* According to Google News Search, there have been 3,351 uses of the phrase “perfect storm” in news reports during the past two weeks.
That’s a lot of perfection.
* It would be nice if we had a complete list, but I’ll keep looking for it…
Voters in 14 Illinois counties will have a chance next month to let Springfield know what they think about citizens’ right to carry concealed firearms, including those in Saline, Franklin and Union counties in Southern Illinois.
The referendum will ask whether the state should enact so-called “concealed-carry'’ legislation.
The referendum is advisory only. Voters will not be deciding whether individual counties should adopt those rights, but whether state legislators should bring the issue to a vote.
* Charlie Cook has moved Democratic Congresscritter Bill Foster’s race against Republican Jim Oberweis from Lean Democratic to Likely Democratic. [h/t: Larry]
* Martin Ozinga lashes out at his Democratic opponent Debbie Halvorson via press release…
New research reveals that career politician Debbie Halvorson took to the floor of the Senate in March 2006 to promote her husband’s two lobbying clients:
“In the gallery today, we have members of the Lincoln Foundation, which is an excellence – a performance excellence-based initiative, and with them is two of the recipients, and they happen to be from St. James Hospital. I just would like the Senate to recognize the importance – and the people that we have here from the Lincoln Foundation. So, if we could have them all rise, they’re in the gallery behind me.”
The politics of cronyism is nothing new for Halvorson.
As hundreds of longtime civil service agents were being laid off, Halvorson got her 23-year-old daughter a $40,000-per-year job in the Blagojevich administration.
Halvorson was also the chief Senate sponsor of Blagojevich’s widely-ridiculed “family feud” bill, which the Governor used to personally target his father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Dick Mell.
At the end, [Schock] suddenly makes the leap of logic, “Washington is just like Springfield” or some such. Really? I think that’s a bit naïve. I mean, you can’t sell nukes to Taiwan from Springfield.
* Team America turns one today. Happy blogbirthday!
Monday, Oct 13, 2008 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Springfield is stuck — really stuck — in the muck of power and partisan politics. On Election Day, voters fed up with the squabbling and the abysmal lack of leadership will be looking for a fix.
Awaiting them on the ballot is, at first blush, a tempting option: a vote on whether to hold a convention to revise the state’s Constitution.
A constitutional convention, proponents say, would let ordinary folks take matters into their own hands and fix the structural weaknesses of state governance that have led to gridlock. Equally attractive, they say, it would give grassroot reformers a chance to circumvent the gridlocked political process and solve major policy problems that have festered for decades. If nothing else, a “yes” vote would send a message of disgust to our dysfunctional Legislature — and who doesn’t want that?
Motorists in the Chicago area are making fewer trips to gas stations, but highways are still severely congested despite a decline of almost 5 percent in miles driven this year.
Congestion in the region is actually worse now than a year ago. Drivers hoping to reach their destinations on schedule need to budget almost double the amount of travel time that the trips should take.
Those are among the findings from a new study by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
This year the number of miles driven during the busiest travel hours has fallen steeply in the region, down 4.6 percent compared with last year, Jose Rodriguez, a planning agency researcher, found in his study titled “Recent Trends in Northeastern Illinois Expressway Vehicle Miles Traveled.”
* The question: Are you driving less? If so, explain how you’ve changed your habits. If not, explain why.
‘’I think this strikes fear into the Blagojevich administration and the Statehouse Democrats but not into the Obama campaign,'’ says state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Westmont, a John McCain delegate to the GOP convention but an old friend of Obama.
* The governor is having a big impact on how local campaigns are being run…
A visitor peeking at Illinois’ legislative elections this year might assume that every Republican candidate is running against the same unlucky Democrat: Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The website for Dwight Kay, Republican challenger for the Collinsville-area seat in the Illinois House, touts an impeachment petition — not against his Democratic opponent this year, state Rep. Jay Hoffman, but against Blagojevich, who isn’t up for re-election for two more years.
John Cavaletto, the Republican candidate for the open House seat in the Carlyle area, names Democratic opponent Patti Hahn exactly one time on his website — while giving Blagojevich six mentions (none of them flattering).
And in deep Southern Illinois, Republican businessman Ken Burzynski is challenging incumbent state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton — though that’s not at all clear from the television ad Burzynski cut last month.
“Say ‘no’ to Blagojevich,” intones the announcer. “Ken Burzynski for state Senate.”
* Literally every contested state legislative race this fall features GOP attacks on Blagojevich. The Republican message is clear…
[State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna] McKenna hopes Blagojevich has more of an impact than Obama.
“In the state races, you’ve got this Blagojevich factor,” he said.
McKenna said voters are aware of problems in Springfield, and that the state Senate, House and governorship are all in the hands of the Democratic Party.
“There’s only one party to blame,” he said. “If you want change in the state, you want to vote Republican.”
The 86-acre farm is one of 24 state parks and historic sites set to close at the end of November, part of a plan by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to balance a more than $2 billion budget deficit that he blames on the General Assembly.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Crow, the economic development director in Randolph County. “The people in southern Illinois and Randolph County, we’re mad as hell. We’re tired of being caught between the leveraging that goes on between Chicago and Springfield.”
Democratic challenger Dan Seals and U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk have launched a new ad battle over tax hikes and the Iraq war. […]
Kirk’s new broadcast ad attempts to link Seals to Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. The ad says Seals wants to raise taxes that 10th District residents can’t afford. […]
Kirk said Seals, Blagojevich and Stroger all represent “a philosophy of continuing tax hikes.”
The Rod and Todd show is appearing in just about every Chicago-area mailer and TV ad these days.
West suburban Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam is facing a political newcomer with comparatively little campaign money and no TV presence, yet he is spending money on a new ad blitz in an attempt to tie his foe to unpopular Gov. Rod Blagojevich and convicted political fundraiser Tony Rezko.
A campaign spokesman insists Roskam is not concerned ahead of the Nov. 4 election, just being aggressive.
“We don’t take any opponent lightly. Any person who puts their name on the ballot is a credible opponent,” spokesman Matt Vriesema said.
Nobody knows yet whether any of this will work, but it’s about all the Republicans have this year to counter the growing national discontent with their party and their party’s presidential candidate, and the fact that Barack Obama is sure to carry Illinois in a big way.
*** UPDATE *** Oops. I forgot to mention a video I posted over the weekend. The DCCC is attempting to link Republican Marty Ozinga to Gov. Blagojevich…
A new U.S. Census Bureau study reports that 785,000 Cook County residents do not have health insurance. That’s 17 percent of the overall population. Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D) actually suspects the figure, based off a 2005 census report, is low.
* Percentage-wise, the highest numbers of uninsured are centered mostly in southern Illinois, a high poverty area that is almost always overlooked…
PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION UNINSURED
Cass County 21.8 percent
Calhoun County 21.4 percent
Jackson County 20.6 percent
McDonough County 20.2 percent
DeKalb County 20.1 percent
Stark County 20.1 percent
Jo Daviess County 20.0 percent
Henderson County 19.9 percent
Cumberland County 19.2 percent
Scott County 18.9 percent
* But if you look at population numbers, there are tons of uninsured in suburbia…
NUMBERS OF PEOPLE UNINSURED
Cook County 784,930
Du Page County 106,015
Lake County 101,020
Will County 82,311
Kane County 75,606
McHenry County 40,432
Winnebago County 38,202
Madison County 34,874
Champaign County 30,031
St. Clair County 26,629
Facing debilitating health problems, Goldner refinanced his Highland Park home repeatedly only to wind up with a $729,000 mortgage on a house that eventually sold for $450,000.
On the brink of the cold-weather months, more than 56,000 natural-gas customers in the Chicago area remain disconnected for lack of payment. That’s up 36% from last year, putting pressure on utilities and local officials to get disconnected households back online before winter begins in earnest.
Peoples Gas and Nicor Inc. are offering new programs to help customers who are behind on their bills. In a pilot that began last month, Peoples has stopped shutting off customers as long as they pay 60% of their monthly bill. For two weeks last month, Nicor offered to reconnect customers who paid half of their outstanding debt and agreed to a payment plan for the rest. Some 1,400 took advantage of the offer.
With the souring economy making it increasingly difficult for people to pay their bills, consumer advocates say the programs are not enough. While federal heating assistance to low-income households in Illinois is up 59% from last year to $237 million, natural-gas prices are also up. For the November-to-March period, Peoples forecasts the gas bill for a typical Chicago household will rise 11%, to $1,183.
Local governments are bracing for deeper budget shortfalls as the financial crisis hammers everything from sales tax revenue to pension funds.
The state’s cash on hand in the first quarter of fiscal 2009, ended Sept. 30, plunged 75% to a record low $188 million amid slowing tax revenue, state Comptroller Dan Hynes says. Its unpaid bills ballooned 31% to $1.8 billion, also a record. That could further delay already tardy payments to vendors and crimp access to people who rely on state services such as Medicaid.
“We expect this to get worse,” Mr. Hynes says. “We expect to unfortunately continue on the path of breaking these dubious records going forward.”
Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday asked the federal government to provide financial assistance to Illinois and other states to defray budget deficits.
* Mayor Daley claims the economic crisis is behind his bid to raise taxes yet again…
Mayor Richard Daley on Saturday blamed the economy for his new proposals to raise taxes on downtown parking and sports tickets to balance the city budget.
“Everyplace is being affected; this is a very tough economy and it’s going to be here about three or four years. It’s not going to go away,” he said. “I’m not happy with [the economy], no way—nobody can be happy with the economy. These are minor things we are looking at.”
At a time when Daley is cutting more than 1,000 workers to plug a $469 million deficit, he is also spending millions to promote the city’s image and manage the message coming from City Hall.
The city employs more than 50 representatives across various departments in the Daley administration, at a cost this year of $4.7 million. In addition to that in-house army, the city has funneled millions more to private spin doctors.
* Related…
* Sen. Dick Durbin says it will be two weeks before the government will spend a penny of the $700 billion in the bailout plan, adding the turnaround won’t happen overnight.
* Carol Marin begins her latest column by “thanking” the state’s powers that be for uniting divergent groups on behalf of a constitutional convention…
The reason that we should salute Rod Blagojevich, Mike Madigan and Emil Jones, our fearless Democratic leaders, is that their toxic, ego-driven, Bermuda triangle of a relationship has so poisoned Springfield, so paralyzed the General Assembly, that the citizens of this state who’ve been forced to watch their antics like endless episodes of “Days of Our Lives” are desperate to fight back.
We have a former governor in federal prison, a current governor under federal investigation, and thanks to Jones’ Senate deep-sixing what Madigan’s House passed, no mechanism for a recall of officeholders.
So, suddenly, a Con-Con has sex appeal.
In the end, however, Marin sides with Dawn Clark Netsch, who opposes the convention…
Like Netsch, I believe that a Con-Con this time around will become a battleground for social issues, shoving aside less flashy but urgent discussions of fiscal policy and education.
Like Netsch, I believe the biggest problem we have right now isn’t the Constitution but the people we’ve put in power.
And so like Netsch, I’m going to say no to Con-Con.
Personally, I think the convention as social issue battleground is overrated. So what if that happens? The General Assembly rarely has a “real” debate on any of these issues, so why can’t citizens do it themselves? Is a debate so bad? And, don’t forget, Illinois voters have the final say on the finished product.
Also, as I’ve pointed out numerous times before, the problem with saying we should just elect new people isn’t valid because 1) legislators choose their voters, not the other way around; and 2) the power of the leaders is so intense and complete that new members don’t have an impact. Look at what happened in 1994 if you want proof. The House Republicans found themselves with 13 new GOP members. The same leadership team stayed in place and it rammed its agenda through both chambers. Two years later, many of the newcomer Republicans were swept out of office by Democrats, and things didn’t change in that leadership team either.
Dawn Clark Netsch is a fine human being who has done much for her state. But her direct, daily experience with Illinois government ended with her loss to Jim Edgar back in 1994 - a dozen years ago. You have to really see this beast up close to get a good idea of what’s going on. Netsch is not a credible witness.
Then [Rep. Mike Boland], who is seeking his seventh two-year term in the Illinois House, called for term limits. And, as an added starter, he resurrected his long dormant proposal to make the Illinois General Assembly a one-chamber “unicameral” legislature by either eliminating the House or Senate.
A unicameral legislature, such as the one employed by Nebraska, would ensure “we don’t have this kind of personality clashes that hold up progress in our state,” Boland said. […]
What Boland didn’t say was whether he would prefer to eliminate the House, of which he is a member, and keep the Illinois Senate.
• The people of Illinois are entitled to have their say on a constitutional convention free of the obstacles that schemers have tried to put in their way.
• As is, citizens risk having this vote voided after Nov. 4 when a court rules that it was just too convoluted. That could mean holding another election. What a waste.
Justices, please get involved. You have the power to do the best you can with circumstances not of your making—and not of the plaintiffs’ making. We clearly don’t agree with all of Judge Howse’s thoughts, but he had the courage to put the pure interests of voters first, and the procedural problems of election officials second.
Good for him. We trust you’ll show the same courage. Justices, block this fraud.
U.S. Rep. John Shimkus never wanted 13 years in Congress until he realized what it meant for his constituents in the sprawling 19th District.
The Collinsville Republican is running for his seventh term in Washington, D.C., this fall after deciding before his re-election in 2006 that he couldn’t stick with his pledge to leave after six terms.
“I made the promise. I reneged, OK?” Shimkus said. “I promise never to make a promise again. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Cook County added 60,000 people since Oct. 1, bringing rolls to a new record high of more than 1.4 million, officials said. Cook’s voting district is separate from Chicago’s.
In Lake County, about 28,000 people have registered since the primaries, setting a record of 395,003 voters on the rolls, officials said.
Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said she receives 1,000 registrations a day. That county’s rolls have increased since February by more than 30,000 to nearly 365,000.
As in other election offices throughout the state, Schultz’s employees are working into the night and over the weekends to deal with the influx.
Early voting for the 2008 general election begins Monday in Cook County and much of Illinois, and polling locations are set up at dozens of locations in the city and suburbs.
“Early voting gains popularity with each election because it’s convenient,” Cook County Clerk David Orr said in a news release. “Any registered voter who is worried about scheduling conflicts, long lines or the weather can pick the time and place to vote that works best for them.”
The early voting period runs through Oct. 30. Unlike with absentee voting, early voting does not require a reason or excuse for casting your ballot ahead of time.
In a federal courtroom this morning, opposing attorneys and the judge were all in agreement that Cook County Judges aren’t doing their jobs.
Federal Court Judge Virginia Kendall said Cook County’s central bond court is a mess, that’s where suspects have their first hearing after arrest. Civil rights attorney Locke Bowman agrees that county judges are dropping the ball there.
The proportion of people convicted of domestic violence crimes in DuPage County has more than tripled in recent years, but progress has stalled and officials must work together better to help women suffering abuse, a report finds.
Convictions on domestic violence charges jumped from 7 percent of cases to 25 percent from 2002 to 2004 and since then have held steady, according to data released with the study by the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform.
The vast majority of criminal cases—78 percent from 2002 through 2006—ended when women refused to testify, according to the study data.
A Tribune investigation last week found that Cook County’s conviction rate has declined to about 16 percent in 2007.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Department of Human Services, Internal Revenue Service and Cook County have established a disaster recovery center at Oak Forest Hospital, at 159th Street and Cicero Avenue.
Despite the heat, Carey Pinkowski, executive race director, said it was “an extremely good day” and that the 20 aid stations along the course kept up with the demand for fluids.
Still, there were 110 calls for medical transport, and 61 runners were taken to area hospitals, said Dr. George Chiampas, marathon medical director
* DCCC 10th District: “How’s that working out for you?” - Fairly standard, looks almost cookie cutter…
* The RNC has a new anti-Obama ad that once again includes Bill Daley…
Script…
The Chicago Way. Shady politics.
That’s Barack Obama’s training.
His teachers?
Tony Rezko convicted of corruption, money laundering, aiding and abetting bribery.
Rezko got Obama in on a shady land deal.
William Daley. Heir to the Chicago machine. A top Obama advisor.
And William Ayers. Leader of a terrorist group that bombed the US Capitol.
Obama’s first campaign was launched at a gathering at Mr. Ayers’s home.
There’s more you need to know.
Lynn Sweet fisks the ad at this link. And here’s a brief, off-the-cuff AIM conversation between myself and a political consultant pal about the above ad…
CAPITOLFAX: why do the repubs keep putting bill daley in TV ads? are they trying to dirty him up before the ‘10 il election?
MY PAL: no
MY PAL: it’s a standard political practice
MY PAL: you need 3 things
MY PAL: 2 things just don’t work, so they’re reaching around for the 3rd one
CAPITOLFAX: but why him?
MY PAL: there’s really not anything else in IL that’s obvious to other people
MY PAL: and can be made dirty
MY PAL: If they put emil in there it’s a race thing
MY PAL: Rod and Rezko are kind of the best you get
MY PAL: and you have Rich Daley or Bill
MY PAL: Bill was a lobbyist, so you go with him
*** SATURDAY UPDATE *** Dan Hynes and Alexi Giannoulias were featured in a Newshour with Jim Lehrer report yesterday. Here’s the video…
* Obama responds on the Ayers stuff…
* Another whack on Obama’s Illinois state Senate voting record by an independent group…
Asked about the accusation, Obama’s campaign said the Democrat had simply registered his vote incorrectly and corrected the record that same day.
The state Senate floor transcript from the day, March 11th, 1999, includes this from Obama: “For purpose of correction. I pressed the wrong button on that. I wanted to vote Yes.”
The Politico quotes Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” book in which Obama discusses the vote with media consultant David Axelrod after Axelrod has shown him some internal research…
“Wait a minute… I accidentally pressed the wrong button on that bill. I meant to vote aye, and had it immediately corrected in the official record.”
Axelrod smiled. “Somehow I don’t think that portion of the official record will make it into a Republican ad.” He gently retrieved the poll from my hands. “Anyway, cheer up,” he added, clapping me on the back. “I’m sure this will help you with the sex offender vote.”
