Members of the state’s largest employee union have approved a contract giving them a 15.2 percent wage hike over the four-year life of the pact. | Prisons scramble to make digital TV switch | Archived Video: Prison closure hearing
Although details of the vote were not available Friday morning, Linc Cohen, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 said the vote was “overwhelmingly” in favor of ratification.
“We don’t have a final tally yet though,” Cohen said.
The agreement calls for the 35,000 AFSCME members to pay slightly higher health-insurance premiums, but the increased costs are lower than what was initially being pushed by state negotiators.
Ratification meetings were held at more than 100 worksites throughout the state, where the terms of the new agreement were explained and union members had the opportunity to have their questions answered by those who served on the AFSCME negotiating team. In the voting, which took place at each worksite meeting, 93 percent of union members voted in favor of ratifying the new agreement. The Union has notified the State of the ratification and the new contract is now in effect.
“The resounding affirmative vote for this contract is an indication that union members believe it is a fair settlement that will help provide economic security at a time when the cost of living is steadily rising,” said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer.
The agreement preserves the current pension and health benefits for retired state employees.
* The SJ-R has a copy of the contract in “tentative form” that can be accessed here.
Please join us in welcoming Jim Watson home from Iraq! A Welcome Home Celebration and Salute to Our Troops is planned for this Sunday, September 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Bogart’s Banquet Hall in Jacksonville. Admission is FREE, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres, soda, and tea will be provided. A cash bar will also be available.
A special Salute to Our Troops is planned, honoring the Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and other Americans still in harms’ way.
Bring the family, and help us welcome Jim back to Illinois!
Bogart’s is located just off the Old State Road on the East edge of Jacksonville, across for the radio station. For a map, click HERE.
* The DC publication RollCall takes a look at possible cabinet appointments in an Obama administration and comes up with one somewhat surprising name…
Transportation Secretary. Possibilities from Congress include Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Aviation
That’s the first time I’ve heard Costello’s name mentioned for the cabinet. Thoughts?
* So, do these two TV ads look alike to you?
Oberweis Dairy ad…
Jim Oberweis congressional campaign ad…
It’s probably no surprise that both eerily similar ads were produced by the same company, Aspect Media Inc.
* From a DCCC press release…
Resorting to his old tricks of using his ice cream empire to get ahead in politics, in recent days, Jim Oberweis is under fire again for releasing campaign ads resembling those of his Oberweis Dairy ads and the production company just happens to be the same for both. According to the Federal Election Commission, Aspect Media Inc was paid thousands to produce ads for Oberweis. Aspect Media Inc also produces commercials for Oberweis Dairy […]
* The FEC has previously sanctioned Jim Oberweis and Oberweis Dairy and fined them $21,000 for illegally using corporate resources for campaign purposes. [Associated Press, 7/27/07]
That sort of ad campaign really makes me uncomfortable.
Then again, the Oberweis campaign ad is one of the stronger ads I’ve seen from him to date. I’m not sure if the rebranding program will work, however.
* Meanwhile, up until now, both sides in the 11th Congressional District race have been doing mailers, robocalls and cable TV. Today, though, Democrat Debbie Halvorson’s campaign hits network broadcast TV…
Friday the race will go before a much wider audience, however, with a new commercial by state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, set to run on Chicago broadcast stations, her campaign said Thursday.
Halvorson’s aides gave few details of the 30-second spot in advance of the initial airing, including the size of the purchase or duration of the run, other than to say it will be a positive portrayal of Halvorson and her top issues.
While her Republican opponent Marty Ozinga, of Homer Glen, has already aired three cable ads and two more have come from the independent expenditure wing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,
Friday’s spot will be the first on broadcast television by either of the candidates or an outside group. The move will put the Halvorson ad in more than 80 percent of the district and reach cable and non-cable television viewers, although the vast majority of viewers will not be in the 11th District. While Ozinga has bought ads on cable systems serving similar or higher percentages of the district, those ads have not reached broadcast-only and satellite television viewers.
The commercial will also mark the beginning of Halvorson’s paid communications effort. Up to now she has relied on personal campaigning, with the DCCC airing television and radio ads and producing mailers in support of her candidacy and against Ozinga.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the Halvorson ad…
* The Tribune takes a look at how GOP “moderates” are viewing the GOP convention…
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) says she is excited about the ultimate selection of Palin for the slot, because she’s a woman who “busted the old-boy network.”
Still, she said she was disheartened by repeated avowals this summer that McCain would suffer if he selected a candidate who supported abortion rights.
“It always bothers me that they say they can’t choose this person or that person for a running mate because they’re not pro-life,” said Biggert. “I respect all members of the party no matter what their views are, but [that attitude] does make it a little harder for us.”
Rep. Mark Kirk struck strategically at the convention, flying in briefly for a round-table discussion before heading back to Illinois to start a collection drive for hurricane victims. Like many GOP officials who are skipping some or all of the convention this week, he has a tough re-election campaign going on back home.
Kirk, a leading GOP moderate, praised the Palin pick but cautioned that her socially conservative views wouldn’t play well in his affluent district in the northern Chicago suburbs.
Instead, he urged her to emphasize her record of taking on ethically tainted Republican officials in her state and challenging the controversial “bridge to nowhere” earmark.
“If she goes out and says, ‘I threw out of office another corrupt, old bull Republican,’ my voters will think anti-[former Illinois Gov.] George Ryan; they’ll like it. ‘Then I killed the bridge to nowhere’; then they’ll hear fiscal conservative,” said Kirk. “On the other hand, if we emphasize the social issues, [the voters] won’t be there.”
Kirk is facing a serious challenge from Democrat Dan Seals, one of the best-financed candidates in the country.
* That brought a strong response from a women’s political group in Kirk’s district…
To the women of the 10th District, there is nothing encouraging about Palin’s extreme political views, including her opposition to a woman’s right to choose even in the cases of incest and rape, equal pay for equal work, and gun control. Nor is her support for abstinence-only sex education, teaching creationism in our schools, and banning books from our public libraries.
Cook County Forest Preserve officials are set to negotiate a deal to buy Rolling Knolls Golf Course — which is owned by county Commissioner Timothy Schneider’s family.
The Forest Preserve Board on Thursday approved a proposal authorizing further talks with Schneider’s family about acquiring the 65-acre golf course near Elgin. The vote came about two weeks after the Elgin Planning Commission voted down the Schneider family’s plan to turn Rolling Knolls into a smaller nine-hole course and a subdivision.
Schneider recused himself from Thursday’s vote and said he had not been involved in discussions with the Forest Preserve District about the possible sale.
* But there’s more…
…a Cook County Forest Preserve representative contacted Schneider about buying the golf course, which is adjacent to the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve.
“I told him that I couldn’t have anything to do with negotiations with the county . . . and to contact my brother,” Schneider said. “It will be a decision I will be involved in as well as my four other brothers, sister and mother. . . . I have recused myself” from voting on the matter.
Telling the representative to contact his brother might be considered cooperating with the forest preserves efforts, or maybe I’m just nitpicking. Still, I find this odd.
A lion of the Illinois Republican Party called the state GOP organization “weak” in a blunt assessment of how much Republicans still must do to rebuild from the ruin left by George Ryan’s corrupt tenure as governor. […]
“That’s why we don’t have a constitutional office in Illinois, we don’t have a senator in Illinois, because our organization has been weak,” said [ormer U.S. House Minority Leader Bob Michel] […]
“All the polling ahead of time doesn’t mean two hoots unless you have the ground forces to get the vote on Election Day, and we just haven’t had that the last several years,” Michel said.
* And there was some disagreement…
“I think he’s talking about the past. He certainly can’t be talking about today,” said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville). “We’ve had our problems. There’s no doubt about the fact we have. But we are rebuilding, and I think that’s what he was talking about.”
* Retiring congresscritter Ray LaHood, who took Michel’s House seat, mentioned the obvious…
U.S. Rep. Ray Lahood, speaking after Michel, said the party must broaden its base.
“You can’t win in these congressional districts and you can’t win in Illinois with just Republicans,” Lahood said, adding that the party can win back statewide offices only by recruiting candidates capable of reaching out to Democrats and independents.
“This is not to give up on principle and not to give up on philosophy,” said Lahood, of Peoria, “but to recruit candidates who can say, ‘This is what we believe in, and we know there are discerning Democrats and independents who believe the same thing that we do.’ “
“Anybody who has spent any time focusing in what has been going on in Illinois in the last six years can’t make a single case for explaining to me why anybody in this state would vote for a Democrat in Illinois politics,”Cross said.
Republicans must give residents reasons to vote for them that go beyond dissatisfaction with Illinois Democrats. He cited this party’s “agenda for change,” which includes creating jobs, shoring up ethics law and making college more affordable. He said party leaders have not written off the November elections even though Chicagoan Barack Obama tops the Democratic ticket.
Citing Chicago school reform and welfare reform, Watson urged delegates to tell voters that Republicans made progress on issues when they controlled both legislative chambers and the governor’s office in the mid-1990s.
State Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, of Greenville, took the makeshift stage at the final morning breakfast for the Illinois delegation and hugged state Rep. Jim Durkin of Westchester, his co-chair for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in Illinois.
“You know what the difference is? We mean it. We mean it,” Watson, who sounded possibly a bit overcaffinated, shouted to the audience. Then, inspired by the moment, he challenged the crowd.
“Why doesn’t everybody just get up and hug their neighbor, huh? Let’s talk about togetherness. Let’s get together. Grab your neighbor and hug. There’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s have some excitement around here,” Watson chanted to the audience.
“Let’s show the Democrats they’re not the only ones that can do the hugging. Republicans love each other. We can be all about togetherness. We can move ahead. We’re going to take this nation back. Let’s get together,” he said.
After members of the audience stood to hug their neighbors, Watson laughed and said, “I’m glad to see that actually worked. … “I’m shocked. I didn’t think it would actually work.”
* Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Mayor Daley scoffed at former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s claims about the Chicago machine…
“I don’t know where we get this, this idea that there’s a big Democratic machine going on. Chicago and the metropolitan area is very Democratic and the state is. There’s no, this machine. I thought it was laughable.”
On Thursday [Whitley] informed the Springfield-based business group’s board that he is forming an exploratory committee to run as a Republican for governor in the 2010 election, and the chamber issued a statement saying it is “supportive” of the move.
“It’s safe to say I’ve definitely been considering it and giving it a lot of thought,” said Mr. Whitley, 58. “Republicans need to find fresh blood and fresh faces.”
* But not everybody was pleased with the news…
“They have no idea what they’re getting into,” said U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, who is not running for re-election this year. “They should start out running as a precinct committeeman. You can’t start out in the top job.”
* Jim Edgar warns in a Daily Herald story about possible contenders…
“It is one thing to talk about running for governor. It is a whole different thing to do it.”
* Here are a few more quotes from that Daily Herald story about possible statewide candidates…
[House GOP Leader Tom Cross] said running for statewide office is something he “will give serious thought to.” And he added, “It is not something I have at all dismissed.” […]
Former Gov. Jim Thompson commented in Minneapolis, “We will have to wait for Aaron Schock to grow up.” […]
On running for governor or another statewide post, [DuPage County chairman Bob Schillerstrom] says, “That is one of the things I’m going to take look at and give some consideration to.” […]
Asked in Minneapolis if he will run again, Gidwitz said, “I had a great time last time. Who knows?”
* Congressional candidate Aaron Schock was the only Illinois Republican to speak at the RNC this week, and it was just for a couple of minutes. Here it is…
* Related…
* Watson: Illinois Senate ‘Hardly the Training Ground’ for White House
* Land deal, lack of certification behind Howe, mental health center closures
Selling a prime piece of real estate and not being able to get recertified appear to be what’s prompted the state to announce it will close a pair of troubled facilities in Tinley Park, state lawmakers and union representatives say. The Howe Developmental Center and Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which have been stripped of their federal dollars for providing substandard care and lax recordkeeping, could close their doors by next summer.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan Thursday filed written testimony urging the Illinois Commerce Commission to deny rate increase requests from Naperville-based Nicor Gas that would raise the company’s revenues by $140 million.
Even before reductions in hours took effect last month at historic sites statewide, attendance numbers were down more than 10 percent this year compared with last. Among sites showing declines were all of the major Lincoln sites in Springfield.
“We believe the Illinois political culture is so shamefully dysfunctional that we desperately need this tool to change behavior of public officials,” Cronin said.
Some 156 workers in the administration took up the boss on his offer, according to documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
* We haven’t really focused at all on the state park closures announced last week. Gov. Blagojevich has yet to ever visit a state park, and his cuts made from that ignorance are causing a big reaction around the state…
Eighty people came to Lock 14 of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in La Salle Wednesday night to oppose the state’s plan to close Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park on Nov. 1.
Between 300 and 400 people gathered Friday night at Kickapoo Landing in Kickapoo State Park to discuss saving the park from its Nov. 1 closure.
Tod Satterthwaite, operator of Kickapoo Landing, said dozens volunteered to help the efforts, which include contacting legislators and launching petition drives. […]
Though still under discussion, the group plans to recruit volunteers and organize, he said.
* I thought I heard last night on my teevee that community organizers were bad people? Whatever the case, you can sign an online petition by clicking here.
This Labor Day weekend many visitors came into the restaurant to sign a petition circulated by local residents to prevent the closings. The petition has been available for signing at the restaurant since Friday. Sunday afternoon 12 pages sat on a table with roughly ten signatures each- and that was just the signatures that had been collected within the previous few hours.
The city and county will be sending out “SOS” messages as Save Our Springs signs protesting the closure of Weldon Springs begin sprouting in yards and businesses, and just about anywhere else a message can be placed.
State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) provided a budget-making scenario that begins when the House reconvenes next week that could restore funding and keep parks open. […]
The House also will consider “fund sweeps” — dollars not in the state’s general revenue, held in separate accounts — that the governor can “sweep” into areas he wants funded, Mautino said.
One of the very real issues of the closings will be maintenance of the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Canal, which passes through Channahon Parkway and Gebhard Woods state parks […]
“I don’t think it was considered in Springfield when they were (planning to) close these two parks they were losing the manpower to maintain the Canal Corridor as well as Gebhard Woods and the Channahon park,” he said.
“This news is devastating from the tourism angle,” Cooke said. “It’s beyond comprehension.
“This cut doesn’t just affect Kickapoo, The staff there also oversees Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area and Harry “Babe” Woodyard State Natural Area. People from all over the country come to our local parks.
Pliura, who leases land at Moraine View for the horses, then charges for rides, is just one of scores of private businesspeople across the state who make money by providing park users with food, firewood and other services.
Now that Gov. Rod Blagojevich has decided to close down the parks, officials have to figure out how exactly to close the facilities and what to do with vendors like Pliura who provide services there.
[Rep. Bill Black] said the park closure announcement made by Gov. Rod Blagojevich uses downstate Illinois like a political pawn. Black said it is the a way the governor tries to manipulate and embarrass Michael Madigan, the Illinois House of Representatives Speaker.
Black pointed out that the state gives plenty of money to Chicago’s museums, but parks like Kickapoo, and other sites on the list are those whose funding is cut.
[Sen. Tim Bivins] said it’s not a coincidence that the majority of the funding cuts for state parks and historic sites will come from regions represented by legislators who have not supported Blagojevich’s budget priorities.
“Take a look at where the funding cuts are, and what park districts and historic sites are affected and it is pretty obvious. The Governor’s cuts are blatantly political,” Bivins said. “They affect the districts of lawmakers who continue to try and hold Blagojevich accountable—like Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson or Senator Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat who has been a vocal critic of the Governor on more than one occasion. And it is no coincidence that more than half of the affected sites are in my district and slightly southeast in the 38th District, an area represented by my Republican colleague State Sen. Gary Dahl of Granville.”
Both Bivins and Dahl have Democratic opponents.
* Democratic Rep. Careen Gordon has been hammered repeatedly by Gov. Blagojevich, and this time was no exception…
Gordon found out about the park closing on the night of Thursday, Aug. 28, after a phone call from the press in Springfield. A number of lawmakers she was with also were surprised with the decision, and Gordon said she sent an e-mail in order to establish contact with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, having also received a press release from the governor’s office.
“No phone call was returned to give us any more information than was put out in that press release,” Gordon said. “Not one more piece of information was given to us on Friday before the close of business and before this long holiday weekend.”
* And then there’s the economy angle. With gas prices high, inflation at a scary pace and people worried about the future, many people are taking advantage of state parks, as this restaurant owner explains…
But the effect the closing will have on low-income families and elderly seems to be what makes Gibson the most passionate. “We’ve had tons of people tell us this year that this is their vacation,” she said. “They can’t afford to go to Six Flags or Chicago or Disneyland because of gas. They camp with their kids and walk around and fish and go horseback riding.”
“Many vacationers are choosing to stay closer to home this year due to the high gas prices and the sluggish economy,” said Mitchell. “So these parks have become a home away from home for many Illinois families this summer. Now as we enter the fall and winter months, these areas will not be open for hunting, snowmobiling, and other cold weather activities citizens enjoy at our state parks.”
…a press release issued by Blagojevich in March of 2007 announced that 44.4 million people had visited Illinois state parks in 2006, an increase of 316,429 over the previous year.
Ripple effects will be far-reaching, said City engineer Mike Etscheid. The closure will be counterproductive to state tourism efforts to bring people to the area, he said.
“You’re basically telling them, ‘Go to Wisconsin; go to Indiana.’ “
STATE HISTORIC SITES
— Dana-Thomas House, Springfield
— Lincoln log cabin near Charleston
— David Davis mansion, Bloomington
— Fort de Chartres, Randolph County
— Vandalia statehouse
— State center at Bishop Hill, Henry County
— Carl Sandburg birthplace, Galesburg
— Cahokia courthouse
— Bryant Cottage, Bement
— Jubilee College, near Peoria
— Apple River Fort, Elizabeth
— Fort Kaskaskia, Randolph County
— Pierre Menard home, Randolph County
STATE PARKS
— Castle Rock State Park, Oregon
— Lowden State Park, Oregon
— Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, Sheffield
— Illini State Park, Marseilles
— Channahon Parkway State Park, Channahon
— Gebhard Woods State Park, Morris
— Hidden Springs State Forrest, Strasburg
— Kickapoo State Park, Oakwood
— Moraine View State Park, Leroy
— Weldon Springs State Park, Clinton
— Wolf Creek State Park, Windsor
Now that state Senator James Meeks has called off his Chicago school boycott, he and Governor Rod Blagojevich are working out a meeting date to discuss plans to help underfunded schools.
Meeks says the governor’s office has suggested Monday or Tuesday as possible dates. […]
Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero says the governor is happy to talk with Meeks but it’s up to the legislature to approve funding.
************************
* After weeks of claiming that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had broken his promises to adequately fund education, Sen. James Meeks now calls the guv a man of his word…
A controversial, four-day Chicago Public Schools boycott ended on Day Two — after Gov. Blagojevich said any meeting with its organizer, the Rev. James Meeks, wouldn’t happen during a boycott.
“We’re asking all students to return to their schools,” Meeks said Wednesday night after about 500 protesters converged on the lobbies of 18 corporate and government downtown buildings during the day.
“We believe the governor is a man of good will and a person of his word,” Meeks said. “So, we are therefore seeking a meeting on Thursday to discuss school funding reform.”
Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero was noncommittal. “We said we would not meet during the boycott. If the boycott’s over, that’s another thing,” Guerrero said. “But it has to be when all the legislative leaders are available.”
The governor says Meeks is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.
“I can’t rewrite the school funding formula the legislature has to do that. And I’m with him, we should work to get the legislature to do it,” said Blagojevich.
Apparently, the reporter forgot that Blagojevich just launched the “Rewrite to Do Right” campaign. RRB thinks he can rewrite anything, especially ethics bills. Why not the school funding formula?
Earlier Wednesday, fewer protesters than Tuesday boarded 20 buses at South Side and West Side churches, headed for destinations such as City Hall and the Thompson Center, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Aon Corp.
At City Hall, 18 children sat outside Mayor Richard Daley’s office as two retired Chicago Public Schools teachers asked them fill out work sheets and draw pictures. At the James R. Thompson Center, student Shalafonte Walls, 10, worked on a math sheet as people walked past the children. […]
About 10 children were turned away at the Aon building, but later were allowed inside to conduct classes and eat lunch paid for by Aon.
Organizers said the two-day boycott was effective and brought attention to the issue of school funding at the country’s third-largest school system with more than 400,000 students.
“Everybody in the state is talking about school funding and the inequities between high property value districts and the kind of education they get and low property value districts,'’ Meeks said.
* Related…
* Blagojevich, Daley also use children when pushing political agendas
* As I already told you, the Illinois House is coming back next week to deal with a few issues, including a Lottery lease. Rep. Gary Hannig told one of his local papers that he expects the chamber will take up a capital projects spending bill as well as the Lottery lease revenue bill…
Hannig said he expects the House also will take up a spending bill that will detail what projects can be funded by the capital program. A capital bill passed by the Senate in May itemized some projects, but also included billions of dollars in spending to be determined later. Madigan and many other House Democrats say that is unacceptable because they do not trust Blagojevich to be fair in spreading projects throughout the state.
In addition, House members will be asked to approve a $300 million to $400 million “fund sweeps” bill that could help restore some of the $1.4 billion in cuts Blagojevich made to the state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The money would be taken out of restricted state funds and put into the state’s general checkbook account.
Hannig acknowledged that the trick will be deciding how any additional money should be spent. Rank-and-file members each have their own preferences, from restoring cuts to social programs to keeping parks and historic sites open to giving statewide officials cash they need to avoid layoffs and furloughs.
[Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] wouldn’t get into specifics of that plan but said it would need to safeguard education money and ensure capital projects that are funded actually get done, regardless of what other projects Blagojevich might favor.
Brown said they don’t want to leave room for any “intimidation” by Blagojevich.
Some of the holdup over a capital plan has been that some in the Madigan-controlled House don’t trust Blagojevich to fulfill capital projects without diverting money to his favorite causes and away from others to punish some lawmakers.
* The governor was ecstatic yesterday about the possibility of a capital bill being passed this month…
“That’s a good sign. And if [Speaker Madigan] actually passes it, and it’s real, and we start putting people to work, I may not just hug him. I may actually kiss him,” Blagojevich said.
“Having said that, I love women. I’m happily married. That would be a kiss because I want to put people to work. It would have nothing to do with anything else. And if he wants me not to kiss him, I’d be happy not to do that, too, so long as we put people to work and pass the jobs bill.”
No comment.
* Meanwhile, the Post-Dispatch takes a look at how the Lottery idea, germinated in Illinois, has spread to other states, but without success…
At least 10 states, including Texas, California, Florida and New York, have discussed the concept.
In each of those states, the idea has fallen flat among lawmakers.
Arturo Perez, fiscal analyst with the National Conference of State Legislators, says a prevailing concern among the states is the loss of control over an asset.
In addition, Perez said there are concerns private companies will be more beholden to investors than state taxpayers, meaning they will push the envelope on expansion.
“One question that is asked is whether you are going to see lottery kiosks everywhere you go,” Perez said.
We have three words for those making a decision on exchanging the lottery for cash: Proceed with caution. Make that four words: Proceed with extreme caution.
Illinoisans might have trouble following Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proclamation to observe National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month by “encouraging those struggling with substance abuse to seek treatment.”
That’s because the governor is “celebrating” by cutting the legs out from under those who provide such treatment.
His statewide budget cuts chopped $55 million out of the substance abuse treatment system - that’s $55 million out of $200 million devoted to non-Medicaid substance-abuse treatment programs.
Factor in the $55 million in federal matching funds that will be lost if this goes through and the impact is truly devastating.
A private school that mistakenly was awarded a $1 million grant by Gov. Blagojevich’s administration is being banned from opening its doors to students because of a wave of building code violations, Chicago buildings officials said today. […]
The state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity “intends to recover the full grant amount,” said Lucio Guerrero, a spokesman for Gov. Blagojevich. The school, Guerrero said, has until Friday to resolve several problems the department has found with the grant. If those aren’t resolved, “DCEO will proceed to formal grant recovery.”
…the Kankakee County Farm Bureau has posted the following videos from their forum/debate with candidates in the 11th Congressional District. This portion seems to be asking the candidates’ positions on foreign trade agreements.
Here today, gone tomorrow? Antoine Members, the African-American Republican who is running against U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, was crazy about being a Republican on Tuesday but is now thinking about leaving the party!
• • Translation: He feels his trip to the Republican National Convention has been unsuccessful because he can’t get the GOPers to cough up the campaign cash.
• • To wit: “I’ve been thinking about pulling out and running as an Independent,” said Members. “I talked to top Illinois party leaders here, but I’m not getting any funding promises. I love the principles of the Republican Party, but the brand has been destroyed by George Bush. I’ll make a decision when I return to Chicago,” Members told Sneed.
“She has an 80-percent approval rating in her state,” U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) said of Palin. “Can you imagine the state we would have if we had a governor with an 80 percent approval rating rather than an 8 percent approval rating?”
“Anyone that has an 80 percent favorable rating in a state, I don’t think means that they’re considered a kook. They do their job,” said Ill. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford).
Eric Reyes, 41, admitted to U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle that he knowingly made false statements. He could be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison at a hearing scheduled for Novembe
* Cook County Board President Todd Stroger says patronage is over, but hiring monitor begs to differ
