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Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* OK, that’s it for me. Don’t forget to check out Illinoize and the newly revamped InsiderzExchange this weekend.

* Here’s one for my intern…


You’re always in there fighting and you do your best

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Friday flood reports

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a pal in southeastern Illinois…

I know everyone is in amazement when they see flooding waters but the real story is what is left behind (after the media leaves)

This is the damage caused by one of our local levee breaks. This was a level corn field the day before the break.

Wow.

* The governor was in the Metro East today, and just had to do some politicking

llinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was in Alton Friday, announcing he wanted federal aid for 2,000 Illinoisans displaced by the flood and was seeking state relief.

Blagojevich said the state’s capital bill should be passed, and it could be a vehicle for $29 million in flood relief. He did not specify where the relief would go.

* And this is temporary

Raging floods usually leave devastation in their wake, but for Governor Rod Blagojevich the rising water in Illinois couldn’t have come at a politically better time.

After mostly staying out of public view, the embattled Blagojevich has been out and about touring water-ravaged areas.

The water, at least for now, seems to have washed away some of the attention usually riveted on Blagojevich’s troubles.

* Things are getting better in Quincy. Here’s an article entitled: “Crest predictions continue to drop, but nobody breathing easy”…

It’s wait-and-see time for the Mississippi River communities battling the flood of 2008 as crest predictions get pushed back, but the fight is far from over.

Crests are predicted for Quincy and surrounding areas Sunday instead of today, as originally forecast by the National Weather Service. The Quincy crest is expected to be 28.8 feet Saturday — more than three feel below earlier forecasts of 31.9 feet — according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Web site.

* Another one: “Flood’s worst seems over“…

As surely as the fat lady sings, the T-shirts came out Thursday at the Quincy sandbagging center.

“More Mighty Than The Mississippi,” read the souvenir shirts that were selling fast at $5 a pop, with a buck going to the Red Cross.

* More…

* Lower crests good news along Mississippi

* City evaluating flood lessons learned

* Rhys Saunders: Quincy better prepared this time around

* Sandbaggers pledge allegiance to the U.S.?

* Governor’s Public Schedule

* Governor’s Public Schedule Part 2

* Levee breaks ease pressure downstream

* Madison County Board creates Flood Protection District

* USDA Working to Assess Flood Impact

* Midwest Flooding: Failure of the Engineering Profession?

* Flood damage in Gulfport ’sickening’

* Pigs who swam through floodwaters killed on levee

* The Unluckiest Town in America

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Crosstown open thread

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

Comcast chose today to fix my cable problems, so I have no intertubes and no teevee. Listening to the game on the radio.

Liveblog it if u care.

Go Sox.

…Updating… All fixed.

  34 Comments      


Question of the day

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup

The Illinois State Board of Education on Thursday delayed action on a proposal that would restrict the kind of cafeteria food sold to students in public elementary and middle schools.

The idea behind the new rules is to curb the problem of childhood obesity and encourage healthy eating habits among young people, supporters say. Critics, though, say the rules are too restrictive and that local school districts should be allowed to decide for themselves how to help kids eat in a healthy way.

The rules cover numerous aspects of nutrition. Whole milk, for instance, would no longer be served to students in eighth grade or below. Instead, they could opt for skim, low-fat or reduced-fat milk.

The rules are stricter for students in fifth grade and below than for students in sixth through eighth grades. The older students would be allowed larger portion sizes and more calories, and they would have a wider range of choices.

For example, those students would be able to buy fruit smoothies made with low-fat yogurt or another low-fat dairy alternative, as long as the serving size doesn’t exceed 200 calories. But students in fifth grade or below couldn’t have the same beverage.

* The question: Should the State Board of Education take action on this, or should the decision be left to local school boards? Explain.

  55 Comments      


Congressional stuff

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Fix is not the most credible pundit ranker, mainly because the author is a political journalist and not a “real” analyst. But it may be worth noting that the Halvorson vs. Ozinga congressional race has been moved down slighty from 6th most likely district to flip parties to 8th…

8. Illinois’s 11th (Open seat, R): The rocky road for state Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D) continues, as in recent week she has come under fire from some fellow Democrats — including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — for a bill she introduced that would give Will County officials operating control over a proposed airport south of Chicago. Democrats insist the fight is actually good news for Halvorson, since it shows voters in the sprawling 11th District that she is standing up for them and not caving to Chicago’s political power brokers. Maybe, but a public, internecine feud is almost never good for business. Republicans acknowledge that concrete magnate Martin Ozinga got a very late start but insist he is a surprisingly strong candidate. (Previous ranking: 6)

* The Republicans, meanwhile, have posted some raw audio of Halvorson reacting last year to Gov. Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax proposal…


…Adding… I should’ve been more clear with the setup to that video. Halvorson ended up voting for the GRT in Senate Executive Committee after Sen. Lou Viverito unexpectedly voted “No,” leaving her little choice.

* Kristen McQueary is tiring of the acidity in the 11th District campaign and wrote a pretty glowing review of the Green Party candidate

It’s going to get ugly. Getting spin-free truth out of these camps will be downright exhausting.

So it was refreshing Wednesday to meet Jason Wallace, of Normal, the Green Party candidate in the 11th District. From Heritage Park in Crete - Halvorson’s hometown - Wallace met with reporters and made a few points worth repeating.

* Jim Oberweis on high gas prices

Oberweis said gas prices are the result of a supply problem that could be solved with increased offshore drilling in the U.S. and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also supports exploration of alternative energy sources like nuclear, coal and wind energy - but noted that the government shouldn’t continuously subsidize those energy industries.

At a similar appearance in Elgin last month, Democrat Foster said he was “mystified” at why fuel companies are reporting record profits at a time when crude oil is so high.

“I think the Democrats making that argument don’t understand how business works,” he said. “It’s the same as saying farmers receiving $7.50 for a bushel of corn and making a profit are doing something bad. I would expect farmers to have record profits when prices are high and lower profits when prices are low, and I would expect oil companies to have high profits when prices are high and low profits when prices are low.”

Except because of the high fuel prices and the floods, I doubt farmers will have “record” profits this year. This is not even close to an accurate comparison.

* Progress Illinois has been taking Congresscritter Mark Kirk to task. Here’s the latest

Another day, another instance of Rep. Mark Kirk twisting the facts.

Last week, we noted his falsehoods about the uninsured population in America. Yesterday, we thoroughly debunked his bogus claim that the federal unemployment insurance benefit extension he voted against would lead people to cash in after two weeks of work.

Then, during an appearance on WLS’ Don Wade & Roma Morning Show today, Kirk falsely asserted that the Chinese are drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba.

* Related…

* Foster: Fermi funding could be fine

* Funding bill may block Fermi layoffs

* Briefs: Meet new congressman

  52 Comments      


Blagojevich roundup *** UPDATED x2 ***

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I indicated yesterday, this is probably no surprise

Embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich likely will not be among the 15 to 20 governors talking about the economy with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama Friday morning in Chicago.

An Obama spokesman confirmed Thursday afternoon that Blagojevich was invited along with all Democratic governors to the Friday event. A Blagojevich spokeswoman, however, said the governor likely will be heading to the downstate Metro East area to monitor rising flood waters.

Blagojevich did attend a dinner function on Thursday night with Obama and the governors, the spokeswoman said.

*********************

*** UPDATE 1 *** The Democratic governors met with Obama earlier this morning. Blagojevich wasn’t there. The Tribsters took note of the governor’s schedule

One Democratic governor not present was Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Obama’s campaign said Blagojevich had been invited to the event, but the governor’s staff said he needed to monitor Downstate flooding.

A public schedule released by Blagojevich’s office showed his first public event of the day to be at 11:45 a.m. Central Time in Alton, Ill. Blagojevich’s approval ratings continue to sag in Illinois and he and Obama have not appeared together in public for months.

*********************

* Our quote of the week goes to Cindi Canary, regarding that poll I told you about yesterday which had the governor’s approval rating at 13 percent, and the General Assembly’s approval numbers at 17 percent…

“If any of us only had a 17 percent approval rating, we’d lose our jobs,” said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and a spokeswoman for Midwest Democracy Network.

* This is what happens when a real Statehouse reporter writes a story about the capital plan…

State transportation officials and a handful of Illinois lawmakers continued their push Thursday to get a statewide construction plan in place.

But without any new talks on the $34 billion measure, it appears that press conferences being held around the state in recent days are having no effect on breaking the stalemate.

* More from the article, which was about yet another press conference to boost the capital plan…

State Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Collinsville Democrat who is a key ally of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said Madigan is playing “petty politics” with the measure by blocking it from coming up for a vote.

“He needs to put aside his personal vindictiveness,” Hoffman said. “Let’s stop this inter-party bickering.”

At the press conference, however, Hoffman offered up no alternatives that would address Madigan’s concerns.

“If the bill is called for a vote … I’m convinced we’ll be able to pass that bill,” Hoffman said.

But the bill is flawed for numerous reasons. And since it’s a House bill amended in the Senate, it cannot be amended again in the House.

* Yesterday, we took a playful little shot at Mother Tribune because one of the company’s vendors was hawking free Obama t-shirts in exchange for buying a subscription. Eric Zorn posted this in comments…

…without even checking with anyone I can pretty well assure you that if this story is true (unless I’m missing something there is one source, one witness, “Leo” and a partial image of a shirt that looks like it might spell out “Obama”) it was not a company authorized promotion. There is no history or tradition at the Tribune or any American newspaper that I’m aware of of using partisan political souvenirs as subscription incentives, and if you thought about it for five seconds you’d realize why.

But even if somehow I’m wrong about that and this WAS an official promotion, sanctioned from on high, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the reporters, editors and columnists who are writing about the campaign. Nor would it influence the Tribune’s editorial positions or endorsements which, as some have noted, tend to run Republican.

* But this Chicago Sun-Times publicity stunt is most definitely sanctioned from on-high…

[Gov Blagojevich said] “I am proud of All Kids, a program that has covered more than 200,000 uninsured children since we started it in 2006. I would like to thank the Sun-Times and Resurrection Health Care for helping us get the word out about All Kids. I hope they far surpass their goal of signing up more than 1,000 children on Saturday.”

* Related…

* Jack Franks: “Not Yet”

* America the bummed

* Righter’s no friend of Blagojevich, but he opposes impeachment

*** UPDATE 2 *** Statement by Michael Dizon, communications manager, Chicago Tribune…

“Recently, several websites have reported that a Chicago Tribune contractor had been offering Obama and McCain T-Shirts as an incentive to purchase a newspaper subscription. This was not a company-authorized promotion and was inappropriate. All subscription premiums must be approved by the Tribune in advance, and these weren’t. The newspaper maintains a non-partisan position in its reporting as well as promotions. Chicago Tribune have reprimanded the contractors and regrets any confusion this might have caused for readers.”

  19 Comments      


Caption contest!

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I just couldn’t decide, so I’m posting them both…

Winner for each pic gets a free classified ad or calendar posting at the newly revamped InsiderzExchange.

Please, try to keep it clean. Thanks.

…Adding… Hynes finished first in Round 2 of our “whom should Blagojevich appoint to Obama’s seat” poll, so I figured we had to have a little fun with him today…

  31 Comments      


Morning Shorts

Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* Police brutality may play role in Olympic bid

* Activists use Olympics bid as leverage

* Midwest floods to raise meat prices

* Gov. halts insurance cancellations in flood areas

* Flooding victims feel hung out to dry

* Mississippi expected to crest today; levees are holding in region

* Britt cartoon on goofy journalists

* Public hearing on Pontiac, Ill. prison closing scheduled

* Secretary of Veterans Affairs to visit Marion

* Feds indict 67 for mortgage fraud in Chicago area

A major national crackdown on mortgage fraud includes charges against 67 people in Chicago-area real estate businesses who allegedly engaged in elaborate schemes that drained $40 million from area banks and lending institutions.

* Accused mortgage fraud ringleader says he’s a scapegoat

* Pace OKs outside probe of paratransit complaints

* Walter Jacobson ticketed on DUI

* Daley Strong Arms Little Children, Again

* More people on the move and Medicaid

* Blagojevich PR Chief Resigns

* Blagojevich loses key aide

* Friday Beer Blogging: 4 Comments      


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Friday, Jun 20, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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This just in…

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 11:53 am - That poll I told you about earlier today had a couple of other items that weren’t originally published…

Over half of Illinois voters (55%) said that Gov. Blagojevich is doing a “poor” job in office. Just under a third (31%) said he’s doing a “fair” job, while 13% said he’s doing a “good job.”

The General Assembly fared only slightly better: 26% said it was doing a “poor” job while a majority (52%) said the General Assembly is doing “fair” and 17% ranked its performance as “good.”

Remember, this poll was conducted before the Tony Rezko verdict and the end of session meltdown. Oof.

[402 interviews were conducted… by telephone April 21 through May 4, 2008… The margin of sampling error for the Illinois survey is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points at the 95% level of tolerance… The survey was funded by the Joyce Foundation]

* 12:00 pm -
Via the SJ-R’s flood blog, check out the interactive news map for the Flood of 2008.

* 12:09 pm -
From a press release…

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today added St. Clair and Edgar counties to a state disaster declaration, a move that will expedite state assistance needed to help Edgar County in southeastern Illinois recover from recent storms and flash flooding and St. Clair County battle flooding along the Mississippi River. The Governor also announced that the state’s public health director will be visiting public health departments in western Illinois Thursday to ensure medical and health needs are being met in counties affected by historic Mississippi River flooding.

* 12:54 pm - Guv orders cancellation moratorium…

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich directed the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to impose a 60-day moratorium on the cancellation of any insurance policy for late payment by policyholders who live in counties impacted by the recent storms and flooding. The moratorium covers the insurance policies of families and business owners in all of the counties designated as disaster areas by the Governor since June 10, 2008.


* 1:53 pm -
With a hat tip to PI, MSNBC reported about an hour ago from Quincy…


* 3:36 pm - From a press release…

Several thousand state employees, retirees and their families will rally at the State Capitol in Springfield on Monday morning, June 23, then march to the Hilton hotel downtown, site of scheduled negotiations over a new union contract between the state and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31.

The state workers and their families will come from all over Illinois to express their growing impatience with the slow pace of contract negotiations and the Blagojevich Administration’s insistence on massive economic concessions from workers, including higher pension contributions and sharply increased health insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays.

* 4:46 pm - I’ll bet 20 bucks he never pulls the final trigger on this

A rumor that State Rep. Jack Franks plans to announce a 2010 gubernatorial bid at a Monday fundraiser is not true, the Democrat from Woodstock said Thursday.

Franks, a long-time and harsh critic of embattled Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said he is mulling a run for the office. But he said any decision he makes will not come until after the presidential election. […]

The rumor stemmed from a Sunday column by Sun-Times gossip columnist Michael Sneed, who said she heard that Franks would enter the race at an annual fundraiser held for him by Chicago 33rd Ward Alderman Richard Mell and other Democratic politicians. […]

“I think that Sneed just got a bit overzealous,” Mell said.

  28 Comments      


Question of the day

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We ran a poll the other day asking which person you’d like to see appointed to Barack Obama’s US Senate seat if he wins the presidential race. Over 1,000 people participated in the poll, but there was a bit of hanky panky in the evening, so I shut it down.

I’ve added some more safeguards and will hide the results until the poll is closed later today. I’ll also disqualify anyone for the third and final round who I feel is trying to game the results. No appeals. My decision.

Explain your votes in comments…

  87 Comments      


A sticky wicket

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This might become a bit touchy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Gov. Martin O’Malley is scheduled to attend a campaign event this week for Barack Obama.

The event is set for Friday in Chicago. Other Democratic governors have been invited to attend to talk about economic issues.

I don’t know anything about O’Malley, but I do wonder whether our own governor will be attending. I have a call in to the Blagojevich campaign, but I also have a feeling (call me crazy) that the guv will be “too busy” touring flooded areas to attend.

* While we await a response, the Illinois Republican Party just sent out a press release posing the following questions to Obama…

1.) Does Rod Blagojevich still have a role with your campaign?

2.) If so, what role is Rod Blagojevich playing in your campaign?

3.) Do you welcome Rod Blagojevich being a part of your campaign?

4.) You returned all of Tony Rezko’s dirty money, will you call on Rod Blagojevich to return the $1.4 million he received from Tony Rezko, as well?

5.) A recent poll of Illinois voters found that 59% support beginning impeachment proceedings against Rod Blagojevich, do you share the same view with the majority of your constituents?

They seem like valid questions.

* Meanwhile, perhaps the IL GOP should be asking the Tribune Co. some questions. Check out this story

The deal is, if you sign up for the Chicago Tribune at one dollar a week, you can get one of the hats or teeshirts for free.

And what’s on the teeshirt?

Why “Obama” of course. It wasn’t the official campaign logo but it was his name splashed across the white cotton fabric. The only reason I noticed is because the woman called out to everyone entering the store saying they could get a free “Obama” teeshirt if they signed up for the Tribune.

* Wait ’til the National Review sees this pic…

That sound you hear is Colonel McCormick breaking the sound barrier as he spins madly in his grave.

  33 Comments      


Ethics and reform poll results

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The goo-goos have a new poll

Residents of Illinois clearly express distrust in their state government. A large majority of residents (77% overall) trusts government to do what is right “only some of the time” (52%) or “almost never” (25%). Just two in ten (20%) trust government “most of the time” and only three percent “almost always” trust state government to do what is right. Distrust of state government has increased since 2006 when 64% trusted state government “some of the time” or “almost never.”

I guess you could look at it the other way. 72 percent trust the government some or all the time. But I see their point.

* This result is undoubtedly a reflection of the revelations about governors Ryan and Blagojevich…

For Illinoisans, “corruption in state government” and “the influence of money in state politics” continue to be major concerns; nearly half (49%) say they are “extremely” concerned about corruption in state government, and almost the same number (46%) is “extremely” concerned about money in politics.

Corruption and the influence of money in politics rate with the economy (45%), public schools (42%) and health care (41%) as serious concerns, and rate above jobs (39%) and taxes (37%). The only concern more salient than corruption and money in politics for Illinoisans is gas prices (68%).

* The public is either hopeful or they’re suckers. Let’s be charitable and assume they’re hopeful…

Despite their lack of trust in government, Illinoisans still have hope for change in state government.

A majority (58%) disagrees that “money will always influence government decisions, so it is not worth trying to reduce the amount of money in politics,” while 41% agree. Sixty-seven percent reject the idea that “corruption in government will always be a problem, so trying to fix it will not make much difference,” while only 33% agree.

* One of the issues currently in play now is the ethics bill sitting on the governor’s desk. There appears to be a strong majority who think this bill will make a difference…

“Not allow state contractors to make political contributions to elected officials who issue contracts” (88% make a difference; 61% “big
difference”)

* Other issues…

• “Require lobbyists to fully report their clients, what issues they are
working on, and the money they spend on lobbying lawmakers” (88% make a difference; 61% “big difference”)

• “Pass tougher campaign finance laws to limit the amount of money special interest groups can give to candidates and political parties” (86% make a difference; 57% “big difference”)

* Public financing…

• “Public financing of campaigns which would use tax dollars to give
candidates the same amount of money to run their campaigns and not allow them to take money from special interests” (81% make a difference; 58% “big difference”)

• “Public financing of campaigns which would use tax dollars to give candidates the same amount of money to run their campaigns and limit spending by each candidate” (80% make a difference; 54% “big difference”)

• “Public financing for election of judges – that is letting judges use tax dollars to finance their campaigns rather than asking for contributions from lawyers and special interest groups” (74% make a difference; 42% “big difference”)

* This is one that really ought to be in any new Constitution…

• “Instead of allowing politicians to be in charge of redrawing their own district lines every ten years, establish independent, non-partisan commissions to draw district lines” (81% make a difference; 52% “big difference”)

Read the whole thing.

Thoughts?

[The 2008 Belden Russonello & Stewart survey for the Midwest Democracy Network (www.midwestdemocracynetwork.org) is a random sample telephone survey of adults… In Illinois 402 interviews were conducted… by telephone April 21 through May 4, 2008… The margin of sampling error for the Illinois survey is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points at the 95% level of tolerance… The survey was funded by the Joyce Foundation]

  18 Comments      


Forby touts capital plan for his region, IMA opposes it *** UPDATED x1 ***

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sen. Gary Forby explains the current fight over the capital bill and Mayor Daley’s reluctance to sign on to the Chicago casino as only Forby can

“You have to read the fine print,” Forby, D-Benton, said. “Chicago wants the gambling but they don’t want to see us get any money.

“Chicago will get their boats, but we won’t get our money. If you voted against this capital bill, then you voted against Southern Illinois getting our money. We’re getting the shaft again, people. If this bill goes down, if you think you’re crying now, you’ll need a towel to wipe your tears.”

Translation: Daley wants a lower share of Chicago casino revenues going to the state. That means less money for projects.

* And, as the Southern Illinoisan pointed out in a recent editorial, the folks down ‘yonder are getting a disproportionate share of the pie

In one example, as the plan relates to the money earmarked for all nine Illinois Department of Transportation districts, the two southernmost districts would get 16 percent of the $14 billion for road and bridge projects. Yet those two districts only make up about 9.3 percent of the state’s population.

The Chicagoland district would get 37 percent of the funding, while it has nearly 64 percent of the state’s population.

* The SI has clearly bought into this notion that the South needs to grab while the grabbing is good, despite past problems with the governor’s truthiness…

We understand some lawmakers are leery of Blagojevich and the Constitutional authority he has to release funding for projects. But measures can be built into the bill that are designed to ensure the timely release of money solely for specific uses.

That would be really tough to do. And, so far, the governor has only agreed to the restrictions that are in the current bill. What’s in the bill is the limit that the governor will concede.

* Rep. John Bradley, who sponsored the motion to table the gaming bill on the last night of session, had this to say

“Based on their track record, I think it is horrible public policy to give the administration lump sums of money,” Bradley said. “What’s the problem with transparency - with putting in the bill, here is $15 million for Carterville, here is $15 million for Marion? I don’t think it is asking too much to know exactly where the money will be spent.”

* Most of the newspaper editorial boards are focusing on all the sweet projects and jobs that a capital bill would provide. But as I told subscribers earlier this week, the Illinois Manufacturers Association has some harsh criticisms of the bill itself - criticisms that have mostly been ignored by the editorial writers. From a letter to state legislators

Illinois gaming revenue is down 17 percent since the start of the year due largely to the statewide smoking ban and economic downturn in the economy. Despite the slumping revenue, and possible new competition from neighboring states, Illinois Works relies on a huge expansion of gaming in the form of new casinos and additional gaming spots at current casinos and horse tracks to fund the infrastructure program.

Under Illinois Works, the State Lottery would be leased to a private vendor for fifty years for a one-time payment of $10 billion. In the past two decades, the Lottery has been a stable source of revenue, providing nearly $600 million year-in and year-out for the Common School Fund. According to proponents’ stated plans, Illinois would be leasing a $30 billion state asset for a one-time payment of $10 billion. It does not make financial sense to sell or lease a state asset for 30 cents on the dollar, especially in light of the time-tested reliability of the revenue it has made available for our children’s education.

Finally, Illinois Works creates a funding gap in the state budget by diverting the sales tax on motor fuel from the General Revenue Fund… Illinois sales tax revenues are performing poorly, growing less than 1 percent over last year. This means that there is no additional tax revenue to patch the hole in the General Revenue Fund. […]

At a time when the state is facing a fiscal crisis, owing billions of dollars to health care providers and facing the worst funded pension system in the United States, it defies common sense to pass a massive new public works program that contains billions of dollars in unallocated, lump-sum spending or does not contain a mechanism to evaluate the merits of a project.

Illinois cannot afford a massive new program using unstable revenue.

All emphasis is in the original.

Yes, we need a capital plan. But do we need this one?

*** UPDATE *** The CTA Tattler is not exactly clear on the concept

$115 million in capital funds in 2007 were diverted to cover RTA operating expenses. Of that total, the CTA diverted $83 million. And the five-year total is $315 million.

That’s just a harsh reminder that the state legislature still hasn’t provided any capital dollars for public transportation.

Huh? They’re getting capital dollars and diverting it to operating expenses.

  20 Comments      


Thursday flood updates

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The SJ-R started blogging about the floods the other day. Here’s a handy chart from the blog that gives us a look at how things are going…

* Levees breached: 4
* National Guardsman deployed: 1,100
* Counties declared disaster areas: 19
* State inmates filling sandbags: More than 300
* Record crest at Quincy: 32.2 feet (1993)
* Predicted crest at Quincy: 32.2 feet today
* Deaths: 0

* More

The Army Corps, which operates river locks and dams, said 23 levees along the Mississippi had failed this week. It said 48 levees protecting more than 285,000 acres (115,335 hectares) of cropland from Dubuque, Iowa, to St. Louis, Missouri, were overflowing or at high flood risk.

* Illinois seems to be better prepared this time around, as this story illustrates

Hull, a town of roughly 500 about nine miles from the Mississippi River, was under water when the levees broke during the flood of 1993.

That experience was enough to spring residents to action this time around.

“It’s so much smoother. This has been handled better this time,” said Cathy Fesler, whose family owns farmland in the Hull area. “Unfortunately, we could remember what happened last time.”

* I’ve been getting nothing but good reports about Gov. Blagojevich since he became engaged in the flood prevention and rescue efforts. He is often, however, prone to exaggeration

Blagojevich [yesterday] said Quincy’s water treatment plant is at risk. If the plant goes underwater, the governor said, the city will need 128,000 bottles of water a day. Already, he said, the state has stockpiled 100,000 gallons of water in Springfield.

But Quincy Mayor John Spring said he isn’t worried. He doesn’t think the city’s water-treatment plant will flood.

“I don’t expect it at all — not at all,” the mayor said. “We’re in great shape.”

* And he might want to amend this comment

“Every time we’ve asked President Bush for federal disaster relief … they’ve always complied,” Blagojevich said. “I have no reason to think they’ll do anything but what they’ve done in the past.”

The feds have denied aid in the past, which the state has appealed. Back in March, southern Illinois was denied FEMA assistance, Watseka got bad news several months ago, as did Rockford.

* Also, he might want to leave Statehouse politics out of it

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said during a visit here Wednesday that Illinois’ ongoing battle with flooding increases the need for a statewide construction plan.

“What we’re learning here from the flooding could very well have an impact on the capital bill,” Blagojevich said. “The jobs bill is very relevant to this so we can provide resources to those affected by the flooding.”

* A bit of good news

Corn prices retreated early on Thursday, having set record highs for two weeks on flooding that has submerged or stunted crops on millions of acres

* More…

* Southern Baptist disaster relief group drawn to flood

* Blagojevich says second command center will be set up in Quincy

* Quincy Civic Center Authority chairman lauds OLC staff for response to crisis

* River muscles over levees

* Midwest Flooding

* Lake County floodwaters receding, officials say

* Residents near Chain O’ Lakes use sandbags to build fort against flooding

* Crest at Quincy expected today; Blagojevich calls flood historic

* Governor predicts worst of flooding is yet to come

* Governor takes tour of flooding

* Levee breaks near Winfield

* Fox River Communities On Long Haul To Recovery

* The Daily Show was “in” Quincy and had this report last night…

  8 Comments      


The last of the spin sisters is out the door

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Abby’s leaving

Abby Ottenhof, top spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is leaving her job in July and says she’s proud of the work she’s done for the administration.

Lucio Guerrero. a former Chicago Sun-Times reporter who recently has been deputy assessor in the office of Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, will take over the job as the governor’s communications director, Ottenhoff said. Pay for the position will remain $120,000, she said.

Guerrero starts today, Ottenhoff said, and she expects there to be “a couple weeks of transition before I move on.”

Ottenhoff, 35, of Chicago, said it was her idea to leave. With spring legislative session over and being in the middle of the governor’s second term, now is “a pretty natural time to make a transition,” she said.

* Sneed

Although Ottenhoff told Sneed she wanted to travel and was eager to “do something different after 10 years in state government,” it’s left political wags wondering if it’s the beginning of a bailout due to feds fine-tuning their gun sights on Gov. Blago.

Abby, Sheila Nix and Rebecca Rausch were simply burned out. And, yes, the multiple federal investigations undoubtedly contributed to that burnout. Abby and Sheila both worked the campaign, and neither really had a chance to decompress because the campaign led directly to a never-ending war with House Speaker Madigan and never-ending corruption revelations. So, try not to put on your tinfoil hat today.

  49 Comments      


Morning Shorts

Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* Bottled water tax take falls far short

* Clout on the payroll

* Three strikes against lawyers, just one out

But until then, Cari remains licensed to practice law in Illinois. Cari — a former top Democratic Party fund-raiser — is likely to be disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court, but not until he’s sent to prison.

* Pigs Don’t Vote

* City to hold Olympic extravaganza

“The important thing for us is that it’s both a fund-raiser and a celebration — and there are 7,000 free seats available. We want the broadest number of Chicagoans possible to come out and celebrate and participate in the Olympic bid,” Sandusky said.

* OLYMPICS 2016 TRASH TOUR KICKS OFF ON THURSDAY, JUNE 19TH

* New county health CEO might not be picked for year

* Stroger Welcomes New County Health Bureau Board

* A boost to the effort to secede from Cook County?

* Meeting Illinois’ energy needs

* Wind tower plant may locate locally

A company that builds towers for wind turbines is shopping for a place to locate about 150 jobs and a multimillion-dollar facility, and it has its eye on Peoria and Tazewell counties.

* Audit raps healthcare agency for slow, poor bookkeeping

* New audit also critical of Blagojevich health department

* Blagojevich hopes moving jobs will help state economically

  7 Comments      


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