Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2008

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 3:47 pm: The governor filed another special session proclamation today requiring the General Assembly to take up his line item and reduction vetoes, but he hasn’t yet unveiled any vetoes.

Here’s the proclamation. Page 1 and page 2 [fixed link].

* 4:16 pm - The Senate has received the vetoes for its bills, but the Senate appropriations bills were relatively small. Nothing is posted online as of right now.

The House approp bill was the big one, but as of this moment the House has not yet received the governor’s veto message.

* 4:26 pm - I’m not sure exactly what this means for our near future, but here’s a statement from the Senate Democratic spokesperson: Unless the House passes the revenue bills it will be difficult to override the vetoes.

* 4:46 pm - From the Associated Press…

Governor Rod Blagojevich has cut $211 million from the state budget by vetoing items that he says will impact programs he supports. […]

The bills Blagojevich vetoed were Senate bills. It’s unclear what the Democratic governor plans to do with a House appropriations bill.

Blagojevich spokespeople could not immediately discuss the cuts.

* 4:53 pm - A representative of the City of Chicago is testifying to the House COTW right now about the mayor’s opposition to the gaming bill. The city did not testify against the bill when it zoomed out of the Senate.

66 Comments

This just in…

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* Apparently the air conditioning in the Executive Mansion has broken down as legislators return to Springfield for special session.

Talk about bad timing. Some forecasts have the temperature here in the mid 80’s this week. This is ironic:

What’s worse, the budget problems might prohibit the state from immediately fixing the breakdown at the governor’s official residence.

Blagojevich stopped work on all new state construction projects earlier this month because his staff said language in budget legislation sent to him prohibited it.

Capital Development Board spokesman David Blanchette said that the legislation only pertains to certain streams of money and it’s possible the air conditioner at the mansion could be fixed using a different funding source:

“It depends on whether it needs replacement or repair and what potential funding sources there might be,” Blanchette said.

* Some events scheduled at the mansion for this week have already been canceled, and it is unclear if the Governor is going to stay there overnight.

When legislators were in Springfield for last summer’s overtime the Governor started staying overnight in the mansion after an onslaught of negative press for flying daily roundtrips between Chicago and Springfield.

Just the first weird thing to happen today as things heat up in Springfield…

* 3:38 pm - [Rich Miller] A new air conditioner is said to be on order on an emergency basis.

51 Comments

Question of the Day

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

posted by Kevin Fanning

* There has been a lot of moaning over the Cook County Sales Tax increase, but aside from a Palatine secession, there haven’t been many policies discussed to do much about it.

Enter Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn and Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool:

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn and Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool are calling for a state law that would give voters the right to challenge new taxes through ballot initiatives.

[…]

Claypool and Quinn are also calling for a constitutional amendment that would let voters challenge new state taxes. They do says legislators ought to cut government spending before asking tax payers for more money.

* Question: What do you think of the ideas?

71 Comments

That trust issue

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

Posted by Kevin Fanning

* In a new effort to break the impasse over the capital bill, Former Speaker Dennis Hastert and SIU President Glenn Poshard sent a memo to legislators reassuring them that their are plenty of oversight provisions to watch over the Governor.

Most of them have already been discussed:

Oversight provisions outlined in the memo include a “lockbox” that ensures earmarked funds will be applied to the program, a formula for distributing spending equitably across the state and a limit on initial bonding authority of $2.5 billion. The four legislative caucuses—Republican and Democratic groups in the House and Senate—and the executive branch would be assured equal funding for discretionary projects, the memo added.

However, there was one new provision that stuck out…

“Finally, it cannot be ignored that if the General Assembly believes the capital program has not been implemented as expected or executed in good faith, then it is within the General Assembly’s power to refuse to re-appropriate authority for spending in future fiscal years.”

You can read the entire memo here.

* Speaker Madigan continues to get heat for his opposition to the bill, but as stated previously on this blog, he still has Mayor Daley in his corner:

“The speaker agrees with the need to try to put a claim on that federal money as quickly as possible. He’s said that for more than a year now,” said Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat. “The problem is, with the gambling bill, they’ve sent one the city of Chicago opposes.”

As long as he has that ace up his sleeve, it is sure to be an uphill battle for the Governor.

* John Patterson also raises an interesting point that has been left out of recent stories:

Hastert also previously criticized Blagojevich’s priorities regarding the federal highway dollars, suggesting that money is already available.

Asked about that Tuesday, Hastert said it never came up in recent meetings with legislative leaders and the Blagojevich administration and everyone “acquiesced” to moving forward with a gambling-backed construction plan.

* Hastert and Poshard can continue to send memos to legislators and hold press conferences on the capital plan, but it is doubtful that it will change much. At the end of the day, it always comes back to that little trust thing…

Blagojevich set up the stalemate by engendering great mistrust, repeatedly going around the legislative process and constantly introducing big, headline-grabbing ideas that amounted to little.

* Related….

* Analysis: What’s at stake in Illinois’ budget battle?

* State Budget talks: ‘a play in two or three acts‘ or 3-ring circus?

* Get to work, for law’s sake

* PO: Balance IL Budget by Increasing Tax Fairness

* Britt: Cartoon about legislative pests

* Governor ready to put promises in writing on construction plan

* Blagojevich Wants Lawmakers to Pass Construction Bill

* Illinois’ special session looks like $2 billion poker game

* For better or worse

26 Comments

Morning Shorts

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* To El and Back

* City makes $85 mil. gamble on Reese site

* Tourists coming here, with money

* Alderman’s father admits role in fake ID operation

Munoz, the father of Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd), admitted to U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that he knew photos taken at his shop were used for bogus driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and resident alien cards.

* County hires firm employing Daley nephew

* Wendt nominated for McLean Co. Board District 3 seat in Bloomington

* FTC considers backing off 40-year-old nicotine guidelines

* Chicago Tribune to Cut Newsroom Staff

* “DESPICABLE DEFECTION”

* Kane County carves up four voting precincts

* Peoria elections are going to be a lot weirder

* Survey shows state video franchise laws bring no rate relief while harming public benefits

* Group notes state transit funds are on wrong track

* ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL ASKED TO REVIEW IDOC FAILURE TO ACT ON PONTIAC CORRECTIONAL CENTER

* Fireworks might not be over yet

* Going Green in the ‘Burbs

* Illinois Democrats discuss who would succeed Obama

Recently, the governor was asked about Obama’s seat and he mentioned several members of Congress. He also mentioned Tammy Duckworth, the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs who in 2006 lost a bid for Congress.

“I’m just throwing names out,” Blagojevich said. He refused to say if he’d consider appointing himself.

14 Comments

Ozinga continues to impress *** UPDATED x1 ***

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told you yesterday, Martin Ozinga put up some pretty impressive 2nd Quarter fundraising numbers…

Republican Martin Ozinga III said Tuesday he has raised about $800,000 since jumping into the 11th Congressional District race in April.

That early fundraising is helping him close the money gap with more established Democratic foe state Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D- Crete), who has been running since October. She has raised $1.27 million, including $400,000 from April through June, campaign spokesman Brian Doory said.

Halvorson still is expected to have more money on hand when both campaigns file required paperwork with the Federal Election Commission by Tuesday. Her campaign estimated it had $900,000 left as of June 30, while Ozinga’s campaign put its total at around $650,000.

* The Politico takes a look at the race…

Ozinga has proved to be a more nimble candidate than expected. He joined the race as something of an accidental candidate after the initial GOP nominee, Tim Baldermann, abruptly dropped out of the race in February. Ozinga emerged as the consensus choice to replace Baldermann on the ballot only after several other local elected officials declined to run, a delay that appeared to give Democrats the upper hand as the GOP scrambled to find a replacement.

Once he officially became the nominee, Ozinga relentlessly attacked Halvorson over her ties to Blagojevich and immediately proved his fundraising chops. Though he has the ability to self-fund, he raised $800,000 from individual donors over the past three months and is poised to outraise Halvorson in the most recent fundraising quarter — no small feat because Halvorson, who reported more than $678,000 cash on hand at the end of March, has been one of the top Democratic fundraisers.

By all measures, the race should be competitive. The exurban Chicago district, with its sizable blue-collar constituency, agricultural base and culturally conservative leanings, has been favorable to Republican candidates — it voted for Judy Baar Topinka, the hapless GOP gubernatorial nominee, in 2006 and gave President Bush 53 percent of the vote in 2004.

Halvorson’s biggest challenge is to persuade voters that she matches the culturally conservative sentiment in the district. Her endorsement by EMILY’s List, which supports abortion rights, could hamper her efforts on that front.

But she also has received perfect ratings from the local branch of the National Rifle Association, an important asset in the exurban and small-town 11th District.

* And the charges and counter-charges were flying yesterday…

The push to develop a Veterans’ Administration hospital in Joliet may be years away, but the movement received a huge boost Wednesday when a leading lawmaker joined the campaign.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, entered the effort during a press conference in Joliet’s American Legion Harwood Post 5 [with Halvorson] where he vowed to push Congress to see the facility created at what will be the former Silver Cross Hospital in either late 2011 or early 2012. […]

“This is the same Debbie Halvorson who took to the Senate floor months ago to claim that veteran home funding wasn’t a top priority. … Debbie Halvorson should apologize to veterans for pretending to be their advocate after years of shortchanging them,” Ozinga’s campaign said.

Halvorson said she was offended that this push for veterans’ care is called a political stunt. “This is about veterans, about my stepson. This is not about the campaign.”

Thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** From a press release…

11th Congressional District candidate Marty Ozinga released the first television spot of the campaign on Wednesday.

The ad will begin running this week on cable stations throughout Will, Kankakee, Grundy and LaSalle counties, which together comprise about 85% of the 11th District vote.

Click here to view the spot on our YouTube page…

The transcript is below:

My name is Marty Ozinga, and I’m running for Congress.

I grew up observing my dad, his enthusiasm for work and for serving in the community…

Having a job and working was a real privilege…

I enjoyed it, and it was always very exciting to me…

I like to work, I still do.

I’m no politician, but I know if we work together, we can solve our nation’s problems.

There’s a lot of change needed in Congress…

I believe that I’m a person that can go there to make those changes.

I’m Marty Ozinga, and I approved this message.

29 Comments

Marin says it all

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Carol Marin picks up on something that some of you noticed the other day…

What do Barack Obama, the legislative morass in Springfield, and a constitutional convention have in common? A lot, according to United Power for Action and Justice, a Chicago-based social action network of 300 religious, labor and civic organizations.

United Power’s Gregory Pierce fired off a letter to Sen. Obama Tuesday. The first paragraph says it all:

“Our nonpartisan organization . . . was surprised to learn that David Axelrod’s public relations firm has negotiated a contract of at least $2 million to lead a campaign against the state’s best chance for change in 20 years — the upcoming referendum on whether or not the citizens of Illinois should call a constitutional convention to deal with the mess in Springfield. While your campaign manager is heading a presidential effort whose slogan is “Change you can believe in,” his firm is running a local campaign whose slogan should read, “Change we must fear and undermine.”

Marin continues…

Whether you’re for it or agin’ it, the reality is that for the moment, a Con Con is a long shot because opponents have more money and clout.

But the one thing that gives United Power and other proponents a fighting chance is the spectacle we will witness today and tomorrow in the state capital. There, the pretense of lawmakers in a public discussion about Blagojevich’s budget and revenue proposals will be followed by members of the governor’s own party led by House Speaker Michael Madigan trouncing them. […]

Meanwhile, citizens, fed up with being bystanders in this car wreck of a government, are stuck with skyrocketing gas prices, a faltering economy and a growing fear for their and their children’s futures.

Amen, Carol. Amen.

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Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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