ fund allocation.
In his closing argument last month, Rezko attorney Joseph Duffy said: “I don’t know how you have an attempted extortion where nobody asks the intended victim for anything.”
…Also… As a commenter mentioned below, while the verdict on this particular charge is a bit of good news for the governor, it ain’t gonna be so great if Rezko flips on Blagojevich to keep himself out of prison for the rest of his life.
*** UPDATE 1 *** I’m told by a Chicago TV station that the governor is not expected to comment on this until after 6:30 tonight, which would be after the newscasts. Stay tuned for more.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Trib puts some of the Blagojevich angle into perspective…
The fact that lawyers in Rezko’s trial mentioned the governor of Illinois 41 times during closing arguments alone doesn’t mean he knew anything of Rezko’s crimes. The feds have accused Blagojevich of no illegality whatsoever, and he consistently has maintained his innocence. But the governor’s excuse for not answering questions about Rezko trial testimony—There’s a pending court case!—is now moot. The governor is free to speak and should do so.
Fairly or not, that testimony has left a governor who vowed to clean up state government himself accused of scandal. Time and again he essentially was described as the prize doll in marathon games of pay-to-play: Fork over enough money to Blagojevich’s political coffers and you win his favor.
Three convicted political insiders have testified to Blagojevich’s alleged role in private meetings about the purchase of state jobs and state business with campaign contributions. Each of the three said the governor made it clear that people who raised money for his campaign would profit from his influence.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Check back at 6:30 tonight because it looks like we’ll have live video coverage of a planned gubernatorial press conference. I’ll post the link if we get it.
Count 1: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $375,000 from Glencoe Capital of Chicago in exchange for $50 million investment from the state Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). Guilty
Count 2: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $375,000 from Glencoe Capital. Guilty
Count 3: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $250,000 from LLR Partners of Pennsylvania in exchange for $25 million TRS investment. Not Guilty
Count 4: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $850,000 from JER Partners of Virginia in exchange for $85 million TRS investment. Guilty
Count 5: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $850,000 from JER Partners. Guilty
Count 6: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $850,000 from JER Partners. Guilty
Count 7: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $250,000 from Sterling Financial of Northbrook in exchange for $25 million TRS investment. Guilty
Count 8: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $250,000 from Sterling Financial. Guilty
Count 9: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding of Arizona in exchange for $200 million TRS investment. Not Guilty
Count 10: Wire fraud. Scheme to extort $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding. Not Guilty
Count 11: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $1.5 million bribe in exchange for approval by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board of a new Mercy Hospital in Crystal Lake. Guilty
Count 12: Mail fraud. Scheme to extort $1.5 million in exchange for approval of Mercy Hospital. Guilty
Count 13: Wire fraud. Schemes to extort $1 million from Stockwell Capital of Chicago, $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding and $1.5 million to $2.2 million from Capri Capital of Chicago. Guilty
Count 14: Wire fraud. Schemes to extort $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding and $1.5 million for the Mercy Hospital approval. Guilty
Count 15: Wire fraud. Schemes to extort $850,000 from JER, $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding, $1.5 million to $2.2 million from Capri Capital and $1.5 million for the Mercy Hospital approval. Guilty
Count 16: Attempted extortion. Scheme to extort $1.5 million to $2.2 million from Capri Capital. Not Guilty
Count 17: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $375,000 from Glencoe Capital. Guilty
Count 18: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $250,000 from LLR Partners Not Guilty
Count 19: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $1 million from Stockwell Capital. Not Guilty
Count 20: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $850,000 from JER Partners Guilty
Count 21: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $4 million from Investors Mortgage Holding. Not Guilty
Count 22: Aiding and abetting bribery. Scheme to extort $1.5 million to $2.2 million from Capri Capital. Not Guilty
Count 23: Money laundering. Scheme to extort $375,000 from Glencoe Capital. Guilty
Count 24: Money laundering. Scheme to extort $375,000 from Glencoe Capital. Guilty
* 5:13 pm - Rezko surrendered to authorities and was taken to jail, even though his sentencing wasn’t scheduled until September…
Rezko, who is scheduled for sentencing in September, surprised even his attorney by opting to begin serving his time immediately.
“I didn’t choose that. Mr. Rezko chose if he was convicted to immediately start serving,” said Joe Duffy, Rezko Defense Attorney. “That was just the desire he expressed to us, and it was his decision.”
* The Associated Press takes note of all the “I-Word” talk…
It started as political banter. But now the idea of trying to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich could be closer than ever to becoming reality. […]
Some lawmakers fear the governor could be asking for more impeachment talk if he brings legislators back to town and they repeat another summer of special sessions and fighting. […]
House Democrats say special sessions alone wouldn’t trigger impeachment but acknowledge the sessions could provide an avenue to pursue it.
The special sessions wouldn’t trigger impeachment. Being in town for an indeterminate length of time after the Rezko verdicts are handed down, however, very well could.
As predicted, Chicago made the first cut today in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
* A press release received this morning shows how the Olympics can be used as leverage….
Action Now and community residents will call for Mayor Richard M. Daley, City Council members, and the Chicago 2016 Committee to join them on an Olympic 2016 Trash Tour.
A guided bus tour of Washington Park and surrounding neighborhoods will shed light on the garbage issues facing Chicago’s South Side and the need to clean up garbage-filled streets, lots, and alleys in order to strengthen the city’s 2016 Olympic Bid.
“Community cleanup is essential for Chicago to compete with the other world class cities vying for the 2016 Summer Games,” says Denise Dixon, Executive Director, Action Now. “We are inviting city leaders and the Chicago 2016 Committee to join us on a Trash Tour of the community so they can see first hand the challenges that the community and city face to truly compete with other cities.”
We heard something different from Gov. Blagojevich on Monday.
Instead of railing against legislators for passing a grossly unbalanced budget Saturday — the expected response, given the governor’s habit of demonizing — Blagojevich struck a conciliatory tone.
He called for a meeting Thursday with the state’s four legislative leaders, where he says hopes to hammer out a compromise on a budget that he says is $2 billion in the red.
In the demented world we call Springfield, that’s called progress.
This page has no illusions a resolution will be reached on Thursday. But civil discussion between adults, rather than the backstabbing and squabbling we’ve come to expect in Springfield, is the right place to start.
House Speaker Michael Madigan is not expected to attend the [leaders meeting tomorrow]. That’s drawn criticism from a member of his own caucus. Evanston Representative Julie Hamos says she wishes Madigan was more engaged in these issues.
HAMOS: I don’t know how hard he tried this year to sit down with all the leaders, because he didn’t apparently go to any of the meetings.
* The Question: Should Speaker Madigan put aside his distrust, dislike or whatever and meet with the governor and the other legislative leaders on the budget, the capital plan, and anything else? Explain.
…letting one jerk provoke you into acting like a jerk only creates two, um, jerks. Lots of good Democrats — like, say, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter — will find their career path more difficult if their party is known for advancing only vendettas, not public needs.
TRANS FATS - The Senate approved a measure restricting food with trans fats in school cafeterias but it didn’t get a vote in the House. […]
TEEN WAGES - An attempt to amend the state’s minimum wage law to remove the provision that allows workers under 18 to be paid 50 cents below the regular minimum wage stayed put in the Illinois Senate. […]
MEDICAL MARIJUANA - A plan stalled in the Senate to legalize marijuana as an alternative medicine for people with debilitating illnesses like AIDS or cancer who use marijuana to ease their symptoms. […]
INTERNET BETTING - The General Assembly couldn’t reach a final agreement on setting up a system to encourage Internet betting on horse races run in Illinois. […]
CIVIL UNIONS - Rep. Greg Harris failed to collect enough support for legislation to allow same-sex couples to form civil unions. The bill gives same-sex couples the same the rights as married couples to estate benefits, child custody or adoption, property ownership.
There was a lot more left on the table, of course, but that wasn’t a bad piece at all.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which runs McCormick Place and Navy Pier, said Tuesday it’s inevitable it will need state sales tax money to cover debt payments after the Illinois General Assembly adjourned for the summer without passing a refinancing bill.
The authority, known as McPier, has been lobbying lawmakers to approve a refinancing plan that would lower the agency’s debt payments by stretching out the payment schedule. The Illinois Senate approved a bill in April, but the measure languished in the House and was not called for a vote before the General Assembly adjourned last weekend.
After a meeting Tuesday, McPier officials said they hope the House will act on the bill when the legislature returns to the state capitol late in the year or during any special sessions called by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
However, passage of the bill won’t forestall the use of state sales tax revenue for the agency’s debt payments because the refinancing could not be completed before the agency’s debt payments come due in July, McPier officials said.
I’m positive we’ll be seeing more stories like this in the future. Were there any bills important to you that didn’t make the final cut?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration claims hundreds of advocates favor his state budget ideas. But it’s releasing just four responses it received to a taxpayer-funded effort aimed at building broad support for his plan.
The four endorsement forms, titled “I Support Governor Blagojevich’s Plan to Jump-Start the Economy and Protect Illinois Families,” were released by the Department of Human Services in response to an Associated Press request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Other state agencies, including the governor’s office, cited privacy concerns for withholding documents in response to the AP’s request, refusing to even acknowledge contacting anyone for support or receiving completed endorsement forms.
But when asked whether Blagojevich was disappointed with just four responses, spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said the administration received 1,500 signed forms supporting the governor’s economic stimulus ideas, including a $34 billion construction plan. She did not provide any documentation to support the claim.
Ottenhoff said the forms weren’t made public because the people filling them out did not give permission to release them. But state law requires public documents that contain private information be released with the confidential data blacked out, which was done on three of the four forms released by DHS.
It almost doesn’t matter what it is, if you want information out of this administration you’re just out of luck. The laws are pretty clear on these things, but the Blagojevich people will either cite far-fetched loopholes or just make stuff up when they deny the requests. I’ve been thinking lately of filing a FOIA to see how many FOIA requests have been rejected or granted, but that would probably be rejected as well.
The bottom line here, is that they’re spending tax money, but are refusing to say how they’re doing it.
You’re used to paying extra if you use up your cell phone minutes, but will you be willing to pay extra if your home computer goes over its Internet allowance? Time Warner Cable Inc. customers — and, later, others — may have to, if the company’s test of metered Internet access is successful.
On Thursday, new Time Warner Cable Internet subscribers in Beaumont, Texas, will have monthly allowances for the amount of data they upload and download. Those who go over will be charged $1 per gigabyte, a Time Warner Cable executive told the Associated Press.
Metered billing is an attempt to deal fairly with Internet usage, which is very uneven among Time Warner Cable’s subscribers, said Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable’s executive vice president of advanced technology.
Just 5 percent of the company’s subscribers take up half of the capacity on local cable lines, Leddy said. Other cable Internet service providers report a similar distribution.
* As Jeff Jarvis points out, “Time Warner could end up charging customers more for watching a movie than the service selling the movie, whether that is iTunes or Netflix.”
That’s just ridiculous.
Jarvis adds…
I happen to know that cable companies were making roughly 40 percent margins on the internet access a few years ago. Since then, bandwidth costs to them have been going down but those savings have not been passed onto customers. Meanwhile, equipment and marketing costs are being amortized. So I’m betting the margins are only getting better. Their poor-mouthing is disingenuous at best.
* Not only that, but the Intertube infrastructure has plenty of available bandwidth. It’s not like the system is hopelessly clogged, creating a shortage situation that needs to be remedied with use pricing. Also notice that Time Warner isn’t giving the 95 percent of low usage customers a price break.
Comcast Corp.is considering a cap of 250 gigs/month. The problem to date has been that cable companies have not told customers their caps or their recourse (witness the throttling of Dave Winer by cutting him off).
O’Day also argued that the traffic ticket police used to issue the citation was not appropriate, and that the citations should be heard in front of an administrative agency instead of a criminal hearing. The judge dismissed both motions. Another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
“This announcement clearly shows that we are making excellent progress in child support. We are sending a message to non-custodial parents that they will be held accountable for not meeting their financial responsibilities.”
Infrastructure Engineering was recommended by Stroger’s capital planning and policy office to receive a $297,911 engineering contract for the installation of lighting and the repaving of a parking lot at a county warehouse on Chicago’s West Side.
