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Poll: Blagojevich is least popular governor in nation

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rod Blagojevich is now the least popular governor in the country, according to Rasmussen Reports…

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich continues to earn poor ratings from voters. This month, just 13% of Illinois voters give him good or excellent ratings, while 60% give him a poor rating. Blagojevich ranks as “Least Popular Governor” according to Rasmussen Reports By the Numbers.

[Emphasis added]

Another 26 percent rated his performance as “fair,” so using the traditional ratings method, we get 86 percent “negative”.

That compares to President Bush’s Illinois rating of 26 percent positive and 57 percent poor [with 17 percent saying he’s doing a “fair” job].

* Toplines are here.

* More from the poll…

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is currently cruising towards re-election in his home state. The Democrat leads Republican challenger Steve Sauerberg 61% to 27% in the latest Rasmussen Reports poll in the Prairie State.

When “leaners” are included Durbin leads 63% to 28%.

The incumbent leads by over thirty points among both men and women in Illinois. Durbin is backed by 93% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans. Sauerberg’s support comes from just 68% of Republicans and 4% of Democrats. Among unaffiliated voters, Durbin leads 52% to 24%.

* Meanwhile, this is somewhat odd…

Senator Barack Obama leads John McCain 50% to 37% in his home state of Illinois, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. When “leaners” are included, Obama leads 52% to 41%.

As in many states, Obama has a strong lead among women in Illinois, but not among men. He leads 55% to 35% among women, but just 43% to 40% among male voters. […]

Most (56%) Illinois voters see getting the troops home from Iraq as more important than winning the war while 35% disagree and think winning the war is more important.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) favor drilling in offshore oil wells to ease gas prices, while 32% are opposed. Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters think it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will decline if this practice is allowed, while 41% find this outcome unlikely.

…Adding… Considering the president’s numbers, it’s not surprising that a Bush fundraiser for Aaron Schock will not include a public appearance…

President George W. Bush is coming to Peoria on July 25 for a fundraiser for state Rep. Aaron Schock, a candidate for the 18th Congressional District.

The $500-per-person event will be at a private residence. Couples will have the opportunity to take photos with the president for $4,600. No public appearance is planned.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Raw audio from Speaker Madigan’s press conference *** UPDATED x1 ***

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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This just in… House to come back next week *** Jones disses Daley *** Gaming proposal crashes and burns in House *** Madigan: Gaming expansion proposal a “dead issue,” No lame duck tax hike *** Jones: No Senate session until November ***

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 11:08 am - The House is preparing to vote on legislation that would allow the governor to finish some of the capital projects that were halted earlier this month. The House Democrats initially said (and continued saying it right up through yesterday) that they were not going to allow the governor to proceed with the projects because they were not pre-approved by the General Assembly, but the HDems appear to have backed off.

Here is the list of projects that were halted by the Capital Development Board and here is the House proposal. You can find some background on this fight by clicking here.

* 11:21 am - The governor’s office defends the decision to not veto out pay raises for himself and lawmakers…

“According to state statute, the amount authorized per year for each lawmaker shall be increased by a percentage equivalent to a cost of living increase,” said Kelley Quinn of Blagojevich’s budget office.

But that view is far different from what Blagojevich espoused in 2003, when he vetoed raises totaling $791,000 for himself and legislators.

“In these difficult times, when state agencies are being consolidated, when the number of state personnel is being reduced — in short, when others are being asked to sacrifice — this is not the time to give pay raises to the governor, the lieutenant governor, to the constitutional officers, to the men and women of the General Assembly, or to the Supreme Court, the Appellate Court or the Circuit Court judges,” Blagojevich said at the time.

*** 11:34 am *** From the SJ-R…

The Illinois House is coming back to work next week to determine the fate of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s massive budget cuts.

House leaders say after lawmakers wrap up a special session today, they’ll come back for session Tuesday through Thursday of next week. They’ll decide then how to handle the $1.4 billion in budget cuts the governor made Wednesday.

*** 12:42 pm - *** Apparently, Senate President Emil Jones was not happy with the City of Chicago’s testimony yesterday against the gaming expansion bill and the capital bill…

“We’re going to put a tax on the mayor,” Jones told reporters as he walked past the pressbox in the Illinois Senate.

This was after Jones said the city of Chicago should have to send money to Springfield to help pay for the rest of the state, a reference (I think) to the city complaining about having to pay millions for a state gambling license under the expansion plan Jones wants.

*** 1:24 pm *** The House just voted down part of the gaming expansion bill. The vote on Senate Amendment 3 was 47-55. So much for that one.

* 1:28 pm - The Senate Executive Committee will likely take up another bill today to require insurance companies to cover autistm. A previous bill was caught up in legislative bickering over whether to allow the administration to write administrative rules.

* 1:31 pm - After passing the above-mentioned bill to allow the stalled capital projects, Speaker Madigan announced that the House will return next Tuesday and vote on the governor’s budget vetoes on Wednesday. The chamber is in the process of adjourning.

* 1:47 pm - Speaker Madigan will hold a press conference in about ten minutes. Check back.

* 1:51 pm - The governor responds…

Blagojevich says it’s “mindboggling” Madigan has put all his “resourcefulness and cleverness” to preventing the House from voting on a $34 billion capital construction program.

*** 2:04 pm *** House Speaker Michael Madigan just told reporters: “Given the conditions here in Springfield, it is my view that the proposal for the expansion of gaming is a dead issue.”

* Asked about the governor’s claim that Madigan is setting up a post-election income tax increase, the Speaker said: “I’m not going to support an income tax increase during a lame duck session of the Legislature.” Asked about next spring session, Madigan said “Next spring is next spring. It’s a long time away.”

* 2:53 pm - The Senate Executive Committee passed an amendment today to restart the horse racing industry’s subsidy from casinos. The committee also passed a bill to require insurance companies to cover autism.

*** 4:42 pm *** Senate President Emil Jones just said that he does not intend to bring the Senate back in to session next week unless the House passes some revenue enhancers. “We do not intend to come back next week because we have done our business.”

…Adding… I think what happens now is if the House doesn’t pass revenue bills and the Senate doesn’t come back to town, the vetoes of the Senate appropriations bills will stand. That means some bigtime cuts for the AG, SoS, treasurer, etc.

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Question of the day

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Imagine, for a moment, that a friend was visiting from out of state. Let’s say this person had never been to Illinois and knew nothing about our politics. Let’s also say that your friend asked you to sum up Illinois politics with one word.

* Question: What would that one word be?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Errata; Complete cut list; Hassert mailer; Blagojevich raw audio (Use all caps in password)

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Explaining the fight

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* John Patterson attempts to explain the feud between Madigan and Blagojevich…

Michael J. Madigan is an old-school Democratic politician, the kind that believes a good compromise is one that has everyone walking away from the table angry, but in agreement. […]

Rod R. Blagojevich is a new-age Democratic politician, one who revels in the spotlight, is prone to talk about “win-win” policies and is loath to put his name on anything that could lead to political pain. […]

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the key reasons why the two don’t get along - the eternal battle between an optimist and pessimist.

Patterson admits there’s lots more, enough to fill a book. He’s certainly right about that point.

Blagojevich is definitely an “optimist,” but sometimes that optimism is a bit bizarre. After getting roundly booed in Quincy last year, for instance, the governor’s face was glowing as he exclaimed, “We should do this every day!”

* Patterson also delves a bit into how the fight has been made so personal…

Blagojevich, on the other hand, often has been accused of making it personal from the beginning. As a candidate in 2002, Blagojevich criticized Madigan getting taxpayer subsidies for a college pal’s livestock show. As governor, he’s derided the speaker’s daughter - Attorney General Lisa Madigan - fired the wife of the speaker’s top aide and slashed funding for the Illinois Arts Council run by Madigan’s wife.

Madigan’s staff and some of his top lieutenants have been getting personal with the governor for months, suggesting or outright saying that Blagojevich has some sort of mental illness, for instance. The Speaker, himself, usually doesn’t sink to those depths, but his people are putting out his message.

Now it’s your turn to put both men on the couch and come up with your own explanations for why they don’t get along.

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Budget updates

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The governor issued a press release yesterday afternoon slamming the House for not approving his revenue generating proposals, even though the House had scheduled votes in committee later that day and even though the governor had already abandoned his pension obligation bond idea, which would’ve freed up $400 million. The reaction from both sides of the aisle was swift…

“There is something wrong with the mind of a person that drags 177 legislators down to Springfield to do some work and before we have a chance to act one way or another says, ‘You know what? I am going to do these cuts anyway,’ ” said state Rep. Lou Lang (D-Evanston).

* And…

“This was done with a dull ax, will hurt people,” said Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville. “You don’t have to do this.”

* Neither the House nor the Senate acted on the governor’s vetoes yesterday. They could act today, come back soon or wait until the fall…

We’ll have something to say about all that [Thursday],” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said.

Rep. Gary Hannig, a Litchfield Democrat and top Madigan lieutenant, said … lawmakers could come back to town soon to [act on the vetoes]…

* One revision may be on tap…

But the House showed some wiggle room in transferring about $500 million in special dedicated funds to pad the state’s general fund — but not before gutting the governor’s original version that already received Senate approval in the spring. Madigan said the intent of the revised “fund sweeps” measure is to show a willingness to work with the governor on the idea. (It’s a blank slate — they still have to insert the language.) But Madigan’s caucus wants to spell out which funds could be swept and where the money would go. Otherwise, his members object to giving free reign to the governor to sweep about half a billion dollars and spend it on whatever he pleases. Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat and point person on human services, said she would be willing to consider fund sweeps if it saved human services from the budget ax. The governor’s cuts on Wednesday did reduce funding for human services by $210 million, erasing increases for autism programs, substance abuse treatment and mental health services.

* And the blame game has begun….

And earlier Wednesday, Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, made it clear the House would shoulder all the blame if it didn’t pass plans to generate more money and the governor was forced to make cuts. Senators met briefly in session Wednesday but took no action.

“If they don’t like the revenue that was passed, pass some other revenue,” Jones said. “But don’t sit there and put money in the budget for programs and tell people you’re going to do all these things but don’t put any money in the bank. That’s legal check-kiting.”

* Keep in mind that many of these “cuts” are actually reductions in proposed increases…

# $210 million for social services. Includes elimination of a 50-cent-an-hour rate increase for mental health direct-care workers and no funding increases for rape-prevention services and domestic-violence shelters.

# $100 million for senior citizens’ and veterans’ services. Includes elimination of expansion of the Elder Abuse Hotline and delayed payments for home-care workers for seniors.

# $230 million for economic development and transit. Includes reduced operating and administrative spending for the Lincoln Bicentennial and elimination of fare subsidies to mass-transit agencies to assist students and disabled people.

# $100 million for education. Includes elimination of grants for health-services education and reduced funding for community college districts.

* Related…

* Blagojevich vetoes $1.4 billion out of budget

* Ill. governor trims $1.4 billion from budget

* Blagojevich vetoes parts of budget

* Blagojevich Vetoes Parts Of State Budget

* Budget hearings don’t sway many

* One place hurt by state budget mess

* Greg Blankenship: Needless drama masks bad decisions by state leaders

* Analysis: IDOT move a $9 million loss here

* 10th casino license to be issued soon

* State to auction Emerald Casino license

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Reform and Renewal, Part 9,690

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More shenanigans?

Corey Novick, a former lawyer for the state’s child-welfare agency, is suing two aides to Gov. Blagojevich. His claim: They fired him in 2007 for cooperating with “the federal probe into illegal hiring.”

“Novick was questioned by the FBI regarding the state’s illegal hiring practices,” Novick’s federal whistle-blower suit states. “Defendants Robin Staggers and Victor Roberson ended Novick’s employment because of his cooperation.”

* To give you a bit of background, this is from a column I wrote back in 2005…

The Chicago Tribune disclosed the day before the governor’s speech that the feds had widened their probe of the Department of Children and Family Services with a fresh subpoena of hiring records and that federal prosecutors had sent an unusual letter claiming that “the government is conducting a grand jury investigation regarding allegations of criminal wrongdoing of Victor Roberson, Robin Staggers and Joe Cini in relation to public corruption.”

* And here’s a bit more…

The subordinate told state investigators that Robin Staggers, the deputy director for human resources at the Department of Children and Family Services, hired people without having specific jobs for them, pressured an underling to hire someone and increased the use of interns who didn’t have to go through normal employment procedures.

* Blagojevich responded at the time to the revelation thusly…

“What we’re talking about here are requests for information, period. Nobody in this latest round of these requests has been accused of any wrongdoing,” he said. “Not the personnel director, he’s not been accused of any wrongdoing. Not his assistant, he’s not been accused of any wrongdoing. Or not Miss Staggers at DCFS, she’s not been accused of any wrongdoing.”

* Meanwhile…

Look for the trial of Chris Kelly — a onetime top Blagojevich fund-raiser and adviser — to be delayed. Kelly was to go on trial in November on charges he cheated on his federal income taxes by paying off his gambling debts through his company, BCI Roofing. But his lawyer, Michael Monico, wants a delay until February because of other trials he has this fall, including that of former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak. Prosecutors would prefer January. A judge will decide.

* Related…

* Big Muddy Prison Guard Files Lawsuit

* The winners in city scandals? The lawyers

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Morning Shorts

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Chicago Hosts Green Party Convention

* Greens To Nominate President in Chicago

* Whitney gets his snark on

* Time for CTA to primp its ride

* Daley proposes adding cameras to street sweepers

* Council panel to grill Weis

That’s apparently why Daley is standing by his man — even after all of the second-guessing. Asked if Weis still enjoys his full confidence after six months on the job, the mayor said, “Oh, definitely. Definitely. He’s a very good superintendent.”

* It’s too soon to judge Weis’ overall record

* Alderman calls Weis on the carpet in wake of violence

* County taking pothole holidays

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Morning video

Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s my brother Denny’s birthday today, so this one’s for him…

Oh, baby
Hoggify